Author Archives: twebb1

CHIMERA in the Frear for Arts Weekend!

A couple of years ago, Suli Holum ’97 called Deborah Stein ’99 and pitched an idea for a solo show: a play about chimerism, a medical phenomenon whereby two sets of DNA exist in one body. They created Chimera, a performance event about a woman who is her own twin, and enlisted Tara Webb ’94, who works with the intersection of costume design and technology. The result is a dynamic interchange between a live performer and her audience against a backdrop of inventive staging and creative digital technology.

Chimera made its debut to critical acclaim at the art space HERE in New York City. Developed with support from the Swarthmore Project in Theater, Chimera launches its road tour during Arts Weekend.

What critics say:

“Delivers on its ambitious promise…. Chimera has many different stories nestled in its austere, deceptively chilly-seeming frame. And they’re all good.”  —The New York Times

“Chimera only needs a minute to make you question your grasp on reality…. By refusing to stay literal, Holum and Stein invite us to consider large questions.” —TDF Stages: A Theater Magazine

“Outrageously good … Chimera simultaneously revels in and knowingly dissects the nature of theater without forgetting its primary mission: to entertain.” —Backstage

Swarthmore College performances

Chimera will be performed twice on Saturday, April 14, in the Lang Performing Arts Center Frear Ensemble Theatre. The matinee performance will run from 3-4:15 p.m., followed by a panel discussion with the artists, and an evening performance from 7-8:15 p.m. Alumni, parents, and friends must reserve tickets in advance when registering for Arts Weekend.

AW_Chimera_12.3b

The Department of Theater presents AMERICAN BUFFALO, an Honors Acting Thesis

American Buffalo by David Mamet, an Honors Acting Thesis
Join us on Saturday and Sunday, April 21 and 22 at 2 PM and 8 PM
Appearances by Jessica Cannizzaro ’12, Lori Barkin ’12  and Michelle Fennel ’12.
Directed by Alex Torra, Set by Marta Roncada ’14, Costumes by Matthew Saunders, Sound by Scott Burgess, Lights by Josh Schulman.

4/3/12 Dr. Emine Fisek ’03 lectures on “Theater Without Borders?”

Theater without Borders? Humanitarianism and Representation from Aid Networks to the Théâtre du Soleil

A lecture by Dr. Emine Fisek ‘03

Tuesday, April 3rd, 4:30 pm

301 LPAC

Over the course of the last decade, French theater has witnessed a wide variety of commercial and non-commercial works that portray narratives of exile, displacement, and suffering from undocumented immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers. In this talk my goal will be to place this emergence within the larger context of changing immigration laws, medical humanitarianisms and immigrant social movements. The representative practices of these domains increasingly influence both how artists think about the capacities they attribute to “humanitarian” art, and the explanatory principles they use to position themselves in relation to the suffering they wish to portray. What then does a humanitarian theater, “without borders”, look like?

Emine Fisek ’03 is currently a Mellon Post-Doctoral Fellow in French Literature/Francophone Studies at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore.  She has completed an M.A. and Ph.D. in the Department of Theater, Dance & Performance Studies at UC-Berkeley.  She will join the faculty of Western Languages and Literatures at Bogazici University in Istanbul in Fall 2012.  At Swarthmore, Dr. Fisek was a double major in Theater and English Literature.

Emine Fisek’s lecture is co-sponsored by the Lang Center for Civic & Social Responsibility, the Department of Modern Languages & Literatures (Arabic and French Sections), English Literature, and Film & Media Studies.

Michelle Fennell’s Honors Thesis: Paula Vogel’s THE BALTIMORE WALTZ

Sex!  Intrigue!  Stuffed bunnies! The Swarthmore College Department of Theater the Honors Directing Thesis of Paula Vogel’s THE BALTIMORE WALTZ on Friday, March 30th at 7PM, Saturday, March 31st at  7PM and Sunday, April 1st at 2PM and 7PM in the LPAC Frear Ensemble Theatre.  Directed by senior Honors student Michelle Fennell with Alexandra Izdebski, Ben Hattem, and Sam ‘Swift’ Shuker Haines and scenic design by Eric Verhasselt, costume design by Ryane Disken-Cahill, lighting by David Todaro and sound by Mark Valenzuela.

