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(02/20/14 3:56am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The Ryder Film Series will screen several Oscar-nominated short films this weekend and next week before this year’s Academy Awards telecast on March 2.Screenings will take place at the IU Fine Arts Theater, Woodburn Hall, Bear’s Place, the Back Door and the Buskirk-Chumley Theater. The films that will be shown come from the Animation Short, Live Action Short and Documentary Short Subject categories.For a list of screening times and locations, visit the TheRyder.com. Here is a selection of films in each category that will be shown.Animation“Feral”A young feral boy is found in the woods and tries to adapt to civilized society.“Get a Horse!”Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Horace Horsecollar and Clarabelle Cow enjoy a wagon ride until an enemy shows up to run them off the road.“Room on the Broom”A witch and her cat take a ride on her broomstick and invite others to join them along the way.Live Action“Just Before Losing Everything”A woman and her children take refuge in a store after leaving her abusive husband.“Helium”A hospital employee tells a dying young boy about a magical place where children can go after they die.“Do I Have to Take Care of Everything?”A woman tries to ready her family for a wedding, but runs into problems along the way.Documentary“Facing Fear”A man encounters a neo-Nazi who attacked him 25 years earlier as a child.“The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life”Alice Herz Sommer, the world’s oldest pianist and Holocaust survivor at 109-years-old, shares the story of her life.“Prison Terminal: The Last Days Of Private Jack Hall”Jack Hall, a terminally ill prisoner, is cared for by fellow prisoners in a maximum security prison.— Rachel Osman
(01/12/14 9:04pm)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The Venue Fine Art & Gifts is presenting a week-long exhibit featuring the work of mixed-media and printmaking artist Marvin Lowe.Lowe’s works have appeared in more than 200 exhibitions around the world and are part of permanent collections at the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian Institution and the New York Public Library.“Marvin is one of the best known and most collected artists to ever be a part of the faculty,” said Dave Colman of the Venue.Lowe was the recipient of several awards, including a Ford Foundation grant and a fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts. Lowe, who was also a jazz saxophonist, studied musical composition at the Juilliard School and English literature at Brooklyn College before receiving his MFA in printmaking from the University of Iowa, where he worked with legendary printmaker Mauricio Lasansky. Lowe came to IU in 1967 and helped create the IU Printmaking Workshop with artist Rudy Pozzatti. He worked in the Hope School of Fine Arts until his retirement in 1991. “He was instrumental in establishing what became the leading print-making departments in the country,” Colman said. After Lowe’s death in 2010, Pozzatti said of their colleague, “His most important contributions are the least tangible. His exciting intellect, his energy, his tenacity, his generosity and his great sense of humor have given those of us fortunate enough to have worked with him a presence that will remain as an inspiration to us all.”Seven of Lowe’s large mixed media paintings are on display and available for sale at the Venue. The works, which will be sold on a “best offer” basis, are available until Friday.— Rachel Osman
(12/06/13 3:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>A story spanning the journey of a family from British colonial Africa to 1970s London will be told this weekend as the IU Theatre presents Caryl Churchill’s “Cloud 9.”Performances will take place Friday, Saturday and Dec. 10-14 at 7:30 p.m., with an additional show at 2 p.m. Dec. 14. All performances are at the Wells-Metz Theatre.“Cloud 9” premiered in England in 1979. Churchill won a 1982 Obie Award for the work.Nearly 100 years pass between the show’s first and second acts, yet only 25 years pass in the story.“Originally, it was supposed to be set in 1979 and 1954, but they found that the way that people acted in 1954 was better accentuated by putting it back into the Victorian era,” Rob Heller, the show’s director, said.“Cloud 9” employs unique characterizations as it explores themes of gender and sexuality. Females frequently portray males and vice versa, and all of the actors take on completely new roles at the beginning of the second act.Joshua Krause, a second-year master’s student in acting, plays family patriarch Clive in the first act and Clive’s son Edward in the second. He said he didn’t find it difficult to differentiate between his roles considering the vast differences between the two men.“It’s been a wonderful journey finding what Edward has taken away from his childhood and what it was like to be parented by Clive,” Krause said. “I’m the father creating the son, and I get to play both of them when they’re about the same age.”David Gordon-Johnson, a junior theatre and vocal performance major, said the cast spent a lot of time learning the details of their roles.“During our first week of rehearsal, we did a lot of very specific movement and vocal work with the professors in the department to find what each of the characters was in terms of voice and body,” he said.Cast member Nichole Eberle, a senior theatre and drama major, said she was originally nervous about creating two different characters, but her fears have since disappeared.“It was all about finding the similarities between them,” she said. “Now at this point, it’s natural for me.”Along with character switches, the moods of the two acts have tones that couldn’t be more different, said Heller.“In act one, they lie a lot and they’re masked and they’re hiding behind manners and duties and what you’re supposed to do, whereas in act two, they say everything they feel and think,” he said of the characters.Despite the difference in societal attitudes toward sexuality in the Victorian era and the 1970s, some of the story’s same problems persist after the time jump.“This play gives us hope but no answers,” Krause said.The content of “Cloud 9” forced the actors to explore and speak about their personal feelings regarding topics that are not widely discussed in society, something Gordon-Johnson said he found very challenging.“We had to figure out where we as people and as actors stood in terms of our comfort with ourselves and these different topics before we could really delve into the truth-telling of the play,” he said.He said he hopes audiences take away a message of acceptance of personal situations.“I want them to take away the idea that you have to live and be in the circumstances that surround you because try as we might, the world doesn’t really change to fit us, we change to fit it,” he said.“You have to journey forward with what you’re given,” Heller added.Follow reporter Rachel Osman on Twitter @rachosman.
