Performing and Media Arts Open House
The Department of Performing and Media Arts (PMA) provides opportunities for students to explore theatre, film, and dance as distinct art forms or to combine these disciplines in exciting ways. Learn about the courses, programs, & opportunities that PMA offers in theatre, film, dance, screenwriting & more!
August 19th, 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m., Schwartz Center Lobby
Projects & Participation Kick-off
A general information session for Cornell students on how to get involved in PMA's theatre, film, dance, and live performance projects.
August 24th, 7:30 p.m., Kiplinger Theatre
PMA Call for Actors - Fall 2022
Roles available for stage and screen. Meet directors in a low-stress environment and see what is of interest to you!
Open to all Cornell students, faculty and staff. For details and to sign up, go to the Callboard at bit.ly/PMAcallboard22
August 25th, 7:00 p.m., Flexible Theatre
Festival 24
Festival 24 features an array of plays written, directed, rehearsed, and performed by students in just 24 hours!
August 27th, 7:30 p.m., Flexible Theatre
Heidi Latsky Guest-Artist-In-Dance
Heidi Latsky, Artistic Director and Founder of the Heidi Latsky Dance Company, will be the Guest-Artist-In-Dance from October 12th to October 15th at the Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts. Heidi Latsky's workshop/public talk/master class schedule is as follows:
October 12th, 4:50 p.m. - 6:20 p.m.
Dance Workshop, Room 320
October 13th, 4:50 p.m. - 6:20 p.m.
Dance Workshop, Room 320
October 14th, 3:00 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Public Talk, Room 320
October 15th, 12:00 p.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Master Class, Room 320
* Postponed * - Professional Directions with Tia Lessin '86
Update: Due to travel-related issues, this evening's (10/14) Professional Directions with Tia Lessin '86 has been postponed to a later date.
A conversation with Documentary Filmmaker Tia Lessin '86 (The Janes, Trouble the Water, Fahrenheit 11/9 and PMA Visiting Assistant Professor Daniel Fermin Pfeffer
October 14th, 5:00 p.m., Room 220
Once upon a time in a place called NOW: an interactive storytelling workshop for artists, activists, and educators
Rhodessa Jones, The Frank H.T. Rhodes Class of ’56 Visiting Professor. Also featuring Workshop Facilitators Angela Wilson and Felicia Scaggs, core members of the Medea Project
Thursday, October 20th, 5:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. Film Forum
Performing and Media Arts Presentation Series (PMAPS) - Kareem Khubchandani
Kareem Khubchandani is Associate Professor in theater, dance, and performance studies at Tufts University. He is the author of Ishtyle: Accenting Gay Indian Nightlife (University of Michigan Press, 2020), co-editor of Queer Nightlife (University of Michigan Press, 2021), and guest editor of the "Critical Aunty Studies" special issue of Text and Performance Quarterly.
"Aunty Aesthetics, or More Ways to be an Aunty," a talk on October 21st, 3:00 pm, Film Forum & "Divas, Drag Queens, Aunties, and Other Academic Personas" a workshop on October 22nd, 3:00 pm, location TBD | Register here
The Mush Hole
The Mush Hole performance pays respect to Survivors, acknowledging the lives and spirits of generations of Indigenous children who “served time” at the Mohawk Institute Residential School. It’s about their survival, resilience and was created in close connection to Survivors, their writings, interviews and Survivor Talks. The Mush Hole incorporates the bricks and mortar, the grounds of the Mohawk Institute, transporting audiences into the environment and into the rooms such as the Boy’s Playroom, etc. The storyline follows two generations of Survivors demonstrating the intergenerational effects of Indian Residential School.
Oct 28th, 7:30 p.m., Kiplinger Theatre | Reserve Tickets
Performing and Media Arts Presentation Series (PMAPS) - Dr. Samantha Iwowo
Samantha Iwowo (Ph.D) is Principal Academic at Bournemouth University, UK. Her research and praxis which lie in Postcolonialism with leanings in Transnational-Cinema Studies support creative industries, cultural heritage and challenge marginalisation. The title of her talk will be "A Trajectory of Screen-Decolonisation: Centring Ubuntu in Film Directing."
