CCM Announces Sesquicentennial Studio Series of Acting, Dance, Musical Theatre and Opera

CCM presents nine eclectic and electrifying productions as part of its 150th Anniversary Studio Series of Acting, Dance, Musical Theatre and Opera. This annual series of performing and media arts events features CCM’s acclaimed “stars of tomorrow” in a collection of scaled-down stagings set in the Cohen Family Studio Theater and other intimate performance spaces.

Composer, lyricist, playwright and CCM alumnus Todd Almond.

The 2017-18 series opens in October with the musical revue Sondheim on Sondheim, which showcases the songs of legendary musical theatre composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim. In November, CCM proudly presents The Earth is Flat, a touching coming-of-age story written by CCM alumnus Todd Almond (BM, 1999) and set in UC’s Calhoun Hall. November also sees the return of the 48-Hour Film Festival, which showcases 10 student-created short films produced over the course of a single weekend.

The series continues in early 2018 with productions of the operas Trouble in Tahiti, The Telephone, Tale for a Deaf Ear and Ariodante. CCM’s popular Dance Student Choreographers’ Showcase and TRANSMIGRATION Festival of Student-Created New Works both return in March. The 150th Anniversary Studio Series concludes in Spring 2018 with the unconventional and moving musical drama The Theory of Relativity (directed and choreographed by CCM alumna Katie Johannigman) and the debut of an original 60-minute play created by CCM Acting for the 71st Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

The Studio Series is just one part of the yearlong CCM Sesquicentennial Celebration, which includes world premieres, guest artist performances, a series of off-campus concerts and a one-of-a-kind alumni showcase event. For an initial overview of CCM’s 150th anniversary programming, please visit ccm.uc.edu/about/villagenews/notations-ovations/sesquicentennial-celebration.

The complete 2017-18 Studio Series lineup is listed below. Titles and dates are subject to change.

Tickets and Parking Information
All Studio Series performances are free and open to the general public, but reservations are required and seating is limited. Reservations can be made the week of each show by visiting the CCM Box Office in UC’s Corbett Center for the Performing Arts or by calling 513-556-4183.

Unless otherwise noted, all Studio Series productions take place in CCM’s intimate and versatile “black box” performance space, the Cohen Family Studio Theater.

Parking is available in the CCM Garage (located at the base of Corry Boulevard off Jefferson Avenue) and additional garages throughout the UC campus. Please visit uc.edu/parking for more information on parking rates. For directions to CCM Village, visit ccm.uc.edu/about/directions.
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CCM’s 150TH ANNIVERSARY STUDIO SERIES
Acting, Dance, Musical Theatre, Opera

8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 5
8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 6
2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 7
• Studio Musical Theatre Series •
SONDHEIM ON SONDHEIM
Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Conceived and originally directed by James Lapine
Aubrey Berg, director
Stephen Goers, music director
Katie Johannigman, choreographer

A “revelatory revue full of wonderful moments,” Sondheim on Sondheim is an intimate portrait of the famed songwriter in his own words… and music. Ranging from the beloved to the obscure, the songs are interspersed with in-depth video interviews, delving into Sondheim’s personal life and artistic process. Far from the typical song cycle, Sondheim on Sondheim has massive theatrical potency, as well as inarguable staying power. A “funny, affectionate and revealing tribute to musical theater’s greatest living composer and lyricist” and a wonderful showcase for CCM’s Musical Theatre stars of tomorrow.

Location: Cohen Family Studio Theater
Admission: Admission is free. Reservations are required. Tickets become available at noon on Monday, Oct. 2. Please visit the CCM Box Office or call 513-556-4183 to reserve. Limit two tickets per order.
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8 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 2
8 p.m. Friday, Nov. 3
2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 4
• Studio Acting Series •
THE EARTH IS FLAT
Written by Todd Almond
Richard E. Hess, director

The CCM Sesquicentennial celebrates the work of accomplished alumnus Todd Almond! A love letter to the University of Cincinnati written by Almond, The Earth is Flat explores the universal awkwardness of the American college experience. The search for identity by those least prepared with answers resonates with unexpected comedy in this new play commissioned by CCM Acting as part of the Cincinnati Playwrights Conference in 2016. A coming-of-age story set in Calhoun Hall, The Earth is Flat follows purple-haired Ethan as he takes his first tentative steps toward self-knowledge.

