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New musical ‘Milking Christmas’ goes full-tilt merry
LAWRENCE — University Theatre will perform “Milking Christmas, a New Musical,” composed by Ryan McCall, University of Kansas Department of Theatre & Dance faculty member, in collaboration with Friend Dog Studios. Performances are 7:30 p.m. Nov. 30 and Dec. 2, 4 and 6 as well as 2:30 p.m. Dec. 2 and 3 at the William Inge Memorial Theatre at Murphy Hall. Kansas cast and crew members include students from Hutchinson, Lawrence, Olathe, Overland Park, Shawnee, Topeka and Wichita.
Graduate students win national scholarship promoting international peace
LAWRENCE — Two University of Kansas graduate students have earned a national scholarship that supports studies in international relations and public service. Marcela Paiva Veliz, master’s student in Indigenous studies, and Pere DeRoy, doctoral candidate in women, gender & sexuality studies, each received the Sherman and Irene Dreiseszun Scholarship from The Truman Foundation.
Full stories below.
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Contact: Lisa Coble-Krings, Department of Theatre & Dance, 785-864-5685, [email protected], @KUTheatre
New musical ‘Milking Christmas’ goes full-tilt merry
LAWRENCE — Audiences to the University Theatre’s next production will enjoy cheery musical numbers, over-the-top costumes and sweet storylines driven by even sweeter characters — literally, some of them are gingerbread cookies. Through all that, along with self-aware humor, a satirical message on capitalism and corporate greed emerges. “Milking Christmas, a New Musical” was composed by Ryan McCall, University of Kansas Department of Theatre & Dance faculty member, in collaboration with Friend Dog Studios. McCall serves as musical director, and Michelle Miller, a KU lecturer, is directing.
Performances are 7:30 p.m. Nov. 30 and Dec. 2, 4 and 6 as well as 2:30 p.m. Dec. 2 and 3 at the William Inge Memorial Theatre at Murphy Hall. Tickets are available for purchase on the performance web page, by calling 785-864-3982 or in-person at the box office noon to 5 p.m. weekdays in Murphy Hall. Additionally, the Dec. 2 and 6 performances will be available to view online via livestream.
“Working on a new musical is not for the faint of heart. Nimbleness is required to navigate change. It’s been a benefit to this process that one of the writers is KU lecturer and musical director Ryan McCall, who has empowered student cast members to influence what will be the final version of the script,” Miller said. “It’s been a joy to watch students generate and own every inflection without an ounce of mimicry and confidently ad lib comedic lines with bravery. I am so incredibly proud and sincerely hope those living in and around Lawrence come to campus to meet the people of Christmastown.”
“Milking Christmas” was originally produced and developed by The Living Room Theatre in Kansas City for showings in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2022. It follows Macey Maid-a-Milking, who questions why so much coal is being produced and sneaks into Santa’s castle to see the naughty list. Dissent rises, at first individually and then collectively, with the future of Christmas hanging in the balance.
Miller’s participation in “Milking Christmas” is made possible in part by the Ronald A. Willis Visiting Scholar/Artist Fund. She has performed with the New Haven Symphony, The Kansas City Jazz Orchestra, the Boston Pops and at the Lincoln Center. The singer and actress was previously a visiting professor at Boston College and founded Any Minute Now Productions, with which she performed and produced in New York.
McCall’s KU work includes musical direction for “Cabaret,” “La Cage aux Folles,” “Spring Awakening,” “Company,” “Little Women,” “Into the Woods,” “Merrily We Roll Along” and “Anything Goes.” He was the composer for KU’s productions of “…and Jesus Moonwalks the Mississippi,” “Man Equals Man,” “Summer and Smoke” and “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.” McCall has worked professionally with Kansas City Ballet, Second City, Improv Olympic, KC Rep, Giordano Dance Company and The Living Room Theater.
Additional creative team members are Tara Leigh Burgat, a senior in dance, as choreographer; Kelly Vogel, resident artist/academic associate, as scenic and costume designer; Josh Gilpin, an MFA student in scenography, as lighting designer; Brad Mathewson, a recent KU Theatre alumnus and freelance writer, as guest dramaturg; and Connor Maloney, a junior in theatre design from Wichita, as stage manager.
“Milking Christmas” cast members are Coy Garrett, a senior in theatre, as Macey Maid-A-Milking; Maya Welde, a junior in theatre performance and Spanish, as Mrs. Claus; Brandon Heflin, a sophomore in microbiology from Olathe, as Santa Claus; ShonMichael Anderson, a sophomore in theatre performance from Wichita, as Chris Claus; Canton Schenk, a sophomore in theatre from Topeka, as Clyde; John Stecher Jr., a freshman in theatre from Overland Park, as Krampsnickle; Paul Ruf, a sophomore in biochemistry from Overland Park, as Ginger; Morgan Tate, a first-year student from Shawnee, as Citizen Cane; Olivia Laycock, a junior in theatre design from Wichita, as Mole; Cooper Holmes, a sophomore in theatre performance from Overland Park, as Jingle; Callee Harris, a junior in psychology and social welfare from Hutchinson, as General Sparkleshine; James Kensinger, a sophomore in chemistry from Topeka, as Lieutenant Puddings; Madi Seelye, a sophomore in dance from Lawrence, as Lady Dancing; Basia Schendzielos, a senior in French from Shreveport, Louisiana, as Carol Jolly; Eve Green, a sophomore in theatre from Kansas City, Missouri, as Holly Hunter; and Sierra Quinn, a freshman in theatre and voice from Smithville, Missouri, as Santa’s Lap Singer.
