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Theatre NDSU student director, Kolie Shaw, prepares for NDSU’s first virtual performance

As a theatre major at NDSU you gain experiences and opportunties in a variety of roles including visible roles such as perfomer, or behind the scenes, like director. Senior, Kolie Shaw, is directing She Kills Monsters: Virtual Relams, and she gets to be the first director at NDSU to direct the cast virtually. Check out her thoughts from a Q&A about this exciting opportunity:

Q: As the director of the show, what are you most excited about?
A: What I am most excited about for this show is creating a performance that takes space on an online platform. It is difficult for artists to find space to create theatre right now due to our global pandemic, but it is important that theatre makers stil have opportunity to perform and create art.

Q: What are your thoughts on directing NDSU’s first play on Zoom?
A: I am over the moon thankful for the opportunity to direct She Kills Monsters: Virtual Realms as NDSU’s first Zoom play. I am learning so much, not only as a director but also around communicating and creating art in our new wordy climate.

Q: What interseting thing should patrons know about the show?
A: I think something that the actors and I have been working hard to achieve is theatricality within the online space, especially since each actor is in their own bedrooms/individual spaces for each performance. We hand props through screens and have battle scenese on an online platform! We still get to play with lights, costumes, and music to create this magical show and I think the fact everyone can view it from the comfort of their own home is even more of a reason to get hyped for this show.

Q: What is your favorite thing about directing this show?
A: My absolute favorite part of this show is all the tiral and error the actor and I get to play with and start to understand. Creating a performance online is completely new and I am so lucky the actors and management team are so willing to test things and adapt as we learn what does and does not work. Everyone working on this production has been faced with challenges, even more-so than what a performance with actors on a stage might face, but this has not and will not stop us.

Q: Why do you like being a student at Theatre NDSU?
A: I like being a student with Theatre NDSU because of the care and energy our professors put into our education. As a young director, I know I have a lot to learn and I am so glad I have the relationship to ask any questions or concerns I have, trusting I will walways be pointed in the right direction. The students in our department are so willing to say YES! and try something new. We are a collective, even when faced with the stress, fear, and disorder this pandemic has brought us. It is often a relief to be surrounded with so many individuals who wnat you to succeed and Theatre NDSU continues to bring me that relief.

Purchase tickets at ndsu.showare.com

Theatre NDSU announces 2020-21 Season

Fargo, N.D. –Announcing Theatre NDSU’s dynamic line-up for our 2020-2021 season. We know creativity is needed more than ever in these challenging times. Enjoy our first two productions from the comfort of your own home. Then, get ready for a few ever-timely classics coming this spring. Tickets are available at ndsu.showare.com.

She Kills Monsters: Virtual Realms
By Qui Nguyen
Performed live on Zoom!
October 15-17 | 7:30 PM October 21-24 | 7:30 PM
Agnes Evans lost her sister Tilly in a car accident. When Agnes finds Tilly’s Dungeons & Dragons notebook, she embarks on an epic, raucous journey complete with swords, fairies, 90s pop culture, and ogres!

The Velveteen Rabbit
By Philip Grecian
From the book by Margery Williams
Special Audio Drama Performance
Available to stream Nov. 7-29 | Listen at home!
Purchase tickets at ndsu.showare.com.
The Velveteen Rabbit has one wish—to be real. But how? One night the toy fairy visits to give the Velveteen Rabbit her wish. The Velveteen Rabbit should be overjoyed, but she can’t. The boy who loves her is sick with scarlet fever and may die if she leaves with the toy fairy. What will she do? Margery Williams’ beloved tale is brought to life in this stage version for the whole family. Explore what it means to love and live without bounds.

Macbeth
By William Shakespeare
February 2021 | Askanase Auditorium
Double, double, toil & trouble. Join Theatre NDSU for Shakespeare’s classic tragedy about deceit and the wicked lengths one will go to for a taste of power.

Annie
Book by Thomas Meehan, music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Martin Charnin
April 2021
With the help of her fellow savvy orphan friends, Annie escapes Miss Hannigan’s orphanage to embark on an adventure bigger than her wildest dreams. Relive this family classic that features some of our greatest musical hits, including “Tomorrow”.

