UNCO School of Theater Arts and Dance

The People Called it RAGTIME

2012-03-03T17:39:00.000-08:00

By: Rachelle Cole

          When thinking of my experience seeing the University of Northern Colorado’s production of Ragtime, one word comes to mind: Spectacular. This word describes not only the cast, but also the crew, designers, and the director David Grapes who created such a success with this spring musical.

          The set design was larger than life in the way that it was so minimalistic yet so powerful with the daunting images that carry you away with the story and leave the settings of the play up to your imagination. Chris Lundahl’s lighting design was powerful as well as appropriate. The silhouettes and mood that the colors created on stage were powerful and clearly done by a professional. In addition, Anne Toewe’s costumes were authentic as always for this experienced designer and the costumes became part of the characters as they should. With a cast so large, we can assume that blocking and choreography were a nightmare yet even with these slight disadvantages, the cast was able to pull through with their impeccable talent and class that they have fostered through UNC’s renowned theatre program. This was done without completely overwhelming the audience. The actors and singers in this show were nothing short of influential. Every note was intact and the performances were heartbreaking. The power that this cast exhibited on stage gave me goose bumps and a clear reverberation after the story was over. I was very impressed by almost every performer and I respect the talent that I saw on stage.

          The musical Ragtime has been on Broadway multiple times and it’s no surprise since the music is breath taking and the story is haunting. However, it’s been easy for me personally to get caught up in the technical aspects of the show since I’ve been working in UNC’s electric shop. It’s also easy for me to be caught up in the conversations around me while waiting for the show to start. This mostly involved old husbands telling their wives not to worry since the second act would be shorter than the first. But seeing this particular show reminded me why I am involved in this theatre program in the first place. The performance was not only impressive, but also heart wrenching, emotional, and authentic. I found myself with tears on my cheeks at the end being thankful for the experience.

Ragtime will be playing Friday-Saturday night at 7:30pm and Sunday at 2:00pm.

Don’t miss this unique experience.

Gala 30 - Better than ever!

2011-11-29T09:24:00.001-08:00

On a freezing cold day I walked into Susan Nelson’s office and got the chance to hear about the arts administration that happens behind the scenes here at UNC in addition to receiving information about an event that is legendary in our school’s history. Susan is the Director of Community Art in Greeley in addition to working as an arts administrator. She helps find ways for UNC to connect with the Greeley community through the Arts and one of the primary venues for this goal is the annual Gala. People hear of the Gala, but hardly anyone gets the opportunity to be a part of it or even attend. The Gala is a fundraiser put on by the community advisory board in order to showcase the arts and raise funds for scholarships at UNC. It is an opportunity for University Bands, Jazz Bands, Choirs, and Art students alike to show off how hard they have been working to make our arts program one of the best in the nation. In the past, it has always been difficult to involve Theatre students in the Gala. Although there have been students performing skits in between acts and a performance by the musical theatre students, there are so many theatre students and not as many easy chances to showcase their talents at this opportunistic event. This year, Susan, Dr. Andrea Moon, and the rest of the community advisory board are searching for theatre students to present more of their talents on stage. They are looking for monologues, scenes, improvisations, and any other creative ideas that showcase the theatre program we have at UNC. So come take a risk and audition because risk-taking is encouraged for the Gala; this is a chance for all of the art students to feel the camaraderie that creative people like us tend to have when all put in the same room. The Gala takes place on February 11th 2012 at the Union Colony Civic Center and the Friday night rehearsal before the event is free for UNC students to attend and support their art family. Auditions will be in December so check the Theatre call board and don’t miss this chance to join in this occasion that showcases…well, us!

2011-11-16T20:05:00.001-08:00

Here is the article selected by the Editorial Advisory Board as the winning submission in our Next Five Years writing competition. Thanks to everyone who participated in the competition!

Garrett Spradlin:

Theatre defined, is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place I was always taught that entertainment, whether that be movies, television, or theatre, was an escape from our reality. It was a new world that we could stop worrying about the stress and constant go of our own. I never knew theatre would impact my life, in all honesty getting on stage scares me. Theatre began at a very young age and forced me out of my comfort zone a lot, it continued in high school where I could be doing lights and sound, stage management and even directing. I like being in charge, rather then people in charge of me. Hah! I gained a group of friends that were so close to each other and supported one another that I decided to accommodate that in some way to my college journey.

