The reception begins at 7:00 p.m., followed by the 8:00 p.m. screening. A question-and-answer session with film writer and director Elvin Ross will follow at 9:00 p.m. To RSVP, contact Beth Gladden at 865-974-9008 or bgladden@utk.edu.

For more information on the movie, visit its website.

Clarence Brown Theatre

Since 2005, Clarence Brown Theatre has presented A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens’ classic tale of a life redeemed, every holiday season. This year, director Casey Sams is switching things up a bit. The revamped production features new costumes, a new set, musicians on stage, and snow.

Sams and the designers have set the story inside a snow globe.

“That means there will be lots of snow for the set,” Sams said.

The play opens Friday, November 30, and runs through Sunday, December 23.

See the Clarence Brown Theatre website for show times and ticket prices.

UT School of Music

The holidays and music are strongly linked, and UT’s School of Music will host two events to showcase its talent and celebrate the holidays.

“Jazz for Tots,” a charity event for the U.S. Marine Corps Toys for Tots Campaign, will feature jazz ensembles performing holiday classics. It begins at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday, December 2, in the James R. Cox Auditorium in the Alumni Memorial Building. For admission, bring a new unwrapped toy to donate to the Toys for Tots campaign.

The School of Music’s annual Holiday Choral Concert will begin at 8:00 p.m. Tuesday, December 4, at the James R. Cox Auditorium in the Alumni Memorial Building. Admission is free.

Visit the School of Music website for more information.

UT Gardens

Although the Holiday Express has moved from UT Gardens to Dollywood’s Eagle Theatre, the gardens are offering plenty of holiday activities for all ages, including the following classes:

Saturday, December 1

• Grandkids Growing: Trash into Treasure, 10:00 a.m. to noon. Grandparents and their grandchildren will learn how to make recycled cards and envelopes just in time for the holiday season. Cost is $10 per family for Friends of the UT Gardens members and $14 per family for nonmembers.
• Adult Workshop: Wreath Making, 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. Wreath-making beginners will be led step by step to create their own holiday wreath out of evergreen and other natural materials. Cost is $25 for members and $30 for nonmembers.

Friday, December 14

• Garden Sprouts: Gingerbread Cookies, 10:00 to 11:30 a.m. Children ages three through five and their parents will learn how ginger root is used to make gingerbread, a traditional holiday treat. Children also will decorate a gingerbread boy or girl to eat and a gingerbread ornament to take home. Cost is $8 for members and $12 for nonmembers.

Saturday, December 15

• Garden Buds: Homemade Ornaments, 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. Children ages six through nine will learn how to make holiday ornaments from items commonly found around the house or yard, including popcorn and cranberry garland and pinecone ornaments. Cost is $10 for members and $14 for nonmembers.

Preregistration is required for all classes. Contact Derrick Stowell at 865-974-7151 or dstowell@utk.edu to preregister.

Visit the UT Gardens website for more information.

Frank H. McClung Museum

The McClung Museum on campus has collections of anthropology, archaeology, decorative arts, local history, and natural history. It is easy to spend hours wandering through the displays, learning about the geology, history, art, and culture of Tennessee as well as places around the world.

Current exhibits include

• Zen Buddhism and the Arts of Japan. Ending December 31.
• Celebrating the Tercentennial of Mark Catesby. Mark Catesby’s early eighteenth century illustrations of America’s flora and fauna.
• Ancient Egypt: The Eternal Voice. Ancient Egyptian objects arranged in categories of history, daily life, religion, and writing.
• Archaeology and Native Peoples of Tennessee. More than sixty-five years of research by UT archaeologists provides an in-depth view of the rich Native American heritage in Tennessee.
• The Decorative Experience. A collection of decorative objects from various cultures and ages.
• Geology and Fossil History of Tennessee.
• Human Origins: Searching for Our Fossil Ancestors. Casts of fossil hominids, artists’ reconstructions of life scenes, maps, diagrams, videos, and artifacts help explain human evolution.
• The Battle of Fort Sanders. East Tennessee’s pivotal role in the American Civil War.
• Tennessee Freshwater Mussels. Diversity of freshwater mussels, as well as their Native American and commercial uses.

The museum is free and open to the public from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Sunday. It will be closed December 24 and 25 and January 1.

For more information, visit the McClung Museum website.

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C O N T A C T :

Christine Copelan (ccopela7@utk.edu)

Amy Blakely (865-974-5034, ablakely@utk.edu)

He begins the appointment June 1.

Cervone has been with the Clarence Brown Theatre and the Department of Theatre for more than twenty years. He managed the academic and production aspects of the theater and kept it moving towards its operational, fiscal, artistic, and philosophical goals.

Cervone envisions future collaborations between the Clarence Brown and the Tennessee, which he called “a beautiful, jaw-dropping theater.”

“We’d love to partner with UT to bring some of the events that would appear at the Clarence Brown down to the Tennessee Theatre,” Cervone said, noting for example, an event similar to the Clarence Brown and the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra’s co-production of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.

