“It’s refreshing to work on a contemporary piece because the script reflects conversations people are having in daily life. The reactions you see on stage are done in a truthful way that finds the comedic and human side of the characters,” says Matthew Buckalew, an acting student who plays the role of Jim in the production. “I think it’s necessary to let new works come alive and see how the audience interacts with them.”

For most students at UCF, Pegasus PlayLab is their first encounter working on a new play. “I don’t have any experience working on contemporary plays, so I think that’s one of the amazing things our artistic director, Julia Listengarten, has done is bring these new plays to the forefront for UCF to examine and to produce. It’s a unique experience you won’t find in other university theatre programs,” says Ramon Paradoa, assistant director of Human Error working on his master’s in theatre. “When working on a new piece, you’re going in with a blank slate and don’t have any expectations in regards to what you’re going to see. What you see the actors bring to life is something you didn’t expect and is something you get to watch unfold before your eyes.”

For Be Boyd, director of Human Error, working on new plays is about valuing the next generation of emerging playwrights. “We have the opportunity to be the voice of the new generation. We need to foster new playwrights and tell their stories in unique ways,” Boyd says. “It’s recognizing that those famous playwrights got their start in a very similar way to what we are doing and we are honoring that process. This is the generation that has to lay the groundwork for new classics.”

Boyd says the greatest thing students get from working on a new piece like Human Error is the fluid workshopping process.

“They have to stay on their toes,” she says. “They know that at any moment, the script could change. They have to be flexible, they have to have a collaborative spirit and they have to respect the text because something could be snatched from them and rewritten at any moment.”

Those who are new to theatre may not understand how a play comes to life, and Boyd hopes that audiences attending Human Error and other Pegasus PlayLab events will better understand the role of the playwright in this process – from the initial spark of an idea to opening night.

Human Error by Eric Pfeffinger��

After an unfortunate mix-up by their blundering fertility doctor, a couple is mistakenly impregnated with the wrong child. Now two very different couples face sharing an uproarious nine-month odyssey of culture shock, clashing values, changing attitudes and unlikely – but heartfelt – friendships.

Directed by Be Boyd

Join the cast and crew for a post-show reception following today’s 7:30 p.m. opening-night performance. The rest of the schedule is:

Tickets $20, $10 with UCF ID

�������Dz�’s 26 Pebbles was created as a response to the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary shooting in Connecticut. As a socially active individual, Ulloa felt a need to shine a light on the tragedy that changed the lives of many people in Newtown, CT. He drove to Newtown and conducted interviews with the town’s people, and the play is a composition of their words.

Theatre faculty member Be Boyd is directing the play that consists of UCF graduate and undergraduate students. According to Boyd, the students love working on the show because they want to honor the people who were shaken by the horrific event, and support �������Dz�’s commitment to sharing their stories.

“26 Pebbles is a piece about humanity at its best and worst, but mostly its best,” said Boyd, associate professor of undergraduate acting and BFA acting coordinator. “It’s an extremely touching, interactive and educational piece about the community’s spirit, their loss and the world’s response to their tragedy.”

Performances of 26 Pebbles are at 7 p.m.�� Oct. 5-7 and at 5 p.m. Oct. 8. The show will be hosted at the Orlando Repertory Theatre, 1001 E. Princeton St. The performances are free but require a ticket. More info is available at theatre.cah.ucf.edu/events.php?id=3916.

Ancillary events around the performances include:

Thursday, Oct. 5

Pre-show events: Hosted by Orlando United Assistance Center with a focus on education

Post-show events: Talk back with Eric Ulloa and a Q&A with audience members

Friday, Oct. 6

Post-show event: Talk back with the cast of 26 Pebbles and a Q&A with audience members

Saturday, Oct. 7

Post-show event: Talk back with the cast of 26 Pebbles and a Q&A with audience members

Sunday, Oct. 8

Post-show event: Forum discussion led by Orlando United Assistance Center

The adaptation was written by UCF Theatre professor Be Boyd. Hurston’s play Spunk itself is an adaptation of a short story of the same name that she wrote for The New Negro during the “Harlem Renaissance” of the 1920s. The short story depicts a love triangle between Jim, his wife Evalina, and Spunk Banks, “a giant of a brown-skinned man” in the back country of early 20th century Florida.

