A cast of 25 young student actors will perform the Tony Award-winning musical satire “Urinetown: The Musical” July 19-22 at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
PlayMakers Repertory Company, the professional theater in residence at UNC, will present the stage production as the culmination of its popular Summer Youth Conservatory.
Shows will be at 7:30 p.m. on July 19-21 and 2 p.m. on July 22 in the Paul Green Theatre inside the Center for Dramatic Art located on Country Club Road. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for students and children under 18 and may be purchased by calling (919) 962-PLAY (7529), online at www.playmakersrep.org or at the PlayMakers box office.
“Urinetown: The Musical” is an uproariously funny and earnest tale of love, greed and revolution in a time when water is worth its weight in gold. Twenty years of disastrous drought have led to draconian water restrictions. Citizens are forced to use public, pay-per-use facilities operated by Urine Good Company. What happens if the people rebel? Find out in this outrageously hilarious show.
Inspired by the works of Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill, “Urinetown” is an irreverent satire in which no one is safe from scrutiny, a comedic romp with wickedly modern wit.
“Urinetown” will be co-directed by longtime PlayMakers acting company member and UNC dramatic art professor Julie Fishell and guest director Jeff Stanley. Fishell appeared in PlayMakers’ “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” (2011) and has been part of the Summer Youth Conservatory teaching team since its inception in 2007. Stanley is a professional director based at Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven, Conn., and a professor of theater at Fairfield University.
The Conservatory is a unique theater experience for young people: an educational and performance opportunity that includes working with professional directors, choreographers and musical directors at PlayMakers Repertory Company.
The Summer Youth Conservatory has been honored by the North Carolina Theatre Conference (NCTC) with the Constance Welsh Youth Theatre Award for excellence in performance, service of mission and community outreach. NCTC recognized the Conservatory as “a model program for youth theatre in North Carolina.”
PlayMakers’ fifth Summer Youth Conservatory has been reimagined for 2012. The new Conservatory features three programs tailored for high school and middle school students: Theatre Intensive, Theatre Tech and Theatre Quest.
Beginning June 18, 25 high school actors will have the opportunity to train, rehearse and perform “Urinetown” in PlayMakers’ professional theater as part of this award-winning program.
In addition, the Conservatory offers TheatreTech, an in-depth program in scenic, costume and lighting design. The program includes 10 days of technical curriculum followed by a month-long apprenticeship with PlayMakers’ professional staff.
New this summer, June 18-July 20, PlayMakers is offering a series of week-long classes for middle school students called Theatre Quest. This program gives students the opportunity to train with professional artists in a variety of subjects including “Intro to Acting,” “Shakespeare and Stage Combat,” “Acting for the Camera” and “Improv/Character Development.” Students can participate in one week of training or all five. A limited number of spots are still available for Theatre Quest. Contact PlayMakers education manager Jennifer Wales at (919) 962-2491 or jwales@unc.edu. For more information, visit playmakersrep.org/outreach/syc or http://uncnews.unc.edu/content/view/5093/107.
PlayMakers is based in UNC’s College of Arts and Sciences. The Drama League has named the company “one of the best regional theaters in America.” For information about PlayMakers’ 2012/13 season, which begins in September, visit www.playmakersrep.org. Season ticket packages are available.
