Theater

Theater

Envision’s ‘How We Got On’ hits play on Black joy and creativity

By RaiAnn Bu | February 16

“How We Got On” (2012) debuted Friday night to a packed Curtis Hall as the first production by Tufts’ Black theater company, Envision, created by sophomores Chance Walker and Elias Swartz. The show tells the stories of three suburban Black teens and their growing passion for the art of rap during the inception of the hip-hop genre. As the show goes on, main characters Hank (Dylan Bell), Julian (Moriah Granger) and Luann (Marsha Germain) cycle through the stage like tapes in a boombox, telling their stories of growing pains and an MTV-fueled passion for rap.

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Theater

'Life of Pi': The survival story comes to life at the A.R.T.

By Nate Hall | January 24

Note: At the Jan. 15 performance of “Life of Pi,” the traditionally male role of Pi was played by understudy and ensemble member Uma Paranjpe, a female performer, and Pi was presented as a girl. To reflect this change, this article will use she/her pronouns to refer to Pi.

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Theater

4 Seniors brew up a reinvented production of ‘Macbeth’

By Henry Chandonnet | May 22

Four seniors gathered around their ‘cauldron’ of a show, each adding their own ingredients and flair. The result was an experimental, redefined “Macbeth” (1623), which intentionally diverted from the standard practice of show-making. These seniors are Tatyana Emery, Caitlin Morley, Margaret Parish and Abi Steinberg. Coming together for the completion of Emery’s thesis and Morley’s and Steinberg’s capstone, the group struck down the traditional rehearsal process, eliminating the role of the director and reformulating the power structures within theater.

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Theater

Senior Profile: Emma Downs inspires change at Tufts through JumboSwipes, theater

By Mark Choi | May 21

As soon as Emma Downs discovered that Massachusetts had the nation’s highest increase in food insecurity rates during the pandemic, she knew something had to be done.

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Theater

'The Tragedy of Macbeth': Something wicked (so wicked) this way comes

By Miranda Feinberg | January 21

Joel Coen’s "The Tragedy of Macbeth" (2021) — a modern cinemascape of the iconic Scottish Shakespearean tragedy — is told in vivid pools of light and sharp-edged voids of shadow. Every point within and throughout the film opposes all other points; it is so expansive and amorphous and yet full of clean cut lines and sharp pointed corners. “Macbeth,” which follows the titular newly appointed Thane of Cawdor as he loses himself to his hunger for power, has been released in theaters and is available to stream through Apple TV Plus. The iconic story has had countless adaptations across film and theater, and here Coen and his team blend those two mediums to create a unique and singular atmosphere which shrouds the story in visual markers that match the emotion and madness central to the story. 

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Theater

'Tick, Tick... Boom!' celebrates the legacy of theater composition

By Henry Chandonnet | November 30

On Nov. 26, legendary musical theater composer Stephen Sondheim died. Sondheim leaves behind a changed fate for the modern musical, having reinvented the standard with classics such as “Into The Woods” (1987), “Company” (1970) and “West Side Story” (1957). Just a week before Sondheim’s passing, “Tick, Tick… Boom!” was released on Netflix. The film celebrates musical theater and composers, namely through the original writer Jonathan Larson. These two consecutive events call on us to reminisce upon the icons of composition and reinvestigate the simple joys of live theater. 

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Theater

Weekender: Student-written musical 'Almanac' to be produced by theater department

By Megan Szostak | October 28

Content warning: This article mentions police violence.

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Theater

Daily Week Senior Profile: Stephanie Hoechst

By Sarah Crawford | February 25

During her time in Arts, Hoechst has covered everything from on-campus theater productions to the most popular movies of the year. She has written an impressive 48 articles, edited countless more and spent a semester as Executive Arts Editor, during which she helped to grow the section.

