With a new semester comes new works on the horizon for the University of New Mexico Department of Theatre and Dance. Their spring 2023 lineup will include works such as “Monstro/us,” “Wings of Night Sky, Wings of Morning Light,” “Bat Boy: A Music Showcase,” “Fearsome Creatures,” the semiannual departmental Linnell Festival of New Plays and “(Type)Writer,” a co-production with UNM SCRAP, the student theater organization.
The theme for this year’s non-Linnell and SCRAP shows is monsters, according to UNM theater and dance marketing representative Madrone Matishak. The dance production “Monstro/us” follows this idea, with choreography by UNM dance faculty member Vladimir Conde Reche and other guest choreographers.
The Linnell Festival of New Plays spring reading series will feature six plays by graduate students in the master of fine arts dramatic writing program: “The Relic” by Marya Errin Jones and “Epistolize” by Dani Mettler on Feb. 10, “Leaves Fall” by Katie Farmin and “Hurt/Comfort” Julia Storch on Feb. 11, and “Hart Island” by Tatiana Isabel Gil and “American Peaches” by Mikayla Ellis on Feb. 12, according to Farmin.
“Readings are vital to a playwright’s process, as they get (a) work-in-progress in front of an audience. It allows us to see what resonates with audiences as well as how actors and directors interpret what we’ve written on the page,” Farmin said.
The plays on Feb. 10 will occur at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. The plays on Feb. 11 will occur at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. The festival will conclude on Feb. 12 with plays at 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. All readings will be performed in the Experimental Theatre and are free to the public.
“Monstro/us” will show on Feb. 24 and 25, and March 2 and 3 at 7:30 p.m., Feb. 26 at 2 p.m., and March 4 at 4 p.m.. The production will be located in Rodey Theatre, and tickets are $10 for staff and students.
In collaboration with Two Worlds Theatre and their artistic director Kim Gleason, UNM visiting professor Erik Ehn will co-direct “Wings of Night Sky, Wings of Morning Light” by poet Joy Harjo. The play centers around protagonist Redbird, a Mvskoke woman, as she comes to terms with challenges she has faced while celebrating sources of strength and spaces of support, according to Ehn.
“The production is a space for conversation — a safe and cooperative enactment of hope as the department commits to experimentation, collaboration and Native American voices,” Ehn said.
“Wings of Night Sky, Wings of Morning Light” will show April 21, 22, 27 and 28 at 7:30 p.m., April 23 at 2 p.m. and April 29 at 4 p.m. The show will be located in the Experimental Theatre, and tickets will be $10 for staff and students.
A concert version of the musical “Bat Boy” will feature students of UNM’s “Topics in Musical Theatre” course under the direction of associate professor of theatre Kate Clarke. The musical was inspired by a series of tabloid headlines detailing the discovery of a half-man, half-bat creature in a cave, according to Clarke.
“Bat Boy: A Music Showcase” will show May 4, 5 and 6 at 7:30 p.m. and May 7 at 2 p.m. The show will be located in the Experimental Theatre and admission will be free.
The student choreography concert “Fearsome Creatures” will show April 28 and 29, and May 5 at 7:30 p.m., April 30 at 2 p.m. and May 6 at 4 p.m. The show will be located in the Elizabeth Waters Center for Dance at Carlisle Gym, and tickets will be $8 for staff and students.
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“(Type)Writer,” co-produced with UNM SCRAP, will show March 3,4,9, and 10 at 7:30 p.m., March 5 at 2 p.m., and March 11 at 4 p.m. The production will be located in the Experimental Theatre, and tickets will be $8 for staff and students.
Marcela Johnson is a freelance reporter for the Daily Lobo. She can be contacted at culture@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @dailylobo
Marcela Johnson is a freelance reporter for the Daily Lobo, and the editor-in-chief of Limina: UNM Nonfiction Review.
