2022-2023 Doudna Premier Events

Welcome to the Doudna Fine Arts Center 2021-2022
season! After a year of social distancing, we are happy
to welcome you all back to enjoy our unique building
and the many events offered in our various performance
venues (well, COVID surprises depending, of course).

Our line-up for this year includes something for
everybody: from jazz to chamber music, dance and
theatre, and much more! In addition to the ticketed
events, we are happy to announce that non-ticketed
events, e.g. faculty and student recitals, will remain accessible from the
comfort of your couch via our YouTube channel.

And if you wish to support the Doudna and its fine and performing arts
departments, we are offering the Friends of the Doudna support opportunity.
In addition, we also invite you to underwrite specific performances. All your
support will, in the end, enrich our performance capabilities and support the
many students who are enrolled in the School of Arts departments!

I hope you will enjoy this season and I look forward to seeing you at many of
our performances!

- Dean Barbara Bonnekessen

Hello! My name is Dennis Malak, and I am so excited
to be the new Director of Programming, Publicity, and
Promotions for the Doudna Fine Arts Center. I am
no stranger to the Doudna - I served as the Technical
Director and then the Director of Operations since
the grand reopening in 2008. The Doudna is such a
beautiful building, and I feel blessed to be able to
work within this artistic masterpiece of modern design
each and every day.

Planning for this coming 2021-2022 season has been so exciting, especially
after the vastly reduced season last year, with no premier season. While
watching some shows from the comfort and safety of our home was
necessary, I know that we all miss the energy and excitement of a live
performance. We, at the Doudna, are ready to provide the region with LIVE
professional, quality entertainment once again.

With that in mind, please know that the Doudna will always put the safety of
our patrons and performers first and foremost. We will continue to monitor
the best practices and policies to make sure that those who attend our
presentations, concerts, and plays know that they are safe within our walls.
Thank you, and I so look forward to seeing you again!

Hello! My name is Conor Baltz and I am the new
Director of Operations for the Doudna Fine Arts Center.
I started working for the Doudna as an EIU student
in 2016, and I have loved working here ever since! I
consider myself lucky to have the opportunity to work
with such amazing people in a world-class facility.

It has been a difficult year for so many people, but we
are so excited to be planning a new season full of live,
in-person performances! We are doing everything we
can to make sure we have a diverse, exciting, and safe set of performances to
share with you.

We truly miss having people in our seats, and we can’t wait to see you again!

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2021

DVORAK CONCERT HALL / 7:30 PM
Tickets: $20/$15/$10

Dynamo is a Nashville-based, nationally touring band
whose music fuses jazz, rock, and funk with elements
of soul and R&B. The culmination is a sound that’s
both spontaneous and composed and an energy that’s
undeniably infectious. Formed in late 2012, Dynamo
consists of eight core musicians. When they’re not
performing or recording in Nashville, the band is on the
road, spreading their unique brand of feel-good music
to audiences all over the world.

NEW + EMERGING ARTISTS SERIES

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“Sparkling moments that
defy classification.”

- Billboard

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2021

DVORAK CONCERT HALL / 7:30 PM
Tickets: $20/$15/$10
le Cirque Esprit delivers world-renowned sparkle and
spectacle! The le Cirque Esprit performers feature
breathtaking acrobatics of The Boston Circus Guild.
le Cirque Esprit is an immersive entertainment
experience, perfect for the entire family!

le Cirque Esprit has established a unique identity
in American circus by framing the pioneering
contemporary music of Cordis under a spectacular
tapestry of lights, acrobatics, and aerial work.

eiu.edu/doudna | 217-581-3110 | 3

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2021

DVORAK CONCERT HALL / 7:30 PM
Tickets: $20/$15/$10

Take an evocative journey into Earth’s diverse aquatic
habitats where life thrives in the most extraordinary
conditions. This unprecedented performance event
features internationally renowned contemporary
ensemble, Cordis, performing a brilliantly orchestrated
water-based score by acclaimed composer Richard
Grimes. The music unfolds amidst spectacular aquatic
imagery both on-stage and screen. Condition Blue
represents the first in a multi-phase recording and
touring project in which Cordis will explore the creative
sonic and visual possibilities of water, fire, and earth
in an effort to raise awareness of our planet and its
precious resources.

4 | Doudna Premier Events 2021-2022

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2021

RECITAL HALL / 7:30 PM
Tickets: $20/$15/$10

With their debut album Souvenirs, an all-Tchaikovsky release that was
recently named Recording of the Month by BBC Music Magazine,
Canada’s Rolston String Quartet continues to receive acclaim and
recognition for their musical excellence. The quartet was awarded
First Prize at the 12th Banff International String Quartet Competition,
and was the 2018 recipient of the Cleveland Quartet Award from
Chamber Music America - the first international ensemble chosen for
that prestigious honor. Other accolades include Grand Prize at the
31st Chamber Music Yellow Springs Competition and Astral’s National
Auditions.

