2017-2018 Productions

The season opens with Tony Kushner’s Pulitzer Prize winning play, Angels in America, Part One: Millenium Approaches, a fantastical drama set in the 1980’s during the AIDS crisis. “The School is thrilled to produce this important work, especially given Tony Kushner’s visit to campus in the Spring of 2018,” says McGhan. Angels in America will be directed by Dustin Whitehead, Assistant Professor of Theatre at WCU, with guest costume design by Rien Schlecht, NYC based designer, and will run from September 20-23rd at 7:30 PM in the University Auditorium.

Next up is God Save Gertrude, by Deborah Stein, an off-beat punk-rock riff on Shakespeare’s Hamlet.  Ashlee Wasmund, Assistant Professor of Dance, will direct.  God Save Gertrude will run October 5-7 at 7:30 PM and October 8th at 3:00 PM in the Bardo Arts Center Studio Theatre.

The first offering of the Niggli New Works reading series, a program intended to help develop new works for the American stage, will be London based playwright, Ross Howard’s, The Amazing Always, a new comedy about the NFL. The Amazing Always will be presented as a FREE staged reading on October 27th and 28th at 7:30 PM in the Niggli Theatre. See More About the Series

Stephen Sondheim’s beloved musical, Company, is up next. Company is the hilarious story of a habitually single man who is forced to confront his bachelorhood over the course of one evening.  The show will be directed by guest artist, Sarah Norris, an NYC based director and Artistic Director of New Light Theater Project, with Musical Direction from Bryan McAdams, Visiting Assistant Professor of Musical Theatre at WCU, and Choreography by DJ Williams, a senior in the School of Stage and Screen.  Company will run from November 16-18 at 7:30 PM and November 19th at 3:00 PM in the University Auditorium.

Ending the Fall Semester is the Fall Dance Showcase, a collaborative effort showcasing the best dance pieces from Fall dance classes, as well as student and faculty choreographed pieces. The Dance Showcase will be produced on December 1st at 7:30 PM in the University Auditorium. See More About the Showcase

The Pulitzer Prize-winning verse play, J.B., by Archibald Macleish, will open the Spring semester.  Set in a circus tent, J.B. is the story of the Biblical Job, with God and the devil doing battle for one man’s soul.  Filled with beautiful language, circus imagery, acrobatics, and aerials, this production is sure to enthrall.  J.B. will be directed by Claire Eye, Assistant Professor of Theatre, and will be presented from February 8-10th at 7:30 PM and February 11th at 3:00 PM in the University Auditorium.

Really Really, by Paul Downs Colaizzo, a timely and edgy drama dealing with sexual assault on a University campus, is up next.  Guest Artist, Colin Wasmund, will direct.  Really Really will be presented March 22-24th at 7:30 PM and March 25th at 3:00 PM in the Bardo Arts Center Studio Theatre. See the Cast

Broadway Star and Endowed Professor of Musical Theatre, Terrence Mann, will be directing Spring Awakening, the final stage offering of the year.  Spring Awakening is the sensational, Tony-Award winning story of 19th-century German teenagers discovering the tumult of sexuality in a heavily repressed society.  Bryan McAdams, Visiting Assistant Professor of Musical Theatre will serve as Music Director, with Ashlee Wasmund, Assistant Professor of Dance, choreographing.  Spring Awakening will be presented April 12-14th at 7:30 PM and April 15th at 3:00 PM in the Bardo Performing Arts Center. See the Cast

The Spring Dance Showcase, featuring more dance pieces from Spring classes and student and faculty choreographed pieces, will be presented in University Auditorium on April 27th at 7:30 PM. See More About the Showcase

Closing out the 2017-2018 Stage and Screen Main Stage season is the Controlled Chaos Film Festival, a red-carpet event where the best student films created throughout the year by the Film and Television Production program are showcased.  “This is a particularly special year for Controlled Chaos,” says McGhan, “as our students are literally tripling the number of films they’re making and using a more elegant production process.” The Controlled Chaos Film Festival will be presented on May 4th at 7:30 PM in the Bardo Performing Arts Center. Learn More About the Festival