The 50th Straw Hat season continues with the PG-13-rated musical The World Goes ‘Round, which features the song and dance of John Kander and Fred Ebb, the team that created Cabaret and Chicago.
The show runs until June 14 on the Gaede Stage.
Sinatra tribute created by former Straw Hat director David Grapes
Minnesota State University Moorhead’s Straw Hat Players Summer Theatre opens its 50th season with My Way – A Musical Tribute to Frank Sinatra, a PG-rated musical revue with hits like “Fly Me to the Moon” and “You Make Me Feel So Young.” The show runs from June 4 to 7 on the Gaede Stage. Award-winning director, actor and playwright David Grapes, who directed Straw Hat from 1991 to 1993, returns to direct the show, which features alums Nicole Fenstad and Sean Michael Palmer, as well as current Straw Hat Director Craig Ellingson and senior theatre major Anne Brown. Read the rest of this entry →
Don’t miss a dynamic dance concert featuring the work of student dancers and choreographers. Several dance styles will be featured, including hip-hop, modern, lyrical, musical theatre styles and tap. The performance takes place this Saturday in Hansen Theatre at 7:30 p.m. Free admission!
Meghan McLaughlin to present at Tuesday’s SAC Conference
By Kalicia Kamranian
Young children grow to understand the world around them through trial and error. They fail forward to success. Freshman Meghan McLaughlin believes that as we age, the development of our creative minds decreases. McLaughlin will discuss this issuer in her SAC presentation, “Stepping Away from Creativity.”
Double majoring in studio arts, with an emphasis in sculpture, and theater arts, with an emphasis in theater technology and design, McLaughlin clearly has a passion for creativity. She likes people to see different perspectives in both art and life. Read the rest of this entry →
Larry Schwartz, Library, will be appearing in the Tin Roof Theatre’s production of William Inge’s “Bus Stop.” He portrays Dr. Gerald Lyman, a drunken and dissolute former professor, which characterization comes mostly from his imagination. Performances will take place March 7, 8, and 9 at 7.30 p.m. and March 10 at 2 p.m. at “The Stage at Island Park” (the FMCT building).
Avenue Q, the third production of the MSUM Theatre Department, continues nightly through March 2. All shows start promptly at 7:30 p.m. in the Hansen Theatre in the Roland Dille Center for the Arts on the MSUM campus.
Winner of the Tony “Triple Crown” for Best Musical, Best Score and Best Book, the musical focuses on a group of 20-somethings making their way in the big city. The show, inspired by the public television classic Sesame Street, addresses humorous adult issues, using “adult” language and situations. Like Sesame Street, it’s a “place where puppets are friends, monsters are good and life lessons are learned.”
Tickets for Avenue Q are available at www.mnstate.edu/theatre or through the MSUM Box Office. Call (218) 477.2271 Monday through Friday from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tickets are also available at the door if not sold out.
For more information contact Elizabeth Evert Karnes at (218) 477.2267 or email her at evertel@mnstate.edu.
Avenue Q’s puppets funny but not necessarily family-friendly
Avenue Q, the third production of the MSUM Theatre Department, opens Wednesday, Feb. 27, and continues nightly through March 2. All shows start promptly at 7:30 p.m. in the Hansen Theatre in the Roland Dille Center for the Arts on the MSUM campus.
Winner of the Tony “Triple Crown” for Best Musical, Best Score and Best Book, the musical focuses on a group of 20-somethings making their way in the big city. Read the rest of this entry →
Faculty, staff, students and alumni are invited to a Q&A with Kevin Sorbo today at 11 a.m. in the Gaede Theatre. Sorbo is an actor, author and motivational speaker. He’s also an MSUM alum (1977-1981). This event is free.
Sorbo will be at Barnes & Noble Saturday, Feb. 16 at 11 a.m. in Fargo signing his memoir, “True Strength–My Journey from Hercules to Mere Mortal–and How Nearly Dying Saved My Life.”
Auditions for the MSUM production of Tony Kushner’s translation of Bertholt Brecht’s most import play: Mother Courage and Her Children, are Feb. 8 from 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. (Sign up for an audition time in the Theatre Office)
This play with music follows the travails of a family as they try to make a living in a world torn apart by war. Read the rest of this entry →
18 MSUM Theatre Arts students and 2 faculty will attend the Region V Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival next week in Lincoln, NE. Students will compete in the Irene Ryan Acting Competition, the Stage Director and Choreographer’s Directing Competition, and the Musical Theatre Intensive. The week-long festival includes the competitions, a full array of workshops, performances and other events designed to immerse students and faculty from across the region in various forms of theatre.
Patricia Kennedy Hansen
02/21/1931 – 01/11/2013
Patricia Kennedy Hansen, 81, of Fargo, ND, died peacefully on Friday, January 11, 2013 at Bethany Retirement Living, Fargo.
Patricia Jean Kennedy was born February 21, 1931 in Fargo, ND to William U. and Annie Blanche (Moore) Kennedy (both deceased). She attended Horace Mann grade school, Ben Franklin Junior High, and graduated from Fargo Central High School in 1948. During WWII, her family lived in Seattle, WA. In 1951, she married Kenneth E. Heine. In 1956, she married Magnus C. Geston of Fargo. In 1974 she married Lt.Col. Robert A. Hansen, whom she regarded as the love of her life. Read the rest of this entry →
An exciting festival showcasing the work of MSUM theatre students as directors, actors, designers, stage managers, dramaturges and playwrights. Three nights of performances. Ten productions. Each night a new set of plays. Join us in watching MSUM theatre arts students putting theory into practice!
Thursday, Friday, & Saturday, December 6, 7, & 8 @ 7:30 p.m. Read the rest of this entry →
After the show members of the cast talk with elemetary student attendees.
