LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT STATEMENT
We would like to begin by acknowledging the land on which the University at Buffalo operates, which is the territory of the Seneca Nation, a member of the Haudenosaunee/Six Nations Confederacy. This territory is covered by The Dish with One Spoon Treaty of Peace and Friendship, a pledge to peaceably share and care for the resources around the Great Lakes. It is also covered by the 1794 Treaty of Canandaigua, between the United States Government and the Six Nations Confederacy, which further affirmed Haudenosaunee land rights and sovereignty in the State of New York. Today, this region is still the home to the Haudenosaunee people, and we are grateful for the opportunity to live, work, and share ideas in this territory.

The Intruder is a remarkable play to revisit following a pandemic. Even though the mother’s ailing is linked to troubles from child-birth, her illness weighs heavily on the household. The uncle’s declaration: “When once illness has come into a house, it is as though a stranger had forced himself into the family circle,” reveals a disruption in the experience of daily life; the family is forced out of sync with the clock-time presented in their home. As a theatrical event, the passage of time is already made strange, but in watching the family wait, we too must wait alongside them. We are asked by the play if we should trust our eyes or intuition, as Maeterlinck’s use of symbols and sounds encourages an anxiety for the ever-approaching intrusion of the spectral stranger into the family home. The student cast for this show has been wonderful to work with as we’ve explored the presentation of horror through Maeterlinck’s drama, and has helped shape the production’s thoughts about illness, somatic bodies, and time as they appear in the play.

Ian Downes (any pronouns) is a playwright and PhD candidate hailing from Auburn, Alabama. Marking their fourth year at the University at Buffalo, this production has served as an excellent opportunity to perform a practice as research style investigation for their dissertation exploring theatrical horror and queer temporality. As such, if you have thoughts to put into words, they’d be happy to chat about the experience of the production.

Light Board and Sound Board Operator: Elisabetta Antonacci
Props Warehouse Manager: Gina Boccolucci
Assistant Costume Shop Manager: Cindy Darling
Lighting Rep Plot Design: Nicholas Quinn
Costume Shop Manager: Zechariah Saenz
Production Photographer: Ken Smith
Senior Staff Assistant/House Management: Tom Tucker

Department Chair: Eero Laine
Associate Chair/Producing Director: Lynne Koscielniak
Production Manager: Rick Haug
Assistant Production Manager: Ally Hasselback
Department Administrators: Rachel Olszewski, Veronica Sedota
Senior Staff Assistant: Rob Falgiano
Administrative Assistant: Kristin Mann

The UB Department of Theatre and Dance is a proud member of the UB College of Arts and Sciences.

With a firm commitment to the advancement of creative research, experiential learning, and community engagement, the UBTHD 2023-2024 Production Season is administered by the Department of Theatre and Dance. We acknowledge our full faculty and staff for their part in preparing students for work on stage and behind the scenes.

We thank UB Center for the Arts for their support in making these productions possible.

UB Theatre and Dance wishes to acknowledge the generous continued philanthropic support of Fox Run at Orchard Park, an official contributing sponsor of the UBTHD 2023-2024 season.

Our season of programming is also made possible by ticket purchases and donations from patrons like you. To further support our work, we invite you to join our donor wall.