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September 19, 2013

School of Drama Celebrates 100 Years

Drama's 100th logoAt 100-years-old, Carnegie Mellon’s School of Drama never looked so good.

As it enters into its centennial, the school is enjoying worldwide acclaim. The Hollywood Reporter ranked it fourth in the world among drama schools for the second consecutive year. CMU alumni stole the spotlight by winning eight Tony Awards across six categories this summer, and 11 alumni and a new faculty member, Suttirat Anne Larlarb, have been nominated for 2013 Emmy Awards.

And the school is offering up an All-American season of performances to celebrate.

The Subscriber Series opens in October with Arthur Miller’s classic play “The Crucible” (Oct. 3-12), directed by faculty member Tony McKay (A’69). Faculty member and alumna Barbara Mackenzie-Wood (A’67, ’90) will direct “You Can’t Take It With You” (Nov. 14-23) by Moss Hart and George Kaufman, which will be followed by Andrew Lippa’s musical “The Wild Party,” (Feb. 20-March 1, 2014) directed by alumnus Matthew Gardiner (A’06), who is associate artistic director of Signature Theater in Virginia.

Closing the season will be David Ives’ “Lives of the Saints,” (April 17-26, 2014) directed by Gregory Lehane, professor of drama and music in The John Wells Directing Program. All performances will take place in the Philip Chosky Theater, Purnell Center for the Arts.

“All four plays are pillars of the American dramatic repertoire and represent a raft of theatrical offerings,” said Peter Cooke, head of the School of Drama. “We’re thrilled to welcome back Matthew Gardiner as our special guest to direct our 100th Anniversary production.”

The new season also includes a production of “The Glass Menagerie” by Tennessee Williams and “The Nina Variations” by Steven Deitz, in addition to the seven-play Directors Series and a New Works Series of six plays, which will be directed by students in The John Wells Directing Program, named for legendary Hollywood producer and School of Drama alumnus John Wells (A’79).

In addition to this season’s shows, the School of Drama is planning several celebratory evenings beginning in February 2014 in Pittsburgh, New York City and Los Angeles to pay tribute to the many alumni contributions in film, television, theater and other performing arts. Several distinguished alumni are scheduled to participate.

“Celebrating 100 years of Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Drama in 2013-2014 is an extraordinary achievement. To all former staff, faculty and students, the current cohort, our fabulous alumni and clans, and all those coming to study or work on campus in the next 100 years, I salute, thank, welcome and congratulate you,” Cooke said. “The level of accomplishment across all disciplines offered by the school in its storied history could not be higher, nor more widely felt and acknowledged across the world arts community, and for that, we in the school thank each and every participant in its 100-year journey.”

For this year’s School of Drama performance package options or to place a subscription order, call the box office at 412-268-2407 between noon and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. Special discounts are available to all Carnegie Mellon alumni.

All Subscriber Series perform-ances are at 8 p.m., Tuesday through Friday, and 2 and 8 p.m. on Saturdays. For more information about the School of Drama, visit www.drama.cmu.edu.

— by Pam Wigley, pwigley@andrew.cmu.edu