The IUP Dance Theater, in collaboration with music faculty at Indiana University of Pennsylvania, will present The Phantasmagoria of Edgar Allan Poe. The production will run November 13 and 15 at 7:00 p.m and will be streamed live from Zink Dance Auditorium.
Often described as a self-destructive, melancholic madman and usually dressed in black, Edgar Allan Poe was the star of American literature in the 1830s and 1840s. Throughout his career, beginning with his dismissal from the West Point Military Academy, he was surrounded by controversy.
On October 3, 1849, Poe was found delirious on the streets of Baltimore, “in great distress and in need of immediate assistance.” He died four days later at Washington Medical College. The controversial details of his life and death were made to appear even more bizarre and scandalous by the publication of an unflattering obituary written by his long-time frenemy, Rufus Griswold.
Using some of Poe's poems and short stories, with original composition from David Martynuik, IUP Dance Theater, under the direction and choreography of Holly Boda-Sutton, explores the still unexplained life and death of one of America's most singular writers.
This production features the talents of professors from the Department of Music: Therese Wacker, Rosemary Engelstad, James Flowers, David Ferguson, Christian Dickinson, Zach Collins, Evan Engelstad, and Michael Kingan. Also featured are the creative talents of Scenic/Lighting Designer Brian Jones and Costume Designer Nancy Pipkin-Hutchinson.
The free performance will be live-streamed through the following links:
Friday, Nov. 13:
Sunday, Nov. 15:
IUP Dance Theater is produced by the Department of Theatre, Dance, and Performance and the College of Fine Arts. It is funded, in part, by the IUP Student Cooperative Association. The Lively Arts, a program of the College of Fine Arts, presents nearly 200 performances, programs, and exhibits annually.