Texas Theatre and Dance Presents the 2021/2022 Season

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August 23, 2021

Media Contact: Megan Bommarito; 512.232.5328; megan.bommarito@austin.utexas.edu

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THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN

DEPARTMENT OF THEATRE AND DANCE

PRESENTS

2021/2022 Season

Texas Theatre and Dance is pleased to present the 2021/2022 Season, featuring new works by emergent playwrights, an exploration of movement and meaning, a powerful play about the nuances of political resistance, an investigation of human emotion, connection and technology and a reflection on the magnitude and impact of an individual in the grand scheme of existence.

“This is a very special moment for all of us who love theatre,” shares Associate Professor, head of the Playwriting/Directing area and chair of the Season Selection Committee KJ Sanchez. “The Season Selection Committee focused on work that we think does what theatre does best: create shared ritual that cherishes the human experience and helps us to heal; reflects the world around us and says to all people ‘We see you, we hear you, you matter;’ and gives us a chance to laugh and cry and think together. Togetherness in magical, imaginative, entertaining and cathartic ways. This is why I’m thrilled about the coming season and can’t wait for our audiences to see all the skill, talent and creativity our students bring to the stage.”

New this season, the inaugural presentation of the Studio Series presents kin • song: ode to disability ancestors, a reflection, meditation and ritual that calls upon the ghosts of our disability ancestors. The newly-established Studio Series, presented as part of the mainstage season, will feature new, innovative and creative works in a space that allows for growth, experimentation and further development.

“We are thrilled to be planning a season that will see the return of performances to our home in the theatre,” shares department Chair Robert Ramirez. “This season showcases a diverse lineup of works that not only celebrate live art, but provide a lens for us to think critically about the world around us and where we’re headed collectively. I am also excited to share the news of our new Studio Series, which will allow our students space to pursue their ideas and creative initiatives as part of our season with funding to support their projects. The creation of new work has long been a major pillar of our department, so it feels fitting to celebrate those ideas in a bigger way moving forward.”

For more information about the 2021/2022 Season, please visit JoinTheDrama.org

Performances for the 2021/2022 Texas Theatre and Dance Season are planned to celebrate the return of in-person performance and scheduled to take place in the F. Loren Winship Drama Building. However, the health and safety of our students, faculty, staff and audiences is of the utmost importance. Due to the uncertain nature of the future of the COVID-19 pandemic, all titles, dates, times and presentation details may be subject to change.

The 2021/2022 Season includes>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Sonnets for an Old Century

By José Rivera

Sonnets for an Old Century examines what it means to be alive at this particular time and place and what traces each of us will leave behind. In a series of exquisitely written monologues, using dance and live music, Sonnets captures the subtle, often overlooked treasures of everyday life.

October 6-17, 2021
Oscar G. Brockett Theatre


The Tasters

By Meghan Brown

With government leaders getting poisoned left and right, the Tasters have an important job — eating delicious, gourmet meals and then waiting to see if they die. When one rebellious taster goes on hunger strike, the reverberation of her choice threatens to disrupt the order of their world and change the course of history.

November 3-14, 2021
B. Iden Payne Theatre


Dance Repertory Theatre presents

Fall For Dance

Producing Artistic Director, Erica Gionfriddo
Artistic Directors Leah Cox, Joel Valentín-Martínez

Under the artistic direction of Leah Cox and Joel Valentín-Martínez with producing artistic director Erica Gionfriddo, Dance Repertory Theatre returns to the stage with poignant new works of choreography that seek to challenge and expand our understanding of the power of dance to change and transform, as well as an exploration of our collective transition out of the COVID-19 pandemic and how we can take lessons learned to the other side of this ongoing metamorphosis. 

November 10-21, 2021
Oscar G. Brockett Theatre


“Kimmy”

By Farah Lawal Harris

When Kemi, a 12-year-old first-generation Nigerian girl moves from Washington D.C. to Montgomery County, Maryland, her efforts to fit in at her new school are halted by her father’s taxicab and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Presented as a radio play with visual elements.

December 3-4, 2021
Oscar G. Brockett Theatre


STUDIO SERIES

kin • song: ode to disability ancestors

Conceived and directed by Alexis Riley

kin • song: ode to disability ancestors is a digital performance ritual, a cybernetic seance. Through monologue, dialogue, puppetry, song and dance, we will join creative forces to call upon the ghosts of our disability ancestors, waking them from their unmarked graves to join us in an act of mourning, celebration and care. Here, in the sacred timespace of performance, we will name them, claim them and honor their brilliance, all before (finally) laying them to rest. 

December 2-4, 2021
On-demand: December 6-12, 2021

All performances of kin • song: ode to disability ancestors will take place virtually.


UTNT (UT New Theatre)

New plays by M.F.A. playwrights

Producing Artistic Director, KJ Sanchez
Associate Producing Artistic Director, Alexandra Bassiakou Shaw

UTNT (UT New Theatre) presents newly developed works from playwrights of Texas Theatre and Dance and Michener Center for Writers. Now in its 15th season, this showcase exists as an incubator for new work, with many continuing on to be professionally produced across the country.

March 2-11, 2022
Oscar G. Brockett Theatre


Dance Repertory Theatre presents

PIVOT

Producing Artistic Director, Charles O. Anderson
Artistic Directors, Dorothy O’Shea Overbey

Dance Repertory Theatre returns in the spring with a series of new choreographic works that speak to our collective resilience, adaptability and lived experience. PIVOT features work by renowned guest artists, faculty and student choreographers as well as the return of the annual Haruka Weiser Memorial Commission. 

April 6-10, 2022
B. Iden Payne Theatre


Love and Information

By Caryl Churchill

Someone sneezes. Someone can’t get a signal. Someone won’t answer the door. Someone put an elephant on the stairs. Someone’s not ready to talk. Someone is her brother’s mother. Someone hates irrational numbers. Someone told the police. Someone got a message from the traffic light. Someone’s never felt like this before.

In this fast moving kaleidoscope, more than a hundred characters try to make sense of what they know.

April 13-24, 2022
Oscar G. Brockett Theatre


ABOUT TEXAS THEATRE AND DANCE

The University of Texas at Austin Department of Theatre and Dance is a world-class educational environment that serves as the ultimate creative incubator for the next generation of artists, thinkers and leaders in theatre and performance.

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