University Symphony Orchestra Information for Fall 2020

The University Symphony Orchestra will not meet as a traditional orchestra for the fall semester of 2020. However, as an alternative, we will be forming string quartets and quintets for those interested in performing in an ensemble. This is an outstanding new opportunity that we hope you will consider as an option. We hope to have the University Symphony Orchestra back in its traditional formulation in the spring semester of 2021.

Those interested in being a part of the string chamber ensembles should send an email to Tim Nelson indicating their interest. Mr. Nelson will then contact everyone with more details in the early part of the semester.

Theatre NDSU Important Information for Fall 2020

We face challenging times throughout the world because of the current Covid-19 pandemic. As always, everyone at the Theatre NDSUand the Division of Performing Arts is concerned with students’aristic growth. Especially in these times, however, we’re concerned with students’ health and safety. Below is the current information that we think is important for you to know, arranged by topic.

Conditions may change, and procedures and policies may change as a result. The State Board of Higher Education may modify calendars or modes of instruction, so check this site often.

The main message is to be safe and strive to be a stronger ensemble in these challenging times!

Basic Overview

What will be the same:

• Our dedication to providing the best theatre education we can, and our dedication to keeping our students and staff safe and healthy
• Our commitment to creating a theatre company that mirrors professional ensembles throughout the country

• The typical class schedule and class offerings
• The typical academic calendar
• Student scholarships and awards

What will or may be different:

• Increased social distancing measures and sanitation procedures, and a specified route of travel around Askanase Hall. For a more thorough outline of Theatre NDSU’s safety guidelines and best practices, please click here.
• Some classes will be smaller
• Some class lengths will be shorter
• Fall auditions and rehearsals held via Zoom.
• Following national theatre treands and safety practices, fall productions will be performed without a live audience. More information about these productions can be found on our website (COMING SOON).
• Voice lessons will be held with Askanase Hall. However, the vocal student and teacher will be distanced in separate rooms. Technology will connect the vocal student to the teacher to allow for the utmost safety.
• All theatre majors have the option (and faculty support) if they choose to participate in theatre events, rehearsals, and classes remotely.
• What sanitation measures will be in place?

• Sanitation stations, located on both floors of the theatre building
• Faculty offices/studio lessons set up with air purification units
• Digital thermometers on both floors and in some faculty studios
• Practice rooms with air purification units
• Practice rooms with a rotation schedule to let the rooms rest between uses
• Instructional spaces wiped down regularly
• Many spaces fogged/sprayed on a regular basis
• Social distancing implemented in all aspects of operations
• Face covering policy

Face coverings are required inside the Reineke Fine Arts Center, except (1) as specified by the instructor for individual lessons, rehearsals, and performances, (2) for the lone occupant of a studio, office, or practice room, (3) for students eating lunch in specified lounge areas with attendant safety guidelines, and (4) for students with a documented accommodation from NDSU Disability Services.• Hand sanitizer and face coverings provided by individuals
• NDSU Facilities oversight for air handling safety measures.Students who are ill or who display any flu symptoms should notify instructors, should seek treatment and testing, and should not enter the facilities.

Who to contact

Faculty Contact Information
Staff Contact Information

Additional NDSU information on fall preparation can be found here.

Stay safe. Stay well. Practice!

NDSU Challey School of MusicImportant Information for 2020-2021

The Covid-19 pandemic has presented a number of challenges to the traditional way we deliver instruction. However, we continue to deliver high-quality experiences to our majors and the entire NDSU community. As always, everyone at the Challey School of Music and the Division of Performing Arts is concerned with students’ musical growth. Especially in these times, however, we’re concerned with health and safety. We have studied music-specific research presented by our musical and scientific colleagues, including the International Performing Arts Aerosol Study conducted by the National Federation of State High School Associations (https://www.nfhs.org/articles/unprecedented-international-coalition-led-by-performing-arts-organizations-to-commission-covid-19-study/), and the College Band Directors National Association COVID-19 Response Committee Reports (https://www.cbdna.org/covid19/).

