As we return to school, classes and the social scene seem to instantly occupy everyone’s minds. But there is an escape, and it’s right here on the SMU campus. Meadows School of the Arts is gearing up for its fall season, so prepare yourself for grand displays of talent and culture just a hop, skip and a jump away from your dorm room.

Dance

The Fall Dance Concert, to be performed in the Bob Hope Theatre Nov. 7-11, will feature ballet and contemporary works. A highlight of the show will be “Primitive Mysteries,” a Martha Graham ballet which debuted in 1931. Made possible by a Meadows Foundation grant and the National Endowment for the Arts, “Primitive Mysteries” will be presented as part of the 80th anniversary of America’s oldest dance company, the Martha Graham Dance Company.

Theater

The Meadows Theater department has a number of productions set for the fall. On Sept. 26-30, “Stuff Happens,” a Meadows bonus event, will run in the Margo Jones Theatre. Directed by Rhonda Blair, “Stuff Happens” will follow the dramatics of Washington decision making leading up to the U.S. invasion of Iraq. Characters in the show will include President Bush, Condoleezza Rice, Colin Powell and others. The play will present arguments both for and against the war in Iraq by combining verbatim speeches and press conferences with fictionalized meetings.

“The Seagull” will run in the Bob Hope Theatre Oct. 10-14. The play, written by Anton Chekhov, is a story of romantic entanglements and focuses on themes of theater and art. The Meadows production will include material originally deleted by Russian censors when the play first bowed in the late 1890s.

Meadows Theater will finish the semester with “Balm in Gilead,” which will be performed in the Greer Garson Theatre on Nov. 28 through Dec. 2. Directed by senior directing student Travis Ballenger, the play, originally performed in 1965, is set in an all-night New York coffee shop and focuses on 30 social outcasts as they interact with one another and engage with the audience.

Meadows Symphony Orchestra

MSO will present three shows in Caruth Auditorium this semester: “New Shapes,” “New Sounds” and “New Art.”

“New Shapes” (Sept. 21 and 23) will feature Gustav Mahler’s “Songs of a Wayfarer” and Mozart’s “Symphony Number 41.”

“New Sounds” (Oct. 19 and 21) will include “The Overture to William Tell” by Gioacchino Rossini, “Pelleas et Melisande” by Faure, “Sensemaya” by Silvestre Revueltas and American composer Samuel Alder’s “Symphony Number Two.”

“New Art” (Nov. 30 and Dec. 2) includes Mendelssohn’s “Overture to the Midsummer Night’s Dream,” Jacques Ibert’s “Concertino de Camera” and the world premiere of Meadows alumnus Thomas Sleeper’s “First Symphony.”

Meadows Wind Ensemble

The Meadows Wind Ensemble will present their first concert of the season, “Magneticfireflies,” on Oct. 5 in Caruth Auditorium. The title of the concert mirrors the title of the Meadows Wind Ensemble’s new CD as well as a work by Augusta Read Thomas.

“No Sun, No Shadow” will be performed on Nov. 11 and will showcase high energy jazz and other jazz-inspired music. Among other pieces, the concert will include Charles Mingus’ “Revelation” and a set of rags by Scott Joplin.

For more information or to see the full Meadows events calendar, visit smu.edu/meadows.