I unlike most that will tell you they have been touched by theatre am not a theatre major. I began as an elementary education major at the University of Northern Colorado and began an emphasis in creative drama, one of three accepted into that emphasis that year. It was that idea of bringing the arts back in the classroom. The department seemed to want everything to be taught through skits and plays, when I took a different approach. To me it was how I could perform better. The classroom was my stage; I had an audience for 7 hours a day, 5 days a week. How were my expressions, my actions, my voices while reading going to influence my audience. I still wanted to be a celebrity but maybe just in the eyes of a different audience.

In the summer of 2010, I was chosen to attend an acting and modeling conference in New York City. I was put into a room with major producers, writers, directors, and casting agents. These people had power in the entertainment world. During this time I had just come out as a gay male and was already dealing with my whole world changing. I didn’t go to New York with the rest of my group wanting to be the next big movie star... I mean hey sure, I would have taken it... but anyway, I went because I knew that if I could go into a room where 20 judges were writing down thoughts, and literally judging me, then I knew I could go anywhere in this world and be judged everyday. It was the hardest thing to do in my life but sometimes it is the art of theatricality aligns with life perfectly.

Now I as a telecommunications (broadcast) journalism major, with a minor in communications continue to take theatre arts courses, and hoping I can still build them into my life. During the switch of my major I was taking a script analysis course with a professor, who shall remain anonymous. She was crazy; some might say a Nazi of the arts. She was hard, she had high expectations, her speeches demanded attention... yet she was incredible. I am literally taking a class from her right now, just because she is teaching it. Her love and passion for the arts... her view and open mind to others views of the arts is what inspires all her students to do the same.

To be honest I don’t know how I am going to reach out and touch others with theatre, or when that opportunity will come. I don’t know if it will be in the classroom, in a new production, in helping GLBT youth, or as the next Oprah or Ryan Seacrest. All I know is theatre doesn’t have to be a play, theatre is life. You always have your live audience. Its not an escape from our reality. It IS our reality. You were born cast in your very own show with a lot of hard times, happiness, love, a climax... and an end. You may even be judged, cried with, laughed at, or applauded by your fans.

I have been touched by theatre, it changed my life, and here’s to the next five years...

BIG LOVE

2011-09-27T11:50:00.000-07:00

It has been 14 years since Jessi Hill last stepped through the door of Norton Theater – the theater where she directed her first play and where she now has been welcomed back as a guest director for UNC’s first mainstage play this year, Big Love. It is a special treat for her to be asked back to her alma mater to direct a show, especially in the theater that first presented her talents to the world.

The intimacy of Norton’s black box theater is perfect for this type of play. The issues that it addresses are questions and perspectives that we all have asked or followed at some point in our lives. And the methods for getting these points across are by no means subtle. The first thing I always hear whenever people find out I’m assistant stage managing Big Love is, “Oh that’s the play with all the nudity right?”

Well, yes, it has nudity. No, it is not over the top and neither is it unnecessary. It tells the audience that, as Jessi said, “This is no joke – some serious stuff is going to go down here.” The play is underscored by classical music – as dictated in the script – which also strengthens the emphasis that this is not just a play for “wild teenagers,” but is actually presenting important life questions and requiring answers from the audience. She said that she wanted the play to “feel dangerous” which should be easy to accomplish, both with the violence in the script and the sensitive subjects that are addressed non-stop throughout.

Fifty brides are being forced to marry their fifty cousins against their will. They will they will stop at nothing to escape their fate. But why are they so unyielding in their choice and what does that say about gender stereotypes and mentality?

Big Love is a modernized version of Aeschylus’ The Suppliants. For those of you who have not read that play, the first two lines of the previous paragraph basically say it all. However, Charles Mee interpreted Aeschylus’ play as not just a dramatic struggle by these women to avoid their fate at all costs, but as an opportunity to explore the deeper struggles that men and women encounter in their everyday interactions with each other. Big Love is a play that will have you laughing, crying, and above all wondering why we complicate things which could be so easily solved with understanding and compromise.