Cervone is also a UT alumnus. He graduated with a Master of Fine Arts degree in performance in 1993 and a Master of Business Administration degree in 2010.

“My twenty three and a half years here have totally prepared me and developed the skill sets that will help me when I get down there,” he said. “UT is in my blood.”

John Cullum, two-time tony award winner and known for his role in the TV show Northern Exposure, speaks about his time at the Clarence Brown Theatre.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4DYiM-bGMQ

Dale Dickey, an actress known for her roles in the TV series My Name is Earl and the movie Winter’s Bone, recalls her time on and off the stage at the Clarence Brown Theatre.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eIg0Rjal4E

Dead Man’s Cell Phone

Watch the video below for a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Dead Man’s Cell Phone.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=haEwQRkbYfI

The show runs through April 15. Tickets are $15 for adults, $12 for kids and non-UT students, and $5 for UT students. For more information or to purchase tickets, visit the Clarence Brown Theatre website.

Holiday Express at the UT Gardens

Holiday Express is a 4,000-square-foot miniature railway stationed in the UT Gardens. The display is made up of a quarter-mile of track that weaves through a miniature landscape featuring twelve garden-scale model trains on ten different rail lines. Thousands of lights illuminate the miniature landscape of rivers, waterfalls, and more than one hundred buildings decorated for the holidays, including elaborate, to-scale replicas of existing area architecture during the eras depicted. A crackling fire and hot cocoa will help visitors warm up, relax, and enjoy the atmosphere. The Holiday Express will be open through January 1. Admission is six dollars. It’s free for children 4 years old and younger. Hours are noon to 8:00 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and noon to 6:00 p.m. on Sundays through Christmas Day. From December 26-29 and on January 1, the hours will be noon to 6:00 p.m. Children’s holiday crafts, family scavenger hunt, and visits with Santa are also available during Special Event Sundays, December 4 and 18. For more information, please visit http://utgardens.tennessee.edu/.

Clarence Brown Theatre

The campus theater has two shows that will continue until December 18. The classic tale of a life redeemed is celebrated in the annual performance of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol showing in the Clarence Brown Theatre. It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play returns to the Carousel Theatre this year. Inspired by the classic American film, the play is performed as a 1940s live radio broadcast in front of a studio audience. Live and on the air, five actors perform the dozens of characters, produce the sound effects, and break for commercial. Patrons who buy tickets to one of the holiday shows can bring their ticket to the box office for 25 percent off admission to the other holiday show. For more information, please visit: http://www.clarencebrowntheatre.com/.

Frank H. McClung Museum

The McClung Museum on campus has collections of anthropology, archaeology, decorative arts, local history, and natural history. It is easy to spend hours wandering through the displays, learning about geology, history, art, and culture of Tennessee as well as places around the world. Current exhibits include: Ancient Egypt: The Eternal Voice, Archaeology and Native Peoples of Tennessee, Windows to Heaven: Treasures from the Museum of Russian Icons, The Decorative Experience, Geology and Fossil History of Tennessee, Human Origins: Searching for our Fossil Ancestors, The Battle of Fort Sanders and Tennessee Freshwater Mussels. The museum is free and open to the public. It will be closed December 24 and 25 and January 1. For more information, visit: http://mcclungmuseum.utk.edu/.

UT Basketball

During the holidays, you can watch the Vols take on UNC Asheville (December 20), ETSU (December 23), The Citadel (December 29), Chattanooga (January 2), and Florida (January 7). Meanwhile, the Lady Vols will play Old Dominion (December 28), Chattanooga (January 3), and Georgia (January 5). Admission for UT students is free, but tickets must be requested online. For the complete schedule, please visit: http://www.utsports.com/. — C O N T A C T : Amy Blakely, (865-974-5034, amy.blakely@tennessee.edu)

The Clarence Brown Theatre currently offers half price single tickets to UT faculty and staff. The six-show package discounts those prices even more. This package normally sells for $135 to the general public.

The offer is good for the six-show package, is limited to two subscriptions per purchase, and excludes Opening Night.

The Clarence Brown Theatre season opens on Thursday, September 8. The following shows are included in the package:

• Moonlight & Magnolias—Producer David O. Selznick has shut down filming on Gone With the Wind because the screenplay isn’t working. What does he do?  He fires the director, pulls Victor Fleming off the set of The Wizard of Oz, commandeers the great screenwriter Ben Hecht and locks everyone in his office for five days to act out the book chapter by chapter.

• 25^th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee—Six lovable nerds, in the throes of puberty, battle for a spelling championship that is a perfect evening of musical F-U-N. Who knows?  YOU may find yourself on stage!

• It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play— Inspired by the classic American film, It’s a Wonderful Life, the play is performed as a 1940s live radio broadcast in front of a studio audience. Five actors perform the dozens of characters, produce the sound effects and break for commercial. Live and On the Air! This production is returning to the Carousel Theater for its second season.

• Fuddy Meers—A woman whose memory is erased when she sleeps, a limping, lisping ‘brother’ who kidnaps her, an accomplice with a sock puppet, a husband with murky intentions, a gibberish-speaking mom, and a foul-mouthed teenage son. A farce about aphasia, and other oddities, from the playwright of Rabbit Hole.

