News

They grew up in nearby towns on the Iron Range, attended MSUM at the same time, and have lived within 10 miles of each other in Los Angeles for nearly 30 years. But they didn’t meet until they attended a Dragon Alumni reunion in June 2011. Since then, they have collaborated on one book project and expect to work together on at least one more.

Leni Ramberg (1973, Speech-Theatre and English) has been a writer for years, authoring plays, screenplays and short stories. “I thought it would be fun to write a mystery book, or series of books, aimed at middle-grade readers, ages 10-12,” she said. Read the rest of this entry →

Jan Maxwell (attended MSUM in the 1970s and 1980s) was nominated for a Tony Award for “Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical.” Follies received a total of eight Tony nominations, including” Best Revival of a Musical.” Actors Kristin Chenoweth and Jim Parsons announced the nominations live from New York’s Lincoln Center on Tuesday. The awards will be handed out in a ceremony June 10 at New York’s Beacon Theater, airing live on CBS. Neil Patrick Harris will host.

Shannon Warne is a 2000 graduate of MSUM’s theatre department. An earlier item stated that she graduated in 1988.

Several pieces of good news related to theatre alumni have landed in MSUM’s theatre department’s in-boxes

Two recent MSUM theatre department graduates nabbed leading roles in upcoming shows with professional theatre companies in Minneapolis.

Katie Adducci, ’10, debuts in a musical production of Pippi Longstocking, opening April 24 at the Children’s Theatre Company. The show runs through June 20. Adducci is featured in the April issue of Minnesota Monthly magazine. Read the rest of this entry →

MSUM Theatre Arts alum Jan Maxwell starred last spring in a revival of the Stephen Sondheim hit musical Follies with Bernadette Peters at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. A New York Times theatre reviewer wrote in the May 22 issue: “Ms. Maxwell, who gives the evening’s most complete and satisfying performance, sings and dances the audience in to a fever with a leggy, four-alarm version of The Story of Lucy and Jessie. Maxwell attended MSUM in the late 1970s.

Dan Leonard, ’79, Theatre Arts, received the Randolph Frank Prize for the Performing Arts. He received the $5,000 award for his work in Palm Beach County’s performing arts scene for the past 25 years. Leonard wrote plays for a touring theatre program for schools and also acted in many theatrical productions in the Palm Beach County area, where he lives and continues to work in theatre.

Tyler Michaels, a 2010 Theatre Arts graduate of MSUM, , plays the title role in Bat Boy: The Musical, an Off-Broadway hit opening Halloween weekend in downtown Minneapolis. Minneapolis Musical Theatre is presenting Bat Boy: The Musical October 28-November 13 at the Illusion Theater, 6th and Hennepin, Minneapolis.

Appearing in his first Minneapolis Musical Theatre production, Tyler Michaels stars as Bat Boy, a half boy/ half bat creature discovered in a cave and civilized by townspeople in this off-kilter comedy. Michaels, who appeared in various MSUM productions and won the Region V Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship Competition his senior year, resides in Bloomington, Minn.

Read the full Minneapolis Musical Theatre Bat Boy release below.

BAT_BOY_Press_Release_2011.10.19-1

CABARET opens Wednesday, September 28 at 7:30 p.m. on the Gaede Stage!

The show runs through Oct. 1 at 7:30, and two matinee shows are scheduled at 2 p.m. on Oct. 1 and 2.
The iconic musical is set in Germany in 1930. The Nazi Party is rising to power, but in the Kit Kat Klub everything is beautiful, according to the Emcee. CABARET explores both the private lives of the
characters and the public life of a country in a time that was glittering, illusory, unrestrained, decadent, electric and sensual, as it gives way to a world that is becoming increasingly frightening, tumultuous,
oppressive, and tragic. For tickets, call the Box Office at 218.477.2271, or buy online. Tickets are also available at the door.

David Wheeler, Theatre Arts, presents the 2011-2012 Dille Distinguished Faculty Lecture Thursday, Sept. 15 at 7 p.m. in the Center for Business, Room 109. The title of Wheeler’s lecture is “American Vaudeville.”

Each year, the Dille Fund for Excellence Committee and the President select one MSUM faculty member to receive the award, one of the highest honors MSUM bestows to its faculty. Honorees receive a $1,200 honorarium and commemorative desk clock in a brief ceremony before the lecture. A reception takes place immediately after the lecture.

Zombie Prom

June 28–July 1, 7:30 p.m.
Gaede Stage / Musical / PG

It’s the atomic 1950s at Enrico Fermi High. Pretty senior Toffee loves Jonny, the class bad boy, but family pressure forces her to end the romance. Distraught, Jonny charges off on his motorcycle to the nuclear waste dump. He returns, glowing with radiation determined to reclaim Toffee’s heart. Don’t miss this rockin’ collection of original songs in the style of 50s hits.

For more information or to purchase tickets, go to the Straw Hat Players website or view the attached poster.

Read more.

The Straw Hat Players presents five summer shows, with Nunsensations! running June 7-10 and 14-17 at 7:30 p.m. in the Center for the Arts Gaede Stage. For more information or to purchase tickets, go to the Straw Hat Players website or view the attached poster. 

Nunsensations!

