Five Productions Set for The University Of Washington School Of Drama 2023-24 Public Season

The School of Drama at the University of Washington has announced its 2023-24 public season. This year they are presenting five productions: The Moors, by Jen Silverman, Vanity Fair, by Kate Hamill, A Thick Description of Harry Smith, Vol. 1, by Carlos Murillo, The Adding Machine, a newly devised adaptation of the Elmer Rice classic, and our ongoing series focusing developmental projects: the Producing Artists Laboratory.

All of our stages are laboratories where students can apply the skills they are learning in our classrooms. To support the breadth of their learning, our season will showcase works in progress, works of varying style and genre, and experimental works, all intended to prepare students to advance into the professional theatre arena.

The 2023-24 public season features five thought-provoking productions, each offering a unique theatrical experience:

THE MOORS

By Jen Silverman

Directed by Leah Adcock-Starr

Venue: Meany Studio Theatre
Performances: NOV. 2 - NOV. 12

Previews: OCT. 28 & 31

Experience The Moors-an ingenious dark comedy that subverts the tropes of the 19th-century Gothic romance. Contemporary Queer playwright Jen Silverman has brilliantly crafted eight characters (six women, a dog, and a moor hen) who each contend with desire, fear, and transformation. In their struggle to change, we recognize their love and their desperate need to be seen.

A THICK DESCRIPTION OF Harry Smith (Vol. 1)

By Carlos Murillo

Directed by Nick O'Leary

Venue: Floyd and Delores Jones Playhouse

Performances: JAN. 19 - JAN. 28

Previews: JAN. 13 & 17

A THICK DESCRIPTION OF Harry Smith, a proto-psychedelic Medicine Show, takes a wild ride through the life, work, and times of filmmaker, musicologist, painter, anthropologist, collector, occultist, and fabulist, Harry Everett Smith. Best known for editing the seminal Anthology of American Folk Music, Smith's peculiar life is an emblem of American bohemian life in the 20th Century.

VANITY FAIR

By Kate Hamill (based on the novel by William Makepeace Thackery)

Directed by Kate Drummond

Venue: Floyd and Delores Jones Playhouse

Performances: MAR. 7 - MAR. 16

Previews: MAR. 2 & 5

In VANITY FAIR, Becky, orphaned and disadvantaged, is cunning and ambitious, while Amelia, born into privilege, is well-intentioned but naive. As they each strive to secure love, success, and stability in the patriarchy of early 19th-century London they face many obstacles to their dreams.

As their parallel stories unfold, the audience is forced to confront our own hypocrisy and the complexities of a world that often rewards those who break the rules. Through Becky and Amelia's travails, this thrilling, highly theatrical (im)morality play explores the flexibility of our morals when faced with the harsh realities of our lives.

THE ADDING MACHINE

a new adaptation of the Elmer Rice classic

Directed by Ryan Guzzo Purcell

Venue: Floyd and Delores Jones Playhouse

Performances: MAY 21 - JUN. 2

Previews: MAY 18 & 21

In this unique adaptation of "The Adding Machine," the unremarkable Mr. Zero, an accountant, is unexpectedly replaced by an adding machine. What follows is a series of remarkable events during and after his life that are outside of his control--or are they? In this devised adaptation, Director Ryan Purcell and student artists will examine the present-day emergence of artificial intelligence in the context of Rice's prescient expressionistic classic of the 1920s.

Producing Artists Laboratory

Spring 2024

Venue: TBA

Performances: TBA

Previews: TBA

The Producing Artists Lab is an opportunity for student artists to share exploratory or developmental projects with the public. The Audience members may see a wider range in the levels of production and often more vigorous artistic risk-taking in these Lab productions. Stay tuned for the title announcement in early Spring 2024.

Subscriptions and single tickets will be available for purchase starting September 15, 2023. Visit https://drama.washington.edu/ for updates on ticket sales and to learn more about the School of Drama and our season.

About the UW School of Drama

The University of Washington School of Drama develops innovative and courageous artists and scholars poised to be the creative leaders of tomorrow. Degrees offered include a BA, an MFA, and a Ph.D. The School of Drama's public season features fully produced shows and Lab projects in five different venues on the Seattle campus. These productions provide further opportunities for practice, experimentation, and exploration - often alongside prominent, internationally known artists. We believe in the power of theatrical storytelling to elevate individual and collective voices, promote understanding, and nurture compassion.

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