• Black Pearl Sings—A search for lost African-American folk music leads Susannah, an ambitious song collector for the Library of Congress, to Pearl, a woman with a soulful voice, a steely spirit and a dramatic story. Over twenty folk songs and spirituals create an American musical tapestry that unites these two different women, as they journey toward their way out of the shadows and into the light of personal freedom.

• Kiss Me Kate—Start with Shakespeare, add the timeless songs of Cole Porter, and you get a multiple Tony Award winning musical. This play-within-a-play recounts the onstage and offstage romantic battles of a touring production of The Taming of the Shrew. Featuring songs like “Brush Up Your Shakespeare,” “Another Op’nin’, Another Show” and “Why Can’t You Behave?”

For more information or to order tickets, contact the Box Office at 974-5161.

“Amadeus” is the story of court composer Salieri, who is astounded by Mozart’s beautiful music and consumed by envy and insecurity. Salieri sets out to destroy the musical prodigy’s life and career.

The collaborative production opens Wednesday, Sept. 8, and will be directed by CBT Producing Artistic Director Calvin MacLean and will feature the Knoxville Symphony Chamber Orchestra, conducted by KSO Music Director Lucas Richman.

This production will be presented in association with Schaad Companies and with support provided by Jim and Natalie Haslam and the UT College of Arts and Sciences.

Tickets for this production are regularly $50 for weekend shows and $40 for weeknight shows.

Show dates and times are Sept. 8-10 and 14-17 at 7:30 p.m.; and Sept. 12 at 2 p.m. There will be two performances on Sept. 19, at 2 and 7:30 p.m. For more information or for tickets call 974-5161 or visit http://www.clarencebrowntheatre.com/.

The Clarence Brown Theatre (CBT), located next to the Humanities Building and Hess Hall on the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, campus, is finishing up its 2010 season with the hit musical “Man of La Mancha.” The show opens on April 16 with a performance at 7:30 p.m. followed by a reception featuring Spanish-style cuisine for patrons, actors and technical staff.

With 50 costumes, a cast of 34 professional, undergraduate and graduate actors, and a 16-piece orchestra, intense preparation is vital before the curtain goes up.

“It’s a collaborative effort,” director Paul Barnes said. “This is probably the largest production I’ve directed at the Clarence Brown, but this is a very professional organization from top to bottom.”

This is Barnes’ fifth production for CBT. While preparing for the show, a lot of time went toward researching the Spanish Inquisition, which is the backdrop for the five-time Tony Award-winning play.

Cristin Downs, a contract employee stage managing the show, is in charge of coordinating all of the technical aspects. CBT is a rarity because it is a professional theater on a university campus. This allows professionals working in theater to work side by side with students and faculty.

“I make sure everyone has what they need to do their job,” Downs said. “I’m the communication hub. I go to the shops every week to visit one on one to make sure we’re all on the same page. I’m sort of a psychic and a psychologist at the same time.”

All of the various technical elements, which include scenery, sound, lighting and props, must work together for a cohesive end product. The goal of everyone working with the production is to put on a great show that leaves the audience wanting more.

Ted Kitterman, a freshman theater major playing Juan, says working on this show has changed how he views professional theater, and he hopes patrons will feel the same.

“It’s just a good time,” Kitterman said. “You go to the movies and see famous people on TV, but you don’t get that sense of real life happening right before your eyes. It’s just a beautiful story that gets told like nothing else I’ve ever seen.”

The featured video details more behind-the-scenes work on of “Man of La Mancha.” Tickets for the show and 2010-11 season tickets are on sale now in the CBT Box Office. For more information, call the box office at 974-5161 or visit www.clarencebrowntheatre.com.

Katy Wolfe Zahn (Aldonza/Dulcinea), David Kortemeier (Cervantes/Don Quixote), and Neil Friedman (Manservant/Sancho)

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C O N T A C T :

Robin Conklin (865-974-2497, rconkli1@utk.edu)

Bridget Hardy (865-974-2225, bhardy4@utk.edu)

“Cal takes on the presidency with considerable knowledge about URTA. He also has this terrific leadership background of both an important training program at Tennessee, and a major professional, League of Resident Theatres in the Clarence Brown. This linkage between training and professional theatre perfectly reflects URTA’s constituency and central interests,” said Scott Steele, executive director of URTA.

MacLean has been with UT Knoxville for four years. Under his leadership, the Clarence Brown Theatre has experienced a renaissance, with increased ticket sales, increased corporate sponsorships and revitalized board support.

“Cal’s leadership has energized the entire arts community. Subscriptions are up. Sponsorship has grown and the productions have been outstanding. We’re proud that he has been elected president of URTA and hope all the members will come to Knoxville and see, firsthand, what a great theatre program he has created,” said Townes Osborn, chair of the Clarence Brown Theatre Society Advisory Board.

Marrying the professional theatre with the theatre department’s academic program, MacLean has improved an already outstanding graduate training program and revitalized undergraduate theatre education.

