Welcome to the final weeks of the Fall 2017 semester!
Please join in welcoming our new Program Management Specialist,
Renee Nyack! Renee is an 2011 alumna of our BA Theatre program and, since graduating, she has worked as a stage manager and house manager at various regional theatres, including The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Imagination Stage, Arena Stage, Woolly Mammoth Theatre, and Signature Theatre. Drop by her office to say hello!
This week we open our final Main Season production of the semester, the
F
aculty
D
ance
C
oncert, directed by Paul Jackson. Entitled "Inhabit : Exhibit," this concert will feature original choreography by our fabulous Dance faculty and guests. We will be celebrating
Alvin Mayes' 40 years of dance leadership at a reception after the opening night performance, so make sure to RSVP below!
This newsletter's featured stories all highlight the fantastic work coming out of
our awesome Design program. Read below for more details on the good news from Professor Dan Conway and Helen Huang, and from alum and Board of Visitors member Marci Rodgers '16!
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In this newsletter:
- Upcoming events
- Feature stories
- News
- Opportunities
Want to share your news with the TDPS family? Have a story you want featured? Have suggestions to improve the TDPS newsletter and communications?
Tell us about the creative, collaborative, innovative, and entrepreneurial work you're doing!
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Faculty Dance Concert
Inhabit : Exhibit
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December 8-10, Dance Theatre
Directed by Paul Jackson
The Faculty Dance Concert brings together the eloquent and provocative work of Dance faculty members Adriane Fang, Maura Keefe, and Alvin Mayes, with artist-in-residence Carlos Funn and guest choreographer Liz Shea. Through gesture and verse, meaning through motion, this collection of dances will captivate and inspire!
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"40 for 40":
Celebrating Professor Alvin Mayes' 40 years of dance leadership
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Friday, December 8, 9:30pm
Cafritz Foundation Theatre
You are cordially invited to attend a celebration of Professor Alvin Mayes' first 40 years of dance leadership at the University of Maryland on Friday, December 8, 2017 at 9:30pm, following the opening night of the School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies' Faculty Dance Concert.
Professor Mayes' work as a choreographer and dance leader has been widely recognized by organizations such as the Washington Performing Arts Society, American College Dance Association, DC Metro Theater Arts, the Maryland Council of Dance, Metro DC Dance, and the National Dance Association.
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The Alvin Mayes Dance Leadership Fund for Student Support
In recognition of Professor Mayes' many years of ongoing leadership and service in dance, we encourage you to give
"40 for 40"
to the
Alvin Mayes Dance Leadership Fund for Student Support
.
Alumni, faculty, and friends of the University of Maryland School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies wish to honor the distinguished teaching career of Alvin Mayes by establishing a student support fund in his name. If contributions to this fund have reached a sufficient level by June 30, 2019, this fund will be endowed. Income from this endowment, known as the Alvin Mayes Dance Leadership Fund for Student Support, will be used to support an array of initiatives for students in the Dance program, including, but not limited to, financial assistance, research, travel stipends, and other opportunities to advance the study of dance performance and/or dance education at the University of Maryland.
Awards will go to students who demonstrate
excellence, talent, and leadership
, as exemplified by Professor Mayes during his first 40 years at the University of Maryland.
Our goal is to raise
$40,000
through individual and group contributions--for example, a $40 individual contribution, or a $400, $4,000, or $40,000 group contribution. We encourage you to gather fellow classmates or cast mates to contribute as a group: $40 from 10 people is $400, or $400 from 10 people is $4,000.
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Wednesday, December 6
Are you a TDPS student interested in producing your own work for Second Season? Come to this workshop to get tips on how to strengthen your proposal from the Second Season selection committee. This is the last TDPS Wednesday of the semester!
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Other Events at The Clarice
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Introduction to Careers in Arts Management
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December 8, 11AM–1PM
Faculty Staff Lounge at the Clarice
You are invited to join the leadership of the DeVos Institute of Arts Management and The Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center to learn about careers in the field of arts management.
Lunch will be provided.
Arts Management Essentials
Brett Egan, President of the DeVos Institute, will provide practical insights into running arts and cultural organizations through the Cycle, the Institute’s planning framework that prioritizes investment in great art. You will learn about planning bold, exciting programming, creating awareness of this programming through marketing, building a family of engaged audiences and donors around the organization, and translating this engagement into support for the organization through ticket sales and fundraising efforts.
Finding your Path to a Career in Arts Management
Clarice leadership will join Mr. Egan to discuss a variety of paths available to pursue a career in arts management. Participants will have the opportunity to sign-up for followup discussions on applying to arts management internships in the upcoming Spring and Summer terms.
