UTD and the Department of Theatre and Dance cordially invite you to the annual Meet and Greet.

Sunday, August 24, 2008
6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Coger Theatre in Craig Hall

All Theatre & Dance Students should plan to attend this event which will give you an opportunity to meet the faculty and get important information for the upcoming year. This is also your chance to get to know your fellow classmates.

All Theatre & Dance Students should plan to attend this event which will give you an opportunity to meet the faculty and get important information for the upcoming year. This is also your chance to get to know your fellow classmates.

Nothing goes wrong in staging of 'Anything Goes'

Larry Collins
Springfield News-Leader

've enjoyed many productions of "Anything Goes" over the years, but Tent Theatre's sparkling new staging of Cole Porter's 1934 classic is the most flat-out entertaining of the bunch. It's fleet, funny and perfectly cast from top to bottom. The music is well-served, the dancing adroit, the acting top-notch and the riotous stage business devised by director Carol J. Maples fills the spaces between the marvelous songs with nonstop delight, as if the Marx Brothers were invading a Rogers and Astaire musical.

Kick-starting the hit parade is the effervescent "I Get a Kick Out of You," sung and danced with sensuous verve by Natalie Hiatt as Reno Sweeney, the sexiest evangelist this side of the Atlantic. On a ship embarking for England she bumps into her old buddy Billy Crocker (Justin Roller). After trading "words poetic" with him in the witty "You're the Top," she agrees to help him win the hand of his true love, Hope Harcourt (Stephanie Elzea), who is engaged to the wealthy but hopelessly square Lord Evelyn Oakleigh (Seth Hunt).

Read On...

Steve Grant
KY3 News

SPRINGFIELD -- A jazz-age musical comedy is the last show of the 46th season of Missouri State University's Tent Theatre. The curtain goes up on "Anything Goes" on Wednesday.

Natalie Hiatt from New York City is one of the featured performers. She graduated from MSU but didn’t perform in Tent Theatre when she was here. She says performing outdoors required a little adjustment for her.

“Anything Goes” runs Thursday - Sunday and July 14-20. Tickets are available at (417) 836-7678 or at the Web site below.

View this interview!

Sony Hocklander
Springfield News-Leader

"This production will have the audience saying 'Oh, that's where that song is from'," says Carol J. Maples, director of "Anything Goes," now playing at Tent Theatre.

"We are trying to involve the audience a little more in this. We are going to put the lyrics up because they will want to sing along," Maples said.

Read On...

'Charlie Brown' charms audience

Larry Collins
Springfield News Leader

"You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown," the second entry in Tent Theatre's 2008 summer season, offers a high-spirited evening of song and dance that will entertain and perhaps even enlighten the entire family.
Advertisement

The whimsical musical portrait of six popular characters featured in the "Peanuts" comic strips created by Charles Schulz became an off- Broadway hit in 1967, running four years and spawning countless productions around the world.

A 1999 reworking of the material for Broadway, the basis for the current Tent staging, proved less successful despite the addition of several catchy songs, new dialogue and a new character, Charlie Brown's outspoken little sister, Sally.

Under Michael Casey's sympathetic direction, the talented cast brings Charlie, Sally and the rest of the cartoon gang to three-dimensional life, while the cozy Tent setting gives you a close-up look at understated performances and subtle facial expressions that might go unnoticed in a larger venue.

Jeffrey Binney's winning take on the title character is a case in point.

Read On...

"You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" second production at Tent.

Sony Hocklander
Springfield News-Leader

"Get your tickets today if you want to see the Peanuts gang come to musical life at Tent Theatre. They're selling faster than Lucy's 5-cent psychiatric sessions.

"You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown," the second show in the 2008 Tent Theatre season at Missouri State University, continues today through Saturday and Monday through July 3.

The show, based on the "Peanuts" cartoon characters created by Charles M. Schulz, is a series of 45 sketches --or comic strips, as director Michael Casey says.

"It's like a day in the life of Charlie Brown," he says.

Light, escapist and timeless, he adds, it's perfect fare for Tent.

Read On...

Sony Hocklander
Springfield News Leader

Watching tonight's Tony Awards on CBS? Keep an eye out for Kyle Dean Massey, who graduated from Missouri State University's musical theater program in 2004.

The actor performs during the televised ceremony with the cast of "Xanadu," nominated for four Tonys including Best Musical. The 62nd annual Tony Awards, hosted by Whoopi Goldberg at Radio City Music Hall, airs at 7 p.m. on CBS.

