2021-2022 Theater & Performance Studies Home Season
Makers in the Space:
Making Space
Davis Performing Arts Center Sweet 16th Anniversary
Home Season
Prof. Maya E. Roth, Artistic Director
GU Theater & Performance Studies Program
Thursday, October 21 – Sunday, October 24
Thursday, October 28 – Saturday, October 30
Paperplay! Adventures in Kamishibai
Created by the Student Ensemble with Prof. Natsu Onoda Power
Welcome back to creative play in the Davis Center! This series of short works created by student performer-designer-storytellers and Natsu Onoda Power is inspired by kamishibai, a style of Japanese street performance that uses illustrated paper placards. PAPERPLAY inventively retools the pre-cinema form of kamishibai, when a solo performer would ride a bicycle around towns and then perform, stopping at street corners to mesmerize children with folk tales, intrigue grown-ups with pulp fiction, and sometimes sell candy. Join us for this solo and ensemble performance that moves in and beyond the Davis Center, using kamishibai!
FREE, Register for Paperplay! on Eventbrite
GU Theater & Performance Studies Program and Nomadic Theatre in collaboration with the GU Music Program
A Fresh Take on a Civic Musical
Wednesday, November 10–Sunday, November 14
Cabaret
Book by Joe Masteroff
Based on the play by John Van Druten and Stories by Christopher Isherwood
Music by John Kander, Lyrics by Fred Ebb
Directed by Matt Phillips (C’22)
With Musical Direction by Guest Artist Joe Walsh
Advised by Profs. Maya E. Roth & Michael T. Williams
Produced by Marion Cassidy (C’23)
In a struggling nightclub where outsiders and transgressive life take haven, empire creeps in from Weimar Berlin: Travel with us to a world askew and under siege. With captivating music and a fresh take on this iconic musical about inattention to violence, privilege, and erasure—where the rich and struggling cross paths but do not align—we bring you our immersive staging of Cabaret. Hatched over pandemic, this performance centers student-makers in the space and casts audience members as patrons of the Kit Kat Club. What is the role of art in empire? Whose lens, whose narratives, can be trusted? And where is the line between voyeurism and witness?
An American Chamber Musical
GU Theater and Performance Studies and Mask & Bauble Dramatic Society in collaboration with the Music Program present
Thursday, March 24 at 8 p.m. (PREVIEW)
Friday, March 25 (OPENING) and Saturday, March 26 at 8 p.m.
Sunday, March 27 at 2 p.m.
Wednesday, March 30 at 8 p.m.
Friday, April 1 and Saturday, April 2 at 8 p.m.
Violet
Music by Jeanine Tesori
Book & Lyrics by Brian Crawley
Based on “The Ugliest Pilgrim” by Doris Betts
A Senior Thesis Project
Directed by Margaret Gleason (C ’22)
Musical Direction by Guest Artist Tori Pergerson
Advised by Prof. Derek Goldman
Student Produced by Drew Lent (C ’25)
Stage Management by Gabriella Turrinelli (SFS’23)
Co-Technical Direction by Guy Adami (C ’23)
Violet Karl doesn’t believe everything happens for a reason. Scarred by a childhood accident and ostracized in her small North Carolina community, she takes off on a Greyhound bus for Tulsa, Oklahoma — seeking a TV preacher who claims to work miracles. On the road, she links up with two soldiers training to fight in the Vietnam War. The three journey together from Appalachia to Beale Street and beyond, their futures unclear and their spirits torn between hope and fear in the midst of a changing South. With rollicking music from Tony Award-winner Jeanine Tesori and a witty book by Brian Crawley, Violet shows us the transformational power of love and reminds us that others only define us if we let them.
This coming of age chamber musical brings American culture into intimate focus, providing a vehicle for cross-departmental collaboration and extended community engagement.
Violet is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI. www.mtishows.com
DAVIS PERFORMING ARTS CENTER, DEVINE STUDIO THEATRE
FREE, Register on Eventbrite
GU Theater & Performance Studies Program
Friday, April 8–Saturday, April 9
Davis Performing Arts Center Sweet 16th Anniversary Celebration
Celebrate the Sweet 16th anniversary of Georgetown’s arts hub in an exciting array of events with alumni, faculty, and current students!
Please note:
Georgetown University is a vaccinated campus. Events scheduled at this time to be held live are subject to change. We ask that all attendees remain masked indoors, in compliance with the University’s public health guidelines, which may include additional guest registration protocols in effect at the time of the event. The University may limit capacity in certain indoor venues at any time. Attendees should be fully vaccinated, and anyone with symptoms of COVID-19 needs to stay home.
All faculty and student artists working on DPA performances are taking every precaution to adhere to protocols and the latest public health guidelines, and to prioritize the safety and comfort of audience members and the wider community.
We are committed to the safety of our entire community, and will be monitoring the ongoing pandemic to make adjustments as needed. Thank you for your understanding and we look forward to sharing this vibrant season of events with you!
View an archive of past Theater and Performance Studies Seasons.