2008 Woodie Awards
Graduate students to perform at Coterie
Jonathan Pearson
Issue date: 1/23/06 Section: Culture
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The Coterie/UMKC partnership was created by Jeff Church, artistic director and adjunct faculty member at UMKC, along with Dale Rose, former head of the graduate acting program; and Joe Appelt, who now teaches at Northwestern University.
When a graduate student reaches third year, he or she is allowed to be a part of the productions, which lets students experience a professional four- to five-week run instead of just four or five days-the typical timeframe for a graduate student performance.
"This is so important to us because it gives these students such a great opportunity," Church said. "It also allows us to have an expanded cast size, especially a cast that has been trained classically. This is the students' 'professional debut' and gives Kansas City a chance to see them onstage outside of UMKC, which sometimes has greater exposure."
The Coterie's latest production, "The Witch of Blackbird Pond," is the stage adaptation by Y. York based on the Newberry-winning historical fiction novel by Elizabeth George Speare. The play opens Jan. 24.
The play is about Kit Tyler, 16, who is accused of being a witch because of her friendship with another woman also believed to be a witch. Their friendship proves taboo and Kit becomes the subject of the witch hunt and a breathtaking trial.
The play will put the UMKC students' training to the test. Even with extensive rehearsing and professional directing, the performance will ultimately reveal whether the audience appreciates their hard work.
"They get to experience a brutally honest audience," Church said. "There is no fakery allowed; their skills are put to the test and hopefully they've done their job and have the audience cheering by the end of the performance."
