When I graduated from St. Mary's as a theater major, I realized I had received not just a degree, but a true education. The department not only gave me a foundation in the theory and practice of my craft, but most importantly an opportunity to ignite as an artist and to develop a style and interest in challenging theatrical material, which led me on fascinating journeys after I left the school. 
A. Lorraine Robinson, '92, co-founder and -producer, MuseFire Productions, a multimedia production company incorporating both stage and screen media, Washington, D.C.; freelance director and former coordinator, Allen Lee Hughes Fellowship Program, Arena Stage, Washington, D.C.
Featured Event
The Balcony
What does hegemony have in common with a bordello? Jean Genet’s wicked and hilarious play fuses the two worlds. In the studios of Madame Irma’s Grand Balcony, working-class johns act out drag fantasies—impersonating civic, military, and religious dignitaries. A "judge" abuses a "thief"; a "bishop" abuses a "sinner"; and a "general" abuses his "horse." What will happen when the government is overthrown by a violent insurgency? Come and see the shocking conclusion of this profoundly subversive play. Because of its adult-oriented content and depictions, this production may not be suitable for all audiences.
The Balcony opens in the Bruce Davis Theater, Montgomery Hall, on Thursday, April 3, at 8:00 p.m. and runs through Sunday, April 13, at 2:00 p.m.. For reservations, contact the Theater Box Office at 240-895-4243. Read more detailed information about the play.
KUDOS
ASIANetwork Award
Associate Professor Holly Blumner and five SMCM students have received an ASIANetwork Freeman Student-Faculty Fellows Award to study traditional Japanese theatre in Japan during the summer of 2008. Their study in Japan is preparatory to staging and performing a series of kyôgen plays in the Bruce Davis Theater in fall 2008. Dr. Blumner and her students have also been invited to attend the ASIANetwork conference in 2009 and to present their work. The amount of the award, $31,000, is the largest that ASIANetwork has ever bestowed on a recipient.
Green Theater
Theater alum and assistant professor of theater, Kurt Gerard Heinlein ('92), has recently published Green Theater: Promoting Ecological Preservation and Advancing the Sustainability of Humanity and Nature, a book on the socio-educational value of live performance in addressing our socio-environmental crises.
Department of Theater, Film, and Media Studies, 2007 All Rights Reserved