Location: Cohen Family Studio Theater
Admission: Admission is free. Reservations are required. Tickets become available at noon on Monday, Oct. 30. Please visit the CCM Box Office or call 513-556-4183 to reserve. Limit two tickets per order.

Acting Studio Series Sponsor: Neil Artman and Margaret Straub
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7 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 19
• Studio Acting/Digital Media Collaborative/E-Media Series •
FOURTH ANNUAL 48-HOUR FILM FESTIVAL
Richard E. Hess and John Owens, producers

Join us for our annual celebration of original film work by students. After random team placement, student authors, actors, directors, editors, and composers have 48 hours from 7 p.m. on Friday night to 7 p.m. on Sunday night to create finished original short films. All UC students are invited to participate.

Location: MainStreet Cinema, Tangeman University Center
Admission: Admission is free. Reservations are not required, but space may be limited.
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8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 2
8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 3
2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 4
• CCM at 150 Celebrates Bernstein at 100/Opera d’arte Series •
TROUBLE IN TAHITI + THE TELEPHONE + TALE FOR A DEAF EAR
Music and libretto by Leonard Bernstein/Music and words by Gian Carlo Menotti/Music and lyrics by Mark Bucci
Brett Scott, conductor
Amy Johnson, director and co-producer
Kenneth Shaw, co-producer
Gabriela Sam, assistant director

The CCM Opera d’arte Series of undergraduate productions proudly presents a triple bill of one-act American operas! Featured works include Leonard Bernstein’s Trouble in Tahiti, a one-act opera that candidly portrays the troubled marriage of a young suburban couple. Written between Bernstein’s biggest Broadway successes, Trouble in Tahiti draws upon popular song styles to deliver an uncompromising critique of Mid-century American marriage. The triple bill also includes Gian Carlo Menotti’s bit of froth, The Telephone, and Mark Bucci’s rarely produced, but haunting Tale for a Deaf Ear. Taken together, Opera d’arte’s triple bill offers three vastly contrasting views into the extremes of human relationships.

Location: Cohen Family Studio Theater
Admission: Admission is free. Reservations are required. Tickets become available at noon on Monday, Jan. 29. Please visit the CCM Box Office or call 513-556-4183 to reserve. Limit
two tickets per order.
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8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 16
8 p.m. Saturday, Feb 17
2 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 18
• Studio Opera Series •
ARIODANTE
Music by George Frideric Handel
Libretto based on a work by Antonio Salvi
Aik Khai Pung, conductor
Robin Guarino, director

Hailed as one of Handel’s finest operas, Ariodante presents a tale of royal intrigue and betrayal set in the remote Scottish Highlands. The daughter of the King of Scotland is happily engaged to Prince Ariodante, but the scheming Duke Polinesso plots to take the princess’ hand in marriage and seize the throne for himself. Intrigue ensues in this celebrated opera seria, but true love wins the day!

Location: Cohen Family Studio Theater
Admission: Admission is free. Reservations are required. Tickets become available at noon on Monday, Feb. 12. Please visit the CCM Box Office or call 513-556-4183 to reserve. Limit two tickets per order.

Opera Department Sponsor: Mr. and Mrs. Edward S. Rosenthal
Opera Production Sponsor: Genevieve Smith
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8 p.m. Thursday, March 1
8 p.m. Friday, March 2
2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, March 3
• Studio Dance Series •
DANCE STUDENT CHOREOGRAPHERS SHOWCASE
André Megerdichian, director

Come experience the next generation of emerging choreographers as CCM dance majors take the stage with exciting and diverse new works.

Location: Cohen Family Studio Theater
Admission: Admission is free. Reservations are required. Tickets become available at noon on Monday, Feb. 26. Please visit the CCM Box Office or call 513-556-4183 to reserve. Limit two tickets per order.
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7 p.m. Wednesday, March 7
7 p.m. Thursday, March 8
7 p.m. Friday, March 9
• Studio Acting Series •
TRANSMIGRATION 2018
A Festival of Student-Created New Works
Richard E. Hess and Brant Russell, producers

TRANSMIGRATION, so named for “the movement from one place to another” or “the transition from one state of being to another,” is a festival of new works created by the students in CCM Acting. Six teams of actors craft and perform six original 30-minute shows. Performed simultaneously in different locations throughout CCM Village, this 10th Anniversary Edition of TRANSMIGRATION will allow the audience to sample four different new works of their choosing in one spectacular evening. “Thanks to the [Acting] program at UC’s College-Conservatory of Music, theatre fans were offer a jolt of onstage vitality,” observed CityBeat’s Rick Pender.