(12/05/13 5:17am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>A Sugar Plum Fairy, a Mouse King and a Nutcracker Prince will kick off the holiday season at the Musical Arts Center tonight.IU Ballet Theater will present its annual showing of Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s “the Nutcracker” for the 55th year at 7 p.m. Additional performances will take place at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.“‘The Nutcracker’ is famous for either making people go back to the ballet because they love it so much or for inspiring young dancers,” said Michael Vernon, choreographer and director of the show and chair of the ballet department.This is Vernon’s seventh “Nutcracker” production at IU. He said he generally maintains consistency and only makes small changes from year to year.“I fine-tune,” he said. “They’re not huge changes. The structure stays the same.”The story of “The Nutcracker” is based on an Alexandre Dumas adaptation of German author E.T.A. Hoffmann’s story “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King.” Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov choreographed the original production, which premiered in St. Petersburg, Russia, in 1892.Senior Melissa Meng is one of four dancers to play the Sugar Plum Fairy, one of the ballet’s most prominent roles.“I like that she is in charge of bringing all of the magic to Clara,” Meng said. “She’s part of the fairytale.”Meng has performed in “The Nutcracker” every year since childhood and said the show has had a large effect on her.This is the first time she has played the Sugar Plum Fairy at IU. Meng had to figure out how to put her own spin on the popular role.“There are a lot of different ways she could be and there’s room for artistic interpretation, so you have to find how you best fit the role,” she said.Sophomore Alexandra Hartnett will also portray the Sugar Plum Fairy, a part she found physically demanding.“It’s very, very long and you really have to pace yourself,” Hartnett said. “The most difficult part for me was concentrating on my breathing and keeping myself calm through the piece.”Vernon said an understandable story and a relatable little girl heroine in the role of Clara draw audiences to “the Nutcracker” each holiday season.“I think my role as a director is to remember that people don’t see ballet, so you have to tell the story in a way that is understandable and also can be appreciated by ballet aficionados as well as those who are coming for the first time,” he said.Meng said the show is a fun and easy ballet for audiences to watch.Though the show “puts people in the right frame of mind for Christmas,” it’s also about the dancing and iconic music, Vernon said.He thinks familiarity with the music, which frequently appears in holiday television commercials, helps audiences connect to the story.“If people aren’t familiar with ballet, and they go to a ballet where they feel parts of it are familiar, they have more of a connection with it,” he said.Hartnett hopes the performances leave a lasting effect on the audiences.“If it’s their first time seeing ‘the Nutcracker,’ I hope they enjoy their experience and want to learn more about ballet and the different styles that are present in this day and age,” she said.
(12/03/13 5:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The Grunwald Gallery of Art is displaying two new exhibitions, “Just Visiting: Visiting Faculty Exhibition” and “The School of Fine Arts Abroad: Overseas Study Exhibition,” that highlights the work of visiting faculty and study abroad students.The exhibitions, which open to the public today, will be on display through Saturday. A reception will be staged from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday in the gallery.“Just Visiting: Visiting Faculty Exhibition” consists of works by visiting faculty in the School of Fine Arts. Several art media, including printmaking, sculpture, photography and painting, are represented.“We generally have some kind of faculty show during each school year,” said Amanda Fong, a public relations assistant at Grunwald. “This year was an opportunity to highlight the high quality work of the many talented artist instructors we have coming through the program specifically as visiting professors.”“The School of Fine Arts Abroad: Overseas Study Exhibition,” contains artwork that was created by students on summer study abroad programs taught by members of the Fine Arts faculty in Italy and Japan.Fong said Grunwald does an Overseas Study exhibition every year to display the work of students after their time studying and making art abroad.“It is a way to see into the studies of the participants to show the value of the School of Fine Arts Abroad program,” she said. Fong also said visitors should see the exhibitions as a showcase of the things the School of Fine Arts has to offer, including the study abroad program, the accessibility between students and Grunwald, and a faculty that is always “changing, progressing, and bringing new things to the School of Fine Arts.”Follow Rachel Osman on Twitter @rachosman.
