GW students don’t need to travel far to sample the city’s best performing arts. The Kennedy Center is just around the corner, and the city’s theater district is only a Metro ride away.

But faculty members in GW’s theatre and dance department want students to know they don’t even have to leave campus to find lively performances.

“We’ve got some mighty talented students on this campus, and I think they deserve to be seen by their peers and by everyone else,” said Judy Annis, promotions coordinator for the theatre and dance department.

Theater is a unique art form, Annis said – everyone watches television for entertainment, but theater provides both entertainment and an intimacy unavailable on television.

“Theater is a much more personal approach,” she said. “There’s nothing personal about television. It’s live theater and live theater is very exciting.”

The University’s theatre and dance department will present three performances this fall. “The House of Yes,” a play by Wendy Macleod, will begin the season Oct. 8 and run through Oct. 11. The play follows the Pascals, a family significantly affected by its neighbors, the Kennedys. Macleod’s story details the relationships within the Pascal family and the family’s dealings with their neighbors.

Auditions for the play were held last spring to allow the cast to begin rehearsals when students return to campus this fall. Nathan Garner, a University professor, will direct the production.

“The Seagull” by Anton Chekhov will run Nov. 5-8. The play, directed by theatre and dance department Chair Leslie Jacobson, revolves around a middle-aged actress, her son and a successful author who are spending a lazy summer in the country. The show incorporates romance, farce, absurdity and humor as it follows the trio’s escapades.

Auditions for “The Seagull” will take place Sept. 8 and 9 and, like auditions for all GW shows, are open to students, staff, faculty and alumni.

“Not only do we want students to see live theater, but we want them to get involved,” Annis said.

The department’s Fall Dance Concert will conclude the fall season. The show will run Nov. 19-21. Associate Professor Joseph Mills will direct the concert, which will include performances choreographed by guest artists.

Evening performances this fall will begin at 7:30 p.m. instead of 8 p.m. as it has in previous years. Matinees will continue to start at 2 p.m. and Annis said she feels the earlier curtain time will draw more students to the performances.

Ticket prices have increased since last season. Tickets now cost $8 for students and $10 for members of the general public. Students can purchase a subscription for $35, which includes one ticket to each production of the season. The subscription also entitles students who attend the opening night show to free food and drink, and a chance to meet the cast at a reception following the performance.