The University of Florida (UF) School of Theatre + Dance will present a limited run of Metamorphoses, written by award-winning playwright Mary Zimmerman and directed by Assistant Professor Charlie Mitchell, January 23-29, 2015 in Constans Theatre located in the Nadine McGuire Theatre and Dance Pavilion on UF’s campus. Performance times are 7:30 p.m. January 23, 24, 27, 28 and 29, and at 2:00 p.m. on Jan. 25, 2015.
Based on the classical myths of Ovid, Metamorphoses combines classical antiquity with the present day in a breathtaking theatrical experience. Bursting with stunning imagery and exquisite movement, the play employs the comic and tragic as it explores the themes of love, transformation and human nature. As actors perform in an onstage pool, water becomes the medium through which characters change as their true natures are revealed. Metamorphoses is sure to leave audiences moved and inspired.
“The play still matters today because we’ll always deal with life, love and loss,” said Mitchell. “That is what the myths in Metamorphoses are all about.”
Zimmerman is the recipient of a 1998 MacArthur Fellowship and the 2002 Tony Award for Best Direction for Metamorphoses. She is a member of the Lookingglass Theatre Company of Chicago, an artistic associate of the Goodman Theatre and a professor of performance studies at Northwestern University. Works that she has adapted and directed include The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci (Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Second Stage Theatre, Goodman Theatre, Brooklyn Academy of Music and Seattle Repertory Theatre), The Odyssey (Lookingglass Theatre Company, Goodman Theatre, McCarter Theatre and Seattle Repertory Theatre), Arabian Nights (Lookingglass Theatre Company, Manhattan Theatre Club and Brooklyn Academy of Music) and Metamorphoses (Lookingglass Theatre Company, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Mark Taper Forum, Second Stage Theatre and Broadway).
Metamorphoses had its world premiere at the Lookingglass Theatre Company in Chicago in October 1998 after first being performed by students at Northwestern University. The play’s Off-Broadway debut was in October 2001 in New York City. This production was in rehearsal during the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center towers, and the production inspired considerable emotional response from the audiences. The Broadway debut was in March 2002 at the Circle in the Square Theatre in New York City. In 2002, the play won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play, the Drama League Award for Best Play, Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Play and Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play.
Critics of past productions have hailed Metamorphoses as the “theater event of the year” (Time) and “a work of pure poetry in motion—a seamless, visually gorgeous act of storytelling that mixes language, movement, sound, color, light and, most crucially, water” (Chicago Sun-Times).
The cast includes Grace Abele, Sean Cancellieri, Jason David Collins, Jake Lesh, Michael Martinez-Hamiltion, Michael Pemberton, Christie Robinson, Amanda Schalachter, Rachel Sheahan and Sunny Smith.
Tickets are $17 for the general public, and are $13 for students, UF faculty/staff and senior citizens. Group rates are available for parties of eight or more. Tickets are available through the University Box Office located at Gate 1 of the Stephen C. O'Connell Center, by calling 352-392-1653 or at ticketmaster.com. The University Box Office is open Tuesdays through Fridays: 12-5:30 p.m. and Saturdays: 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Tickets can also be purchased at the Constans Theatre Box Office starting 45 minutes prior to the performance.
The Nadine McGuire Theatre and Dance Pavilion is located at 687 McCarty Drive, Gainesville, FL 32611. Parking is available across the street from the UF Bookstore & Welcome Center on the University of Florida located on Museum Road.
About the School of Theatre + Dance
The School of Theatre + Dance is one of the University of Florida College of the Arts’ three fully accredited schools. Undergraduate students can pursue a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in acting, dance, musical theatre, theatre production—including costume design, lighting design and scenic design—or a Bachelor of Arts degree in dance studies or general theatre. Minors are also offered in dance and theatre as well as certificates in arts in medicine and dance in healthcare. Student organizations, showcase programs and other intensives provide students with invaluable professional experiences. UF is home to three School of Theatre + Dance performance venues, including the Constans Theatre, Black Box Theatre and G-6 Studio. To learn more about the School of Theatre + Dance, including upcoming performance dates and ticket information, visit www.arts.ufl.edu/theatreanddance.
About the College of the Arts
The College of the Arts, previously known as the College of Fine Arts, is one the 16 colleges and more than 150 research centers and institutes at the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida. The College of the Arts offers baccalaureate, master’s and Ph.D. degree programs in its three fully- accredited schools — the School of Art + Art History, School of Music and School of Theatre + Dance. The college is home to the Center for Arts in Medicine, Center for World Arts, Digital Worlds Institute, University Galleries and the New World School of the Arts in Miami. More than 100 faculty members and more than 1,220 students work together daily to engage, inspire and create. The college hosts more than 300 performances, exhibitions and events each year. Faculty and students also exhibit and perform at other local, national and international venues. To learn more, visit www.arts.ufl.edu.
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Media Contact
Leah Craig, Public Relations and Marketing Manager
University of Florida College of the Arts
Office: 352.273.1489 | Cell: 904.419.3346
lcraig@arts.ufl.edu
