UWP One Act Festival showcases student directors

PLATTEVILLE - The University of Wisconsin-Platteville Department of Performing and Visual Arts and the Pioneer Players will conclude their theater season with a One Act Festival: An Evening of Short Plays. The production opens on Thursday, April 30 at 7:30 p.m. and continues with evening performances on Friday, May 1 and Saturday, May 2, at 7:30 p.m. All performances will be held in the Center for the Arts, located on the UWP campus.

Every major in UWP's theater program is required to take a directing class as part of their skill development and production experience. As an upper level course, the directing class encourages students to incorporate the skills and knowledge they have acquired from previous classes in acting, design, play analysis, theater history and dramatic literature. In the class, students focus on learning how to communicate with designers by developing a concept envisioning the visual world of the play. They also learn how to guide and translate their ideas effectively to actors and compose imaginative, evocative stage pictures.

This year's One Act Festival showcases the work of nine student directors and 25 actors. All of the directors in this year's class, Jared Baker, Ben Barlow, Kady Beekman, Quincy Bufkin, Todd Chojnowski, Matt Feldman, Bryan Kerian, Dan Schultz and Amanda Valiquette, are veterans of past UWP productions. The 25-member cast features Pearl Balch, Jarod Boerst, Josh Blanchette, Forrest Carufel, Ryan Currie, Nick Flinner, Katie Follmann, Lizzie Hansen, Patrick Harker, Tiffany Hess, Becky Hobson, Aaron Howard, Nikki Juhlke, Jeremy Keene, Jacob Lange, Jaci Leonard, Adam Lovell, Erin McDermott, Suzi Morath, Cassie Murdaugh, Kalynn Raifsnider, Kevin Randle, Craig Schlagel, Greg Schulz and Corey Straubhaar. While many of the cast members have acted in previous UWP productions, there are several new faces as well.

From the sublime to the ridiculous, from comedy to drama, this year's slate of short plays are written by some of America's most respected contemporary playwrights including Christopher Durang, David Ives and Nina Shengold. The production is recommended for mature audiences. Tickets are available at the University Box Office located on the ground floor of Ullsvik Hall. Tickets may also be purchased over the phone at (608) 342-1298 or online at http://tickets.uwplatt.edu. Ticket prices are $7 for adults, $6 for UWP faculty and staff, and $5 for seniors, current UWP students with a valid ID or anyone under 18.

For more information, contact David Schuler, assistant professor of theater, at (608) 342-1198 or schulerd@uwplatt.edu

TV show turned musical tours to Platteville

PLATTEVILLE-The Center for the Arts Performing Arts Series University of Wisconsin-Platteville presents Gilligan’s Island the Musical, May 3rd at 3pm and 8pm.

America’s most beloved TV show is back and better than ever as Gilligan’s island – The Musical! Gilligan’s Island The Musical features everyone’s favorite characters including Gilligan, The Skipper, Mary Ann, Ginger, The professor, The Millionaire and his wife! Written by the same man who created the hit series Gilligan’s Island, and the creator of The Brady Bunch, Sherwood Schwartz, Gilligan’s Island the musical features 20 original songs written by Paul McCartney’s lead guitarist, Lawrence Juber.

The story of the eight characters "Gilligan’s Island: The Musical" is simple. Beginning with the theme song (selected the #1 TV theme song of all time) these seven familiar characters are shipwrecked and try to get off the island. Natural disasters befall them...hurricanes, quicksand, etc. as they learn to get along and survive.

"Gilligan's Island: The Musical" features Ryan Bates as Gilligan, Shaun Rice as The Skipper, Danni Simon as Ginger, Kevin Spencer as The Professor, Katie Venezia as Mary Ann, Joshua Nicholson as Mr. Howell, and Alexia Tate as Mrs. Howell.

Sherwood Schwartz believes that the classic elements of his Gilligan are very much like "Annie" and contain the same ingredients that made that American icon a timeless musical... classic characters that come together to change the world.

To date, there have been many productions in as widely varied places as Winston-Salem, Maryland, Cincinnati, Scottsdale, Hicksville, Fargo, Alliance, Auburn, Birmingham, San Bernadino, Orlando, Washington D.C., Sacramento and Brisbane, Australia with productions in Noosa, Queensland and Manitoba Canada about to open.

Tickets for this event are $28 for General Admission $26 for Faculty and Senior Citizens $20 for Kids Under 18 and $14 for UWP Students (with current ID).

The University Box Office is located in newly renovated Ullsvik Hall located at the intersection of Hickory and Main Streets in Platteville. The Box Office is open Monday 8am-5pm, Tuesday 8am-8pm, Wednesday through Friday 8am-5pm and Saturday 10am-2pm. The Office can also be reached by phone by calling (608)-342-1298. Tickets are now available online 24/7 at http://tickets.uwplatt.edu. More information on the Performing Arts Series and other performance events can be found at http://uwplatt.edu/arts/cfa.