SMU DEPARTMENT OF THEATRE ARTS

Art by Yasmina Reza
Directed by Dr. Steven Bouler
Friday, Sept. 28, 2007 - 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 29, 2007 - 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 30, 2007 - 3 p.m.
Monday, Oct. 1, 2007 - 7:30 p.m.
Page Theatre

Art questions the meaning of modern art and modern friendships, and how they’re sometimes not all that different. When an art lover buys a white painting (with white stripes) for a whopping sum, his best friend goes ballistic. Yet a third friend gets squeezed in the middle. What is art and what does it mean to be a friend? In Yasmina Reza’s Tony Award-winning comedy, both subjects are humorously and honestly examined by three characters: the man who bought the painting and the two friends who come to see it.

Yerma by Federico Garcia Lorca
Directed by Judy Myers, M.F.A.
Friday, Nov. 9, 2007 - 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 10, 2007 - 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 11, 2007 - 3 p.m.
Monday, Nov. 12, 2007 - 7:30 p.m.
Page Theatre

Love, yearning and honor collide in this tragedy by Lorca, one of the greatest Spanish playwrights of the 20th century. Yerma is a young wife who longs to be a mother. After years of trying to conceive, the unmet need for a child begins to take a toll. Resentment turns her marriage bitter. She considers turning to another man, but she can’t – her morals force her to abandon her plan. Yet the tension, resentment and unbearable longing continue to fuel Yerma’s internal conflict and mental instability. In the end, her actions seal her fate in a tragic climax befitting her tragic life.

When You Comin’ Back Red Ryder? by Mark Medoff
Directed by Dr. Gary Diomandes
Thursday, Feb. 28, 2008 - 7:30 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 29, 2008 - 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 1, 2008 - 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, March 2, 2008 - 3 p.m.
Monday, March 3, 2008 - 7:30 p.m.
Academy Theatre, Valencia Arts Center

This fast-paced drama by Medoff starts off innocently enough with a group of people going about their daily lives at a small New Mexico diner. The arrival of a too-friendly tourist quickly turns antagonistic, then violent, and the staff and customers suddenly find themselves held hostage by an armed madman. As they fight him and play out his demands, their brittle lives shatter, and no one escapes unscathed.

Iphigenia at Aulis by Euripides
Directed by Dr. Steven Bouler
Friday, April 18, 2008 - 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, April 19, 2008 - 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, April 20, 2008 - 3 p.m.
Monday, April 21, 2008 - 7:30 p.m.
Page Theatre

The Greek fleet waits in the bay of Aulis in readiness to launch an attack on Troy, but the wind suddenly drops and the ships stand idle. The army blames its leader, Agamemnon, who, in danger of losing his command, is told by the oracle the only solution: sacrifice his teenage daughter, Iphigenia, to the gods, in return for a favorable wind and ultimate victory. As relevant today as it was over 2,000 years ago, this contemporary translation of Euripides’ Iphigenia (set prior to the Iraqi War) explores patriotism, war fever, and how far a leader will go to secure a military victory in the East.