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FOR MORE INFORMATION

John Patrick Rice Ph.D. Director of Theatre Great Basin College Phone: 775.327.2249 john.rice@gbcnv.edu

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Great Basin College Theatre

An Iliad Performance at Great Basin College Canceled

Due to unforeseen circumstances, the Friday October 6th Elko performance of An Iliad at Great Basin College Theater has been canceled.

The Saturday October 7th 2-5pm performance and monologue workshop at the GBC Winnemucca campus will still take place. For info about the Winnemucca performance contact Sam Lackey at, sam.lackey@gbcnv.edu.

For all other questions and inquiries contact Great Basin Theater director John Patrick Rice at john.rice@gbcnv.edu or 775-327-2249.

GBC Theatre Program Presents The Tragedy of Macbeth

The Great Basin College Theatre Program will present The Tragedy of Macbeth, by William Shakespeare, Tuesday October 17 through Saturday October 21 at 7:30 each evening. A 2:00 PM matinee performance will held on Saturday, October 21 at 2:00 PM. All admissions are $10. Advance tickets are on sale in the GBC Elko Campus Business Office in Berg Hall, or at the door.

"This is arguably the most innovative and collaborative production of Shakespeare we have ever created," says Great Basin College Theatre Director John Patrick Rice. "Our production integrates the traditions of live Shakespearean theatre with the innovation of modern technology. We are blending live performance with filmed performances on stage."

Rice says he was inspired by Joel Coen's film production of the play with Denzel Washington as Macbeth and Francis McDormand as Lady Macbeth. "It seemed to me that Coen used traditional stage techniques to tell the story in film. We have flipped that concept and are integrating film onto the traditional stage."

Rice has also been inspired by his many collaborators. "I am fortunate to be able to work with Amber Adeline Day, a graduate of Elko High who holds a masters degree in performing arts with an emphasis on film production. Amber is one of the most creative people I have worked with. She brings a joy and energy to our work that is hard to match."

"I'm also thrilled to be working with seasoned GBC actors, some of them GBC alumni, and all of whom are excited about the collaborative nature of this piece of work. One of my objectives as a theatre educator has been to create actors who don't need directors. I think this cast exemplifies the idea of an 'acting company'. Everyone is making equal contributions to the creative process."

Dawn Viola is the cinematographer. "Dawn is the GBC Theatre's technical director and an accomplished theatre artist in her own right. It is her eye that is creating the film work audiences will experience." The Macbeth Company spent two days filming portions of the play in the Stone Wall neighborhood of Pine and Court Streets in downtown Elko using that setting as the battlements of Dunsinane and the Wood of Birnam.

The production has not been limited to Elko students. "Because we filmed portions of the play, students from other GBC campuses came to Elko to participate. We have actors from every corner of rural Nevada."

Rice adapted the script over the summer and the entire story will be told in one-act, in just over an hour. "I'm pleased with the adaptation", Rice said. "I worked with some of my old classmates from graduate school to edit the script to an essential telling of the story without sacrificing any of the audience expectations of Macbeth."

Rice said the editing created a happy accident for student actors. "Shakespeare is challenging no matter what. However, our adaptation allows our actors to concentrate on telling the story with clarity. They get to spend less time memorizing lines, and more time assuring they deliver the story with clarity. They are receiving a valuable academic and artistic experience of Shakespeare, and so will our audiences."

Who We Are and What We Do!

The Great Basin College Theater has been transforming the American Theatre Experience since 1996. As part of the Great Basin College Arts and Letters Department, students and faculty join together for enlightened experiences of fine arts, humanities, English, foreign language and communication. The programs are critical components of every academic and training degree program offered by the college.

GBC Theatre offers courses in acting, oral interpretation, stage voice, movement for the stage, theatre technology, dramatic analysis and more. Special Topic courses are added to the schedule regularly, generally taking advantage of the specific skills GBC Theatre’s many guest artists and instructors can provide. In the past, courses in playwrighting, armature, effects makeup, Suzuki Movement Training, stage combat and comedy improv have been offered.

As the mission of Great Basin College has expanded, so has its reach. The college service area now includes more than half of Nevada’s seventeen counties, covers 80% of Nevada’s geographical area, and serves five percent of the state’s total population. It’s a big state, and Great Basin College intends to educate it. Using state of the art distance learning technologies, students in even the furthest reaches of Nevada will have equitable access to the opportunities higher education has been providing to their urban counterparts for decades. It requires fierce commitment from the college and creates a tremendous opportunity for the entire state of Nevada.

GBC theatre now offers almost all of its courses using distance-learning technologies. By combining traditional theatre teaching techniques with advanced technologies, students are accessing a learning experience with seasoned theatre professionals that heretofore had not even been conceived. And, what’s more, they are being prepared for the theatre of today. Added to other fine arts and humanities courses already offered with distance technologies, and it is easy understand why Great Basin College is recognized as one of the most efficient and innovative colleges in the state.


For More Information Contact

John Patrick Rice Ph.D.
Director of Theatre
Great Basin College
Phone: 775.327.2249
john.rice@gbcnv.edu

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Why Great Basin College

Great Basin College wants to be your choice for higher education. GBC offers associate and baccalaureate level instruction in career and technical education and academic areas. About 4,000 students are enrolled annually online from across the country and on campuses and centers across 86,500 square miles, two time zones, and ten of Nevada's largest counties. We border Arizona, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, and California. We are GBC!

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