RL&L Presents Two Evenings of Theater

Two evenings of theater will be presented by the Department of Romance Languages and Literatures this month. Both events are free and open to the public and will take place at the department's common room at 300 High Street in Middletown, Conn. Students from French 281 and Theater 291 will present three plays in French on Dec. 9 at 6 p.m.: "Tu honoreras ton père et ta mère" or “You Will Honor Your Father and Mother," by Samira Sedira; "Ah! La belle vie" or “Oh! The Good Life," by Anne Giafferi; and “First Lady,” by Sedef Ecer. A reception will follow. The…

Ron Jenkins, professor of theater, will participate in an international simulcast on Nov. 27 to celebrate Balinese language and Indonesia’s cultural and linguistic diversity. The simulcast will take place at the Indonesian Embassy in Washington where Jenkins will be helping to celebrate Saraswati Day by reading from his new book, Saraswati in Bali. Saraswati Day is the Balinese day set aside for honoring wisdom, knowledge and culture. The celebration will be streamed simultaneously to Indonesian diplomatic missions in New York, Tokyo, Sweden, The Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, and Australia. The program also will include live simulcasts of a reading of a…

A new musical, directed by visiting associate professor of theater Kim Weild, runs Oct. 22-Nov. 15 at the Goodspeed’s Norma Terris Theatre in Chester, Conn. Inspired by true events, Indian Joe tells the unlikely story of a homeless Native American and a Texas beauty queen who never should have been friends. He’s looking for a fight. She’s looking for a cause. As they stumble toward friendship, both ultimately overcome fear and prejudice to discover that there’s more to family than what you see. From the streets of Waco, Texas to the streets of New York City, it’s a uniquely American story with a progressive…

Professor of Theater Ron Jenkins participated in a discussion on WNPR's The Colin McEnroe Show about Dante Aligheri's 14,000 line epic poem, "The Divine Comedy," of which "Dante's Inferno" is the most famous section. This adventure story is based on Dante's real life in 14th century Italy, where he was a city official, diplomatic negotiator, and a man who dared to cross the Pope. Jenkins has taught Dante at Wesleyan and in prison courses. "I discovered that I could learn a lot about Dante by teaching it in prison. I brought my Wesleyan students and my Yale students into prison to work with…

Cláudia Tatinge Nascimento, associate professor of theater, is the guest co-editor of Theater, Volume 45, Number 2, published in 2015. The topic is Brazilian contemporary dramaturgy. The volume contains four Brazilian contemporary plays, translated by Elizabeth Jackson, visiting assistant professor of Portuguese at Wesleyan, accompanied by four introductory essays. The volume, edited by Yale University and published by Duke University Press, is the first collection of Brazilian plays published in the United States since 1988. In addition, Tatinge Nascimento is the author of an essay titled "Subversive Cannibals: Notes on Contemporary Theater in Brazil, the Other Latin America" published in the same Theater edition, pages 5-21. In this…

Professor of Theater Ron Jenkins writes in The Jakarta Post about Wayan Nardayana, a popular and provocative puppet master in Bali who "combines the political insight of a social activist with the spiritual wisdom of a priest and the comic instincts of a master entertainer." Jenkins describes the artist's recent performance at a celebration of the birthday of Indonesia's first president, Sukarno. "The dalang’s ability to make connections between sacred texts, Indonesian history and contemporary reality is at the core of his art," Jenkins writes. Nardayana tells the audience, "Indonesians today can also harness the power of their ancestors to inspire them to…

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Ron Jenkins, professor of theater, is the author of a new book titled Saraswati in Bali: a Temple, a Museum and a Mask, published by the Agung Rai Museum of Art, Peliatan, Ubud, Bali, in July 2014. Saraswati is the goddess of knowledge, through whom the Balinese symbolically link their tangible (sekala) and intangible (niskala) worlds. The Balinese celebrate Saraswati at an annual festival. In a July 7 Jakarta Post article, contributing writer Jean Couteau explains that instead of trying to “understand” Bali like anthropologists would, "often reifying it or losing themselves in abstruse concepts of dubious 'universalist' value, Jenkins presents it 'in action.' In Saraswati in…

Assistant Professor of Theater Rashida Shaw ‘99 shared her observations as a researcher, ethnographer and audience member who has attended urban theater productions in Chicago for a chapter in a book called Black Theater Is Black Life: An Oral History of Chicago Theater and Dance, 1970-2010, written by Harvey Young and Queen Meccasia Zabriskie, and published in November 2013 by Northwestern University Press. It features interviews with producers, directors, choreographers, designers, dancers, and actors, and serves to frame the colorful four-decade period for the African American artistic community in the Windy City.

Ron Jenkins, professor of theater, is the author of an article titled, "African-American Step Dancing meets Balinese "kecak'" published in the March 6 edition of The Jakarta Post. The article highlights a cross-cultural theater collaboration that brought together African-American step-dancers and Balinese "kecak" performers who create interlocking rhythms with choral chants. Jenkins wrote the article while in Pengosekan Village, Indonesia doing sabbatical research. Read the article here. Jenkins also wrote a book review titled, "Illuminating: The Enigma of Time," which appeared in the Feb. 24 edition of The Jakarta Post. The book, Time, Rites and Festivals in Bali, is written by Gusti Nyoman Darta, Jean…

The ever-busy Jeffrey Richards ’69 is the co-producer of a new musical The Bridges of Madison County, based on the hugely popular novel by Robert James Waller, which opened at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre on Broadway on February 20. The musical stars acclaimed actors Kelli O’Hara (Nice Work If You Can Get It, South Pacific) and Steven Pasquale (Rescue Me) with a score by Tony Award winner Jason Robert Brown (The Last Five Years, Parade), a book by Pulitzer Prize winner Marsha Norman (The Secret Garden, ‘Night, Mother), and direction by Tony Award winner Bartlett Sher (South Pacific, The Light…

Charles Newell ’81 was recently awarded the prestigious Zelda Fichandler Award, which recognizes an outstanding director who is transforming the regional arts landscape through singular creativity and artistry in theater. He received the prize, an unrestricted grant of $5,000, from the Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation (SDCF). Over the years, Newell has become one of the nation’s foremost theater directors. He is currently in his 19th year as artistic director of the Court Theatre, the renowned professional theater in residence at University of Chicago, where he had directed more than 40 productions. Newell comments: “To receive The Zelda Fichandler Award…

RL&L Presents Two Evenings of Theater

Jenkins Celebrates Indonesia’s Cultural, Linguistic Diversity in International Simulcast

Weild Directs New Musical, Indian Joe

Ron Jenkins Discusses Dante’s ‘Divine Comedy’

Tatinge Nascimento Co-Edits Theater Volume on Brazilian Dramaturgy

Jenkins Profiles a Popular and Provocative Puppet Master

Miranda ’02 Speaks on the Origins of In the Heights at CFA

Jenkins Explores Bali’s Saraswati Ritual in New Book

Shaw ’99 Featured in Book on Black Theater and Dance in Chicago

Jenkins Article on African-American, Balinese Chants in Jakarta Post

Richards ’69 Co-Produces Bridges of Madison County Musical and More

Newell ’81 Receives Theater Award