To register, please email Syrah Gunning at
sgunning@umd.edu
by Tuesday, December 5, 2017.
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Wendy Whelan, Brian Brooks, and Brooklyn Rider (USA):
Some of a Thousand Words
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December 9, 8PM
Kay Theatre
Choreographer
Brian Brooks
, beloved for his “kinetic thrill and visual power” (The Washington Post), collaborates with
Wendy Whelan
to bring an elegant and electric ballet-inflected contemporary work to the stage.
The evening includes the pair’s lauded duet
First Fall
, as well as four other sections, all of which bring music to the foreground as a dynamic and creative component. Live musical accompaniment will be provided by noted string quartet Brooklyn Rider.
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Photo credit:
Nir Arieli.
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Maryland Citizens for the Arts
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Tuesday, December 12
12:30-1:30PM
Faculty/Staff Lounge at The Clarice
Come and get a behind-the-scenes look at the arts advocacy process in Maryland. Learn about how public funding for the arts works in our state, the role that MCA plays in the process, and what you can do to be an active participant. MCA will navigate you through the General Assembly Session from beginning to end, while also illustrating the role of the arts on the economic vitality of the state and the increased quality of life they provide for all Marylanders.
Your RSVP is requested for planning purposes. Please email your RSVP to Kimberly Turner at
kmturner@umd.edu
.
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Dan Conway awarded the
Anderson Hopkins Award for Excellence in the Theater Arts
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Congratulations to Professor
Dan Conway on being awarded an Anderson Hopkins Award for Excellence in the Theater Arts!
The award was presented for the first time on November 20 at Signature Theatre to Professor Dan Conway; actors Naomi Jacobson, Nancy Robinette, and Holly Twyford; and musical director Jon Kalbfleisch. The $5000 award recognizes actors and other members of the DC theater community whose creative lives demonstrate great accomplishment to date and promise for the future.
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Helen Huang Awarded the Semester Graduate School
Creative and Performing Arts Award for 2018-2019
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Congratulations to Professor
Helen Huang on being awarded the Semester Graduate School Creative and Performing Arts Award for 2018-2019!
Graduate School Faculty Support Awards comprise Research and Scholarship Awards (RASA) and Creative and Performing Arts Awards (CAPAA). The Faculty Support Award Program is intended to support faculty research, scholarship, and creative activity while also enhancing graduate student mentoring. It also encourages fellowship proposal writing, ensures accountability, and increases visibility of faculty achievement.
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Marci Rogers (MFA Design '16) is the
Costume Designer for Spike Lee’s Netflix Series “She’s Gotta Have It”
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She spoke on the podcast
“How I Made It”
about her journey from business to styling to costume design, including her time at the University of Maryland in the MFA Design program. In the interview, she credits her mentor Reggie Ray, a costume designer and professor from Howard University, and her mentors at UMD TDPS, Professors
Helen Huang
and
Dan Conway
.
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- TDPS Production Manager and MA student Cary Gillett's book Production Manager’s Toolkit was reviewed by Theatre Design & Technology (see pages 68-69). And it's selling like hotcakes! Congratulations, Cary!
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- Studio Theatre is seeking interns for the spring! The company is hiring for all internship positions with a priority deadline of January 4th. For more information on the internship program, check out the flyer. If you have questions, please e-mail internship@studiotheatre.org.
- Spooky Action Theater is seeking an Assistant Stage Manager for The Lathe of Heaven, adapted by Natsu Onoda Power from the book by Ursula K. LeGuin. The production will rehearse February 6-14. The show opens on February 15 and runs Thursday - Saturday evenings and Sunday afternoons through March 11. Interested parties, please email Artistic Director Richard Henrich with a resume: rhenrich@spookyaction.org.
- Amazing Grace at the Museum of the Bible is looking for an Assistant Stage Manager, to start immediately. The production is an eight show week, Tuesday - Sunday; matinees Wednesday/Saturday and Sunday. Contract until January 7 with the possibility of a touring gig through April. Please send resume and contact information to Brad Watkins, bradwatkinstw@gmail.com.
- Nu Sass - a theater group in DC that works to support women and transgender people in the arts - is hiring sound, set, and lighting designers for The Veils in the Women's Voices Theatre Festival. The show will be at Anacostia Arts Center from February 15 - March 4. If interested, please contact NuSass@NuSass.com to submit your resume.
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Have an opportunity you want to share?
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Do you have news to share with the TDPS community?
The School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies
advances and transforms the research and practice of the performing arts
through a commitment to excellence and innovative education.
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Kate Spanos, Coordinator of Marketing & Communications
Jonelle Walker, Graduate Assistant
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