Little Women opens this week!
Monday, October 25, 2021

"Little Women: the Broadway Musical" opens this week! TDPS community members get free tickets to all of our events, and this year all tickets are Pay What You Wish, so bring your friends!

Congratulations to M.F.A. dance candidates Amber Daniels and Christina on their beautiful work at the Fall M.F.A. Dance Thesis Concert last weekend. You can read a lovely feature in UMD's Stories Beneath the Shell at the link below.

Also check out last week's feature in Maryland Today on Ph.D. candidate Jonelle Walker's work on "Chemical Exile" with Rorschach Theatre. See the link below.

TDPS is doing great work! 👏

Please email tdpsmarketing@umd.edu if you have any events, news, or opportunities to share with our community.
 In this newsletter:

  • Upcoming events
  • Feature stories
  • Opportunities
Upcoming events
Fall 2021 Main Season and Experimental Performance Series
Little Women
October 28-31
Book by Allan Knee
Lyrics by Mindi Dickstein
Music by Jason Howland
Alvin Mayes and Scot Reese, directors
Marci Shegogue, musical director

In Louisa May Alcott’s beloved book “Little Women,” writer Jo March and her sisters Meg, Beth and Amy represent the experiences of women and families during the Civil War. Alcott’s timeless coming-of-age story debuted as a musical on Broadway in 2005, bringing these memorable characters to life through song and movement. The musical immerses audiences in the adventures of the March sisters, through love, hope and self-discovery.
Experimental Performance Series: The World is On Fire, but Here is a Dance and Chiffon
October 29-31

Featuring The World is On Fire, but Here is a Dance choreographed by Maggie Laszewski, M.F.A. Dance ’23 and Chiffon written by Ayanna Hill, B.A. Theatre ’22.
Hookman
November 13-21
By Lauren Yee
Nathaniel P. Claridad ’04, director

In what playwright Lauren Yee describes as an “existential slasher comedy,” Hookman tells the story of Lexi, a college freshman who is haunted by the sudden death of her childhood best friend—all while navigating the pressures of being a young woman entering adulthood. The production brings the horror film genre to the stage, inviting audiences to explore themes of grief, trauma and guilt in an up close and personal way.
Fall Dance Concert
November 18-21
Kendra Portier, director

Featuring faculty and graduate student works by Adriane Fang; Maura Keefe; Tristan Koepke, Andrés Poch, and Carlo Antonio Villanueva; Alvin Mayes; Sara Pearson and Patrik Widrig; and Kendra Portier

The School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies’ Fall Dance Concert reflects on and celebrates the vitality of live performance. Choreographers explore a range of collaborative and technological processes through devised movement pieces. Each choreography is a living work of art that crystallizes a shared moment for performers and audiences alike.
Experimental Performance Series: Crisscross and Strangers
December 3 & 4

Featuring Crisscross choreographed by Paetyn Lewis, B.A. Dance ’22 and Strangers choreographed by Megan McDevitt, B.A. Dance ’22.
Caribbean dance class with Shartoya Jn.Baptiste
Fridays October 15 & 29, November 12
3-4PM
Schoenbaum Rehearsal Studio

Join M.F.A design candidate Shartoya Jn.Baptiste for a Caribbean dance class this fall! Admission is free.
Rebels and Revels: A Photo Exhibit of the Theatre of the Middle East
Through December
Principal Investigator, Marjan Moosavi, Roshan Institute of Persian Studies at UMD
Co-curators, Kelley Holley and Q-Mars Haeri, TDPS

The Rebels and Revels photo exhibit has been extended through December!

This exhibit features 58 photos from six Middle Eastern countries, featuring theatre of the 1950s and '60s.

Access the exhibit here.
Click image to enlarge
Have an event you want to share?
ï»żPlease email tdpsmarketing@umd.edu
Feature stories
TDPS Welcomes New Faculty
The School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies welcomes two new faculty members this fall: artist-in-residence Yael Inbar and lecturer Fatima Quander.
UMD performances exploring the possibilities of dance
Stories Beneath the Shell ran a feature on our recent Fall M.F.A. Dance Thesis Concert, featuring new work by Amber Daniels and Christina Robson.

