The UC Davis Department of Theatre and Dance presents Solo Explorations, four new interdisciplinary works by graduating Master of Fine Arts acting candidates Rebecca Michelle David, Hope Mirlis, Timothy Orr and Christine Samson.

Solo Explorations is the annual performance of second-year MFA actors, acknowledging the creativity of performers, each of whom devises a work from the interplay of their body, a compelling theme and challenging text. Solo Explorations is scheduled to be presented twice: 8 p.m. April 3 and 4 in the Studio Theatre at the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts. Admission is free.

“An actor's process is an extraordinary investigation of ‘self’ and 'other,'” said Jade McCutcheon, MFA acting adviser. “In order to play a character, the actor needs to know their only tool, the self, physically, mentally, emotionally, and as Stanislavsky, one of the great actor trainers of the 20th century would say, spiritually.

"While most of us are gathering some notion of this along life's path, the actor is dedicated to diving deeply into their own being, a little like a 'journey to the centre of the earth.'"

In Titania: A Solo Exploration, Rebecca Michelle David investigates intuition and love. She also explores female power and sexuality, and how they are linked, as well as pagan earth religions and female power. As an actor, Davis is exploring several acting and voice techniques such as Fitzmaurice, Linklater, Laban and the BECs technique. She is interested in creating a powerful, female character who is deeply connected to the earth physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Rebecca also explores Shakespeare's text, particularly the nuances of his imagery and the feel and flow of his poetry and writing.

Hope Mirlis’ When You Hit Your Funny Bone takes on the theories and practice of comedy and laughter. What do we as humans find funny and how does the resulting laughter affect our body? The exploration began with a desire to merge ideas of being a funny person versus a funny performer. Using physical comedy, dictionary definitions, extended laughter, and comedic rants, Hope takes the audience on her own personal humorous journey. Her performance includes live music by Wyatt Hesemeyer of Miss Lonely Hearts.

Timothy Orr’s piece, The Train Station, is an exploration of storytelling through movement alone, rather than text, using a range of performance mediums. His piece explores how physical expression, and lack thereof, in acting enhances audience engagement in a humorous and accessible story-aesthetic.

With Margaret, referring to Shakespeare's Queen Margaret, Christine Samson continues to explore Elizabethan text in modern performance. Margaret's journey of love, passion, power and loss ranges over four of Shakespeare's history plays and 30 years of Margaret's life; Christine's goal is to embody the essence of this journey in her 20-minute solo exploration.

Biographies

Rebecca Michelle David is an actress and playwright, having worked with companies in Portland, Chicago, Los Angeles and the Bay Area. As an actress, she has worked with such companies as Classic Greek Theatre, Miracle Theatre Group, Tears of Joy Theatre and Integrity Productions. Favorite roles include Lysistrata in Lysistrata 3000 (American Demigods), Leann in Piece of My Heart (Integrity), Tosca (dancer) in Tosca (Portland Opera), Mariana in Measure for Measure (UC Davis) and Rebecca-Beatrice in her one-woman show, rise, descend, rise (self-produced). She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in theater with a minor in dance from the University of Oregon, and has trained at RADA’s short summer Shakespeare course in London.

Hope Mirlis is a native New Yorker who spent the past 16 years in Atlanta where she co-founded the theater company Synchronicity Performance Group. Previously at UC Davis she has performed in Rinde Eckert's Fate & Spinoza (as April Lansky), Bathsheba Doran's Nest (as Elizabeth) and John Jasperse’s Beyond Belief. Mirlis teaches Introduction to Acting, Fundamentals of Movement and hip-hop dance. Upcoming projects include playing Aunt Eller in Oklahoma! and leading the helm of The Dada Cabaret, an artistic walking tour and cabaret scheduled for May 16 in downtown Davis.

Timothy Orr has worked with Capital Stage (Sacramento), The Foothill Theatre Company, Sacramento Theatre Company, and the Lake Tahoe, Sierra and Colorado Shakespeare festivals. He is a member of Actors Equity Association. Among his favorite roles are Watson in Dirty Story, Jake in Stones in His Pockets, Dylan Thomas in A Child’s Christmas in Wales, the Duke in Measure for Measure and Frederick Bates in Grinder’s Stand.

Christine Samson has lived and worked in the Sacramento area for 15 years. Originally from British Columbia, she studied acting at Studio 58 and dance at Simon Fraser University before moving south and completing her undergraduate degree at California State University, Sacramento. She has acted in local plays and independent films, and her growing focus on theater education led to the past three years as head of the theater program for the School of the Arts at Sacramento High School.

In 2007, Samson was a member of the Mondavi Center's first Globe Education Academy, and she is now working with the center's Artsbridge scholarship program to develop active approaches to Shakespeare for kindergarten through 12th-grade students. As an ArtsBridge mentor, she develops curriculum and leads educator workshops; in addition, she is continuing to research and develop best practices for non-boring introductions to Shakespeare.

Upon completing her MFA in acting, she plans to continue specializing in theater education, but right now she is delighted to have this time to explore and grow as an artist.

Janice Bisgaard is publicity director for the Department of Theatre and Dance.

AT A GLANCE

WHAT: Solo Explorations, acting thesis presentations by UC Davis Master of Fine Arts candidates

WHEN: 8 p.m. April 3 and 4

WHERE: Studio Theatre, Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts

ADMISSION: Free