Godspell (musical)
Auditions: Thursday, September 7, 2023 at 4:00 PM & 6:30 PM, Riverside Theatre (Haas Fine Arts Center)
Callbacks: Friday, September 8, 2023 from 5:00-8:00 PM, Riverside Theatre
Material to Prepare: Prepare 32 measures of a contemporary musical theatre song and a 1-2 minute comic monologue. Please bring sheet music or an accompaniment track; an accompanist will be provided. 
Rehearsals: Mondays-Thursday (6:30-9:30 PM) and Fridays (4:00-7:00 PM) starting Monday, September 11. Tech week runs October 7-12.
Performances: October 13-15 and 18-22, Jamf Theatre (Pablo Center)

Cloud 9 (play)
Auditions: Thursday, September 7, 2023, 4:00 PM & 6:30 PM, Riverside Theatre (Haas Fine Arts Center)
Callbacks: Saturday, September 9, 11:00 AM-3:00 PM, Riverside Theatre
Material to Prepare: Prepare a 1-2 minute contemporary monologue (from a play written in the last 10 years). 
Rehearsals: Mondays-Thursday (6:30-9:30 PM) and Fridays (4:00-7:00 PM) starting Monday, October 30. Tech week runs December 2-5.
Performances: December 6-10, Riverside Theatre

Airness (play)
Auditions: Friday, November 3, 2023 at 4:00 PM & 6:30 PM, Riverside Theatre (Haas Fine Arts Center)
Callbacks: Saturday, November 4, 2023 from 11:00 AM-3:00 PM, Riverside Theatre (Haas Fine Arts Center)
Material to Prepare: Prepare a 1-2 minute contemporary monologue (from a play written in the last 10 years). 
Rehearsals: Mondays-Thursday (6:30-10:00 PM) and Fridays (4:00-7:00 PM) starting Monday, January 29. Tech week runs February 24-29.
Performances: March 1-3 and 6-10, Jamf Theatre (Pablo Center)

Macbeth (play)
Auditions: Monday, October 16, 2023, 5:00-8:00 PM, Riverside Theatre (Haas Fine Arts Center)
Callbacks: Tuesday, October 17, 2023, 6:30-9:30 PM, Riverside Theatre (Haas Fine Arts Center)
Material to Prepare: TBD
Rehearsals: Mondays-Thursday (6:30-9:30 PM) and Fridays (4:00-7:00 PM) starting Monday, March 11. Tech week runs April 20-25
Performances: April 26-May 5, Riverside Theatre

In addition to roles onstage, we offer plentiful roles backstage as well! There are two main ways to get involved in shows offstage: production assignments (working on an assigned role tied to a specific production) and working in the shops.

Scenic/Costume/Electrics Labs

Students get academic credit for working in our costume shop (THEA 151), scene shop (THEA 152), and electrics shop (THEA 153). These classes meet throughout the semester to build or otherwise install the scenery, costumes, and lighting/sound equipment necessary for our mainstage productions. Anyone can register for these classes, regardless of major, and there are no prerequisites – no experience required! If you are looking for a hands-on way to get involved in making theatre, this opportunity may be for you!

Production Assignments

Alternatively, every show we produce has a team of students who put it together. From stage managers to light/sound board operators to wardrobe crew to props artisans and more, these folks each play a valuable role in successfully transferring our shows from the rehearsal hall to the stage. Every spring, the faculty look ahead to the upcoming season’s shows and put out a survey for students to fill out indicating their areas of interest and availability. These opportunities are open to everyone (not just Theatre majors/minors), though Theatre students tend to get priority given that they each must complete a certain number of these production assignments in order to graduate. The survey is typically emailed out in March, and is due back in April, then students are informed of their placements later that month. This form is also typically shared on the UWEC Theatre Facebook page, and will be posted here when it is available as well.