Published: The Advocate http://msumadvocate.com/2012/11/a-fairytale-with-a-twist-msum-childrens-theater-at-it-again/
November 12, 2012
PHOTO AND STORY BY MEREDITH WATHNE
“Rapunzel, Rapunzel, let down your hair,” is a line we’re all familiar with, but what about “Rapunzel, Rapunzel, jump on my back?”
David Wheeler, a professor in the theater arts department, adapted the child’s tale “Rapunzel,” for the MSUM Children’s Theater – “Rapunzel and Her Dragon.”
The charming story features two casts, red and blue. It bares many similarities to the classic tale but implements the use of new characters and a modified story line.
The play is the story of Rapunzel, played by Solveig Swanson of the red cast, a junior musical theater major, and her rabbit friend, played by Laura Berger of the red cast, a freshman theater arts major. The two are running around playing and laughing when they stumble upon a hungry, injured Dragon.
After feeding vegetables to the Dragon, played by Nikko Raymo of the red cast, a senior theater arts major, and fixing his broken wing, Rapunzel, the rabbit and the dragon quickly become a tight-knit trio.
One of the biggest laughs from the crowd came when Rapunzel suggests they play a game of duck, duck goose. Confused, the dragon asked “what is a duck?” to which the rabbit replies “a little goose.” Still perplexed, the dragon asks “what’s a goose?” After pondering for a moment the rabbit proclaims, “it’s a big duck!”
As Rapunzel, the rabbit and the dragon continue to play, things take a turn for the worst and the evil witch next door kidnaps Rapunzel.
The entire cast teams up to try and rescue Rapunzel, but at last her new friend, the dragon, comes to the rescue and relinquishes the evil witch’s powers for good.
After the show, the cast met the students outside the theater to talk about the show. Many youngsters shouted “I liked when the bunnies chased the wolves,” and “when the dragon blew fire.”
Not only was the show a hit with the young ones, but the actors and actresses love being involved with children’s theater.
“It’s over the top,” James Stenger, who played Rapunzel’s father in the red cast, said. “You never know what to expect, every audience is different.”
The MSUM Children’s Theater has been a part of the Theater Arts Department since it was created 50 years ago and it continues to be popular with faculty, performers and student attendees alike.
“I love the opportunity to have an audience that’s going to be really engaged in the show and actors,” Wheeler said.
“Rapunzel and Her Dragon” marks the seventh play that Wheeler has written for the MSUM Children’s Theater.
“It’s also an opportunity to work on a simple, thematic lesson,” he said.
The moral of the play is to accept people for who they are, even if who they are is a little bit different.
Ninety-one schools will participate and bring over 8,000 6- to 8-year-olds to see the play. There will be 15 shows for the elementary schools to attend, along with two performances open to the public at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. on Nov. 17 in Hansen Theater.
Published: The Advocate http://msumadvocate.com/2012/11/a-fairytale-with-a-twist-msum-childrens-theater-at-it-again/
November 12, 2012
PHOTO AND STORY BY MEREDITH WATHNE
MSUM Theatre Arts have met with alum groups in both Minneapolis/St. Paul and New York over the past few weeks. Alums reminisced about their times at MSUM, from Straw Hat stories to Dr. Dille’s classes, all students expressed their gratitude for the program and the life-long memories created here at MSUM. Special emphasis has been placed on getting in contact with MSUM Theatre Arts and Straw Hat alums as Straw Hat prepares to celebrate its 50th anniversary this coming summer.
MSUM Theatre Arts professors Patrick Carriere and Craig Ellingson provided workshops at Anoka-Ramsey Community College. The first workshop focused on theatre arts as a major at a four-year institution, and the second was a physical acting/stage combat exploration. The workshops presented are part of a continued relationship established between MSUM and ARCC through a MnScu articulation agreement.
MSUM Theatre Arts students and faculty member recently attended productions of NEXT TO NORMAL at Mixed Blood Theatre and BYE, BYE BIRDIE at Chanhassen Dinner Theatre. Students and faculty also participated in the Mixed Blood Theatre’s post-performance discussion, and met with MSUM Theatre Arts alum Tyler Michaels after the Chanhassen production, in which he is playing the principal role of Hugo Peabody.
Steven Molony, of Clever Lever Pictures has won a prestigious Award of Merit from The Indie Fest. The award was given for Molony’s exciting performance as the lead role of Alex in Dan Glaser’s feature film “Pinching Penny” which is the story of a British hypochondriac who turns to crime after becoming addicted to consumerism. As his obsession worsens, his life falls quickly into the absurd and he continues to spend himself deeper and deeper into depravity. “Pinching Penny” was shot independently on a shoestring budget of $4,000 and features exceptional promise from Glaser as a director and from Molony as a rising actor. Read the rest of this entry →
Professor Tom Brandau, Cinema Arts & Digital Technologies, was recently invited to teach two master classes at his Alma Mater, Towson University in Baltimore, Md. Brandau screened some of his more recent films and conducted a discussion on transitioning from college to the professional world of film/television production to a group of 40 students and faculty of Towson’s Electronic Media and Film Department. He also taught a master class for Towson’s Theatre Department entitled “Acting/Directing for Stage vs. Screen: The Right Mode for the Right Medium.”
Brandau studied film at Towson as an undergraduate and holds an MFA in theatre from Towson.
You are invited to attend “8″ an American play that portrays the legal argument and witness testimony of the Perry v. Schwarzenegger trial, which led to the overturn of California’s Proposition 8.
It will take place Thursday, Oct. 18 at 7:30 p.m. in the Gaede Stage, in the Roland Dille Center for the Arts.
Questions: Craig Ellingson at craig.ellingson@mnstate.edu
