CCM Professor of Drama Michael Burnham Retires

CCM Professor of Drama Michael Burnham joined the faculty in 1984. He retires later this month.

CCM Professor Michael Burnham has been a faculty member since 1984 and when asked about his many years of work for CCM, he muses, simply, “I liked all of them.” He will retire this month, following the conclusion of the school year and his work as director for CCM’s upcoming production of Execution of Justice, which runs April 18-20 as part of this year’s Studio Series.

“Professor Michael Burnham has been the artistic thorn in the side of every student who has entered CCM Drama for the past 29 years,” says Richard E. Hess, CCM’s A.B., Dolly, Ralph and Julia Cohen Drama Department Chair. “He digs into the mind of each and every new student, causing disruption, chaos and sometimes a little irritation, all in service of deeper thinking, harder questioning, more creativity and expansion of possibilities. Michael’s wonderful mind has touched the hearts of every student lucky enough to work with him.”

CCM Winds, Jazz, Musical Theatre, Guitar And More On Display This Weekend!

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You will find something for everyone on the CCM stage this weekend!

At 8 p.m. this evening (Friday, April 12), the CCM Wind Orchestra closes out its successful 2012-13 season with a survey of contemporary American composers. The eclectic program will include works by Samuel Barber, Warren Benson and more! Learn more about this performance here.

CCM welcomes acclaimed tenor Lawrence Brownlee to the stage at 8 p.m. this Saturday, April 13, for an encore performance of the program from his recent Carnegie Hall debut. Brownlee will be accompanied by composer, conductor and pianist Damien Sneed for this special performance. Learn more about this performance here.

CCM’s Jazz Ensemble and Jazz Lab Band will celebrate the impact of adjunct instructor of jazz drums and “living guru of big band drumming” John Von Ohlen with a swinging tribute concert at 4 p.m. on Sunday, April 14. Learn more about this performance here.

The CCM/Carnegie Theatre Co-Production of ‘Parade’ Earns Four LCT Nominations

The Carnegie presents ‘Parade’ April 5 – 21, featuring Jenny Hickman and Collin Kessler. Photography by Matt Steffen.

Panelists for the League of Cincinnati Theatres (LCT) have recognized the CCM and Carnegie Visual and Performing Arts Center co-production of  Parade with four LCT nominations:

• Ensemble Acting
• Music Direction (Steve Goers)
• Featured Actor (Noah Ricketts)
• Lighting Design (Alan Hanson/Wes Richter)

LCT panelists also distinguished Parade as a recommended production. Congratulations to everyone involved with this show!

LCT Awards ‘S.L.U.T.’ Top Prize in CCM’s TRANSMIGRATION Series

Panelists for the League of Cincinnati Theatres (LCT) have recognized S.L.U.T. as the best production at CCM’s 2013 TRANSMIGRATION Festival, the Drama department’s annual presentation of student written and produced work. Panelists awarded second place to Sentenced, and honorable mentions to 2122 Michigan Avenue and The Sherwin Williams Effect. Congratulations to all involved!

The fifth-annual festival allows the audience to experience half-hour works produced by small groups of Drama majors, who create and design all aspects of their productions from start to finish. The festival is an exciting event for both guests and the presenters, as audiences get the opportunity to see up to four very different pieces of new theatre in a single night and the students premiere works that are entirely their own. This year, six shows were presented. “TRANSMIGRATION teaches our actors to be entrepreneurs,” says Richard Hess, chair of CCM’s Drama Department and director of the TRANSMIGRATION Festival. “There are absolutely no holds barred, with the exception of the thirty-minute time limit, allowing our students to learn to express from within.”

CCM Drama Celebrates Graduating Students at 2013 Senior Showcase on March 15

CCM Drama’s Class of 2013.

CCM’s Department of Drama presents its 2013 Senior Showcase at 2 and 7 p.m. on Friday, March 15, in UC’s Patricia Corbett Theater. Both showcase performances are free and open to the public.

Graduating seniors in CCM’s drama program will present a variety of monologues and scenes to demonstrate the depth and breadth of their acting skills, honed during their undergraduate training at CCM. This will be the first presentation of a performance that these students will be taking on the road to exhibit their talent in industry showcases in New York and Los Angeles this April.

The 11th annual CCM Drama Dolly Awards will follow the 7 p.m. showcase performance. Hosted by Drama Department Chair Richard E. Hess, this annual event recognizes outstanding achievement and performance by students in the Department of Drama at CCM. Awards are given for Excellence in Performance and Excellence in Ensemble Performance from the 2012-13 CCM Drama season, which included the productions Arcadia, Ulysses, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and most recently The Time of Your Life. The year’s ceremony will also include tributes to retiring Professor of Dramatic Performance Michael Burnham and alumna Elana Ernst (’07 BFA Drama).

The highlight of the Dolly Awards will be the presentation of the 2013 Julia Winter Cohen Career Excellence Award to a graduate of CCM Drama. This year’s honoree is alumnus Damian Baldet (’95 BFA Drama), who will join the event via Skype videocast from London. Baldet has performed the role of Timon in the London, North American Tour and Mandalay Bay Las Vegas productions of The Lion King since 2005, and has a long list of credits that include shows off-Broadway and at La Jolla Playhouse (Calif.) and Ensemble Theatre of Cincinnati.

CCM’s ‘The Time of Your Life’ Earns Two LCT Nominations

CCM presents ‘The Time of Your Life.’ Photography by Mark Lyons.

Panelists for the League of Cincinnati Theatres (LCT) have recognized CCM’s Mainstage Series production of The Time of Your Life with two LCT nominations, for Ensemble in a Play and for scenic design (Mark Halpin). Congratulations to everyone involved with this production!

CCM’s ‘Laramie Project’ Earns LCT Nomination

Panelists for the League of Cincinnati Theatres (LCT) have recognized CCM’s The Laramie Project with an LCT nomination for Ensemble in a Play as well as distinguishing it as a recommended production. Congratulations to the entire cast and crew!

CCM’s ‘Revue Review’ Earns Two LCT Nominations

CCM Resident Musical Director Roger Grodsky.

Panelists for the League of Cincinnati Theatres (LCT) have recognized CCM’s Revue Review with two LCT nominations for Direction of a Musical (Roger Grodsky with assistance from students Connor Deane, Julian Decker and Greg Kamp) and Ensemble in a Musical, as well as distinguishing it as a recommended production.

Enquirer Previews CCM’s ‘Mad Men’ Inspired Take on ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’

Photography by Mark Lyons.

Jackie Demaline takes a closer look at CCM’s unique spin on William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream in today’s edition of the Cincinnati Enquirer. A Midsummer Night’s Dream runs through this Sunday, Oct. 7, in Patricia Corbett Theater.

Learn more about director Michael Burnham‘s unique approach to the play and scenic designer Ryan Howell‘s collaboration with Toronto-based artist Amy Shackleton and CCM’s Division of Electronic Media here.

CCM Slideshows: A Midsummer Night’s Dream

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CCM proudly presents a colorful new twist on William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, running through Oct. 7 in UC’s Patricia Corbett Theater.

Are you coming to campus for UC Homecoming this weekend? Come to CCM Village after the Homecoming Kickoff Party at the Myers Alumni Center on Friday for an 8 p.m. performance or come early on Saturday and catch a matinee of A Midsummer Night’s Dream at 2 p.m. (kick-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.).

This is a perfect weekend to experience EVERYTHING going on at the University of Cincinnati! Don’t miss the opening of CCM’s must-see 2012-13 Mainstage Series.