(11/21/13 3:47am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Union Board Films presented a special screening of “How to Survive a Plague” Wednesday night at the Whittenberger Auditorium.The film is a documentary from 2012, and it is centered on AIDS. The film’s director, David France, was present at the event. After the screening, he stayed around to answer questions from various audience members.France is an investigative reporter as well as a non-fiction author, and he is known for focusing on LGBT topics in his novels. He used more than 700 hours of footage to compile “How to Survive a Plague,” which was the first film he had ever directed.The documentary chronicles the early years of the AIDS epidemic by following the efforts of AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power and Treatment Action Group.The two groups are activist organizations that work to improve the lives of those individuals who have been diagnosed with AIDS.The film was met with critical acclaim and positive reviews upon its release, which was in September 2012. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature as well as the Sundance Film Festival’s Grand Jury Prize. The film and France’s appearance was presented by Union Board, which was in partnership with Sexploration at IU, Positive Link, GLBT Student Support Services and the Department of Gender Studies. — Rachel Osman
(11/15/13 1:48am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>One of the world’s best-known children’s stories will be brought to life this weekend as IU Opera Theater presents “Hansel and Gretel.”Performances will take place at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Musical Arts Center, with additional shows at 7 p.m. Nov. 21 and 8 p.m. Nov. 22.The original story of “Hansel and Gretel” was passed down through oral tradition for centuries before being written down and published by the Brothers Grimm in 1812.German composer Engelbert Humperdinck composed the opera for “Hansel and Gretel” using a libretto based on the Grimms’ version of the story by his sister Adelheid Wette.It first premiered in Weimar, Germany, in 1893 under conductor Richard Strauss and continues to be performed around the world.Although the opera is heavily influenced by the Grimms’ story, there are “gigantic” differences between the two versions, Stage Director Vincent Liotta said.“The original story is actually quite scary,” he said. “The opera is a story for children.”The characters of Hansel and Gretel are children but played by adults in the opera due to the size of the large orchestra, said Liotta.Soprano Jessica Beebe, a second-year doctoral student in voice, plays one of the two Gretel roles in the double-casted production.She said she found it challenging to portray someone so young. “The difficult part for me is becoming the child,” Beebe said. “It’s hard for me to set the technique, the preparation, the school, the learning that I’ve had to be an opera singer and to have that, but channel it into a childlike attitude and just act like a kid.”Although this aspect of her role has been hard to get used to, Beebe said she has enjoyed it overall.“Acting like a child and also singing like a strong adult has been kind of a complex, but it’s something good to achieve as a singer,” she said.Humperdinck’s version of “Hansel and Gretel” is in German, but IU Opera is performing the English singing translation by librettist Cori Ellison.“A lot of things make sense and are easier to understand than the abrupt German translation,” she said.Second-year master’s student and mezzo-soprano Meghan Folkerts is one of two women to play Hansel.She has played smaller trouser roles (when female singers portray male characters) in the past, but this is her first lead role as a male character.“It’s been a great learning experience, especially since it’s something that my voice type will lend itself to in the next couple of years,” Folkerts said.The fact that her character is still a little boy made her job a bit easier.Folkerts also said she thinks “Hansel and Gretel” is a great first opera for people to see.“It’s a fairy-tale opera, so everyone knows the storyline,” she said. “It’s in English, so there’s no language barrier, and the music is absolutely gorgeous.”Beebe said she thinks audiences will automatically be taken with the overall magic of “Hansel and Gretel.”“You can’t leave the show without having joy in your heart and a smile on your face,” she said.Follow reporter Rachel Osman on Twitter @rachosman.
