The Next Century
2001-2002 “Come Watch Us Play”
Like most, the Department of Theatre Arts and Dance students, faculty, and staff were stunned by the events of September 11, 2001. All University classes were cancelled at noon when a prayer vigil was held on the mall in front of Northrop. Peter Rothstein, director of the opening play of the fall season spoke for many in his program note: “Like most, I have found it a challenge to carry out my daily routine since the events of September 11. It is likewise difficult to interpret a work, when the work carries with it a meaning entirely different than it did on September 10th. But I also find myself blessed to be in a vocation which constantly asks me to make sense of the world and to find hope in despair. In 1950, in the midst of a changing world, Jean Anouihl wrote Ring Round the Moon: A Charade with Music, reflecting the new existentialist outlook of post-war France. In 1963, in a tribute to the recently assassinated John F. Kennedy, Leonard Bernstein said, ‘Our music will never again be quite the same. This will be our reply to violence; to make music more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before.’ We must be up for the challenge.”
Ring opened October 12 with a wonderfully whimsical vine-covered setting by Matt LeFebvre and costumes by Jeffrey Bleam. The set featured a large pool on deck with floating candles which we soon learned wanted to float as close to the plastic-protected edges of the pool as they could. You would think it impossible to burn down a pool, but you would be wrong – quick thinking stage management ordered butler and maid to drown the candles at next entrance and they were anchored to the bottom by the next performance to prevent any re-occurrence of pungent plastic. Lighting staff led by Pearl Rea will not soon forget festooning the foliage with Christmas lights, nor stringing the star curtain upstage. The Glass Menagerie followed in the Arena directed by Stephen Kanee and featuring Barbara Reid in the role of Amanda. Professor Kanee paid tribute to Professor Reid who would retire “at the end of this year after 25 years of distinguished service to our department, college, and community.” He felt it was fitting “that we close this portion of our careers with one last collaboration.” Kerry Ruane, Scott Reynolds, and Justin Zavadil rounded out the cast. The production was dedicated to the memory of Kevin Vance who had played in several Kanee-directed plays during his undergraduate years here. The production was done very minimalistically with a fire escape grating surrounding the action and few props. UDT was entitled Men Who Cook with work by Hari Krishman (“Exhalations-Version IV”-Minnesota premiere), Peter Bingham (“Yearnings”-premiere), Tere O’Connor (“Interrupt”-premiere), Peter Bingham (“Drifts”-premiere), and Danny Buraczeski (“Ezekiel’s Wheel”). MFA designer Mark Ruark designed costumes and lights for various pieces.
Spring semester involved us in a Howard Barker piece called Victory. Co-directed by Kent Stephens and Kari Margolis with scenery and lighting by Mike Watson, it featured Lindsay Hinman as Bradshaw and a fair number of gruesome props. An international symposium on “Howard Barker’s Theatre of Catastrophe in the Aftermath of 9-11” was held in conjunction with the production.
Anything Goes provided welcome light relief in April. Michael Brindisi returned to direct, Zoe Sealy choreographed the piece, and Dawn Baker served as Musical Director. Tim Diem, faculty member from the School of Music, conducted the ship’s orchestra perched atop the central unit of the ship’s deck. There were a number of activities in the dance program this spring. A collaboration with the Walker Art Center to host a six-day residency with White Oak Dance Project, concluded with the presentation of PASTForward. A March conference surrounding the performance of a re-staging of Cloud Gate Dance Theatre’s “Crossing the Black Water” was held. The Gertrude Lippincott classroom was officially opened in the Barker Center. An international digital video internet II project “Dancing Beyond Boundaries” featured dancers from here and Florida and Denver with musicians in Brazil all performing live together at the same time – a sort of live dancing here interacting and dancing with the rest of the video dances – fascinating to watch. And On the Edge IV was a joint production with the Margolis Brown Theatre Company of “Sleepwalkers” which went on the hold its world premiere in September retaining quite a few of the students from this spring.
The X season included Róisín O’Gorman’s production of Blood (based on Lorca’s Blood Wedding), Stop Kiss (directed by Rytch Barber), Picasso at the Lapin Agile (workshopped by Jeff Hnilicka), When We Dead Awaken (Julie McGarvie), The Blue Room (Maggie Scanlan) in the fall. An adaptation of Medea (Rhiannon Fisk who also played Medea and Jeff Hnilicka directed), The Loudest Sound (created and directed by Peter Vanderford), Ontological Proof of My Existence (workshopped by Scott Reynolds), and A Night of Caryl Churchill rounded out spring.
Michal Kobialka assumed the duties of chair of the department in a very smooth transition from the excellent job Professor Brockman had done throughout his term. We welcomed Brent “Mickey” Henry as the new Technical Director for the University Theatre. With his hire, Martin Gwinup could hang up the hammer and devote full-time energies to sound design/technology and multi-media. Scott Freeman joined the faculty as head of the BFA-Acting program. On April 30, 2002, we held the official ceremony and plaque unveiling to rename the Experimental Theatre the Charles M. Nolte Xperimental Theatre
And July 4, 2002, marked the return of the Minnesota Centennial Showboat to the state of Minnesota (it had traveled from Greenville, MS, where it was built), to the city of Saint Paul (its new permanent home at Harriet Island), and to the Department of Theatre Arts and Dance. Lots of hoopla surrounded the return, but the favorite might have been the showboat alumni returning to a marvelous dinner 
and onstage sharing of showboat memories. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde was the first production in the new Boat era with an all-alumni production team: Mike Harvey directed, Anne-Charlotte Harvey served as dramaturg and olio consultant, Vern Sutton as olio master, Dahl Delu designed scenery, Mathew LeFebvre designed costumes, and Jean Montgomery designed lights. Several favorite olios were staged in a tribute to Robert Moulton who had created so many wonderful interlude pastiches over the years: “The Glow Worm Ballet” (with those in- rhythm blinking bustle lights), “Pale Hands,” “A Girl for Each Month of the Year” (aka the calendar olio), “Tell Me Pretty Maiden,” and the Grand Patriotic Finale.
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