eatre and Dance Endowment TOWN & COUNTRY CLEANERS DeAn’S OfFiCe, CoLlEgE Of ArTs AnD LeTtErS é é News from the Department AA/EOE/ADAI UC 69263.5052 8.13 THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI Department of Theatre Welcome to the Dear Friends, This season the Department of Theatre will celebrate the masterworks of uniquely American drama, and we are thrilled to present three Pulitzer Prize winning works by our nation’s finest writers. Of special mention is Clybourne Park (Pulitzer 2011), by Bruce Norris, an uproarious and challenging work that examines our national progress along themes of personal civility and civil rights. Darkly satirical and provocative, this play follows the demographic life of a single house in Chicago as it passes from the civil rights era to present day. Many of our patrons may already know the smash rock musical RENT (Pulitzer 1996), by Jonathan Larson, which will open our season with an exhilarating rush. This upbeat musical perfectly captures the New York urban culture of the 1990s at its most precarious, and in doing so it introduced the genre of rock musical to a new generation of avid fans. William Inge’s Picnic , winner of the Pulitzer in 1953, draws audiences to a simpler and smaller American community in the Midwest. Here we visit with neighboring families whose quiet peace is shaken when a young and confident stranger appears on the eve of the town picnic. Rounding out our celebration of American writers will be Tony Kushner’s A Bright Room Called Day , a boldly political examination of the banality of Weimar era Berlin and the rise of fascism in the 1930s. Kushner (who later won the Pulitzer for Angels in America ) exposes his early talent here with incisive political theatre. Southern Miss Theatre is proud to extend our celebration of masterworks in presenting Shakespeare’s The Tempest and Nicolai Gogol’s The Government Inspector . Gogol, among the finest Russian writers of the early 19 th century, almost single-handedly ushered in a new style of distinctly modern satire with The Government Inspector , a play with insight, wit and no shortage of physical comedy. Our season closes with Shakespeare’s late gem, The Tempest , whose plot twists and magical enchantments give way to touching romance and tearful family reconciliations. While the play is known for its theatricality and magic, its real allure is found in Shakespeare’s insight into the human spirit and his breathtaking poetical language. We hope that you’ll take advantage of the full offering of plays this season, which showcases some of the country’s — and even the world’s — finest dramatic works. Welcome to the new season, and we’ll see you soon at the theatre! With All Best Wishes, John Warrick C HAIR, DEPARTMENT OF THEATRE With generous support from the college and university, Associate Professor Sean Boyd (Performance) has been accepted to the Classical Theatre for the Professional Theatre program at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts (LAMDA), where he will spend the entirety of his sabbatical year. Associate Professor Robin Carr (Performance) traveled to Sydney to present a series of training workshops for Australia’s flagship university for theatre studies, the prestigious National Institute of Dramatic Art. Robin also took the opportunity to travel to the Philippines to work with the Theatre Art Guild there. Assistant Professor Murell Horton (Design and Technology) was nominated for a Helen Hayes award for his costume design in Nicolai Gogol’s The Government Inspector at the Shakespeare Theatre Company. Professor Horton’s work appeared during the season in which the Shakespeare Theatre Company won the Tony Award for Regional Theatre. The Department of Theatre is the recipient of an NEA grant under the Arts Engagement in American Communities project. Associate Professor John Warrick (Theatre History) will serve as project director and dramaturg in a year-long; multi-disciplinary collaboration with the Department of Dance. Work will be undertaken with the additional, generous support of Southern Miss' Office of Research. 2013-14 Theatre Season Celeating Masterwks of American Drama Performances will take place in the Gilbert F. Hartwig and Martha R. Tatum theatres in the Theatre and Dance Building on the Southern Miss campus (corner of Ross Blvd. and Pearl Street). TICKET PRICES ARE AS FOLLOWS: MAIN STAGE PROJECTS in the TATUM THEATRE RESERVED SEATS: $14 public; $10 faculty, staff, seniors, military; $8 students STUDIO PROJECTS in the HARTWIG THEATRE GENERAL ADMISSION: $8 Group Rates Are Available! Call the Southern Miss Box Office for special discounts. SOUTHERN MISS TICKET OFFICE: 601.266.5418 | 800.844.8425 • www.southernmisstickets.com Nonprofit Organization US Postage Paid Hattiesburg, MS 39402 Permit Number 148 DEPARTMENT OF THEATRE 118 College Drive #5052 Hattiesburg, MS 39406-0001