As the days draw closer to opening night, the cast have grown comfortable with the space and have begun to really sink into their characters. I remember Jessi commenting early-on about the remarkable hard work and excellent work ethic from everyone in the cast. From my table across the room I can tell she is pleased when I see her eyes literally gleam and a giddy smile starts to play across her face. The magical moments in the plays are starting to come to life. Unfortunately, soon I will have to resign my privileged position of being able to watch the show from the front and take my place backstage where I will only get to listen as the play continues to evolve. My job as ASM is to be the backstage coordinator and “head honcho” for the crew. As this show takes place in one location without scene changes, I will have very little to do during the performances, but before and after I will have much to do and oversee as my crew cleans and organizes the stage and props. I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Being an integral part of a theater production and being the one ensuring that everything backstage goes smoothly is exactly the kind of responsibility I thrive under. The only downside is not seeing any of the show once I put my headset on.

From what I’ve seen so far, however, I can picture things as they happen onstage simply by listening. As Jessi said to the cast early on in rehearsals, “It’s my job to make you all look like rockstars.” and it looks like everyone’s hard work is paying off.

Eliza Howard

Noel Johnston: Guest Artist

2011-04-15T11:36:00.000-07:00

Many people I know are looking forward to this weekend’s performances of “You Can’t Take it With You”, and I am certainly excited for it, but before I get to see the actual show I had the opportunity to sit down with guest star Noel Johnston and listen to him share his journey. Johnston plays the part of Martin Vanderhof, better known as grandpa, in the production. This role seems particularly fitting in light of the fact that Mr. Johnston is about three times the age of any other member of the cast. A fact to which he responds quite cheerfully and said that he has even brought in cookies like a good grandfather might do. As he put it, “I’m very happy to be asked to play the role, and not quite as happy that I am old enough to play it!”

Noel Johnston started acting when his older sister played a role in “The King & I” and, when the cast was told to bring younger siblings to fill out the younger cast, he was brought along. He was raised in a family of singers and musicians for several generations and, as the family saying goes, “You never had to tell a Johnston where the spotlight was" so he stood on the stage and impressed everyone by confidently belting a song in his audition and landed his first role as Chulaongkom, the crown prince. He was in several more productions but then got caught up in the world of high school sports and did not return to the theatre until he moved to a small town. He was begged to audition for the school musical his junior year and finally agreed which, in hindsight, was an excellent decision because it was here that he met the star of the show who is now the co-star of his forty-one year marriage.

Mr. Johnston did not pursue acting professionally and has never taken an acting class in his life; instead, he worked as an English teacher until his recent retirement. He had auditioned for a play in his freshman year of college but, displeased by the quality of the department, he left the theater for several years while he pursed his English studies. After finding himself a job teaching English, he was drafted into directing a play; his first directorial debut was Neil Simon’s “The Odd Couple”. He moved to Colorado a few years later where he became a part of the Stampede Troupe community theatre company, he and his wife played the leads in “The Pajama Game” in 1977 and his family has worked in over a hundred productions with the company since that time.

His first connection with UNC came not as an actor but as a teacher in Greeley’s schools. Here he taught several children of different faculty members as well as one of UNC’s current faculty members, and it was this connection that led him to work with UNC on numerous productions including a father in “The Fantasticks” and the Modern Major General in “The Pirates of Penzance”. This relationship with the theatre department has spanned many years and led to Noel Johnston’s current casting in the production of “You Can’t Take it With You”.

He was filled with nothing but praise for all aspects of the production, saying particularly that the set was probably the best set most of the cast had ever worked on, and that the whole group from the sound designer to the stage crew to the actors to the costume shop were a “testament to the quality of the theatre program.” This program, he said, was filled not only with good performers, but also with all-around good people. His philosophy has always been simple, as he puts it: “The goal is just to do this really, really well.” And it sounds like that is exactly what the theatre department at UNC has cooked up!

-Joshua Dasher

The Fairytale Project Update

2011-04-04T14:38:00.000-07:00

Children are the future. I know that phrase is a cliché, but it is a fact that only true statements become clichés and it is incredibly important that we see the youth of America and the world in that light. You see, today’s children are tomorrow’s society: businessmen and women, CEO’s of companies and large corporations, teachers, doctors and parents, to name a few. So often we forget that we were once children; children who needed to learn, grow, and experience life lessons in order to become the fully formed adults that we are today.