November 4th 3:00 p.m. | Register here
Professional Directions with Raelle Myrick-Hodges
Raelle Myrick-Hodges has worked as a stage director for over 25 years and a producer/curator for more than 10. She is the founder of Azuka Theater in Philadelphia (over 25 years). As a practicing theater artist, Raelle had directed play genres ranging from classical work to interdisciplinary ensembles/presentations.
November 8th, 5:00 p.m., Film Forum
Professional Directions Q&A with Jimmy A. Noriega, Professor of Theatre and Dance, The College of Wooster
This Professional Directions session will explore the current environment for scholar-practitioners from diverse backgrounds, and how socially conscious performance can or should contribute to making a change in the world. Hosted by Debra Castillo, Stephen H. Weiss Presidential Fellow, Emerson Hinchliff Chair of Hispanic Studies, Professor of Comparative Literature, and director of the Cornell Migration Studies minor.
November 9 at 4:30 p.m., Film Forum
Fall Theatre Festival: HumaNatures
HumaNatures is full of surprises, featuring nine actors playing various roles across ten one-act plays. From classic tales to new works of drama, a hilarious, moving, and dynamic look at who we are as a species, what we're not, and where we are going on this wild ride through the universe. HumaNatures features students from PMA 4801 Advanced Studies in Acting Techniques with Theo Black and Raelle Myrick-Hodges directing.
November 11th, 7:30 p.m. & November 12th 2:00 p.m. & 7:30 p.m., Flexible Theatre | Reserve Tickets
Professional Directions: Q&A with Keri Putnam, Co-founder of ReFRAME and former CEO of the Sundance Institute.
Keri Putnam served as CEO of Sundance Institute from 2010-21, where she oversaw the annual Sundance Film Festival as well as the Institute’s extensive array of programs to support and present the work of storytelling artists around the world. Moderated by Jessica Bardsley and Daniel Pfeffer
November 16th, 10:00 a.m., Film Forum
Ghosts (a short film screening)
Ghosts, a short film directed by Jeff Palmer and written by Austin Bunn. Ghosts tells the story of three Kiowa boys' daring escape from a government boarding school in Anadarko, Oklahoma in 1891, to attend a ghost dance ceremony at a distant Kiowa encampment. After being whipped for insubordination and feeling defeated, CHARLES, a rebellious teenager, plans to escape with an unlikely group of partners, the spiritual ZEPH, who has visions of his grandfather and an upcoming ghost dance, which is sweeping across Indian Territory promising the resurrection of their ancestors, and JUDAH, a trickster, who seizes the opportunity to join them and help them flee. Ghosts is an oral history of tribal alliance, resistance, and survival from the degradation of forced assimilation.
November 17th, 5:00 p.m., Film Forum
Baby Rock is a bilingual children's musical adapted from the original Spanish play by Carlos De Matteis. Baby Rock follows the story of a young girl, Anastasia, as she explores the world and learns how to make new friends regardless of language barriers and other differences. The musical uses a combination of rock music, interactive elements, and colorful design to transport the audience into Anastasia's melodic and delightful world!
November 18th, 5:00 p.m., November 19th, 2:00 p.m. & 4:00 p.m. and November 20th, 2:00 p.m., Black Box Theatre | Reserve Tickets
Mini Locally Grown Dance
Mini Locally Grown Dance (MLGD) is PMA's annual fall dance production. This event showcases choreography and performances that PMA students will present in their entirety at the March 2023 Locally Grown Dance. This year's MLGD is four works by faculty, students, and guest artist, Olive Prince.
December 1st, 2nd & 3rd, 7:30 p.m., Class of '56 Dance Studio Theatre (SB10)
Student Film Screening
Students from PMA’s film production courses will screen work. The screenings will include projects from PMA 3570: Film and Video Production I and PMA 4585: Film and Video Production II.
December 9th, 5:00 p.m., Kiplinger Theatre
Environmental Film Production Final Films Screening
Please join us for a screening of final films from the Environmental Film Production course of the Performing and Media Arts Department at Cornell. Student short films range in form and content, exploring ecological questions. At 5:30 we will have snacks and the screening will begin at 6pm.
December 10th, 5:30 p.m., The Soil Factory (610 Elmira Rd, Ithaca, NY)