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Production Season Schedule

The Department of Theatre and Dance cultivates an innovative, experiential and multidisciplinary education within an inclusive community which prepares students for leadership and service in the arts.

Fall 2022

Night of the Living Dead

Based on the classic film by George Romero and John Russo this play brings zombies to the Performing Arts Center for the first time!  See what happens when seven people are trapped in an isolated farmhouse surrounded by flesh eating ghouls! 

  • October 27, 28, 29 at 7:30 p.m.
  • October 29 at midnight
  • October 30 at 2 p.m.

Location: Black Box Theater in the Performing Arts Center
Cost: $15 general admission, $10 for students with ID, and 64+. 

Tickets may be purchased online at https://cpspotsdam.org/purchase/ or at the box office (Wednesday through Friday from 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.) or one hour prior to the performance. 

Author: Lori Allen Ohm

View Program (PDF)

Amélie

In collaboration with the Crane Opera Ensemble

  • November 10, 11, 12 at 7:30 p.m.
  • November 13 at 3 p.m. 

Location: Snell Theater
Cost: $15 general admission, $10 for students with ID, and 64+. 

Student Choreographer Concert

The SUNY Potsdam Department of Theatre and Dance is proud to present the upcoming 2022 Student Choreographers Concert. The concert is a showcase of 6 choreographic works by student choreographers, who have been creating and rehearsing their pieces throughout the fall semester.

While learning all the elements that go into presenting concert dance, from choreography to lighting and costume design, the SUNY Potsdam students have also learned such applied fundamentals as leadership, time management and the collaborative process.

  • December 1, 2, 3 at 7:30 p.m.
  • December 4 at 2 p.m.

Location: Dance Theatre in the Performing Arts Center
Cost: Free admission. Tickets may be obtained prior to the performance. 

Plays Across the Walls

  • December 8 at 7:30 p.m.

Location: Black Box Theater in the Performing Arts Center
Cost: Free admission. Tickets may be obtained prior to the performance. 

Staged reading of new 10-minute plays.

Spring 2023

Paul Taylor Dance Company

The Department of Theatre and Dance, in collaboration with CPS, brings one of America’s premier dance companies to the north country. 
Tickets may be purchased online at https://cpspotsdam.org/purchase/ or at the box office (Wednesday through Friday from 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.) or one hour prior to the performance.

  • March 1, at 7:30 p.m.

Location: Proscenium Theater in the Performing Arts Center

Almost, Maine

  • March 23, 24, 25 at 7:30 p.m.
  • March 26 at 2 p.m.

Location: Black Box Theater in the Performing Arts Center

Tickets may be purchased online at https://cpspotsdam.org/purchase/ or at the box office (Wednesday through Friday from 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.) or one hour prior to the performance.

View Program (PDF)

You and me and the space between

The island is sinking. The adults are useless. Time for the kids to save the day.

Australia’s most accomplished children’s playwright, Finegan Kruckemeyer, delivers a tale of courage and invention that is brought to life in unexpected ways. Directed by Rivka Eckert, the production explores the plight of environmental refugees through the eyes of a child by using creative storytelling, original music composition by Gregory Wanamaker, movement and choreography by Cynthia DuFault, projections and live drawing.

Appropriate for all ages.

  • April 20 at 7:30 p.m.
  • April 21 at 9 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. for schools (contact CPS for tickets if you want to bring your school)
  • April 22 at 2 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.
  • April 23 at 2 p.m.

Location: Proscenium Theater in the Performing Arts Center

Tickets may be purchased online at https://cpspotsdam.org/purchase/ or at the box office (Wednesday through Friday from 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.) or one hour prior to the performance
 

Senior Choreographer’s Concert

The SUNY Potsdam Department of Theatre and Dance is proud to present the 2023 Senior Choreographers Concert. This concert is the culminating project for our senior choreographers. 

  • May 4, 5, 6 at 7:30 p.m.
  • May 7 at 2 p.m.

Location: Proscenium Theater in the Performing Arts Center
Cost: Free admission. Tickets may be obtained prior to the performance.

AAK Middle School Drama Club Annual Performance

The result of a full year’s work by students in the AAK Middle School Drama Club this production is performed, designed, and run by young people grades 5-8. 

  • May 10, 6 p.m.

Location: Proscenium Theater in the Performing Arts Center
Cost: Free admission. Tickets may be obtained prior to the performance. 
 

Past Productions

"Le Nozze di Figaro"

World-class performance opportunities abound for students in both The Crane School of Music and the Department of Theatre and Dance. In 2019, students staged Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s comic opera “Le Nozze di Figaro (The Marriage of Figaro)” at Sara M. Snell Music Theater.

"Performing in The Marriage of Figaro was an adventure that I will never forget! The Crane Opera Ensemble worked very hard to prepare this opera, bringing laughter and joy to our audiences!"
- Dominique Santiago '20

"Much Ado About Nothing"

In the fall of 2018, SUNY Potsdam's Department of Theatre and Dance presented William Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing," a witty comedy set in the United States post-World War II, which features a raucous rivalry between two adversaries who turn into lovers. The play was performed, designed and technically assisted by SUNY Potsdam students, and featured an actor from the Potsdam community. Assistant Professor Joshua Vink advised and directed the performances.

Faculty Dance Concert (2020)

Biannually, the Dance Faculty at SUNY Potsdam create, collaborate and present their work on stage with our dynamic young movers from the dance program and across the campus. The concepts, themes and content are consistently changing with each concert. The concerts showcase the talents of our student artists in the areas of dance and movement, as well as in technical and design fields of costumes, lighting, and scenic.

"Love and Information"

Directed by Rivka Rocchio, the mysterious and powerful “Love and Information” stoked questions about what it means to have and need information, and to have and need love. In an age of overwhelming amounts of information, where knowledge and facts seem separated, the play asked: Can love be enough to cut through the noise? The 60-minute play moved throughout the Performing Arts Center, and featured a collection of stories and characters around the theme of finding connection in a contemporary landscape. 

Media Dance Works Series

In 2019 - 2020,  performance halls were closed and stages were dark, but SUNY Potsdam students of dance found ways to share their creativity nonetheless. Merging their efforts with student videographers, and using new tools from media arts, student choreographers launched a virtual dance concert series titled “Media Dance Works Series.” The events took the place of a concert dance production normally presented in the Performing Arts Center each term.  SUNY Potsdam students choreographed, performed and shot two new virtual dance concert series that showcased creative adaption in the time of COVID-19.

Wiley and the Hairy Man (2019)

Wiley and the Hairy Man was presented by the Department of Theatre and Dance in the Spring of 2019. One cornerstone of the department is their outreach programs. Working with the local communities is a foundation of SUNY Potsdam.This production was a presentation in the genre, Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA). The local elementary and middle schools were invited to come fill the theatre with their laughter and joy.

Student One-Act Festival (2020)

Each term, the Department of Theatre and Dance proudly presents the student’s annual Student One-Act Festival and/or 10-Minute play Festival. The festivals are student directed, designed, performed and technically executed. The festivals are a capstone experience generated from their studio and course work. The stage is a laboratory to learn and execute the process of storytelling.

“The Pirates of Penzance”

The timeless Gilbert and Sullivan operetta, “The Pirates of Penzance,” was presented in 2018 by the Crane Opera Ensemble. The production was double-cast for many major roles, to highlight the talents of a broader number of Crane students. As a result, each evening performance featured different casting. Led by Musical Director Kirk Severtson, “The Pirates of Penzance” featured students from The Crane School of Music in the cast, as well as students from Crane and the Department of Theatre and Dance behind the scenes.