Location: CCM Village
Admission: Admission is free, but reservations are required. Tickets become available at noon on Monday, March 5. Visit the CCM Box Office or call 513-556-4183 to reserve. Limit two tickets per order.

Acting Studio Series Sponsor: Neil Artman and Margaret Straub
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8 p.m. Thursday, March 29
8 p.m. Friday, March 30
2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, March 31
• Studio Musical Theatre Series •
THE THEORY OF RELATIVITY
Music and lyrics by Neil Bartram
Book by Brian Hill
Katie Johannigman, director and choreographer
Stephen Goers, musical director

From Drama Desk Award nominees Neil Bartram and Brian Hill (The Story of My Life), The Theory of Relativity is a joyous and moving look at our surprisingly interconnected lives. Whether you’re allergic to cats, in love for the first or tenth time, a child of divorce, a germophobe or simply a unique individual, audience members and actors alike are sure to find themselves in this fresh new musical. Created using the real-life experiences and struggles of Millennials, The Theory of Relativity introduces a compelling array of characters experiencing the joys and heartbreaks, liaisons and losses, the inevitability and the wonder of human connection.

Location: Cohen Family Studio Theater
Admission: Admission is free, but reservations are required. Tickets become available at noon on Monday, March 26. Visit the CCM Box Office or call 513-556-4183 to reserve. Limit two tickets per order.
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8 p.m. Thursday, April 19
8 p.m. Friday, April 20
2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, April 21
• Studio Acting Series •
EDINBURGH FRINGE FESTIVAL PROJECT
Susan Felder and Richard E. Hess, directors

Every year thousands of performers take to hundreds of stages all over Edinburgh, Scotland for the largest arts festival in the world. For the first time, CCM Acting will present an original 60-minute piece in August of 2018 in the 71st Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Join us at CCM in April as we present our original creation for Cincinnati audiences.

Location: Cohen Family Studio Theater
Admission: Admission is free, but reservations are required. Tickets become available at noon on Monday, April 16. Visit the CCM Box Office or call 513-556-4183 to reserve. Limit two tickets per order.

Acting Studio Series Sponsor: Neil Artman and Margaret Straub
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CCM Season Presenting Sponsor: The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation
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A preeminent institution for the performing and media arts, CCM is the largest single source of performing arts presentations in the state of Ohio.

All event dates and programs are subject to change. For a complete calendar of events, please visit us online at ccm.uc.edu.

This is our story. This is your season. Join us for a celebration 150 years in the making…

CCM Drama Students Present Original Works at Annual TRANSMIGRATION Festival

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This week, CCM proudly presents its TRANSMIGRATION Festival of Student-Created New Works. Students from CCM’s Department of Drama are assigned to teams and given full creative license in this annual festival, which runs March 10 – 12 in CCM Village. Admission is FREE, but reservations are required.

The TRANSMIGRATION Festival offers the opportunity for CCM Drama students to flex their writing, producing, designing and directing muscles while building 25-minute original plays from the ground up.

“The creative teams are chosen totally at random,” says producer and Assistant Professor of Drama Brant Russell. “Essentially everyone gets together on the first day of the semester and counts off one through six.”

The student groups are then left to their own devices to figure out a theme, assign roles and produce an entirely new piece of theater. Russell explains, “Department Chair Richard Hess and I are the producers, so we help them coordinate the festival, but we are fairly hands off… and that is on purpose, pedagogically speaking. We guide our students and nudge them one way or the other and give feedback, but they really build it.”

“In the contemporary theatre landscape, it would be irresponsible of us to turn out brilliant actors who only know how to wait by the phone for an audition and don’t know how to create their own work,” Russell suggests.

One of the goals of TRANSMIGRATION is to assist the students in finding their artistic voice. “Every voice is unique and every voice is so clearly articulated in these pieces,” says Russell. One of those voices is senior Bartley Booz whose group has chosen an unorthodox subject to write about: bees.

“Bees are an intrinsic and beautiful part of our environment,” Booz observes while explaining his team’s new play, Colony Collapse Disorder. “However, these bees are not immune to danger. Spores from a parasitic fungus called cordyceps may infiltrate their bodies and their minds,” he suggests. Although bees and their maladies are not usually fodder for new plays, one of the unique and exciting aspects of this festival is that students are given free reign to create, which means that unconventional ideas are not only tolerated, they are encouraged and are often the most enjoyable for the audience. When asked about the motivations to write his piece, Booz offers: “Desperation. Isolation. Bees.” Now that’s a unique voice.

