Every year the Brandeis Theater Company, run by the Department of Theater Arts, puts on a diverse mix of plays in the Spingold Theater Center. Undergraduates, graduate MFA students and even faculty and staff take part in creating masterpieces for the Brandeis community and beyond to enjoy.

The Seagull will be the first play of the year, directed by Shira Milikowsky, an award-winning director. The play examines one of the most popular themes, love, in a unique way. The Seagull, an autobiographical work written by Anton Checkhov, is about the events that occur when family and friends gather at the estate of a sickly character, Sorin, in order to view a play put on by Sorin's nephew, Konstantin. When unexpected visitors arrive, the play takes a spin as the newcomers change the lives of everyone they encounter. The Seagull will run from Oct. 3 through Oct. 12 in the Laurie Theater of Spingold.

In its second show of the year, the Brandeis Theater Company will put on a beloved musical, Cabaret, written by Christopher Isherwood and directed by Steven Bogart, who directs many performances in the Boston area. In the play, Clifford Bradshaw falls in love with the decadence of a jazz club and one of its singers, Sally Bowles. This masterpiece looks at the tension between reality and fantasy as the characters try to reconcile the harsh reality of Berlin in the 1930s, the dream world of the Kit Kat Klub and Bowles and Bradshaw's romance. A thought-provoking piece, Cabaret is definitely not a show to miss when it comes to the main stage of Spingold Theater from Nov. 21 through Nov. 24.

The third performance was created in 2002 by Pulitzer Prize winner Suzan-Lori Parks who set out to write a short play every day for a year. Parks accomplished this seemingly unfeasible task and Brandeis will be performing her play, 365 Days/365 Plays. 365 mini plays, most of them less than a page long, are tied together in one performance. Subject matter spans from deities to soldiers to things Parks saw outside her airplane window seat. The performance will take place in Merrick Theater in Spingold from Dec. 5 through Dec. 8.

The canonical play A View from the Bridge, by Arthur Miller, will come to Brandeis at the beginning of February. It is directed by Prof. Janet Morrison (THA). The play examines themes of love, family and sacrifice as it follows the story of Eddie Carbone through his struggles to protect his family and do the right thing-or at least what he thinks is the right thing-in an unexpected turn of events. A View from the Bridge will run from Feb. 6 through Feb. 9 in the Laurie Theater of Spingold.

Going on its third year, Brandeis will be holding its Senior Thesis Festival this spring. The festival gives graduating students in the Theater Arts the opportunity to show off their original productions under the guidance of faculty such as Prof. Jennifer Cleary (THA) and Prof. Adrianne Krstansky (THA). This year the festival includes works by seniors Lizzy Benway, ?Jason Dick, Grace Fosler,? Justy Kosek, ?Emma Lieberman ?and Levi Squier. The Senior Festival will run from March 18 through March 23 in the Laurie Theater of Spingold.

In the Brandeis Theater Company's final performance of the year, 10 by 10: A Theatrical Celebration, 10 third-year MFA acting students will each present an original solo piece. Under the direction of Prof. Mary Lowry (THA), students will get a chance to highlight their own personal styles, as they get ready for the next step in their acting careers. This rite of passage is divided into two days and will take place in the Merrick Theater of Spingold from April 26 through April 27.