Boyd enveloped Hurston’s original words into a larger story of a fictitious meeting between the Harlem Literati, wherein the writers are deciding which literary works will be included in their literary magazine Fire!! As the discussion ensues, Zora’s storytelling of Spunk becomes the highlight of the evening, and the story springs to life for the theatre patrons.

“As a playwright, I wanted to celebrate the magnificent storytelling of Zora Neale Hurston,” said Boyd. “I also wanted to honor the other major influences of the movement who were in Zora’s company, many of whom were her friends: Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, Wallace Thurman, Helene Johnson, Gwendolyn Bennett, and Richard Nugent. These voices shaped my experience as an African-American artist and gave me the courage to explore my heritage from all perspectives.”

Maurice Mallard, a first-year musical-theatre student, plays the title role of Spunk. “Spunk is a spectacular play that tells an amazing story of love and determination. It highlights the importance of unity in the community as well as social issues facing African-Americans, such as the over-appreciation of fairer skinned African Americans and the thought that money is worth more than the life of a black man. In the show we also see the community together all the time and engaging with each other. Now most people don’t even know their next door neighbor, but in this town the community is like a family.”

Acting student Amanda Tavarez plays the role of Evalina. “It has been such a fun experience getting to work on a piece that was also adapted by our director Be Boyd, and getting to bring to life these characters as both she and Zora envisioned them. It was challenging going on this journey with my character, Evalina, trying to find her voice, her freedom, and especially her happiness.”

This production contains gunshots, consumption of alcohol, and mature themes. If it were a movie, it would be rated PG-13. The community is invited to an opening-night reception in the lobby immediately following the performance on Jan. 21. Stay after the performance on Thursday, Jan. 28 for a post-show discussion with Boyd and��UCF Big Read��organizer Keri Watson. UCF’s Big Read of Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God kicks off Jan. 14 at the UCF Art Gallery.

For more information and to reserve free tickets, go to http://www.theatre.ucf.edu or call 407-823-1500

Production at a glance:

Spunk and the Harlem Literati

An adaptation by Be Boyd, based on the play Spunk by Zora Neale Hurston
Directed by Be Boyd

Jan. 21, 22, 23, 28, 29, 30 at 8 p.m.

Jan. 24, 31 at 2 p.m .

A collaboration with the Association to Preserve the Eatonville Community, presenter of the��������Dz�������

$20 standard, $10 with UCF ID

Main Stage, 4000 Central Florida Blvd., Orlando

407-823-1500

Just like the oversold promises of carnival barkers of the past, these midway icons of yesteryear may not actually be present, but you can see images of them at the UCF Art Gallery’s��“Step Right Up: Art of the Sideshow” exhibit of original painted banners, photographs, sculptures and films.

Featured in the July 16-Aug. 29 exhibit in the Visual Arts Building are some of the huge signs used to entice spectators to see whatever was inside, whether an anatomical wonder, scientific anomaly or colorful carnival character.

The most common size of the era’s historic sideshow banners was 10 feet wide and 8 feet high, but one exhibited 50-by-22-foot painting of funhouse clowns will take up one whole wall at the gallery.

“I bought it many years ago and believe it or not have never seen the whole thing. I never had a place large enough to display it,” said Howard Marks, a local attorney and art collector whose banners are on loan for the show.

Marks’ banners date back to the 1920s and all have a Florida connection because Gibsonton near Tampa was the summer home of circus performers and painters.

“The clown banner is stunning because of its size, the number of characters, and its condition,” said Keri Watson, a UCF assistant professor of art history who curated the show. “I also am a fan of the Bearded Lady; she is quite fetching.”

The banners in Marks’ collection by some of the leading painters of the 20th century – Fred Johnson, Snap Wyatt, Jack Sigler and Johnny Meah – are an important part of Americana, she said.

“Circuses, state fairs and sideshow attractions were popular forms of leisure and entertainment from the 1840s through the 1950s. Offering the ultimate escape from the day-to-day, the sideshow was an area of the fair where for an additional five or ten cents viewers could see extraordinary people billed as exotic wonders.”