Also on the docket for this year’s festival is The Home, a slightly more traditional show from sophomore Lauren Carter and her team. Carter describes the play as being about two siblings and their friends who sneak into a morgue to recover their grandfather’s valuable ring before his funeral. “Conflict arises when the siblings realize they aren’t alone in their endeavors,” she says, “and the stakes are raised when they discover they’re stuck inside the funeral home.”

The Home was actually idea number two for Carter and her group; Carter explains, “We decided on a concept very early on, then this past week we realized the direction we were headed wasn’t right. We put that idea aside and decided we would take aspects of it and turn it into the show we are currently working on. TRANSMIGRATION is a great opportunity to learn when to say yes and when to say no if it just isn’t working.”

Each of the six groups has their own story of creation and will present vastly different and daring plays at the end of the process. According to Russell, this is a point of pride for he and the faculty.

“My favorite part of this whole thing is that you get to see work from students that you never suspected would come out of their mouths, it’s so cool, their personalities emerge,” Russell says.

Audience members will have the opportunity to customize their evening of theatre experiences by choosing to watch as many as four different productions, which are performed simultaneously in non-traditional spaces throughout CCM’s Corbett Center for the Performing Arts.

Performance Times

• • 7 p.m. Thursday, March 10
• • 7 p.m. Friday, March 11
• • 7 p.m. Saturday, March 12

Location
Various locations around CCM Village
University of Cincinnati

Reserving Tickets
Admission to CCM’s  TRANSMIGRATION Festival is free, but reservations are required. Visit the CCM Box Office or call 513-556-4183 to reserve. Limit two tickets per order.

Parking and Directions
Parking is available in the CCM Garage (located at the base of Corry Boulevard off Jefferson Avenue) and additional garages throughout the UC campus. Please visit uc.edu/parking for more information on parking rates.

For detailed maps and directions, please visit uc.edu/visitors. Additional parking is available off-campus at the new U Square complex on Calhoun Street and other neighboring lots.

For directions to CCM Village, visit ccm.uc.edu/about/directions.

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CCM Season Presenting Sponsor and Musical Theatre Program Sponsor: The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation

Community Partner: ArtsWave

Drama Studio Series Sponsors: Neil Artman & Margaret Straub

CCM Announces 2015-16 Studio Series of Opera, Musical Theatre, Drama & Dance

All-time favorites and daring new works receive equal billing during CCM’s 2015-16 Studio Series. This year’s 12-part series of performing and media arts events features an eclectic mix of opera, musical theatre, drama and dance productions, all featuring CCM’s acclaimed “stars-of-tomorrow.”

Season highlights include an irreverent comedy co-produced with Know Theatre of Cincinnati, a world-premiere produced in partnership with Cincinnati Opera and Opera Theatre of St. Louis, and two film collaborations with CCM’s Division of Electronic Media.

This year’s lineup also includes six free productions held in CCM’s intimate and versatile “black box” space, the Cohen Family Studio Theater, which provides audiences with an unparalleled “up-close-and-personal” performing arts experience.

CCM’s Studio Series runs from Oct. 8, 2015, through April 23, 2016. Please see below for full production and ticketing details.

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CCM 2015-16 STUDIO SERIES
Opera, Musical Theatre, Drama and Dance

BIG RIVER: THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN
Music and lyrics by Roger Miller
Book by William Hauptmann
Vince DeGeorge, director
Steve Goers, musical director
Patti James, choreographer

Meet Mark Twain’s Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer in an irrepressible adaptation of a timeless novel. With a foot-stompin’ country score by Roger Miller, Big River brings to life all the favorite characters from the original – Widow Douglas, the King and Duke, Pap Finn, Mary Jane Wilkes and, of course, the Royal Nonesuch. A dazzling, heartwarming slice of Americana and the crowning achievement of one of country music’s most celebrated careers, Big River is a Tony-Award winning musical for all ages.

Performance Dates: Oct. 8 – 10, 2015
Location: Cohen Family Studio Theater
Admission: Admission is free. Reservations are required. Tickets become available at noon on Monday, Oct. 5. Please visit the CCM Box Office or call 513-556-4183 to reserve. Limit two tickets per order.

