The New Year Begins

We are nearing the end of the first week of classes in the 2009-10 academic year and already we are busy at work on many projects. In addition to classes, we have already begun production meetings and staff meetings, processed season ticket orders, updated our web site, adjusted budgets, scheduled special events, rearranged seating in the Bertha Martin Theatre and begun construction of costumes and scenery for the shows. Has it really only been four days?

Some changes within the Strayer-Wood faculty and staff this year include the official hiring of Ron Koinzan as our technical director and the transition of Mark Parrott from staff designer to faculty member. Amy RohrBerg has taken over duties as production manager so I am returning my primary focus to marketing and audience development.

As is our tradition, the year began with a company meeting on the Sunday evening before classes, followed by auditions for the Fall semester productions, What I Did Last Summer and Marat/Sade. Call-backs are continuing with the goal of having casts in place by Friday. Steve Taft will be holding the first rehearsal for What I Did Last Summer on Friday evening.

New York based artist Cat Chow was on campus to install her latest exhibition, Love Me or Die, in the UNI Gallery of Art. The exhibit is part of the larger Cat Chow Project, An Arts Collaboration, involving several departments and faculty/staff across campus. Cat uses recycled and non-traditional materials to create her art. Her creations of wearable cat inspired us to invite Cat to design costumes for our production of Marat/Sade this fall. I strongly encourage you to visit the exhibit in the Gallery of Art.

On Wednesday, September 2, at 6:30 p.m., get a glimpse of what's to come at the Strayer-Wood during the Design Presentation of What I Did Last Summer. Director Steve Taft and the scenic, lighting, costume and hair/makeup designers will share their vision for bringing this charming play by A.R. Gurney to life.

The following evening, we will present Passages to Palestine, a touring multi-media devised theatre performance conceived by Richard Glockner. Using the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a backdrop, the Strayer-Wood Theatre explores such questions as: do we have humanitarian responsibilities as citizens of a global community to the innocent victims of violent conflict in another part of the world and what moral obligation do we have to intervene on behalf of the millions of ordinary citizens caught in the middle of horrifying political, religious and ethnic wars every single day? Passages to Palestine will premiere on Thursday, September 3, at 7 and 8:30 p.m. in the Bertha Martin Theatre.

I hope to see you at the Strayer-Wood Theatre this season! There's much more to come.