Theatre and Dance Department to perform ‘In the Beginning, God Created Difference’

- April 18, 2016
Cal State East Bay’s Department of Theatre and Dance will present “In the Beginning, God Created Difference” on April 29-30 and May 6-7 at 8 p.m. at the University Theatre on the Hayward campus. A matinee performance of the show, which is directed by Assistant Professor of Dance Eric Kupers, will be held May 8 at 2 p.m. Tickets are on sale at the Pioneer Bookstore and are also available online at .
“In the Beginning, God Created Difference” is a dance/theater/music performance that represents the culmination of more than three years of in-depth exploration with the Cal State East Bay Inclusive Interdisciplinary Ensemble (IIE) and other guest artists.
“Director Eric Kupers has woven together a non-linear journey through creation from multiple perspectives at once, examining who we are as human beings, why we are alive, and how we connect to our ancestors, each other and future generations,” said Sierra Dee, instructional support assistant for CSUEB’s Department of Theatre and Dance. “The production is based on creation myths from diverse cultures, along with personal creation stories, vocal compositions by Ysaye Maria Barnwell, and dance and music created collaboratively by all the artists involved in the production.”
“In the Beginning, God Created Difference” incorporates IIE, which brings together CSUEB students, alumni, community members and professional performing artists to experiment with methods for embracing diversity through the performing arts. This year, IIE has added two components to this particular production:
- DanceSing Drum Company, which gathers the IIE participants’ performance experience to engage in a more intricate and fast-moving sequence of images, stories, sounds and movement.
- Creativity Lab, which gathers IIE participants on the autism spectrum and their allies who are not drawn to performing but want to focus on visual arts, writing and behind-the-scenes technical skills.
The performance will also feature guest artists Masashiro Fukuizumi (Taiko drumming composer and instructor), Caitlin Tabancay-Austin (vocal teacher and choral director) and Corissa “Reese” Johnson (guest choreographer and alumna).
For more information about the production, call Cal State East Bay’s Department of Theatre and Dance at (510) 885-3118, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Tickets are on sale online and at the Pioneer Bookstore, and will be available at the University Theatre box office one hour before show time. The box office accepts cash, Visa and MasterCard credit and debit cards, and checks made out to CSUEB.