UP NEXT:
Spring Student Choreographic Concert
April 25-28, 2019
Selected work by student choreographers across a range of dance styles under the direction of Jessie Laurita-Spanglet.
For showtimes and tickets, click here.
Mainstage Productions
Wake Forest University Theatre kicked off the Spring semester with Tartuffe. Director John Friedenberg led an energetic cast and a design team comprised of both students and faculty to bring Congdon's witty verse adaptation of Moliere's biting, scandalous comedy to life.
The final production of the season was Brecht’s The Caucasian Chalk Circle, the story of a kind servant young woman who rescues the Governor’s newborn heir, scales mountains, and battles soldiers to keep the child safe. The cast of thirty was directed by Cindy Gendrich, with original songs and music by student composers.
Remembering Dr. Donald Wolfe
One of the cornerstones of the University Theatre, Don Wolfe passed away this March. Don was the department chair for over 30 years and, along with leading the academic arm of the department, directed over 30 plays and made Wake Forest known through his lifetime of exemplary service to North Carolina Theatre Conference and Southeastern Theatre Conference. Don joined the Wake Forest faculty in 1968 and retired in 2000. There will be a celebration of life service held on Saturday, April 27 at 2:00 PM in the theatre lobby of the Scales Fine Arts Center.
Faculty Spotlight: Brook Davis
Dr. Brook Davis was named Wake Forest University’s 2019 Martin Luther King Jr. “Building the Dream” award winners. The awards are traditionally presented to a professor or administrator and a student from both Wake Forest and Winston-Salem State University (WSSU) who exemplify King’s qualities and promote diversity within the community. Dr. Davis was recognized for her volunteerism and mentorship in local schools. Since 2006, Davis has been the director of Shakespeare Day, a program that mentors and provides performance opportunities for students in local high schools. She serves as a mentor and works with student-teachers in local Title One schools. Most recently, Davis co-produced, “I Was There: A Staged Reading of Veterans’ Stories,’” which focuses on the healing power of the arts in the veterans’ community, and “Archives Aflame: Voices from the World War II Pacific Engagement” using oral histories of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings and working with veterans and professional actors.
Student Spotlight: Jyles Rodgers & Anna Hibbert
At this year’s Southeastern Theatre Conference, Seniors Jyles Rodgers and Anna Hibberts received recognition for their design work. Jyles received Honorable Mention for her work as Lighting Designer for Light Up the Sky and will be designing for the Seattle Opera this coming season. She has also been selected from a pool of almost 360 applicants from around the world to serve as one of 16 interns at the Prague Quadrennial this June. Anna Hibbert won first place for her sound design for the AAP production Us/Them and is moving on to a Sound and Projections Apprenticeship at Studio Theatre in Washington, D.C.
Research Scholarships
The Richter Scholar awards are the largest single awards on campus for the purpose of independent study. This year’s student recipients from the Department of Theatre and Dance are pursuing an exciting range of travel and research: a survey of post-proscenium theatre architecture in Germany, dance therapy for children with CP in Ghana, a comparative study of European naturalism and American symbolism in theatre, and more.
Honoring James Dodding
The Department of Theatre and Dance is proud to announce an initiative honoring the late Professor James Dodding. A generous family, including a former student of Mr. Dodding, has kindly provided $50,000 to start the Professor James Dodding Scholarship, but we need to raise an additional $50,000 in philanthropic support to fully endow this meaningful scholarship. “We are so grateful to honor James Dodding with this gift. He was such a magnet for students at Wake Forest—people flocked to the theatre for the opportunity to work with and learn from him. He was a magical, wonderful human being who taught us so much more about the world than acting.” Please contact Erika Friedel, Director of Development (336-758-8729, friedeea@wfu.edu), to make a gift in honor of this special teacher, mentor, and artist.
Credits:
Ken Bennett, Bill Ray III, Betsy Mann, and J.K. Curry