The brightly painted signs of this disappearing art style generally were created by commercial artists working for tent and awning companies.

“These artists used their imaginations, fine art, and popular culture for inspiration,” Watson said, “and they employed a variety of techniques to emphasize and exaggerate the contrast between the unusual and the normative.”

But today with printing companies and digital technology, signs are rarely painted by hand, and with the decline of traveling circuses and sideshows there is little commercial demand for sideshow banners.

Other works in the exhibit are fair photographs by Reginald Marsh, Marion Post Wolcott, Jack Delano, Russell Lee, Ben Shahn and UCF photography professor Layne Wyatt; contemporary paintings by Arnold Mesches; sculptures by Rigoberto Torres and UCF students; and a video/sculptural installation by Carl Knickerbocker of Oviedo. Two documentary shorts (“Johnny Meah, The Czar of Bizarre” and “Ward Hall, King of the Sideshow,” made by UCF film students Milos Ajdinovis and Yson Dickson) will be on a continuous video loop at the gallery.

The free exhibit will have an opening reception from 6-8 p.m. on Thursday, July 16, and will then be open during the gallery’s regular hours 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Yulia Tikhonova, gallery directory, has lined up some additional free collaborations for the six-week exhibit:

• Aug. 25, 6 to 8 p.m. – Film screening of the 1932 cult classic��“Freaks,” featuring Harry and Daisy Earles, Daisy and Violet Hilton, Johnny Eck, Prince Randian, and Frances O’Connor.��In the film, the carnival “freaks” are inherently trusting and honorable people, while the real monsters are two of the “normal” members of the circus who are part of a conspiracy. The film will be screened next door to the gallery in Visual Arts Building Room 132.
• Aug. 26, 6 to 8 p.m. – Film screening of the 1999 documentary��“Sideshow:��Alive on the Inside.”This film looks at the world of the circus and carnival sideshows, and how the headliners found happiness in their careers. Also shown in VAB 132.
• Aug. 27, 6 to 8 p.m. – Closing reception in the gallery with guest appearances by Johnny Meah, one of the last banner painters and a veteran sideshow performer, and impresario Ward Hall, both featured in the documentary shorts to be shown at the gallery. There will be cotton candy, corn dogs and catering by 4Rivers Smokehouse.
• Aug. 29, 4 p.m. – “A Look at the Sideshow,” a performance piece in the gallery written and directed by UCF’s Be Boyd and John Shafer. The play portrays the challenging lives of real sideshow performers such as John Merrick, The Elephant Man; Annie Jones, The Bearded Lady; Francesco A. Lentini, The Three-legged Wonder; and Grady Stiles, Lobster Boy.

The Theatre UCF��Showcase will have��performances on Saturday, April 11,��and Sunday, April 12, directed by Theatre UCF artistic director Earl D. Weaver, and will��include musical selections from Nine and Hair, student monologues,��stage combat demonstration and more.

Monologues will be performed by a range of students, from first-year acting students to those who are in the Masters of Fine Arts acting program. Be Boyd, theatre faculty member and acting coordinator for this event, says that there is an energy in the air that she hasn’t seen before.

“It feels different than a play. The students are presenting studio pieces and they are all very interested in seeing what each other is doing. They are all very excited to be presenting their own work to the public and to each other,” says Boyd.

Visiting professor and Theatre UCF alumnus Jordan Reeves is leading a group of students in “Guerilla Shakespeare.” The students are presenting a scene from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, which they will be presenting in entirety later this month.

“It’s a student-driven independent study about bringing Shakespeare to a modern audience. Our goal is to make these plays immediate and accessible to today’s audience, while the students learn how to create, produce, and act. They are learning to use whatever resources are at hand, even if that is only three blankets and a string a lights, to bring one of Shakespeare’s texts to life. It has instilled training, confidence, and a true sense of joy while working on the bard’s classics.”

Weaver is incorporating UCF alumni into the program’s finale: “The Age of Aquarius” from Hair, which is Theatre UCF’s fall musical.

“Since this is the first celebration, we wanted to include both current students and alumni in the event,” said Weaver. “We have alumni spanning 40 years of Theatre UCF history participating. It also will provide an opportunity for current students to meet alumni who are working professionals.”

