November is a busy month for many students as midterms give way to term papers, and vacations wait on the horizon. However, the coming cold means much more than that for UCSB’s own Dept. of Theater & Dance, which is currently preparing for the opening of its 2009-10 performance season.

The Performing Arts Theater will be host to this season’s first main stage play, Rabbit Hole, written by David Lindsay-Abare and directed by BFA Acting professor and director Irwin Appel.

This Pulitzer Prize-winning drama about a couple confronted with incredible loss, and their search for comfort, is set to captivate audiences starting Nov. 13 at 8 p.m.

Tickets are $13 for students and faculty, $17 general admission and seating is first-come, first-serve. The show will run Nov. 13-14 and 17-21 at 8 p.m. Matinees are scheduled Nov. 14, 15 and 21 at 2 p.m.

Just across the bike path, the Studio Theatre will host this year’s Fall Undergraduate Directed One Acts. Shows begin on Thursday Nov. 5 and run through Nov. 8. Admission is free with a $3 suggested donation; seating is first-come, first-serve.

There are three plays on the One Acts bill this fall: Soap Opera, by David Ives, directed by Conor Briswell, The Marriage Proposal by Anton Chekhov, directed by Tamara Eastin, and A Stye of the Eye by Christopher Durang, directed by Shaun Plander.

The Senior One Person Shows are scheduled to dazzle on Dec. 3 and 4. The seniors of the BFA Acting program will be performing self-written and often autobiographical pieces using whatever means they choose, so prepare for a wild show.

Finally, the Dancers end the fall season with a bang as Fall Dance 2009 hits the Hatlen Theatre at 8 p.m. on Dec. 4 and 5 with a 2 p.m. matinee on the fifth. Tickets are $13 for students and faculty, $17 for general admission, first-come, first-serve seating.

The dance show includes pieces by student choreographers Kiara Kinghorn, Mia Olivia Orozco and Myra Joy Veluz with the help of faculty members Valerie Huston and concert director Christopher Pilafian.

For more information about UCSB Theater & Dance Dept. productions, including future shows and audition information, visit theaterdance.ucsb.edu.