The University of Central Arkansas Department of Film, Theatre and Creative Writing will present “United Differences,” an expressive, experimental work at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 4, and Friday, Nov. 15, and at 2 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 6, in the Snow Fine Arts Center’s Black Box Theatre.
Admission is free and open to the public. No tickets are required.
The show is a devised piece by a student ensemble. Under the direction of UCA theater instructor Brady Ness, students worked with guest artists Anna Kimmell, whose background is in dancing in musical theater, and Blake Habermann, whose expertise is in mask work. The students were encouraged to combine these different forms of movement to create a silent production on the topic of unity and diversity.
“It has been a true pleasure working with the ensemble. These students are passionate about the project and are always willing to try new ideas in rehearsals,” said Ness. “We are bound only by our imaginations when we are creating this play.”
Ness was excited about the opportunity to do something different.
“I feel like we have certain conceptions about what a play should be. The idea that this play is ‘experimental’ because it doesn’t have dialogue and isn’t derived from a script feels slightly misguided,” Ness said. “Physical theater and movement-based theater has long been a standard of the artform. I think we tend to think of it as ‘experimental’ because we have not had much exposure to it in this part of the country.”
The original work is produced with a grant from Alpha Psi Omega National Theatre Honors Society. Guest artists were compensated, in part, by Student Activity Fees allocated through the Student Government Association.
For more information, contact Melissa Pearson, UCA Theatre business manager at melissap@uca.edu or (501) 450-5092, or visit uca.edu/theatre.
