IAP 2015 Activities by Category - Theater and Dance

Shakespeare Ensemble

Jan/10

Sat

08:00PM-09:00PM

Mezzanine Lounge W20

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up

Once again, with little pomp and much revelry, the MIT Shakespeare Ensemble embarks on a mission to create a one-of-a-kind, never-before-created show. The catch? They have 24 hours to do it. The writing begins at 8 PM on Friday, January 9th. Then follows the chaos of casting, teching, building, and rehearsing, before you, our audience, come to see the result at 8 PM on Saturday, January 10th, in Mezzanine Lounge (W20-307). All are invited. Admission is free. Sides are sure to split.

If you would like to be involved as an actor or a techie, email ensemble-request@mit.edu for more details. If you would like to watch the play, just show up at 8 PM on Saturday! No reservations required.

Sponsor(s): Shakespeare Ensemble
Contact: Shakespeare Ensemble, ensemble-request@mit.edu

Hanna

	Jan/24	Sat	01:00PM-05:00PM	36-112
	Jan/25	Sun	01:00PM-05:00PM	36-112

Enrollment: Limited: Advance sign-up required
Sign-up by 01/23
Limited to 50 participants
Attendance: Participants must attend all sessions
Fee: $30.00 for Instructor fees

MIT Tango Club is pleased to announce that the popular Two Day Tango Bootcamp returns for an IAP Edition!  Tango Bootcamp is an intensive two day introduction to Argentine Tango designed to get you from no dancing to tango in two quick days.

Argentine Tango is a social dance with emphasis on leading and following, improvisation, and musicality. Partner connection and movement together to the music are emphasized over flashy moves. Come learn tango in a comfortable, relaxed, and open environment: in two days we teach you all the basics of Argentine Tango to get you ready for fun on the dance floor! You will learn tango connection, walking, ochos, cruzada, molinette and other delectable movements in this no-nonsense workshop. Snacks and drinks will be provided.

No dance partner or previous dance experience are needed: just a willingness to try new things. Space is limited. Our bootcamps have been very popular in the past so be sure to sign up at the website below.

Register here: http://tango.mit.edu/

Price: $30 (MIT students & alumni) & $40 (MIT affiliates & employees, and non-MIT students)

Sponsor(s): Tango Club
Contact: MIT Tango Club, tango@mit.edu

Lindy Hop Society

	Jan/07	Wed	07:30PM-09:00PM	Lobby 13
	Jan/14	Wed	07:30PM-09:00PM	Lobby 13
	Jan/21	Wed	07:30PM-09:00PM	Lobby 13
	Jan/28	Wed	07:30PM-09:00PM	Lobby 13

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Attendance: Repeating event, particpants welcome at any session

Learn to blues dance!  Blues dance is a partnered social dance done to blues music, with strong emphasis on connection, musicality, and improvisation.  This class is open to beginners, no previous dance experience required, and you do not need to come with a partner.  After the lesson will be an open dance for practice.

Contact: Lindy Hop Society, swing@mit.edu

Parnika Agrawal, Radhika Marathe

	Jan/11	Sun	02:00PM-04:00PM	TBD, Dress in comfortable clothes and shoes
	Jan/18	Sun	02:00PM-04:00PM	TBD, Dress in comfortable clothes and shoes
	Jan/25	Sun	02:00PM-04:00PM	TBD, Dress in comfortable clothes and shoes

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Attendance: Repeating event, particpants welcome at any session
Prereq: None

Ever felt envious of your friends' thumkas in the Bhangra dance team? Ever wished you could twirl like your desi friends to some Garba beats? Here's your chance to show them you got the moves too!

Learn to groove on some funky Bollywood beats. We will be teaching 1 song per weekend, no commitment necessary! Drop-ins are welcome. Come to check out our first weekend bootcamp on Jan 11. Location TBD

Please signup here if you would like to get notifications: http://signup.mit.edu/2122315630

 

Contact: Parnika Agrawal, PARNIKA@MIT.EDU

Susan Cohen, Director, Council for the Arts at MIT

Jan/21

Wed

03:00PM-04:30PM

E15-359

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up

Informal discussion of the CAMIT Grants Program, including the application process and the types of projects eligible for funding.

Sponsor(s): Office of the Arts
Contact: Susan Cohen, E15-205, 617 253-4005, COHEN@MEDIA.MIT.EDU

Kortney Adams, Actress

Jan/30

Fri

10:00AM-12:30PM

1-150

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up

Thinking of auditioning with one of MIT's theater groups this spring? Want a bit of practice and feedback beforehand? In this workshop, Kortney Adams, an MIT alum and professional actress, will help you perfect your auditioning skills to land the part you've always wanted. The workshop will focus on Shakespearean auditions and student theater productions, but will also apply to other acting opportunities.

