River Campus

“The Romantic Movement” is a new play by Emily Bohannon and the winner of the first-annual Lanford Wilson New American Play Festival in 2021. The cast performed the first fully-staged production at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 27, at the Rust Flexible Theatre at the River Campus, with subsequent performances April 28, 29 and 30. The play will have its final show at 2 p.m. May 1.

The annual “Spring into Dance” recital opened with their first performance at 7:30 p.m. April 7 in the Donald C. Bedell Performance Hall at Southeast’s River Campus.

Tonight’s Odyssey concert in the Shuck Music Recital Hall at the River Campus is postponed due to an unavoidable illness according to the SEMO Horn Studio on Facebook.

The Southeast River Campus will host the annual Spring into Dance performance April 7 through 10. The dance will be directed by associate professor and coordinator of dance Hilary Peterson. Dancers will perform to a variety of music.

Faculty from the Department of Music showcased music in “Chamber Music with Voice” on Sunday, March 27. The performance was part of the Sundays at Three series at Shuck Music Recital Hall at Southeast’s River Campus.

The Southeast Wind Symphony performed the Mardi Gras Wind Symphony Concert at 7:30 p.m. March 1 at the River Campus. Symphony conductor Jim Daughters said he was surprised at the audience turnout for the show.

Making an audience believe in magic for a night is no easy task, but Southeast’s River Campus is ready to take on the challenge. The Dobbins Conservatory of Theatre and Dance is presenting Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella at 7:30 p.m. from Feb. 16-19 and at 2 p.m. Feb. 20.

Behind every acting performance is a story, and the story is often as important as the performance itself. Southeast’s Conservatory of Theatre and Dance presented the musical “Guys and Dolls” from Wednesday, Sept. 29, through Sunday, Oct. 3. The musical was set in 1930s New York and follows the rocky story of two couples: Nathan Detroit and Miss Adelaide, and Sergeant Sarah Brown and Sky Masterson. ...

Southeast’s River Campus selected a winner from the inaugural River Campus Lanford Wilson New American Play Festival. The Lanford Wilson New American Play Festival closed out the week of playwright festivities with performances, a panel discussion and an awards ceremony during the eighth annual Summer Arts Festival Saturday, June 19...

The Langford Wilson New American Play Festival took place at Southeast’s River Campus location as part of the 2021 Summer Arts Festival. This was the first year playwriting was featured in the annual festival. More than 750 play submissions were sent in from playwrights around the country, and a panel of 35 judges narrowed the selection down to the five that were performed in live readings. ...

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As the student dancers waiting behind the stage’s curtain prepared themselves to showcase their talents, a hum of excitement buzzed in the audience. The dancers amped up for the feature piece by a special guest choreographer, Joshua Blake Carter, for the annual Spring Into Dance performance in the Bedell Performance Hall of Southeast’s River Campus on April 8.

From dance studios to art exhibits, Southeast’s River Campus is home to many performance halls and galleries. SEMO is one of the only universities in Missouri to have a separate campus dedicated to the arts. The need for a variety of classrooms, studios and performance halls is necessary due to the wide range of art majors utilizing River Campus.

It was a d’obriy dyen (good day) on March 24 at the Crisp Museum when Barb Duncan taught pysanky, a Ukrainian egg decorating class, titled “Creating an Amazing Painting on a Very Small Canvas, an Egg.”

River Campus students continue to fight adversity through the deletion of the Bachelor of Fine Arts Dance option and the limitations the pandemic places on performances.

River Campus students have inspirations that led them to choose their path, which includes certain music. Musicals like “Wicked” or “Godspell”, or songs like “Colors of the wind”. Those works were made by Stephen Schwartz. On Feb. 18, the world premiere of “Unlimited: The Music and Lyrics of Stephen Schwartz” occurred at the River Campus.

An upcoming, special event is coming to SEMO in February. Released to the public for the first time, River Campus is hosting the world premiere of the first revue and celebration of Stephen Schwartz.

The prioritization process at Southeast has left some students disappointed after 27 majors and minors were recommended to be deleted.

