Regent Grad's Original Show Seen Off-Broadway This Summer!

Remember our post last semester about our lab shows? Well, one of those lab shows produced here at Regent, The Confessional, written, directed, and starring our own Jayson Akridge (MFA Acting grad '09) was accepted to the New York Fringe Festival last May. Together with fellow Regent MFA '09 graduates Kelly Levander, Kevin Stidham, and Ashley Larsen, Jayson performed The Confessional in NYC last week to rave reviews. Check out this article and the links to the review and the show's website!

Theatre Alumni Join Together, Perform Off-Broadway
By Sarah H. Dolan, Regent PR
August 25, 2009

Four Regent University MFA in Acting alumni are currently performing in a critically-acclaimed production, The Confessional, as part of the NYC Fringe Festival—the largest performance arts festival in North America. Performances of The Confessional during the Fringe Festival are scheduled for Thursday, August 27 (9:00 p.m.), Friday, August 28 (2:15 p.m.), Saturday, August 29 (7:00 p.m.) and Sunday August 30 (2:00 p.m.).

Classmates often go their separate ways when graduation day ends. After the tassels are turned, caps are thrown and well-wishing words are spoken, the average student leaves the community to focus on career. But for these four Regent alumni, graduating meant integrating an aspect of Regent community with career. The alumni—Jayson Akridge, Kevin Stidham, Kelly Levandar and Ashley Larson—joined forces to perform together as part of The Cohort Theatre Company, sponsored by Regent. The company quickly caught the attention of representatives of The New York Fringe Festival, who selected their original play, The Confessional written by Akridge, to be performed off-Broadway. "Their play was chosen from among thousands submitted worldwide," said Michael Patrick, dean of Regent's School of Communication & the Arts. "This weekend they opened off-Broadway for the two-week run. This is a wonderful professional confirmation of talent and faith, and it reflects positively on Regent University's theatre program." The Confessional is a hard-edged detective murder-mystery, which takes place entirely in a police station. The plot addresses the redemptive question: how far good should or would go to stop pure evil, without becoming evil itself. The production debuted on August 23, and received a favorable review from nytheatre.com. "In the hands of the wrong cast, this kind of thrill ride could have been either confusing or overblown...but an expert cast [is guided] through the twists, and we cheerfully follow along" wrote Kimberly Wadsworth of nytheatre.com in her review of The Confessional. "At one point, one of the plot twists made me scribble [in my notes] a disappointed 'no, you didn't make that be the answer, did you?' But five minutes later, I wrote '...wow, sorry, it's not, never mind.' Eventually my notes get even more inarticulate—awestruck one-word entries like 'whoa!' and 'huh?' and 'wait'...and '!?!'" In addition to being the playwright of The Confessional, Akridge is also the co-director and plays Bill Bryce, the detective. Current Regent theatre student Alexis Hill serves as the stage manager. Each member of The Cohort Theatre Company holds a leading role in the production. For more information, locations and to purchase tickets, visit http://theconfessionalplay.com/. For the full nytheatre.com review, click here.

Regent University Theatre Presents Singin' in the Rain!

The Regent University Theatre Department will close its 2008-09 season with the musical, Singin' in the Rain, based on the MGM film.

The show opens Friday, April 24, in the Communications & Performing Arts Center Main Theater. The tumultuous transition from silent movies to "talkies" comes alive in this musical stage adaptation of one of America's most celebrated films.

Performances take place at 8 p.m. on April 24, 25 and May 1 and 2, and at 3 p.m. on April 26 and May 3. Tickets are $15 for adults, $13 for seniors and children 5-18, $9 for Regent employees and $7 for Regent students. To purchase tickets or obtain more information, contact the Regent University Box Office online at www.regent.edu/theatre or by phone at 757.352.4245. Box office hours are 1 p.m.-5 p.m.

by Judy Baker, Public Relations

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Singin in the Rain was also featured in the Virginia Pilot this week! Check out the article that explains the process of making it rain onstage:

http://hamptonroads.com/2009/04/regent-theater-forecast-calls-rain

The Regent University Theatre Department Announces

New York Showcase
featuring the Graduating MFA in Acting Class of 2009

Tuesday, May 19, 2009 1:00 PM and 7:00 PM

Producers’ Club Theatre, Grand Theatre,
358 W. 44th Street, New York, NY 10036.
http://www.producersclubtheaters.com/

RSVP: Mark Paladini csa (818) 613-3982 or mpaladini@regent.edu

The Showcase, featuring songs, monologues, and scenes from the graduating class of MFA actors, will also be performed at Regent on May 8th, 2009, joining with the Regent V.I.P.s (Varsity Improv Players) for a benefit performance. The show will be held in Regent’s Studio Theatre at 8pm.

