What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/967941
APRIL 15-21, 2018 WHAT'S UP! 9 FAQ ArkType: Festival of New Works Schedule April 20 4:30 p.m.-6:30 p.m. — Theatre For One 7 p.m. — "A Hamlet: West of Why" by John Walch 9:30 p.m. — "(I)sland T(rap)" by Austin Ashford April 21 9:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. — Theatre For One 4:30-6:30 p.m. — Theatre For One 7 p.m. — "A Hamlet: West of Why" by John Walch 9:30 p.m. — "Scratch That," LatinX Theatre Project April 22 4:30-6:30 p.m. — Theatre For One 7 p.m. — "A Hamlet: West of Why" by John Walch April 26 4:30-6:30 p.m. — Theatre For One 7 p.m. — "The Poodle Trainer" by Meghan McEnery 9:30 p.m. — 10-Minute Plays April 27 4:30-6:30 p.m. — Theatre For One 7 p.m. — "Rise" by Paul McInnis 9:30 p.m. — 10-Minute Plays April 28 2 p.m. — "Rise" by Paul McInnis 4:30-6:30 p.m. — Theatre For One 7 p.m. — "The Poodle Trainer" by Meghan McEnery 9:30 p.m. — 10-Minute Plays April 29 2 p.m. — "The Poodle Trainer" by Meghan McEnery 4:30-6:30 p.m. — Theatre For One 7 p.m. — "Rise" by Paul McInnis WHERE — UA Global Campus Theatre, 2 E. Center St. in Fayetteville COST — $5-$20; festival pass, $10-$40 INFO — 575-4752 COVER STORY "These playwrights are getting fully supported productions of their thesis plays," he notes. "I believe work begets work. This is generating a lot of excitement around new work, giving students of all levels — undergraduate and graduate — experience and exposure to working on a new play and being in on that process. My hope is that this energizes an already very supportive department to continue to support new work." Walch says that seeing their plays on stage is critical for playwrights. "From my perspective, as an educator, the playwright doesn't really know how the play will function until they see them in the crucible of production," he says. "You learn so much as you get a team around it. You get designers who are visual storytellers, who can help you tell your story. You get actors who help you interpret and deepen your characters. You get directors, who help you shape your vision. And you get an audience, from whom you learn a tremendous amount in the showing of the play." Third-year MFA students Paul McInnis ("Rise") and Meghan McEnery ("The Poodle Trainer") will mount full productions of their plays. Ten additional student-written plays will receive staged readings. Other events during the week include a production of Austin Dean Ashford's award-winning play "(I)sland T(rap)," the LatinX Theatre Project's production "Scratch That!" and the innovative "Theatre for One": Conceived by Christine Jones, this mobile performance space will operate in the lobby in between productions and will present eight short new works from UA faculty members from the creative writing and theater departments. But wait — there's more. Walch has written a play specifically for the third-year MFA acting students, titled "A Hamlet: West of Why," that will be performed for the first time during the festival. "I am learning a tremendous amount from them as we engage in the process," he says. "I'm working on the last scene right now. They have been incredibly game, and they have invested in it. They have helped me shape it significantly, and we are still reworking the last scene based on their feedback. "It's daunting, because you want to honor these people and, hopefully, get it as right as you can, while also being very aware that this is part of their thesis project, and the roles need to be of equal size and weight. I've never done this — written for a specific group of actors — but it's been super fun." Walch says he is looking forward to having playgoers to give much-needed feedback to the writers and performers. "We really do need an audience," he says. "That's the joy in all of this — having people to present it to, and learning how they engage with the work and having them join us on this crazy ride that nobody's ever taken before … to see where they gasp, where they get on the roller coaster and where it thrills and excites them is kind of a critical element in the development of new work. "People will see things that have never been seen before, written by young writers who have something urgent and important to say to the world. I hope people join us for the ride." Photo Courtesy Austin Ashford/Cole Wimpee Ashton Dean Ashford's "(I)sland T(rap)" was a 2018 American College Theatre Festival award-winning show. UA Theatre calls it "a one-person hip hop dramedy mash-up about black Ulysses on an odyssey of self-discovery told through an interwoven narrative of music, poetry and animals." It will be among productions at the ArkType festival.