‘Love and Information,’ a kaleidoscope of quick encounters, searches for meaning in collaborative production
LAWRENCE — Audiences at the University Theatre’s spring season opener will witness a unique performance from within the University of Kansas Department of Theatre & Dance with a script that’s been transformed by students.
In collaboration with their professors during a fall 2022 class, KU students chose the order and setting of over 50 scenes for “Love and Information” by Caryl Churchill. The scenes explore the intersections of belief, knowledge and the search for community. All cast members, as well as some of the creative team members, took the course, which has now morphed into a fully produced production.
It is highly unlikely any two productions of “Love and Information” are alike, and that is by the playwright’s design, according to Jane Barnette, associate professor of theatre, who is directing KU’s production alongside James Moreno, associate professor of dance. “Our course included dramaturgy and scene analysis as well as movement workshops and storyboarding,” Barnette said. “This is an exceptional group of students, representing not just theatre and dance but other majors as well.”
Performances are 7:30 p.m. Feb. 9, 11, 17 and 18 and 2:30 p.m. Feb. 12 and 19 in the William Inge Memorial Theatre at Murphy Hall. Tickets can be reserved at kutheatre.com, by calling 785-864-3982, or in person at noon-5 p.m. weekdays at the Box Office in Murphy Hall.
Among the questions the play asks: How do we know what we know? How do we love without support? Whose truth is the truth in any given relationship? With its fast-moving sequence of scenes, “Love and Information” may feel a little like being part of a social media community, where one sees quick slices of life go by.
“Love and Information” has been lauded for its poetic language. Audiences may relate to the everyday experiences, exploration of memory, and conflict with family and friends, though there are also moments of lightness. The British playwright has been the recipient of multiple Obie Awards for her work and is in the American Theater Hall of Fame.
Two talkbacks are scheduled. A discussion about the show’s scenography, featuring the designers, will follow the performance Feb. 11 in 341 Murphy Hall. A discussion with the cast will follow the performance Feb. 18 in the Inge Theatre.
Barnette is a theatre maker who writes about adaptation dramaturgy. In 2018, she published “Adapturgy: The Dramaturg's Art and Theatrical Adaptation,” the first book of its kind to address the theory and practice of adaptation dramaturgy. In 2014, she and Michael Haverty produced their adaptation of Stephen Crane’s “The Red Badge of Courage” for 7 Stages Theatre in Atlanta. Locally, she most recently directed the regional premiere of “Sycorax” by Susan Gayle Todd in 2019. Barnette teaches undergraduate and graduate courses and serves as head of dramaturgy in the Department of Theatre & Dance.
Moreno is a choreographer and dance studies/performance studies scholar. His current research examines how we use everyday movement techniques to perform our cultural identities and how we position our identities within continuums of authenticity. His ethnographic fieldwork for this research is being conducted in Mexican American communities in Chicago. Interviews from this fieldwork will form the basis of the dance-theatre piece on Mexican American cultural identity scheduled for winter 2023/24. Moreno holds a doctorate in performance studies from Northwestern University and is author of “Dances of José Limon and Erick Hawkins” (Routledge, 2020).
The creative team is rounded out by Rana Esfandiary, assistant professor of design and technology, as scenic designer; Sara Baird, first-year MFA student from Tulsa, Oklahoma, as lighting designer; Kieran Spears, senior in psychology from Lawrence, as sound designer; Hanah Glimpse, a local educator, freelance designer and recent alum of the department, as costume coordinator; Jonah Greene, doctoral student from Fayetteville, Arkansas, as dramaturg; and Kaitlin Nelke, a guest artist from Kansas City, Missouri, as stage manager. In addition, Spears is an ensemble member.
Additional cast members are Zoe Arp, first-year student in political science from Overland Park; Tanner Ashenfelter, sophomore in film production and theatre performance from Camp Verde, Texas; Ashleigh Contos, senior in dance from Castle Rock, Colorado; John Dawkins, senior in film & media studies from Olathe; Rianna DeHart, junior in applied behavioral science and pre-occupational studies from St. Louis; Marissa Gaffen, senior in biotechnology from Tulsa, Oklahoma; Pey Hadley, senior in film & media studies from Shawnee; Brandon Heflin, first-year microbiology and pre-pharmacy student from Olathe; Isabella Lind, senior in theatre performance from Solvang, California; India MacDonald, senior in theatre performance from Topeka; Brad Mathewson, senior in English and theatre, culture & society from Topeka; Jordan Nevels, junior in theatre performance from Overland Park; Caleb Jonathan Parish, senior in theatre performance; Lauren K. Smith, senior in theatre performance from Topeka; and Jonathan Wall, a sophomore in theatre and history from Iola.
The University Theatre and University Dance Company are production wings of KU’s Department of Theatre & Dance, offering five to six public productions throughout the academic year. The University Theatre and University Dance Company productions are funded in part by KU Student Senate fees, and the theatre’s season is supported by Truity Credit Union.
The Department of Theatre & Dance is one of three departments in the School of the Arts. As part of the KU College of Liberal Arts & Sciences, the School of the Arts offers fresh possibilities for collaboration between the arts and the humanities, sciences, social sciences, international and interdisciplinary studies.