Come support our graduating MFAs as they take the next steps toward continuing their career!

Student News

Kelly Levander, graduating this May with her MFA in Acting, was recently offered a job by Theater of the American South in Wilson, North Carolina. Most of the actors and actresses employed by the theater are professionals based in New York City. Kelly will be playing the role of Elaine Rutledge in The Miss Firecracker Contest by Beth Henley.

“THEATER OF THE AMERICAN SOUTH presents top-quality plays featuring professional directors, actors, and designers... It is a celebration of the culture of the South that spotlights fine Southern plays... All performances are in the Boykin Cultural Center, a showpiece vaudeville theater built in 1919 and beautifully restored in the 1990s.” Read more at http://www.theateroftheamericansouth.org/

Brandy Caldwell, also a 3rd year MFA student, was offered an equity contract by Berkshire Theatre Festival in Stockbridge, MA, where she interned last summer. Upon graduating from Regent, she will play the role of Clara Immerwahr in The Einstein Project at BTF this summer.

“Founded in 1928, Berkshire Theatre Festival is one of the oldest professional regional theatres in the United States and the longest-running cultural organization in the Berkshires. Now under the helm of Artistic Director and CEO Kate Maguire, BTF presents theatre that matters—world premieres, contemporary works, and classics that speak to who we are in our world today.” Read more at http://www.berkshiretheatre.org/

Congratulations to Brandy and Kelly!

Announcing the 2009-2010 Regent Theatre Season!

We have an incredibly rich and diverse line up of shows for next year:

The Boys Next Door, by Tom Griffin
Take an endearing look at the lives of four mentally challenged men striving to function in the mainstream world. A hilarious comedy the New York Daily News declares “hits squarely on the truth of life with its constant interplays and shadings of triumphs and tears.” Shows: September 18-20 and 24-27.

Dancing at Lughnasa by Brian Friel
The five maiden Mundy sisters escape their provincial existence on the plains of Ireland through colorful bursts of music from their radio, their only link to the romance of the world at large. The Tony Award-winning play the New York Post heralds as “simply wondrous.” Shows: October 23-25 and 29-Nov 1.

As You Like It by William Shakespeare
Through mistaken identities and misunderstandings, Shakespeare tells the tale of court exiles and forest natives searching for love and meaning in the Forest of Arden. This beloved comedy reminds us that “all the world’s a stage and all the mend and women merely players.” Shows: November 20-22 and December 4-6.

The Elephant Man by Bernard Pomerance
When a young Victorian surgeon stumbles upon the hideously deformed Elephant Man in a London freak show, he determines he must be normalized—whatever the cost. This Tony Award-winning play examines the price one must pay for being “different.” Shows: January 22-24 and 28-31.

You Can’t Take It With You by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart
Fireworks fly, quite literally, when Tony’s straight-laced parents meet his fiancés wildly unconventional family—a cheerful gang of wacky eccentrics. This Pulitzer-Prize winning play turned Jimmy-Stewart-film-classic is not to be missed! Shows: March 12-14 and 18-21.

Godspell by Stephen Schwartz
As the words of St. Matthew’s Gospel unite with the soaring chords of Stephen Schwartz, the life and parables of Jesus Christ unfold anew in the off-Broadway musical the New York Post calls “a hit, a big, big hit. Godspell believes in God and people and possibility.” Shows: April 23-25 and 30-May 2.

Special Christmas Show: Little Women
Louisa May Alcott’s touching story comes to life in the stage adaptation of her novel about four sisters who mature through sorrow and joy. Shows: December 10-13.

Follow this link to our season brochure: http://www.regent.edu/theatre/2009TheatreBrochure.pdf

We hope to see you at the theatre!

A few more recent Regent grad updates!

Adam Hurst and Priscilla Hummel are both MFA grads of '07. Priscilla has been very busy directing and choreographing many shows for CYT (Christian Youth Theatre) in Chicago. Her husband, Adam Hurst, played the lead in a Chicago premiere of In the Flesh, produced by Elicia Zimmerman and directed by James Frizzel, also both Regent grads from former years. Adam recently graduated from the improv training program at iO (formerly known as Improv Olympic).

