The Dragon

press release: What does fear look like when you aren’t allowed to show it? Isn’t the monster you know better than the monster you don’t? Set in a sleepy hamlet in a far off land, The Dragon is a story about what happens when a hero shows up to save a town from a monster when the people don’t want to be saved. What is a professional hero to do when he can’t rescue these villagers from themselves? This hilarious and action-packed adventure also features a singing chatterbox of a mayor, a cat with an iPhone and a village full of eccentric citizens who are all deeply devoted to their one and only Dragon.

Based on the Russian fairytale by Evgenii Shvarts, “The Dragon” is adapted and directed by Jen Plants, Senior Lecturer, Interdisciplinary Theatre Studies & Creative Writing (Department of English) as part of a class overseen by Manon van de Water, Vilas-Phipps Distinguished Achievement Professor; Chair of Department of German, Nordic, and Slavic; and Director of Theatre for Youth for the Interdisciplinary Theatre Studies Program. Including both graduate and undergraduate students, the performance ensemble and creative team come from various departments across the Humanities.

Performances will be at the Frederic March Play Circle in Memorial Union, 800 Langdon St. Madison, WI 53706 on October 25^th, 26^th, 27^th and 28^th at 7:30 PM with a preview performance on October 21^st at 7:30 PM and matinee performances on October 29^th and 30^th at 2:00 PM.  The performance is recommended for audiences ages 10 and up. Tickets are available from the Campus Arts Ticketing Box Office online or call (608) 265-ARTS. Tickets are $5 for all students of all institutions with a  student ID, and $10 for general public.  General public can bring a child for free.  Tickets will go on sale 3 Oct at 11:30am!  Promo code is Dragers for adult bringing a free child!

This production is sponsored by the Theatre and Drama Graduate Student Organization (TDGSO), the Interdisciplinary Theatre Studies (ITS) Program, the Department of German, Nordic, and Slavic (GNS), the Center for Russia, East Europe, and Central Asia (CREECA), the Ira and Ineva Reilly Baldwin Wisconsin Idea Endowment, and the Taliesin Preservation. As part of the Wisconsin Idea and supported by the Baldwin Endowment, free performances of The Dragon will be given for area school audiences in Frank Lloyd Wright’s Hillside Theatre at Taliesin on November 2, 3, 4, and 7 at 9:30. Please contact Mollie Cahill at cahill4@wisc.edu or visit uwmadisontfy.com for more information about this production of “The Dragon.” For information about the Taliesin performances, contact Caroline Hamblen, chamblen@taliesinpreservation.org.