{"id":153417,"date":"2024-09-13T13:11:02","date_gmt":"2024-09-13T17:11:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/?p=153417"},"modified":"2024-09-13T13:11:02","modified_gmt":"2024-09-13T17:11:02","slug":"south-pacific-brings-wright-state-dayton-performing-arts-alliance-together-in-new-collaboration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/2024\/09\/13\/south-pacific-brings-wright-state-dayton-performing-arts-alliance-together-in-new-collaboration\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018South Pacific\u2019 brings Wright State, Dayton Performing Arts Alliance together in new collaboration"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>The curtain is about to rise on the first show in a new collaboration between Wright State University\u2019s School of Fine and Performing Arts<\/a> and the Dayton Performing Arts Alliance (DPAA). It\u2019s a show marking its 75th anniversary, with a message that is as relevant today as it was when it opened.<\/p>\n

Wright State acting and musical theatre faculty and students will perform with the Dayton Opera and the Dayton Philharmonic in \u201cSouth Pacific\u201d at the Schuster Center in downtown Dayton at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 21, and 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 22.<\/p>\n

Tickets are available at daytonperformingarts.org<\/a> or 937-228-3630. Student tickets are $10 with the promo code WSU10.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is such a wonderful opportunity for our students,\u201d said Dan Zehringer, D.M.A., professor of music and chair of the School of Fine and Performing Arts.<\/p>\n

The production\u2019s leads are a combination of artists from Dayton Opera and current and former acting and musical theatre faculty and students from Wright State. The production is directed by Joe Deer, retired professor of musical theatre at Wright State.<\/p>\n

The ensemble is made up of Dayton Opera artists and Wright State acting, musical theatre and music students. Additional support for the production is provided by Wright State\u2019s theatre design and technology faculty and staff.<\/p>\n

The genesis of the collaboration was a special joint performance at the Schuster Center by Wright State and the Dayton Philharmonic in 2023 to celebrate the life of Stephen Sondheim. That went so well that plans progressed to have regular programs together.<\/p>\n

\u201cSouth Pacific\u201d is the first in the new collaboration.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope this cycles through all of the arts organizations \u2013 a ballet, a symphony, the opera, and hopefully some theatrical involvement,\u201d said Marya Spring Cordes, associate chair of the school, professor of acting and musical theatre and artistic director of Wright State Theatre.<\/p>\n

The goal is to have a collaborative performance every other year. \u201cOnce this project wraps, we\u2019ll start brainstorming what the next one will be,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Cordes said the project will broaden students\u2019 experiences.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re a small city with a wildly thriving and varied arts community,\u201d she said. \u201cIt makes sense for our students to work with those in the industry and in the Dayton arts family.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe more environments we can familiarize our students with, the better prepared they\u2019ll be,\u201d Cordes said. \u201cWe\u2019re grooming the next generation of artists.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zehringer said as part of the collaboration Dayton Performing Arts Alliance artists will work with the School of Fine and Performing Arts on campus or provide master classes for Wright State students.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a deep, rooted collaborative relationship to provide profound opportunities for our students to work with professionals in the field and to gain professional performance experience,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The collaboration\u2019s effects have long-range potential. Zehringer said the opportunities available may \u201cmanifest themselves in more students being aware of all of our programs in the School of Fine and Performing Arts and provide another reason to become a Raider.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSouth Pacific,\u201d the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic musical, features such famous songs as \u201cSome Enchanted Evening,\u201d \u201cI\u2019m Gonna Wash That Man Right Outa My Hair\u201d and \u201cBali Ha\u2019i.\u201d<\/p>\n

The music is about an American nurse on a South Pacific island in World War II who falls in love with a French plantation owner but struggles to accept his mixed-race children and about a Marine who falls in love with an Asian woman and fears the social consequences if they marry.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018South Pacific\u2019 is an important story to be told,\u201d Cordes said. \u201cAt the heart of it, it\u2019s about personal bias and how we have to learn how to overcome personal biases and peoples\u2019 differences.\u201d<\/p>\n

The hope is that the audience and students working on the production reflect on the message and find positive ways to navigate life today.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wright State acting and musical theatre students will perform with the Dayton Opera and the Dayton Philharmonic in \u201cSouth Pacific\u201d at the Schuster Center Sept. 21-22. Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":66,"featured_media":153429,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[722,2037,4859,725,747,715],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-153417","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academics","category-arts-scene","category-fine-and-performing-arts","category-home-news-sidebar","category-liberal-arts","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153417","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/66"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=153417"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153417\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":153438,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/153417\/revisions\/153438"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/153429"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=153417"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=153417"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=153417"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}