I had the pleasure of sitting down with Gillian McNally, an assistant professor in the Theatre Education department here at the School of Theatre Arts and Dance and the head of the Theatre for Young Audiences show each year. McNally was eager to discuss her newest venture: the 2011 children’s theatre show. This year’s piece, “The Courage to Stand,” lovingly nicknamed “The Fairytale Project,” is currently in the works here at UNC. In national partnership with the Minnesota Children’s Theatre, the second largest children’s theatre in the nation, and the “Neighborhood Bridges” grant from the US Department of Education, McNally hopes that this production will allow the children to “tell and see stories based on their own lives and ideas.”

“Neighborhood Bridges” first came to the University of Northern Colorado in the spring of 2008 with the goal of “critical literacy through the arts.” During each spring season since then, UNC’s School of Theatre Arts and Dance has put on a production for young audiences, inspired by the ideas and concepts of the children involved in the creative process, both here on campus and at surrounding elementary schools in the area.

“The troupe will go [to an elementary school], split into groups, and brainstorm [with the children]. They will then meet, combine the ideas, write the script, take it back to the elementary school and perform it,” McNally states.

The students at Frontier Academy in Greeley helped develop the two stories that will be featured in “The Courage to Stand.” The first, “Five Brooms,” deals with a kidnapping and a brave young girl who goes against all odds to save her father and the second, “The Frog With Hair,” talks about a man who wishes to play music in a town that forbids it; he disguises himself as a frog so he is able to play.
According to McNally, the cast of the piece is about “half theatre education majors with an emphasis in creative drama and half acting majors with a talent for improvisation.”

The show will be performed at UNC in Kepner Hall’s Milne Auditorium on April 9th, once at twelve noon and once at two o’clock pm. Directed by McNally, Mark Maxwell and Jessica Robblee, “The Courage to Stand” is sure to mold its viewers, young and old alike, into more strong and accountable members of society as the material challenges us to “find the strength to do the right thing.”

Tickets and other information can be found on our website www.arts.unco.edu or by calling the UNC Performing Arts Box Office at (970) 351 – 2200.

- Alexis Perez

Advice from Bruce Sevy of the DCPA

2011-03-30T11:31:00.000-07:00

I cannot remember a time I nonchalantly brushed my hands together at the end of a fifty minute class period and thought, “There, that’s all I could possibly learn on that subject.” A perfect example of this was when I had the opportunity to attend class with guest artist Bruce Sevy, the Associate Artistic Director & Director of New Play Development for the Denver Center for Performing Arts. Yes, his list of responsibilities is at least as long as his title. Not only does he hunt down new playwrights and conduct play writing festivals, but he is also the primary casting director for the DCPA and is in New York about every other month. His résumé stretches from Washington to New York to Alabama and he was happy to share his wealth of experience with the students of a Seminar in Theatre Management class.

He gave advice to the class that covered a broad range of topics for those in the performing arts from playwrights to actors and everything in between. I am going to try to pass that information on succinctly as possible!

For all the playwrights out there his advice had a lot to do with how to get your work read. The best option is probably not to just send it off to as many theatres as possible, in fact, according to Bruce, the DCPA receives about eight hundred plays a year and the job of reading them will potentially be passed on to interns or others with far less sway or vested interest in your work than you would probably hope. Instead look for new play festivals, of which there are many in the country. The DCPA actually plays host to the Colorado New Play Summit, a festival that is quickly building a national name for itself. Bruce, or others working for him, look for playwrights they are interested in, and during one season will generally commission about six playwrights to write a work through their Center for New Play Development.

For the actors among us he had a wealth of knowledge from his experience in casting. The advice he specifically related was that, for him, he looks for people who “kept it real,” and he does not want to see “put on” voices or characters in an audition. As he put it, “[It’s] not about manners or voices, but about finding someone to work with who can connect with the material.” He also mentioned that the DCPA is nearing its seasonal casting time and said to check their website for audition information which will be posted on April 15th. DCPA will hold non-equity and equity auditions the second weekend in May, so, for interested actors, sign up as soon as information is available. Also, do not forget to show up, because if you don’t, they will not welcome you back for another opportunity next year!

