Join the 2022 senior theatre majors as they present their Ensemble Experiment Between Us.
The worlds ending. War, famine, and death ravage the world. Suffering is everywhere. But this story is not about that. Instead, we follow four, college students as they return to in-person class and are tasked with co-creating a play. Together they grapple with learning how to carry on even when everything is falling apart.
Free Tickets are available for reservation via the Watson Box Office.
Join us for a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of the X Series. Explore the process of building this initiative, which was conceived by the Department of Theatre and Dance in response to the challenges of our times. Student participants will be joined by members of the production team to provide an insider’s view into the making of this exciting virtual project. Via Zoom, registration required.
Premiere event registration links:
The X Series (xperimental/xperiential/xpression) celebrates Wheaton’s creativity in a multidisciplinary virtual event composed of ‘acts’ created by our community. Spanning dance, song, and film to visual art and theatrical performance, each project responds to the prompt: 2020 and Beyond: Our Reflections. Our Responses. Over the course of this two-night live premiere, we gather to share our creative processes and to present the culmination of that work. Via Zoom, registration required.
Register Here—April 15 (Behind the Scenes)
This semester’s festival format will be adjusted for virtual presentation and will feature five-minute plays. As always, the plays are written, directed, and acted by Wheaton students.
The world knows Stacey Abrams as a political leader, founder of the nonprofit Fair Fight Action, and New York Times bestselling author. Ms. Abrams’ tireless commitment to promote nonviolent change via the ballot box recently earned her a Nobel Peace Prize nomination. Lesser known is her creative work as an award-winning author (often using the name of her alter-ego, Selena Montgomery) of eight romantic suspense novels and several non-fiction works. Following the presentation of the Otis Social Justice Award, Abrams will join Artist-in-Residence Joe Wilson, Jr. to have a conversation about the powerful and transformative roles storytellers hold in our society, and how her work as activist and author strengthen each other.
Please note: we do expect significant interest in this event. If we reach capacity, you will be notified of your status by email. Please limit registration requests to one name per household or viewing screen.
These one-act plays, written by advanced playwriting students in the Creative Writing Program, are presented in collaboration with the Department of Theatre and Dance, student directors and actors and other Wheaton students. Via Zoom, registration required, 12:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. EST each day.
Saturday, March 6
12:00 p.m. Register Here
3:00 p.m. Register Here
Sunday, March 7
12:00 p.m. Register Here
3:00 p.m. Register Here
Multimedia writer and performance artist James Scruggs engages in conversation with Playwright-in-Residence Charlotte Meehan about his critically acclaimed performance work, Disposable Men. He speaks from research, observation, and experience about the “weaponized Black male body” via current events and the long U.S. history of killing unarmed Black men. This event includes Scruggs sharing images of his performance, reading from his work, and a Q&A.
Calling all creatives, from every corner of the Wheaton College Community! The Theatre & Dance program spring 2021 mainstage production is entitled: The Wheaton X Series, and the subject of this theatrical experience is you and your responses to the events of our time.
The Wheaton X Series (xperimental/xperiential/xpression) is a multi disciplinary, community wide live virtual event spanning two nights of programming, comprised of ‘acts’. The stories reflected through the performance pieces (dance, song, word, music, and film) will be created in response to the prompt:
2020 and Beyond: Our Reflections. Our Responses.
We are inviting all Wheaton voices (students, alumnae/i, staff and faculty) to respond to the prompt through any form of creative expression.
All performances will be recorded, and edited into a two-evening event premiering April 8 & 9, 2021 celebrating the great talent and passion of our community. The premiere will be followed by a ‘Behind the Scenes’ event with the creative team on April 15.
Even if you do not wish to perform, you will have the opportunity to contribute work that may be performed by others (especially original music that can be used for dance performances, or other means of artistic expression.)
Questions? Contact Joe Wilison Jr. ([email protected])
Playwright Joyce Van Dyke, director Judy Braha, and actor Elaine Vaan Hogue talk about their collaboration on a new one-woman play featuring suffragist and abolitionist Julia Ward Howe, who asks, “What does it do to your soul if you don’t have representation?” The play is a fever dream and a call to action by Howe, who was a playwright, poet, and founder of the American Woman Suffrage Association which supported voting rights for Black women as well as white women. The conversation will draw parallels between Howe’s mission and today’s election.
Ten original plays—written, directed and performed by Wheaton students—will be showcased in our biannual festival.