2023 Faculty Creative Work Highlights

This is our second feature about UB Theatre and Dance faculty creative work in 2023, which was plentiful. Congratulations once more to our talented faculty.  

Clinical Assistant Professor of Theatre James Beaudry kept busy during the 2023 summer break, directing The 39 Steps for Timber Lake Playhouse in the woods of Mt. Carroll, IL, from June 15–25, 2023. www.timberlakeplayhouse.org “Mix a Hitchcock masterpiece with a juicy spy novel, add a dash of Monty Python and you have The 39 Steps, a fast-paced whodunit for anyone who loves the magic of theatre! This two-time Tony and Drama Desk Award-winning treat is packed with nonstop laughs, over 150 zany characters (played by a ridiculously talented cast of four), an onstage plane crash, handcuffs, missing fingers, and some good old-fashioned romance!” Coincidentally, The 39 Steps will be the first show of THD’s spring 2024 season, directed by Moth Medina for the Student Directed Series.

Beaudry also served as Company Manager for New York Stage and Film’s 2023 Summer Season, which ran from July 14–August 6, 2023. www.newyorkstageandfilm.org Based in New York City, “New York Stage and Film is a not-for-profit company dedicated to both emerging and established artists in the development and production of theater and film by creating community, supporting process, and uplifting original artistic voices. Since 1985, we’ve been a vital incubator for artists and their work, a catalyst for stories that start with us and continue across the country and around the world. Through this work, NYSAF has established itself as a vital cultural institution for residents of the Hudson Valley and the New York metropolitan region.”

Clinical Assistant Professor of Theatre Zechariah Saenz lent his talents to several theatrical productions, both in Buffalo and Naples, NY. He was Costume Designer for Little Women: The Musical. at Bristol Valley Theatre for their July 20^th - 29^th run (https://www.bvtnaples.org) as well as D’Youville Kavinoky Theatre’s fall 2023 production of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. https://www.kavinokytheatre.com/rocky-horror-show  

Saenz was also Costume Design for Irish Classical Theatre’s production of Master Harold and the Boys which completed its two week run in downtown Buffalo last month. https://irishclassical.com/master-harold-and-the-boys/  He is also the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival’s current Response Coordinator for New York (https://kcactf2.org/about-us/). Per its website, “The Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival (KCACTF) is a national organization that exists to celebrate the educational and creative process of university and college theatre. KCACTF promotes professional standards and provides students and faculty with opportunities to bridge the academic and professional worlds. KCACTF honors achievements in diversity and excellence and encourages experiences in all areas of theatre.”