WFU Theatre & Dance FAll 2023 Newsletter

Witness for the Prosecution

Sharon Andrews started our season with a work by the remarkable Agatha Christie, one of the world’s most famous mystery writers. The thrilling courtroom drama - with its twists and shocks - kept theatre goers on the edge of their seats dying to know, “guilty or not guilty”.

The cast of 22 students, including several first-year students, brought the mystery to the stage. The production is the last play Sharon Andrews will direct and the last set Mary Wayne-Thomas will design as faculty members of our department as both plan to retire at the end of the academic year.

Turning 15 on the Road to Freedom

Based on Lynda Blackmon Lowery’s memoir of the 1965 Voting Rights March in Selma, the production featured a mix of traditional and original Gospel and Freedom songs to frame the journey of a brave young American heroine. A joint production of the Wake Forest University Department of Theatre & Dance and the Loire Valley Theatre Festival, the project was supported in part by funding from the National Endowment for the Arts.

The cast consisted of a mix of WFU students, staff, and community members under the direction of Jackie Alexander, Artistic Director for the NC Black Repertory Theatre. Director of Music and Arts at the WFU School of Divinity and Gospel Choir Director Joshuah Brian Campbell led the community-based choir.

Lynda Blackmon Lowery shared her message about the Civil Rights Movement and inspiring change at any age with audiences at Wait Chapel and following two performances on the Tedford Stage.

Fall Faculty & Guest Artist Concert

The Fall Faculty & Guest Artist Concert featured contemporary, jazz, and classical ballet choreography by Brantly Shapiro and Chris Martin, Nina Lucas Rice, Sam Shapiro, Christina Soriano, Tina Yarborough Liggins, and guest choreographer Emily Nicolaou under the direction of Brantly Shaprio. Ms. Nicolaou is a dance artist, teacher and choreographer based in Copenhagen and Winston Salem. In addition to her work in the dance concert, she also teaches contemporary dance in our Community Ballet program.

This year’s concert included performances by 50 members of the Dance Company. It also marked the last time Brantly Shapiro will direct or choreography as department faculty as she is also set to retire at the end of the Spring semester.

Maya Angelou Artist-in-Residence Award

On Sunday, Nov. 12, President Susan Wente presented the Inaugural Maya Angelou Artist-in-Residence Award to dancer/actor/choreographer Debbie Allen in Wait Chapel. The award was given ahead of a moderated conversation with Allen led by Wake Forest dance professor Nina Lucas Rice and alumna Monet Beatty (‘20, MA ‘21).

During her campus visit, Ms. Allen taught an advance ballet class, spoke to theatre and dance students about how to succeed in the arts industry, and attended a dress rehearsal of the Fall Faculty & Guest Artist Concert.