Theater and Dance
The music, dance, and theater departments at Keene State College are preparing for a fall filled with brand new performances.
Kirstin O’Brien, the chair of the theatre and dance department, has this semester planned out already. Auditions for the theater department’s first two shows “Make Me a Song” and “Metromaniacs” were held on Thursday, August 31.
“The first show is a musical directed by myself, it’s called “‘Make Me A Song,”’ a musical revue by William Finn,” O’Brien said.
“Make Me A Song”‘ showcases the music of two-time Tony winner, William Finn, combining songs from his previous works into a new narrative.
The second show “The Metromaniacs” by David Ives, “is a contemporary take on an old French farce…It’s gonna be very physical, very comedic, really cool costumes…That’s directed by…adjunct faculty member…Tyler Keyes,” O’Brien said.
The performance for The Metromaniacs will be Nov. 15 to 18.
Dance
On Dec. 7 and 8, the dance department will be performing in the annual Choreography Showcase.
Auditions are 1 to 3 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 10 in the Mabel Brown Room. According to Associate Professor of Dance Cynthia McLaughlin, “The choreography students are looking to cast fourteen students to perform original pieces for the Choreography Showcase.”
Additionally, the dance department is preparing for it’s 50th anniversary of An Evening of Dance which will take place in the late spring. This year’s Evening of Dance is titled ‘Dressed in Blue.’
McLaughlin described preparation for the event as “an intensive rehearsal process.” Along with preparing for Evening of Dance, the dance department will be going to see MOMIX, an international dance showcase at the Colonial Theater and will also be going on a field trip to The Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA later in the semester.
Music
The music department has a number of events happening this semester from student and faculty recitals to the annual Tuba Christmas.
“We have two faculty recitals this semester…the first one is…by one of our voice faculty…Evangelia Leontis…her professional ensemble from Boston is called Calliope’s Call…they will be performing a recital called New Moon and it’s a recital of vocal music by American female composers,” Music Department Chair Daniel Carberg said.
The performance will take place Nov. 8 at 7:30 p.m. at the Alumni Recital Hall.
“The second faculty recital is by our coordinator of piano, Dr. Christina Wright… he is performing…’American Vignettes for Cello and Piano,’” Carberg said.
The performance will be on October 22 at 3 p.m. in the Recital Hall.
Carberg said that guest artist performances have not been scheduled yet.
“We try to bring in really high level performers…that just coincides with when those performers happen to be free,” Carberg said.
Carberg added, “I’m still teaching applied voice lessons. So all of the freshmen and sophomore voice majors…sing in a recital… then on a different day, all of the juniors and seniors sing in [a] recital.”
The annual Tuba Christmas will be held on Dec. 3.
“That’s a huge event…it’s actually the 50th anniversary,” Carberg said.
Benjamin Martins can be contacted at
bmartins@kscequinox.com
