What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/989504
FEATURE 8 WHAT'S UP! JUNE 3-9, 2018 FYI UA Theater 2018-19 Season Sept. 28-Oct. 7 — "Clybourne Park" by Bruce Norris, Univer- sity Theater on campus Oct. 19-28 — "She Kills Monsters" by Qui Nguyen, UA Black Box Theater on the square Nov. 9-18 — "Top Girls" by Carol Churchill, Black Box Feb. 1-10 — "Macbeth" by William Shakespeare, Black Box March 1-10 — "Topdog/Under- dog" by Susan-Lori Parks, Black Box April 5-14 — "A Little Night Music" by Stephen Sond- heim, University Theater on campus TICKETS — Pick four, five or six shows for a season subscription INFO — 575-4752 or theatre. uark.edu 'More Relevant' Michael Riha, chairman of the University of Arkansas theater department, speaks to visitors at the new UA Black Box Theater on the Fayetteville square. The new space expands the scope of UA productions. BECCA MARTIN-BROWN NWA Democrat-Gazette I t's been a big year for University Theatre. In its 2017-18 season at the University of Arkansas, the student performance company opened a black box theater on the downtown square; hosted the Arkansas premiere of Theatre For One, including seven original works by both local and national writers; and held the first ArkType Festival of New Works, which included the world premiere of three new full-length plays by faculty and MFA playwriting candidates, as well as original 10 minute plays by UA undergraduate students, a new one- person-show and a performance by LatinX Theatre. Whew! Oh, and it's not University Theatre anymore — unless you're talking about the performing hall on campus. It's the UA Department of Theater. But it's still led by Michael Riha, who is now in his fifth year as chairman. During that time, he says, he hopes the theater department — which can claim a raft of talented graduates who are working in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and elsewhere — has become "more relevant" to both incoming students, to companies around the country and to the community. "Our mission is to continue to train the next generation of artists," he says. "A lot of them come back and make Northwest Arkansas their home and do things like start Trike Theatre, get involved where they can have a voice, a position in the arts community here. We are helping create artists who can take Northwest Arkansas and other parts of the country to the next level of contemporary theater." But Riha is by no means ready to rest on his laurels. He wants to reach out to Northwest Arkansas high school students — both so they can learn and so his grad students can teach. "It used to be community involvement meant matinee productions of 'Macbeth' for students," he says. "But we're looking at ways to bring our theater to them or create theater out of their stories. LatinX and UA theater season expands in scope, space Courtesy Photo "Life Is a Dream" was produced by the UA department of theater in February 2018 and featured Cody Sheldon. File Photo/ANDY SHUPE