Musical Theatre Program Sponsor: The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation
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THE HUNCHBACK OF SEVILLE
A co-production between Know Theatre of Cincinnati and CCM’s Division of Theatre Arts, Production and Arts Administration
Written by Charise Castro Smith
Brant Russell, director

An absurdist play amped to the max, The Hunchback of Seville delves into the lives of the monarchy and citizens of 15th-century Spain: the infamous Queen Isabella, the spoiled Infanta Juana (the future Queen of Spain), and the Muslim Talib who is desperately attempting to avoid persecution at the hands of the Spanish Inquisition. All of this revolves around Maxima, a mathematical genius and adopted royal family member who is locked away in a tower and pines for Talib’s love. Smith’s play uses this dark, comedic plot both for laughs and as a serious means to examine sanitized history and human rights injustices both in Spain and the new world that Columbus “discovered.” This exciting collaboration brings CCM drama students to Know Theatre’s stage for a history lesson you won’t get in college!

Performance Dates: Oct. 9 – 24, 2015
Location: Know Theatre of Cincinnati, 1120 Jackson Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202
Admission: Tickets available through the Know Theatre Box Office by calling 513-300-5669 or online at http://knowtheatre.com.

Drama Studio Series Sponsor: Neil Artman & Margaret Straub

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SHALIMAR THE CLOWN
A collaboration between CCM Opera, Cincinnati Opera and Opera Theatre of St. Louis
Co-artistic directors Robin Guarino and Marcus Küchle
Music by Jack Perla
Libretto by Rajiv Joseph
Directed by James Robinson

Funded by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, CCM Opera and Cincinnati Opera present a rare behind-the-scenes look at the creation of an original work. An opera based on the novel of the same name by Salman Rushdie, Shalimar the Clown revolves around a child named India who loses her father—a United States diplomat to India’s namesake country—to assassination at the hands of his former chauffeur Shalimar. The reasons that led the former clown to murder India’s father tell of the fragility of human life and love, detailing how complicated and non-simplistic our stories are, how large the consequences of our actions can loom, and how great joys can turn into unbearable sadness and senseless tragedy.

Performance Date: Saturday, Oct. 17, 2015
Location: TBA
Admission: For ticket details and location for the public reading of Shalimar the Clown, please contact the Cincinnati Opera box office at 513-241-2742.

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WILLIAM BOLCOM: CABARET SONGS
Lydia Brown, music director and piano
Robin Guarino and Marcus Shields, stage directors

William Bolcom’s career is storied: famed pianist, Pulitzer Prize-winning composer, Ragtime revivalist and acclaimed professor at the University of Michigan. Arnold Weinstein, a self-proclaimed “theatre poet,” won acclaim as a lyricist for famed musicals such as Metamorphoses. Brought together by Darius Milhaud, the duo had a prolific partnership from 1964 until Weinstein’s death in 2005. Their collaborations included famed operas such as McTeague, A Wedding and others. Among these works were four sets of cabaret songs written between the 1970s and 1990s. CCM Opera is proud to present the first complete performance of all 24 of these cabaret songs.

Performance Dates: Oct. 23 – 25, 2015
Location: Cohen Family Studio Theater
Admission: Admission is free. Reservations are required. Tickets become available at noon on Monday, Oct. 19. Please visit the CCM Box Office or call 513-556-4183 to reserve. Limit two tickets per order.

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SECOND ANNUAL CCM 48-HOUR FILM FESTIVAL
Co-produced with CCM’s Division of Electronic Media
Richard E. Hess and John Owens, producers

You are invited to a celebration of original film work by CCM students. After random team placement, student authors, actors, directors, editors and composers have 48 hours to create finished original short films. The general public is invited to a screening of these works at the end of the 48-hour project time! Six teams, six short films, plus six guest artists from Kenyatta University in Nairobi, Kenya will surprise and delight.

Screening Time: 7 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 8, 2015
Location: MainStreet Cinema, UC’s Tangeman University Center
Admission: Admission is free. Reservations are not required.

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IL SIGNOR BRUSCHINO
Music by Giachino Rossini
Libretto by Giuseppe Maria Foppa
Frances Rabalais, director

A brilliant one-act operatic farce based upon the play Le fils par hasard, ou ruse et folie by Alissan de Chazet and E.T.M. Ourry, Il Signor Bruschino features the traditional hallmarks of opera buffa: mistaken identity, star-crossed lovers, betrothed confusion, and an ending that ties up all the loose ends. Relax your mind and enjoy a playful romp in a French castle!

