Performing Arts Department

When fading patriarch Beverly Weston goes missing, his family gathers for a reunion bordering on the apocalyptic. So begins “August: Osage County,” the Pulitzer- and Tony-winning drama by Tracy Letts. Washington University’s Performing Arts Department will present the show in Edison Theatre Feb. 23 to March 4.

A rubber tire hangs from the ceiling. A glittering crowd sips champagne. “To minimal art,” a woman toasts, and promptly falls dead. So begins “Gossip,” a satirical who-done-it by Canadian playwright George F. Walker. Washington University’s Performing Arts Department (PAD) in Arts & Sciences will present the sly, noir-inspired comedy April 20-23 in Edison Theatre.

“Does it say what I want it to say?” The question is fundamental for any artist. On April 15, 16 and 17, five young choreographers will discover the answer when the Performing Arts Department in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis presents its biennial “Young Choreographers Showcase” in the Annelise Mertz Dance Theatre.

With more than 50 scenes and 100 characters, “Love and Information” (2012) is arguably the most audacious work to date by acclaimed English playwright Caryl Churchill. From April 1-10, Washington University’s Performing Arts Department will present Churchill’s kaleidoscopic tour de force in the A.E. Hotchner Studio Theatre.

When tragedy strikes a traveling circus, the desire for justice goes terribly awry. “Elephant’s Graveyard” is a shocking tale, based on historical events, of spectacle, retribution and what we choose to remember. Presented by the Performing Arts Department, the show opens Feb. 26 in Edison Theatre.

“[Improvisation] is much more difficult than reading music. You don’t have to be very gifted to read a novel. You do to write a novel,” says Rich O’Donnell, director of the Electronic Music Studio in the Department of Music.

Sean M. Savoie, senior lecturer in drama and coordinator of the design-technical theater program in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis, taught a professional development class at the Entertainment Technology New Zealand Inc. (ETNZ) 2015 Conference: “Big Steps Forward.”

Dancer Samantha Gaitsch is a familiar face to campus audiences. Over the next two weekends, Gaitsch will perform with The Slaughter Project, company-in-residence in the Performing Arts Department in Arts & Sciences, and will co-direct “Step, Turn, Leap!,” the 2015 Student Dance Showcase.

Sarah Negron, a 2014 Arts & Sciences graduate of Washington University in St. Louis, is the recipient of the Regional Arts Commission’s prestigious Katherine Dunham Internship.

​More than a dozen dancers will debut nine original works by WUSTL student choreographers April 4-6 as part of “Young Choreographers Showcase.” The biennial concert takes place in the Annelise Mertz Dance Studio.