Students prep for theatre season

By Anne Halliwell

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The upcoming theatre season at UK includes stage productions of “The Importance of Being Earnest,” “In the Red and Brown Water” and “Alice in Wonderland.”

Nancy Jones, the chair of the Department of Theatre, said it has been a while since the department has done a play with an entirely African-American cast like “In the Red and Brown Water,” as well as past shows “A Raisin In the Sun” and “Intimate Apparel.”

“We’ve done tons of them,” Jones said. “But it’s been a few years and we really thought that was a voice that we wanted to put in our season.”

Jones said playwright Tarell Alvin McCraney had a poetic way of writing that she wanted to bring into UK’s season.

The list of shows for the 2015-2016 school year was finalized a week ago, Jones said, after “months and months of debating, reading plays (and) thinking.”

“When we pick our season, we try to check off a lot of boxes,” Jones explained.

She added that the department considers the actors and designers’ strengths and the shows’ appeal to students, who make up the majority of the audience.

“We also pick a season that will allow our students, our four-years, to have a broad array of selections they’re part of,” Jones said.

“Alice in Wonderland,” another kid-friendly show, will fill at least two of those categories. Like last year’s production of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” Jones said there would likely be plenty of community members.

“(The students) get to be wild and fanciful, but also, hopefully, there will be a draw,” Jones said.

Jones also previewed the Department of Theatre and Dance’s summer trip to the Edinburgh Festival in Scotland. A “teaser” performance of the 10-person show, “The Dispute,” will take place in August, she said.

“We’re very excited,” Jones said. “That’s going to be fantastic.”