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The UNC Office of the Executive Director for the Arts is launching a series devoted to illuminating the ways in which artistic ideas take form, and to following artists and performers as they bring new works to the public.

“The process series will be our way to contribute to the dialogue that takes place during the creation of new art, whether it’s a play, an opera or a multidisciplinary performance,” said Emil Kang, UNC’s executive director for the arts.

“In an academic setting, the questions that a performance provokes can be approached with a unique lens, and our hope is that the process series will provide people with that outlet for both creativity and discussion,” he said.

The series will kick off at 8 p.m. Sept. 26 and Sept. 27, when 2008 UNC graduate Marie Garlock presents her multidisciplinary performance “{it is in you}.” The work fuses storytelling, dance and movement, live music and spoken word into a piece that explores the politics of development, HIV and the body.

Joseph Megel, a resident artist in the communication studies department in UNC’s College of Arts and Sciences, will direct the process series. The series will feature six works this year, each of which will be professionally staged in Gerrard Hall. Together, they will serve as an evolving look at new works in progress.

“If we, as a University community, want to contribute usefully to the performing arts, we can’t just present what is already known and has been embraced at large,” Megel said. “The support and the creation of new works, new artists and new modes of expression are crucial to the health and vitality of the arts in our community and nationwide.”

Garlock earned a bachelor’s degree with a double major in communication studies and international and area studies at UNC. She focused on African studies and questions of social and economic justice. She developed “{it is in you}” as part of her honors thesis, and as a means to commemorate what she studied at Tanzania’s University of Dar es Salaam in 2007.

“It is thrilling to be able to open our first season with an exciting new performance developed here and presented by a recent grad,” Megel said. “We hope to be able to offer one student work from among the best new works created by UNC students in every season as we explore the best in new theater, new opera, new performance art and new multimedia work.

“In following years, we hope the process series will continue a national conversation with writers and performing artists in all media, including dance, new music and more multidisciplinary works.”

All process series performances will be free to the public at 8 p.m. in Gerrard Hall. Each work will be presented for two consecutive nights as follows:

Sept. 26-27 “{it is in you}” by Marie Garlock
A multidisciplinary performance that explores the politics of development, HIV and the body.

Nov. 14-15 “The Secret Agent” by Michael Dellaira, composer, and J.D. McClatchy, librettist
A modern opera about the early days of terrorism and government corruption in fin-de-siecle London.

Jan. 16-17 “Trojan Barbie” by Christine Evans
A time-bending collision of the past and present, based on Euripides’ “The Trojan Women.”

Feb. 6-7 “Greenolicious” by Torkwase Dyson
Two artists from Brooklyn explore the cultural appropriation of environmental materialism when they devise a two-person parade.

March 20-21 “Caleb Calypso & the Midnight Marauders” by Howard L. Craft
A soldier on the brink of obsolescence comes to grips with his identity and the future of his service in a barracks in 1989 Bamburg, Germany.

April 24-25 “Dias y Flores (Days and Flowers)” by Oliver Mayer
A music-infused play that looks at the changing face of Latinos and what
it means to be Latino and in love.

Process series contact: Joseph Megel, (919) 843-7067, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
News Services contact: LJ Toler, (919) 962-8589