Through these and other campus and state recommendations, we have developed plans that mitigate the risk of spreading COVID-19, while maintaining our standards of pedagogy and musical quality.

Conditions may change, and procedures and policies may change as a result.

The main message is to be safe and to continue to be great musicians!

What remains the same:

• Our dedication to providing the best musical education we can, and our dedication to keeping our students and staff safe and healthy
• The typical class schedule and class offerings
• The typical academic calendar
• Student scholarships and awards

What has changed

• Increased social distancing measures and sanitation procedures
• Student lounge layout and eating protocols
• Practice room schedules and protocols
• Class sizes
• Class lengths
• Ensemble Procedures—see below
• Enhanced technology throughout the building, with more slated for spring semester
• Applied lesson procedures—see below
• Concert attendance policies—see below
• Indoor recitals and concerts livestreamed rather than presented to live audiences—see below
• Details of juries, methods exams, etc.
• Ability for students to participate remotely
• No fall ensemble tours; spring tours dependent on conditions
• Sanitation Details

• There are sanitation stations, located on both floors of the building
• HEPA air purifiers are in use in faculty studios/offices, practice rooms, and rehearsal rooms
• Digital thermometers are on both floors and in some faculty studios
• Practice rooms must rest for 20 minutes between uses, a policy developed in collaboration with the CSoM Student Council
• Instructional spaces are wiped down regularly
• We use ultraviolet wands for sanitizing percussion and other wooden surfaces not logically sanitized by other means.
• Social distancing of six feet is implemented throughout the building.
• We manage direction of entrance and egress as well as the number of people allowed in rehearsal, storage, and instructional spaces.
• Face covering policy

Face coverings are required inside the Reineke Fine Arts Center, except (1) as specified by the instructor for individual lessons, rehearsals, and performances, (2) for the lone occupant of a studio, office, or practice room, (3) for students eating lunch in specified lounge areas with attendant safety guidelines, and (4) for students with a documented accommodation from NDSU Disability Services.

Brass and woodwind players must use masks with openings for mouthpieces. This specialized mask helps eliminate aerosol emission through the corners of the mouth while playing, and functions as a full-coverage mask during times of no playing.

Students who are ill or who display any flu symptoms should notify instructors and the School of Music, should seek treatment and testing, and should not enter the facilities.

Further Information about Applied Lessons

• Some lessons are shortened to provide for room ventilation. Hour lessons may be scheduled in two different sessions.
• Voice lessons may be given in larger rooms, or use “pod” technology (closed-circuit audio and video) with the student in a practice room and the accompanist and teacher in the teacher’s studio. Headphone policies may vary among studios.
• Lessons may involve some sessions by Zoom and/or submitted recordings.
• Studio class policies will be determined by area faculty and will involve distancing procedures. We still believe that studio class experiences are important to the development of students as musicians.
• Concert Attendance policies will be determined by studio and/or by area. They will involve online listening assignments.

Further Information about Ensembles

• Large ensembles are smaller in the number of players/singers and often have multiple subgroups, rehearsing separately.
• Choirs will frequently divide into octets; Wind Symphony will sometimes divide into chamber ensembles. Other ensembles may use innovative formats.
• Spacing while performing is at least 6 feet.
• Rehearsals and performances are limited to 40 minutes, followed by a minimum of a 20-minute break. This practice allows for dispersion of aerosols.
• Bell covers for instruments are used to reduce aerosol spread. However, bell covers are not required for saxophones, bass clarinets, and bassoons, as covers have not been shown to reduce aerosols in these instruments.
• Performers must use paper plates and paper towels (furnished) to collect condensation from instruments during rehearsals

Further Information about Performances

Preparing professional concerts and recitals is an important component of musical study, and we will continue to feature both student and faculty solo and ensemble performance.

• There are no live public audiences for any indoor concerts, except for supervising faculty members and technical staff.
• All performances in Beckwith Recital Hall and Festival Concert Hall will be recorded and livestreamed to the general public. This means that family, friends, and our growing alumni and general public constituencies will be able to see and hear high-quality audio and video livestreams of student, faculty, and guest performances.

Who to contact. Questions or concerns?

Faculty Contact Information
Staff Contact Information

Stay safe. Stay well. Practice!

