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
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
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
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
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
Sganarelle
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
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 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.
