Arcadia is a witty and complex story that switches between two time periods, 1809 and 1999. In the earlier time period, 13-year-old Thomasina makes a startling scientific discovery that will change the way people understand the world. Around her, the adults, including her tutor Septimus, are busy with their illicit passions, intense rivalries, and fast-fired bon mot. In 1999, residents and visitors of the same English estate have similar preoccupations, while they piece together puzzling clues to uncover its past scandals.

Director Kate Ingram has long wanted to bring this play to UCF because of how it brings the sciences and mathematics to the stage. 鈥淲e have such a strong history of sciences at UCF. It鈥檚 a perfect fit for the university,鈥� she said.

She quotes character Thomasina as she talks about why she appreciates Arcadia. 鈥溾�業, Thomasina Coverly, have found a truly wonderful method whereby all the forms of nature must give up their numerical secrets and draw themselves by number alone.鈥� And I love that because this play combines human nature, and math, and physics all rolled into one. And if that鈥檚 not enough to make someone want to come see this play, I don鈥檛 know what is.鈥�

Dramaturg Teresa Kilzi has prepared a guide for patrons to read prior to attending the play. The dramaturgy will be on display in the theater lobby, and an abbreviated version will be given to all attendees with their playbill. Patrons can also download the materials in advance and watch some background videos with the cast and director at theatre.ucf.edu.

鈥淗aving a background in literature,听physics, and 19th-century England听would certainly enhance the experience of seeing Arcadia, but that鈥檚 not a combination that most people have. All the audience really needs is an eagerness to know and to learn,鈥� says Kilzi.

鈥淚f there were one key piece of information for audience members to know, it would be for them to have a grasp on the erotic and glamorous nature of Lord Byron. He is central to Arcadia, and yet, he never appears in the play. Byron was revered for his work in literature and lusted after by all who knew him, and he used that magnetism to navigate his way through high society.鈥�

Production at a glance:

Arcadia by Tom Stoppard

Directed by Kate Ingram

January听 29, 30, 31 at 8 p.m.

February 1 at 2 pm

$20 standard, $18 senior, $10 student

Main Stage, Theatre Building 6, 4000 Central Florida Blvd., Orlando

407-823-1500

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For more information about Theatre UCF, visit .

UCF Music faculty members David Brunner and Kelly A. Miller will lead the three choruses 鈥� 听the 海角直播 Chorus, the Women鈥檚 Chorus, and the Chamber Singers 鈥� in a variety of song styles, including folk, American, world, and classical.

The choruses will be joined by several guest artists. Theatre faculty member Kate Ingram will narrate a selection of readings including William Bradford鈥檚 Thanksgiving Proclamation and Pablo Neruda鈥檚 Ode to Gratitude. Tenor Jeremy Hunt will open the program with Leonard Bernstein鈥檚 “Simple Song.” Pianist Per Danielsson will be featured throughout the program. Other instrumentalists will perform throughout the concert. Dancers from Theatre UCF will also be participating in four of the pieces.

Brunner points out that the concert is 鈥渁coustically and physically immersive鈥� and makes full use of the unique design of the chapel. The program is continuous and will last for 90 minutes, and the singers and dancers will be moving in and out of the audience throughout the concert.

Those attending are asked to bring donations of canned and non-perishable food items to benefit the community food pantry at Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church.

For more information about UCF Music, visit music.cah.ucf.edu.

The play focuses on the human spirit of curiosity and how a small bit of impropriety can cause the biggest scandal. When Theo Maske’s wife, Louise, has an accidental slip of her underpants in public, her respectable husband decides to keep her hidden from public view in hopes of avoiding any further scandal. His plan starts to crumble as witnesses of the event decide that they want to see a little bit more.听

A story originally written by playwright Carl Sternheim, The Underpants was adapted by comedian Steve Martin.

鈥淭here is a line in the play that says, 鈥楴ever underestimate the power of a glimpse of lingerie.鈥� It is probably just as true now as it was when the play was first written,鈥� said director Kate Ingram. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about the voyeuristic tendencies of people, that they like to peek. People may not like it, but it鈥檚 true and it may just be a source of power.

鈥淭hough it is a play written in 1910 Germany, Steve Martin adapted it, so it feels very modern and contemporary, set in 1910 Germany right before the first World War. One might think it would be dark humor but it’s not bleak鈥攊t鈥檚 quite funny. It鈥檚 silly and funny with a lot of socio-political humor thrown in.鈥�

Leading the troupe of actors taking on this comedy is second year MFA student Jeff Nathan, playing the role of the curmudgeonly Theo Maske. In addition to being cast as a lead in The Underpants, Nathan is balancing his responsibilities as a graduate student while raising his newborn daughter with his wife.听

Of his many time commitments Nathan said, 鈥淚t鈥檚 a challenge to be able to balance being a first-year teacher and being able to take a full course load of grad classes, and also to be cast in a show and also to have a baby, but all in all I chose this career path knowing that grad school was an exhausting yet fantastic journey that I hoped to take.鈥�

Nathan is one of two graduate students that are a part of the cast, the other being Ryan M. Skiles, who is portraying the role of Klinglehoff. Having the two graduate students as part of the cast brings a role of mentoring into rehearsals.

