Season

Overview

The Department of Theater season is a laboratory for our students. What students learn in the classroom comes to life on our stages, as they work with other students, faculty, staff and special guests. We take that knowledge beyond our doors and into the community with special outreach events including our popular student matinees for local schools. And we welcome the community not only as our audience but as creative participants — our auditions are open to all comers.

Mainstage productions and events for the 2012-2013 season

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The 2012-2013 season is The Department of Theater's 40th. We have made all those years count, racking up a rich production history that spans the classics and the cutting edge, created by students who have gone on to make outstanding contributions to the world of theater, and by the gifted faculty and staff who have helped them get their start.

It only seems right to dedicate the season to one of the great lights of this department, the late, beloved Professor Emeritus Doris Abramson. Doris came to the university as a student in 1942, then returned in 1952 as a faculty member teaching theater courses, before the department even existed. She became one of the founders of the department in 1973.

Her 1969 book, Negro Playwrights in the American Theater, 1925-1959, was based on her dissertation and established her as a leading scholar on African-American theater. She was an advocate for women playwrights. She retired in 1987 but remained interested and involved in theater, receiving the Chancellor's Medal in 1999. She passed away in 2008, but her warm, insightful mentorship of students set a standard for our faculty, and her passion for theater education marks the ethos of the department to this day.

One of Doris' great passions was the work of women playwrights. Accordingly, the six works that will grace our mainstage during the 40th anniversary season are all by women. Some of these pieces were well-known to Doris — the last piece she ever directed for us, Sophie Treadwell's Machinal (a groundbreaking expressionist play of the 1920s based on the true story of convicted murderer Ruth Snyder) will open our season. Doris was also friend and mentor to Casanova author Constance Congdon '82G, one of America's leading playwrights.

While Doris may not have known the other women whose talent is on offer during this season as playwrights and directors, we would like to think that that she would have been equally inspired and impressed by their work. Many of them are new voices representing the future of theater that nonetheless speak directly to some of Doris' interests. The musical, Violet, is set in 1964 in the American South and tells of a disfigured girl's quest to reach a televangelist she hopes will fix her scars; Magnet Theater Company from South Africa will present Every Year, Every Day, I Am Walking, which uses African music and dance to outline a refugee mother and daughter's struggle to overcome the loss of their home. Suitors is a first-ever translation/adaptation of two plays written by two remarkable 17th-century Spanish women whose work has recently been rediscovered, while Suzan-Lori Parks, a playwright with local ties, dramatizes the life of a South African woman displayed as a freak throughout 19th-century Europe in Venus. We hope you will join us during this momentous season.

Machinal
By Sophie Treadwell
Directed by Brianna Sloane
Nov. 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
The Curtain Theater
Buy tickets to Machinal

Violet
Music by Jeanine Tesori, libretto by Brian Crawley,
based on the short story "The Ugliest Pilgrim" by Doris Betts
Directed by Carol Becker
Nov. 29, 30, Dec. 1, 6, 7, 8
School matinee Dec. 5
The Rand Theater
Buy tickets to Violet

Special event
Every Year, Every Day, I Am Walking
By Magnet Theater from South Africa
Created by Magnet Theatre
Jan. 29, 30, 31, Feb. 1, 2
The Curtain Theater
Buy tickets to Every Year, Every Day, I Am Walking

Suitors
By Ana Caro and Feliciana Enríquez ,
translated and adapted by Harley Erdman
Directed by Kara-Lynn Vaeni
Feb. 28, March 1, 2, 7, 8, 9
The Rand Theater
Buy tickets to Suitors

Venus
By Suzan-Lori Parks
Directed by Judyie Al-Bilali
March 28, 29, 30 April 2, 3, 4, 5, 6
The Curtain Theater
Buy tickets to Venus

Casanova
UMass alumna Connie Congdon
Directed by Brianna Sloane
April 18, 19, 20, 25, 26, 27
The Rand Theater
Buy tickets to Casanova

Season subject to change pending rights.

Tickets, subscriptions and group rates

Tickets are $16 general admission, $8 for students and seniors

Order all 6 shows at a discount of 20 percent per single subscription, or 25 percent for a couple's subscription:

$76.80 General admission single
$144 General admission couple
$38.40 Student or senior single subscription
$72 Student or senior couple subscription.

Or order 3 or more at a reduced price: $12.80 per ticket general admission, $6.40 per ticket student or senior admission.

To order any of our subscription packages, download our subscription form (PDF) here and bring or mail it to the Fine ArtsCenter Box Office, Fine Arts Center, UMass Amherst, Amherst, MA 01003.

20 for 20: Buy 20 or more tickets, and get 20 percent off. Call the box office at 1-800-999-UMAS or 545-2511.

School groups: Whether attending a special school matinee or an evening show, school groups are entitled to special rates: $8 per student, only $6 per student for groups of 20 or more. Chaperones are always FREE. To reserveschool group tickets or for more information email the public relations director or call 545-6808.

Cabaret 204

In addition to our mainstage productions, UMass Theater proudly invites community members to investigate Cabaret 204, a new (free!) series of student-produced work.

Learn more about Cabaret 204

Outreach

We will be scheduling matinees for the coming season over the summer. Please check our outreach page over the summer to learn about the shows in questions. We offer question and answer sessions, study guides, backstage tours, and workshops. Some resources are available in conjunction with events, while others may be accessed at any time.

Learn more about outreach

Auditions

Auditions for mainstage productions are open to all comers. Information is updated as it becomes available.

Learn more about auditions

 

 

 

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