“The University/Resident Theatre Association has been an important part of my career as an educator and professional director,” MacLean said. “I have been interested in the issues of professional training within the university for some time — a kind of ‘teaching hospital’ for theatre training. The University of Tennessee has perhaps the most dynamic blend of educational and professional mission, and its relationship with URTA is an important aspect of its program. UT’s visibility in this organization will be a great benefit to our program, and the work I do in URTA will be a wonderful culmination of many of my own career interests.

“The Clarence Brown Theatre is respected both as a professional theatre and a professional theatre training program. I believe CBT’s reputation contributes to my election.”

Previously, MacLean was professor of theatre and head of directing at Illinois State University for 15 years, and artistic director of the Illinois Shakespeare Festival. Active in Chicago, he earned numerous awards as a director, most notably for his production of Joshua Sobol’s “Ghetto,” which won four Joseph Jefferson Awards, including Outstanding Production of a Play and the first-ever Michael Maggio Award for Outstanding Direction. Other professional credits include Chicago’s Tony Award winning Victory Gardens Theatre, the Connecticut Repertory Theatre and Indiana Repertory.

URTA is the nation’s oldest and largest consortium of professional, graduate theatre training programs and associated professional theatre companies.

URTA advances theatre by connecting educational theatre programs with professional theatre and performing arts industries, promoting professional practices and artistic excellence in higher education, and assisting students with their transition into the profession.

To see photos from Tuesday’s performance, click here.

A second employee-only showing of the play is planned for Tuesday, March 2. Due to the overwhelming response for this event, all tickets have been distributed for next week’s production. Those with tickets who will be unable to attend the play are asked to contact Jan Hogan at jhogan@tennessee.edu or 974-3078. In doing so, this will allow other UT faculty and staff on a waiting list the opportunity to attend.

The evening will begin with a reception in the Clarence Brown lobby at 6:30 p.m. Seating will open at 7 p.m., and the play will begin at 7:30 p.m.

This date is in addition to the previously-publicized Feb. 23 showing. Due to high demand, all tickets have been distributed for that date and the theatre has scheduled this second free performance.

The family-friendly play has been called one of the funniest ever written. UT employees and up to five family members will each receive free admission and are invited to a reception hosted by the President’s office prior to the show.

“Our employees are the university’s greatest assets and this event is presented as a thank you for all that UT employees do every day,” said Interim President Jan Simek.

For questions or more information about Faculty/Staff Appreciation Night, call Brian Gard, director of special events, at 974-5028 or visit http://www.tennessee.edu/system/events/employeeappreciation/index.html.

“This play is an example–an ancient example–of a culture’s effort to make sense of the incomprehensibility of man’s existence.  It raises searching questions about man’s place in the world–is man free or are his actions predetermined by some supernatural force?  This question is at the heart of Sophocles’ play and one that has perplexed philosophers and theologians for centuries,” said director John Sipes. “Oedipus left his home to escape his “destiny” only to learn later that he had precisely fulfilled the god’s horrific prediction.  Ironically, it is Oedipus’ choice to uncover the truth that destroys him; it is in exercising his free will that he discovers the horrible truth of his existence.”

Sipes is a second-year faculty member in the UT Theatre Department.  Prior to this, he was the Resident Movement Director for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Oregon. In thirteen seasons at the Festival, he worked on over 100 productions. Before joining the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, he directed shows and choreographed fights for the Illinois Shakespeare Festival for twelve seasons; he served as the Festival’s Artistic Director from 1990 to 1995. Recent directing credits include “Love’s Labour’s Lost” and “All My Sons” at the Clarence Brown, “Henry VIII” and “King John” at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, “The Year of Magical Thinking” and “The Hollow” at the Milwaukee Rep, and “Julius Caesar” at Shakespeare Santa Cruz. He received an MFA in Acting from Indiana University. He is a certified Teacher of the Alexander Technique (AmSat), and a certified actor/combatant with the Society of American Fight Directors. John also trained in Corporeal Mime with Etienne Decroux in Paris, and studied with Tadashi Suzuki in Japan.

The cast includes many talented resident artists, MFA students, and community actors, all of whom have been seen regularly on the CBT stages.  They are:  David Alley, Carol Mayo Jenkins, David Kortemeier, Donald Thorne, Cycerli Ash, Jessica Ripton and Matt Ventura.

The cast also includes three visiting guest artists.  Jeremy Holm, a New York actor, returns to play the role of “Oedipus.”  He previously appeared in the CBT productions of “Anna Karenna” and “The Trojan Women.” Elizabeth Norment, also a New York actor, will play the role of “Jocasta.”  She has appeared on regional theatre stages, Broadway and in film and television, and she most recently performed in the one-woman show “The Year of Magical Thinking” at the Milwaukee Repertory Theatre.  Ned Schmidtke, formerly based in Chicago, now resides in Los Angeles where he maintains a busy career in television, film and theatre.

Visiting guest artist, Jennifer Tipton, designed the lights.

