STUDENT CHOREOGRAPHED AND DIRECTED 10-MINUTE WORKS
SENIOR SHOWCASE
Choreographers
Lindsay Skinner
Sydney Ebner
Kacie J. Herbek
Hope Casner
Rory Sweedler
Brittany Moss
JAYHAWK PERFORMANCE LAB Directors
Tara Leigh Burgat (The Librarian)
Jonah Greene (Only Yesterday)
Connor L. Maloney (153 A 10-Minute Drama)
APRIL 25, 26, 27, 28, 2024
Invest in the Future
Spring Senior Showcase & Jayhawk Performance Lab
Sherbon Blackbox Theatre, Robinson Center
Livestreamed
April 27, 7:30 p.m.
April 28, 2:30 p.m.
15-minute intermission
It is free to view the livestream at
https://kutheatre.com/showcase-jpl
Senior Showcase/Jayhawk Performance Lab is performed with a limited, in-person audience April 25-28.
Give to the Theatre & Dance Centennial Fund
Our students have enjoyed a century of standing ovations. Your continued partnership can keep the applause going for the next 100 years. Please consider contributing to the KU Theatre & Dance Centennial Fund. Your contribution will ensure we can book the best guest artists and continue to invest in the technical equipment and training our students need to be competitive in the 21st century.
https://www.launchku.org/theatre100
Showcase Production Credits
Faculty Project Advisors/Mentors. Ashley Brittingham, Shannon Stewart, Maya Tillman-Rayton
Faculty Design Mentor. Ann Sitzman
Lighting Designer. Sean Ingram
Stage Manager. Kennedy Tolar
Assistant Stage Manager. Jacob O. Parker
Sound Op. Kalen Stockton
Streaming Technicians. Lisa Coble-Krings, Maren Meneley, Alex Weston
Run Crew. ShonMichael Anderson, Katelyn Arnold, Kaylee Huske, Maya Perez
Department of Theatre & Dance Senior Capstone Project
Chapters
choreographer/dancer. Lindsay Skinner
music. Chapters by Isaac Rodriguez
Follow me through each chapter of my dance journey. Thank you KU Dance for this chapter. Now, the next one begins!
Department of Theatre & Dance
153 by Steven G. Martindirector. Connor L. Maloney time. Now setting. An empty space cast. 18 - Hayden Daugherty
45 - Caleb Parish
90 - Tanner Ashenfelter
How does age change our perspective on life? As we grow older and learn more do we gain more perspective on past mistakes, or do we lose sight of the situations we were put in to begin with? Sometimes it can feel easy to see our past selves, or future selves, as people outside of ourselves, and in doing so, lose sight of our fallibility. 153 takes these large, introspective questions and allows them to play out in just 10 short minutes.
Department of Theatre & Dance Senior Capstone Project
Uncantiera
choreographer. Sydney Ebner
music. Created by Sydney Ebner, using sounds from freesound.com (all sounds used had a Creative commons license)
dancers. Hope Casner, Mahika Meesa, Madi Seelye, Anna Shelton puppet, enchant, abandon, deceive, brainwash, leverage
Department of Theatre & Dance Senior Capstone Project
Trial and Error
choreographer. Kacie J. Herbek
music. Fragility by Romeo
Chemtrails by Sémo
Slithering Woe by Out of Flux Change by DaniHaDani found on Artlist.io dancers. J.T. Czoch
Esther McBride
Cailan Niswonger
Olivia Taylor
Stephanie Wirth
Trial and Error is a story that represents my dance career. From a happy child just doing something for fun, to an 18 year old choosing dance as her college degree. This story will take you through the laughter, the love, and the confusion that comes with being a dancer. I have had a hard time convincing myself that dance was the right path for me. I have come to terms though, and I have realized that dance was the right choice for me. With this dance you will see the struggles of a dancer. Should we continue? When is it time to let go? Will it ever be time to let go?
Department of Theatre & Dance
The Librarian by Hansol Jung director. Tara Leigh Burgat time/setting. The Library of Life cast. Musician - Tanner Ashenfelter
Librarian - Morgan Tate
Client - Natalie Loftus
Teacher - Marek Skeeba
Dad - Alex Fortune
Clown - Farrukh Varisov
At what cost would you rewrite your life?
