Event Description
Drexel University: Week of Undergraduate Excellence
May 17, 2022
5:30pm-7pm
Mandell Theater
Join the Performing Arts as we participate in the 2022 Week of Undergraduate Excellence!
Music:
Three flutists from Chamber Brass & Winds will perform Trio for Three Flutes, composed by Alexander Tcherepnin (1899 - 1977). Tcherepnin, a Russian born composer, embraced elements of Western European musical romanticism and impressionism, as well as contemporary modernism. He is known for a unique harmonic language that pulls from history, fused with contemporary concepts. This piece demonstrates the challenges of performing "old" and "contemporary" at the same time.
Theatre Production:
Chloe Tolderlund will present on her costume designs and the “Playmaking” writing process for Tales From the Vault and The Mask Plays, Drexel’s Theatre Program productions of plays from the Mantua Theater Project. Chloe will discuss her inspiration, research, and ideas for costumes for these creative plays written by young students based on animals, objects and forces of nature. She will discuss her choices and how they developed, show some examples, as well as talking about the process of creating the shows with the young members of the community.
Theatre Performance:
From the Directors’ Lab:
Title: The Highest Chair
By: Joe David
Director: Garrett Neuschatz - Garrett will also read stage directions
Actors: Joshua Barufaldi and Matthew Lacy
The Highest Chair is a short play inspired by a summer spent as a line cook in a pizza restaurant. It explores the invisible boundary between adolescence and adulthood - faking it until making it. It was created as a part of the page-to-stage/new works class and is now in full production by the theater departments Directors Lab.
Dance:
Dara Meredith's choreography, "Muddy Waters," is performed by Drexel Dance Ensemble. This work delves into the idea that mental illness it is not a decision, but rather a disorder that is woven into how the brain functions. Through emotive and contemporary movements of the African diaspora, "Muddy Waters" examines how mud parallels the feeling of filth on the inside and the way in which people view mental illness and trauma, as if the person is unclean. This work shows how not validating the suffering of those with mental illness and trauma, is an act of violence internally, as well as externally. Much like the mud, there is not a clear path. It is easier and more acceptable to say my leg is broken than it is to say my brain is broken. Trauma is not chosen, but we can heal through the things we choose. As Robin Williams' stated before losing his battle, "everyone is fighting a battle you know nothing about".
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