Please bring a short selection of Shakespearean verse, or any other text you'd like to explore. No need to have it memorized, but please be familiar with your text. 

This event has been postponed to Wednesday Jan 28 due to the blizzard.

Sponsor(s): Shakespeare Ensemble
Contact: Shakespeare Ensemble, ensemble-request@mit.edu

Kristi Beck, Valarie Rosen

	Jan/11	Sun	08:00PM-09:30PM	W20 Coffeehouse
	Jan/18	Sun	08:00PM-09:30PM	W20 Coffeehouse
	Jan/25	Sun	08:00PM-09:30PM	W20 Coffeehouse
	Feb/01	Sun	08:00PM-09:30PM	W20-491

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Attendance: Participants welcome at individual sessions

Learn to dance in time signatures you've never heard of! 

By the end of the first hour, you'll be dancing in rhythms such as 7/8, 5/4, 15/8, and more!  Our repertoire includes circle dances, and a few couple dances, from Eastern Europe (Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Serbia, Hungary) and around the world (Quebec, Sweden, China, South Africa, Scotland, and the U.S.)

No partner needed and absolutely no experience necessary. Come by yourself or bring friends. Beginners are encouraged to arrive on time for introductory teaching in each session.

These dances continue as a regular series on Sunday nights, so you can keep coming once you get hooked!

Sponsor(s): Folk Dance Club
Contact: MIT Folk Dance Club, fdc@mit.edu

David Goldfinger, Valarie Rosen

	Jan/07	Wed	08:00PM-09:00PM	Lobdell (W20 2nd Fl)
	Jan/14	Wed	08:00PM-09:00PM	Lobdell (W20 2nd Fl)
	Jan/21	Wed	08:00PM-09:00PM	Lobdell (W20 2nd Fl)
	Jan/28	Wed	08:00PM-09:00PM	Lobdell (W20 2nd Fl)

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Attendance: Participants welcome at individual sessions

Dance to music ranging from last week's Israeli pop hit to folk songs from the days of the pioneers. Come learn the newest, hottest dances in Israeli folk dancing.

Lots of teaching! Lots of fun! Beginners are most welcome! No partner needed and absolutely no experience necessary. Come by yourself or bring friends.

Beginner teaching until 9 pm, mixed-level dancing 9-11 pm. These dances continue as a regular series on Wednesday nights, so you can keep coming once you get hooked!

Sponsor(s): Folk Dance Club, Hillel
Contact: MIT Folk Dance Club, fdc@mit.edu

Rachel Downing

Jan/10

Sat

02:00PM-05:00PM

W20-491

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up

Come learn Cha Cha, or improve your technique if you already know the basics. Cha Cha is a fun Latin dance rhythm that is easy to learn. We'll use teaching techniques from Choreographed Ballroom Dancing, also known as Round Dancing, to get you dancing in no time. (Visit icbda.com for more information about Choreographed Ballroom Dancing.) No partner or dance experience needed.

Free for MIT students; $10.00 for others.

Sponsor(s): Tech Squares
Contact: Rachel Downing, squares@mit.edu

Justin holmgren

	Jan/10	Sat	10:15AM-03:00PM	W20 - La Sala
	Jan/24	Sat	10:15AM-03:00PM	Lobby 13

Enrollment: Unlimited: Advance sign-up required
Sign-up by 01/08
Attendance: Repeating event, particpants welcome at any session
Prereq: None
Fee: $10.00 for each camp day for student with advanced sign-up; Others $$

The dance camps are taught by greater Boston area professional coaches.  A typical camp day consists of four 45-minute sessions, each one building on the previous one, with breaks in between.  You will expect to learn some basics at beginning and end with a dance routine incorporated with some middle level figures.  Here is the detail:

Saturday, January 10, 2015, American Foxtrot, taught by Jan Ondrias and Vivian Lessa

 Saturday, January 24, 2015, Salsa, taught by Leon Turetsky and Kim Le

The camp day is from 10:15AM to 2:50PM

10:15AM - 10:30AM Registration

10:30AM - 11:15AM Session 1

11:15AM - 11:25AM Break

11:25AM - 12:10PM Session 2

12:10PM - 1:10PM Lunch Break

1:10PM - 1:55PM Session 3

1:55PM - 2:05PM Break

2:05PM - 2:50PM Session 4

Sign-up is now open.  If you are interested in participating, please register at the MIT Ballroom Dance Club web page: http://web.mit.edu/bdclub/ at your earliest convenience.  We will collect the payment at the door, but if you sign up before January 8, 11:59pm for the 1st camp or January 22, 11:59pm for the 2nd camp, you will pay discounted rate.