For the future artistic directors or public relations director he had a lot of great advice, we have all heard the ‘it’s all about the people you know’ bit, but he said that his experience has given him the opportunity to see how collaborative theatre truly is. Bruce put it this way, “Your people skills are as or more important than your talent; every relationship you have is a relationship. Be humane, because we work in the humanities!” For those of us looking for this kind of work in theatre he said that he thinks he has the best job in regional theatre, because it’s not high stress and he never has to wear a suit, but also because he is constantly on the forefront and as opposed to working with boards and managers he is constantly out ‘in the field’ working directly with artists. He also described how much he enjoyed the rapidly changing duties of his job, eleven trips to New York in a year, constant travel, and constantly getting to browse new material. One amazing piece of Bruce Sevy’s story is that, unlike so many other professional artists, he has never really been out of a job. He attributes his success to personal referrals because if he ever lost a position (such as once due to budget cuts several years ago at the DCPA) he knew people who were happy to find him a place to work.

I have only scraped the surface of the knowledge that the many-hatted Sevy shared with the class and already this post is a little long! I certainly hope you have gleaned something from it, and if you have a favorite story of how a guest artist has inspired or shaped your vision of theatre make sure and put it in a comment! Thanks Bruce Sevy, like every other experience I have had with a guest artist, all I can say is, “That was not nearly long enough, come back again!”

- Joshua Dasher

Spotlight on Footloose - Eliza Howard

2011-03-01T15:02:00.000-08:00

Suspended in the air above the orchestra pit and the heads of the audience stand the follow-spot operators, important yet sadly under-represented essentials to the classic musical theater experience. It is in our power to direct or completely distract attention from the characters in focus at any given moment. Watching the scenes from a bird’s-eye view, we see essentially what the audience sees, but through our headsets we hear all the goings-on backstage that make the performance possible. It’s like knowing the secrets to a magic trick and still being able to be drawn into the execution of it. It’s the medium between two worlds.

I look over to my right at Shelby, my follow-spot counterpart, and we give each other a thumbs up. We are usually the first to be ready, and so we wait for everything else to settle down below.

“All actors line up for mic checks,” we hear over the God-Mic.

And as the actors each take the stage and sing snippets of their signature rock themes, we watch from the catwalk, listening to their voices with one ear and the preparations of the technicians for the ensuing run-through with the other.

When all the mics are suitably adjusted and any other issues are taken care of backstage, the curtain is lowered and RandiJo our stage manager begins to call the light cues. The house goes to half… all the way down… and the music explodes from the orchestra pit.

All the way up on the catwalk I lean back as the energy of the music and the dancing hit me. Brightly colored costumes flash across the stage, voices belt full throttle, the instruments sparkle – both with sound and light. My follow spot turns on and off as necessary and over my headset I still hear the ongoing cues telling me and everyone backstage what is about to happen next.

As follow spots we’re allowed to watch and enjoy the show because we are only needed for certain moments, but what separates us from the audience is being told the secrets of the world that they never see. We are distanced from the action, except when we serve to highlight it, but we always know what’s going on backstage and can continuously watch what happens onstage without worrying about missing a cue. Our job is perhaps one of the easier ones – simple but essential – and it offers endless opportunities to hear jokes between the technicians and watch as the rehearsals continue to improve and drive towards performance. The cast and crew for this musical have all the right ingredients for producing a fantastic show that will be sure to blow audiences away.

So when you go, look up at the catwalks and you might just catch a glimpse of Shelby or me as we go to take our places. And then settle down –the show’s about to start.

An “Awakening” Phenomenon - Rachelle Cole

2011-02-25T12:10:00.000-08:00

The musical sensation Spring Awakening returned, possibly for the last time, to the Denver Center for the Performing arts the 15^th-16^th of this month. This heart wrenching tale of teenage angst, parental control, and overwhelming feelings, has touched the minds of many and will continue to tour with a non-equity cast this year. Although some may consider this musical completely inappropriate because of the content, language, and sex scene that ends act 1, it also reaches out to a far wider audience than the original creators most likely hoped for.

