Northwestern Theatre and Dance in April

EVANSTON, Ill. --- The world premiere of a mainstage production based on an epic sea story and a National Theatre Live broadcast of a hit London play set in World War I England are among the April events presented by the Theatre and Interpretation Center (TIC) at Northwestern University.

Performances by The Seldoms, a Chicago-based dance company, exploring issues related to global warming and climate change also are planned.

All of the following events are open to the public and will take place in venues on Northwestern’s Evanston campus, as noted. Where applicable, ticket discounts are available for groups of eight or more.

For more information, phone (847) 491-4819, visit the TIC website or email tic@northwestern.edu.

APRIL 2014 TIC MAINSTAGE PRODUCTION

World premiere of “Moby Dick,” 8 p.m. Friday, April 25; 8 p.m. Saturday, April 26; 2 p.m. Sunday, April 27; 7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 1; 10 a.m. (student matinee) and 8 p.m. Friday, May 2; 8 p.m. Saturday, May 3 and 2 p.m. Sunday, May 4, at the Ethel M. Barber Theater, 30 Arts Circle Drive, Northwestern University, Evanston campus. Go tumbling, soaring and bounding across briny billows in this collaboration with Actors Gymnasium and their high-flying brand of aerial and physical storytelling. Aboard the Pequod, Captain Ahab will sail the watery world, seeking revenge on a lone white whale that devoured his leg in a fateful encounter in the South Pacific. Adapted and directed by Lookingglass ensemble member and Northwestern faculty member David Catlin (“The Little Prince”) from Herman Melville’s classic novel of adventure, obsession and fate, “Moby Dick” questions what it is that drives us to pursue the impossible and how that ambition can ultimately consume us. Caitlin’s premiere adaptation of Melville’s “Moby Dick” also will be staged at Lookingglass Theatre in Spring 2015. Single tickets are $25 for the general public; $22 for seniors 62 and older and Northwestern faculty and staff and area educators; $10 for full-time students and $5 for Northwestern students (advance purchase only) or $10 at the door. Discounts are available for groups of eight or more. Post-show discussions will follow the April 25, April 27 and May 1 performances. For more, visit, "Northwestern Theatre Season Announced."

NATIONAL THEATRE LIVE

National Theatre Live (NT Live) is the National Theatre’s groundbreaking project to broadcast “the best of British theatre” live from the London stage to cinemas across the United Kingdom and around the world. Launched in 2009, NT Live broadcasts have been experienced by more than 1.5 million people in 500 venues around the world. The Theatre and Interpretation Center at Northwestern University continues partnering with NT Live to bring these broadcasts to local audiences in its 2013-14 Mainstage season.

NATIONAL THEATRE LIVE BROADCAST 

National Theater Live broadcast of “War Horse,” 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 1, Josephine Louis Theater, 20 Arts Circle Drive, Northwestern University’s Evanston campus. The National Theatre’s original stage production of “War Horse” will be broadcast live from London’s West End. Based on Michael Morpungo’s novel and adapted for the stage by Nick Stafford, “War Horse” takes audiences on an extraordinary journey from the fields of rural Devon to the trenches of World War I France. Filled with stirring music and songs, this powerfully moving and imaginative drama is a show of phenomenal inventiveness. At its heart are astonishing life-size puppets by South Africa’s Handspring Puppet Company, who bring breathing, galloping, charging horses to life on stage. General admission is $20 for the general public; $16 for Northwestern faculty and staff (phone and in-person only); $10 for full-time students with valid IDs at Will Call. Group rates are $18 for the general public groups of eight or more; $8 for full-time student groups of eight or more. For more information, call the TIC Box Office at (847) 491-7282.

DANCE

Molly Shanahan/Mad Shak Duet Project, “And We Shall Be Rid of Them” open rehearsals with Jeff Hancock and Molly Shanahan, 7 to 9 p.m. Friday, April 4, and 7 to 9 p.m. Saturday, April 5, Marjorie Ward Marshall Dance Center, Ballroom Theatre, 10 Arts Circle Drive, Northwestern University, Evanston. To engage with a dance work as it is being made, the public is invited to attend one or both admission-free open rehearsals and come and go as they please. Feedback and interaction will be provided at 8:30 p.m. April 4 by School of Communication dance faculty member Annie Beserra, artistic director of Striding Lion Performance Group, and at 8:30 p.m. April 5 by dance professor Susan A. Lee, founding director of the department of theatre’s dance program. To attend, RSVP on Facebook or email mollyshannahanmadshak@gmail.com. For more information, contact mollyshanahanmadshak@gmail.com or follow on Facebook by “liking” Molly Shanahan/Mad Shak.

“Dancing Around Climate Change,” 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 22, in Ryan Auditorium, located in Northwestern University’s Technological Institute, 2145 Sheridan Road, Evanston. The Seldoms -- a Chicago-based contemporary dance company with a reputation for nontraditional performances -- will celebrate Earth Day 2014 by performing excerpts from “Exit Disclaimer: Science and Fiction Ahead,” a dance work related to climate change that will be performed in its entirety from April 24 through April 27 at Northwestern’s Marjorie Ward Marshall Dance Center. The April 22 program will include responses from experts on climate change, sustainability and other environmental topics. It is sponsored by Northwestern’s Institute for Sustainability and Energy (ISEN) and ETOPiA: Engineering Transdisciplinary Outreach Project in the Arts, an outreach initiative at the McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science. Admission is free and open to the public.

The Seldoms, “Exit Disclaimer: Science and Fiction Ahead,” 8 p.m. Thursday, April 24, 8 p.m. Friday, April 25, 8 p.m. Saturday, April 26 and 2 p.m. Sunday, April 27, Marjorie Ward Marshall Dance Center’s Ballroom Theater, 10 Arts Circle Drive, Northwestern University’s Evanston campus. The Seldoms contemporary dance company will stage a theater work that will examine the discourse surrounding the national debate over climate change. Presented by the School of Communication’s dance program, the hourlong production will reflect the divergent positions of change in global climate patterns ranging from denial and skepticism to indifference to urgency. The piece incorporates humor, physical action, spoken word and athletic dancing. “Exit Disclaimer” premiered at The Dance Center of Columbia College Chicago in 2012 and toured Taipei, Taiwan. • A pre-performance discussion at 6:45 p.m. Friday, April 25 will feature Carrie Hanson, The Seldoms artistic director, and Michael J. Kramer, The Seldoms dramaturge and Northwestern visiting assistant professor of history and American studies and co-director of the University’s Digital Humanities Laboratory in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences. • A post-performance conversation on Saturday, April 26 will feature Northwestern faculty members Keith Woodhouse, assistant professor of history; Sarah Lovinger, M.D., adjunct lecturer, environmental policy and culture, Feinberg School of Medicine; Kimberly Gray, professor of civil and environmental engineering; Tania Munz, lecturer in the Science and Human Culture Program; Susan A. Lee, professor of dance in the department of theatre; and D. Soyini Madison, professor of performance studies. Tickets are $20 for the general public; $15 for Northwestern faculty and staff and $10 for full-time students with IDs and seniors 62 and older. For information about group discounts call (773) 859-3030. Tickets can be purchased online or at the Marshall Dance Center prior to each performance. The box office opens two hours prior to each performance. 

CONSTRUCTION ALERT

A three-year construction project under way on the southeast end of the Northwestern University Evanston campus has closed the Arts Circle Drive to traffic. Free parking for evening and weekend events remains available, but the project will impact handicapped parking and patrons requiring special access to Evanston campus theaters. Visit the Theatre and Interpretation Center for more information.