(11/13/13 4:03am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Cartoonist and comic book artist Chris Ware entertained audiences Tuesday afternoon during a public lecture at a packed IU Cinema.Ware’s visit was part of the College of Arts and Sciences’ Themester 2013, “Connectedness: Networks in a Complex World.”“He’s the creator of some of the most beautiful, mysterious, intelligent and moving books I have read in some time,” Jonathan Elmer, director of the College Arts and Humanities Institute, said.Ware is best known for his “Acme Novelty Library” comic book series and the graphic novels “Jimmy Corrigan, the Smartest Kid on Earth” and “Building Stories.”He has been praised by critics and won numerous literary awards for his works, including an American Book Award and the National Cartoonists Society’s Award for Best Comic Book. In addition, “Building Stories” was named one of the “10 Best Books of 2012” by the New York Times.During his presentation, Ware discussed his childhood and career as well as some of the people he admires.His interest in stories was heavily influenced by his mother and grandfather, both newspaper reporters, as well as his grandmother, whom he said was a great storyteller.“She would create a sense of reality through just a few well-placed sentences,” Ware said. “It was really mesmorizing, almost like time travel, listening to her tell stories about her childhood.”Although he read a lot of comics as a child, Ware said that “Peanuts” meant the most to him.“It’s pretty much the only literature I can think of that you can read as a five-year-old and as a 50-year-old and still get something as rich and important out of it,” he said.After becoming interested in underground comics in high school, Ware studied painting and sculpture at the University of Texas at Austin, where he published comics in the school newspaper.Ware said he felt odd about doing comics and fine art at the same time.“I felt like I was leading a double life because comics are considered a commercial pursuit,” he said. After deciding to pursue a career as a comic book artist and cartoonist, Ware began publishing in a variety of outlets as well as self-publishing his own work. In recent years, his designs have notably appeared on several covers of The New Yorker.When discussing “Building Stories,” which is made up of multiple printed works put together in a box set, Ware said he was trying to evoke a feeling of excitement.“I had wanted to do this for a long time,” he said of the unique packaging. “I didn’t want to do it in a frivolous or stupid way. I wanted to have a reason.”After the lecture, Ware answered questions from attendees and signed books.He acknowledged the unique and valuable connection between him and his audience.“There’s a relationship between a cartoonist and a reader that I really cherish,” he said.Follow reporter Rachel Osman on Twitter @rachosman.
(11/08/13 3:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Greed, truth and tension will be examined through the interactions of a conflicted Southern family this weekend as IU Theatre presents Tennessee Williams’ “Cat On A Hot Tin Roof.”Performances will take place at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Ruth N. Halls Theatre, with additional shows next week.The play, which takes place over the course of a single evening, tells the story of a dying family patriarch and his problem-filled sons, alcoholic Brick and greedy Gooper, and their wives, Margaret and Mae. “The most unusual thing about Brick is that most characters are fighting to win something, but in Brick’s case, left to his own devices, he’s actually kind of fighting to lose,” Aaron Kirkpatrick, a third-year M.F.A. student who plays Brick, said.Andrea Mellos plays Brick’s wife, Margaret. Mellos said her character is very different from her husband.“Where Brick runs away from the truth, Maggie has a magnetic pull towards the truth,” Mellos said. “She’s a very raw person.”Because the play takes place in the Mississippi Delta, all of the actors had to adopt strong Southern accents. Kirkpatrick said he finds it easier to take on an accent immediately instead of waiting to add it later in a rehearsal process. “When you can hear the voice of the character in your head, then you get so much closer to being in the body of it,” he said. Kirkpatrick said the dialect is an essential part of the overall performance.“You can’t do Williams without the accent because the musicality of the text is part of the fabric of the play,” he said.Mara Lefler plays Mae, the sister-in-law of Brick and Maggie who is fighting with them over the family inheritance. The second-year M.F.A. student said she found it difficult to play a character that people generally don’t like. “The hardest part about Mae was to make sure that I found the justification in her action and the sincerity in her action,” Lefler said.Mae and Maggie find themselves in constant conflict, although they share many similarities. “The jealousies that end up happening between Mae and Maggie are quite fascinating because they both have things that the other person wants,” Lefler said.Sound designer Suli Stuelpnagel said she didn’t want a lot of music in the show because of the high level of emotion and tension between the characters.“The director and I talked and we both agreed that we didn’t want a lot of underscoring in the show because we didn’t feel like it needed it,” she said. Stuelpnagel said the writing speaks to the mood of the show and that it was her job to enforce that mood.“Tennessee Williams writes in his scripts exactly what he wants,” she said. “The hardest part about designing it was the ambiance and picking the music. There’s so little music, so you really have to pick it well.” Lefler said she admires Williams for not writing typical characters. “Something incredibly lovely about Tennessee Williams and the plays that he writes is that he doesn’t write characters that are not fully developed,” she said. Kirkpatrick said his character’s internal struggle was a major conflict. “The saddest thing about what Brick has gone through and what Brick’s still going through is that the one who’s judging him the most, his biggest adversary, is himself,” he said.This conflict, as well as the problems of other characters, are not necessarily resolved by the end of the play.“You start with a glimmer of ‘tomorrow might be a better day than today’ was because he’s been forced to face some truths about his life that he’s been fervently trying to avoid,” Kirkpatrick said.Follow reporter Rachel Osman on Twitter @rachosman.
