Northern Illinois University School of Theatre and Dance -- "In Progress" Experimental Theatre

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• published: 16 Jan 2014
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Northern Illinois University School of Theatre and Dance Honors Acting Students Present Experimental Theatre, "In Progress," on November 21 through 24, 2013. DEKALB—Two NIU students' worlds of memories and dreams will burst forth from the doors of two household cabinets in the Holmes Student Center Diversions Lounge on November 21-24 at 7 p.m. School of Theatrre and Dance seniors, Caitlin Cavannaugh and Christie Coran, present a two-woman physical theatre production, a piece of devised, experimental theatre based on their original poetry. The show explores their past four years at NIU and all that goes into being a college student and growing up. Themes of some of the poems include love, finding your voice, leaving the past behind, taking risks to grow, and living with a fat-man heart. "Every person at NIU has their own experiences, stories, and journey. These are just two voices from a sea of thousands" Cavannaugh said. Coran and Cavannaugh took each poem, explored it through movement, and shaped each into a movement-scene. "We wanted to experiment with translating the poems from words to movement—to take the spirit of the poem, take away the words, and put that spirit into motion," Coran said. Devised theatre encompasses productions originating from a group of creators (not limited to actors), rather than an outside writer. Essentially, the actor both creates and interprets, as opposed to solely interpreting pre-written text from a playwright. This is not a typical NIU School of Theatre and Dance production. It is not Shakespeare or Moliere; there is not even a script. "The show is our exploration of theatre itself. Instead of what theatre is, we want to explore what theatre can be," Cavannaugh said. The production is also serving as the students' senior Honors Capstone project. After the shows, there will be talk-backs to discuss the process of developing the work. "In Progress" was presented in Northern Illinois University's Holmes Student Center Diversions Lounge on the DeKalb campus at 340 Carroll Avenue. Tickets to Studio Series and student-produced plays are $5 and available only at the door. All proceeds go to the students' senior headshots and film reels fund. More information is available by email at inprogress2014@gmail.com or on Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/events/411509202307809/. ###