Available in-person only. The Librarian will not be livestreamed.
Department of Theatre & Dance Senior Capstone Project
In the Company of Shadows
choreographer. Hope Casner
music. Escape Artist by Zoë Keating dancers. Morgan Blanton, Sydney Ebner, Sophia Harrison, Cullen Krishna, Cailan Niswonger, Madi Seelye, Anna Shelton
This piece explores the depths of internal conflict and the haunting echoes of our past. It embodies the tumultuous journey of grappling with unresolved trauma that unexpectedly resurfaces. Memories, once buried, stop us in our tracks, and the weight of past struggles drives us to isolation. Within this darkness, something hopeful emerges – the power of community. Through shared experiences, we find transformative strength in relationships that nurture our authenticity. While this brings momentary solace, we cannot escape the scars that have shaped us, as our past never truly leaves.
Department of Theatre & Dance Senior Capstone Project
Diagenesis
choreographer. Rory Sweedler
music. Diagenesis by Rory Sweedler
dancers. Lucie Lane, Audrey Merckling, Eliana Rundus, Jillian Taylor, Stephanie Wirth
This piece investigates the idea of art and science as co-existing methodologies that we use to make sense of the world. Through this choreography, I explored diagenesis, the process where sediments undergo the changes that eventually cement them into solid rock, as a poetic process that can be related to the human experience of change. Phrases that were originally developed by the dancers are repeated throughout the piece, yet each time they are changed in subtle ways, ultimately resulting in entirely new movement. This is reminiscent of both the changes that sediment undergoes and the ways that people and relationships can change over the course of a lifetime.
Department of Theatre & Dance
Only Yesterday (excerpt of full-length musical) book by Amanda Freedman & Jonah Greene; Lyrics by Amanda Freedman, Stephanie Leah Evans, & Jonah Greene; Music by Stephanie Leah Evans director. Jonah Greene
musical director. Ryan McCall choreographer. Tara Leigh Burgat
song. Art of Waiting time/setting. Contemporary cast.
TAL: Katherine Leverenz
ARI: Brandon Heflin
NOA: Essy Siegel
ESTELLE: Nicole Piekalkiewicz
DANNY: Farrukhbek Varisov
RAINA: Natalie Loftus
BETH: Basia Schendzielos
EZRA: Tanner Ashenfelter
ETHAN: Imran Bangash
SHOSHANA: Allison Rader
MADDIE: Anna Shelton
GINA: Enya Sullivan
JOAN: Morgan Tate
CORINNE: Maya Welde
BAILEY: Madi Seelye
This is a short excerpt from a full-length new musical called Only Yesterday. This is the first ever staging and performance of any part of this show. This excerpt takes place near the beginning of the story. It features the musical’s main character, Tal, a waitress at a cafe, hiring a new waiter and teaching him how to successfully serve couples on dates. At the same time, Tal wonders when she will have her own chance at finding love...
Department of Theatre & Dance Directed Study in Choreography
Quaternion
choreographer. Brittany Moss
composer. Tristan McGehee
dancers. Katie Noll, Sophia Harrison, Sophia Dunkelberger, Sloane Smith
Quaternion is a collaborative project with Master of Music Composition candidate, Tristan McGehee, who created the beautiful and intricate score. This piece examines the complex relationship of friendship. Specifically, four women who are unalike but find ways to set aside those differences to help, build, and ultimately, uplift each other.
Presenting Choreographers
Lindsay Skinner
Lindsay is a BFA dance major from Des Moines, Iowa. She fell in love with the art when she was ten years old. Through all of the twists and turns of the last twelve years, Lindsay has found dance to be her home. Her favorite thing about the art is how it has shaped her life, pulling her in different directions. Lindsay has spent the past year training and working extensively with jazz icon Blake McGrath. She spent her fall semester at The Dallas Conservatory where she prepared for her career. After graduation, Lindsay will be heading to the West Coast to pursue a career in professional dance. Her dream is to dance on a big stage someday.
