SITI Company members to lead masterclass, debut original production at APSU

By: Andrea Spofford September 16, 2024

Above: Founding SITI Company members Ellen Lauren and Will Bond. Below: SITI Company sound designer Darron West. | Photos courtesy of SITI Company

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Austin Peay State University’s Department of Theatre & Dance, with support from the Center of Excellence for the Creative Arts, is welcoming New York-based SITI Company members to campus for a free workshop on Sept. 27 and a public performance of an original theatrical production running from Oct. 3-6.

SITI Company members Will Bond, Ellen Lauren, and Darron West will host a masterclass from 6-8 p.m. on Sept. 27 in the Trahern Building. This event is free and open to the public and offers a rare opportunity to work with founding members of the company responsible for some of the most influential theatre and movement styles: Viewpoints and Suzuki.

In addition to this free masterclass, the Department of Theatre & Dance is presenting “Learning to Swim,” an original production using the texts of playwright and emeritus SITI Company Member Charles Mee Jr. Directed by Will Bond and created by Bond, Darron West, and Ellen Lauren in collaboration with APSU students, “Learning to Swim” is an example of devised theatre, where participants work together to create a collaborative final production. 

SITI Company is kicking off the Department of Theatre & Dance’s 2024-25 Roy Acuff Chair of Excellence season. The Roy Acuff Chair of Excellence brings regionally and nationally acclaimed artists to APSU to share their expertise with students and the community in a dynamic atmosphere of unrestricted experimentation.

“The Roy Acuff Chair of Excellence allows us the unique opportunity to provide our students and community members with opportunities that might otherwise be inaccessible,” CECA Director Dr. Andrea Spofford said. “We are very fortunate to have SITI Company members interacting and creating a brand-new production with our students.”

SITI Company, founded in 1992 by Anne Bogart and Tadashi Suzuki, was an ensemble-based theatre troupe designed to revitalize and redefine theatre in the United States. The company believed that contemporary American theater must include artists and techniques from around the world and learn from a cross-cultural exchange of dance, music, and art, which is embodied in “Learning to Swim.”

The production will be hosted in the Trahern Theatre from Oct. 3-6 and stars the following APSU students:

• Mia Bolton (BFA Musical Theatre)

• Andrea Condorpoza Pioc (BFA Acting)

• Peyton Ellis (BFA Musical Theatre)

• Taylor Foley (BFA Musical Theatre)

• Kristopher Johnson (BFA Musical Theatre)

• Ross Meadors (BA Theatre Arts)

• Chan Murrell (BFA Acting)

• Juliette Orihuela (BFA Musical Theatre)

• Jackson Bryan (BFA Acting)

• Asst. Director – Sarah Sovia (BFA Acting)

• SM – Kayla Sheldon (BFA Musical Theatre)

“It’s a huge honor to have SITI company members/founders here,” APSU Professor of Acting and Directing Talon Beeson said. They trained the people who trained me, and it has been such a treat watching them work with our students. Building a show that lives and breathes with each session is such a new way of working for our students. With this type of work, you never know what will happen each night, but that is what makes it thrilling.”  

Tickets for “Learning to Swim” are $5 for APSU students, faculty, staff, military, and seniors and $10 for adults. They can be purchased by visiting the Department of Theatre & Dance Box Office website at https://www.apsu.edu/theatre-dance/seasons/, emailing boxoffice@apsu.edu, or calling 931-221-7379. 

For more on this free masterclass and production, contact Beeson at beesont@apsu.edu. To learn about future CECA events and productions, visit https://www.apsu.edu/ceca/.

About the Acuff Chair of Excellence at Austin Peay State University

In 1985, country music legend Roy Acuff generously established an endowment to enrich the arts community at APSU and in Clarksville-Montgomery County. The result was the Roy Acuff Chair of Excellence, which brings regionally and nationally acclaimed artists to APSU to share their expertise with students and the community in a dynamic atmosphere of unrestricted experimentation. The Acuff Chair rotates between APSU's four creative arts departments and programs—Art + Design, Creative Writing, Music, Theatre & Dance—and has been filled each year with residencies by nationally and internationally known artists since its inception.