Massey joined "Xanadu" in April to make his Broadway debut. He plays several roles during each show, most often Thalia, the muse of comedy. He also is featured as Young Danny during a tap dance number. For the Tonys, he'll perform in the musical number "Don't Walk Away."

He's not the only Bear on Broadway. Two more MSU grads will make their debuts this summer in Tony-nominated musicals.

Greg Roderick, a 1992 grad, plays a sailor, starting June 24, in Rodgers and Hammerstein's "South Pacific," up for 11 Tonys including Best Musical Revival.

And 2002 grad Antuan Raimone takes his first Broadway bow on July 15 with "In the Heights," nominated for Best Musical and 12 other Tonys.

Read On...

Larry Collins
Springfield News Leader

Actor/writer Steve Martin struck a blow for the feminine heart and soul of Edmond Rostand's Cyrano de Bergerac by titling his 1987 movie update "Roxanne."

Director Robert Westenberg does something similar at Missouri State University's Tent Theatre by redressing the dramatic balance between the swashbuckling poet/hero of the late-Romantic play and the lovely object of his affection.

Read On...

Sony Hocklander
Springfield News Leader

The 46th season of Tent Theatre opens this week with "Cyrano de Bergerac," the classic love story full of swashbuckling swordplay and poetic dialogue set in 1600s France.

That Robert Westenberg, who teaches at Drury University, directs the play at Missouri State University is one reason to pencil "Cyrano" on your calendar.

And in a last-minute casting switch, he's also performing, providing Ozarkers a rare opportunity to see the Broadway veteran on a local stage.

Read On...

Sony Hocklander
Springfield News Leader

It wouldn't be summer without a sizzling season of Tent Theatre, Missouri State University's outdoor repertory program. It kicks off its 46th season on Wednesday with a production of "Cyrano de Bergerac."

And it wouldn't be Tent without a little summer heat rising beneath the big top. That doesn't mean you can't look sharp while at Tent -- or anywhere else in June, for that matter. We shopped area stores to find lightweight, up-to-date styles you're sure to applaud.

Read On...

On September 24-28, 2008 (Wed-Sun), Professor Heinlein will be taking a group of students to Maryland to participate in rehearsals and a performance with the iconic Bread and Puppet Theatre. B&P will be performing a short residency at Saint Mary’s College of Maryland, and the faculty at SMCM have been so good as to invite a group of us to join them for this once in a lifetime opportunity. Bread and Puppet entered popular culture during the war protests in the early 1970’s and has since become the nations longest surviving, and most attended, not-for-profit theatre company. Known for their oversize “puppetry” and socio-political posturing, they were most recently featured in the film Across the Universe.

SMCM is close to Washington D.C. It is quite likely that we will utilize a bit of our time to visit the Folger Shakespeare Library or view a production at the Shakespeare Theatre or Arena Stage.

Please contact Kurt Heinlein (kurtheinlein@missouristate.edu) a.s.a.p. if you are interested in attending.

At this point we need to get estimated numbers to see if there is interest to justify hard planning. The trip is open to all Theatre and Dance students and faculty, with the exception of those cast in The Girlhood of Shakespeare's Heroines. Those cast in Succeed would need to attain prior permission from Michael Casey, as it may conflict with those early rehearsals. There will be some nominal cost for the trip, notably your airfare to Washington D.C. and your food costs. There should be no cost for lodging or participation.

This truly is a once in a lifetime opportunity to work with a company straight out of your history book. Take advantage of it! Space is limited.

Some relevant links about B&P and SMC:

http://www.breadandpuppet.org/

http://www.jiffysite.com/gpdesigns/puppets/

We would like to congratulate our Foundation Scholarship Award winners (All awards are pending final approval):

• Kathleen Turner Scholarship- Stephanie Brown
• Irene Coger Scholarship- Kimberli Smalling
• Professional Performance Award- Sabra Sellers and Darci Burch
• Bob Comer Memorial Scholarship- David Kaimann
• Byrne Blackwood Scenic Design Scholarship- Rene Simmons and Natalie Lape
• Robert Gilmore Tent Theatre Founders Scholarship- Addie Barnhart
• Howard Orms Memorial Scholarship- Laura Gross
• Chyrel Miller Scholarship- Ashley Hendrix
• Sam and Adele Hubar Scholarship- Avalon Jay
• Ann Page Scholarship- Matthew Emerick
• Jean Jones Johnstone Scholarship- Darian Leatherman
• Dennis Warning Scholarship- Andria Mantle
• Joseph Cantlin Scholarship- Colin Denniston
• George & Bernadine Oliver Musical Theatre Scholarship- Chelsea Anglemyer and Jessica Morgan
• Winnie Lawrence Clark Memorial Scholarship- David Kaimann

New season features poetry, peanuts and porter

Date: May 16, 2008
Contact: Mark Templeton
(417) 836-4644

SPRINGFIELD - The department of theatre and dance at Missouri State University has signed a contract with Actor's Equity for this summer's Tent Theatre productions, making Tent Theatre the first equity company in southwest Missouri. The contract gives students greater professional opportunities and allows more professional actors to be in Tent Theatre productions.