Performance Dates: Feb. 19 – 21, 2016
Location: Cohen Family Studio Theater
Admission: Admission is free. Reservations are required. Tickets become available at noon on Monday, Feb. 15. Please visit the CCM Box Office or call 513-556-4183 to reserve. Limit two tickets per order.

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DANCE STUDENT CHOREOGRAPHER’S SHOWCASE
Andre Megerdichian, director

Come experience the next generation of emerging choreographers as CCM dance majors take the stage with exciting and diverse new works.

Performance Dates: March 3 – 5, 2016
Location: Cohen Family Studio Theater
Admission: Admission is free, but reservations are required. Tickets become available at noon on Monday, Feb. 29. Visit the CCM Box Office or call 513-556-4183 to reserve. Limit two tickets per order.

The Dance Department gratefully acknowledges the support of the Corbett Endowment at CCM.
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TRANSMIGRATION 2016
A Festival of Student-Created New Works
Richard E. Hess, coordinator
Brant Russell, producer

TRANSMIGRATION, so named for “the movement from one place to another” or “the transition from one state of being to another,” is a festival of new works created by the acting students in CCM Drama. Six teams of actors craft and perform five original 30-minute shows. Performed simultaneously in different locations throughout CCM Village, TRANSMIGRATION will allow the audience to sample four different new works of their choosing in one spectacular evening. “Thanks to the drama program at UC’s College-Conservatory of Music,” observed CityBeat’s Rick Pender, “theater fans were offered a jolt of onstage vitality.”

Performance Dates: March 10 – 12, 2016
Location: Various locations throughout CCM Village, including Corbett Center rooms 3705, 4735 and 4755
Admission: Admission is free, but reservations are required. Tickets become available at noon on Monday, March 7. Visit the CCM Box Office or call 513-556-4183 to reserve. Limit two tickets per order.

Drama Studio Series Sponsor: Neil Artman & Margaret Straub

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MARIA STUARDA
CCM’s Opera d’Arte Undergraduate Opera Series
Music by Gaetano Donizetti
Libretto by Giuseppe Bardari
Brett Scott, music director and conductor
Amy Johnson, Stage Director
Kenneth Shaw, Co-producer

One of the hallmarks of bel canto opera, Maria Stuarda is a story of intrigue, confrontation and tragedy loosely based upon the lives of Mary, Queen of Scots (Mary Stuart) and her cousin Queen Elizabeth I.

Performance Dates: March 11 – 13, 2016
Location: Cohen Family Studio Theater
Admission: Admission is free, but reservations are required. Tickets become available at noon on Monday, March 7. Visit the CCM Box Office or call 513-556-4183 to reserve. Limit two tickets per order.

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BINARY
Co-produced with CCM’s Division of Electronic Media
Screenplay by Owen Alderson
Richard E. Hess and John Owens, producers

Set in a Massachusetts private boarding school, Binary is a coming of age story following one student’s journey to embrace a new identity in the face of peer adversity. Winner of the first-ever CCM screen-writing contest, this original short film with screenplay by CCM Drama major Owen Alderson will be jointly produced by the CCM E-Media and Drama Departments.

Screening Time: 7 p.m. Saturday, April 2, 2016
Location: MainStreet Cinema, UC’s Tangeman University Center
Admission: Admission is free. Reservations are not required.

The April 2 screening of Binary has been canceled. A rescheduled screening date will be announced soon.

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LYSISTRATA JONES
Lyrics and Music by Lewis Flinn
Book by Douglas Carter Beane
Emma Griffin, director
Danny White, musical director
Patti James, choreographer

The Athens University basketball team hasn’t won a game in 30 years. But when spunky transfer student Lysistrata Jones dares the squad’s fed-up girlfriends to stop “giving it up” to their boyfriends until they win a game, their legendary losing streak could finally come to an end. Adapted from Lysistrata, Aristophanes’ classic Greek comedy, Lysistrata Jones takes student activism to a whole new level and celebrates the journey of discovering and embracing your true self.

Performance Dates: April 7 – 9, 2016
Location: Cohen Family Studio Theater
Admission: Admission is free. Reservations are required. Tickets become available at noon on Monday, April 4. Please visit the CCM Box Office or call 513-556-4183 to reserve. Limit two tickets per order.