Southeast students from the Jeanine Larson Dobbins Conservatory of Theatre and Dance presented their skills in a multitude of dance styles at the annual Fall For Dance production at the River Campus. The event kicked off Nov. 19 and ran through Nov. 22.

The Crisp Museum’s Family Day event offered a little something for everyone, featuring make-and-take activities as well as museum exhibits for the Southeast community to enjoy Nov. 7.

The Southeast community gathered at the Crisp Museum Saturday, Oct. 31, to celebrate Halloween together, participating in a scavenger hunt, pumpkin carving and making paper decorations.

Gary Tyler, outreach specialist at Crisp Museum, organized a hands-on Halloween Paper Model event for the public Oct. 10. The event allowed participants to create a festive paper model to kick off the spooky season.

The Rosemary Berkel and Harry L. Crisp Museum held its third annual Heritage Day event Saturday, Oct. 3.

Performers from the Jeanine Larson Dobbins Conservatory of Theatre and Dance presented “9 to 5” from Oct. 1 to Oct. 4. Social distancing guidelines presented some challenges with putting on the production.

As part of the annual First Friday events, the Crisp Museum held a take-and-make event for visitors on Sept. 4.

The one-night event was held August 29 as part of the Engage in 8 event calendar series.

The Dobbins Conservatory of Theatre and Dance will transport you to a courtroom in purgatory with the Second Stage Series “The Last Days of Judas Iscariot” from March 5 through 8.

Bedell Performance Hall was transformed into the fictional kingdom of Duloc during the run of “Shrek:the Musical” Feb. 19 through 23.

To make Family Day special, Crisp Museum provided a free event for visitors to come and enjoy a few hours of folktales, crafts, and music on Saturday, Nov. 9.

Southeast welcomed back alumnus Nick Cutelli for Homecoming weekend with the opportunity to teach a theater master class at Southeast River Campus on Oct. 25.

Southeast’s River Campus went back in time with the adaption of “Ain’t Misbehavin’” at Rust Flexible Theatre on Oct. 10 through 13.

After months of preparation, rehearsal and practice, students at the River Campus premiered their adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Othello on April 24. The tragic downfall of the Venetian general was adapted to fit director Bart Williams’ vision to add more complexities within the play...

Southeast students had the opportunity to present their sculptures, paintings and drawings at the annual Juried Student Exhibition at Rosemary Berkel and Harry L. Crisp II Museum opened April 5. This year’s exhibition is called “Exhibiting Excellence,” and showcases works created by the students over the past year. Awards are given to the students for their use of color, three-dimensional design, drawing, painting, fibers, graphic design, digital art, printmaking, ceramics and sculpture...

Faces Not Forgotten Project showcased quilt portraits of children, all under the age of 20 from St. Louis, who have died in a result of gun violence at Catapult Creative House on Friday, Apr. 5. The Project was started by artist Christine Ilweski, who suffered a personal loss to gun violence which provoked a passion to devote other artists and herself to put a face to the young victims...

The Jeanine Larson Dobbins Conservatory of Theatre and Dance’s annual Spring into Dance performances saw many student dancers step out of their comfort zones by taking on different forms of dance. Performances were held April 4 to 7 in the Donald C. Bedell Performance Hall on Southeast’s River Campus...

Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the first man on the moon was the focus of Crisp Museum’s Historic Talk, Tuesday, April 2, at Southeast River Campus. The talk was led by Gary Tyler, who has been an outreach specialist at the museum for 11 years. As an outreach specialist, Tyler operates The Southeast Explorer, a mobile museum that provides Crisp Museum education to local schools. Along with presenting the exhibits, Tyler also distributes supplementary teaching materials to teachers...

On April 7 Jacqueline Wilson, bassoonist and assistant professor of double reeds, played alongside pianist Yoko Kato in her recital called Gathering of Nations: Works for Bassoon by Native American Composers In addition to being an accomplished musician, Wilson is someone who puts an emphasis on building a lasting and strong relationship with her music students...