The quartet’s artistry has been praised in Süddeutsche Zeitung for its
“delicacy, slender elasticity, impeccable intonation, and such eminent
sense of tonal balance…This is a new bright star on the truly not empty
string quartet sky of our day.”

CLASSICAL MUSIC ARTIST SERIES

eiu.edu/doudna | 217-581-3110 | 5

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2021

THE THEATRE / 7:30 PM
Tickets: $20/$15/$10

Actress and playwright, Jessica Sherr, powerfully
channels Bette Davis’ fight against the male-dominated
studio system. On the night of the 1939 Oscars, Bette
Davis returns home knowing she’s lost Best Actress to
Vivien Leigh’s Scarlett O’Hara, because the press has
leaked the winners. Miss Davis takes us on the bumpy
ride of her tumultuous rise, as the tenacious actress
fights her way through the studio system to the top.
Witness Bette triumph over misogyny to win roles and
compensation on par with her male counterparts.

NEW + EMERGING ARTISTS SERIES

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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2022

DVORAK CONCERT HALL / 7:30 PM
Tickets: $20/$15/$10

Some musicians’ careers are easily pigeonholed. Not
so for Bob Sheppard’s. For more than four decades, the
multi-instrumentalist has played on countless sessions
with an astounding crop of A-list-jazz giants - among
them Chick Corea, Freddie Hubbard, Michael and
Randy Brecker, Mike Stern, Herbie Hancock, Kurt Elling,
Dianne Reeves, Lyle Mays, John Beasley, and Steps
Ahead - and artists within several other genres. He’s
also recorded and toured as a leader, contributed to
hundreds of movie and TV soundtracks, served as an
educator and more.

www.bobsheppard.net/bio

eiu.edu/doudna | 217-581-3110 | 7

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2022

DVORAK CONCERT HALL / 7:30 PM
Tickets: $20/$15/$10

One of Scotland’s most popular folk-based groups
to emerge in the last decade, chart-toppers Talisk
have toured the world stacking up major awards for
their explosively energetic yet artfully woven sound,
including Folk Band of the Year at the BBC Alba Scots
Trad Music Awards, a BBC Radio 2 Folk Award, and the
Belhaven Bursary for Innovation.

Mohsen Amini (BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards’ Musician of
the Year 2018), Hayley Keenan and Graeme Armstrong
fuse concertina, fiddle and guitar to produce a ground-
breaking, multi-layered and instantly enthralling
signature sound that has captivated audiences around
the globe.

NEW + EMERGING ARTISTS SERIES

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SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2022

THE BLACK BOX / 7:30 PM
Tickets: Free Sponsored by the Tarble Arts Center

This collaborative performance by a composer and a
visual artist is a reactive dialogue between body, sound,
and space. Aleatory music composed for the bass
clarinet and marimba creates sound that is unique to
the present moment and dependent on chance and
spontaneity. Inspired by the Japanese Butoh dance
tradition, a performer’s body becomes a vessel for
motion and form. The slow and unsettling unfolding -
which is informed as much by empty space and silence
as Marquez-Barrios’s and Vera’s identities as immigrants
in a lineage of immigrants - positions the human
condition as one of futility, impermanence, and beauty.

T rb e
Ar s
Cen er

eiu.edu/doudna | 217-581-3110 | 9

THURSDAY, MARCH 3 - SUNDAY, MARCH 6, 2022

THE THEATRE / 7:30 PM (SUNDAY MATINEE @ 2:00 PM)
Tickets: $20/$15/$10

Presented by the EIU Department of Theatre in cooperation
with the Department of Music and co-sponsored by the
Doudna Fine Arts Center.

Based on Louisa May Alcott’s life, Little Women follows
the adventures of sisters Jo, Meg, Beth and Amy
March. Jo is trying to sell her stories for publication, but
the publishers are not interested – her friend, Professor
Bhaer, tells her that she has to do better and write
more from herself. Begrudgingly taking this advice,
Jo weaves the story of herself and her sisters and their
experience growing up in Civil War America.

