The University of Virginia’s Department of Drama reunites student and professor as UVA Alumna and playwright Samantha Macher works in residency with Professor Doug Grissom, who will direct the play.
The critically acclaimed, The Arctic Circle (and a recipe for Swedish pancakes), will take audience members through time and space, and even to Sweden, as a young woman reexamines past relationships to find the source of her marital troubles. Unable to find what she is looking for, she must instead search inside of herself for clear answers. This sharp and witty Brechtian comedy is sure to please all audiences.
The Arctic Circle (and a recipe for Swedish pancakes) will be presented at the Helms Theatre March 31, April 1-April 2 and April 7-9 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $14 for adults, $12 for Seniors, UVA faculty, staff and UVA Alumni Association members, and $8 for students. Tickets are available online at www.artsboxoffice.virginia.edu, by calling 434-924-3376 or in-person from noon until 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday at the UVA Arts Box Office, located in the lobby of the Drama building. Full-time UVA students may receive one free ticket if reserved at least 24 hours in advance of their desired show date.
Macher received her B.A. at UVA before completing her M.F.A. at the Playwright’s Lab at Hollins University. Since beginning her career in 2011, she has had over 40 productions of her written work both in the U.S. and abroad, and is the winner of a StageSceneLA “Best World Premiere Play” for War Bride in 2012. Her play Reset was a semi-finalist for the Princess Grace Playwriting Award (2015), and her award-winning film Last Pyramid (2015) was accepted into several festivals and has helped in the fundraising and awareness raising efforts for the mission of the Epilepsy Foundation. She has worked in residency over the course of this production in collaboration with the UVA Department of Drama to revisit and revise the show for this spring’s performance.
“Revisiting this play which I wrote almost 7 years ago now, has allowed me a rare chance to give Elin a richer story, and the world around her more life, humor, and even sweetness that didn't exist before,” Macher said. “This journey back in time has been a lot of fun and the chance to make the "past" a little better has been invaluable to the script, and powerful for me as an artist as well. I hope that it will be an evening well spent for the audience, that the months of hard work will be worth it for the cast and crew, and that this show will be one of many alumni-faculty-student collaborations in the future. I also hope that it is fun for everyone involved, especially for the actors, the designers, the director, and the crew. If they're having fun, the audience will connect to the work, and take away fond memories of a good experience.”
Free parking for all UVA Drama performances is available at the Culbreth Road Parking Garage, conveniently located alongside the theaters.