Academics, Publications & Research

Cosdon Films Segment for Australian Reality Show

Professor of Theatre Mark Cosdon flew to London to film a segment for Australian television’s “Who Do You Think You Are?,” a reality program tracing a celebrity’s family tree. The program will air later this year.

At the Association for Theatre in Higher Education’s annual conference in Las Vegas, Cosdon chaired a session devoted to the 50th anniversary of the musical Hair and participated in a panel focused on season planning in college and university programs.  For the American Theatre and Drama Society, Cosdon chairs this year’s John W. Frick Award honoring the best best monograph published on theatre and performance of/in the Americas. In May/June 2017, Professors Cosdon and David Miller (Department of English) co-led their sixth experiential learning course to Italy.

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

Cosdon Films Segment for Australian Reality Show

Professor of Theatre Mark Cosdon flew to London to film a segment for Australian television’s “Who Do You Think You Are?,” a reality program tracing a celebrity’s family tree. The program will air later this year.

At the Association for Theatre in Higher Education’s annual conference in Las Vegas, Cosdon chaired a session devoted to the 50th anniversary of the musical Hair and participated in a panel focused on season planning in college and university programs.  For the American Theatre and Drama Society, Cosdon chairs this year’s John W. Frick Award honoring the best best monograph published on theatre and performance of/in the Americas. In May/June 2017, Professors Cosdon and David Miller (Department of English) co-led their sixth experiential learning course to Italy.

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

Playshop Theatre Opens 88th Season with ‘Sila’ and ‘Forward’

The Playshop Theatre at Allegheny College will open its 88th season with two staged readings of plays from Chantal Bilodeau’s “The Arctic Cycle” on Sept. 8 and 9.  

“Sila,” featuring characters representing competing and intertwined interests about the future of the Canadian Arctic, will be presented Friday, Sept. 8, followed by “Forward,” centered around explorer Fridtjof Nansen’s race to the North Pole, on Saturday, Sept. 9. Performances are at 7 p.m. in the Gladys Mullenix Black Theatre in the Vukovich Center for Communication Arts, followed by an audience discussion with Bilodeau and Allegheny faculty. The productions are directed by Michael Mehler and Aleäa Rae.

Members of the Meadville and Allegheny College communities participate in both productions. Performers for “Sila” are Jess Sakal, Lee Scandinaro, Autumn Vogel, Dan Winston, Nate Youngblood, Dan Crozier, Miriam Patterson, Aleäa Rae. “Forward” features Chris Fettig, Alicia Greathouse, Geoff Hall, Jason Sakal, Sarah Wolford, Alison Celigoi, Mark Shimkets, Kai Van Rosendaal, Ada Zech, and Nia Shuler.

The 2017–18 lineup also features  “Romeo and Juliet,” William Shakespeare’s timeless tale of star-crossed lovers, directed by Beth Watkins, Nov. 16-19; “Love and Information,” directed by Dan Crozier, Feb. 22-25; and “Detroit,” directed by Mark Cosdon, April 12-5.

In “Love and Information,” English playwright Caryl Churchill Snapchats a world awash in data, examining the ways in which our exponentially growing environment of information impacts our interactions, feelings and relationships.

Written by Pulitzer Prize finalist Lisa D’Amour, “Detroit” is a tragicomedy set in Suburbia, U.S.A. that brings together a toxic combination of neighbors, a stagnant economy, unemployment, addiction — and a barbecue.

Tickets for all productions are $10 for adults and $8 for non-Allegheny students, senior citizens and Allegheny employees. Admission is free for Allegheny students with identification, though they are asked to make reservations.

For more information or to order tickets, contact the Playshop Theatre box office at (814) 332-3414.

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

Playshop Theatre Opens 88th Season with ‘Sila’ and ‘Forward’

The Playshop Theatre at Allegheny College will open its 88th season with two staged readings of plays from Chantal Bilodeau’s “The Arctic Cycle” on Sept. 8 and 9.  

“Sila,” featuring characters representing competing and intertwined interests about the future of the Canadian Arctic, will be presented Friday, Sept. 8, followed by “Forward,” centered around explorer Fridtjof Nansen’s race to the North Pole, on Saturday, Sept. 9. Performances are at 7 p.m. in the Gladys Mullenix Black Theatre in the Vukovich Center for Communication Arts, followed by an audience discussion with Bilodeau and Allegheny faculty. The productions are directed by Michael Mehler and Aleäa Rae.

Members of the Meadville and Allegheny College communities participate in both productions. Performers for “Sila” are Jess Sakal, Lee Scandinaro, Autumn Vogel, Dan Winston, Nate Youngblood, Dan Crozier, Miriam Patterson, Aleäa Rae. “Forward” features Chris Fettig, Alicia Greathouse, Geoff Hall, Jason Sakal, Sarah Wolford, Alison Celigoi, Mark Shimkets, Kai Van Rosendaal, Ada Zech, and Nia Shuler.

The 2017–18 lineup also features  “Romeo and Juliet,” William Shakespeare’s timeless tale of star-crossed lovers, directed by Beth Watkins, Nov. 16-19; “Love and Information,” directed by Dan Crozier, Feb. 22-25; and “Detroit,” directed by Mark Cosdon, April 12-5.

In “Love and Information,” English playwright Caryl Churchill Snapchats a world awash in data, examining the ways in which our exponentially growing environment of information impacts our interactions, feelings and relationships.

Written by Pulitzer Prize finalist Lisa D’Amour, “Detroit” is a tragicomedy set in Suburbia, U.S.A. that brings together a toxic combination of neighbors, a stagnant economy, unemployment, addiction — and a barbecue.

