Produced in collaboration with Reno Little Theater.
Conceived and originally directed by John-Michael Tebelak.
Music and new lyrics by Stephen Schwartz
Director: Sue Klemp
Music Director: Damon Stevens

Auditions: June 6, 2007 at 7:00 p.m. in the Redfield Proscenium Theatre, Church Fine Arts Building, University of Nevada campus.

Performances: July 6, 7, 11, 12, 13, and 14 at 7:30 p.m. and July 7 at 1:30 p.m.
Redfield Proscenium Theatre, Church Fine Arts Building, UNR.

The show presents the Gospel According to St. Matthew updated to a modern setting. The parables, lessons, and the Passion story of Jesus are retold almost entirely through song. The first part of the tale shows the forming of the community as eight individuals, called forth by John the Baptist, commit themselves to Jesus and the group. This group of disciples separates themselves from the rest of society and then invites the larger community to join them. As the tale continues, we see the community challenged by the sequence of events leading to the Crucifixion. In the end, the leadership shown by Jesus and the teachings he has bestowed have prepared them carry on once he is taken from them. The community remains fused and ready to carry forth the lessons they have learned.

Fall Semester

FALL AUDITIONS
Scripts for fall productions are available for 48-hour checkout from the Speech Comm and Theatre office, CFA 155. A $10 deposit is required.

Those interested in auditioning for The Increased Difficulty of Concentration may contact Dr. Bob Dillard at: dillard@unr.nevada.edu or 784-6123 for more information.

Auditions for The Trojan Woman will take place
Tuesday, August 28 at 7:00 pm
Redfield Proscenium Theatre
A one-minute prepared monologue from a classical piece (Greek, Shakespeare, etc.) is preferred. Cold reading materials will also be available.

The Increased Difficulty of Concentration

By Vaclav Havel
Directed  by Bob Dillard
September 28, 29, October 3, 4, 5, and  6 at 7:30 pm
October 7 at 1:30 pm
In the Redfield Studio Theatre

Vaclev Havel is perhaps best known as leader of the Czech resistance to the crumbling Soviet Union during the 1970s and 1980s.  He survived repeated arrests and spent several years in prison for his dissident activities.  After the collapse of communism, he was elected President of Czechoslovakia and of the resultant Czech Republic.  With such a sober background, he might seem an unlikely source for a raucous farce sparkling with an absurd sense of the ridiculous and the ribald.  Nevertheless . . .

Dr. Havel’s (autobiographical?) hero, Dr. Huml, has a nagging wife, a demanding mistress, an alluring secretary, and a female colleague who bears more than a passing resemblance to the overripe plums in Huml’s kitchen.  To this messy melange, add three mad scientists and a computer with disturbing human frailties, and it begs the standard question of classic theatrical farce: “What could possibly go wrong?”

* * * *

“Anyone who takes himself too seriously always runs the risk of looking ridiculous; anyone who can consistently laugh at himself does not.”

          “If you want to see your plays performed as you wrote them, become President.”

                                                                   --Vaclev Havel

CAST:  4m, 4w, 1 computeroid

| Godspell | Increased Difficulty | Trojan Women | Charm of Preparedness | Joseph |

The Trojan Women

414 B.C.: Athens invades the island of Melos because the community remained neutral during the war between Athens and Sparta, the Peloponnesian War. The Athenians capture the island, kill the men and make slaves of the women and children. The citizenry of Athens is provoked and debates begin on the morality of this war.

415 B.C.: Euripides enters the debate with his production of The Trojan Women which reflects the current events through the historical mirror of the Trojan War. Euripides clearly points to the barbarian of the supposedly civilized Greeks who capture “barbarian” Troy, kill the men and enslave the women.

The play is timeless in its focus on the ravages of war and the pain and suffering of the innocent victims.

CAST:
3 speaking males plus soldiers (mute)
5 individually named females plus several speaking chorus women

| Godspell | Increased Difficulty | Trojan Women | Charm of Preparedness | Joseph |

SPRING AUDITIONS
Wednesday, January 23 at 7:00 pm
Redfield Proscenium Theatre

The Charm of Preparedness
A perusal script is available in the Speech, Communication and Theatre office CFA 155.
Audition details
Please prepare a one-minute monologue.  Contemporary absurdist material (Christopher Durang, David Lindsay-Abaire, Paula Vogel) performed in a deadpan, earnest, and naturalistic tone will be looked on quite favorably.  Age appropriate material is requested.  It is likely you will be asked to perform this monologue to another actor during the audition. Callbacks will be held Thursday, January 24th. 
Rehearsal and show info
The rehearsal process will run from Friday, January 25th thru February 28th.  Performances: February 29th thru March 9th.   Be prepared to provide an exhaustive list of conflicts that might occur during the rehearsal and performances of this show. 

