Artist in Residence Bill Irwin to hold master classes and speak at Vassar College, Saturday, November 11, 2006

Participation in master classes by reservation only. Please contact Roman Czula at roczula@vassar.edu or at 845-437-7471 for reservations or information. This event is open to public by reservation.

Master Classes
Saturday, November 11, 2006

1:30 - 3:00 p.m.
A Master Class in Movement for the Stage.
Kenyon Dance Studio I .

3:30 - 5:00 p.m.
A Master Class in Improvisation.
Kenyon Dance Studio I.

Lecture/Discussion
Open to the public.

7:00 - 9:00 p.m.
"Bill Irwin from the Pickle Family Circus to Tony Award Winner for Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?"
Bill will speak about his personal journey and be open to questions.
Frances Daly Fergusson Dance Theater
Kenyon Hall

In 1984, Bill Irwin was the first currently performing artist to be awarded a five-year MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, commonly known as a "genius grant," and he was also named a Guggenheim Fellow that year. Irwin recently starred on Broadway and London's West End as George in the revival of the Edward Albee play "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf," opposite Kathleen Turner, for which he won the 2005 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play. In 2002 he starred opposite Sally Field in the Tony Award-winning Albee play "The Goat or Who Is Sylvia."

Also on Broadway, Irwin's original work "Largely New York" received five Tony Award nominations, and won Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, and New York Dance and Performance awards. Along with David Shiner, he starred in and choreographed the hit "Full Moon", and with Steve Martin, Robin Williams and F. Murray Abraham he was seen in "Waiting for Godot" at Lincoln Center. Off-Broadway, the Signature Theatre dedicated their entire 2003/2004 season entirely to Irwin's original work for which he acted as writer, director and star.

He was an original member of Kraken, a theatre company directed by Herbert Blau, as well as an original member of the Pickle Family Circus of San Francisco, where he worked with Larry Pisoni and Geoff Hoyle. Irwin appeared as a guest with the ODC Dance Company of San Francisco, which first produced his original work. His own pieces, often developed with Doug Skinner and Michael O'Conner, include Not Quite/New York, The Courtroom, and Regard of Flight.

PBS recently aired the special "Bill Irwin, Clown Prince" as part of the longstanding "Great Performances" series. His numerous TV credits also include the closing ceremony of the summer Olympic games in Atlanta, in which he starred, directed and choreographed. Irwin's most recent movie role was in Lady in the Water, and he has also appeared in such as films as Igby Goes Down, The Grinch Who Stole Christmas (with Jim Carrey), and A Midsummer Night's Dream (with Michelle Pfeiffer, Kevin Kline, and Rupert Everett).

The Bill Irwin residency is co-sponsored by the Department of Physical Education & Athletics, the Department of Dance, the Department of Drama, the Office of the President, the Office of the Dean of the Faculty, the Multidisciplinary Faculty Seminar on Creativity and Contemplation, and by a gift from Anthony H. Mannara '80.

Individuals with disabilities requiring accommodations should contact the Office of Campus Activities at (845) 437-5370. Vassar College is a highly selective, coeducational, independent, residential, liberal arts college founded in 1861.

Individuals with disabilities requiring accommodations or information on accessibility should contact Campus Activities Office at (845) 437-5370. Without sufficient notice, appropriate space and/or assistance may not be available.

Vassar College is a highly selective, coeducational, independent, residential liberal arts college founded in 1861.

This article was posted on Wednesday, November 8th, 2006.