"The contract will enable our acting students to earn EMC (Equity Membership Candidacy) points toward their Actor's Equity membership," said Mark Biggs, head of the theatre and dance department. "This will help them move up the audition chain when they graduate, as all professional companies by contract must audition equity actors first, then those who have EMC points and finally all others."

Actor's Equity is a prominent labor union representing more than 45,000 actors and stage managers. Biggs said that the agreement will allow six equity actors and one equity stage manager to participate in this summer's productions.

Tent Theatre enters its 46th season this summer, with performances of "Cyrano de Bergerac" June 11-21, "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" June 25-July 3 and "Anything Goes" July 9-20. All performances are Mondays through Saturdays.

Tickets are $14 and $22 for adults; and $12 and $20 for seniors, students and children. Season tickets are $34 and $60 for adults; and $29 and $55 for seniors, students and children. Special group prices are also available. Patrons may order a picnic supper 24 hours prior to each show at $9 each. Starting May 19, to order tickets and/or picnic suppers, call the Missouri State box office at (417) 836-7678 or toll free at 1-888-476-7849. Tickets may also be purchased online at www.missouristatetix.com.

All shows start at 8:15 p.m. Picnic suppers will be served at 7 p.m. Patrons are encouraged to park on the east side of lot 24, on the corner of Grand Street and National Avenue. Parking is free and no permit is required. Due to campus construction, patrons should follow the winding sidewalk to the corner of Grand Street and National Avenue, which will then lead to a direct path to the tent.

The book addresses an aspect of the theatre world that has yet to be fully acknowledged.

“There are some papers that have been written about the subject, but no books that I know of until now,” Heinlein said.

Examining how theatre production can be used to draw people’s attention to ecological change and environmental problems that are facing society is a focus of the book. By taking the concept of sustainability and setting it as the backdrop for theatre performance, Heinlein hopes to strike a chord with the audience’s inner connection with nature.

“Theatre can be used to rethink about the way we live,” said Heinlein. “Green issues are something that traditionally seem to be looked at from a scientific standpoint. We need to start looking at some of the non-traditional ways to look at green issues like ‘green theatre.’”

Throughout the 240 pages of “Green Theatre,” Heinlein discusses themes that have been successful in green theatre and how select green performers, such as the popular Las Vegas show the Blue Man Group, have been able to thrive. Heinlein also addresses the successes and failures in green theatre and tries to show how green themes need to be presented in order to gain acceptance from the audience.

Heinlein hopes that his book will help some people realize that they can do more to help preserve the environment. “Everyone knows that there needs to be change. The only two real questions that exist are: one, will we think about changing and two, will we change?”

On Thursday, April 24, Missouri State University presented the first-ever BFA Musical Theatre Senior Showcase in New York at New World Stages. We had 18 attendees from the theatre industry (agents, casting, company managers, directors), over 40 alumni and friends, and 12 current students attended the showcase to show their support! We were very pleased with the turnout for our first showing in NYC. Comments from the industry and alumni were very positive and encouraging: excellent format, nice flow, good material choices, very clean and professional showing. Performing in the showcase: Julia Beck, Jae Boley, Andrew Danver, Jason Derryberry, Greg Faupel Megan Marra, Sean Powell, Janell Rinne. Congratulations to these seniors - we are very proud of you!

Then it was time to celebrate! That evening, current MSU students had the opportunity to mingle with alumni at the 3rd annual Alumni Reception at Trattoria Teatro in Times Square. It was a great turnout and the alumni had a blast visiting with the evening's special guest, Gloria Reed! It is during these receptions that you feel the strong sense of family that exists between our NYC alumni, regardless of when they graduated. Seniors and current students made invaluable connections at the reception by networking with many generations of alumni. Visit www.mstconnect.com to view our alumni.

Other events of the NYC trip included coachings with NY vocal coaches, taking dance classes at NY dance studios, lots of sightseeing adventures, and of course lots of theatre! Some special highlights were seeing our alumni on stage: Kyle Dean Massey in XANADU and Andrew C. Call in GLORY DAYS.