There are 4 male and 3 female roles.

Students who wish to participate in additional productions during the rehearsals of this production should negotiate an agreement with the director before auditioning.

Questions: contact Rob Gander at 682.6354 or email rgander@unr.edu

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
Audition details
Be prepared to sing 16 bars (about one minute) of a rock song that would be comparable to one from the show.  An accompanist will be provided or you may supply your own.  A boom box will also be available for recorded accompaniment. .  You may also be asked to participate in a dance audition and should dress accordingly or be prepared to change into something conducive to ease of movement
Rehearsal and show info
There are 13 male and 13 female roles.  Two parts have been pre-cast: Jacob (the father) and Pharaoh. All other roles are open.  Unfortunately since the scripts are rented, they will not be available for perusal or reading until the end of February.  However, they can be acquired from Amazon.  A video and several audio recordings are also available for purchase.

Rehearsal will not start until March 10, after The Charm of Preparedness has closed.  Cast members must be available Monday through Friday.  We will add Sunday night after spring break.  We will not rehearse during the vacation period. 

Cast members will not be able to direct or act in the student show that is scheduled for April; the rehearsals and performances of that show will conflict with essential dance rehearsals that cannot be conducted until our choreographer arrives on April 6.

Any other questions:  please contact Dr. B. at 784-6659 or email at bernardi@unr.edu.

The Charm of Prepareness

by Jorge Ignacio Cortinas
Directed by Rob Gander
February 29, March 1, 5, 6, 7,  and 8 at 7:30 pm
March 9 at 1:30 pm
In the Redfield Studio Theatre

The Charm of Preparedness by Jorge Igancio Cortinas, is a delightful play perhaps best categorized as "post 9-11 comedy." College students from a rigorous liberal arts school in mid-Ohio ready themselves for a Preparedness Drill much like those staged by hospitals or the Red Cross. Tim uses the drill as an opportunity to hone his acting skills; Tariq hopes to impress a nursing student, others simply think participation might look good on a resume when applying for future jobs. Each discovers that being prepared for an emergency presents a paradox in school and also in life. How well does college prepare you for life? How prepared can we be to live in a world after 9-11? Cortinas explores challenging topics with, laugh-out-loud humor, wry intelligence, and disarming charm.

Jorge Ignacio Cortinas is the recipient of many awards, including fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the New York Foundation for the Arts; as well as the Helen Merrill Award; "playwright of the year" in El Nuevo Herald's 1999 year-end list; a Writers Community Residency from the YMCA National Writer's Voice; and the Robert Chesley Award, among others. His first play Maleta Mulata was produced by Campo Santa+Intersection for the Arts in San Francisco. His second play Sleepwalkers was produced by the Area Stage in 1999, where it was awarded a Carbonell Award for Best New Work given by the South Florida Critics Circle. Sleepwalkers was further developed and remounted by the Alliance Theatre in 2002. Tight Embrace was produced by INTAR in New York, and his play Blind Mouth Singing recently completed a run at Chicago's Teatro Vista, a production the Chicago Tribune praised as having "visionary wit." Blind Mouth Singing will be remounted by the National Asian American Theatre Company in New York in the Fall of 2007. He has been commissioned by the Mark Taper Forum, South Coast Repertory, and Hartford Stage. Jorge is a Usual Suspect at New York Theatre Workshop and is a member of both New Dramatists and the Playwrights Coalition at MCC.

CAST: 4 men, 3 women

April 25, 26, 30 May 1, 2  and 3  at 7:30 pm
May 4 at 1:30 pm
In the Redfield Proscenium Theatre
Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber
Lyrics by Tim Rice
Directed by Dr. Jim Bernardi
Musical Direction by Carol House
Choreography by Art Anderson

The thirty-fifth season will be capped off by a revival of one of Nevada Rep’s post popular offerings.  Lloyd Webber and Rice’s Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is a musical parable of the biblical saga of Joseph and his coat of many colors, set to an eclectic combination of musical styles, from country-western and calypso to bubble-gum pop and rock ‘n’ roll.

Sold into slavery by his envious brothers, Joseph endures a series of adventures in which his spirit and humanity are tested.  This Old Testament tale is both timely and timeless.

This Nevada Rep production will once again feature Art Anderson as “Pharaoh,“ a role he played in our 1995 production.  Art is a professional actor, singer and dancer in Seattle.  He appeared as leads in such Nevada Rep productions as Grease, Evita, Guys and Dolls and Man of La Mancha.

“Beautiful ballads set off by foot-stomping hits . . . a terrific high-energy event.” ----London Daily Express

“Witty, playful and touching.”---London Sunday Times

CAST: 15 men, 12 women

| Godspell | Increased Difficulty | Trojan Women | Charm of Preparedness | Joseph |