International Theatre Program Presents 'Overture to a Thursday Morning'
The University of Rochester International Theatre Program will present Rochester alumna Kali Quinn's Overture to a Thursday Morning, an original solo performance that deals with the struggles of three generations of women living in western New York. The production will take place April 18 and 19 at Todd Theatre on the University's River Campus.
Artistic Director Nigel Maister says, "Kali brings her customary grace, whimsy, and beautifully calibrated performance skills to the piece," and describes Overture as "funny, moving, and filled with the delight of performance, storytelling, and memory."
In this, her latest solo work, Quinn plays Lila, an idealistic figure with rock star aspirations, who discovers unexpected information about her birth. The juxtaposition of 1950s nostalgia, visual poetry, and strong emotions are all explored through live musical composition, physical tragic comedy, and interactions with the domestic setting. Overture to a Thursday Morning offers suspense and inspiration as the characters deal with their family conflicts and loyalties.
Quinn, a 2003 Rochester alumna, is in residence with Rochester's International Theatre Program as the movement coach for the program's spring production of The Winter's Tale. "It's amazing to be back working closely with the students on their performance and now be able to share my work with them," says Quinn. She has taught and designed movement for The Pearl Theatre Company Off-Broadway, Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble, New England Circus Center, New England Youth Theater, and Grupo Galpao in Brazil. While a student at Rochester, Quinn appeared in International Theatre productions of The Iliad, The Grapes of Wrath, Closer, Hamlet, and Six Characters in Search of an Author.
Quinn has her Master of Fine Arts from the Dell'Arte School of Physical Theater in Northern California and has performed with Padua Playwrights of Los Angeles, PushPush Theatre of Atlanta, Clowns Without Borders in Guatemala, and in New York at the New York International Clown Festival, HERE Arts Center, and PS 122. She also serves on the Board of the Network of Ensemble Theaters and works as the program and marketing coordinator for Accademia Dell'Arte in Arezzo, Italy.
Performances of Overture to a Thursday Morning will take place Monday, April 18, and Tuesday, April 19, at 7 p.m. Tickets are $10 for the general public and $5 for Rochester students. Tickets may be purchased an hour before each performance at the Todd Theatre box office. The performance is approximately one hour and will be followed by a discussion. For more information, visit http://www.rochester.edu/college/eng/theatre/.