10 | Doudna Premier Events 2021-2022

THURSDAY, MARCH 10, 2022

DVORAK CONCERT HALL / 7:30 PM

Tickets: $20/$15/$10

The Reminders are a rare diverse cadences, and unique
and remarkable musical duo vocal stylings. The two have an
seamlessly blending soulful undeniable magical chemistry
sounds and roots music with as they share more than lyrical
insightful messages and abilities and stages; the couple
thoughtful lyrics. The group shares a partnership in both music
consists of Brussels-born emcee and life as Samir and Aja have
Big Samir and Queens-born been married for almost a decade.
emcee/vocalist Aja Black, a
collective creative force that’s hard Beyond performances and
to beat. Big Samir weaves intricate appearances, the duo is
rhythmic patterns with a bilingual consistently and actively engaged
French/English flow, displaying with community organizations,
his street-smart credibility in both schools, and universities delivering
his lyrics and cool demeanor. workshops, talks, and specially
This is beautifully complimented catered performances.
by Aja Black’s confident delivery,

NEW + EMERGING ARTISTS SERIES

eiu.edu/doudna | 217-581-3110 | 11

THURSDAY, APRIL 7, 2022

DVORAK CONCERT HALL / 7:30 PM
Tickets: $20/$15/$10

Born and raised east of the Los Angeles river, Las
Cafeteras are remixing roots music and telling modern-
day stories of Latino and immigrant lives. Using
traditional Son Jarocho instruments like the jarana,
requinto, quijada (donkey jawbone), and tarima (a
wooden platform), Las Cafeteras sing in English, Spanish,
and Spanglish and meld styles from rock to hip-hop to
rancheras. Las Cafeteras use music as a vehicle to build
bridges among different cultures and communities and
create “a world where many worlds fit.”

NEW + EMERGING ARTISTS SERIES

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THURSDAY, DECEMBER 2, 2021 / 5 - 8 PM
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 3, 2021 / 10 AM - 8 PM
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 4, 2021 / 1 - 8 PM
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2021 / 1 - 6 PM
DOUDNA FINE ARTS CENTER
Free
Join us for an exciting array of activities that highlight the
many holidays of the season! We will have fun science
activities, concerts, plays, and presentations for all ages.
Also, no one wants to miss out on the return of the
ever-popular Holiday Art Sale that will take place in the
Doudna’s Main Concourse. If you need a unique gift for
that hard-to-shop-for person, this is the place for you!

FRIDAY, APRIL 22, 2022 NOON - 8 PM
SATURDAY, APRIL 23, 2022 10 AM - 8 PM
SUNDAY, APRIL 24, 2022 10 AM - 6 PM
DOUDNA FINE ARTS CENTER
Free
You don’t want to miss the exciting inaugural
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Spring Fest!
Originally set for Spring 2020, this exciting re-
branding of Celebration: A Festival of the Arts is
sure to entertain all those who attend. With live
music, amazing art from around the area, concerts,
and more, we will have something for everyone!
You will want to make sure and mark your
calendars for this one!

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After Old Main, the Doudna Fine Arts Center is the most iconic building
on the EIU campus. Home to the School of the Arts (the departments
of Art + Design, Music, and Theatre) and the College of Liberal Arts
and Sciences Dean’s Office, the building you see today is the result
of a massive expansion and renovation of the old arts building by
renowned architect Antoine Predock in 2008. From the soaring sights
of the Concourse, to the many performance venues, to being the home
to the many faculty and students of the School of the Arts, the Doudna
is a lively space at all times, but no more than when we can feature
performances that range from student recitals to world-class established
artists, and collaborate with the Tarble Arts Center to bring the visual
arts to life.

We welcome your participation in the continued excellence of this
fine institution! Your annual support will sustain the many performance
spaces, the sometimes mysterious backstage, and the always
awe-inspiring costume shop, and serve the infrastructure needs of our
performing arts faculty, staff, and students.

We have six levels of support from which you may select; each level
brings its own rewards - and be assured that we welcome and cherish
any level of support!

14 | Doudna Premier Events 2021-2022

Benefits begin at $25 and increase by contribution level.

FRIEND LEVEL $25+

• 1 ticket to a Doudna non-premier performance

RECITAL LEVEL $100+

• 2 tickets to a Doudna premier performance

PROSCENIUM LEVEL $250+

• 2 tickets to 2 Doudna premier performances
• 2 reusable Doudna cups*

DVORAK LEVEL $500+

• 2 tickets to 2 Doudna premier performances
• 2 reusable Doudna cups*
• Recognition in program

CONCOURSE LEVEL $1,000+

• 2 tickets to 4 Doudna premier performances
• 2 reusable Doudna cups*
• Recognition in program
• Recognition on Lobby Screen
• Backstage Tour**

DOUDNA LEVEL $5,000+

• 2 Doudna premier season tickets
• 2 reusable Doudna cups*
• Recognition in program
• Recognition on Lobby Screen
• Backstage Tour**
• Doudna Insider Experience

- Attend a rehearsal/sound check or join
the group for dinner.

- Arranged by the Doudna Fine Arts Center

*Allows you to bring your drink with you into the venue during the show.
** Only for select Doudna premier guest artists or substituted with a
pre/post-show meet and greet.