Southeast students had the opportunity to present their sculptures, paintings and drawings at the annual Juried Student Exhibition at Rosemary Berkel and Harry L. Crisp II Museum opened April 5. This year’s exhibition is called “Exhibiting Excellence,”and showcases works created by the students over the past year. Awards are given to the students for their use of color, three-dimensional design, drawing, painting, fibers, graphic design, digital art, printmaking, ceramics and sculpture...

River Campus students have been busy the past few months with back-to-back theatre showcases. The upcoming show, “Othello,”is premiering April 24 at the River Campus. The play follows the tragic downfall of Othello, a Moor and a mercenary who becomes a general of the Venetian armies during the time of the Italian Renaissance. The play has been taught in schools for decades for its prominent themes of love, jealousy, deceit and race...

Southeast’s dance, mass communication and theater majors presented a showcase tributing minority students on campus called the HCAM Bridges on Feb. 28 at Shuck Recital Hall on the River Campus. To start of the event, trombonist Joseph L. Jefferson, pianist Josh Harvey, and cajonist Liam Ohlendorf played a piece called “Footsteps” by Wayne Shorter...

Southeast Holland College of Arts and Media is presenting a dance, music, and theatre showcase called, the HCAM Bridges, on Feb. 28 at Shuck Recital Hall on the River Campus The month of February is the celebration of Black History Month, and March is Women’s History Month — this showcase is a tribute to both forms of diversity from minority students on campus...

The cast and director of “Sister Act” hope to entertain audiences during six performances of the show Feb. 20 to 24 at Bedell Performance Hall on River Campus. Director Kenneth Stilson said such a big production is demanding “It takes months and months to prepare a production like this, as much as nine months ahead of time, and it gets intense the closer the time gets to perform,” he said...

Southeast students in the music department were in for a weekend filled with jazz, Feb. 1 and 2, as they got the chance to learn jazz concepts directly from renowned composer and arranger Mike Tomaro at the River Campus. Four sessions were held in total, two on Friday and two on Saturday. The attendees comprised mostly of high school students from 27 high schools in the surrounding region and St. Louis...

Twenty-five students and members of the community met with the director of Percussion Dr. Shane Mizicko at the Dobbins Center music ensemble rehearsal studio to participate in a drum circle on Jan. 29. The drum circle is new to the university and it started in the fall he said...

The short film “Ivy” took just over a month to create from start to finish, it required long nights and hard work and some dangerous and suspenseful moments — and it recently won Best Drama at the Fault Line Film Festival on Nov. 9. The four-day festival gives Midwest collegiate filmmakers the opportunity to showcase their talent. Senior TV & film major Brady McDowell, who worked on the film, said Fault Line is an opportunity for exposure and festival experience against intense competition...

Madison Ellers is a young artist who is using her work to express her body image issues in hopes of helping others. The Chicago area native was Catapult Creative House Student Studios’ Artist of the Month. The work shown in the exhibit called, “Among the Flowers,”: is a visual representation of the deep struggles she had with her body image...

Chicago native Francesca Bucci, a junior and double major in acting and public relations, never stops. She recently celebrated her 21st birthday on stage for the opening of “Our Town” as a leading role — the first of her career. Her first semester she was enrolled in 17 credit hours, cast in a supporting role and joined the Alpha Delta Pi sorority...

The Percussion Ensemble performed in their fall concert Tuesday, Oct. 23, featuring both ensemble and chamber music. Southeast junior Alisah Coots, majoring in music education, played in seven out of eight of the songs, mostly on the marimba. Coots was one of three women in the ensemble, but the only woman who played in the majority of the songs...

The Southeast Symphony Orchestra filled the Bedell Music Hall with music from Howard Hanson and George Gershwin and featured pianist Jennifer Lim Judd on a jazzy rhapsody. The performance on Tuesday, Oct. 9 was the Gala Season Opener in which Judd accompanied the orchestra in “Rhapsody in Blue,” a well-known piece by Gershwin...