(11/05/13 3:44am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Actress Glenn Close made an appearance at IU Cinema Monday night to introduce her 1983 movie “The Big Chill,” which screened as part of the film series for the College of Arts and Sciences’ Themester 2013, “Connectedness: Networks in a Complex World.”“She is an inspired choice, having spent much of her life exploring the landscape of connectedness on the stage and on the screen,” said Larry Singell, executive dean of the College of Arts and Sciences.Tickets to the screening were free, but attendees had to reserve them in advance before they ran out. A standby line was available to fill remaining seats before the movie started.IU Cinema screened two additional Close films, the 1988 historical drama “Dangerous Liaisons” and the 2011 drama “Albert Nobbs,” last weekend in honor of her visit.In addition, Close will speak about her organization Bring Change 2 Mind, which works to end the stigma and discrimination surrounding mental illness. Her lecture, entitled “Ending Stigma, Changing Minds and Saving Lives through Mental Health Advocacy,” will take place at 3 p.m. today at the Whittenberger Auditorium.During her introduction to “The Big Chill,” Close discussed the process of making the film as well as her thoughts on connectedness.When filming “The Big Chill,” director Lawrence Kasdan required the entire cast to always come to the set, whether they were working or not.“He wanted everybody always together,” Close said. “I think he was trying to form this great feeling of friendship. By the time we actually started doing the film, we had spent a lot of time together, and I think it really paid off.”Close, a six-time Academy Award nominee, said she came to an important realization while filming the movie.“It was in ‘The Big Chill’ that I started to realize how powerful thought is in film,” she said. “It really was a very important step for me in my training about my craft.”Cast members from the movie recently gathered in Toronto to celebrate the film’s 30th anniversary, and Close said she the connections they formed three decades ago are still present today.“I have to say, the connectedness that we created all those years ago making this film is just as strong today as it was back then,” she said. “When you go through such an important communal, challenging experience together, one of the great gifts of my profession is that it can create friends that last for your whole life.”Follow reporter Rachel Osman on Twitter @rachosman.
(11/04/13 2:35am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Filmmaker and comedian Bobcat Goldthwait kept audiences laughing Friday afternoon during an appearance at IU Cinema as part of the Jorgensen Guest Filmmaker Lecture Series.Two of Goldthwait’s films, the 2011 dark comedy “God Bless America” and the 2013 horror film “Willow Creek,” screened at the Cinema Thursday night. His visit was co-sponsored by the Comedy Attic, where he performed four stand-up shows during the weekend.During his interview-style talk at IU Cinema, Goldthwait discussed his childhood, the history of his career and his current and future projects.“His comedies make you laugh, but they also make you question, which I think sets him apart from other comedy directors today who often go for easy laughs and cheap sentimentality,” said James Paasche, a doctoral student who oversaw the lecture.Goldthwait began his career doing stand-up comedy as a teenager in Syracuse, N.Y., with his childhood friend Tom Kenny, a successful voice-over actor best known as the voice of SpongeBob SquarePants.“I was really drawn to him because he was funny, and he drawn to me because I could make nuns cry,” Goldthwait said of Kenny.Goldthwait transitioned from comedy to acting in the 1980s when he appeared in several movies, including three films in the “Police Academy” series.He made his directorial debut in 1992 with “Shakes the Clown” and later ventured into television directing, where he worked on programs such as “Chappelle’s Show” and “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”“I should have known that directing was what I always wanted to do because whenever I would go to a movie\ I would always read who directed it before I knew what the movie was about,” Goldthwait said.In 2006, his film “Sleeping Dogs Lie” was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize in the Dramatic Features category at the Sundance Film Festival.“It changed the whole trajectory of my life,” he said.A distinct aspect of Goldthwait’s directing style is his frequent use of comedians as actors, which he said comes down to a comfort and trust level.“They bring extra stuff to it, like when they ad lib or change a line,” Goldthwait said. “I welcome that. I like it to be a collaborative process.”After the interview, audience members had the opportunity to ask Goldthwait questions. When asked if he would return to acting, Goldthwait said he is happy in his current position as a director.“Just telling stories is enough for me,” he said. “I love telling stories, and I truly love making movies.”Follow reporter Rachel Osman on Twitter @rachosman.
