The fifth season of the performing arts series is underway with an expanded repertoire of theatre, music, art, and dance presented by the Division of Performing and Visual Arts at the Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences.

Nova Southeastern University is an emerging leader in the arts in South Florida, offering academic programs and majors in theatre, art, dance, arts administration, and music, as well as co-curricular programs and outstanding productions and exhibitions.

Last fall, the university moved a step closer to reaching its goals with the opening of the Performing and Visual Arts Wing of the Don Taft University Center. The state-of-the-art facility is home to the 250-seat Performance Theatre, classrooms, rehearsal halls, and studios for music, dance, set building, costume design, and the visual arts.

Mark Duncan, M.F.A., associate professor and coordinator of Performing Arts at the Division of Performing and Visual Arts said the growing Performing and Visual Arts program helps to attract new students. "When we go to recruit students, they want to know, what shows are we doing? How many performances are we doing? What is the size of the classes?"

This season highlights an expanded Premier, Studio, Faculty, Exhibition, and Resident Series. The Premier Series includes two large-scale productions and a musical, concerts, and a dance performance. The Studio Series includes more experimental and smaller scale productions, including the Student Festival of Works. The Faculty Series features vocal and piano recitals by professors in the Division of Performing and Visual Arts.

The Exhibition Series includes exhibits such as “Divide and Conquer,” the second annual Visual Arts Faculty Exhibition, and “On the Wire,” the second annual Juried Student Art Exhibition. The Resident Series includes performances by Carbonell Award-winning The Promethean Theatre (TPT), NSU’s professional theatre in residence, and the Ars Flores Symphony Orchestra, NSU’s orchestra in residence.

The season officially opens on September 14, 2009, with Matthew Engel: EVEVER, featuring the work of emerging regional artist Matthew Engel. Throughout the run of the exhibition, Engel will continue to work on, change, and reinvent the installations and paintings while creating new works. The exhibition runs through October 7, 2009, at the Performing and Visual Arts Wing of the Don Taft University Center.

Premier Series performances include The Importance of Being Earnest, the Oscar Wilde comic play that will open on October 23, 2009. Ruthless! The Musical and Stop Kiss are scheduled to open in early 2010.

When choosing new performances for each season, the faculty considers the annual academic theme of the Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences. This year’s theme is “Good and Evil.” They also look at students’ needs and ways to engage new patrons and donors from the community.

“The first things we look at are the students’ needs” and performance opportunities, Duncan said. “The student is always first. What styles do they need to be familiar with? We try to include a classic and a musical... The second is audience engagement. What we really want and need to do is cultivate a wider audience. We want to engage the outside community, too.”

Monica Herrera, a theatre major, said the season provides useful training for NSU students.

"Being in NSU’s productions has been one of the best learning experiences thus far as a theatre and dance major," Herrera said. "They're preparing us for the real world of the arts by expecting from us, as their students, the same that a professional company would expect from us as professional actors and dancers.

"They're molding us into well-rounded actors by challenging us in different ways. For example, we're being trained to speak in a British dialect for The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde, our fall production."

In addition to performing in NSU’s productions, students also have the opportunity to participate in performances presented by the professional theatre company The Promethean Theatre (TPT). TPT opened its season on August 21, 2009, with Trey Parker’s Cannibal! The Musical. Written by the co-creator of the popular animated series South Park, the musical tells the tale of Alfred Packer, the only American ever convicted of cannibalism.

"NSU is one of the few university theatre programs with a professional theatre company in residence," Duncan said. "The Promethean Theatre gives us professional credibility in the theatre community. And many of our students [who intern with the theatre company] learn the ropes from these actors. It also gives our faculty a chance for professional scholarship."

For complete details on the upcoming season, visit the 2009-2010 Performing and Visual Arts Series schedule.