“She Kills Monsters" a story about Agnes Evans a women who has lost her sister and finds a notebook that leads her to play a character in a Dungeons and Dragons style game was put on entirely by students at the River Campus on Sept. 20-21. About forty to fifty people were pack in the directing studio at the Dobbins River Campus Center where the play was held...

With a rock band on stage and elaborate lighting, the Southeast Conservatory of Theatre and Dance will present “Jesus Christ Superstar” later this month at the River Campus. Director Mac McIntosh said he hopes the 1970s rock opera, written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, gets the audience dancing, clapping and rocking along since it is essentially a “giant rock concert.”...

“You are all fearless,” Tyla Abercrumbie, guest director for Southeast’s production of “A Raisin in the Sun,” said to the cast as opening night came to a close. For the past five weeks, cast members have been perfecting their retelling of the 1959 play, the story of the Lee family, who face a hard decision during hard times in 1950s Chicago...

'Spring into Dance' premiered at River Campus April 4. The dance department's annual production is driven by aerial dance, thematic drama and good music.

“It’s hard to believe that once I could hardly climb the silks, and now it feels like I’m flying" —freshman dancer Marissa Johnson

Dreams do come true. An original River Campus production is one step closer to Broadway.

Southeast’s production of “Mary Poppins” took the box office by storm last week, becoming the best selling musical in the history of the theatre and dance department. "I was surprised at how successful it was, but I’m not surprised it was very successful,” said director Kenn Stilson. “[Mary Poppins] is the highest grossing musical that we have ever produced in the Conservatory of Theatre and Dance. It’s even the highest grossing show that has ever come through the River Campus.”...

Renowned Ghanian-American pianist William Chapman Nyaho performed a recital of compositions from Africa and of African descent at the Shuck Recital Hall on Southeast’s River Campus on Feb. 18. The concert featured compositions by composers of African descent from the 19th and 20th century. Before each piece, Nyaho gave a brief introduction, filled with the history of the composition, and small lessons in rhythm for the audience...

Southeast's production of Cameron Mackintosh's Mary Poppins will bring magic to the stage.

When the curtains opened at Bedell Hall for the River Campus’ first production of the spring semester, the audience was greeted with a familiar scene: Cinderella scrubbing the floors earnestly. The performance that followed though was charmingly removed from Disney’s version of the timeless fairy tale...

Southeast’s Department of Music will soon bring life to an iconic family-friendly fairytale through opera. Pauline Viardot’s French retelling of “Cinderella,” also known as “Cendrillon,” will make its way to the Donald C. Bedell Performance Hall Friday, Jan. ...

Autumn is in full swing on Southeast’s campus, and Fall for Dance is here again. The annual event from the River Campus Conservatory of Theatre and Dance will begin at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 15 through 18 and at 2 p.m. Nov. 19 in the Donald C. Bedell Performance Hall...

Southeast’s eighth annual Fault Line Film Festival will start strong with a record number of entries this year — about double the amount as previous years. The festival will begin Wednesday, Nov. 8 and run until Saturday, Nov. 11. Events will kick off with guest lectures from actress and Southeast alumna Shelby Leverington at noon and 3 p.m. Nov. 8 in Rose Theatre and at 2 p.m. Nov. 9 in Dobbins River Campus Center...

Students and community members came wearing costumes to this year’s Haunted River Campus event on a chilly evening Oct. 27. The annual Halloween event allowed students and community members opportunities like pumpkin carving and cookie decorating along with face painting and a pirate-themed photo booth...

Something mysterious is coming to the River Campus, and it’s here to take a bite out of the halloween season. “Dracula,” based on Bram Stoker’s novel of the same name, will premiere at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 31, in the Bedell Performance Hall. The show tells the story of the mysterious and magical Transylvanian count Dracula and the suspicious plague that strikes a seaside England town around the same time as his arrival...

Community members, families, friends and teachers of nearly 80 area high-school boys came together for the seventh annual Men's Choral Festival Friday, Oct. 20, in the Bedell Performance Hall at the River Campus. Throughout the day, choir students from seven different schools participated in voice lessons with collegiate faculty, rehearsed music, collaborated with other students and took tours of the River Campus. ...