Troy University’s Department of Theatre and Dance commences its year with the announcement of the stage production season.
The students, who include theater majors, dance majors and individuals who minor in these areas, were told by Tori Lee Averett, chair of the Department of Theatre and Dance, that they would be performing four “main stage” shows and a multitude of “second stage” shows.
“Main stage means that the title selected is selected for the most public consumption,” Averett said. “The main stage play can be in any theater, but it’s mainly in TC (Trojan Center).
“Second stage can be in any space we choose. They have higher standards for higher artistic risk taking. Our second stage titles tend to be something we can play with more.”
Averett said that the department’s students are the main reason they choose the shows they produce. “We look at what students need what opportunities… Let’s look at what they need a taste of,” Averett said. “We always ask, what do they need to experience?”
This year’s main stage productions include “The Crucible” by Arthur Miller and “Violet,” a musical by Bryan Crawley and Jeanine Tesori.
“It’s a classic play, it’s a great play… It’s a standard play that theater students need to study,” Averett said of “The Crucible,” a play that runs in three acts. “It has historical significance. It has educational significance.
“It’s a community on stage.”
The year will also be different for the department as both the fall and spring dance shows will be in the Trojan Center Theatre. In years past, the spring dance show has been presented in the Crosby Theater.
The season’s second stage productions include the musical “29,” an original musical by faculty member Tommy Newman, and cabaret performances by the Musical Theatre Studio class.
Averett also said the technical faculty has a hand in each of the productions this year. “The design and the technical faculty run all of it,” Averett said. “They’re super-human beings.”
Productions that will go up in the fall include “The Crucible” and the fall dance show in the Trojan Center Theatre as well as “29” in the Blackbox Theatre.
Spring productions will include “Violet” and the spring dance show as the main stage shows.
“We go to the theater to see works of art… We go to performing arts events to be entertained and to be challenged. We need to be reminded of our humanity,” Averett said. “The season that we have has all of that in varying doses.”
Tickets for productions can be bought at the box office in the Trojan Center up to two weeks before a production opens.
Comments