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Columns

Keep the Cameras Rolling: The distribution dilemma

By Julian Levy | October 7

What happens when an immovable object meets an unstoppable force? Thus is the state of movies in 2020. It’s difficult to understate how profound an effect COVID-19 has had on the film industry; after a historic year in 2019, with Disney alone producing several, billion-dollar movies, major theater chains are now struggling just to stay in business.

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Theater

Arts-related departments adapt to COVID-19 restrictions

By Stephanie Hoechst and Megan Szostak | September 8

Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies

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Theater

'Sense and Sensibility' to bring Austen's classic to modern audience

By Stephanie Hoechst | February 27

Between the corsets, accents and obsession with propriety, experiencing a period drama can feel like stepping into another world. For some, that ability for escapism is part of its charm; for others, its rules can make the stories feel alienating.Barbara Wallace Grossman, a professor in the Department ...

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Theater

Learning from love and loss in 'The Last Five Years'

By Sam Heyman | November 15

Is it really better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all? Torn Ticket II’s fall minor production of "The Last Five Years" cast doubt on the old adage. The one-night engagement starred seniorNick Jodka and sophomore Francesca Viggiani as Jamie and Cathy, respectively, two ...

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Theater

20th anniversary 'Rent' tour stops in Boston

By Elaine Gao | November 15

The 20th anniversary tour of “Rent” had its final performance at the Shubert Theatre, Boston, on Nov. 10. From its very first show at the New York Theatre Workshop in 1993, “Rent” has won several musical awards over the years and was adapted into a movie featuring most of the original cast members ...

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Theater

Drama department's ‘An Enemy of the People’ explores modern environmental issues

By Megan Szostak | October 22

This Thursday, the Tufts Department of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies will open a production of Brad Birch’s 2018 adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s 1882 play, “En Folkefiende” (“An Enemy of the People”)in the Balch Arena Theater. Directed by Noe Montez, associate professor of Theatre, ...

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Theater

New Faculty Q&A: Meghan Pearson

By Janya Gambhir | October 7

Editor's note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Hailing from Syracuse, N.Y., Meghan Pearson is a lecturer and costume shop supervisor who began teaching at Tufts thissemester. The Tufts Daily spoke to her to learn about her background, interest in costume design and theater, ...

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Theater

24 Hour Play Festival is a change of scenery

By Sam Heyman | October 3

This Friday evening, a cabal of student dramatists will seal themselves off from the light of day for a full 24 hours to complete a Herculean trial of wits and wills. But this isn't the congregation of a shadowy cult to the dramatic arts; it’s the 24 Hour Play Festivalhosted by Pens, Paints, and ...

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Theater

Senior Profile: Abby Schmidt

By Christopher Panella | May 19

Disclaimer: Abby Schmidt is a contributing writer for the Tufts Daily. Schmidt was not involved in the writing or editing of this article.For some seniors, going to Tufts was about a change of place. “I’ve always loved traveling and seeing new places,” Abby Schmidt said. In an open study room ...

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Theater

'Jihad Jones and the Kalashnikov Babes' questions about stereotyping, representation

By Stephanie Hoechst | April 11

This weekend, the Department of Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies will be presenting their spring production, “Jihad Jones and the Kalashnikov Babes.” While the cast is small, with only five actors, the show asks big questions about stereotypes in Hollywood and grapples with issues of representation.Heather ...

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Theater

Torn Ticket II explores high school, mental health in 'Heathers: The Musical'

By Stephanie Hoechst | March 27

Disclaimer: Amanda Rose is a former assistant arts editor at The Tufts Daily. Rose was not involved in the writing or editing of this article. This weekend, Torn Ticket II will tackle “Heathers: The Musical” as one of its spring shows. The student production has come together in just six short ...

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Theater

Central Square Theater’s 'Frankenstein' reclaims its monster

By Amanda Rose | November 5

Content warning: This article mentions sexual assault. Frankenstein’s monster, as he is known today in popular culture, is a far cry from the philosophically and morally tortured being created by Mary Shelley in the novel that jump-started the genre of science fiction. Two hundred years after the publication ...

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