University of the Ozarks Theatre will present a one-time only event titled, "Generation Why ? A Devised Theatre Event," at 7:30 p.m., on Saturday, May 2.
The performance will be held in the Black Box Theatre, located in the Walton Fine Arts Center. Tickets for the event are free and available at the box office on the night of May 2. Seating is limited and the performances include some mature language and content.
According to Walton Professor of Theatre Bruce B. Brown, the concept of devised theatre was developed by such theatre practitioners as Jerzy Grotowski and Peter Brook.
"They started experimenting and developing the idea of the actor as a creative artist in their own right," Brown said. "However, while the actor was being encouraged to make creative decisions about how they perform, they were not being encouraged to make decisions about what they perform. Etienne Decroux, a mime artist and educator, broke this mold and started encouraging his students to create their own work, and for this reason some refer to him as the father of modern devised performance."
Brown said "Generation Why – A Devised Theatre Event," stems from this semester’s Topics in Performance course, Original Performance.
"We have focused on perfecting the monologue and have chosen to center our devised event on Generation Y, the Millennial Generation (people born roughly between 1980 and 2000)," Brown said. "Our hopes, dreams, and lives become our cornerstone as we take audiences through the past, present, and future in a celebration of what it means to be a part of the Millennial Generation. Human connection is the key to surviving this constantly changing world in which we inhabit. And thus, University Theatre concludes our exploration of the human experience this year focusing on Human Connections though this devised theatre event. The show will feature original songs and monologues written over the course of this semester by the student performers."
Topics: Theatre