Musical Theatre Program Sponsor: The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation

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VERY DUMB KIDS
(formerly THE GREAT MAJORITY)
Written by Gracie Gardner
Brant Russell, director

Join us for a staged reading of an in-progress play by rising New York star Gracie Gardner. Sarah Nehal was murdered while working as a correspondent in New Delhi while her college friends were at home in the U.S. streaming TV on the internet and peddling their esoteric skill sets. One year after her funeral, Sarah’s friends meet for their annual Fourth of July reunion. The play explores entitlement and how its effects are visited upon the disenfranchised as well as the privileged. It’s also about how we can live responsibly in an irresponsible universe. The Great Majority is the inaugural production of CCM Drama’s new play-commissioning initiative: plays that speak to the unique experience of being young in America; plays that are written for and about our students; plays that will go on to be produced by educational institutions and professional theatre companies all over the country; plays that will involve a new generation of artists and audiences… and you will be able to say you were there when it all started.

Performance Dates: April 21 – 23, 2016
Location: Cohen Family Studio Theater
Admission: Admission is free, but reservations are required. Tickets become available at noon on Monday, April 18. Visit the CCM Box Office or call 513-556-4183 to reserve. Limit two tickets per order.

Drama Studio Series Sponsor: Neil Artman and Margaret Straub

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Reserving Tickets
All Studio Series performances held in CCM’s Cohen Family Studio Theater are free and open to the general public, but reservations are required. Reservations can be made the Monday before each show by visiting the CCM Box Office in person or calling 513-556-4183. Limit two tickets per order.

For additional information on reserving tickets for CCM’s Studio Series, visit ccm.uc.edu/about/villagenews/did-you-know/how-to-studio-series.

Some off-campus Studio Series productions require paid admission or reservations through a partner organization’s box office. Please refer to individual production listings for more information.

Parking and Directions
Parking is available in the CCM Garage (located at the base of Corry Boulevard off Jefferson Avenue) and additional garages throughout the UC campus. Please visit uc.edu/parking for more information on parking rates.

For detailed maps and directions, please visit uc.edu/visitors. Additional parking is available off-campus at the new U Square complex on Calhoun Street and other neighboring lots.

For directions to CCM Village, visit ccm.uc.edu/about/directions.

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University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music
2015-16 Studio Series: Opera, Musical Theatre, Drama and Dance

FALL 2015 BIG RIVER: THE ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN Performance Times: 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 8 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 9 2 & 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 10 Location: Cohen Family Studio Theater THE HUNCHBACK OF SEVILLE Performance Times: 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 9 8 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 10 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 11 8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 14 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 15 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 16 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 17 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 18 8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 21 8 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 22 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 23 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 24 Location: Know Theatre of Cincinnati, 1120 Jackson Street, Cincinnati, OH 45202 OPERA FUSION: NEW WORKS – SHALIMAR THE CLOWN Performance Date: Saturday, Oct. 17 Location: To Be Announced WILLIAM BOLCOM: CABARET SONGS Performance Time: 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 23 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 24 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 25 Location: Cohen Family Studio Theater CCM’S 48-HOUR FILM FESTIVAL Screening Time: 7 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 8 Location: MainStreet Cinema, Tangeman University Center

SPRING 2016 IL SIGNOR BRUSCHINO Performance Times: 8 p.m. Friday, February 19 8 p.m. Saturday, February 20 2 p.m. Sunday, February 21 Location: Cohen Family Studio Theater DANCE STUDENT CHOREOGRAPHER SHOWCASE Performance Times: 8 p.m. Thursday, March 3 8 p.m. Friday, March 4 2 & 8 p.m. Saturday, March 5 Location: Cohen Family Studio Theater TRANSMIGRATION 2016 Performance Times: 7 p.m. Thursday, March 10 7 p.m. Friday, March 11 2 & 7 p.m. Saturday, March 12 Location: Corbett Center room 3705, 4735 & 4755 MARIA STUARDA Performance Times: 8 p.m. Friday, March 11 8 p.m. Saturday, March 12 2 p.m. Sunday, March 13 Location: Cohen Family Studio Theater  BINARY Screening Time: 7 p.m. Saturday, April 2 Location: MainStreet Cinema, Tangeman University Center LYSISTRATA JONES Performance Times: 8 p.m. Thursday, April 7 8 p.m. Friday, April 8 2 & 8 p.m. Saturday, April 9 Location: Cohen Family Studio Theater VERY DUMB KIDS (formerly THE GREAT MAJORITY) Performance Times: 8 p.m. Thursday, April 21 8 p.m. Friday, April 22 2 & 8 p.m. Saturday, April 23 Location: Cohen Family Studio Theater

CCM Season Presenting Sponsor & Musical Theatre Program Sponsor: The Otto M. Budig Family Foundation

Drama Studio Series Sponsor: Neil Artman and Margaret Straub

A preeminent institution for the performing and media arts, the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) is the largest single source of performing arts presentations in the state of Ohio.

