1000 x 90

Appalachian State University’s Department of Theatre and Dance Announces Spring Season

Students Virginia Rigsbee and Dalton Forster perform in “The Laramie Project” by Moisés Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theatre Project. The show was produced in fall 2018 by the Appalachian State Department of Theatre and Dance. Photo by Lynn Willis

The Appalachian State University Department of Theatre and Dance will present four productions as part of their spring 2019 season. Additional season highlights include an interactive fundraising performance and a very special event to celebrate the Valborg Theatre’s 25th anniversary.

Dr. Kin-Yan Szeto, director of the first production to hit the stage at the end of February, tells why audiences should be excited to see “Eurydice.”

“This play connects with the audience naturally and will touch them on many different levels. Set, costume, light, and sound all work wonderfully together to create a very unique and magical ambience that will be sure to surprise even the most seasoned theatergoers. Expect real rain on stage! And original music!”

In March, the department will present the annual “Spring Appalachian Dance Ensemble,” (SADE) which gives students and faculty alike the chance to showcase their talent.

Professor of dance studies and SADE coordinator Marianne Adams remarks, “SADE will show diverse modern dance styles blended with tap and African, and new works created by faculty, upper-level dance students and guest artist Heike Salzar from the University of Roehampton.”

According to Adams, Salzar will be setting original choreography on the department’s students as part of a week-long residency in February.

“Roxanne’s Rivalry,” an interactive game show with drag hostess Roxanne Davenport, returns to Boone in March. This hilarious, campy production is a fundraiser for the department’s theatre education scholarships.

In April, the department presents Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” which was the first production produced by the department in the Valborg Theatre when it opened 25 years ago. To celebrate the theatre’s anniversary, the department invites alumni to a first-ever theatre and dance reunion weekend April 11–14, and invites friends of the department to a gala reception and performance of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” on April 13.

To close the season, the award-winning Appalachian Young People’s Theatre will present the “The Ugly Duckling” at the end of April.

Tickets for all productions are available in person at the Schaefer Center for the Performing Arts box office weekdays 9 a.m.–5 p.m., by phone at 828-262-4046, at the Valborg Theater box office weekdays during show weeks from 1–5 p.m. and online at www.theatreanddance.appstate.edu.

Bronwyn Weismiller and Abby Buhler perform a section from Susan Lutz’s 2018 dance, “What’s the Point?” The piece was performed as part of the Department of Theatre and Dance’s “Fall Appalachian Dance Ensemble” concert in November. Photo by Lynn Willis

The full schedule of the spring 2019 season is as follows:

Eurydice by Sarah Ruhl

Feb. 20 – 23 at 7 p.m. and Feb. 24 at 2 p.m.

Valborg Theatre

Two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist Sarah Ruhl revisits this well-known legend of Orpheus and Eurydice. Called a “beautiful” and “innovative” drama by critics, Eurydice tells the story of a young woman who is caught between memory and reality, romance and family, the world of life and the world of death. The depiction of Eurydice, while whimsical and original, shows the power of theater to mirror the human condition, reminding us that although sorrow may be inescapable, loss unavoidable, and death inevitable, the bonds of love transcend them all. 

Spring Appalachian Dance Ensemble

March 20 – 23 at 7 p.m. and March 24 at 2 p.m.

Valborg Theatre

This popular annual concert features Appalachian faculty, students and guest artists showcasing their talents in choreography and performance. The 2019 spring concert is scheduled to include work by faculty members Laurie Atkins, Cara Hagan, Sherone Price and Chris Yon, as well as a choreographic world premiere by internationally known University of Roehampton faculty member Heike Salzer. 

A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare

April 10 – 12 at 7 p.m., gala performance April 13 at 8 p.m., and April 14 at 2 p.m.

Valborg Theatre

Celebrating the 25thAnniversary of the Valborg Theatre, The Bard of Avon’s 1596 comedy portrays the events surrounding the marriage of Theseus, the Duke of Athens, to Hippolyta, former queen of the Amazons. Numerous subplots include the adventures of four young Athenian lovers and a group of six amateur actors, “The Mechanicals,” who are controlled and manipulated by the fairies who inhabit the forest in which most of the play is set. The play is one of Shakespeare’s most popular works for the stage and is widely performed across the world. 

The Ugly Duckling by Larry and Vivian Snipes

Presented by Appalachian Young People’s Theatre (AYPT)

April 26 at 7 p.m., April 27 – 28 at 2 p.m.

I.G. Greer Studio Theatre

In a comfortable, cozy campsite filled with shadows and stories — yours, ours, Hans Christian Andersen’s, and more — one duckling is learning to navigate the waterways of life. Discovering who you truly are challenges everyone, but especially the Ugly Duckling. This adaptation of a beloved children’s classic puts the familiar story in a completely new light – with a special AYPT twist!