Olivia Grace Murphy, a senior in the BFA Acting class, portrays the role of Louise, Theo鈥檚 scandal-causing wife. For an undergraduate student, the opportunity to act alongside graduate students has brought about its own lessons, she said听

鈥淭he graduate students are a joy to work with. It鈥檚 refreshing to work with them on stage,鈥� she said. 鈥淏oth Jeff and Ryan have been out in the real world and have so many different life experiences that they can bring to the situation. I really enjoy having the chance to work with actors of varying levels of experience.鈥澨�

Rounding out the cast are Courtney Kaye Kirby (Gertrude Deuter), Jesse Hinton (Frank Versati), and Daniel Annone (Benjamin Cohen).

Production at a glance

The Underpants

By Steve Martin

Adapted from Carl Sternheim

Directed by Kate Ingram

8 p.m.: Sept. 19, 20, 21, 26, 27, 28

听听听听听听听听 Oct. 3, 4, 5

2 p.m.: Sept. 22, 29

UCF Black Box Theater

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

Box Office Phone: 407- 823-1500

Box Office Hours: Monday through Friday:听noon to 6 p.m. and two hours before performances

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The play centers around architect Bernard (Patrick Sylvester), who, with the help of his long-time buddy Robert (Eric Earley) and his surly maid Bertha (Kate Ingram), juggles three fianc茅es (Emily Schwartz, Danielle Miller, and Kim Hough), all flight attendants with different travel schedules. There is much door slamming, physical and verbal comedy, and sexual innuendo as Bernard鈥檚 meticulous timetables fail and the women converge upon the apartment at once.

Comedies such as Boeing Boeing aren鈥檛 easy for actors. Director Mark Brotherton focuses his attention on the benefits to the students. 鈥淔arces like Boeing help them learn pace and timing鈥攂oth having to come from incredibly hard active listening,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd on top of that, it needs to be believable.

鈥淚n comedy, the actor has to believe the situation and the stakes. And the best comedies are like this one. They occur when normal people 鈥� at least in their own eyes 鈥� are thrown into incredibly abnormal situations. Their world has been thrown out of order, and they will all try anything and everything to get it back into order.鈥�

In addition to learning about timing, there are plenty of foreign dialects in the play for the students to master. The play takes place in Paris, so Bertha speaks with a French accent. The three flight attendants are from Italy, Germany and New York.

Miller, who plays the role of Italian flight attendant Gabrielle, transferred to UCF this summer and is in her first UCF production. 鈥淚 had never used an Italian dialect prior to my audition, but I watched a lot of movies in order to get the hang of it. I鈥檓 channeling Sophia Loren and Penelope Cruz in Nine.鈥�

The practice doesn鈥檛 end with rehearsal. 鈥淚 work at Lazy Moon,鈥� said Miller, 鈥渁nd find myself delivering pizzas with an Italian accent.鈥�

Brotherton agrees that there are benefits for audience members, too.

鈥�Boeing Boeing is just a good time,鈥� he said. 鈥�Mad Men is one of the biggest hits on television. And Boeing Boeing, well, it鈥檚 like Mad Men without any valium or scotch to calm the characters down.鈥�
Production at a glance:

Boeing Boeing

Written by Marc Camoletti

Translated by Beverly Cross and Francis Evans

Directed by Mark Brotherton

8 p.m.: June 13, 14, 15, 20, 21, 22, July 12, 18, 20

2 p.m.: June 16, June 23, July 14

Theatre UCF Black Box

Price: Standard $20, senior $18, student $10; group discounts available

Address: 4000 Central Florida Blvd., Orlando

Box office phone: 407-823-1500

Box office hours: Monday through Friday:听noon to 5 p.m. and two hours before performances

For more information about Theatre UCF, visit .

No Sex Please, We鈥檙e British is directed by Theatre UCF department chair Christopher Niess. The show runs June 7-17 in the Black Box Theatre.

As in most farces, the plot is simple: a straight-laced newlywed couple orders Scandinavian glassware and but instead receives an unwelcomed delivery of pornography. Farcical antics ensue as they try to ditch the scandalous contents from friends, parents, bosses and the law, and try to stop the persistent proprietor.

