This fall, get your culture on and enjoy a deeper, more artistic side of yourself. Take advantage of the museums and theater in the surrounding city or stay closer to home and explore what performing and visual arts this university has to offer. Whether it’s a play, an art exhibition or a concert, there is plenty to satisfy your curiosity and your interests – all you have to do is look. dnhan@umd.edu
BETWEEN TRAINSOPENING: Nov. 13, 7:30 p.m.LOCATION: Kogad Theatre (Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center) Runs through: Nov. 23
Experience a revitalization of senses with this new play by Juanita Rockwell, a Baltimore-based playwright whose work is known for its inventive twist on familiar subjects. Billed by the theatre department as a “play with songs,” Between Trains is an exploration of sound, sight, illusions and reality related to Eastern philosophies.
TO BE YOUNG, GIFTED AND BLACKOPENING: Oct. 16, 7:30 p.m.LOCATION: Kay Theatre (CSPAC)Runs through: Oct. 26
Lorraine Hansberry became the first black woman with work to appear on Broadway when A Raisin in the Sun debuted in 1959. Hansberry would go on to make history as a political activist through her work as a playwright and writer. Hansberry’s powerful story of struggle, dreams and success is recorded in this autobiographical play based on letters and memoirs by the playwright.
ASTRO-RAMAOPENING: Sept. 4, 8 p.m.LOCATION: Arena Stage Runs through: Sept. 28
After its last performance of College Park: The Opera, Squonk Opera is back with Astro-rama, an exploration of College Park’s starry skies. Using science, performance and music, Squonk Opera’s performance will surely live up to its reputation as a combination of over-the-top sets, spectacular lights and impressive sound. This is not your typical concert.
FROM THE JOLLY AND INSANE MIND OF ZALOOM OPENING: Oct. 8, 8 p.m.LOCATION: Kogad Theatre (CSPAC) Runs through: Oct. 10
From the ’90s educational television show, Beakman’s World, Paul Zaloom is back, only this time with a not-so-family-friendly show, From the Jolly and Insane Mind of Zaloom. Working with fellow puppeteer Lynn Jeffries, Zaloom’s performance includes “The Abecedarium” and “The Punch and Jimmy Show,” a performance that takes the classic Punch and Judy to a more modern – and cruder – approach.
TO REMAINOPENING: Sept. 3, 5:30 p.m.LOCATION: Art-Sociology BuildingRuns through: Oct. 17
In conjunction with The Archive’s Shadow, To Remain is an exploration of artists’ impact on the past and present and their interpretations of these times. Featuring Kelley Bell, Mandy Burrow, Cindy Rehm, Steven Silberg and Jason.Sloan, To Remain is a collection of the collaborating artists’ work that explores the concept of remaining. Bell’s digital animation series, The Rise and Fall of the Land of Pleasant Living, examines the change and history of the ever-evolving city, while Jason.Sloan’s series of performances and recordings depict the meaning of existence.
WISHFUL DRINKINGOPENING: Sept. 4, 8 p.m.LOCATION: Arena Stage Runs through: Sept. 28
Carrie Fisher’s acting career was catapulted into infamy as Princess Leia in the first Star Wars trilogy, and her image would stay as such even 30-odd years later. A humorous play written by and starring Fisher, Wishing Drinking is an in-depth look into her life after her legacy as the cinnamon-bunned, robot-friending, ass-kicking princess of space.
“OCEANS, RIVERS and SKIES” OPENING: Oct. 12.LOCATION: National Gallery of Art Runs through: March 15
Check out a unique collection of landscape photographs by world-renowned photographers Ansel Adams, Robert Adams and Alfred Stieglitz. Featuring a total of 21 works by the three artists, the black and white photographs are arranged as three different series in chronological order.
