Press Release

Naropa University's MFA Theater Contemporary Performance Program:
"Where the Post Modern Conservatory Meets the Contemplative Tradition"

Meredith Monk/The House Company Residency at Naropa University Culminates in Open Studio Repertory Showing

First in a Series of Distinguished Performances

BOULDER, Colo. (January 20, 2005) -- Naropa University (Boulder, Colo.) announced that 17 first-year Master of Fine Arts (MFA) Contemporary Performance students will show work developed during a three-week residency with renowned Meredith Monk/The House Company members Pablo Vela, Paul Langland and Katie Geissinger on Friday, January 28, 2005, at 7:00 p.m. at the Naropa University Nalanda Campus, 6230 Arapahoe, Boulder, in the MFA Studio Theatre. Admission is free to the public. Because seating is limited, reservations are recommended but not mandatory. Members of the public may reserve seats by calling the MFA office at 303-546-3519.

The evening will include selected company repertory, performed by the MFA students, drawn from Monk's groundbreaking works "Chacone," "Quarry" and "Atlas: An Opera in Three Parts." Students and Company members will also perform original work developed collaboratively during the residency. Technical direction and design is by Pam Traynor.

This residency marks a reunion between Naropa University and Meredith Monk. Ms Monk, an early and significant contributor to Naropa's legacy as a home for America's avante garde, is a composer, singer, director/choreographer, creator of new opera and musical theater works, film, and installation. Monk is considered a pioneer of what is now called "extended vocal technique" and "interdisciplinary performance." Biographies of Meredith Monk/The House Company members in residence can be found at http://www.naropa.edu/mfatheater/Monkbios.html.

The Naropa University MFA Theater program in Contemporary Performance has immediately taken its place, in its first year, as a visionary training program, attracting an ensemble of professional artists and a faculty that includes some of the best known and most important innovators of new techniques, aesthetics and theater education developed during the past 25 years. The program is devoted to innovative research and rigorous conservatory-style training, supported by Naropa University's unique commitment to contemplative education. The MFA Theater Program in Contemporary Performance presents both reinvented classics and provocative original work, furthering the reintegration of theater, dance and music.

In addition to The House Company, visiting faculty and associated companies for 2004-2006 include Moises Kaufman and the Tectonic Theater Project, creators of The Laramie Project; and Anne Bogart's SITI Company. The MFA's artistic director and chair is Wendell Beavers, who joined the Naropa University faculty as director of Graduate Theater in 2003. Beavers was a founding faculty member and early director of NYU's Experimental Theater Wing, where he taught from 1978-2002.

The dates for upcoming programs include February 18; March 15, 16 and 17; March 18; and April 30 - May 7, 2005. For more information on upcoming performances, visit http://www.naropa.edu/mfatheater/Theaterschedule.html.

For more information, contact Wendell Beavers, director of Graduate Theater, at wbeavers@naropa.edu or 303-245-4640, or Maiya Murphy, administrative director of Graduate Theater, at mmurphy@naropa.edu or 303-546-3519.

Naropa University is a private, non-profit, non-sectarian liberal arts institution whose core mission is contemplative education. Contemplative education is an approach to learning that integrates the best of Eastern and Western educational traditions, creating and implementing a new paradigm in higher education. This model seeks to help students know themselves deeply so that they can engage constructively in a world of individuals who are not like themselves. The university comprises a four year undergraduate college and graduate programs in the arts, education, environmental studies, psychology, religious studies, and creation spirituality. It offers BA, BFA, MA, MFA, MDiv and MLA degrees, as well as professional development training and classes for the community through its School of Extended Studies. In addition, the university runs study abroad programs in Sikkim, North India and Prague, Czech Republic. For more information, visit www.naropa.edu.

Contact:

Jane Rubinstein
Manager, Public Relations
Naropa University
PH 303-245-4643
FAX 303-245-4676
Jrubinstein@naropa.edu