June 7–10 & 1 –17, 7:30 p.m.
Gaede Stage / Musical / PG

The sisters of Hoboken are back! This time, they’re taking their show to Vegas. It’s the most feather-filled and sequin-studded Nunsense show ever! “It’s a whole lot funny and a little bit naughty, but there ain’t nothin’ dirty goin’ on!” Read the rest of this entry →

Kimberly Miller recently represented MSUM and Region Five at the National Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. She participated in the Stage Directors and Choreographers (SDC) competition at the regional festival in January in Ames, Iowa. Out of the six finalists from the region, the judges selected Kimberly to go to Nationals in April.

From the 18th through the 23rd Kimberly participated in master classes and workshops taught by Joy Zinoman of the Studio Theatre in D.C., Laura Eason of the Looking Glass Theatre in Chicago, and John Dillon of SDC, among other professional directors, playwrights and artistic directors from around the country. Also as a result of competing at the regional festival, Kimberly is now an associate member of the SDC union.

By: Dave Olson, INFORUM
A video shot by three Minnesota State University Moorhead students has been named a winner in a contest aimed at helping make modern technology safer for young people.

The video titled “Message Sent” is a cautionary tale about what can happen to a very personal image once the “send” button is pushed for a text message.

Adam Brant made the video with two friends, Torrey Halverson and Caroline Stommes, who also acted in the video. Read the rest of this entry →

Join us for a dynamic dance concert featuring the work of student dancers and choreographers Saturday, May 7 at 7:30 p.m. in 
Hansen Theatre. You are sure to be entertained with dances featuring ballet, hip-hop, modern, lyrical, musical theatre styles and tap.

MSUM Theatre presents the comedy Tartuffe April 13-16 at 7:30 p.m. in the Roland Dille Center for the Arts Gaede Stage. Tickets are available online or call the MSUM Box Office at 218.477.2271 Monday-Friday from noon to 4 p.m. Read more.

MSU Moorhead Theatre Arts presents two “must see” productions next  week–STOP KISS and THE MUSICAL OF MUSICALS (The Musical!). For ticket information, please contact the box office at 218.477.2271

STOP KISS
ONE NIGHT ONLY–Glasrud Auditorium, Weld Hall, Wednesday, April 20th at 7:30 p.m.

“A poignant and funny play about the ways, both sudden and slow, that lives can change irrevocably,” says Variety. After Callie meets Sara, the two unexpectedly fall in love. Their first kiss provokes a violent attack that transforms their lives in a way they could never anticipate. Read the rest of this entry →

An imposter. Religious fervor.  A seduction.

One of the greatest comedies of the French Theater, Tartuffe is an astonishingly, delightful romp which focuses on a con-man’s attempt to turn a household on its ear. Is Tartuffe as extremely pious and religiously devout as he appears, or is there something else lurking just below the façade? MSUM Theatre presents this comedy April 13-16 at 7:30 p.m. in the Roland Dille Center for the Arts Gaede Stage.

Tickets are available online or call the MSUM Box Office at 218.477.2271 Monday-Friday from noon to 4 p.m.

Tartuffe Ad 10.25×8

We’ve lost a remarkable alumnus. Thomas Proehl (Class of ’88) passed away Wednesday night.  His death by natural causes caught his family and friends totally off guard; only a couple of weeks earlier, he’d undergone a routine physical. On his last night, he had dinner with friends. An hour after he left the restaurant, he was gone at the age of 46.

Tom had an amazing resume. He was promoted to general manager and managing director of the Guthrie Theater when its new complex was being planned and built. After several years in senior management, he left the Guthrie to lead the Minnesota State Arts Board. In 2008 he left his beloved state to serve as administrative director for the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco. Last summer he returned to the Twin Cities to serve as the producing director of the theater arts and dance department at the University of Minnesota. He was recently appointed to the MSUM Alumni Foundation Board of Directors.

Read more on the Dragon News Area Voices.

Caroline Stommes

MSU Moorhead Theatre Arts major Caroline Stommes has been selected to participate in the highly selective summer program with the British American Drama Academy (BADA).  BADA was founded in 1983 to enable students from across the world to study classical theatre with leading actors and directors of the British and American theatre, and its programs are based on its unique and very close relationship with leading practitioners of the theatre. The Dean of the Program is Ian Wooldridge, former Artistic Director of the Royal Lyceum Theatre Company, Edinburgh. BADA teachers have included many of Britain’s most distinguished actors and directors. Sir Derek Jacobi is the Academy’s Patron, and those who have participated in BADA’s programs include: Simon Callow, Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company and star of many films; Brian Cox, leading actor of the Royal National Theatre; Jeremy Irons, leading stage actor and star of the movies Damage and Reversal of Fortune; Fiona Shaw, leading actress of the Royal National Theatre; Miriam Margoyles, one of Britain’s leading character actors; Katie Mitchell, Associate Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company; and Henry Goodman, leading actor for the Royal National Theatre.

Music Theatre Fargo-Moorhead (MTFM) concludes its fifth season with the regional premiere of [TITLE OF SHOW] by Jeff Bowen and Hunter Bell. MTFM’s production of this recent Off-Broadway and Broadway sensation will perform March 10, 11 and 12 at 7:30 p.m. and March 13 at 2 p.m. at the Fargo-Moorhead Community Theatre. Read the rest of this entry →