Potsdam, NY, Mar 28, 2012 — SUNY Potsdam's Department of Theatre and Dance will present the play Marat/Sade by Peter Weiss this week. The show opens in the College Theater in Satterlee Hall tonight at 7:30 pm. Marat/Sade is set in a French insane asylum in the early 19th century. The characters are the inmates in that asylum who also become the actors in the Marquis de Sade's play.

The play-within-a play takes place during the turmoil of the French Revolution, as seen through the eyes of de Sade. It dramatizes a debate between de Sade, the staunch defender of the old regime, and Jean-Paul Marat, the radical advocate of revolutionary change. Written in 1963, and long associated with the upheavals of that decade, director Don Mandigo told Todd Moe that Marat/Sade is ever more resonant in 2012.

Note: this show is not recommended for young children.  Go to full article

Lake George, NY, Jul 28, 2011 — A group of actors in Lake George will commemorate the region's historical significance during the French and Indian War this summer. "The Last of the Mohicans Outdoor Drama" returns for a second season starting Friday night. It's theater under the stars and an original adaptation of James Fenimore Cooper's novel, Last of the Mohicans. Todd Moe talks with playwright and founder Michael Dufaut about staging an outdoor drama that includes horses, cannon fire and Native dance.  Go to full article

Potsdam, NY, May 02, 2011 — The dream of a performing arts center at SUNY Potsdam is a step closer to reality. The college broke ground for the new building last Friday. College officials say it's part of their plan for an "arts village" on campus that will offer cutting-edge technology and serve as an arts showcase for the college and community. Todd Moe reports.  Go to full article

Potsdam, NY, Mar 24, 2011 — SUNY Potsdam's Theatre and Dance Department will present an ambitious drama by playwright Sarah Ruhl in six performances, over the next two weeks, that opens tonight. "Passion Play" will be performed in the College Theatre, located in Satterlee Hall (7:30 pm).

The backdrop for Ruhl's play is the centuries-old traditional staging of the Passion of Christ. The play explores productions in two different eras -- Elizabethan England when the Queen outlaws the annual staging, and Oberammergau, Bavaria in 1934 as Adolf Hitler is rising to power. "Everything is not as it appears to be," according to one of the characters. Todd Moe spoke with director Susan Neal and some of the cast and crew.  Go to full article

Potsdam, NY, Mar 23, 2011 — Final rehearsals are underway this week for SUNY Potsdam's spring theater production of Sarah Ruhl's "Passion Play." Susan Neal is directing the ensemble of 11 students, and she's being helped by her student dramaturg.

That's the "go to" person for the director, actors and tech crews. So, what exactly does the dramaturg do? Todd Moe posed that question for today's "Heard Up North."  Go to full article

Apr 23, 2010 — Lake Placid's Kathleen Thomas brings her one-woman performance piece, A Trojan Woman, to Keene Central School for an evening of Greek Desserts and Greek Drama Saturday night (7 pm). Thomas told Todd Moe that the show is play within a play, transitioning between the present and ancient past -- between the Trojan War of legend and the Trojan War of history.  Go to full article

Watertown, NY, Feb 24, 2010 — A new tragicomedy that examines winter heating bills and personal safety gets a staged reading in Watertown on Saturday. Todd Moe talks with Watertown playwright Craig Thornton about The High Cost of Heating.  Go to full article

Mar 04, 2009 — SUNY-Potsdam theater major David Zwierankin shares his thoughts on this month's performances of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. He spoke with Todd Moe. The show, brimming with mirth, magic and mayhem, opens Friday night at the College Theatre in Satterlee Hall.  Go to full article

Dec 02, 2008 — The world premiere of the English translation of Coma Unplugged runs at the Great Canadian Theatre Company in Ottawa through December 14. Resident theatre critic Connie Meng was at a recent performance and has this review  Go to full article

Dec 01, 2008 — Billy Twinkle: Requiem for a Golden Boy runs in the Studio at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa through December 6. Resident theatre critic Connie Meng was at the opening night and has this review.  Go to full article