Sydney Ebner
Sydney is a senior dance student from Shawnee. She recently performed in The Imagination Drought by Maya Tillman
Rayton and From the Dust by Claire Buss as part of the University Dance Company Spring 2024 Concert. She’s performed in every UDC concert during her college career, in addition to being cast in Senior Showcase. Sydney is the Lee Family Scholarship in Dance recipient.
Kacie J. Herbek
Kacie is from Lawrence, Nebraska. She is a dance student with dual minors in history and business. Audiences most recently saw her perform in the University Dance Company Fall 2022 Concert as part of the tap ensemble. She also performed in the Spring and Fall 2023 Senior Showcase, as well as Emergence, a Spring 2023 student-produced and choreographed dance showcase.
Presenting Choreographers
Hope Casner
Hope is graduating in May with a B.A. in Dance and a B.S. in Exercise Science. Originally from Argonia, KS, Hope has been a part of KU Dance since her freshman year. Since then, she has been a part of several productions, including Senior Showcase, Jayhawk Performance Lab, and four UDC appearances. Following graduation, Hope will attend the Doctor of Physical Therapy program at Northwestern University in Chicago. She aspires to return to the dance community and pursue a career in dance medicine.
Rory Sweedler
Rory is originally from Louisville, Colorado. She is currently a senior, double majoring in dance and geology. Audiences most recently saw her perform in the student produced show, Emergence, as well as in University Dance Concerts held in Fall 2021 and Spring 2022. Next year, she plans to begin a PhD at the University of Michigan in Earth and Environmental Sciences, where she will study mammal evolution and paleontology.
Brittany Moss
Brittany is a former principal ballerina and studio owner. She will be graduating with a BFA degree in dance this coming May. She grew up in Orem, Utah, joined Utah Metropolitan Ballet in her senior year of high school and rose to the rank of Principal Dancer. In 2006, she retired from dancing and moved with her husband to Houston, TX. There she started teaching and eventually became coowner and artistic director of AMS Dance Studio in Sugar Land, TX. She has choreographed many different genres, including ballet, musical theater, jazz and contemporary. In 2020, her family moved to Lenexa, KS. She resides there with her husband and two children. She currently teaches for Kansas City Ballet’s ROAD Program and at Perception Dance Company. Starting this June, she will be attending Montclair State University to obtain her MFA in Choreography.
Presenting Directors
Tara Leigh Burgat
Tara is a freelance choreographer, performer, and director currently located in the Kansas City region. Recently, she has relished the opportunity to choreograph Milking Christmas (The University of Kansas), Little Shop of Horrors (Theatre in the Park), The SpongeBob Musical (Theatre in the Park), and assisted for Cabaret (The University of Kansas). She sources her imaginative movement style from her diverse training background, including styles expanded here at KU. She enjoys helping all abilities of performers bring their characters to life in theatrical movement. Tara gives her thanks to the Department of Theatre & Dance at KU for the mentorship and opportunities, and to her family for their relentless support of her career aspirations.
Jonah Greene
Jonah is a PhD candidate and graduate teaching assistant in the Department of Theatre & Dance. Originally from Fayetteville, Arkansas, he primarily has a theatrical background in directing, acting, and administration. Favorite directing credits include Cabaret (University of Kansas, associate director); Airness (University of Kansas); Mr Burns, a Post-Electric Play (3P’s); Thom Pain (Based on Nothing) (Independent Production); Lungs (Tufs University capstone); [title of show] (Torn Ticket II); and Godspell (Torn Ticket II). Favorite acting credits include The Realistic Joneses (3P’s); Speech and Debate (3P’s); Lysistrada (Tufts University); and Chicago (Torn Ticket II). He has also worked with SpeakEasy Stage Company, TheatreSquared, JELLY Theatre Workshop, New Threshold Theatre, The Hatchery, and Arts Live Theatre.
Connor L. Maloney
Connor is a junior theatre design student from Wichita. He previously served as stage manager for the University Theatre productions of SWEAT and Milking Christmas, assistant director for Everybody, and assistant costume designer for Cabaret. Connor is a recipient of the Friends of Theatre & Dance scholarship and the Glenn Bickle Award. He serves as the Loren Kennedy Ambassador Coordinator for the Department of Theatre & Dance.
