Sabbatical is a time for new ideas, fresh experiences and ongoing scholarship. Each happened this spring for Jeffrey S. Miller, professor of theatre arts, when he returned to Minneapolis to direct a show . . . . with former students who are now professional artists. He wrote the following response: Jeff Miller (c) with the cast of "Kingdom Undone." "Every Teacher-Artist’s Dream" Read full article »
Archives for Theatre arts
Jones Explores Nature of Hope in “Waiting for Godot”
Norm Jones Often regarded as the most important play of the 20th century, Samuel Beckett’s classic existentialist tragicomedy Waiting for Godot is re-imagined in the hands of director and theatre arts professor Norman Jones. His production of the absurdist masterpiece emphasizes not the futility of human hope—as many productions are wont to do—but the “insidious nature of hope,” exploring how Read full article »
category: Theatre arts
“Working”: A Musical For Today’s Job Market
Friday, Nov. 2, 2012, marks the opening of Jeffrey S. Miller's tenth production to direct at Gordon when "Working—A Musical" takes the stage in the Barrington Center for the Arts. Miller, professor of theatre arts, was drawn to the musical based on a book by Studs Terkel, a Pulitzer Prize winning author, interviewer and historian, in large part because of the issue Read full article »
category: Theatre arts
Theatre in Scotland & England: ‘A Crucible of Culture and Conversation’
Professor Mark Stevick, center, with students at All Soul's Church in London. If all the world’s a stage, the United Kingdom is the host and this year marks the 18th consecutive theatre trip there for Gordon professors and students. From August 10-26, 2012, Mark Stevick, associate professor of English, and Norm Jones, professor of theatre arts, will lead 30 students—the most Read full article »
The Passion (Play) Reimagined
The last days of Christ on earth have been the subject of numerous passion plays around the world. But a new play imagines those dark days from an unusual perspective, that of Judas. From March 6-26, Jeffrey S. Miller, professor of theatre arts, will be heading to Minneapolis, MN, to direct Kingdom Undone, Jeremiah Gamble's new play that focuses on the interaction Read full article »
category: Theatre arts
Salem: Coming to Peace with The Witch City
Just in time for Halloween weekend, Kristina Stevick, artistic director of Gordon's History Alive! considers (in her recent Faith + Ideas = column) how the spooky, zany holiday shouldn't be the only thing Salem, Massachusetts, is known for. (Her editorial column was also reprinted in The Salem News.) By Kristina Stevick Salem, Massachusetts, where I work, is a city with a complicated personality. Read full article »
category: History, Theatre arts
Kingdom Undone
From April 11-17, professor of theatre arts Jeffrey S. Miller will be in the Twin Cities area for a production workshop on a new musical entitled Kingdom Undone. Still in development, Kingdom Undone represents the largest venture to date for the Theater for the Thirsty, a small theater company based out of Minnesota. Working with theater colleagues and a few Read full article »
category: Theatre arts
Disciplines Mix in Salem’s Old Town Hall
The Gordon College Institute for Public History has launched a public lecture series in Salem's Old Town Hall, a historic building dating back to the early 1800s. The series opened with a lecture from historian Richard Francis that was covered by CSPAN and continues on February 17 with a talk by K. David Goss, assistant professor of history, on Salem and Read full article »
Producing “Pirates”: The Story Behind the Show
This coming weekend, Gordon's departments of music and theatre arts will produce one of their biggest shows in recent history, "Pirates of Penzance." The cast alone includes over 45 students—all of whom came back early from Christmas break to rehearse—but the story of its production, from creating costumes to building the set in the chapel, has particularly inspired the show's Read full article »
category: Theatre arts
Bringing Grace to the Stage
After researching scores of letters, biographies and works by Nathaniel Hawthorne to create his one man show as Hawthorne himself, Norm Jones, associate professor of theatre arts, has now taken on John Newton. Newton, the one time slave trader whose Christian conversion led him to pen the famous hymn, "Amazing Grace", has given Jones plenty to work with for a Read full article »
category: Theatre arts
