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A NATIONALLY AND
INTERNATIONALLY
RECOGNIZED PROGRAM
WWW.USCUPSTATE.EDU/THEATRE
A Remarkable History and Program
The Shoestring Players made their debut in 1975 on what was then the USC Spartanburg campus.
With grand ambitions, the players performed in a variety of venues, none of which were actual
theatres. Early members of the group worked tirelessly to expand the creative horizons of the newly
established theatre. With 42 years of “trodding the boards” at USC Upstate, The Shoestring Players
now find their home in the Department of Fine Arts and Communication Studies with three fulltime faculty members, a technical director/theatre manager, a box office manager and additional
adjunct faculty. A Bachelor of Arts in theatre, tremendous growth in student numbers, incredible
international partnerships, scholarships in acting and production, participation in the South Carolina
Theatre Association, the South Carolina Speech and Theatre Association, the Southeastern Theatre
Conference, the American College Theatre Festival and the United States Institute for Theatre
Technology, all provide spectacular opportunities for student growth.
Jimm Cox
A five-week summer study program in London, England, and internships at The Rose Theatre
in London are all within the grasp of students who excel in the program. With a national
commendation from the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts American College Theatre Festival
and an inclusion in the list of Five Best in Fest performances at the International Youth Arts Festival
in London, Theatre at Upstate is now a nationally and internationally recognized program.
864.503.5697
[email protected]
With both an exciting main stage season in the Performing Arts Center Theatre and a vigorous
studio theatre season, there is always an opportunity to perform, direct, design, stage manage, or
work on a production crew. We are excited to discover the dreams of our students and awaken
them to the possibilities they have as artists.
DIRECTOR OF THEATRE
USC SYSTEM TRUSTEE’S PROFESSORSHIP
Curriculum
Introduction to Theatre
Theatre History I
Selected Topics in Theatre
Fundamentals of Acting
Theatre History II
Theatre Laboratory
Dramatic Theory
and Criticism
Independent Study/
Internships in Theatre
Intermediate Acting
Classical Style
Alternative Style
Movement for the Actor
Voice for the Actor
Directing I
Directing II
Development of Drama
Playwriting
Shakespeare Survey
Stagecraft
Studies in Shakespeare
Scene Design
Modern Drama
Lighting Design
Theatre for Youth
Scenography
Makeup
Rehearsal and Performance
WYSIWYG
Rich Robinson
PROFESSOR OF THEATRE
“The drama is not dead but liveth, and contains the germs of better things.”
-William Archer
864.503.5621
[email protected]
If you are graduating in Spring 2017,
these shows could be on your resume:
Memigery - The Memory
of Images
Our Country’s Good
To Kill a Mockingbird
Spring Awakening
A Funny Thing Happened
on the Way to the Forum
All’s Well That Ends Love’s
Labors
All About Ives
The Pursuit of U.S.
Compleat Female Stage
Beauty
Othello
Don’t Drink the Water
Little Women
Rumors
A Christmas Carol
Very Still and Hard
to See
Lee Neibert
PROFESSOR OF THEATRE
CHAIR, FINE ARTS COMMUNICATION STUDIES
864.503.5987
[email protected]
The 25th Annual Putnam
County Spelling Bee
A Midsummer Night’s
Dream
Six Degrees of
Separation
The Bluest Eye
The Great American Trailer
Park Musical
Twelfth Night
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter
A Raisin in the Sun
The Cripple of Inishmaan
The Children’s Hour
Dogfight: The Musical
Opportunities at USC Upstate
Financial Assistance
• $12,000 scholarships in acting
• Lou Vigneaulty Acting Scholarship
• $8,000 technical assistantships
• Out-of-state tuition vouchers available
Study Abroad
• Foreign Study London (Kingston University)
Professional Affiliations
• SCSTA (South Carolina Speech and Theatre Association)
• KCACTF (Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival)
• SETC (Southeastern Theatre Conference)
• USITT (United States Institute for Theatre Technology)
• SCTA (South Carolina Theatre Association) • Alpha Psi Omega
InternshipMaster Classes
The Rose Theatre, London, England
Taught by world famous director, Stephen Unwin
“I regard the theatre as the greatest of all art forms, the most immediate way in which
a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being.”
