Paul B. Goode

The Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company comes to the Schwartz Center Sept. 28.

Next year, the Department of Performing and Media Arts (PMA) will launch a season of new initiatives, experiments in collaboration and fresh opportunities for students at the Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts.

Faculty are designing classes to support William Shakespeare's "Titus Andronicus" and Sam Shepard's "A Lie of the Mind," and to develop a musical written by Danny Bernstein '14. Cornell playwrights will take the stage in the fall Ten-Minute Playfest, and the inaugural student-run Centrally Isolated Film Festival will showcase regional filmmakers.

Auditions for actors are being held March 7 for "Titus Andronicus" and "A Lie of the Mind." For information, contact pam.lillard@cornell.edu.

The 2013-14 season includes:

• "Two Below": A Faculty Showcase, Sept. 20-21, 7:30 p.m. This performance includes works from senior lecturer Byron Suber's Edgeofthegorge dance company, a one-man show written and performed by assistant professor Austin Bunn and excerpts from a new film by assistant professor J.P. Sniadecki.
• "Body Against Body," performed by the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, Sept. 28, 7:30 p.m. Jones is a two-time Tony Award winner for his choreography in "Spring Awakening" and "Fela!"
• Ten-Minute Playfest, Oct. 4-5, 7:30 p.m. Cornell playwrights and actors take the spotlight in a show produced by Cornell's Red Shadow Productions student theater club.
• Guest Director Series, Nov. 1-3. Student actors and designers will work with a guest director on a contemporary or classic one-act stage production.
• "A Lie of the Mind" by Sam Shepard, directed by Jesse Turk '14, Nov. 15-16 and 22-23, 7:30 p.m., with a matinee Nov. 23 at 2 p.m. The play explores themes of dysfunction, abuse, favoritism and revenge.
• Centrally Isolated Film Festival, Nov. 22-24. Student filmmakers and writers from throughout the region will be featured at this festival curated by Cornell students.
• Mini Locally Grown Dance Festival, Dec. 5-7, 7:30 p.m. The annual fall showcase of work from student and faculty dancers and choreographers.
• Fall Student Film Screenings, Dec. 8 and 15, 8 p.m. Student filmmakers from PMA classes show their work, ranging from documentaries and short films to experimental pieces.
• "Titus Andronicus" by William Shakespeare, directed by Spencer Whale '14, Jan. 31-Feb. 1, Feb. 7-8, 7:30 p.m., with a matinee Feb. 8 at 2 p.m. Shakespeare's bloodiest and most violent play about Titus, a Roman general who seeks revenge on Tamora, Queen of the Goths.
• Heermans-McCalmon Writing Awards, March 7, 4:30 p.m. Professional actors and directors will offer staged readings of the winning screenplays and stage plays from PMA's annual undergraduate playwriting contest.
•  "In the Middle of the Night," directed by associate professor Beth F. Milles, March 20-22 and 26-27, 7:30 p.m. Drawing from the tradition of Commedia dell'Arte physical comedy, students will collaborate with professional mentors to create this performance event.
• "Far From Canterbury": A Musical, by Danny Bernstein '14, directed by Stephen Low, April 24-25, 7:30 p.m. A reimagined telling of "The Wife of Bath's Tale" from Geoffrey Chaucer's "The Canterbury Tales" will feature student actors and a contemporary musical theatre score.
• Locally Grown Dance Festival, directed by Jumay Chu, May 1-3, 7:30 p.m. Dancers and actors will explore the dramatic and psychological imaginings of a space.
• Spring Student Film Screenings, May 4 and 11, 8 p.m. Features dramatic and documentary work from students in advanced film production classes.

Tickets for all performances are available at http://schwartztickets.com, by calling 607-254-ARTS or by visiting the Schwartz Center box office, open weekdays 12:30-4 p.m., 430 College Age.

Kathy Hovis is communications manager for the Department of Performing and Media Arts.