For questions related to production assignments/backstage roles, contact the following faculty:

• For the scene shop, props management and construction, and run crew (stage crew), contact James Zwicky, zwickyja@uwec.edu
• For the costume shop, wardrobe crew, and makeup, contact Amanda Profaizer, profaiaj@uwec.edu
• For the electrics shop, light and sound board operation, spot light operation, sound design/engineering, and serving as a Master Electrician (ME), contact Erin Hisey, hiseyec@uwec.edu
• For stage management, contact Jen Zwicky, zwickyjl@uwec.du
• For house management and publicity, contact Arthur Grothe, grothear@uwec.edu

Conceived and originally directed by John-Michael Tebelak
Music and New Lyrics by Stephen Schwartz
Directed by Arthur Grothe; music directed by Emily Sternfeld-Dunn; choreographed by Stephen K. Stone

Description: Godspell was the first major musical theatre offering from three-time Grammy and Academy Award winner, Stephen Schwartz (Wicked, Pippin, Children of Eden), and it took the world by storm.  Godspell follows a small group of people that help Jesus tell different parables by using a wide variety of games, storytelling techniques and hefty doses of comic timing. An eclectic blend of songs, ranging in style from pop to vaudeville, is employed as the story of Jesus' life dances across the stage. Dissolving hauntingly into the Last Supper and the Crucifixion, Jesus' messages of kindness, tolerance and love come vibrantly to life.  Godspell boasts a score with chart topping songs, a book by a visionary playwright (John-Michael Tebelak), and continues to touch audiences.

Evening Performances: October 13, 14 and 18-20, 7:30 PM 
Matinee Performances: October 15 & 22, 1:30 PM
Location: Jamf Theatre, Pablo Center (128 Graham Avenue, Eau Claire, WI)
Tickets: Available through Pablo Center (click here)

Written by Carol Churchill
Directed by Dr. Jennifer Chapman

Description: This time-shifting comedy by the author of Top Girls created a sensation in its off-Broadway premiere, directed by Tommy Tune. A hilarious and scathing parody of colonialism and the Victorian Empire, particularly in its rigid attitude toward sex, Cloud 9 explodes conventions and challenges its audience with humor and wit. The play follows, Clive, a British functionary; his wife Betty (played by a man); their daughter Victoria (a rag doll); Clive’s friend Harry, an explorer; Mrs. Saunders, who runs about dressed in a riding habit; Clive’s son Edward, who still plays with dolls (and is played by a woman); and Joshua, an African servant who knows exactly what is really going on. What really is going on is a marvelous sendup and a non-stop round-robin of sexual liaisons. The second act shifts to London in 1980. Though a century has passed, the surviving characters have only aged 25 years. Now played by different actors, the characters have lost their repressed sexual longings, along with the Empire.

Evening Performances: December 6-9, 7:30 PM
Matinee Performances: December 9 & 10, 1:30 PM
Location: Riverside Theatre, Haas Fine Arts Center (121 Water Street, Eau Claire, WI)
Tickets: Available through UWEC Service Center (click here)

Written by Chelsea Marcantel
Directed by Arthur Grothe

Description: When Nina enters her first air guitar competition, she thinks winning will be easy. But as she befriends a group of charismatic nerds all committed to becoming the next champion, she discovers that there's more to this art form than playing pretend; it's about finding yourself in your favorite songs, and performing with raw joy. Will Nina be able to let go and set herself free onstage? Following her mission to shred or be shredded, Airness is an exuberant reminder that everything we need to rock is already inside us. A comedy about competition, completion, and finding the airness inside yourself.

Evening Performances: March 1, 2 and 6-9, 2023
Matinee Performances: March 3 & 10, 1:30 PM
Location: Jamf Theatre, Pablo Center (128 Graham Avenue, Eau Claire, WI)
Tickets: Available through Pablo Center (click here)

Written by William Shakespeare
Directed by Elizabeth Tanner

Description: William Shakespeare’s classic tale of war, love, and betrayal.  The noble Macbeth receives a prophesy from three mysterious figures and begins a downward spiral that leaves a trail of blood and violence in its wake.  Spurred on by the urgings of his Lady wife, Macbeth seeks to fulfill the prophesy by killing the King, murdering his trusted ally, and launching the country into civil war.  This cautionary tale of the corruption of power is filled with intrigue, apparitions, and concludes with an epic battle for the soul of a country. *This play contains violent battle imagery.

Evening Performances: April 26 & 27, and May 1-4, 7:30 PM
Matinee Performances: April 28 & May 5, 1:30 PM
Location: Riverside Theatre, Haas Fine Arts Center (121 Water Street, Eau Claire, WI)
Tickets: Available through UWEC Service Center (click here)