The Department of Theatre and Dance presents Solo Explorations, featuring Master of Fine Arts candidates in acting, today (April 2) and April 3. Admission is free.

Solo Explorations is an annual production by graduating MFA candidates, acknowledging the creativity by which each of them devises a solo work from the interplay of his or her body, a compelling theme and challenging text.

Solo Explorations this year comprises four works, presented back to back at each show. See At a Glance below for details.

The actors and their works, with biographical information as well:

• Amy Louise Cole — In her solo piece, Music, While Drowning, Cole combines contemporary actor training with the performance aesthetic of German Expressionism (from the early part of the 20th century), translating that aesthetic (often symbolized by abstract shapes and images, as created by the actors’ bodies, and their expansive and rhapsodic conveyance of text, onto the contemporary actor’s body.

Cole has been acting, directing, producing and teaching professionally in the Bay Area for more than a decade. She co-founded El Gato Theatre in San Francisco and has worked with TheatreWorks, San Francisco Shakespeare Festival and 42nd Street Moon, among other companies.

At UC Davis, she has appeared as Polina in The Seagull and Goram in #5 Angry Red Drum.

Cole plans to move to Berlin in August to continue her investigation of German theatre and devised performance.

• Brett Duggan — Black Out: A Dark Comedy is a character study of the alcoholic personality, in this case a librettist searching for answers. The piece plays with transformation of characters through the embodiment of famous, infamous and anonymous dipsomaniacs.

Duggan, who received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Emerson College, is an actor, comedian, musician and director, with a resume that includes productions in Boston, New York, San Francisco and Davis.

He just completed his fifth show at UC Davis, as Shamrayev in The Seagull. Previously, he appeared in Private Eyes (as Frank), Oklahoma! (Judd), The Winter’s Tale (Leontes) and Nest (Mr. Drumble).

• James Marchbanks — The Art of Everyday Life, aimed at bridging the gap between the performer and the spectator.

At UC Davis, Marchbanks has performed in tribes: the unified field, Elephant’s Graveyard and The Island (as Winston). Marchbanks played Lt. Shrank in West Side Story at Sonoma State University.

• Anne Reeder — Cigarettes and Milk, a physical theatre piece in which the audience meets a woman at the culmination of a personal struggle between her need for control and her desire for chaos. In this physical theater piece, Anne uses Laban movement technique to investigate and create the character through the actor’s body.

Reeder received a Bachelor of Arts degree in theatre studies (with concentrations in acting and dance) from Emerson College, then moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in acting and production. Her credits include Brotherhood (Showtime), The Bold and the Beautiful (CBS Television) and The Art of Being Straight (Great Graffiti Films).

While at UC Davis, she has performed in The Seagull (as Masha), Private Eyes, Elephant’s Graveyard and Beyond Belief.

Reporting by Janice Bisgaard, publicity manager for the Department of Theatre and Dance.

AT A GLANCE

WHAT: Solo Explorations

WHEN: 8 p.m. April 2 and 3 (the March 19 printed version of Dateline gave incorrect dates for Solo Explorations)

WHERE: Arena Theatre, Wright Hall

ADMISSION: Free

More from the Department of Theatre and Dance: Main Stage Dance-Theatre Festival, April 9-18