“Ms. Tipton is a two-time Tony Award and two-time Drama Desk Award winning Lighting Designer, and a recipient of the prestigious MacArthur Genius Award.  She has designed lights for theatre and dance on Broadway and in regional theatres across the country.   In addition to her prolific professional career, Ms. Tipton has taught Lighting Design at the Yale School of Drama since 1981 where she has inspired countless young designers many of whom are now significant professional designers themselves.  We all feel privileged to have the opportunity to collaborate with an artist of Ms. Tipton’s caliber,” Sipes said.

MFA set design student, Mary Pingree, designed the set.

“The set contains some architectural elements that harken back to the ancient theatres of Greece, and some others that could be found in our city centers today.  So, the set will appear simultaneously foreign and familiar, old and new, much in the same haunting way the story of “Oedipus Rex” feels–at once mysteriously distant and unreal, while at the same time, disturbingly recognizable and very real,” Sipes said.

Marianne Custer, head of Design at UT, designed the costumes.

“Marianne’s costume designs suggest a modern world while simultaneously evoking aspects of the ancient past.  Her designs, as always, contributed immeasurably to the shaping of our approach to the play” Sipes said.

UT Theater faculty member, Terry Silver-Alford, and resident sound designer, Mike Ponder, collaborated as Composer and Sound Designer.

“Our production will include some of Terry’s original music played on a “prepared piano.”  Terry’s music captures exquisitely the mystery and haunting beauty of the play,” Sipes said.

Preview for the show is February 4.  Opening night is February 5. The show runs to February 21. Evening performances begin at 7:30 p.m. Matinees begin at 2 p.m.  For tickets, call the Clarence Brown Theatre box office at 865-974-5161, Tickets Unlimited at 865-656-4444 or online at http://www.clarencebrowntheatre.com.

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Who: Clarence Brown Theatre in the Carousel Theatre

What: “Oedipus the King”

When: Feb. 4-21. 2010, 7:30 p.m. and 2 p.m.

Tickets: Preview: Adult $20, UT Fac/Staff—BOGO $17, Seniors $17, Students $12, UT Students Free with ID

Opening: Adults $33, Students $20, UT Students $10 with ID

Wed/Thursday: Adults $22, UT Fac/Staff—BOGO $19 Seniors $19, Students $12, UT Students $5 with ID

Weekends: Adults $27, UT Fac/Staff-BOGO $22, Seniors $22, Students $15, UT Students $5 with ID

Box Office: 974-5161 or http://www.clarencebrowntheatre.com

There will be a preview for “Little Shop of Horrors” on Thursday, Oct. 29, followed by opening night on Friday, Oct. 30. For tickets, call the Clarence Brown Theatre box office at 865-974-5161, Tickets Unlimited at 865-656-4444 or visit http://www.clarencebrowntheatre.com.

Ticket prices are as follows:

• For the preview: adults – $20, UT employees – “Buy one get one” for $17, seniors – $17, students – $12, and UT students – free with UT ID.
• For opening night: adults – $33, seniors – $17, students – $20, and UT students – $10 with UT ID. There are no discounts for opening night.
• On Wednesday/Thursday: adults – $22, UT employees – “Buy one get one” for $19, seniors – $19, students -$12, UT students – $5 with UT ID.
• On weekends: adults – $27, UT employees – “Buy one get one” for $22, seniors – $22, students – $15, UT students – $5 with UT ID

Based on the low budget 1960 “B” movie directed by Roger Corman, this extremely goofy musical is part sci-fi, part black comedy, part Faustian legend and a whole lot of fun. Set in the early 1960′s Skid Row, the down and out characters dream of “getting out” one day. When floral shop attendant, Seymour, finds an unusual plant, the floral shop begins to flourish. Then Seymour discovers the plant needs blood to grow. The plant promises Seymour fame and fortune if he will feed him what he needs. Seymour agrees and a tragic Faustian series of events ensure. Throw in a little romance, a sadistic Elvis-like dentist, a singing and dancing plant and a “Supremes-like” girl group and you have the recipe for a funny terror-filled evening. The music in the production is a catchy combination of Motown, gospel, rhythm and blues, and 60’s rock and roll influenced tunes. This production contains fog, strobe lights and material that may not be suitable for young children.

“The story, and I think the music most of all, has made its way into the hearts of many people. It’s certainly not a coincidence that the creators of this show—Alan Mencken and Howard Ashman—went on to create amazing music and lyrics for some of Disney’s newer classics such as ‘Aladdin,’ ‘Beauty and the Beast’ and ‘The Little Mermaid.’ The show is a little gem, albeit a dark and creepy one, that seems to delight and appeal to our darker sides,” said director and choreographer Terry Silver-Alford.

