ANTIGONE/PROGENY, THE JOAN PROJECT & More Set for Columbia Univeristy's 2012-13 Columbia Stages Season

Columbia University School of the Arts has announced the 2012-2013 Columbia Stages season of actors', directors' and playwrights' thesis productions at the Riverside Theatre, 3LD, the Connelly Theatre, and The Pershing Square Signature Center. Columbia Stages has expanded its season to a variety of venues throughout the City in order to provide third-year students with high-quality presentation spaces that meet the needs of their individual vision. The first production of the season will be Antigone/Progeny directed by Greg Taubman '13.

2012-2013 CURRENT SEASON OVERVIEW

MFA Actors' Thesis Production
THE JOAN PROJECT (Working Title)
NOVEMBER 7-10, 14-17, 2012
THE RIVERSIDE THEATRE
91 CLAREMONT AVENUE

Columbia's MFA Actors have spent the past two years in rigorous training, immersed in classical texts and engaged in the process of building an ensemble. THE JOAN PROJECT (Working Title) showcases their versatility and dynamism.

Esteemed voice teacher and MFA Faculty member Kristin Linklater leads this production, which is based on the phenomenal and mysterious story of Joan of Arc. Shakespeare, Schiller, Anouilh, Bernard Shaw, Maxwell Anderson and Brecht all wrote plays based on the story of Joan, at least thirty Joan of Arc films have been produced and retrospective psychoanalysis of her behavior abounds. What do we make of her today? Drawing on the actors' personal creativity and rich dramatic sources, THE JOAN PROJECT (Working Title) presents a multifaceted Joan for the 21st century.

Actors in the Class of 2013: Kassianni Austin, Lena Bull, Lauren Cipoletti, Zach C. Clark, Neil D'Astolfo, Nika Ezell Pappas, Tom Giordano, John Garrett Greer, Laura Lassy, Simone Leanora Mack, Allison Minick, Michael Mullen, Anita Petry, Paige Patterson, Hardy Pinnell, Vincent Torres and Liba Vaynberg.

MFA Directors' Thesis Productions
ANTIGONE
A new translation of Sophocles by Sarah Sharp with Greg Taubman '13
PROGENY
Written by Greg Taubman '13
OCTOBER 17-20, 2012
THE RIVERSIDE THEATRE
91 CLAREMONT AVENUE
Directed by Greg Taubman '13

Two millennia ago: a king struggles to reunify his city while a princess's dissent threatens to reopen the wounds of civil war. To whom do the dead belong? Today: a governor announces a new stance on abortion, only to find his niece staging a hunger strike in protest. Who decides when life begins? Rehearsed and performed in repertory, these two plays provide a one-of-a-kind reckoning with the costs of certainty and the continued resonance of the original story of nonviolent protest.

THE CORSAIR
FEBRUARY 13-16, 2013
3LD, 80 GREENWICH STREET
Inspired by "The Corsair" by Lord Byron (and many other things)
Conceived and Directed by Katie Naka '13

"With nothing left to love, there's nought to dread." – Lord Byron

A journey into the hearts of both the classic and the modern anti-hero, THE CORSAIR is a hybrid-theatre-medium-mash-up fantasy that trips through all sides of being a badass. Through movement, video, music, swords, sexiness, and good old-fashioned storytelling, Katie Naka and crew take you on an adventure through dark swirling waters and the torture-born freedom of having nothing left to lose.

A PROJECT DIRECTED BY RAYMOND ZILBERBERG '13
MARCH 5-8, 2013
3LD, 80 GREENWICH STREET
TITLE AND DETAILS TO BE ANNOUNCED

SAKHARAM BINDER
MARCH 26-30, 2013
3LD, 80 GREENWICH STREET
Written by Vijay Tendulkar
Directed by Nikhil Mehta '13

Vijay Tendulkar's frightening masterpiece, SAKHARAM BINDER, is the story of a bookbinder who, standing by his own subversive moral code, gives shelter to castoff and homeless women, expecting servitude and sexual favors in exchange. Originally banned and rarely seen in the States, this modern Indian classic depicts a violent struggle between the sexes as desires and freedoms of a society are being rediscovered in a newly formed nation.

THE GODS AND ME
A NEW MUSICAL
DATE AND LOCATION
TO BE ANNOUNCED
Book by Michel Hausmann '13
Music by Salomon Lerner, Lyrics by Len Schif
Directed by Michel Hausmann '13

Batista's Cuba is a playground for the wealthy and corrupt; but in the home of the Frankel family, Pinchas and Yukta, haunted by memories of the Holocaust, struggle to build a new foundation. When change comes in the form of a young wounded guerrillero, the lives of young and old, tailors and dictators, refugees and revolutionaries, will never be the same. THE GODS AND ME weaves together the music and traditions of two worlds, asking questions about family, community, religion and politics.

THE POOR OF NEW YORK
APRIL 24-27, 2013
THE CONNELLY THEATER
220 EAST 4TH STREET
Written by Dion Boucicault
Directed by Tyne Rafaeli '13

Bitingly relevant and radically entertaining, this lost American classic powerfully dramatizes the world's first global financial crisis, the New York Panics of 1857. The play follows the corrupt banker Gideon Bloodgood and the intertwining fates of the families he defrauds, casting an uncompromising eye on characters in every stratum of society, from Park Avenue privilege to Dickensian squalor. Mixing riotous humor, visceral emotion and political potency, this production reinvigorates the vibrant, but neglected, tradition of American melodrama. This is a New York story with global resonance that speaks to the most pressing concerns of our age.

MFA Playwrights' Thesis Productions
NEW PLAYS NOW
A FESTIVAL OF NEW PLAYS
APRIL 25 – MAY 19, 2013
THE Studio Theatre AT THE PERSHING SQUARE SIGNATURE CENTER

Playwrights in the Class of 2013: Paulina Barros, Keith Boynton, Talya Chalef, Angelica Chéri, Pei-Chieh Chiang, Paola Lázaro Muñoz, Alessandra Most, Christina Quintana, Torrey Townsend and Zhao Binghao.

Plays aren't meant to be read, they're meant to be seen. NEW PLAYS NOW treats audiences to original work by the MFA Playwriting Class of 2013.

Columbia Stages is the producing arm of the Oscar Hammerstein II Center for Theatre Studies of Columbia University School of the Arts. Columbia Stages annually presents a season of graduate actor and director productions as well as a festival of new plays by emerging playwrights. The Theatre Program at Columbia University's School of the Arts offers MFA degrees in: Acting, Directing, Playwriting, Dramaturgy, Stage Management, and Theatre Management and Producing. The goal of the program is to provide each student with the foundation for a career in professional theatre as well as the tools to embrace an ever-changing theatrical landscape and shape the future of theatre. The Columbia Stages season presents thesis projects by third-year MFA Actors, Playwrights, and Directors. First- and second-year Actors, Directors, and Playwrights also present work on a regular basis. These projects comprise the Schapiro Classroom Series at Schapiro Theatre and Schapiro Studio, located at 605 W 115th Street. For more information about the Columbia University School of the Arts Theatre Program visit http://arts.columbia.edu/theatre.

For tickets and up-to-date information, please visit: http://columbiastages.org/
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