Northern_Today_Spring_2021

NORTHERN TODAY 6 SPRING 2021 News | NORTHERN STATE UNIVERSI TY SCHOOL OF FINE ARTS HE NSU School of Fine Arts presented “The Pirates of Penzance” in the Johnson Fine Arts Center Jewett Theater on April 9 and 10. The story is a humorous musical about the duty-bound pirate, Fredric, and Mabel, the charming daughter of a Major-General. The play combined the talents of the Aberdeen University-Civic Symphony, NSU Opera and NSU Theatre, becoming a fantastic collaboration from these NSU communities. Staging Director and Assistant Professor of Acting/Directing, Dr. Kane Anderson, said it was a first-ever collaboration of the AUCS orchestra, the Music Department’s annual opera workshop and the Theatre Department’s yearly musical. “Our team-up was a long time coming, and though we were hit hard with unexpected limitations due to COVID-19 rules, the outcome of ‘Pirates’ was really impressive,” Anderson said, adding, “In directing the production, my goal was to facilitate a show that celebrates live performance in a time when most performing artists cannot produce anything. At Northern, we’ve been lucky to work with the SDBOR’s rules and still bring exciting theatre and music to our stages.” Dr. Christopher Stanichar and his hard- working musicians filled the Jewett with Arthur Sullivan’s classic music, Anderson said, and the students who trained under Dr. Darci Bultema, Dr. Marla Fogderud and Mr. Michael Skyles brought W.S. Gilbert’s witty lyrics to life with comedic charm. The amazing contributions of Theatre Designer Mr. Noah Files and Theatre and Production Manager Mr. Brian Omland created a playful and expressive atmosphere that erased any feelings that the staged concert version was anything less than a fully mounted project, he said. Anderson said the success of ‘Pirates’ certainly calls for another collaboration of this scope. “Hopefully as the pandemic recedes and the world re-emerges, we’ll be able to find another musical project to unite Northern’s talented team of professors, staff and students to bring art like ‘Pirates’ to Aberdeen’s community.” The unique story of NSU’s ‘Pirates of Penzance’ The recent production of “The Pirates of Penzance” has a unique story of many Northern State University communities coming together to put on the play. Enjoy splendid live theatre in northeast South Dakota this summer as the Northern Fort Playhouse launches its 15th season at beautiful Fort Sisseton Historic State Park. On tap for this season is “Don’t Hug Me” by Phil and Paul Olson, and “The Oregon Trail” by Bekah Brunstetter. The season runs July 9-24 (Friday, Saturday and Sunday). Reserved tickets may be purchased by calling 605-467-3247. For more information, visit: northern.edu/northern- fort-playhouse NORTHERN FORT PLAYHOUSE T