Learn more about live streaming with NDSU Performing Arts

This news article is no longer up-to-date: For more information regarding our current guidance for audience members, please see  Safety!

This semester we are taking measures to protect our students, faculty, staff, and guests while still providing valuable learning and performance opportunities. We will not have public audiences for any indoor concerts, except for supervising faculty members and technical staff. All performances in Beckwith Recital Hall and Festival Concert Hall will be recorded and livestreamed to the general public.

Live stream concerts and recitals by visiting: ndsu.edu/music/stream
For event and live streaming details visit our Peforming Arts Calendar*

*Events are subject to change*

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Statement of Solidarity

June 17, 2020

To our students, alumni, colleagues, audiences, and fellow artists:

The recent deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade, Rayshard Brooks, and so many others have once again revealed significant historical inequalities and pervasive racism that exist in our society. We are outraged by these senseless and tragic deaths, and we stand in solidarity with our communities of color.

We write today to affirm the Division of Performing Arts’s commitment to supporting communities of color. We wholeheartedly condemn racism, bigotry, violence, and aggression against those who identify as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC). The Division is committed to celebrating your voices, experiences, visions, expressions, outlooks, and stories as essential to our future together in the classroom, production, and performance as well as in the world beyond NDSU.

Diversity, equity, and inclusion are central pillars of the Division of Performing Arts’s artistic and academic mission, and they encompass the fair treatment of all members of our community. We are committed not only to respecting all races and ethnicities, but we also extend our commitment to students, alumni, colleagues, audiences, and fellow artists of all sexualities and gender expressions as well.

The Division of Performing Arts pledges to develop anti-racist practices and guidelines that will be upheld throughout the Division. In doing so, we will continue our mission as a student-focused, land-grant university.

The Division of Performing Arts commits to:

  • Acknowledging the trauma of and listening to our BIPOC students, alumni, colleagues, audiences, and fellow artists.
  • Creating a welcoming, safe, and inclusive culture in the Division of Performing Arts for students, alumni, colleagues, audiences and fellow artists.
  • Honoring challenging discussions and ideas that oppose structural norms.
  • Celebrating diverse artists through classroom curriculum, discussion, and production.
  • Examine and replace Division and University policies that disadvantage underrepresented groups.

We encourage members of our community to take advantage of the many resources the NDSU campus offers during this challenging time. Those resources are:

May 19, 2020

Fargo, N.D. – We remain concerned about the seriousness of the national Coronavirus health situation. Performing Arts has a faculty and staff team that addresses ongoing issues daily, and is continually dealing with the changing situation. Student and staff safety is of paramount importance. Yet we still are committed to delivering high quality online continuing instruction in Music and Theatre.

NDSU announced on March 21 that online distance delivery will be the model for all instruction through the summer. To limit health risks on campus, the following policies are now in place for the Reineke Fine Arts Center, the Music Education Building, and Askanase Hall. Conditions may change. We expect a return to in-person instruction, including most regular campus activities, starting with the fall 2020 semester.

1. Events and activities: All direct instruction, performances, and rehearsals in the buildings are suspended through the summer session.

2. Except for faculty and staff activities for maintenance and delivery of online instruction, the buildings are closed. Further, absolutely no one with cold or flu symptoms is allowed in the buildings.

3. Safety: Social distancing and sanitary procedures must be followed.

4. Contact: Students should contact their instructors regarding coursework and advising, and Performing Arts staff for other assistance.

Watch this space for updates. We’re all concerned about everyone’s health and safety.Keep up to date with the NDSU campus response here.

The Division of Performing Arts welcomes two new faculty members

May 15, 2020 – The Division of Performing Arts is pleased to announce the appointment of two new faculty members. Karissa Millington will join the Challey School of Music as Assistant Professor of Voice and Ryan Scoble will join Theatre NDSU as Assistant Professor of Theatre. Both will begin in the fall of 2020.

