Performance, Play & Design
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Artist talk scrutinizes history of Yellowface
Performer and author Phil Chan breaks down Asian representation in ballet and opera
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Wild West comes to the California Coast
‘Them Cowboys’ takes audiences on an adventure of queer love and treasure hunting
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Opera performance highlights Spanish music and Chicanx culture
Lecturer in Music Sheila Willey is bringing Spanish-language opera to the stage. The upcoming Opera and Zarzuela Scenes performance on March 13, 2025 at the Music Center Recital Hall on campus, will bring a wider cultural look at the artform from several Spanish-speaking countries.
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In Memoriam: Professor David Lee Cuthbert, Performance, Play and Design
David Lee Cuthbert, Professor of Performance, Play and Design (PPD), passed away unexpectedly on February 11, 2025. Cuthbert was a dedicated educator and designer, serving as part of the Theater Arts faculty for 25 years. His passing is a profound loss for the Arts Division and for UC Santa Cruz.
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‘Random with a Purpose’ mixes dance styles for individualized performances
Every year students lead the charge in creating a dance showcase: Random with a Purpose (RWAP), which runs from Feb. 28 – Mar. 9. This year’s director, senior Emily Pflieger, hopes to shock audiences through a wide array of genres and styles that capture individual experiences of each choreographer and dancer.
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Professor Patty Gallagher reimagines Comedy of Errors in a new era
Shakespeare is coming to the University of California, Santa Cruz. The upcoming February performances of Comedy of Errors at the Theater Arts eXperimental Theater embody comedy and heartfelt performances.
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Theater fireside chat aimed at bringing attention to African American students at UC Santa Cruz
Recently the founder and director of AATAT, Professor Don Williams, sat down with colleagues, including Lisa Marie Rollins, for a fireside chat about the organization and its future.
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Bringing Broadway to Santa Cruz with ‘Into the Woods’
Sheila Willey, a lecturer in voice and opera in the Music department, is bringing Broadway to Santa Cruz. Into the Woods is a three-time, Tony Award-winning Stephen Sondheim musical, and it’s coming to campus. This 75-minute production will feature lead staff accompanist Luke Shepherd along with a cast of students.
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Professor A.M. Darke creates groundbreaking work in Black representation
A.M. Darke, an associate professor of Performance, Play, & Design at UC Santa Cruz, has spent her career becoming one of the leading voices of diversity in games, especially in the context of representing Black hair. For her latest work Darke has helped compile a program that better represents coily hair in animation.
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Modern politics reexamined through classic play ‘Inspector General’
Michael Chemers’, a professor of Performance Play and Design and chair of the department at University of California, Santa Cruz, most recent project adapts The Inspector General, a Russian play by Nikolai Gogol which criticized 19th century Russian politics, for a contemporary audience. The show will open on November 15 and runs through November 24…
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Welcome the new faculty in the Arts Division
As a new quarter starts, the Arts Division is welcoming eight new faculty members who represent the creativity, diversity, and thoughtfulness that are key pieces of the division’s identity.
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UC Santa Cruz recognized for excellence in undergraduate teaching, social mobility in latest U.S. News & World Report rankings
The University of California, Santa Cruz has once again earned national recognition for its commitment to high-quality undergraduate education and advancing social mobility.