Mountains of Talent On Display at Appalachian
Theatre and Dance Provides a Peak Experience While Reaching New Heights During Fall 2022 Season
BOONE, NC - The Appalachian State University Department of Theatre and Dance is proud to announce a line-up of dynamic and diverse programming for their fall 2022 season with five productions highlighting the talents of students, staff, and faculty both on and off the stage. Performances are scheduled from September through December this fall in various outdoor locations across campus, and the stages of both Greer Studio Theatre and the Valborg Theatre. Tickets are available online through the department website at theatreanddance.appstate.edu as well by phone and in person as the Schaefer Center for the Arts box office.
"The productions we have chosen for our fall season were carefully selected, and I think all have something of value for us as we continue to live in such turbulent times," said Professor Michael Helms, Department Chair.
High Country audiences can anticipate both continuing the traditions of seasons past as well as fresh, original and contemporary artistic productions onstage. "This year's slate is truly shaping up to be a season like no other," continues Helms. "It features contemporary works written within the last five years, two of which are by accomplished female playwrights representing diverse backgrounds and perspectives."
Helms highlighted a half-dozen new works being premiered during the Fall Appalachian Dance Ensemble. He also noted the annual First Year Showcase, which celebrates the talent of incoming students just now entering the program.
This semester, the inclusion of a Short Play Festival will showcase the directorial work of students in the stage direction techniques course. In addition, the department production of Jen Silverman's "The Moors" is entered into the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, a national program involving more than 18,000 students from across the nation with the goal to recognize and celebrate the work done at the college and university theatre level.
A full listing of the Department of Theatre and Dance fall season is as follows:
First Year Showcase
September 29 and October 1-2, 2022
Various Outdoor Locations on Campus
Students $7, Adults $12
The First Year Showcase is the annual season opener for the Department of Theatre and Dance. It is open to all first-year students who are interested in majoring or minoring in any of the six different degree concentrations within the department. This is an inclusive production incorporating anyone who wants to be involved. Appalachian students are responsible for the creation and performance of the show, which this year will utilize outdoor campus spaces to create site specific performance works. Audience members will enjoy guided walks departing from the Greer Studio Theatre to view each of the dances and theatre vignettes in various locations around campus.
The Trolleys
by Sara West
October 5 - 9, 2022
Valborg Theatre
Directed by Dr. Gina Grandi
Students $10, Faculty/Staff $15, Adults $17
In a world inhabited only by children, "The Trolleys" are a gang of six living just outside the city. They need their light jars to survive - but the lights have started fading and no one knows why. Savage Kim and her gang head towards the city and the unknown, following a mysterious song. Will they find more light before their jars go out and they become Dusters? Commissioned in 2015 by the Australian Theatre for Young People, Sara West's The Trolleys asks the question: "What happens if you inherit a world that isn't safe?" Produced by special arrangement with the author.
The Moors
by Jen Silverman
October 26 - 30 and November 2 - 4, 2022
Greer Studio Theatre
Directed by Dr. Paulette Marty
Students $7, Adults $10
Two sisters and a dog live out their lives on the bleak English moors, dreaming of love and power. The arrival of a sweet-faced governess and an anxious bird set them all on a strange and dangerous path. The Moors is a dark comedy about love, desperation, and savagery. "Truly clever and intelligent. You really ought to see this." - The New York Times. "The Moors" is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc. www.concordtheatricals.com.
Fall Appalachian Dance Ensemble
November 16 - 20, 2022
Valborg Theatre
Students $10, Faculty/Staff $15, Adults $17
These popular semi-annual concerts feature Appalachian faculty and students showcasing their talents in choreography and performance. The 2022 fall concert is coordinated by Dance Studies faculty members Laurie Atkins and Emily Daughtridge, both of whom will create original works for the program, along with their guest choreographers, alumni Beth De Leon and EC Fajardo. Student choreographers creating new works for each program will be announced at a later date.
Short Play Festival
December 1 – 4, 2022
Greer Studio Theatre
Free Admission – Limited Seating
As part of a Stage Directing Techniques course, junior and senior class students stage multiple evenings of short plays. These works are funny, eccentric, thought-provoking, and moving - it's a grab bag of stories each night designed to showcase the talents of students in the Department of Theatre and Dance.
Note that evening curtain times are 6 p.m. for the First Year Showcase, and 7 p.m. for all other productions with Sunday matinees starting at 2 p.m.
(Compiled by Laura Voytko on behalf of THR 3445 class members Mia Buckson, Catherine Denton, Gray Fandel, Jensen Giles, Savanna Hodge, Mildred Kilimanjaro, Jordan Knudson, Allison Martin, Aline Millette, Travis Pressley, Harlowe Sousa, Will Taylor, and Amber Trivette.)
About the Department of Theatre and Dance
The Department of Theatre and Dance is one of seven departments housed in Appalachian's College of Fine and Applied Arts. Its mission is to facilitate transformative experiences for students and the public, which cultivate compassionate, creative and collaborative communities through theatre and dance. The department also offers coursework for integrated learning through the arts to the general university student population. Its dynamic co-curricular production program provides exemplary theatre and dance experiences to departmental students, the university community and the region.
About Appalachian State University
Appalachian State University, in North Carolina's Blue Ridge Mountains, prepares students to lead purposeful lives as global citizens who understand and engage their responsibilities in creating a sustainable future for all. The transformational Appalachian experience promotes a spirit of inclusion that brings people together in inspiring ways to acquire and create knowledge, to grow holistically, to act with passion and determination, and embrace diversity and difference. As one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina system, Appalachian enrolls 20,641 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and graduate majors.
Theatre and Dance Announces Shows for Fall 2022 Season
Amazing performance at App State