Karisa L. Millington soprano, is thrilled to join NDSU Challey School of Music in the fall as the new assistant professor of voice. An active performer of opera and avid art song enthusiast, she has sung with Opera on the Avalon, The Princeton Opera Festival, New Voices Opera, Reimagining Opera for Kids, and the Beijing Festival Chorus. She greatly enjoys programming recitals of lesser-known vocal gems and highlighting compositions from historically underrepresented groups including women and composers of color.

Karisa received a B.M. in Music Education with an emphasis in Voice and Choral studies from Cedarville University in Ohio. She received her M.M in Voice Performance & Pedagogy from Westminster Choir College and is a doctoral candidate in Voice Performance at Indiana University. Prior to her new role at NDSU, Karisa has been a Visiting Assistant Professor of Music at Wabash College where she taught voice and served as the Interim Glee Club Director. She previously has taught musical theatre voice at the University of Evansville and voice at the Stafford Music Academy and Belvoir Terrace Arts Camp.

As an educator, Karisa has a strong enthusiasm for the anatomy and physiology of the voice, the physics of sound, historical and present theories of teaching singing, and diverse vocal repertoire. Her research focuses on developing innovative voice pedagogy curriculum for music educators and performers. Additionally, her background teaching in Asia and working with international students has led to her research into culturally responsive pedagogy practices for the music studio.

As an educator, Ms. Millington has a passion for voice pedagogy – the anatomy and physiology of the voice, the physics of sound, historical and present theories of teaching singing, and diverse song repertoire – and merges all of these elements in her own teaching of classical voice, musical theatre, and commercial music. Her research focuses on innovative voice pedagogy curriculum for undergraduate music students. The three years she spent living and teaching in Beijing led to her research in ways to better support and engage culturally diverse learners in the applied voice studio. She has worked with students from many countries including China, Korea, Australia, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Norway, Germany, Russia, Italy, France, and Martinique.

Karisa’s operatic roles include Helena from A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Britten); Cleopatra from Guilio Cesare (Handel); Donna Elvira from Don Giovanni (Mozart); Marschallin from Der Rosenkavalier (R. Strauss); Sifare from Mitridate (Mozart); Antonia’s Mother from Les Contes d’Hoffmann (Offenbach); Queen from The True Story of Cinderella (Martin); Dido from Dido and Aeneas (Purcell); and Laurie from The Tender Land (Copland).

Ryan Scoble is excited to be joining the theatre faculty of North Dakota State University as the Assistant Professor of Musical Theatre. Ryan is an award-winning actor, director, and choreographer who spent fourteen years living and working in New York City. In his training, Ryan received a B.M. in Vocal Performance with an emphasis in Musical Theatre from NYU’s Steinhardt School. He received his first Master’s degree, a M.S.Ed in Educational Theatre, from The City College of New York (CUNY), and recently completed his second, an M.F.A. in Acting from Kent State University, where he also taught intro-level acting, musical theatre, and theatre appreciation, as well as directing and assisting on mainstage productions.

Ryan has worked as a theatre educator teaching musical theatre and acting to students in every borough of New York City. He has worked as a teaching artist and a high school drama instructor, directing and choreographing countless productions. He also served as a resident director/choreographer for the New York City Gay Men’s Chorus for over four years.

As a performer, Ryan has appeared in four Off-Broadway shows in New York City: Murder in the First (Bailiff), Tall Pines Lodge (Booker), Bitty Bear’s Matinee (Bitty Puppy), and The Mask of Medusa (Mr. Sideon). Recent regional theatre credits include a critically acclaimed performance as Marcellus in The Music Man at Porthouse Theatre. Other regional credits include productions at Weathervane Theatre, The Arts Center of Cannon County, and Murfreesboro Little Theatre. In addition to musicals and plays, Ryan has performed in a number of concerts and cabarets including performances with the NY Philharmonic at David Geffen Hall, Chita Rivera and Alan Cumming at Carnegie Hall, Demi Lovato at the Barclays Center, The Broadway by the Years Chorus at prestigious The Town Hall and Feinstein’s/54 Below, as well as solo shows at The Metropolitan Room, and The Duplex. Ryan is a proud member of Actor’s Equity Association.

In these times of insecurity and concern, we hope these musical messages of hope and inspiration will bring comfort.

NDSU CONCERT CHOIR

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