(11/01/13 2:41am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The Jacobs School of Music had a dedication ceremony for the new East Studio Building Thursday afternoon at the Musical Arts Center.The ceremony included speakers and musical performances by the Jacobs School of Music Herald Trumpeters, Professor of Voice Marietta Simpson with guitarist Tyron Cooper and the Singing Hoosiers.In addition, IU alumnus David Jacobs was awarded an honorary doctoral music degree, for which he received a standing ovation from the crowd.Audience members were able to attend a reception following the ceremony and receive tours of the 85,000-square-foot building located on the northeast corner of Third Street and Jordan Avenue.Construction for the East Studio Building, which was funded by a $44-million grant from Lilly Endowment Inc., began in April 2011 and was completed this summer in time for the fall semester. The building is home to Jacobs’ administrative offices and 84 faculty studios.IU President Michael McRobbie described it as “a magnificent new facility that gives our world-renowned faculty and exceptional students the learning and teaching space they need to reach new heights.”IU Provost Lauren Robel said although Jacobs faculty and students always enjoyed access to performance spaces, their practice and teaching facilities left much to be desired.“To say that the new East Studio Building is an upgrade would be an understatement,” she said.Robel also discussed the technological aspects of the studios in the new building, which she said are acoustically and technologically far beyond anything Jacobs faculty or students have had access to in the past.“The building was designed to highlight the vital role of connectivity in the educational experience,” she said. “The telecommunications equipment provided in each studio allows faculty and students in the Jacobs School to connect with music professionals around the world.”Junior saxophone performance major Steven Banks said although the new building has only been open for a few months, it has already become a central part of the lives of music students at IU.“Apart from the studios and practices spaces, this building gives music students a great environment to study, relax and socialize in its lounges,” he said.He said he also thinks it will be helpful in the recruitment process at Jacobs because prospective students will notice and remember such a beautiful facility.“I know it will positively affect our faculty, students and prospective students for many years to come,” he said.Follow reporter Rachel Osman on Twitter @rachosman.
(10/31/13 4:01am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The 1975 cult classic “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” has become a Halloween must-see for many, complete with transvestites, red lipstick and cannibalism. This weekend, locals and students will have an opportunity to “Time Warp” and become part of the show.Richard O’Brien’s musical about an engaged couple who end up at the home of a transvestite scientist first premiered in London in 1973 before it was adapted into a cult film two years later. A theatrical version of the musical, presented by University Players and Union Board, will hit the Buskirk-Chumley Theater stage tonight, Friday and Saturday. “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” currently holds the record for longest-running theatrical release in film history.“We wanted to do something big,” said Caleb Blackerby, a senior arts management major and director of the University Players’ production of “Rocky Horror.” “We also wanted to use it as a fundraiser because we don’t usually charge for our shows.”Blackerby serves on the board of directors of University Players, a student-run theater organization, and said that even though the group receives funding from IUSA, it’s getting harder to come by.“This was our opportunity to both gain experience and potentially make some money for the group as well,” he said.“Rocky Horror” features 24 student performers and an additional eight students working behind the scenes.University Players decided to combine resources with Union Board to make “Rocky Horror” possible with a larger budget.“We needed to partner with someone in order to get the necessary money, and they also have a lot more experience with marketing than we do,” Blackerby said. “So their expertise combined with our expertise, it gets put together.”A signature part of a typical “Rocky Horror” performance is audience participation. Blackerby said audience members should dress up.“They’ll be out of the norm if they’re not,” he said.Although University Players has been rehearsing for “Rocky Horror” for seven weeks, the set for the show was built in only three days, which was a major challenge for University Players members, Blackerby said.“We’re fairly confident in saying this is the largest student-built set that IU has ever seen because most student groups don’t do shows here, but this was the only big stage available to us,” he said.Blackerby described his favorite part of the musical as “the whole show.”“It’s so high-energy the whole time,” he said. “You really don’t stop. It’s big musical numbers over and over, so it’s a lot of fun.”Even though the entire cast and staff of “Rocky Horror” are made up of undergraduate students, Blackerby said he doesn’t think it makes a difference in the quality of work.“We just really wanted to use this to prove that student groups and student-run organizations can do big shows and produce things of the same quality that you would see from the professional companies here in town and the theatre department as well,” he said. Follow reporter Rachel Osman on Twitter @rachosman.
(10/28/13 1:56am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Classical guitarists from around the world gathered at the Jacobs School of Music during the weekend to participate in the fourth annual Indiana International Guitar Festival and Competition.Competitors were divided into three divisions: junior youth (ages 14 and under), senior youth (ages 14-18) and open (ages 19-35) and were judged on categories including technique, presentation, style and difficulty of repertoire. The winner of the open division received a $1,700 cash prize while the senior youth winner earned $500. Additional monetary awards were granted to the top three runner-ups in each category.The junior and senior youth divisions consisted of one round, but the open division featured a 33-person preliminary round, nine-person semifinal and four-person final.Petar Jankovic, executive director of the competition and visiting lecturer of guitar at Jacobs, said the open division competitors were mainly students and young professionals who came from all over the world.“Mexico and Canada are represented almost every year, then we have some Europeans, people from Asia and many states,” he said.There were no requirements as to the works the guitarists had to perform, although they were subjected to time conditions.“Each round, we have different time limits, but it is really open repertoire, so they can play whatever they know best,” Jankovic said.Students from the Jacobs guitar department were not eligible to compete because it could be seen as a conflict of interest as many of the judges were Jacobs professors.“We have one of the strongest guitar departments in the country, so the chances are that we would almost always have some of our students in the finals,” Jankovic said.In addition to the competition, the festival featured two guest artists that gave workshops and played concerts that were open to the public.Chilean guitarist Luis Orlandini gave a master class Saturday and played a concert Sunday night, while guitarist Matt Palmer entertained crowds Saturday night.“We bring this festival for our students to experience a world-class festival, and so they can watch because in order to see this many great players from all around the world, you would have to pay a lot of money to go somewhere else,” Jankovic said. Follow reporter Rachel Osman on Twitter @rachosman.