I had the opportunity of a lifetime on Tuesday the 15^th to check “sit on the stage for Spring Awakening” off my bucket list thanks to a friend with connections. Spring Awakening is highly unique in offering 20 seats on stage for the audience to experience the heart break and action. On the stage, I was joined by teenagers, college students, teachers in their thirties, and diehard fans in their forties. I sat in the house the first time I saw the play, my mind was hyperactively analyzing the set design, make up, wardrobe, and acting moments up close for the first time. I was glad I saw the show from the house the first time to get the overall story, it was a whole different ballgame sitting on stage. I first realized I was in for even more than I had hoped for when I heard the three loud beats of the drum that started “Mama who Bore Me (reprise).” The vibrations of the band on stage was breathtakingly beautiful and I found myself swooning when Melchior and I made eye contact with sweat dripping down his face from the lights. My mouth dropped open and didn’t close until intermission.

Although this was a non-equity performance, a lot of the aspects of the show stayed the same especially since some fans were worried about what would change. The set, costumes, and songs were for the most part the same. However, some subtle changes were made such as the platform where Melchior and Wendla lay during “I Believe” not rising in the air by chains from the pipes above and the lack of eerie fog in the graveyard scene at near end of the show. This was most likely due to the tour’s busy schedule, which only kept the show in certain towns like Denver for a couple of days. The cast was combined of younger faces that love to act, but hadn’t earned the title of “Equity Actor” as of yet. Thus, their bios were also less professional and less impressive. Regardless, the cast was as entertaining and emotional as one could hope for, which proved that the word “non-equity” is nothing to be scared of.

If you haven’t heard of Spring Awakening; rather than praying that the show will come back in a revival setting, I would encourage you to grab a hold of the soundtrack. It’s an emotional and powerful entity all on its own that everyone, especially college age, should listen too. If you’re still not convinced, might I remind you that you can find the voices on the Spring Awakening soundtrack of Glee stars Lea Michele and Jonathan Groff who played the original loving couple, Melchior and Wendla. I assure you it would be worth your while to check it out. In the words of this powerful musical phenomenon, “Truly, truly, truly, heaven must feel like this.”

Review: ‘Adding Machine’ cast, crew up to the challenge — are you? | Greeley Tribune

2011-02-18T11:39:00.000-08:00

Review: ‘Adding Machine’ cast, crew up to the challenge — are you? | Greeley Tribune

Performance to bring out deep, hidden emotions, dark topics - UNC Mirror - Entertainment

2011-02-07T09:32:00.000-08:00

Performance to bring out deep, hidden emotions, dark topics - UNC Mirror - Entertainment

And now a few words from Mrs. Two...

2011-02-02T12:14:00.000-08:00

Michelle Payler, 23, is a senior Musical Theater major here at the University of Northern Colorado and has been dancing for 19 years and counting. She has studied ballet, jazz, modern, tap and now teaches ballet and jazz part time at Up In Lights Dance Studio. Needless to say, Michelle is no stranger to stage movement. She has performed in countless musicals and dance concerts. Last semester she performed the lead (Miranda) in the 8^th annual production of Miranda’s Nightmare—a Halloween dance event conceived by the Head of UNC Dance, Monte Black.

Most recently, Michelle has been cast as Mrs. Two in our production of the expressionist play, The Adding Machine by Elmer Rice. Last Friday, before her choreography class, I was lucky enough to catch up with Michelle for a short interview about her experience so far with The Adding Machine.

Q: Why is movement in this piece (The Adding Machine) so important?

Michelle: The movement in the show is what helps aid the plot… a lot of movement we (the numbers) are doing is based on what the principal actors are saying and a lot of times material the principal actors are saying are things that the audience wouldn’t quite understand unless they saw it done with movement.”

Q: Can you explain the type of movement used in the show?

Michelle: It’s very inventive movement and it’s very primitive—very floor based movement, which also just aids to the atmosphere of the play because its kind of a dark play.

Q: How have you, personally, reacted to the movement used?

Michelle: Some of the movement has been challenging but a lot of the movement is very familiar movement, none of it is anything that I haven’t done before but I’m doing things I’ve done before in a new way and in a new perspective.