Daniels and Robson both built their shows together with their team, they said, seeking their opinions and experiences to develop their choreography.

“People invest in it a bit differently when everybody feels like they have some stakes in it, or some authorship in it, so we’ve been trying to build it together,” Robson said.
Photo credit: Thai Nguyen
‘Exiled’ From the Stage: Ph.D. Student’s Experimental Theater Project to Get Audiences Moving
Maryland Today featured Ph.D. candidate Jonelle Walker and her work with Rorschach Theatre's interactive theater project "Chemical Exile."

The project resonates with audiences longing for both theater and connection, Walker said. Through video salons to discuss the project, she learned that “our subscribers really created a community not just with us but with each other,” she said. “They’d talk about seeing each other at the site, they’d notice the distinctive green paper we put in our boxes. The best feedback we got was people saying this was what got them through the pandemic.”
Photo credit: Amber Key
Opportunities
  • The University of Maryland College of Arts and Humanities and Education Abroad are pleased to launch a new, semester-long study abroad program in London for the Spring 2022 term. Arts & Humanities-in-London is designed for students with interests in the arts and humanities to develop important cross-cultural skills and knowledge for success in a global workplace. Applications for Spring 2022 are now open! Find out more here.
  • Imagination Stage is opening auditions/casting for next year's production of Mr. Popper's Penguins, which will be directed by TDPS alum Nathaniel P. Claridad '04 (also the director of this fall's Hookman at TDPS). Rehearsals begin May 30th, 2022. For more information about auditions/casting, please send an electronic headshot and resume to audition@imaginationstage.org.
  • The Production Management Office at The Clarice is hiring hourly employees! No prior experience required. The Production Management Office offers flexible hours and is responsible for staffing and running non-TDPS events and performances across the building. If interested, send your resume to cmcvey@umd.edu and fill out this form.
  • Bates Dance Festival is seeking a production manager to work during next summer's festival from July to August. This summer will mark BDF's 40th anniversary and will include 6-7 performances in two theaters, one gym and other outdoor locations. Learn more about the position and apply here by November 15.
  • Auditions for the 39th Annual Choreographers Showcase at the Publick Playhouse in Cheverly, MD are coming up! Apply online to reserve a spot by November 17 at 5PM. Learn more about this opportunity on their flyer.
  • Are you looking for an exciting new paid job that involves teaching hilarious grade schoolers? Impulse City in Hyattsville is seeking new staff members. Founded by former members of UMD’s Erasable Inc., Impulse City specializes in teaching classes in the performing arts, including: improv, dance, acting, filmmaking, and stage makeup. If you are interested, please email Gabryƛ Wronka '19 at gabrys@impulsecity.com.
  • Flying V is offering a variety of workshops in design, production and performance which offer unique educational hands-on training and experiences. Coming up soon: Acting for the Camera with Raymond O. Caldwell, Kamishibai Creation and Performance with Natsu Onoda Power, and Are You Afraid of the Booth? which will be co-lead by Kelly Colburn, Gordon Nimmo-Smith, and Dylan Uremovich. Learn more about the workshops here. Scholarship are also available; email Kelly Colburn kelly@flyingvtheatre.com for more information.
  • NEW The dance program at the Anne Arundel County Recreation and Parks is seeking instructors with at least 3 years of teaching experience in ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop, modern, lyrical, or other style of dance. The are also looking for assistant instructors to work in the musical theater program. Fill out the application and email it to Mandy Baker at rpbake00@aacounty.org.
  • NEW Mosaic Theater Company is seeking a short-term intern to work on their first in-person show in over a year, Birds of North America. Learn more about the opportunity here.
Have an opportunity you want to share?
Please email tdpsmarketing@umd.edu

 Do you have something you want to share with the TDPS community?
Email tdpsmarketing@umd.edu and share with us on social media!

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