Silver-Alford is a member of the UT Theatre faculty and teaches musical theater performance, introduction to the theater and acting. Prior to joining the UT faculty, he held the positions of director of musical theater at the University of Tulsa and at the University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point. He has worked professionally in the theater as a director, musical director, performer and composer at theaters across the country, including the California Theatre Center, Madison Repertory, Omaha Playhouse, Augusta Barn, Fireside Theatre, Light Opera of Oklahoma and the Clarence Brown Theatre (CBT). Terry has directed or musically directed more than 100 productions and has created the scores for four original musicals and a variety of chamber and vocal music pieces. He earned his MFA in directing from UT in 1984 and a Master of Music degree from Western Michigan University in piano and composition in 1991. His most recent CBT directing credits include “Guys and Dolls,” “Assassins,” and “Parade.”

David Kortemeier (Mushnik) is an artist-in-residence and a member of the acting faculty. He has been seen in “A Flea in Her Ear,” “The Life of Galileo” and “Love’s Labour’s Lost.” His work has also been seen at the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, the Great Lakes Theatre Festival in Cleveland, Drury Lane Theatre and Noble Fool Theatricals in Chicago, and 12 seasons with the Illinois Shakespeare Festival in Bloomington. He holds an MFA in acting from the University of Louisville and is a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association and the Screen Actors’ Guild.

Lauren Elysse Fitzgerald (Crystal) is senior majoring in theater and Africana studies. Past productions include the staged reading of “Parade” and “Flyin West.” She is the fundraising director for BlackSunshine Arts and Entertainment (Knoxville Poetry Slam) and she is a member of the Carpetbag Theatre Ensemble.

James McGuire (Orin) is a senior in theater and music, and this year’s proud recipient of the James Brimer Scholarship for Musical Theatre. Past productions include “Tommy,” “Guys and Dolls,” “A Christmas Carol” and in the staged reading of “Parade.” Additionally he has performed in the Lab Theatre and with Shakespeare on the Square. He also starred in the local/on-campus movie “Whispering Circle.” He is a member and soloist with the UT Concert Choir and UT Men’s Glee Club.

Mitch Miller (Seymour) is a senior majoring in theater. His previous work includes “Tommy,” “Antigone,” “Assassins” and the staged reading of “Parade.” He is currently in production for the third season of the video series “Adventure Now” for LifeWay which recently was screened at Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas. In addition to his acting credits, he also directed William Inge’s “Bus Stop” in the Lab Theatre last fall.

Katlyn Whittenburg (Chiffon) is a senior majoring in theater and Spanish.

Patrick Ryan Kimberlin (Puppeteer) is a junior majoring in theater with a minor in cinema studies.

Zachary Parker (Puppeteer) is a junior majoring in theater. Previously, he worked with the CBT and the All Campus Theatre (ACT) as a member of the crew for several productions.

Jenna Purdy (Ronette) is a junior majoring in theater. She is a graduate of the Webb School of Knoxville where she performed in four productions. Additionally, she has performed with the WordPlayers, Tin Soldier Productions and Theatre Knoxville Downtown.

Brandon Gibson (Voice of Audrey II) has been seen on the CBT stage in “A Christmas Carol” and “The Life of Galileo.” He has performed at Maryville College, with the TN Stage Company and with Stephen Foster Productions in Bardstown, KY. He has sung with the Knoxville Opera Chorus, UT Opera Theatre, UT Concert Choir, UT Chamber Singers and as a scholarship singer with Church St. United Methodist and St. John’s Episcopal Cathedral.

Lindsey Jenné Hansom (Audrey) is currently a sophomore theater major. Last year, she performed in several ACT productions.

James Brimer has served as musical director since 1972. A graduate of the UT School of Music, he also has taught Theatre 425 and music theater techniques. He helped start the UT Opera program under the direction of Edward Zambara of the Juilliard School and Boston University. He also was one of 13 pianists selected by worldwide auditions to attend The Berkshire Music Center at Tanglewood.

Members of the band include Melony Maness (keyboards), Jay Miller (percussion), David Slack (bass) and Chad Volkers (guitar).

The artistic team includes: Kerry Lee Chipman, scenic design; Kyra Beanland, costume design; Keith Kirkland, lighting design; Mike Ponder, sound design; and Derek Waffel, stage manager.

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Pictured: Mitch Miller and Lindsey Jenne’ Hansom in the CBT’s “Little Shop of Horrors”

Directed by Lianne Kressin, The Laramie Project, Ten Years Later, An Epilogue will begin at 7:45 p.m. Monday, Oct. 12, at the Unitarian Universalist Church, 2931 Kingston Pike. Clarence Brown actors are teaming up with the church’s Performing Arts and Lecture Series for the production. Admission is free.

The original Laramie Project dealt with the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard, a gay 21-year-old college student who was found brutally beaten, tied to a fence and left to die on the outskirts of Laramie, Wyo.

In the months following Matthew’s death, members of New York’s Tectonic Theater Company traveled to Laramie and began interviewing the residents of the town. These 200 conversations became the framework of the play and a subsequent HBO movie adaptation, which have been seen by more than 50 million people worldwide.

The sequel, written by Moises Kaufman, Leigh Fondakowski, Greg Pierotti, Andy Paris and Stephen Belber, is based on the authors’ 2008 return to Laramie to see what had changed — and what had not — during the decade since the murder. The resulting Laramie Project, Ten Years Later, An Epilogue, includes interviews with many of the original townspeople, as well as with Judy Shepard, Matthew’s mother, and his two murderers, both now serving life sentences in prison.