Q: What is your past experience with shows of this nature?

Michelle: The show is completely different from anything I’ve ever done, so putting movement that I’ve used before into this type of show is completely opposite and new for me.

Q: As an audience member, what should I expect from The Adding Machine?

Michelle: I think that the audience needs to come in expecting to see something they’ve never seen before. I think that the show will definitely be relatable to most audience members even though it was written in the 1920’s and set in the 1920’s—a lot of the ideas that are in the show now are relatable to our time.

Directed by movement specialist and UNC graduate Harrison Butler; The Adding Machine runs February 10th – 12th and 15th – 19th at 7:30pm and Sundays February 15th and 20th at 2 pm. Performances will be held at the Norton Theatre in Gray Hall on UNC central campus. This production contains adult language and mature situations, a strobe light and fog are also used. Advance purchase of tickets for this event is strongly urged. Tickets and more information available at www.arts.unco.edu or by phone at (970) 351- 2200.

Introducing Some Local Talent

2011-01-19T14:37:00.000-08:00

As our first pre-launch blog entry we, in the PR office, thought you may want a run down on the local talent here on our UNC stage. The following are the cast lists from this semesters up and coming shows. If you recognize some ones name, give them a holler in our comments section below :) We would love to hear some positive words about our students!

Adding Machine

Mr. Zero

Mrs. Zero

Daisy Diana Dorothea Devore

The Boss

Policeman

Judy O’Grady

Shrdlu

Lieutenant Charles

Cellist

Numbers:

Mrs. One

Mr. One

Mrs. Two

Mr. Two

Mrs. Three

Mr. Three

Mrs. Four

Mr. Four

Mrs. Five

Mr. Five

Mrs. Six

Trysten Cain

Megan Krusleski

Brenna Larsen

Brycen Fauser

Shaun Parish

Cashelle Butler

Vincent Smith

Willis Miller

Gal Faganel

Joelle Montoya

Andrew Garling

Michelle Paylor

Kyle Eschom

Sarah Kowalski

Chris Berghoff

Dorian Mapp

Tom Brath

Aurelia Jordan

Francis Corby

Avery Anderson

Melanie Snyder

Footloose

Ren: Tyler Ledon

Ethel: Lindsay Cook

Reverend Moore: Corey Thompson

Vi Moore: Leslie Hoxworth

Ariel Moore: Andi Davis

Lulu Warnicker: Natalie Wisener

Wes Warnicker: Chance Jacob

Coach Roger Dunbar: Nic Olsen

Eleanor Dunbar: Amanda Smith

Rusty: Leah Nikula

Urleen: Alex Campbell

Wendy-Jo: Sylvia Braswell

Chuck: Jake Latchaw

Lyle: Jeff Zicker

Travis: JeanLuc CavnarLedandowski

Cop: Taylor Rectenwald

Betty Blast: Devin Crane

Willard Hewitt: Hayden Stanes

Principle Harry: Joey Revier

Cowboy Bob: Kytt McLaughlin

Jeter: Adam Fontana

Bickle: Andrew Russell

Garvin: Nick Izzo

Dance Captin: Jamie Mills

Ensemble: Kelsey Hull, Rachel Richards, Amy Bennett, Lynzee Smith-

Newton, Aisha Jackson, Alicia Pann, Michael Ochoa

You Can’t Take It With You

Penelope Sycamore: Malloree Hill
Essie Carmichael: Anne Tereze-Schwarz
Rheba: Tetriana Silas
Paul Sycamore: Jacob Bernard
Mr. DePinna: Ray Seams
Ed Carmichael: Chris Jones
Donald: Nick Thorn
Martin Vanderhof: Guest Artist
Alice Sycamore: Arielle Yoder
Wilma C. Henderson: Angela Pettigrew
Tony Kirby: Ben Burch
Boris Kolenkhov: Jason Clark
Gay Wellington: Danielle Click
Anthony W. Kirby: Chandler Darby
Miriam Kirby: Kayla Reynolds
Grand Duchess Olga Katrina: Megan Lloyd-Jones
G-Man 1: Zach Murphy
G-Man 2 (Jim): Zack Taggart
G-Man 3 (Mac): David San Miguel