Simply Dance, the dance showcase, also has two performances, on Sunday, April 12,��and Monday, April 13.��“Our patrons will get to see quality student and faculty choreographed works spanning a broad range of dance styles from ballet to jazz to modern to tap,” he said.

Judi Siegfried, director of the Simply Dance showcase, said this year-end performance is important to the students in the dance program. “The opportunity to present on a professional stage is valuable to our students, especially those who are focused on choreography. The pieces being performed were selected from the Improvisation Composition class, where the dancers must tell their stories solely through dance.�� And since the Celebration is so focused on interdisciplinary work, several of our choreographers collaborated with composers to create original music to help tell their stories.”

Advance tickets for the Theatre UCF Showcase and Simply Dance are no longer available, however, walk-in seats will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Guests hoping to attend these performances should join the queue outside of the Jim & Alexis Pugh Theatre at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts.

All events to UCF Celebrates the Arts 2015 are free, but tickets are required for many of the programs. The April 10-15 festival will feature studio art, music, theatre, dance, gaming, animation, photography and film at the Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, 445 S. Magnolia Ave., Orlando.�� Visit ��for more information, tickets��and updated scheduling.

The Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival honors individuals or organizations that have made extraordinary contributions to the teaching and producing of theatre and who have significantly dedicated their time, artistry and enthusiasm to the development of the festival.

Recent shows Boyd has directed at UCF include The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,��Stop Kiss, The Fantasticks, Lysistrata,�����Ի���The Laramie Project, and she has played a variety of roles, including Calpurnia in��Julius Caesar��at the Orlando Shakespeare Festival.

Boyd is a member of the Dramatist’s Guild and previously was an associate professor at Texas Christian ����ֱ��, where she led the acting program, an associate professor at the ����ֱ�� of North Carolina at Greensboro, and an assistant professor at the ����ֱ�� of Vermont.

The play calls for several guest spellers to compete at each performance, so Fernández, dean of the College of Arts & Humanities, and Hinkle, vice provost and dean of the College of Graduate Studies, accepted the challenge to test their spelling skills on stage. The play also provides them the opportunity to be part of the theatre experience and make connections with students.

The spirited Tony Award-winning musical is about six young overachievers trying to become the county spelling champ. Along the way they learn that winning isn’t everything, and losing doesn’t have to be a catastrophe. The cast and invited guest spellers also join select audience members for a little “I before E” competition.

Fernández, who will appear on opening night, July 10, has appeared in two other campus plays in recent years. The dean said he accepts the roles “because I can better appreciate the tremendous talent of our students and faculty, and at the same time it gives me the opportunity to interact with the students and learn about their goals and aspirations.”

Fernández said he is not a native speaker of English but considers himself a decent speller.��He said he finished second in a promotional 2002 Dairy Farmers Association community spelling bee in Orlando.

Hinkle said Fernández told him about the walk-on opportunities at Theatre UCF, and said it sounded like a fun way to help promote the theatre programs and meet folks in the arts, “which should help me in building relationships across the university and better understand the arts at UCF – as an ecologist and biologist I have had limited exposure to the arts.”

He describes himself as an “above average” speller, “but I do love spellcheck – even though sometimes it spells words correctly but out of context.”

“The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” will run July 10-20 and Aug. 20-24 at Theatre UCF’s Main Stage. Hinkle will be put to the test during the July 20 performance, and some other surprise invited spellers may appear during the run of the play.

Before each performance, a few audience volunteers also are handpicked to participate in the play as spellers, so each group presents new and unexpected outcomes. Contestants are chosen through pre-show lobby interviews and questionnaires. Anyone wishing to be considered should arrive at least 30 minutes before the show begins.

The UCF performance is directed by Be Boyd, an associate professor in the Theatre department. While on Broadway, the play was nominated for six Tony Awards in 2005, and won for Best Book of a Musical and Best Featured Actor. There is some mature language in the play, so it is suggested for ages 12 and up.

As for Hinkle and Fernández, they said their previous stage appearances have been limited. Hinkle did a reading of “Waiting for Godot” in undergraduate school, and Fernández said he was in a couple plays years ago at FSU and the ����ֱ�� of Colorado in addition to two previous cameos at UCF.

