The Spring 2023 semester is underway, and we're kicking it off with a quick update about what we've going on in the Department of Theatre and Film.
For tickets to Naomi Iizuka's Polaroid Stories, please visit our website here: http://theatreandfilm.olemiss.edu/
And to learn more about guest director Beth Reeves, please see her website here: https://www.bethreevesartist.com/
For information on the Oxford Film Festival, see their site and schedule here: https://www.ox-film.com/
From the Department of Theatre & Film at the University of Mississippi, this is Stage & Screen.
Hello hello and welcome back to Stage & Screen! I’m your host, Katherine Stewart, and today we just have a quick episode to let you know a little bit about what we’re up to this semester.
Students on the University of Mississippi campus are just wrapping up the first week of classes for the Spring Semester, and already we are just three weeks away from opening night of our first show of the season! Naomi Iizuka’s Polaroid Stories will open in Meek Auditorium on Friday, February 17 and run through Sunday, February 26.
Polaroid Stories is a somewhat abstract play inspired by Ovid’s Metamorphoses and set in an urban sort of underworld where a group of young people live modern versions of familiar Greek myths.
Guest director Beth Reeves — and stay tuned for our next episode, which will be a full interview with her — says this about the play: “It’s a story about what we as human beings go through, and as heavy as it is, it’s probably one of the most beautiful stories I’ve ever worked with.”
Check the show notes for more information and how you can get tickets and again, come back in two weeks for the full interview with Beth Reeves.
March is bookended by two big events: The Oxford Film Festival, which takes place March 1nd through 5th and features a whole block of films by university of Mississippi students, faculty, staff, and alums and is curated by faculty in our BFA Film Production program — again, more info about that in the show notes and then at the end of the month, on Friday March 31st, we will be hosting our spring open house. Friday is a full day of tours, classes, workshops, visits with professors and students, all capped off with a movie night. Saturday, for those who are so inclined we’ll hold auditions and interviews for our BFA performance and design programs as well as for theatre merit scholarships.
Finally, we’ll end the semester on a high note — or at least a hilarious and horrific one — with our production of Little Shop of Horrors, which runs in Fulton Chapel April 18th through 21st. This retro romp about a giant carnivorous plant probably doesn’t need much introduction. When faculty member and director John Carden was asked what he would do if a plant started talking to him, he said, without hesitation, “Run like hell.” It’s gonna be a good one, folks. And of course we’ll be back with a full interview with the director in a future episode.
In the meantime, we’ve also got upcoming visits with alums who are doing all kinds of interesting things. If you haven’t subscribed to Stage and Screen yet, please do so wherever you get your podcasts so you won’t miss any of those conversations.
Until next time, this is Stage and Screen.