The play portrays the people in a specific American city and their ongoing struggle to comprehend how such a horrible hate crime could be committed in their midst and by their own citizens and addresses how time and memory can shape a community’s history after such a seismic event.

After the reading, the audience will take part in a live webcast talkback with the authors from Lincoln Center in New York City.

For more information call 974-5161.

The dance company was founded in 1978 on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota and today includes some of the most highly acclaimed performers of the Sioux Nation. The company began with support from traditional Lakota Indian community leaders, educators, powwow dancers, singers and storytellers. For the past three decades it has remained dedicated to allowing Indians and non-Indians alike to experience Lakota culture through live performance and educational outreach.

The Lakota Sioux Dance Theatre is headed by Henry Smith, a New-York based producer who is also artistic director of the Solaris Dance Theatre.

Through his extensive travels, Smith has developed an intimate understanding of cultural dance, especially Asian, African and American Indian traditions.

The Lakota Sioux Dance Theatre has toured extensively throughout Greece and performs regularly in New York. The company was also featured in the opening celebration the National Museum of the American Indian in Washington D.C.

This event is co-sponsored by the Cultural Attractions Committee and the Native American Student Association. Tickets will be available to students for $5 with a valid UT ID, $20 for UT faculty and staff, and $25 for the general public.

Tickets are available at the University Center Central Ticket Office, Thompson-Boling Arena Ticket Office, www.knoxvilletickets.com, or by phone at 656-4444. A convenience charge may be added. Tickets are also available at the venue on the evening of the performance.

Please contact the UT Cultural Attractions Committee at cac@utk.edu for additional information.

Genteel and pretentious, Blanche DuBois, having lost her teaching job and the family plantation home, comes to stay in New Orleans with her sister, Stella, who is married to brutish Stanley Kowalski. Blanche, full of airs and graces, is looking for a husband but Kowalski exposes her life as a small town prostitute and seducer of young boys to her sole suitor, Mitch. In a final power struggle over the loyalty of his wife, Kowalski rapes Blanche and she is taken away to an asylum.

A Streetcar Named Desire premiered in New York in 1947. The play cemented Williams’ reputation as one of the greatest American playwrights, winning him a New York’s Critics Circle Award and a Pulitzer Prize.

“Streetcar not only brought fame to its author and principal actors, but it helped to bring definition to the post-war American character—or at least a significant aspect of the character,” said director Calvin MacLean. “Blanche and Stanley, Stella and Mitch are as American as apple pie—as close to you and me as Hamlet is still to the English, or Oedipus was to the ancient Greeks. Blanche and Stanley’s story puts the latter part of our last century into a deeper perspective—and our current time into a fresher one.”

MacLean is UT Theatre Department Head and CBT Company Artistic Director. Lucas Richman, who has served as Music Director for the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra (KSO) for the past seven years, composed the original music for this production. UT Theatre Department alumna Dale Dickey will star as Blanche. Chicago resident Peter DeFaria will play the role of Mitch. Playing the roles of Stanley and Stella Kowalski are Graduate Acting students Matthew Ventura and Jessica Ripton.

A preview of the show is Thursday, Sept. 3, followed by opening night Friday, Sept. 4. The show runs through Sunday, Sept. 20. For tickets, call the Clarence Brown Theatre box office at 974-5161 or visit www.clarencebrowntheatre.com.

The show is based on The Who’s 1969 double album “Tommy” by Pete Townshend.

The first musical work to be billed as a rock opera, the album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame for its “historical, artistic and significant” value.

After witnessing an accidental murder, traumatized young Tommy Walker retreats into his inner world, becoming “deaf, dumb and blind” to everything around him. For years, Tommy’s only connection to reality seems to be his own reflection in the mirror. Surviving a childhood filled with abuse and neglect, Tommy finds local fame through his unexplainable brilliance at pinball, and becomes “The Pinball Wizard.” But it isn’t until the mirror, Tommy’s haven, is shattered that he finds his way back to the real world and becomes a media sensation and leader to the teenagers who follow him.

Tommy’s life seems to be complete, but when he refuses to allow his followers to elevate him to the level of a Messiah he find himself isolated and abandoned. His passage through the ensuing moments of personal doubt and fear bring him to a new understanding of his life-and usher in a musical finale that is rock and roll at its absolute best.

“The show is about more than the story of a boy, it’s also about the phenomenon that was ‘Tommy,’ the album, back when The Who was first performing it in the late 60′s and early 70′s,” said Casey Sams, director.

The CBT production will be part rock concert, part stage show, and part circus act, all within the framework of a compelling story.

Preview for the show is Thursday, April 16. Opening night is Friday, April 17. The show runs through Sunday, May 3. Evening performances begin at 7:30 p.m. Matinees begin at 2 p.m. Ticket prices range from $5 to $33. For tickets, call the Clarence Brown Theatre box office at 974-5161 or online at www.clarencebrowntheatre.com.

