Students, come join us at the Department of Theatre, Film and Dance!

There will be plenty of opportunities for students from all of Cornell’s schools and colleges to take part in activities and events at the Schwartz Center come fall 2011. Take a peek at our website for more information about auditions, becoming a member of our backstage crew and joining in the mayhem of the 24-hour playfest!

Visiting artists announced for 2011-12

The Department of Theatre, Film and Dance is enthusiastic about the addition of several visiting faculty members and professional actors, who will be joining the department in 2011.

• Brian Hanrahan will be on campus in the fall as an American Council of Learned Societies Fellow. He has taught German language, literature and cinema at Princeton University and German language at Columbia University, where he pursued his doctorate in German. Hanrahan studies both contemporary and historical German cinema, and the impact of media theory on the development of German radio.

• Carolyn Goelzer will join the department as a visiting assistant professor in the fall. A former Resident Professional Teaching Associate at Cornell, Goelzer has 25 years of experience in new play development and production, and recently received her MFA from the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Academy for Classical Acting at the George Washington University.

• Three professional actors have also been hired to teach introductory acting courses for the 2011-12 year. They include Jeffrey Guyton, an actor with experience off-Broadway, as well as in regional theatre and film; Sarah Chalmers, a current RPTA; and Godfrey Simmons, an actor, writer and producer who is an associate artist with the Epic Theatre Ensemble.

Graduation display!

Visit the lobby of the Schwartz Center for photos of our graduating seniors and graduate students!

2011-12 Calendar of events is up!

Check out our list of amazing offerings for 2011-12 at the Department of Theatre, Film and Dance! The calendar includes a host of theatre, dance and film performances, as well as lectures, conferences, installations and screenings. Read more.

Cornell Theatre Night in NYC

Cornell Theatre Night is an evening of short plays written, directed, performed, designed, and produced by Cornell alumni & current Cornellians. Every play is set somewhere on and around the Cornell campus. The plays will be presented at the Snapple Theater Center in midtown Manhattan for an audience which includes Cornellians in Entertainment – an impressive array of alumni working in film, television, theatre, architecture, entertainment law and other professions. This event will be a stellar evening of live theatre, and an excellent chance to network and reminisce with fellow Cornellians.
Date: Thursday, June 2, 2011
Time: 6:30 PM Networking Wine and Cheese Reception
7:30 PM Presentation of Short Plays
8:30 PM Networking
9:30 PM End
Location: Snapple Theatre Center 1627 Broadway @ 50th Street, NYC
Cost: Advance Registration $12, tickets at the door are $15
For more information, contact info@CornellTheatreGroup.com or aem13@cornell.edu.

The event is being coordinated by Bruce Levitt, Professor and former Chair of Cornell’s Department of Theatre, Film & Dance; Jason Brantman ’97, a Theatre & Live Event Director in NYC; and Anaiza Morales BS’00, MEng’01, MBA’02, founder of NYC Cornell Alumni in Entertainment.
Visit the link here to buy tickets: http://www.cornellclubla.com/store.html?event_id=905

Film students create music videos

Check out this story (and videos soon to be posted) about two students who are studying music videos this semester.

S/he continues through May 15

The international theatre collaboration, S/he, directed by the department’s Melanie Dreyer, continues its run at the Kitchen Theatre in Ithaca through May 15. Each evening, there are also special free satellite outreach events to complement the performance. For a complete list of events, click here.
To buy tickets, go to www.kitchentheatre.org.

Advanced film screenings May 13

Advanced film students will show their work May 13 at Willard Straight Theatre. The screening is at 7:15 p.m. and tickets are $4 students/$7 general.
Rivchin’s advanced class tackled complex projects in high definition, producing four original narrative pieces, two music videos and one documentary piece.
In “Scripted” by Caitlin Cowie and Linda Barsi, a dust-sweeping would-be-playwright-by-night and a director’s assistant search together for characters whose fictional lives end up overtaking their own. In Oliver Dudman’s music videos (“Expectations,” music by Brian Han and “Spacewalk,” music by Starkey), interpersonal bonds and internal forces of gravity in human connections are explored using a combination of live action and animation techniques.
In “Zoo,” written and directed by J.T. Keller and Joe Rettberg, a young man and his best friend plan a trip to the zoo as a birthday outing, in an attempt to relive a moment from their past. In her non-fiction work, “From Burma to Ithaca,” Yi-Ke Peng takes an inside look at the resettlement of Karen refugees in Ithaca and the community whose support made their transitions possible. In “The Squint Painter,” by Rajendran Narayanan and Mario Rodriguez, a portrait of a young man as an artist is realized; while Rodriguez’s short narrative, “Unforgettable,” gives us a startling moment of clarity.

May events wrap up semester at TFD

Lots happening this week as the semester comes to an end!

Locally-Grown Dance Mini-Fest runs May 5,7 and 8. Student film screenings are May 8 and 13 at Willard Straight Theatre. S/he runs from May 4-15 at the Kitchen Theatre. Find more details at http://www.theatrefilmdance.cornell.edu.

Learned Ladies starts this week!

The Schwartz Center is proud to present Those Learned Ladies, a work by Molière, from April 27 – 30.

This classic French comedy pokes fun at preciosity and pretension, mocking pedantry and skewering those who consider themselves to be “learned.” The setting of the play is the literary salon of Philaminte, a formidable woman and self-described intellectual. Her salon is populated by the various performers, artists and scholars of her extended family.

Drawing inspiration from the performance salons of the 1960s, this production will combine improvisation with spoken word art, including spontaneous musical and poetic happenings.

During performances, 20 audience members will be able to sit on the stage near the performance, in special limited on-stage seating (which will include free popcorn).

Evening performances of Those Learned Ladies will be at 7:30 p.m. April 27 – 30. One matinee will be offered at 2 p.m. April 30. For tickets and information, visit the box office in the Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts, 430 College Ave., between 12:30-4 p.m. weekdays; call 607-254-ARTS; or purchase tickets online at http://www.schwartztickets.com. Tickets for Those Learned Ladies are $10 (students/seniors) and $12 (general). If interested in on-stage seating, please mention your preference when ordering tickets.