Contact: MIT Ballroom Dance Club Officers, bdc-officers@mit.edu

Chris Snyder, Julie Frakes

Jan/24

Sat

02:00PM-05:00PM

24-115

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Prereq: None

Singers, musicians, and theater-lovers!

What better way to get acquainted with the humor of W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan than one of their most famous productions, with equally silly pirates and soldiers? We'll informally sing through The Pirates of Penzance. Folks singing lead roles will be selected electronically during the first week of January, and we'll have some informal rehearsal opportunities available for those less familiar with the music.

If you wish to sing a lead role, please fill out this form by Fri 1/9/15: http://goo.gl/PFAW4E  If you wish to sing with the chorus, no RSVP needed (though it's helpful for us to predict attendance).

Depending on interest and available space, we may also be accompanied by orchestra! If you're interested in playing, let us know on the form.

Synopsis: Frederic is a pirate's apprentice until his 21st birthday -- but what is a "birth day" when you're born on the February 29 of a leap year? Will he fulfill his duty to the pirates, or will he side with the Very Model of a Modern Major-General (and his Very Eligible Bachelorette of a Daughter)?

Sponsor(s): Gilbert and Sullivan Players
Contact: Chris Snyder, 617 253-9401, SNYDERC@MIT.EDU

Ornella Iuorio

	Jan/22	Thu	06:00PM-07:00PM	36-112
	Jan/24	Sat	06:00PM-07:00PM	36-112
	Jan/29	Thu	06:00PM-07:00PM	36-112
	Jan/31	Sat	06:00PM-08:00PM	36-112

Enrollment: Limited: Advance sign-up required
Attendance: Repeating event, particpants welcome at any session
Fee: $15.00 for Live music event on the 31st

The folk dance has always been a moment of meeting, an important social moment that allow women and men to get together and young people to enter in a community. The folk dance has been developing around the world, no matter the place, since the agriculture time.

"The South Italy folk dance lab" will provide an overview of the folk dance developed around into the Mediterraneum area, and in particular will focus on the dance from South Italy.

Dances from different Italian regions, such as Campania, Puglia and Calabria will be studied. Tammurriate, Pizziche and tarantelle will be shown.

The class will conclude with a dance event with live folk music.

Please contact the instructor to participate.

Ornella Iuorio is an Architect with a big passion for dance. She earned a diploma in Classical Ballet and Contemporary Dance in 2002 in Italy and since then she has been teaching ballet and Italian folk dance. Dr. Iuorio has performed as Tanztheater artist in several  festivals joining different companies.

Sponsor(s): SpousesandPartners@mit
Contact: Ornella Iuorio, ornella.iuorio@unina.it

Mike Bromberg '70

Enrollment: Sign up at http://goo.gl/bnjj9J -- walk-ins welcome, space permitting
Limited to 20 participants
Attendance: Attendance at all sessions recommended but not required
Prereq: None

How do you begin to think about lighting a set for a theatrical production, and what techniques can you use to go from "good" to "great"?

Led by Mike Bromberg '70, this seminar will introduce folks to how to do lighting design for a theatrical performance. The first session is an introduction to stage lighting hardware with demonstrations of the quality of light obtainable from the various fixtures. The second covers lighting design techniques such as frontlight, sidelight, washes, specials, etc. with a live demonstration of the effects of different angles and qualities of light. The third session covers the chronology of a stage lighting design including the light plot, hookup, and other documents.

No experience required! Sign up at http://goo.gl/bnjj9J so we can predict attendance, since we can take up to 20 people per session.

