Winter vacation is over and already the grind of classes and homework is making many students anxious for the arrival of spring and its break. But March is seven weeks away. What can you do until then?
If you need a break from your pile of assignments, why not escape to the deserts of India or the hills of Yorkshire? Relive your childhood while experiencing Japan's ancient culture. Or, go on a trip of personal discovery and travel to Afghanistan.
You may wonder, \Trips like these cost money and no one has the time to take a whole week off. How can I go to these places during the semester?"" Yet there is a way to experience all of these places without ever leaving the comforts of Madison.
Thanks to the University Theater, this spring students can join Mary Lennox in uncovering the mysteries of Misselthwaite Manor in ""The Secret Garden,"" see childhood favorites come to life in ""The Wondrous Tales of Old Japan,"" and explore family ties in ""Homebody/Kabul.""
The director of ""Homebody/ Kabul"" and and University Theater's producing director, Norma Saldivar, explained that the theme for this year's theater season.
""The theme is traveling outside of us to know ourselves better,"" Saldivar said. ""[The season] was designed to look at the world through new eyes and to learn something about ourselves.""
""The Secret Garden,"" premiering Feb. 27 and running through March 7, does this by taking audiences into the life of Mary Lennox, a young girl forced to leave her home in India and live with her cold, inattentive uncle in Yorkshire. At first Mary behaves like a problem child, throwing tantrums and refusing to eat. With the help of her friends Martha and Dickon, Mary uncovers the secret garden and another secret hidden within the manor, the true power that friendship and family hold.
For this version of ""The Secret Garden,"" originally scored by Lucy Simon and written by leading playwright Marsha Norman, University Theater partnered with University Opera. The musical will be almost entirely done in song, with the few moments of dialog underscored by orchestra accompaniment.
Each year, University Theater and University Opera co-produce a musical. Bill Farlow, director of ""The Secret Garden"" is pleased with this selection and how it ties in with the season's theme.
""['The Secret Garden'] is based on an extremely popular children's classic, which has the influence of not only 20th century England, but also the influence of colonial India,"" Farlow said. ""It's a piece about love and friendship, things we don't put much time into anymore.""
""The Secret Garden"" is a poignant story with universal themes, with an extraordinary musical score.
""'Secret Garden' is beautiful and emotional, about a young girl dealing with self discovery and loss, and it's quite moving.""
The second show of the season will be ""The Wondrous Tales of Old Japan,"" which runs March 27 through April 4. It is the Theater for Young Audiences selection this year, performed both on campus and in local elementary schools.
The University Theater will perform two tales. The first will be ""The Enchanted Fisherman"", about enchanted lands and eternal youth. tells a story similar to that of ""Rip Van Winkle."" The second tale will be ""The Peach Boy,"" which revolves around the common fairy tale dilemma of a couple longing for a child and the magical way one is brought into their lives.
David Furumoto is the director of ""The Wondrous Tales of Old Japan"" and he believes these stories fit the season's theme because they introduce Asian culture to children who may not have experienced it before.
""Workshops will be done after the shows that will include the cultural tones of Japan, plus it will be presented in the Kabuki style of theater,"" Furumoto said. ""In past shows, kids have really seemed to enjoy each tale.""
Saldivar wanted to include these stories in the season because she believes ancient folk stories help express the culture of a nation.
The third and final installment of the season is probably the most talked about, and thus the most anticipated. ""Homebody/Kabul,"" taking place in Afganistan. It comes to University Theater from April 16 until May 1. Kabul is really two plays in one.
The story was written by Tony Kushner and opens with a monologue by a British woman called the Homebody. She explains her fascination with Kabul politics and history, and that she plans to go to Kabul itself. She fails to mention her troubled 20-year-old daughter and her computer programmer husband that she has left behind.
We are introduced to them in the Kabul half of the play, when they arrive in the town looking for the Homebody. While experiencing the chaos of this once serene town, they are told that the Homebody has died in the streets.
This is a powerful story of struggles going on, both in the historic Kabul valley and within the family, as the father and daughter must deal with the Homebody's death.
Saldivar hopes people will see this play because of the international and personal politics that are intertwined within the story. She especially hopes people think about reaching out to one another in times of crisis.
""The struggles that the family experiences, both together and individually parallel the struggles of today's world,"" Saldivar said. ""It presents the idea that touch, [in any form], can corrupt, but the underlying question is whether the Homebody's love could have helped her daughter more than running away to Kabul, forcing her daughter to confront her own problems.""
What is also exciting about this production is that Kushner will visit Madison during the first week of the show. Kushner will give talks for students and the community to attend throughout the week, discussing his vision of ""Homebody/Kabul"" and other dramatic works.
This semester's season of University Theater promises a chance for theatergoers to experience cultures they may not get to experience otherwise. It will also give them a chance to think and reflect on old childhood fantasies and real world dramas still taking place around them today. So take a break from the ordinary grind of classes and explore new civilizations as you journey through the wonderful world of theater.