Written by Paula Vogel in 1988 just after her own brother’s death, the play is a farcical envisioning of Anna, a thirty-something spinster and grade school teacher, and her brother Carl’s trip to Europe after one of them gets diagnosed with an incurable illness.  They, along with Carl’s childhood toy named Bunny, try to make the most of their vacation, even when a sinister Third Man enters the picture.  Part homage to Vogel’s brother, part social commentary, part innuendos, the text is a series of connected and usually comedic vignettes as we tour the stereotyped European countryside.

Will the doctor in Vienna have answers for them?  Or is he just in it for the urine samples?  Will Anna ever satiate her lust?  And what are Carl and the mysterious Third Man doing with those bunnies?

For more information please contact Tara Webb at 610.328.8260 or email lpacevents@swarthmore.edu. Swarthmore College encourages persons with disabilities to participate in its programs and activities. If you or anyone in your party anticipate needing any type of special accommodation or have questions about the physical access provided, please let us know or contact Susan Smythe, ADA Program Manager at 610-690-2063 in advance of your participation or visit.

Join Production Ensemble 2012 for a romp with IVONA, PRINCESS OF BURGUNDIA!

Join the Production Ensemble 2012 in a romp with Witold Gombrowicz’ IVONA, PRINCESS OF BURGUNDIA. The play is a dark, grotesque and very funny fairy tale about a kingdom that is reduced to absurdity by a passive, unappealing heroine. The appalling Ivona manages to expose everyone’s most shameful secrets without doing a thing.

Written in 1938 by renowned Polish playwright, author and philosopher Witold Gombrowicz, the play is a classic of the Polish repertoire. Directed by Elizabeth Stevens with Set Design by Matt Saunders, Costume Design by Laila Swanson, Sound Design by Michael Kiley, and Lighting Design by James P. Murphy.

Shows are Friday, March 23rd, 2012 at 4:30PM and 9PM, Saturday, March 24th at 2PM and 8PM, and Sunday, March 25th at 2PM.

The 2012 Production Ensemble is:
Alejandro Bellon, Madeline Charne, Amelia Dornbush, Michael Edmiston, Hannah Hammel, Alexandra Isdebski, Hannah Kosman, Jeannette Leopold, Josh McLucas, Sebastián Bravo Montenegro, Sophia Naylor, Sasha Rojarin, Patrick Ross, Anna Russell, Nina Šerbedzija, & Glenn Stott.

Reviews for HOUSE OF WIDOWS (Lori Barkin’s Honors Thesis)

Lori Barkin’s Honor Thesis, THE HOUSE OF WIDOWS, as reviewed by Swarthmore’s Daily Gazette and the Phoenix.  Photos by Elena Ruyter ’14.

http://daily.swarthmore.edu/2012/02/15/widows-veils-and-a-broken-air-conditioner-lori-barkins-house-of-widows/

http://www.swarthmorephoenix.com/2012/02/23/living/barkins-interactive-theater-thesis-sparks-excitement

 

Auditions for Directing II Night of Scenes!

The Department of Theater Announces Auditions for

THE SWARTHMORE FOLLIES 2012: AN EVENING OF FARCE SCENES & AN UNTITLED WORK-IN-PROGRESS

The Directing II Night of Scenes—Exact Plays still TBA

Performances Saturday & Sunday, April 28 & 29, Frear Ensemble Theatre

Directors: Sebastián Bravo ’13, Regina Noto ’12, & Meryl Sands ‘13

Directing II Faculty: Allen Kuharski

Auditions will be held in 301 LPAC on Sunday, Feb. 12th from 7:30-9:00 pm. Please come prepared with a monologue (or a non-text-based movement, physical theater piece). Sign up for a 10-minute time slot on the Theater Department bulletin board outside of LPAC 113.

Farce projects will rehearse a scripted farce scene of 20-30 minutes in length.

Untitled Work-In-Progress will create a devised piece of 20-30 minutes in length.

Rehearsal Commitment: six hours/week starting the week of Feb.27 (exact schedule TBA based on the cast members’ schedules) through the performance dates of Saturday & Sunday, April 28 & 29 (no rehearsals over Spring Break, of course…)

Theater 002C credit is available to those cast that are in or have taken Acting I (THEA 002A).

For more information please email Allen Kuharski at akuhars1.