Sponsor(s): Gilbert and Sullivan Players
Contact: Chris Snyder, 617-253-9401, snyderc@mit.edu

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Lighting Hardware

Jan/08

Thu

07:00PM-10:00PM

W20 - PDR4

Mike Bromberg '70

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Lighting Design

Jan/15

Thu

07:00PM-10:00PM

W20 - La Sala

Mike Bromberg '70

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Lighting Organization

Jan/22

Thu

07:00PM-10:00PM

W20 - PDR4

Mike Bromberg '70

Shakespeare Ensemble

	Jan/23	Fri	08:00PM-09:45PM	3-133
	Jan/24	Sat	08:00PM-09:45PM	3-133
	Jan/25	Sun	08:00PM-09:45PM	3-133

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Attendance: Repeating event, particpants welcome at any session

The MIT Shakespeare Ensemble presents

STOP KISS

Directed by Stephanie Cheng, '15

Written by Diana Son

 

Callie has been living in New York City for the last ten years and resigned herself to a boring job and a boring life. Sara has just moved to the City and is hoping to do some good in the world. When the two meet, there is an instant connection, and they begin to change each other for the better. Unfortunately, not everyone is accepting of their new relationship. Their first kiss provokes a violent attack, changing their lives forever.

  

Interested in joining our team? Email stopkiss-request@mit.edu for stage managing and design opportunities. No experience required!

 

Stop Kiss is presented by special arrangement with Dramatists Play Service, Inc., New York.

Sponsor(s): Shakespeare Ensemble
Contact: Shakespeare Ensemble, stopkiss-request@mit.edu

Alex Orlovsky

	Jan/12	Mon	01:00PM-02:00PM	W20-306 20 Chimneys
	Jan/13	Tue	01:00PM-02:00PM	W20-306 20 Chimneys
	Jan/14	Wed	01:00PM-02:00PM	W20-306 20 Chimneys

Enrollment: Limited: Advance sign-up required
Limited to 20 participants
Attendance: Participants must attend all sessions

Pity the poor Shakespearean actor. Performing Shakespeare is hard! The language is difficult for both the audience and the actors. As an actor wouldn't you love to connect directly with the audience, so they can capture every nuance of expression and the richness of the prose through your voice? Even if they don't have PhD's in Elizabethan English?

In our (very interactive!) workshop we'll start with the basics of voice production and cover the essentials of discovering and rendering the shape of the text. Anyone interested in acting is welcome. Prerequisites: enthusiasm and willingness to fail while attempting great things.

Presented by a founding member of the MIT Shakespeare Ensemble, a.k.a. Caliban, Course XVI.

Sign-up by emailing ensemble-request@mit.edu, using the subject line "Voice and Speech Workshop Sign-up". Please include name and MIT year/affiliation in the body of your message.

Sponsor(s): Shakespeare Ensemble
Contact: Shakespeare Ensemble, ensemble-request@mit.edu

Jo Ivester, Author

Jan/19

Mon

10:00AM-02:30PM

W20- Basement Mtg Rm, Bring a laptop to access the script

Enrollment: Limited: Advance sign-up required
Sign-up by 01/09
Limited to 15 participants
Prereq: none

Did you have a great time reading Shakespeare’s plays when you were in high school? If so, you were lucky. If not, you’re not alone. Generations of students have learned about Shakespeare not because they were intrigued with his plays, but because they were required to do so. In this seminar, students will explore the assumption that Shakespeare’s themes are highly relevant to today’s teenagers. Through reading and discussing The Merchant of Venice, students will identify specific techniques for encouraging high schoolers to open up about prejudice, gender roles, and parental control. In learning how to help others to appreciate the play, seminar students will themselves develop a deeper understanding.

About the Instructor: Jo Ivester is an MIT alum (class of ’77) who returns every January to serve as a mentor with MIT’s popular UPOP program. One of the early members of The Shakespeare Ensemble at MIT, Jo has co-taught classes on Shakespeare with her mother, who spent twenty years as a high school English teacher in rural Mississippi and in the inner cities of Miami and Los Angeles. Recently, Jo has authored a memoir about her mother’s early teaching career, The Outskirts of Hope, due to be released this April.

 

Sponsor(s): Shakespeare Ensemble
Contact: Shakespeare Ensemble Officers, ensemble-request@mit.edu

Seth Riskin, Co-director, MIT Museum Studio

	Jan/14	Wed	01:00PM-04:00PM	10-150
	Jan/16	Fri	11:00AM-02:00PM	10-150

Enrollment: Unlimited: No advance sign-up
Attendance: Repeating event, particpants welcome at any session
Prereq: None

This talk-demo/workshop will explore how light behaves and how to control it through hands-on and eyes-on work. Light is the “substrate” of all the visual arts, architecture and design, and learning how to work with it is to have the power to shape space and time perception and the overall visual experience. We'll explore a range of principles and effects using a range of light sources (e. g., LED, incandescent, laser), optics and optical materials. Demos will lead to workshop/individual projects. Equipment will be provided. No experience necessary.

Contact: Seth Riskin, 10-150, 617 253 4405, riskin@mit.edu