The Department of Theatre and Dance at Gustavus Adolphus College is pleased to announce its 2010-2011 season, highlighting the broad influence of William Shakespeare with three Shakespeare-inspired production, including Shakespeare’s R&J, a Shakespeare Performance Showcase and the season finale of Hamlet. The 2010-2011 dance season opens with a performance by the Stuart Pimsler Dance and Theater Company and includes the student directed, choreographed, and performed Shared Space, the Gustavus Dance Company in Concert.
The season begins in October with a performance of Shakespeare’s R&J, a clever and vibrant variation to Shakespeare’s original Romeo and Juliet, adapted by Joe Calarco and directed by Henry MacCarthy. A class based on the study of Shakespeare Performance is scheduled for the fall semester to provide an opportunity for students to focus on mastering iambic pentameter, text analysis and voice and breath work as well as to prepare Shakespearean scenes, sonnets and monologues suitable for auditioning. This class will perform in a Shakespeare Performance Showcase on December 9-12, 2010. Finally, the spring production of Hamlet, directed by Amy Seham, is scheduled for May 5-8, 2011 and May 12-14, 2011.
The dance season opens September 11-12, 2010, with the Stuart Pimsler Dance and Theater Company in Concert in Anderson Theatre, and continues with the student directed, choreographed, and performed Shared Space, the Gustavus Dance Company in Concert, and a January-Term residency with the Stuart Pimsler Dance and Theater Company. Shared Space will be directed by Senior Dance Company Members, Amy Hassenstab, Haley Carpenter, Leah McEllistrem, and Denise Stein and will be performed December 10-12, 2010. Balance Off Center, the Gustavus Dance Company in Concert, directed by Melissa Rolnick, will be presented on March 4-6, 2011 and will premiere the work created by Stuart Pimsler Dance and Theater on student dancers and designers during an intensive residency of the company in January. The residency and performances by the Stuart Pimsler Dance and Theater are made possible with a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board. The company is based in the Twin Cities and combines dance and theatre into an emotional and intellectual blend unique to the company.
The theatre season includes two student directed projects presented in the Theatre Gallery, November 18-21, 2010. Performances in the Theatre Gallery include The Stronger written by August Strindberg and directed by Ethan Bjelland (Theatre, 2012), and a Senior Theatre Honors Project involving nine students who will be performing and designing a play by Ferdinand Bruckner titled Pains of Youth.
Tickets for the 2010-2011 Anderson Theatre season will be on sale beginning August 20, 2010 at www.gustavustickets.com and at the Gustavus Ticket Center located in the lower level of the Jackson Student Center.