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

All-time favorites and daring new works receive equal billing during the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music’s (CCM) 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 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 Hauptman
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 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

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

____

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 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

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

____

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 (performance time TBA)

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.

____

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 Times:

• 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 23
• 8 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 24
• 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 25
  

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.

____

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

Location:

MainStreet Cinema, UC’s Tangeman University Center

Admission:

Admission is free. Reservations are not required.

____

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 Times:

• 8 p.m. Friday, February 19
• 8 p.m. Saturday, February 20
• 2 p.m. Sunday, February 21
  

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.

____

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 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

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.

____

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 Times:

• 7 p.m. Thursday, March 10
• 7 p.m. Friday, March 11
• 2 & 7 p.m. Saturday, March 12
  

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

____

MARIA STUARDA
CCM’s Opera d’Arte Undergraduate Opera Series
Music by Gaetano Donizetti
Libretto by Giuseppe Bardari
Dr. 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 Times:

• 8 p.m. Friday, March 11
• 8 p.m. Saturday, March 12
• 2 p.m. Sunday, March 13
  

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.

____

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

Location:

MainStreet Cinema, UC’s Tangeman University Center

Admission:

Admission is free. Reservations are not required.

____

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 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

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

____

THE GREAT MAJORITY
Written by Grace Gardner
Brant Russell, director

Join us for a staged reading of an in-progress play by rising New York star Grace 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 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

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

____________________

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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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.