Nothing But Net

Michael Riha likens the actors, designers, directors and playwrights of the University of Arkansas theater department to the athletes who play ball down the hill from the Fine Arts Center on the Fayetteville campus. All of them, he says, have to juggle schoolwork with their craft -- whether that's rehearsing for Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" or practicing three-pointers to play against Vanderbilt.

The only way drama students do that is to "put their souls into the process," he says.

And even though actors -- like athletes -- can learn and get better in an empty room, "it's the community of it I want Northwest Arkansas to embrace," the chairman of the UA theater department says. "We do this for you. That's the magic of it -- the shared experience."

Now in his third year as department chairman, Riha is still working to get the word out about University Theatre.

"This is Northwest Arkansas' theater, just like ACO, just like TheatreSquared, just like Ceramic Cow, just like Trike," he says. "If you love TheatreSquared, you're going to love what you see here -- because those are our actors and designers over there representing our university so well, doing exactly what we hoped they could do -- work as professionals."

To give both undergraduate and graduate students the experience they need for those jobs, Riha and his faculty -- with input from students -- carefully choose a season that "we believe not only fulfills the educational mission of the department but offers a range of experiences for our audience members."

This season's four shows will also showcase the work of a new faculty member and a guest director from New York:

• Oct. 2-11 -- "Hay Fever" by Noel Coward. Written in just three days by the early 20th century master, Riha says it offers a "great, funny, flurry of chaos that creates some interesting moments on stage" as the four eccentric members of the Bliss family each invite a guest to spend the weekend at their English country house. Coward also wrote "Blithe Spirit."

• Nov. 13-22 -- "Twelfth Night" by William Shakespeare. New to the UA last year teaching undergraduate acting, Jenny McKnight will direct a unique version of the show set in New Orleans.

• Feb. 19-28 -- "Eurydice" by Sarah Ruhl. Suggested by students, the 2003 reimagining of the classic myth of Orpheus will "explore what the University Theater can become in this really fantastical show," Riha says. Morgan Hicks will direct.

• April 15-24 -- Green Day's "American Idiot." A two-time Tony Award winner, the show tells the story of three friends who must make life-changing choices after Sept. 11, 2001. Riha says it will be presented as a "period piece," set in that time, and will be directed by Gary John LaRosa, best known for the 50th anniversary celebration of "Fiddler on the Roof" on Broadway and the 10th anniversary tour of "Footloose." Riha says LaRosa calls "American Idiot" the "Hair" of this generation, and "we are one of first nonprofessional companies to get the rights this side of the Mississippi."

"It's going to be a great mainstage season."

In recent years, the mainstage offerings have been joined by a Studio Series that puts students at the helm, writing, directing, designing and performing. This season, those shows will take place in two venues, Kimpel Hall 404 and the Global Campus theater on the Fayetteville square.

"We are bursting at the seams," Riha says of using the new downtown space. "The new Faulkner Center is a wonderful addition for the music department, which is also bursting at the seams. But it will not serve as a venue for the department of theater for live performances.

"People keep saying, 'Aren't you glad you're getting a new venue?' We're not. We have to dispel that myth. We're super-happy for the department of music, but we still need more room!"

NAN What's Up on 07/10/2015