In Theatre UCF’s 2012 production of “Zombie Town,” Fernández served up some bloody gore as one of the walking dead.

“It was a lot of fun and I learned a lot from the students. After the play, they considered me one of their own,” he said.��“Last year when Terrance (Jackson), one of the students, got his diploma at graduation, he hugged me and I said, ‘Thank you for coaching me.’ – It was a priceless moment.”

Performance times for “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” are 7 p.m. July 10-12 and July 18-20; 8 p.m. Aug. 21-23, and 2 p.m. July 13, July 20 and Aug. 24. For tickets and other information, go to .

Larry Shue’s comedy is directed by Mark Brotherton (The Music Man, Shipwrecked! An Entertainment). The play centers on two friends, one British, who visit a fishing lodge in a small town in Georgia. Since one of the gentlemen is shy and not keen on talking about his recent divorce, the pair tells the local residents that he doesn’t speak English. Believing them, the residents openly discuss some of their nefarious plans, causing “The Foreigner” to have to “learn” English in a very short time in order to stop them.

Patrons familiar with the UCF Black Box will be pleased to learn that new seats have been installed in the theater, thanks to a donation from the Greene Family Fund. The old, uncomfortable seats had been a deterrent fo rmany��patrons attending productions in that space.

Following The Foreigner, Theatre UCF will run The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee on the Main Stage on July 10-20. The show is directed by Be Boyd (The Fantasticks, Stop Kiss). The light-hearted musical about six spelling champions and their mentors includes optional participation from audience members. Patrons should arrive early in order to apply to be part of the show (no “speshal” spelling skills are needed!)

Both summer productions will begin evening performances at 7 p.m.. (Please note the earlier start time. The regular curtain time of 8 p.m. will resume in August.) The matinees will��start at 2 p.m.

Productions at a glance:

The Foreigner

By Larry Shue

Directed by Mark Brotherton

A comedic chain of events is set into action as a Georgia fishing lodge when two friends tell a small fib about one’s inability to speak English.

June 12, 13, 14, 19, 20, 21, 26, 27, 28 at 7 p.m.

June 15, 22, 29 at 2 p.m.

$20 standard, $18 senior, $10 student

Black Box Theatre, 4000 Central Florida Blvd., Orlando

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

Music and lyrics by William Finn

Book by Rachel Sheinkin

Conceived by Rebecca Feldman

Additional material by Jay Reiss

Directed by Be Boyd

Six spelling champs vie for ultimate glory in this spirited musical. Audience participation encouraged.

July 10, 11, 12, 17, 18, 19 at 7 p.m.

July 13, 20 at 2 p.m.

$20 standard, $18 senior, $10 student

Main Stage, 4000 Central Florida Blvd., Orlando����������������������������

For tickets and more information about Theatre UCF, visit .

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Students from Valencia College’s pre-major AA in Sign Language Interpretation will join the UCF cast on stage Aug. 29. The ASL students are mentored by Valencia faculty member Debbie Drobney and are in the first two years of their training to become professional ASL interpreters.

Drobney said the opportunities and training the students receive in theatrical interpreting have segued into Universal Studios hiring several Valencia students to interpret the talent that Universal brings in, including artists such as Pitbull, Ne-Yo, LL Cool J, Akon, Adam Lambert, and B.o.B.

“We are thrilled to welcome the Sign Language Interpretation students into our theater,” said Theatre UCF chair and artistic director Christopher Niess. “We feel this is a tremendous benefit for them, for our UCF students, and especially for the Central Florida deaf community. We hope that this is the beginning of a long-lasting partnership between Theatre UCF and the Valencia program.”

To purchase tickets near the interpreters for the Aug. 29 performance, contact the box office at 407-823-1500 or email donna.rahman@ucf.edu.

The Fantasticks is the longest running production in the history of American theatre and appropriate for families to enjoy together. It is an intimate show with an ensemble cast. Director Be Boyd is staging the production as if a troupe of traveling actors, “The Vagabond Players,” is presenting the play to the UCF audience.

