https://www.rockford.edu/academics/ departments/performingarts/
Nov. 6th-23rd - Misery- Artists’ Ensemble Theater
Nov. 20th-23rd - Describe the NightRockford University Performing Arts
Nov. 14th- 4pm- Classical RecitalFisher Chapel
Nov. 22nd - Painting Workshop with RU Alumni Angelique Powers
Nov. 26th-30th- Thanksgiving Break
Dec. 1st- 4pm- Recital - Maddox Theatre
The Bachelor of Fine Arts in Design and Technology –Stage Management is one of the exciting track options available to our theatre majors here at RU! This program provides students with the knowledge, hands-on experience, and professional preparation needed for a variety of careers in the theater industry.
Our Stage Management courses are taught by Beth Dorland, a dedicated member of the Performing Arts faculty and an experienced Equity Stage Manager. With years of professional experience, Professor Dorland brings valuable industry insight to the classroom, helping students develop the organizational, leadership, and creative skills essential to successful stage management.
We’re also proud to highlight one of our talented students, Senior Design and Technology majors, Adara Barrera Medina, who has been gaining realworld experience while completing her degree. Adara has worked alongside Professor Dorland in professional stage management settings, further developing her craft and confidence. She also completed an internship with Artists’ Ensemble Theatre, the local Equity theater company in residence on RU’s campus, and continues to serve as an ensemble member of the Rockford Players Guild.
In this new addition to our newsletter, we want to hear from our Alumni and spotlight you with current projects that you are working on or have booked. Keep us up to date so we can celebrate with you and shout you out for all of your talent! Please fill out the form from the QR code.
Step behind the curtain and discover the art of transforming bare stage walls into vivid worlds of imagination. In this hands-on Scenic Painting workshop, participants will explore the tools, materials, and techniques that bring theatrical sets to life. From textured stone and weathered wood to painted marble, you’ll learn how to create the illusion of depth, texture, light and shadow on a grand scale. This workshop is perfect for theatre artists, designers, painters, and anyone curious about the magic of scenic art. No previous experience required—just a willingness to get a little messy and think big! Friday, Nov. 21 1:30 pm - 4:30 pm and Saturday, Nov. 22 10 am- 3 pm. Clark Arts Scene Shop.
Angelique has been a Scenic Artist for over 25 years, receiving her MFA in Scenic Art from Cal Arts and her Baclors degree from Rockford College in 1999. She has painted for the Denver Center, Kenmark Scenic Backdrops, and International Tours for Sesame Street Live and Paw Patrol. She has spent the last 20 years freelancing in the Twin Cities and is currently the Charge Artist for Chanhassen Dinner Theatre, Penumbra Theatre, and the University of Minnesota, having also taught Scenic Art Classes since 2013. She is most proud of her work as a mom and for helping to found the Guild of Scenic Artists as the first editor for the Scenic Route.
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ByRockfordReader’sTheatre
African and American playwrights in the 20th and 21st century have shared stories of the black experience on two continents and found the binding connection to all of humanity seeking strength, dignity, and purpose. Under the direction of Dorothy Paige-Turner, the Rockford Reader’s Theatre presented selections from the works of August Wilson, Athol Fugard, Lynn Nottage, Efua Sutherland, and many others. Giving voice to these writers were George Davis, Richard Meeks, Jacquelyn Rogers, Wendell Thompson, Carl L. Towns, Coleen Martin Williams, Janet Wright, in addition to Dorothy Paige-Turner.
The Senior Seminar Show is a highly anticipated event that highlights the creativity, talent, and dedication of our graduating BFA students. Each performance is entirely student-written, directed, and performed, giving our seniors the opportunity to bring their unique artistic visions to life on stage. This production serves as a partial fulfillment of their Bachelor of Fine Arts degree requirements and represents the culmination of years of hard work, collaboration, and artistic growth. The Senior Seminar Show is more than just a final project—it’s a celebration of each student’s journey through the program, showcasing the skills and storytelling abilities they’ve developed during their time here. Congratulations to the three Seniors that performed their seminars this fall, Isaac Urbik, Aubry Musfelt, and Aiden Foreman
Artists’ Ensemble Theater, the professional theater in residence at Rockford University, is now in its 22nd season. They operate under an Actors’ Equity Small Professional Theater Contract and employ both union and non-union actors. AET has hired 28 R.U. students to perform in their shows and numerous more to work on the technical side.
Artists’ Ensemble’s mission is to create ensemble-driven professional theater that challenges both the artists and the audience. Artists’ Ensemble’s vision Statement: To see our audience as our partner in the creative experience, to provide a platform for our artists to evolve, explore and create, and to be an educational resource for our community.
For more information about Artists’ Ensemble visit AET’s Website. https://artistsensemble.org/
November 6-23 we will present Stephen King’s classic thriller Misery. Novelist Paul Sheldon is rescued from a terrible car crash by his “number one fan” Annie Wilkes. He wakes up captive in her secluded home and discovers that Annie has no intention of letting his go anywhere. Annie has Paul writing as if his life depends on it, and it does.
Teen Takeover: Saturday Nov. 8 we will have a Teen Takeover; Teens (and those who were recently teens) can see the show for $5 then stay for the Teen Take over - go backstage see how the special effects, blood, violence was done, and talk to the artists all for free. For more info. on this talk to Antonio Laws, Samantha Mosny or Alaina Neumann.
This workshop introduced our students to the Graham Technique, its basic principle of “contraction and release” and the beneficial knowledge that comes from the awareness of one’s own center and core strength. This class was comprised of two parts, a short lecture on the technique, then an hour and a half work shop in our dance studio. The studio portion of the workshop covered floor work, standing center work, to traveling exercises. William also took time to teach our students some original choreography as well.
William Charles Crowley, received his MFA in Dance from the University of Michigan. He received additional dance training while on scholarship at the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance in New York City. William has danced with Aerial Dance Theater, Ann Arbor Dance Works, Dansplateau (Belgium), David Taylor Dance Theatre, and Dance Gallery/Peter Sparling & Co., in which he performed the title role in Martha Graham's masterwork, El Penitente. Currently, he is teaching throughout the United States, Europe, and the Caribbean, including engagements in Austria, Belgium, Croatia, France, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, and the United Kingdom, with annual month long summer intensives at the Centre de Danse du Marais in Paris, France.
