The Gainesville Theatre Alliance is using resources across different media to bring audiences a theatre experience.
GTA will collaborate with University of North Georgia’s Film & Digital Media department to stream free performances of Songs for a New World and The Tempest in late spring. These will be filmed, edited, and released digitally. The theatre company has already set a precedent of collaboration, with GTA itself being made of theatre departments from both Brenau University and University of North Georgia.
From the Company
“There exists a natural fit between film and theatre that both departments at UNG will continue to pursue extending even past our production process and moving into collaborations with programs of study.”
-GTA Artistic Director and UNG Head of Theatre Jayme McGhan
Spring 2021 at GTA
Songs for a New World
Music & Lyrics by Jason Robert Brown
Streaming Dates TBD
MPAA-equivalent rating: PG
Songs for a New World by Jason Robert Brown (his introduction to Broadway) asks the audience to follow a series of individuals into the breach to find something new. Surrounded by guides, the seekers in this song cycle traverse the unknown to find happiness, contentment, and rest—safe in the knowledge that everyone needs some help along the way.
With a cast of eighteen rather than Broadway’s four, Gainesville Theatre Alliance’s take on this experimental production, directed by Tracey Elaine Chessum (GTA Associate Artistic Director and Brenau University Chair of Theatre), seeks to explore the communities that surround us during the journeys of life.
The Tempest
by William Shakespeare
Streaming Dates TBD
MPAA-equivalent rating: PG
William Shakespeare’s The Tempest begins in an abandoned shipwreck, where the characters proceed to ‘find the story of the tempest’ by searching through the wreckage and discovering the pieces left behind.
This production, directed by GTA BFA Acting Program Director and University of North Georgia Associate Professor of Theatre Zechariah Pierce, is an exploration in physical storytelling, particularly through masked (theatrical, not surgical) characterization. The ideas of family, forgiveness, power struggle, innocence, love, and magic are all brought to life through stylized physical humor that only this type of theatre can provide.
“This idea of discovering the story also parallels my process as a director,” says Pierce, “as I heavily rely on a deep collaboration with my actors and how they interpret the story and their characters.”
More Information
Interested audience members may sign up for GTA’s email list, visit their website GainesvilleTheatreAlliance.org or visit them on Facebook and Instagram for more information and updates to the schedule.