(10/25/13 2:33am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The story of a poet’s unrequited love and psychological downfall will be explored this weekend as the IU Opera Theater presents Jules Massenet’s “Werther.”Performances will take place at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Musical Arts Center, with additional shows at 8 p.m. Nov. 1 and 2.This will mark the first time IU Opera has performed “Werther” in 38 years.French composer Massenet completed the four-act opera in 1887 to a libretto based on the 1774 novel “The Sorrows of Young Werther” by German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.Massenet attempted to have “Werther” performed at Paris’s Opéra-Comique, but he was rejected on the grounds that the opera was too serious. “Werther” eventually premiered in Vienna in 1892.“It’s a very, very challenging opera because we have scenes outdoors in a garden, inside by a Christmas tree, outside in a snowstorm and scenes of violence,” Stage Director Candace Evans, who previously directed “Candide” and “Akhnaten” for IU Opera, said,. “There’s a great deal of diversity.”Rehearsals for “Werther” have taken place over the last three weeks. Although the show features two sets of casts, Evans said she has not had difficulty with maintaining consistency because everyone works together.“Usually if I have a double cast in the professional world, there’s a certain degree of competitiveness, which is not present here,” she said. “Because of it being a strongly collegial learning environment, there’s a great deal of cooperation and sharing of experience.”Evans also said she has found it to be a beneficial experience for the performers because their different strengths and weaknesses have allowed them to learn from one another.“It’s a very mixed bag, but everybody brings a gift,” she said.The expansive set for “Werther” was borrowed from a production by the Minnesota Opera.“It’s set in the Second Industrial Revolution, so the incorporation of steel and railroads and manufacturing was suddenly what life was all about,” Evans said.Evans described the character of Werther as “a poet, a romantic man who is probably living in the wrong time.” She said he is often seen as moody because of his sense of poetry, and her biggest challenge was maintaining psychological tension throughout the opera.“The music is very illustrative of psychology and because of that it can become melodramatic,” she said. “So keeping the balance of the story and the music and the psychological and not having it get overwrought, that’s the biggest challenge.”Evans said she never tries to send a particular message to audiences of the shows she directs because each person comes with a different perspective. Instead, she aims to accurately tell the story the music dictates.“A well-presented story is always my goal, and then the audience will hopefully enter that world and combine their own current situation with what they see and then hopefully be touched in a very personal way,” she said.Follow reporter Rachel Osman on Twitter@rachosman.
(10/21/13 3:31am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The IU Art Museum presented a bonsai tree demonstration and pop-up exhibition last weekend.Members of the community were able to view the work of local bonsai artists and learn about the background and care of the trees.Scott Yelich, owner of Eagle Creek Bonsai and president of the Indianapolis Bonsai Club, performed a tree-shaping demonstration and spoke about his experiences during a presentation Saturday afternoon.Yelich first became interested in bonsai after watching “The Karate Kid” and has worked as a bonsai artist for the last 22 years.He said he frequently made mistakes at the beginning of his career, such as trying to grow outdoor trees indoors.“I was killing stuff right and left when I first started out,” he said.He said he eventually improved his skills and found a mentor who specialized in tropical trees, his current specialty.Bonsai is traditionally a Japanese art form but is currently practiced in many countries around the world.“The Japanese are really known for holding it and perfecting it, but it has really gone beyond Japan,” Yelich said.“One of the nice things about doing this in America is we get a little taste of this and a little taste of that, but we get a mix of styles and cultures that culminate into one.”Bonsai trees can range in size, type and shape, but are all classified as bonsai because they are trees in a pot.Yelich said there are several ways artists shape the trees.It is mainly done through the use of temporary training wire.The length of time a wire stays on a tree depends on how fast the tree grows, and it can range from a few months to several year.Not every tree is ideal, so artists frequently have to adapt to a certain tree’s conditions.“Sometimes we have to bend the bonsai rules a bit and think about things like balance and positive and negative space,” Yelich said.While it is possible to perform a bonsai tree shaping on many types of trees, some are easier than others.Yelich said certain types, such as sycamores, are not usually successful.He also discussed general guidelines for bonsai pots and said it is important that a pot does not overshadow a tree.“You want the pot to add to the visual appeal of the tree, not distract from it,” he said.As someone who looks at hundreds of bonsai trees every day, Yelich said he enjoys when trees get individual attention.“To single them out and have people look at them and appreciate them, it’s a lot of fun,” he said.Follow reporter Rachel Osman on Twitter @rachosman.