-Oscar Wilde
Barry Whitfield
TECHNICAL DIRECTOR
THEATRE MANAGER
864.503.5880
[email protected]
An Exceptional Facility
The HPAC Proscenium Theatre:
• an intimate, 450-seat gem
• continental seating for unobstructed views
• silent, hydraulic orchestra pit lift
• a fully rigged fly loft that will accommodate
sets the height of the Proscenium
• audience chamber that can be “tuned”
acoustically for different types of performances
• computerized lighting system
• large attached scene shop adjacent
studio theatre, a duplicate of the Proscenium
stage in size
• digital sound system
An Excellent Tradition
Patric Phillips - Professional Director - Berkshire
Theatre Festival
Samantha Else - Graduate School, University of
Birmingham, England, Professional Stage Manager
Christina Landrum - Stella Adler Acting School,
New York City
Corey Granner - Internship at The Rose Theatre,
London, England / Technical Director, Greenville
Little Theatre
Zoe Sneed - Internship at Disney World and
The Rose Theatre, London, England/Stage Manager at Jenny
Wiley Music Theatre
Will Luther - Internship at The Rose Theatre,
London, England - Assistant Technical Director - Spartanburg
Little Theatre
Elizabeth Finley - Nominated for National Design Award
Ben Womick - Graduate School, Cal Arts / Designer,
Universal Studios, California
Jake Salgado - Nominated for National Design
Award/Internship at The Rose Theatre, London,
England/Technical Director, Stagedoor Manor, Busch Gardens
Florida, Technician
Valerie Pruett - Costumer, USC Columbia
Jordyn Chelf - Internship at Disney World
Kim Ford - Technician, Santa Fe Opera Company
Marsha Poliakoff - Winner, Baltimore New Playwright’s Festival
Tom Fields - Technician, Santa Fe Opera Company
Chandler Crawford - Winner, South Carolina Ten Minute
Play Festival
Peggy Beasley - Off Broadway Production of
The Belle of Amherst
Taylor Smith - Audition Finalist for The Book of
Mormon, New York, New York / Internship at
Disney World
Ahsha Daniels - Semi-Finalist for the Kennedy Center
National Acting Scholarship
Elicia Bryant - Professional Actress
Nick Whitworth - Internship at The Rose Theatre,
London, England
Brian Haimback - Professor of Theatre, Oregon
Jonathan Wiley - Stage Technician - Disney World-Year long
residency - Disney Shanghai
Cody Kelein - Glow Theatre, Greenville, SC
Cassandra Scott - Internship at The Rose Theatre,
London, England, Stagedoor Manor, Technician
Lauren McGaha - Internship at The Rose Theatre, London,
England, Professional Stage Manager, Stella Adler Acting
School, New york City, Busch Gardens Virginia, Technician
Raheem Hughes - Jenny Wiley Music Theatre, Technician
Getting to Know You
2016-2017 Prospective Student Scholarship Auditions
November 12, 2016 February 25, 2017
The Shoestring Players have many ways to supplement your study financially at
USC Upstate. In order to be considered for acting or technical scholarships, students and their
families are encouraged to attend one of two scholarship audition days.
Each day will include:
• meetings for parents and students with financial aid, admissions and housing
• a theatre facilities and campus tour
• a private interview/audition
Allen Evans
• free tickets for students and their families to our current production
ADJUNCT PROFESSOR
“Knowledge of the technical makes creativity possible.”
-Josef Svoboda
864.503.5673
[email protected]
SEASON
2016 - 2017
Join our mailing list.
Compleat Female Stage Beauty
September 29 - October 1, 2016, 8 p.m.; October 2, 2016, 3 p.m.
Auditions: August 22, 2016, 7 - 9 p.m.
In 1661, the most famous portrayer of female roles on the London stage was a man, Edward
Kynaston. Not only was he the darling of the theatre, bur he was also “mistress” to the powerful
Duke of Buckingham. Suddenly Margaret Hughes, an unknown woman, played Desdemona at an
illegal theatre and King Charles II changed the law to allow women to act. Men who had made their
fortunes playing women in the theatre found their lives turned upside down. Brochure Nell Gwynn,
the king’s own courtesan, and Maria, Kynaston’s former dresser, became stars. His desire for
revenge gives him a chance to take the stage again. The New York Times describes it as “A clever
exploration of rich territory, the world of the English theatre at the seventeenth-century moment
when women were first allowed on the stage.”
Don’t Drink the Water
November 10 - 12, 2016, 8 p.m.; November 13, 2016, 3 p.m.
Auditions: October 3, 2016, 7 - 9 p.m.
http://tinyurl.com/osqr7fz
This zany 14-character comedy, written by Woody Allen, takes place in the Soviet Union’s American
Embassy during the Cold War. An American tourist, his wife and daughter rush into the embassy
two steps ahead of the Russian police who suspect them of taking pictures and spying on the
government. What the family doesn’t know is that the American ambassador is away and has
left his incompetent son in charge. To complicate matters, while the family frantically plans their
escape, the daughter and the ambassador’s son fall in love. Filled with hilarious dialogue, this show
was a huge hit on Broadway.
The Bluest Eye
February 23 - 25, 2017, 8 p.m.; February 26, 2017, 3 p.m.
Auditions: January 12, 2017, 7 - 9 p.m.
Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye is a story about the tragic life of a young black
girl in 1940’s Ohio. Eleven-year-old Pecola Breedlove wants nothing more than to be loved by her family and
schoolmates. Instead, she faces constant ridicule and abuse. She blames her dark skin and prays for blue eyes,
sure that love will follow. With rich language and bold vision, this powerful adaptation of an American classic
explores the crippling toll that a legacy of racism has taken on a community, a family, and an innocent girl.
The Great American Trailer Park Musical
April 6 - 8, 2017, 8 p.m.; April 9, 2017, 3 p.m.
Auditions: January 24, 2017, 7 - 9 p.m.
Armadillo Acres, a trailer park in Starke, Florida, has a new tenant. Pippi has arrived in North Florida’s most
exclusive mobile home community and there is trouble brewing. When Pippi comes between Jeanne, who is an
avid fan of Dr. Phil and in the throes of agoraphobia and her husband, Norbert Garstecki, a tollbooth collector,
bleached roots might just get ripped out. Talking Broadway says, ” This wheel spinning, mud-splattering good
time of a show is the theatrical equivalent of a musical bag of Doritos. You can’t get enough.”
Tiffany Bismarck
BOX OFFICE MANAGER
To purchase tickets, call the USC Upstate Box Office, Monday - Friday, 1-5 p.m. at 864-503-5695 or
[email protected]
864.503.5313
[email protected]
SPOTLIGHT ON PRODUCTION
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Shoestring Players
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