The University Theatre and University Dance Company are production wings of the University of Kansas’ Department of Theatre & Dance, offering six public productions throughout the academic year. The University Theatre and University Dance Company productions are funded in part by KU Student Senate fees, and the theatre’s season is supported by Truity Credit Union.
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Contact: Savannah Rattanavong, Office of the Provost, 785-864-6402, [email protected], @KUProvost
Graduate students win national scholarship promoting international peace
LAWRENCE — Two University of Kansas graduate students have earned a national scholarship that supports studies in international relations and public service.
Marcela Paiva Veliz, master’s student in Indigenous studies, and Pere DeRoy, doctoral candidate in women, gender & sexuality studies, each received the Sherman and Irene Dreiseszun Scholarship from The Truman Foundation.
The $5,000 scholarships are awarded to graduate students in programs such as international relations, history, political science, diplomacy or a related field or discipline that reflects former President Harry Truman’s dedication to promoting public service and international peace.
Marcela Paiva Veliz
Paiva Veliz’s work broadly concentrates on self-determination in Indigenous communities and centering Indigenous perspectives in local to international spaces. Paiva Veliz said it became evident through her background in civil service in Chile that the rights of Indigenous people are a fundamental element of communities and international peace. However, governmental agencies and society generally lack the knowledge to adequately understand and respect those rights.
“Learning about Indigenous peoples’ rights from the Native American perspective will contribute to my knowledge of these issues in Latin America and hopefully will allow me to be better prepared to pursue respect for Indigenous rights and honor my Indigenous ancestors,” she said.
Paiva Veliz’s dissertation research more narrowly focuses on Native American uses of rosinweed, a native Kansas plant, as food or medicine, as well as the ethics surrounding ethnobotany. Working with the Land Institute, she said her research topic seeks to acknowledge the relationship Native Americans had with the land, and it is a way for her to honor her current home of Kansas while gaining knowledge she can share with other countries, particularly those in South America.
“I want to highlight concrete examples of self-determination applied to Indigenous knowledge and foster decolonization in academic contexts,” Paiva Veliz said. “I hope to contribute to the respect for tribal sovereignty and the self-governance of Indigenous peoples. I aim to build bridges and work more broadly for decolonization efforts in the Americas.”
Paiva Veliz has worked at an international level as an advocate, legal counsel and administrator, including serving as Chile’s head of the World Trade Organization and Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development division in its Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She also has served as a lawyer for the Chilean government, specializing in international trade issues.
Paiva Veliz earned a juris doctor and a bachelor’s degree in legal and social sciences from the University of Chile in Santiago, Chile; a diploma in negotiation and mediation from the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile; and a diploma in human rights and indigenous peoples from the Henry Dunant Foundation Latin America.
Pere DeRoy
DeRoy’s research focuses on understanding global women’s health policy and programs to develop equitable reproductive health policies. Her dissertation research particularly examines reproductive health policy in her home country of Guyana.
According to DeRoy, Guyana continues to have the highest maternal mortality ratio in the English-speaking Caribbean. Her preliminary research suggests this is largely influenced by uncertainty surrounding the effects of state-sanctioned and traditional health care systems on the pregnancies of Guyanese of different social identities. These include queer and transgender people of color, whose experiences are often overlooked in local discourse regarding maternal mortality.
“My dissertation research stems from an amalgamation of adverse sexual and reproductive health outcomes and treatments I have had to navigate, and observations and mourning of many Guyanese I have known who died during childbirth or postpartum,” DeRoy said.
DeRoy said she is motivated through her work to combat structural and cultural violence by advancing approaches to sexual and reproductive health, especially in creating more culturally responsive international policy planning and analysis of pregnancy-related deaths and injuries.
“I plan to utilize the findings of this research to contribute to knowledge and discourse that advocates for social structures that are equitable, reduces peoples’ vulnerability as they seek access to reproductive health care and that honors Guyanese’s right to health,” she said. “My personal and professional goal around this research topic is to contribute to the removal of conditions where a female-sexed child doesn’t automatically consider that they are naturally and randomly susceptible to adverse reproductive outcomes as they envision their own futures.”
Throughout her career, DeRoy has worked with anti-trafficking organizations and community groups working to end gender-based violence and labor exploitation. Her previous appointments include being a national and regional sexual and reproductive health and rights volunteer for the International Planned Parenthood Federation; youth and sport projects officer and department manager for the Guyanese Ministry of Culture; and graduate research assistant for the Envisioning Global LGBT Human Rights Research Project at York University in Canada.
DeRoy earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of Guyana; a postgraduate diploma in international studies from the University of Guyana; a master’s degrees in development studies from York University; and a master’s degree in women, gender & sexuality studies from KU.
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