Theater Productions

Communications and Theater students present several full-scale theatrical productions during the year.

Theater activities at SUNY Ulster are open to all students, regardless of their programs of study. They also present original programs of Reader's Theater in December and May. In addition, both student and professional touring groups are invited to the campus.

The 500 seat John Quimby Theater has been the venue for student and professional theatrical productions, concerts, dance presentations, poetry readings, guest lectures and other featured events.

Quimby Theater: VAN 127
Box office: 845-688-1959


STORYHORSE DOCUMENTARY THEATER

Spring 2019

promotional photographs of two actors: Jeremy Davidson and Mary Stuart Masterson Mary Stuart Masterson & Jeremy Davidson
Saturday, February 2, 2019 7:00 p.m.
Quimby Theatre, Vanderlyn Hall

(Snow date: March 30, 7:00 p.m.)

THE FACE OF IT - three one-act documentary plays about identity based on conversations with people in the Hudson Valley. Written by Jeremy Davidson, directed by Mary Stuart Masterson, sound design by Seth Chrisman, and projection design by Rasean Davonte Johnson.

  • In Her Shoes: Set in a Poughkeepsie nursing home, Ulster County BOCES principal - Genna Suraci and her mother Lena step into a new stage of life together.
  • The Weight: A young woman from Ballston Lake faces an impossible choice that challenges her relationship to God.
  • Among Us: A search for Sasquatch with Gayle Beatty, founder of the Hudson Valley Bigfoot Research Alliance and psychic medium Johnny Angel.

Jeremy Davidson and Mary Stuart Masterson, cofounders of Storyhorse (storyhorsetheater.org), will be visiting Theatre Arts classes throughout the semester to teach the format of Storyhorse Theater and guide students to present their own stories.  

Jeremy Davidson is a writer, producer, and actor. His writing includes the documentary plays, GOOD DIRT (BAM, Fischer Center), THE KEPT PRIVATE, and THE QUIET EXECUTION OF FRANK L. TEAL. He is the writer/director of the Holocaust film, TICKLING LEO (Jury Prize Best Film, Stonybrook Film Fest). Acting work includes the recent Netflix series SEVEN SECONDS, THE AMERICANS, ARMY WIVES, and PAN AM.


SPRING 2019 PRODUCTION

Logo with Green Leaves

THE SELFISH GIANT & Other Classical Works

by Oscar Wilde

Thursday, April 11 - Sunday, April 14
Thursday - Saturday 7:00 p.m., Sunday 2:00 p.m.
Quimby Theater, Vanderlyn Hall

Featuring SUNY Ulster students and directed by Stephen Balantzian, Assistant Professor and Theatre Program Coordinator. Theatre students will reimagine and stage classical children’s stories written by Oscar Wilde using devised movement and puppetry.

Ticket $10 suggested donation • Tickets at door • Free for SUNY Ulster students

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

actors on stage

FALL 2018 PRODUCTION

A Temporary Situation of Great Disorder

Directed by Theatre Program Coordinator Stephen Balantzian

Saturday, November 17, 7:00 p.m. and
Sunday, November 18, 2:00 p.m.

Quimby Theater

A collaboration of performance, music, song, dance, lighting, and design featuring the talents of the SUNY Ulster Theatre Department.
Tickets $10 at the door. No reservation required. Free for SUNY Ulster students.

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SPRING 2018 PRODUCTION

Crimes of the Heart text logoCrimes of the Heart

By Beth Henley

Thursday, April 19 - Sunday, April 22
Thursday - Saturday 7:00 p.m., Sunday 2:00 p.m.,
Quimby Theater, Vanderlyn Hall
Featuring SUNY Ulster students and directed by Stephen Balantzian, Assistant Professor and Coordinator of Theatre.
The three MaGrath sisters are back together in their hometown of Hazelhurst, Mississippi for the first time in a decade. Lenny, the eldest, never left Hazelhurst -- she is the caretaker of the sisters’ cantankerous Old Granddaddy. Meg, the middle sister, left home to pursue stardom as a singer in Los Angeles, but has, so far, only found happiness at the bottom of a bottle. And Babe, the youngest, has just been arrested for the murder of her abusive husband, Zackery Bottrelle. Under the scorching heat of the Mississippi sun, past resentments bubble to the surface and each sister must come to terms with the consequences of her own “crimes of the heart.”
Crimes of the Heart is the recipient of the 1982 Tony Award for best play and the 1981 Pulitzer Prize for best play.

