Professor Updates Classic Morality Play



Tim Stanlake as "Death" and Beth Litwak as "Eve."

Photo courtesy of the School of Communication & the Arts



By Amanda Morad

February 21, 2013

 

Regent University's resident playwright, Gillette Elvgren, has again created a masterful play with his modern retelling of the classic morality tale, Everyman.

Everywoman opens on the Regent stage on Friday, Feb. 22.

Confronted with the character of death, talk show host Eve Bas encounters the fight of her life as she is forced to examine the choices she's made. The play updates the late 15th-century English allegory, which personifies virtues and vices in a plainly dramatized sermon of sorts, and places it in the fast-paced 21st-century world of broadcast television.

"There's something about the search for immortality that prompted the original play Everyman to be written," said Elvgren, also the play's director. "It examines how we as a culture view and face death. We go to extraordinary lengths to try to avoid or deny it."

Everywoman runs Feb. 22-24 and Feb. 28 - March 3 in the Studio Theatre, located in Regent's Performing Arts Center. Afternoon and evening show times are available.

Purchase tickets through the Box Office.

Elvgren's choice to modernize Everyman stems from his view of contemporary information. "We're inundated with words and language and almost too much information," he said. "I wanted to create a character who represents that. Eve goes through the process of stripping herself of the noise of contemporary culture."

A serious subject, no doubt, but Elvgren chose humor to make his point. "Death rides up on a motorcycle wearing a helmet and chains and says, 'Your time is up; get your house in order.' That creates right there the striking reality of the piece," he described.

The show features moments of standup comedy, courtroom drama, rap and blues music, and even a clown show. "I'm trying to strike visual images that will alarm and captivate and challenge expectations," he said.

Elvgren's target audience is faith-based, as the play creates theatrical metaphors that challenge Christians to look at culture and religion differently. "As a Christian artist, I'm always challenged to see what metaphors and images and actions I can come up with that are going to make the audience see themselves or get outraged in a way they haven't before," he explained.

Purchase tickets to Everywoman.

PR/NEWS CONTACT:
Mindy Hughes, Public Relations
Phone: 757.352.4095 Fax: 757.352.4888
E-mail: mhughes@regent.edu

Alumnus Kendal Tuttle Lands Commercial

Kendal Tuttle (MFA Acting/Directing '06) appeared in a new commercial for LAYERS Mattress company. Keep up the good work, Kendal!

View his commercial now, at http://www.glossycreative.com/layers/.

Kaja Dunn (MFA Acting '11) Receives Award

As we celebrate Black History Month, we celebrate Kaja Dunn (MFA '11) receiving the San Diego Theatre Critics Circle 2012 Craig Noel Award for Best Ensemble for the Moxie Theatre production of “Raisin in the Sun.” Congratulations, Kaja!

Congratulations to Alumnus, Diana Coates!

Diana Coates (MFA Acting 2012) is signing on with Shirley Hamilton, a top casting agent in Chicago. Congratulations, Diana!


 Diana Coates (MFA '12) puts the stage combat skills she aquired
under the tutelage of Michael Kirkland (Head, MFA Acting Program)
 to work in an all female production of Julius Ceasar with
Babes With Blades Theatre Company in Chicago.



Behind the Scenes of Handel's MESSIAH

Joyful Noise runs Nov. 16-18 and Nov. 29—Dec. 2.

By Rachel Bender
November 15, 2012

"A beautiful and moving journey with a gorgeous score of truly divine music." That is how guest director Ailish Riggs describes the upcoming production of Joyful Noise, set to open on the Regent University stage on Friday, Nov. 16.

The off-Broadway hit exposes the backstage drama surrounding the creation of Handel's Messiah. This true story reveals how the composer's masterpiece of redemption was born in the midst of jealousy, opposition and sabotage.

Generally, theatre productions at Regent are directed by university faculty; however, the opportunity to work with a guest director allows Regent theatre students to take a new approach to their roles in the show.

"Our students have been blessed by her unique perspective in the classroom and the rehearsal," said Scott Hayes, chair of the Theatre Department. "I believe we've been able to bless her as well by providing a faith-friendly and professionally minded workplace and student body for her to direct and teach."

Riggs' directing work comes to a production she hopes will get audiences in the holiday spirit while also asking them to pause and consider their own faith.

"It is a wonderful combination of drama and humor that allows us to witness the joy and sorrow of the human experience," Riggs explained. "[It] beautifully illustrates how God's grace is present, even when we have turned away from Him." Riggs is a director, actor and vocal coach currently on the faculty of Old Dominion University. She also serves as dialect coach and artistic mentor for the Emerging Artists Ensemble at the Virginia Stage Company. She graduated from the University of San Francisco with a B.A. in Performing Arts and Social Justice and holds an MFA from the National Theatre Conservatory.

Purchase tickets from the Box Office.

PR/NEWS CONTACT:
Mindy Hughes, Public Relations
Phone: 757.352.4095 Fax: 757.352.4888
E-mail: mhughes@regent.edu

Check out what our Alumni are up to!

Derek Martin (MFA Acting '09) has accepted a position with William Jessup University in Rocklin, CA as a faculty member and the Chair of their new B.A. Creative Arts Program.


Sean Cowan (MFA Acting '11) is currently in West Virginia Shooting Alaska: Ice Cold Killers for The Discovery Channel. The episode is intended to air as the season finale in the New Year.