This Tony Award winning play recreates the possibilities that might have occurred in Copenhagen during this visit, and why — after years of deep-abiding friendship –these two men never spoke again. Copenhagen runs March 26 through April 11 in the Clarence Brown Theatre’s (CBT) Carousel Theatre. The production is sponsored by Lexus of Knoxville.

“Copenhagen hypothesizes how this event may have set off a chain reaction that altered the history of the world. It invites you into a provocative conversation about the moral responsibilities of science. It asks if you are able to understand the magnitude of your actions at the moment you choose to take them on,” said Kate Buckley, director.

Director Kate Buckley, UT Theatre faculty member, also is a founding member of Chicago Shakespeare Theatre and served as the Artistic Director of The Next Theatre in Chicago. She has been a Guest Lecturer on Shakespeare at universities and arts organizations nationally and abroad. Her productions have been seen on the stages of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, The Goodman Theatre, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, American Players Theatre, Utah Shakespearean Festival, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre and The New Victory Theatre in New York.

Technical Consultant Dr. Soren Sorensen received his undergraduate degree from the University of Copenhagen and his Masters and PhD from The Niels Bohr Institute. From 1981 to 1984 he was a post-doc at the Institute, and spent a year at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory. He started at UT as an assistant professor in nuclear physics in 1984. In 2000, he was appointed head of the UT Department of Physics and Astronomy.

David Brian Alley (Werner Heisenberg) most recently was seen reprising his role as Bob Cratchit in the CBT’s A Christmas Carol. He is in his 9th season as an Artist-in-Residence and member of the UT Theatre Department Acting Faculty. David also has appeared at PlayMakers Repertory in Stones in His Pockets, and at The Mark Taper Forum in Miss Evers’ Boys and Robinson & Crusoe. For The ImprovOlympic Theatre Chicago, he was with House-Team Faulty Wiring for a two-year run. David also has several film and television credits.

Dan Kremer (Neils Bohr) has appeared with ACT Seattle, American Conservatory Theatre, Arizona Theatre Company, Dallas Theater Center, Geva, McCarter, Milwaukee Rep, Missouri Rep, Playwrights Horizon, Portland Center Stage, Seattle Rep and Yale Rep. In fourteen seasons with the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, he appeared in more than forty productions.

Linda Stephens (Margrethe Bohr) is a professional actress/singer of nearly 40 years, and has been awarded for her work in DC, Atlanta, Miami, Chicago and New York. She’s appeared on Broadway in The Man Who Came to Dinner with Nathan Lane and Jean Smart; as Meg, in the Broadway revival of Damn Yankees with Victor Garber and Bebe Neuwirth; as Kate at The Roundabout in the 50th anniversary production of Arthur Miller’s All My Sons with John Cullum, working with Arthur Miller; and as George’s Mother in Sunday in the Park with George as part of the Kennedy Center’s Sondheim Celebration and Sondheim Celebration Concert at Lincoln Center, working with Stephen Sondheim. Her television appearances include Frasier, New York Undercover, Spin City and Law and Order SVU.

Visiting guest Lighting Designer Mark Somerfield lives in Santa Barbara, California where he is the Resident Lighting Designer for State Street Ballet, Opera Santa Barbara, and The Music Academy of the West. He also is the Production Manager for the Department of Music at the University of California-Santa Barbara. Recent dramas include Love Letters with Carol Burnett and John Cleese, and A Christmas Carol. He holds an MFA from the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music and a BFA from Penn State.

Visiting guest Scenic Designer Jack Magaw works as a professional scenic designer and also teaches at The Theatre School of DePaul University in Chicago. He received Joseph Jefferson Award nominations for his designs of Fences (Court Theatre), Seven Guitars (Congo Square) and Bus Stop (Writers’ Theatre). Upcoming projects include Winesburg, Ohio (Kansas City Repertory) and Evie’s Waltz (Geva Theatre).

Costume Designer Bill Black has been designing, teaching and directing the production of costumes for the Clarence Brown Theatre and the University of Tennessee for more than 30 years. An active professional costume designer, his work is frequently seen around the country in venues such as Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Denver Center Theatre Company, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Pioneer Theatre Company, PlayMakers Repertory Company, Skylight Opera Theatre, Roundhouse Theatre, and for nearly 20 seasons at the Tony Award winning Utah Shakespearean Festival where he is the senior designer. Professor Black is Associate Head of the Department of Theatre and a former Paul Soper distinguished professor.

Resident Sound Designer Mike Ponder has been with the UT theatre program and the Clarence Brown Professional Company for 10 years. In addition, he designs sound for several regional theatres.

Preview for the show is March 26, and is free for UT students. Adult tickets are $20 and UT faculty and staff tickets are $17, buy one get one free. Opening night is March 27, 2009. The show runs through April 11, 2009. Evening performances begin at 7:30 p.m. Matinees begin at 2 p.m. Ticket prices range from $5 to $33. For tickets, call the Clarence Brown Theatre box office at 865-974-5161, Tickets Unlimited at 865-656-4444 or online at www.clarencebrowntheatre.com.