Dan Roberts has been in L.A. since his graduation in ‘07. He’s acted in some short films, including two that appeared in last year's 168 Film Festival, Happy New Year and King’s Vengeance. He also had a part in the direct-to-DVD feature Sunday School Musical. He is a member of Actors Co-op in Hollywood, and has acted in their productions of As You Like It, Leading Ladies, and The Night Before The Night Before Christmas. He was recently in their world premiere musical Makin’ Hay and is currently in rehearsals for their production of The Crucible, which opens in May. He’s also appeared in Twelfth Night and the new musical Wild About Harry with the Crown City Theatre in North Hollywood. Keep up with him at his website: www.danieljroberts.net

Christopher Ryan, another ’07 MFA grad, moved to Orlando, FL after graduating, working as a Fight Director for a production of The Scarlet Pimpernel. While living in Orlando, Christopher worked for the Orlando Repertory Theatre as an actor and fight director, playing Squire Trelawney in Treasure Island and Mr. Tumnus in The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. He also taugh at two colleges in Orlando, teaching Introduction to Theatre and Costume Design, and he was the Resident Costume Designer for one of the colleges, designing their season of Little Shop of Horrors and The Misanthrope. He started a Musical Theatre program for a private arts school called The Pop Shop, and directed their productions of Honk jr. and Annie jr. In 2008, Christopher and his wife moved to Hamburg, Germany for her studies, and he has worked for the Hamburg University Players as a Choreographer and Fight Director for their production of Into the Woods. He is also working as a private voice teacher and is currently directing for one of the two professional English language theatres in Hamburg, The Rover Rep Theatre, directing The Compleat Wrks of Wllm Shkspr (Abridged), which opened in March.

Following the process. . .

Of Singin in the Rain, our upcoming musical, which opens the last weekend in April. Check out these photos from our film shoots--making the motion pictures around which the musical revolves! Above: Lina Lamont and her ladies in waiting, while shooting the film "The Dueling Cavalier"

Don Lockwood and Lina Lamont in their silent picture glory!

The drop design for the famous song and dance number, "Beautiful Girls.Don fighting off the villains in 'Monumental Pictures' "The Royal Rascals."

And of course, the classic Singin in the Rain image, with our own Don Lockwood, 3rd year MFA Derek Martin.

For tickets, visit http://www.regent.edu/theatre/ or call 757. 352. 4245

From the Cast of Spinning Into Butter

Check out some pictures and cast reflections from our latest production, Spinning Into Butter.

“It was great to get to work on an intimate, realistic show. So often we get caught up in the ‘TA-DA!’ of broad comedies and musicals. Working with the close group of dedicated peers was rewarding personally and educationally.” Ryan Clemens (Burton Strauss)

“As my first attempt at realism on the Regent mainstage, Spinning Into Butter was an exhilarating experience. I was able to sink my teeth into material that was not only challenging for me as an actor, but challenging for me as a person, as it made me examine my own heart. It was also a wonderful experience working with such small cast on a meaningful show, the bonds made in the production will not soon be broken. Spinning forced me relax, breath and just be.” Rob Arbaugh (Ross Collins)

“I didn't expect the moment [in the show] that moves me the most, which came at the very end—the stumbling Sarah trying to get to know Simon. It inspires me to do the same. I often feel like withdrawing when facing people I don't know as well due to lack of words. Since I've been involved in this play I have started to step out more, try to ‘dialogue’ and communicate more. Actually, I can sense this happening in the entire cast. If we're to imitate Christ in how he cares for people, the first step is getting to know people, with a desire of really wanting to know them.” Shinn-Rong Chung (Mr. Meyers)

“This experience really proved to me how much the faculty cares about putting on challenging work as well as work that forces actors to really stay true to their characters. I felt I explored a side of my craft that had been sitting way back in the closet that needed some dusting off only to be worn new again. I was truly appreciative as an artist to go on stage night after night and simply given the opportunity to just be in the moment!” Anna Koehler (Catherine Kenny)

“As a first year MFA in Acting candidate, Spinning Into Butter was the perfect show for me to be able to apply what I’m presently learning. Even though the journey was a challenge at times, it was ultimately fulfilling to see the work that I’ve invested in my classes being applied practically in a production.” Joseph Martinez (Patrick Chibas)

Notes from the Director

The Language of Beholding
By Eric Harrell, Director of Spinning Into Butter and Chair of the Theatre Department

I hope you had a chance to see our December production of The Glory Man. This inspiring new play told the true story of Clarence Jordan, a little-known hero of the civil rights movement. Utilizing a biblical model of community, he established an interracial farming commune where blacks and whites worked alongside each other in rural Georgia. Their existence was anything but idyllic. The images of burning crosses and Klansmen from the production still linger in my mind. During the run of the show, we hosted some founding members of the commune, now advanced in years, and heard firsthand their accounts of life inside this small enclave of equality in the turbulent, racist South of the 1960s.