All event dates and programs are subject to change. For a complete calendar of events, please visit us online at ccm.uc.edu.

 

CCM Announces 2014-15 Studio Series of Opera, Musical Theatre, Drama and Dance

With free admission and limited seating, CCM’s innovative and award-winning Studio Series remains one of the hottest tickets in Cincinnati.

This season’s Studio Series includes eight exciting productions showcasing CCM’s “rising stars.” The series opens in October with the energetic musical Blood Brothers and concludes in April with the profoundly funny drama You’re Welcome (A Cycle of Bad Plays).

Other highlights include Monteverdi’s masterful opera The Coronation of Poppea in February and the Dance Department’s annual Student Choreographer’s Showcase in March.

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.”

The 2013 TRANSMIGRATION Festival’s New Works

Running March 7 – 9, this year’s TRANSMIGRATION festival will feature student-created new works 2122 MICHIGAN AVENUE, The Opening, Sentenced, The Sherwin Williams Effect, S.L.U.T. and Void.

Audience members will have the opportunity to customize their theater-going experience by choosing to watch up to four different productions, which are performed simultaneously and in non-traditional spaces throughout CCM’s Corbett Center for the Performing Arts. Learn more about each of these new, student-created works after the jump!

CCM Drama Students Present Edgy, Original Works During TRANSMIGRATION Festival

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CCM Drama students continue to learn what it takes to produce their own art as they prepare for the 2013 TRANSMIGRATION Festival of Student-Created New Works taking place March 7-9 throughout CCM Village.

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. Admission to the festival is free, but reservations are required.

A.B., Dolly, Ralph and Julia Cohen Chair in Drama Richard Hess.

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. “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.”

TRANSMIGRATION came into being in response to the dynamic careers of today’s professional actors. Though auditioning and getting cast for roles is the conventional way for an actor to make a name for his or herself, “the second way to make work is to gather a group of like-minded people, get together and create something… students need to know how to go into a storefront theatre and say ‘we’re going to make something in this raw space,’” Hess asserts. TRANSMIGRATION gives students real-world creative experiences that will last and develop through the rest of their careers.

CCM Announces Spring 2013 Calendar of Major Events

CCM is delighted to announce its spring schedule of performances. The largest single source of performing arts events in the state of Ohio, CCM presents more than 100 major public performances from Jan. 12 through May 19, ranging from faculty and guest artist concerts to fully supported opera, drama and musical theatre productions.

CCM’s spring semester performance schedule includes the return of Cincinnati’s premiere fundraiser “A Moveable Feast” on Jan. 18, an evening of motion-picture music featuring acclaimed film composer and distinguished UC alumnus Randy Edelman on Jan. 27, a celebration of Giuseppe Verdi’s sacred masterwork Requiem on Feb. 1 and 2, a monumental “Mahler Marathon” on March 2, the Ariel String Quartet’s inaugural season finale on April 9, a guest artist recital by acclaimed tenor Lawrence Brownlee on April 13 and the eighth installment of CCM’s popular Pianopalooza concert on April 21.

Also this spring, CCM’s Division of Electronic Media presents the 10-part Global Lens Film Series (Jan. 14 – April 15), Cincinnati Children’s Choir celebrates its 20th anniversary (March 9), the Classical Guitar Department celebrates its 40th anniversary (April 6) and CCM’s year-long Kurt Weill Festival continues with a variety of unique concerts and productions (Feb. 28 – March 12).

Download a digital copy of CCM’s Spring 2013 Calendar of Major Events today.

Event Information
All events listed below take place in CCM Village on the campus of the University of Cincinnati unless otherwise indicated. Admission is free to many CCM performances, although some events do require purchased tickets or reservations. Please see individual event information for details and ordering information.

All event dates and programs are subject to change. Visit ccm.uc.edu or contact the CCM Box Office at 513-556-4183 for the most current event information.

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 Slideshows: The Laramie Project

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Today, we provide a sneak-peek at CCM’s upcoming Studio Series production of the thought-provoking drama The Laramie Project. Tickets are still available for this powerful stage event, which runs Nov. 29 – Dec. 1 in UC’s Cohen Family Studio Theater. Admission to The Laramie Project is free, but reservations are required.