Tickets for all productions are $10 for adults and $8 for non-Allegheny students, senior citizens and Allegheny employees. Admission is free for Allegheny students with identification, though they are asked to make reservations.

For more information or to order tickets, contact the Playshop Theatre box office at (814) 332-3414.

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

Mehler Speaks at United States Institute for Theatre Technology Conference

Associate Professor of Communication Arts & Theatre Michael Mehler presented on “Sustainable Strike” at the USITT (United States Institute for Theatre Technology) Conference in March. Convened by the Broadway Green Alliance, the session panel discussed how to minimize waste stream impact when a theatrical production closes.

On April 27, Mehler hosted a conversation with Tony-Award winning designer Santo Loquasto at Drama Book Shop in New York City. The event launched the recent publication, “The Designs of Santo Loquasto,” the 10th in a series of designer histories that Mehler oversees as the vice president for communications for USITT.

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

Mehler Speaks at United States Institute for Theatre Technology Conference

Associate Professor of Communication Arts & Theatre Michael Mehler presented on “Sustainable Strike” at the USITT (United States Institute for Theatre Technology) Conference in March. Convened by the Broadway Green Alliance, the session panel discussed how to minimize waste stream impact when a theatrical production closes.

On April 27, Mehler hosted a conversation with Tony-Award winning designer Santo Loquasto at Drama Book Shop in New York City. The event launched the recent publication, “The Designs of Santo Loquasto,” the 10th in a series of designer histories that Mehler oversees as the vice president for communications for USITT.

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

Playshop Theatre Presents ‘Baby With the Bathwater’

Allegheny’s Playshop Theatre presents “Baby With the Bathwater,” Tony award-winning author Christopher Durang’s outrageous take on the ultimate in bad parenting, April 20-23 in the Gladys Mullenix Black Theatre in the Vukovich Center for Communication Arts.

In this absurdist satire, Helen and John are completely unprepared for their first child and cannot even decide if it’s a boy or a girl – their doctor tells them they can choose later.  In his review in The New York Times, Frank Rich wrote, “A playwright who shares Swift’s bleak view of humanity, Durang conquers bitterness and finds a way to turn rage into comedy that is redemptive as well as funny. Directed by Dan Crozier.

Performances are at 8 p.m. April 20-22 and at 2 p.m. on April 23. For more information, visit https://sites.allegheny.edu/playshop/87th-season-2016-17/

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

Allegheny’s Playshop Theatre Presents ‘Baby With the Bathwater’

Allegheny’s Playshop Theatre will close out its 2016-17 season with “Baby With the Bathwater” from April 20-23 in the Gladys Mullenix Black Theatre in the Vukovich Center for Communication Arts. Performances are at 8 p.m. April 21-22, and at 2:30 p.m. on April 23.

“Baby with the Bathwater” was written by Christopher Durang in 1983 and depicts an extreme and hilarious take of bad parenting. In a review of the play, Frank Rich of the New York Times writes, “a playwright who shares Swift’s bleak view of humanity, Durang conquers bitterness and finds a way to turn rage into comedy that is redemptive as well as funny.”

Director Dan Crozier of Allegheny’s Communication Arts/Theatre Department is aided by stage manager Itzel Ayala and assistant stage managers Matt Lis and Cayla Brandon. Michael Mehler is the scenic designer, and Miriam Peterson designed the costumes.

The play is a counterpoint to Playshop’s previous production “Luna Gale,” which centered around problems of parenting as well, but with a serious plot and tone. The teenage family of “Luna Gale” dealt with drug addiction and a social worker’s involvement in their case, while the family in “Baby with the Bathwater” struggles humorously with the name and gender of their child, and the subsequent emotional and gender confusion of the child as he grows up.

This is the final show in the Playshop Theatre’s 87th season. The cast features Liz Colarte as Helen, the mother, and Daniel Keitel as John, the father, as well as Emily Wilson, Jen Ray, Megan Greig, Chloe Spadafora, Johanna Stanley, Mary Lyon, Mark Shimkets, Elijah Prince, and Emma Woodhead.

Tickets are $10 for adults and $8 for non-Allegheny students, senior citizens, and Allegheny employees. Admission is free for Allegheny students with identification, but they are asked to make reservations.

For more information or to order tickets, contact the Playshop Theatre box office at (814) 322-3414.

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

Cosdon Hosts Seventh Annual ‘Brilliance of the American Theatre’ Series

Associate Professor of Communication Arts/Theatre Mark Cosdon hosted the seventh annual “Brilliance of the American Theatre” author series at the Tony-honored Drama Book Shop in Times Square, New York City. The event brought together authors from the University of Kansas, Tufts University and Ithaca College for a wide-ranging discussion of their new books with an audience of over 75 people. Cosdon also has been invited to participate in a plenary session on “Migrations in American Drama and Theatre” at the Fifth International Conference on American Drama and Theatre to be held at the Université de Lorraine, France in June 2018.

Source: Academics, Publications & Research

Cosdon Hosts Seventh Annual ‘Brilliance of the American Theatre’ Series

Associate Professor of Communication Arts/Theatre Mark Cosdon hosted the seventh annual “Brilliance of the American Theatre” author series at the Tony-honored Drama Book Shop in Times Square, New York City. The event brought together authors from the University of Kansas, Tufts University and Ithaca College for a wide-ranging discussion of their new books with an audience of over 75 people. Cosdon also has been invited to participate in a plenary session on “Migrations in American Drama and Theatre” at the Fifth International Conference on American Drama and Theatre to be held at the Université de Lorraine, France in June 2018.

Source: Academics, Publications & Research