Anita Reimer (MFA Acting '06) is currently appearing in Lend Me a Tenor at the Metro Theatre in Vancouver, BC.

Theatre Expert Uses Shakespeare in Prison Ministry

By Amanda Morad

October 24, 2012

In a talkback session before the last showing of Regent University's production of The Tempest, Shakespeare Behind Bars founder, Curt Tofteland discussed the themes of the play with Regent president, Dr. Carlos Campo.

Curt gives direction.

"The Tempest starts with a man consumed with a desire for revenge—what a waste of time," Tofteland said. "Forgiveness is more about the victim, not the victimizer, and that's a theme that resonates with the men we work with."

Shakespeare Behind Bars is a non-profit organization that produces some of Shakespeare's most-beloved masterpieces in prisons with the incarcerated. According to Tofteland, these theatrical encounters create major life changes in the inmates who play the classic characters, helping ensure their successful reintegration into society.

Tofteland leads Shakespeare Behind Bars with 34 years of theatrical experience and a lifetime of adoration for the work of Shakespeare. "The insight he had into the human condition—it's deeper than any other writer I've ever encountered," Tofteland said.

Much of what's to love has to do with Shakespeare's willingness to tackle the most controversial ideas of his day. For The Tempest, President Campo explained, that controversy centered on the wayward flagship of the 1609 Virginia Company voyage that ran aground off the coast of Bermuda. "What made Shakespeare such a contemporary artist was that he wasn't afraid to address really delicate issues, to comment on the events and issues of his day," Tofteland said.

Prison guards look on as Greg prepares to go onstage.

"This play in particular really lends itself to themes that the incarcerated can really chew on," he explained. "We're talking about forgiveness and redemption and territory—that's their world."

Shakespeare's tragedies seem to evoke the most profound changes in the actors he works with, Tofteland continued. "Anger is at the root of dysfunction. Anger is what stands between you and your wish," he said. "Shakespeare Behind Bars is about unpacking and exploring that and really creating a family."

That family helps inmates build trust and have a safe place they can feel unthreatened and valued for what they have to offer. "People ask me why I do this and I tell them it's because I love miracles, and I see miracles every day."

Although Regent's run of The Tempest ended Oct. 21, Joyful Noise opens Nov. 16. Learn more about the 2012-2013 theatre schedule.

Congratulations to Cara Jewell (MFA '13) & Brad Brinkley (MFA '15), Irene Ryan Nominees!

Cara Jewell (Prospera) confides in Ashley Dakin (Ariel) in

Regent University's production of The Tempest by William Shakespeare.

Brad Brinkley (Antonio) in Regent University's production

of The Tempest by William Shakespeare.

Congratulations to Michael Woods (MFA '08) on his recently released commercial!

Congratulations to Michael Woods (MFA ’08) on the above commercial.   Michael has also appeared in an episode of SHAMELESS, Detroit 187 and Underemployed.

Theatre Faculty, Students and Alumni Land Roles on Documentary Series

By Rachel Judy

October 18, 2012

"The most effective mentors and teachers are those who remain practitioners of their craft," said Eric Harrell, associate professor of theatre in Regent University's School of Communication & the Arts. "When we have opportunities to apply what we teach professionally, we are more effective in the classroom."

Watch this clip to find out A Haunting using special effects makeup 

in order to recreate supernatural experiences.  Featuring current Regent MFA students

Brad Brinkley, Ashley Dakin and Chad Stem.

Harrell and fellow professor Dr. Michael Hil-Kirkland recently seized the opportunity to apply their own skills as actors by landing guest roles on the new television documentary series A Haunting. Airing on the Destination America channel, the show is a docudrama about paranormal activity produced in conjunction with New Dominion Pictures in Suffolk, Va.

"As a professional actor and member of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), this was a rare opportunity to work on a television project in Hampton Roads," Harrell said. "We live in a largely non-union market so it was wonderful to have a SAG opportunity in our backyard."

"Every time I have the opportunity to engage the profession I walk away with valuable real-world experience I can share with my students," Hill-Kirkland added. "It allows me to better prepare them for the world that awaits them outside the protective environment of the academy."

A Haunting showcases first-person claims of supernatural activity, unraveling the mystery behind these happenings. Each episode showcases real-life tales of haunted houses and, sometimes, even haunted people. 

American Haunting Bloopers featuring Regent faculty: Dr. Michael Hill-Kirkland, 

theatre alumnus: Amy Dunlap and MFA Student: Brad Brinkley.

The genre is a bit unique, but not a complete stretch, for an actor who is a Christian, Harrell explained. "We often think of this genre of entertainment as glorifying the presence of evil. In reality, it is one of the few in the industry that frequently acknowledges the power of Jesus Christ and uses his name reverently to rebuke the powers of evil," he said. 

Hill-Kirkland agreed. "I look upon this role as no different than if I were performing [Shakespeare's] Hamlet," he said. "It's a ghost tale that acknowledges a spiritual dimension exists in our universe that there is, indeed, life after death." 

Harrell's episode will air on the Destination America channel on Friday, Oct. 19. Hill-Kirkland's episode is set to air on Friday, Nov. 2. In addition to their roles, a number of Regent alumni and students appear on screen with small acting roles or as extras. Others landed work behind the cameras on the production crew. 

The Destination America channel is part of Discovery Communications, the world's number one nonfiction media company reaching more than 1.5 billion cumulative subscribers in 200 countries and territories. 

Learn more about the School of Communication & the Arts' Theatre Dept.