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RESERVATION FORM GENERAL SENIOR 62+/ STUDENT
EMPLOYEE

PREMIER EVENTS QTY PRICE QTY PRICE QTY PRICE TOTAL

Sept. 2, 2021 Dynamo $20.00 $15.00 $10.00
Sept. 29, 2021 Le Cirque Esprit $20.00 $15.00 $10.00
Oct. 5, 2021 Cordis Condition Blue $20.00 $15.00 $10.00
Oct. 29, 2021 Rolston String Quartet $20.00 $15.00 $10.00
Nov. 18, 2021 Bette Davis $20.00 $15.00 $10.00
Feb. 4, 2022 Bob Sheppard/62nd Jazz Festival $20.00 $15.00 $10.00
Feb. 17, 2022 Talisk $20.00 $15.00 $10.00
Mar. 3, 2022 Little Women: The Musical $20.00 $15.00 $10.00
Mar. 4, 2022 Little Women: The Musical $20.00 $15.00 $10.00
Mar. 5, 2022 Little Women: The Musical $20.00 $15.00 $10.00
Mar. 6, 2022 Little Women: The Musical $20.00 $15.00 $10.00
Mar. 10, 2022 The Reminders $20.00 $15.00 $10.00
Las Cafeteras $20.00 $15.00 $10.00
Apr. 7, 2022
$180 $135 $90
SAVE 10% Season Ticket Package TOTAL:

Name State ZIP BECOME A FRIEND OF DOUDNA
Address
City q FRIEND LEVEL $25 - $99
Phone and Email q RECITAL LEVEL $100 - $249
q PROSCENIUM LEVEL $250 - $499
q DVORAK LEVEL $500 - $999
q CONCOURSE LEVEL $1,000 - $4,999
q DOUDNA LEVEL $5,000 +

Method of Payment:

Check/money order enclosed (payable to Eastern Illinois University)

Charge my credit card: Visa MC Discover Amex

Card no. Name on card

Exp. date CID (3-digit number on back of card)

Signature

PLEASE RETURN THIS FORM, ALONG WITH PAYMENT TO:
Doudna Fine Arts Center Box Office, 600 Lincoln Avenue, Charleston, IL 61920-3099

16 | Doudna Premier Events 2021-2022

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS WHAT ABOUT ACCESSIBILITY?
• All venues are wheelchair accessible.
COVID-19 SAFETY GUIDELINES • Service animals are welcome. When ordering,
All patrons will be required to adhere to all please request an aisle seat and let the box
COVID-19 safety guidelines set forth by the office know a service animal will be with you.
University at the time of the production. All • Wireless headsets are available upon request.
productions are dependent on our ability to • Sign language interpretation is available with
remain open to the public. Please feel free to sufficient advance notice and the availability
call ahead of time to determine what safety of qualified service providers. Please request
guidelines need to be followed. The safety of this service at least one month prior to the
all our patrons, performers, and staff is our top performance.
priority here at the Doudna Fine Arts Center.
HOW MUCH IS PARKING?
WHAT IF I AM LATE TO A PERFORMANCE? Parking is free after 5 p.m. and on weekends.
Every effort is made to start performances
on time unless there is an unavoidable delay. CAN I RECORD A PERFORMANCE?
Latecomers are asked to wait for the assistance The use of video and sound recording devices
of an usher. Seating will occur at a suitable break is always prohibited. Please silence all electronic
in the performance in order to cause as little devices before a performance.
disruption as possible.
ARE CHILDREN WELCOME?
For theatre events in the Black Box, there is Absolutely! The Doudna Fine Arts Center
a “no late seating” policy due to the venue’s believes children should be exposed to the
intimate environment. Late arrivals will not be cultural arts, but some performances are not
permitted to stand in the back and will only be suitable for young children. Please understand
seated at intermission. we wish to provide the best environment for all
our patrons.
DO YOU OFFER GIFT CERTIFICATES?
Gift certificates are available online or at the WHEN CAN I GET INTO THE VENUE?
Doudna Box Office. The certificates can be used Doors typically open 30 minutes before the show
for any performance during the 2021-22 season. time.

WHAT IS YOUR REFUND POLICY? WHO CAN I CALL FOR ADDITIONAL
All sales are final. No refunds will be issued INFORMATION?
unless the event is canceled. If you are unable to Contact the Box Office at (217) 581-3110 or
attend a show, consider giving your ticket to a [email protected].
friend, or return it to the box office and it will be
offered to a student free of charge.

FIRST CLASS MAIL
US POSTAGE PAID

PERMIT NO 24
CHARLESTON IL

61920

Eastern Illinois University
600 Lincoln Avenue

Charleston, Illinois 61920