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UMass Theater reveals spring mystery show, new venues
Monday, November 29, 2021
Monday, November 29, 2021
The secret's out! We couldn't tell you earlier what show we had selected to open our spring season, but now, we're thrilled to announce that we're starting off Spring 2022 with a production of Jen Silverman's Witch! We can't wait to share this wonderful show with you!
Additionally, we're announcing a change of venue. Because we're still in a pandemic but we also want to welcome as many audiences as possible to our events, we're moved both Witch and Olvidados: A Mexican American Corrido, to the Rand Theater, which will allow us to better observe social distancing while admitting more audience members. If you've previously purchased tickets, no worries — they'll be honored at the Rand Theater.
We're still working on a full slate of events for our Fringe Festival, so stayed tuned for details on what's sure to be an amazing schedule of new work, experimental pieces, and riveting scenes.
Tickets for Witch and Olvidados: A Mexican American Corrido are on sale now through the Fine Arts Center Box Office.
SPRING EVENTS
WITCH
by Jen Silverman
Directed by Rudy Ramirez
Feb. 25, March 3, 4, 5 at 7:30 p.m., Feb. 26 at 2 p.m. in the Rand Theater at the Bromery Center for the Arts
"What if there is something amazing ahead of us, and all we have to do is burn down everything we know to get to it?"
Based on a Jacobean play written when witches were still being burned across Europe, Witch follows a devil named Scratch as he plays with the desires, grievances and ambitions of two young men, only to see him shocked and intrigued when an outcast woman becomes the first to refuse his offer. Jen Silverman's play offers a collection of richly drawn characters all forced to confront how their desires are shaped by, and may even be able to do undo, the systems of power that limit them.
Content Advisory: Strong language, violence, and blood
OLVIDADOS: A MEXICAN AMERICAN CORRIDO
by Elisa Gonzales
Presented in partnership with Breath of Fire Latina Theater Ensemble (www.breathoffire.org).
Directed by Sara Guerrero
Musical arrangement and composition by Moises Vázquez
April 7, 8, 9 at 7:30 p.m., April 9 at 2 p.m. in the Rand Theaterat the Bromery Center for the Arts
Inspired by the classic structure of a corrido, a traditional Mexican song style that draws on storytelling, folklore, and oral history, Olvidados: A Mexican American Corrido, is a new, musically-driven, theatrical re-imagining of the many untold stories of the Mexican Repatriation of the Great Depression, where over one million Mexicans and Mexican-Americans were illegally and unconstitutionally deported, or repatriated to Mexico. We see the Repatriation and its effects unfold through the eyes of four women, including the playwright’s grandmother and great-grandmother, who were repatriated to Mexico in 1931, the effects of which still echo through the Mexican-American community today
Content advisory: Use of racial slurs and discussion of a child’s death
FRINGE FEST ‘22
A celebration of varied projects, featuring UMass New Play Lab
To be presented April 21 to May 1 at multiple venues, details to be announced, tickets not yet available
One festival, dozens of pieces to view. Every year, in classes and indie productions, our students, faculty, and staff explore so much theater. This year, we’re gathering them all into a festival of low and no-cost events showcasing everything from outrageous experimental work to shining new voices to expertly-rendered productions of classic scenes. The Fringe Fest will be anchored by our UMass New Play Lab, a graduate student-driven project that explores various facets of new play development. This year, a collective of graduate students from various theater disciplines will collaborate to cultivate brand-new work in a nimble and flexible process that’s responsive to the needs of each individual project.
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Tickets can be purchased through the Fine Arts Center Box Office (click here to go directly to our events) or at the door before each performance.
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MASKING AND ILLNESS POLICIES
UMass Amherst's 2021-22 policy requires all faculty, staff, and students to be vaccinated. Currently, all visitors to our theaters are expected to be masked and to offer proof of vaccine or recent negative COVID test. Safety measures may change, so please visit the UMass Amherst coronavirus website for the most current information before heading to the theater.
If you are experiencing any possible COVID-19 symptoms, have tested positive, or have had close contact with someone who has tested positive, please do not attend. Please contact the Fine Arts Center Box Office for ways that you can exchange your ticket for another performance during this semester, donate the cost of your ticket, or receive a refund.