APEX Hour at SUU

APEX Hour at SUU

By Southern Utah UniversitySociety & CultureEducationMusicMusic Commentary
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APEX Hour at SUU episodes

  • The Architecture of Heart: Directing Something Rotten with Alan Muraoka
    • A Journey Built on Shared Discovery: Guest Alan Muraoka traces his roots from a Southern California latchkey kid seeking structural camaraderie to winning the historic UCLA Carol Burnett musical theater scholarship.
    • The Invisible Engine of Musical Comedy: An inside look at balancing complex choreography and rapid character pacing under the tight engineering constraints of repertory festival tracking.
    • Balancing Slapstick with Sincerity: How refining performance notes to track the vulnerability and heartache of historical characters like Nigel Bottom creates a deeper, more impactful audience experience.
    • The Modern Mandate for Authentic Representation: Reflections on building spaces of profound emotional safety and introducing generation-defining milestones of intersectional visibility.

      • Connect with SUU APEX & the Uta Shakespeare Festival:

      • Discover upcoming speaker events at suu.edu/apex
      • Book your tickets to the USF 65th anniversary season at bard.org

        • ***

        Eccles APEX Website: https://www.suu.edu/apex

        1 hr 38 min
      • Unfolding the Box: 35 Years of Costume Design Mastery with Bill Black
        • Blending Art and Acting: Guest Bill Black shares how his background as a childhood actor, visual painter, and early sewist blended perfectly to build a lifelong career as a theatrical storyteller.
        • The Fundamentals of Design: A breakdown of the five core skill sets required of a senior costume designer, emphasizing script comprehension, human psychology, design fundamentals, and collaboration.
        • From Sketchbook to Flat Pattern: A look at the advanced dimensional mathematics required by drapers and hands-on production crews to translate simple lead pencil mock-ups into complex historical garments.
        • The Invisible Support of Wardrobe: Why a highly successful costume shouldn't distract the audience, but rather quietly support the actor's vulnerability and internal journey through structural adaptation.

          • Connect with SUU & The Festival:

          • This episode is part of a collaboration between SUU Eccles APEX and the Utah Shakespeare Festival. Discover upcoming speaker events at suu.edu/apex
          • Book your tickets to the 65th anniversary season at bard.org

            • ***

            Eccles APEX Website: https://www.suu.edu/apex

            1 hr 23 min
          • Action-Driven Storytelling: From Batman Stunt Shows to the Utah Shakespeare Festival
            • Learning Theater as a Trade: Guest Geoffrey Kent details his unconventional path into classical theater, acquiring his performance skills through corporate murder mysteries, renaissance faires, and high-flying stunt shows rather than a traditional classroom setting.
            • The Architecture of Farce: An inside look at directing See How They Run and why structural choices—like compressing multiple acts together—are vital to keeping an audience completely hooked before an intermission.
            • Safety vs. Excitement in Fight Direction: A deep dive into how a risk assessor and Society of American Fight Directors certified teacher crafts dangerous-looking combat that remains perfectly safe for actors to perform eight shows a week.
            • The Instant Feedback of Comedy: A breakdown of how comedic timing requires an acute awareness of the audience, demanding that performers actively manage pacing without letting the room take over the production.

              • Connect with SUU & The Festival:

              • This episode is part of a special partnership between SUU Eccles APEX and the Utah Shakespeare Festival. Discover upcoming speaker events at suu.edu/apex
              • Book your tickets to the 65th anniversary season at bard.org 

                • ***

                Eccles APEX Website: https://www.suu.edu/apex

                1 hr 37 min
              • From Ashland to Cedar City: A Shakespeare Festival Baby Takes the Director's Chair
                • A Lifelong Theater Education: Guest Beth Lopes shares her journey growing up as a self-described "Shakespeare festival baby" and how seeing diverse, non-Western classics early on built her foundational worldview of storytelling.
                • The Crucible of Hamlet: An inside look into directing the 65th anniversary production of Hamlet at the Engelstad Theater, focusing on authentic human choices rather than strict character archetypes.
                • Ensemble Storytelling over Solos: Why building a deeply invested family dynamic for the Polonii and highlighting the multi-dimensional relationships of Gertrude and Ophelia makes tragedy more impactful.
                • The Syncing Heartbeats of Live Performance: A reflection on the vital, irreplaceable nature of live theater in an increasingly digital world.

                  • Connect with SUU & The Festival:

                  • This series is produced in collaboration with SUU Eccles APEX series. Discover upcoming speaker events at suu.edu/apex
                  • Book your tickets to the 65th anniversary season at bard.org 

                    • ***

                    Eccles APEX Website: https://www.suu.edu/apex

                    1 hr 29 min
                  • 12/22/2025: Ben Hohman
                    Ben Homan, the properties director at the Utah Shakespeare Festival, joined us on the podcast. ***
                    Eccles APEX Website: https://www.suu.edu/apex
                    1 hr 19 min

                  About APEX Hour at SUU

                  From the publisher's feed

                  Discussions with speakers at Eccles APEX, the premier lecture series at Southern Utah University.