Theatre UCF and UCF Music present "Ragtime"

Theatre UCF, in conjunction with UCF Music, will present Ragtime in Concert on the University of Central Florida Main Stage from March 22 to April 1.

Ragtime is based on the 1975 novel of the same name by E.L. Doctorow, and was written by Terrence McNally, with music by Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens. The play received 13 Tony Award nominations when it debuted on Broadway in 1998.

The turn-of-the-20th-century musical intertwines three family groups from different cultures--a couple from Harlem, a white family, and a Latvian Jewish immigrant--as they confront wealth and poverty, freedom and prejudice, success and failure while learning what it means to live in America.

The characters' diverse cultures give way to a similarly diverse score. The music draws from the ragtime rhythms of Harlem, brass band marches, waltzes, klezmer, banjo tunes, and others.

This production of Ragtime marks the first full-length collaboration of the University of Central Florida's music and theatre departments since they merged into the School of Performing Arts.
An orchestra of 31 musicians will join 46 theatre cast members on stage.

UCF jazz drum professor Marty Morel, who has been working with some of the musicians in the concert, was the original Ragtime drummer on Broadway and performed on the cast recording.

Christopher Niess, chair of the theatre department, said the collaboration between the two departments developed when he and Jeff Moore, chair of the music department, were talking about projects they could accomplish together.

The Ragtime score fit the bill, he said, adding: "We're hoping this is a foothold, a gateway to more collaborations."

Moore said the new structure in the School of Performing Arts made the production possible. "We are able to have students and faculty from both areas working together, eliminating the need to contract the outside assistance normally required to present a performance like this," he said. "The music students are benefitting by getting the opportunity to learn musical theater repertoire which will help prepare them to more successfully compete for jobs in the theatre musician market."


Photo by Tony Firriolo.

Theatre UCF Brings Home National Honors

Two Theatre UCF actors have been recognized by the National Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival (KC/ACTF) for performances given in 2011.

Kevia Goins, a junior in the BFA Acting program at UCF, was awarded "Distinguished Performance by an Actress" for her role as Black Mary in Gem of the Ocean.

Be Boyd has been awarded "Distinguished Performance by a Faculty Guest Artist." Be is a tenured associate professor at the University of Central Florida and played the role of Aunt Ester in Gem of the Ocean.

Gem of the Ocean, directed by UCF faculty member Julia Listengarten, was presented at Theatre UCF for two weeks in late 2011. The play was invited to be performed at the KC/ACTF Region IV where it was very well received. Eight Regional Festivals showcase the top productions and students from universities and colleges around the country and national awards are selected from this pool.

The theatre department is especially pleased to have a faculty and student awarded for working so closely together.

"When a faculty member works a role alongside students, it is an opportunity for students to observe and learn by direct example, which transcends the level of classroom coaching and provides the apprentice-ship type environment that is essential to the development of an actor," says Christopher Niess, Chair and Artistic Director of the Theatre Department.

"The faculty-student working relationship in production, just as in the laboratory, often yields new creative angles that may not be realized across the distance in the typical professor-student relationship in the classroom. This benefits the entire creative team (and the audience), and more directly mirrors the professional theatre–where there may exist a variety of skill levels."

Photo by Tony Firriolo.

Student Project: Exit, Pursued by a Bear Prologue