February 13, 2017

Spend a dramatic evening in the Philadelphia theater scene in 1892 with the spirits of the Devil’s Auction Theater Company, who were lost in a devastating fire in Philadelphia's Grand Central Theater. In this original commission commemorating Drexel’s 125th Anniversary, the show is set in our Black Box Theater and tells the story of a fateful night when twelve performers and audience members lost their lives at the Grand Central, formerly located at 807 Walnut Street. The script was developed in a collaborative process under the supervision of Philadelphia theater artist Adrienne Mackey, a mainstay of the city’s Fringe Festival and a Westphal faculty member, with the participation of Drexel Theatre students. The show features two favorites of the Philadelphia soul and funk music scenes, Martha Stuckey, lauded for her latest project Red 40 & The Last Groovement, and Dave Sweeny, also known as Johnny Showcase, with musical direction by Sean Hoots of Hoots and Hellmouth. These guest artists have been working with students since the fall quarter. The set, designed by New York designer, Oona Curley, and constructed by our Theatre production students, makes great use of the Black Box for this theater-in-round production.

The Devils Auction runs from February 17 through February 25, tickets are available online here.

Our Theatre Program consists of two distinct, yet closely integrated components: academics and performance. The intertwining of foundation studies and practical application empowers students to discover and develop their own voice and style in their art. In an effort to accomplish this the Co-Op Theatre Company was established as a resident theatre company run by students that produces shows where students from all over the University have the opportunity to get a hands-on experience running a theatre company at a professional level. This resident company follows a model established by the Late Night Series (LNS), which is a completely student run theatrical event happening on the Drexel Campus every Thursday evening bringing in outside professional artists to perform alongside students. LNS is celebrating its 10th Anniversary season with a special show on Thursday, March 9th downtown at the Trocadero. It also expands on the work that the Drexel Theatre Program has been doing in the professional theater community with the Mandell Professionals in Residence Project (MPiRP) since 2005. For more information contact Theatre Program Director Nick Ansemlo at nma28@drexel.edu.