$10 suggested donation • free for students • tickets at door.

 


FALL 2017 PRODUCTION

Sganarelleengraved illustartion of Moliere Sganarelle, smiling, in traditional costume

by Moliere

Wednesday, November 15 - Saturday, November 18
7:00 pm

Sunday, November 19
2:00 pm
Quimby Theater

The greedy and domineering Gorgibus is forcing his daughter Célie to marry the wealthy Valère, but she is in love with Lélie and he with her. Célie, in distress at her impending marriage to Valère, faints in the street, and Sganarelle, who is passing by, attempts to revive her. In the process she loses her miniature portrait of Lélie which ends up in the hands of Sganarelle and his wife. These two events set off a series of mistaken assumptions and quarrelling: Sganarelle’s wife believes that he and Célie are lovers; Sganarelle believes that Lélie and his wife are lovers; Célie believes that Lélie and Sganarelle’s wife are lovers; and Lélie believes that Célie has secretly married Sganarelle. A model Molière farce of misunderstanding and mistaken identity, that grows more tangled with every passing scene!

 

 


SPRING 2017 PRODUCTION

Almost Maine

Almost, Maine

Directed by Stephen Balantzian
All performances are held in Quimby Theater, Vanderlyn Hall

Thursday - Saturday, April 6 - 15, 7:00 p.m.
Sunday, April 9, 2:00 p.m.

 

Welcome to Almost, Maine, a town that’s so far north, it’s almost not in the United States—it’s almost in Canada. And it almost doesn’t exist, because its residents never got around to getting organized. So it’s just…Almost. One cold, clear Friday night in the middle of winter, while the northern lights hover in the sky above, Almost’s residents find themselves falling in and out of love in the strangest ways. Knees are bruised. Hearts are broken. Love is lost, found, and confounded. And life for the  people of Almost, Maine will never be the same. ALMOST, MAINE: It’s love. But not quite. ALMOST, MAINE was developed at the Cape Cod Theater Project (Andy Polk,
Artistic Director) in 2002, and received its world premiere at Portland Stage Company, where it broke box office records and garnered critical acclaim. ALMOST, MAINE opened Off-Broadway in the winter of 2005/2006 at the Daryl Roth Theatre (Jack Thomas/Bulldog Theatrical and Bruce Payne, Producers) and was subsequently published by Dramatists Play Service. To date, ALMOST, MAINE has been produced by over 2500 theater companies in the United States (and by over a dozen companies internationally) making it one of the most frequently produced plays of the past decade.

$10 suggested donation. Free for students. For more info call the box office: (845) 688-1959

 


SPRING 2017 VISITING ARTIST

Mary Louise Wilson

Mary Louise Wilson, visiting artist Spring 2017


Mary Louise Wilson is a Tony and Drama Desk Award-winning American stage, film, and television actress, singer, and comedian. In a stellar theatrical career that has combined plays and musicals, Mary Louise Wilson has been awarded a Tony for Grey Gardens and a Tony nomination for Cabaret . She received critical acclaim for Full Gallop , her solo show about Diana Vreeland, and starred in the off-Broadway premiere of 4000 Miles. Other Broadway credits include Gypsy , The Odd Couple, and The Women.

Tuesday, March 7, 2:00 pm – Quimby Theatre, Vanderlyn Hall
Gathering and Q&A Session - Meet Mary Louise and gain insight into her incredible career as a performer and teacher. Open to the public.

Throughout the Semester
Mary Louise Wilson will work privately with the SUNY Ulster theatre students on scene work, monologues, solo written performances and speaking Shakespeare over the course of the semester (open to SUNY Ulster theatre students only).


To purchase a Theater Seat Name Plaque click here.

 

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