Flash forward. It’s 2009. The Civil Rights Act has governed our country for the past forty-five years. The U.S. Census Bureau recently reported that one in three Americans are from an ethnic minority. In January, we inaugurated our first African-American president. So, where does that leave the “race debate”? Case closed? Or do our more recent efforts to atone for a racist past now allow us to probe more deeply beneath the surface? Christ tells us that outward behaviors are one consideration; matters of the heart are quite another. My mom explained it like this. When you’re weeding a garden you must be sure to pluck out the root, otherwise the weed will just grow back.

I believe the theatre is an ideal environment in which to wrestle with such issues. Through well-crafted storytelling we can be entertained and simultaneously challenged to examine the private feelings and public behaviors which influence the world around us. An unassuming play quietly slips its hand under the chin of its audience and asks us to look squarely in the eye of something worthy of our consideration – a cultural value, a complex relationship or a social injustice. I call this the “language of beholding.” And the theatre speaks it quite eloquently.

Perhaps with Spinning Into Butter, the force with which we find our chins grasped and our gaze re-directed is not so gentle: what happens when we remove the gag of politically correct speech? Do the rules of communication that govern a sensitive discussion of race ultimately foster unity? Or do they conceal harsh truths that must first be unearthed before they can be honestly confronted? How is racism defined in contemporary culture? Where has our continued use of ethnic and racial categorization ultimately brought us? How does the apostle Paul‘s assertion that in Christ “there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised…slave or free person” impact our understanding of ethnicity?

Of these questions, Spinning Into Butter asks us to “behold.”

Spotlight on. . . Shinn-Rong Chung!

Shinn-Rong Chung is second-year MFA in Acting student who is currently playing Mr. Meyers in Spinning Into Butter. Some of his recent roles include the cab driver in Harvey and Firs in The Cherry Orchard. He grew up in Kaohsiung, the second largest city in Taiwan. Shinn-Rong moved to Ontario to study when he was a teenager, and he received a BFA in interdisciplinary studies from York University. His initial goal was to become a children’s storyteller, but after his college introductory dance class, he felt led to be a dancer. He went on to complete a training program in modern dance, and spend a few years working with renowned Canadian choreographers such as Karen Jamieson and Cornelius Fisher-Credo. During a short-term mission trip to Taiwan, he experienced a spiritual renewal through the works of Ya Tong Theatre Company. Sensing a clear calling, Shinn-Rong joined Ya Tong in 1998, and for the past seven years he has served as the artistic director of the company.

Ya Tong (lit: “Asia East”) Theatre Company grew out of the Ya Tong Technical College Christian Fellowship. Founded by playwright Joy Chu in 1980 as a drama ministry to reach out the college students, the company later gained a national reputation after winning ten theatre awards from Taiwan’s council for cultural affairs. Since then, Ya Tong has performed all over Taiwan and toured 28 countries. Throughout the years, Ya Tong has sought to maintain its mission to address the social and spiritual needs of the contemporary era by presenting programs from a Christian worldview. In pursuit of the highest standards of truth and aesthetic, Joy started to pray about the possibility of coming to Regent’s theatre program in 1998. But when she passed away in 2002, Ya Tong underwent a period of turmoil. It wasn’t until a few years later that the company regained its vision and continued to pursue this possibility.


Shinn-Rong is grateful to be in the MFA acting program. About his experience in the program so far, he says: “I feel the program provides exactly what I need – building the skill and craft to do the best work I can. I came to Regent with the belief that Regent places great emphasis on artistic excellence, moral integrity and faith-art integration, and what I have experienced confirms that. It’s just such a wonderful privilege to study with highly professional artists who care about doing excellent work and presenting truth.”

Last summer, Ya Tong hosted drama workshops in four different cities in Taiwan for over 100 theatre artists. Shinn-Rong and his fellow MFA classmate Kaja Dunn taught many workshops based on the teaching and techniques they have learned during their training at Regent. The overwhelming response that these participants had was how much these techniques really made sense to them and how practical they were. Shinn-Rong commented, “It’s so wonderful to be able to share with those you love, and this is part of the Regent blessings.”

This summer the Ya Tong team will be joining Shinn-Rong, his wife Amana, and their daughter Isabella for a tour in the U.S. and Canada. They have been invited by the Chinese churches and communities in over a dozen cities to present theatre programs and conduct workshops. The next few years will be a crucial time for Ya Tong as it takes bold steps to fulfill the dream of producing Chinese Broadway musicals and plays and making an impact among the Chinese speaking population. For Shinn-Rong, in spite of the economic hardship and constant challenges, God has provided Regent as a place of revitalization, equipping and waiting upon the Lord. God has been so good, and Shinn-Rong thanks all of the faculty and staff who give of themselves to make Regent such an amazing place.