The musical tells the tale of two young neighbors, Matt and Luisa, and their meddlesome parents, Hucklebee and Bellomy. The parents devise a complicated plan for their children to fall in love, which involves a professional kidnapper and a troupe of actors, but the plans go awry, leaving the young lovers to clean up the mess.

The Fantasticks will run Aug. 22-Sept. 1 on the Theatre UCF Main Stage. It is recommended to arrive early for this production, as there will be pre-show entertainment. Also, for the first time, patrons are welcome to enjoy a beverage while in the theatres.

Due to a home football game, parking for the Aug. 29 performance will be in Lot B4 or B6. For all other performances, parking will be in the regular theater parking lot, Lot C1.
Production at a glance:

The Fantasticks

Book and lyrics by Tom Jones

Music by Harvey Schmidt

Directed by Be Boyd

8 p.m.: Aug. 22, 23, 24, 29, 30, 31

2 p.m.: Aug. 25, Sept. 1

Theatre UCF Main Stage

Price: Standard $20, Senior $18, Student $10; group discounts available

Address: 4000 Central Florida Boulevard, Orlando FL 32816

Box Office Phone: 407-823-1500

Box Office Hours: Monday through Friday:��noon to 5 p.m. and two hours before performances����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������

The theatre department reprises one production from the summer season to open the academic year because otherwise, the school would not be able to present a play until late September. Auditions are held the week before classes begin and students need time to rehearse and build costumes and sets.

Reprising a production has challenges. The production should look exactly the same in August as it did in June, and stage manager Emily Hankins, a second-year transfer student in the BFA Stage Management program, is charged with that responsibility.

“As the stage manager, I find the remount challenging because we have been away from the show for some time. I have the responsibility of ensuring that the show carries on as the director intended.”

“Deathtrap has many onstage difficulties such as stage combat and special effects. This show is also tense and tough on the actors but the cast is wonderful in preparing and keeping the energy at a high level.”

A good stage management team is crucial to the success of a production. Coordinator of the Stage Management program Molly McCarter says, “The artistic and technical sides of a production speak different languages. The stage manager bridges the gap and acts as the translator between the departments.”

“With a show like Deathtrap that is complex and has weapons, this becomes a safety issue and that ability to translate becomes more vital.”

Director Be Boyd says “The Deathtrap rehearsal and performance process has been supported by a very strong and unified team. We have been extremely fortunate to have them. Each one brought a unique set of skills to the show.”

“The team was led by Emily Hankins, who’s a top-notch leader—she makes great decisions under pressure, keeps everyone in line and does it all with grace and dignity. [Assistant stage manager] Jessy Reaves’ previous experience with the show proved to be a wonderful resource for the team. [Assistant stage manager] Christa Arzon’s attentiveness to the props and weapons helped to create a smooth transition for the actors from the rehearsal space to the stage.”

The 1978 play by the author of Rosemary’s Baby holds the record for the longest running thriller on Broadway. It received a Tony Award nomination for Best Play when it premiered and has been adapted into a film.

“Levin was masterful at creating parallel stories that overlap in unique and clever ways,” said Boyd. “If you love a good plot twist, appreciate a great wordsmith, are fond of suspense, or have a keen sense of humor, you’ll enjoy Deathtrap.”

Theatre UCF is on the UCF campus near the intersection of ����ֱ�� Boulevard and Alafaya Trail in east Orlando. Performances begin at 8 p.m. Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, and at 2 p.m. on Sundays.

To purchase tickets or for ticket information call the box office at 407-823-1500. Standard tickets are $20 ($17 for seniors; $10 for students) and group rates are available. It is recommended to purchase tickets in advance, available through the Theatre UCF box office. UCF offers accommodations to make the theatre more accessible to patrons with disabilities; for assistance, call the box office in advance.

Production at a glance:

Deathtrap

By Ira Levin

Directed by Be Boyd

August 23, 24, 25 at 8:00 pm

August 26 at 2:00 pm

Main Stage Theatre

Price: Standard $20, Senior $17, Student $10; Group discounts available

Address: 4000 Central Florida Boulevard, Orlando FL 32816

Box Office Phone: (407) 823-1500

Box Office Hours: Monday through Friday:�� noon to 5 p.m. and 2 hours before performances������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������������

For more information about Theatre UCF, visit .

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