No Sex Please, We鈥檙e British is an active play, with doors slamming, characters falling down, and high-stake action. The cast has just three weeks of rehearsal to pull together all of the blocking and timing, but also has another skill to master in that time: Because the characters are British, the cast members have to perfect their dialects.

鈥淚t would be such a different play if it weren鈥檛 in dialect,鈥� said Maggie Langlais, who is playing Frances Hunter, one of the lead roles. 鈥淎 lot of the comedy stems from the accents, because the British accent is interpreted as being more reserved. It wouldn鈥檛 be as funny if it were 鈥楴o Sex Please, We鈥檙e Italian.鈥欌��

鈥淭eaching young American students a new dialect is almost trickier than teaching a new language,鈥� said dialect coach Kate Ingram. 鈥淭hey are reading scripted words on the page, trying to act believably, but they are also being asked to speak differently鈥攖his can throw an actor鈥斺�業 don鈥檛 sound like myself, I鈥檓 not sure I鈥檓 believable.鈥欌��.

鈥淚 always remind the actor that the character needs to speak this way!听That鈥檚 the fun part of working on dialect. We try to find some time away from the on-your-feet-rehearsal business, so that the actors can slow down and live inside the words and remember why they are saying those words.鈥�

Whit Emerson plays the role of Leslie Bromhead, the district manager of a bank. He has one of the few upper-class roles in the show. 鈥淲orking with Kate not only helped my dialect, but it helped me develop the character. Everyone else in the play is working class, but maybe Leslie went to a private school or talked like Winston Churchill.鈥�

鈥淚 can鈥檛 read the script without an accent anymore,鈥� said Kristin Shoffner. 鈥淭he dialect provides a rhythm for the words. It becomes like a song that we are dancing to on stage.鈥� Kristin is cast in the role of Eleanor Hunter.听

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

To purchase tickets or for ticket information call the box office at 407-823-1500. Standard tickets are $17 ($15 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鈥攆or assistance, please call the box office in advance.

Summer at a glance:

No Sex Please, We鈥檙e British

By Anthony Marriott and Alistair Foot

Directed by Christopher Niess

June 7, 8, 9, 14, 15, 16 at 8 p.m.

June 10, 17 at 2 p.m.

Black Box Theatre

Price: Standard $17, Senior $15, Student $10; Group discounts available

Subscriptions: $40 standard, $36 senior, $20 student

Address: 4000 Central Florida Blvd., Orlando

Box Office Phone: 407-823-1500

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

听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听听

For more information about Theatre UCF, visit .

Contact: Heather Gibson, Theatre UCF; heather.gibson@ucf.edu; 407-823-1732

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Theatre UCF is a program in the School of Performing Arts at the 海角直播. The department鈥檚 graduate and undergraduate programs focus on providing a competitive edge to theatre artists seeking professional theatre careers, as well as to future creative intellectual leaders. The program offers theatrical presentations year-round to the public at the east Orlando campus. For more information about attending performances call 407-823-1500 or visit .

Directed by UCF Associate Professor and Coordinator of Graduate Acting Kate Ingram, 鈥淚nto the Woods鈥� tells the stories of characters such as Little Red Riding Hood and Cinderella while offering life lessons for audiences of all ages.

The award-winning musical appeared on Broadway, and features music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by James Lapine.

Performances of 鈥淚nto the Woods鈥� will be Thursdays through Sundays from March 24 to April 3 on the UCF Theatre鈥檚 Main Stage. All shows begin at 8 p.m., except for Sunday matinees, which will start at 2 p.m.

Ticket prices are $19 for adults, $17 for seniors and $12 for students with their ID. Reservations are recommended and available through the UCF Conservatory Theatre box office at 407-823-1500. Group rates are available. The box office can assist with accommodations for patrons with disabilities.

Go to for more information.

Albee鈥檚 play explores a middle-aged couple whose marriage is on the rocks and seemingly devoid of love and hope. This play contains mature themes and language and is not appropriate for younger audiences.

Directed by Theatre Department Chair Christopher Niess, the production features Mark Brotherton and Kate Ingram, both of who are UCF Theatre faculty members. UCF Theatre students Robert Svetlik and Lindsay Clemmons are also in the play.

鈥淲ho鈥檚 Afraid of Virginia Woolf?鈥� runs Thursday, July 1, through Saturday, July 3, and Thursday, July 8, through Sunday, July 11, in the Main Stage theatre. All shows begin at 8 p.m., except for Sunday matinees, which start at 2 p.m.

Ticket prices are $19 for adults, $17 for seniors and $12 for students with their IDs.

Reservations are recommended and available through the UCF Conservatory Theatre box office at 407-823-1500. Group rates are available. The box office can assist with accommodations for patrons with disabilities.