(10/17/13 2:56am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Three new exhibits based on international jewelry design and collaborations will open from 6 to 8 p.m. Friday at Grunwald Gallery of Art.The openings of “Shift,” “Metal Inkorporated” and “These Moments Existed: Sim Luttin” coincide with a two-day art symposium presented by the Indiana University Metalsmithing & Jewelry Design Guild.“Zoom: Examining the Future of Craft” will feature lectures and workshops with various artists, researchers, curators and online social media contributors Oct. 18 and 19.The exhibits will be on display until Nov. 21.“Shift” and its corresponding catalog consists of more than 70 works relating to the current shift in the art jewelry field by 25 national and international artists.“Metal Inkorporated” is the result of collaboration between 15 metalsmiths and 15 printmakers from across the United States.The solo exhibit “These Moments Existed” consists of jewelry that reflects the moods of photographs by artist and IU alumna Sim Luttin.Betsy Stirratt, director of Grunwald, said the exhibits are experimental in terms of use of materials and feature jewelry and metal work that one wouldn’t typically see in a mainstream jewelry store.“There’s all kinds of things that you wouldn’t expect,” she said.Follow reporter Rachel Osman on Twitter @rachosman.
(10/11/13 4:11am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>They sing, they dance and they entertain.The Jacobs School of Music’s Singing Hoosiers will perform their Fall Preview Concert at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday in Auer Hall. An eight-piece band will accompany the Singing Hoosiers, now in its 64th season, during the concert.“We do everything: pop, Broadway, jazz, hip-hop,” said Steve Zegree, the Pam and Jack Burks professor of Music at Jacobs and director of the Singing Hoosiers.This is Zegree’s second year directing the ensemble, which he described as “energetic, entertaining and fun.”“If you come to a Singing Hoosiers concert and you don’t have fun, then something’s wrong with you because we really intend for our audiences to have a lot of fun,” he said.The 86 students who make up the Singing Hoosiers come from a variety of backgrounds, as there are no specific major requirements for members.“What’s really cool about the Singing Hoosiers is that it’s mostly non-music majors,” Zegree said. “The singers have to audition, but they can be any major on campus.”For the preview concert, the group will sing 16 songs that will be featured throughout their upcoming season. IU Professor of Voice Marietta Simpson, a mezzo-soprano, will give a guest performance as well.Additional Singing Hoosiers concerts this year include the Chimes of Christmas in December and the Annual Spring Concert in March, both at the IU Auditorium.“This is just kind of our fall campus debut,” Zegree said.Jared McElroy, a senior music education major, currently serves as the student manager of the Singing Hoosiers. He said his favorite part about his role is “the loving, caring relationships” he creates with all of his peers.Steven Berlanga, graduate assistant for the group, said it was difficult for him to adapt to the dance aspect of the Singing Hoosiers.“The choreography is something that’s very new to me, coming from a classical singer background,” he said.Zegree said he believes the combined singing and dancing the Singing Hoosiers are expected to do is very educational for members because it pushes them outside of their comfort zone.He said he hopes audiences come away from the show feeling great and loving the Singing Hoosiers.“There’s going to be a lot of love coming from that stage, so we just want a little love coming back our way,” Zegree said.Follow reporter Rachel Osman on Twitter @rachosman.
(10/09/13 3:05am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The Jacobs School of Music’s NOTUS: Contemporary Vocal Ensemble, under the direction of Dominick DiOrio and guest composer Caroline Shaw, performed its first show of the year Tuesday at Auer Hall.The select group of 24 singers performed “TIMESCAPES: Ancient Reflections in Modern Music,” a program of seven modern works with connections to the past.“We’re performing all music from the last 25 years or so, but all of it takes quotations from older music, from Baroque or classical eras, or even the Renaissance,” said DiOrio, an assistant professor of choral conducting.To evoke a sense of the past, many instruments from older eras, such as the harpsichord and viola da gamba, were played at the concert.The works performed came from a variety of composers, including Paul Mealor, Dominick Argento and Sven-David Sandström. DiOrio and guest composer Shaw had their pieces performed in the show as well.Shaw, who is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in composition at Princeton University, became the youngest winner of the award when she won for “Partita for 8 voices,” part of which was performed by the ensemble, at the age of 30.“We’re really lucky to have Carolyn with us,” said DiOrio, who previously worked with Shaw when they were both master’s students at Yale University. “She’s just a fantastic person all around.”During the performance, Shaw addressed the crowd and said that “Passacaglia,” the piece that the ensemble performed, was originally written for eight singers. She said DiOrio was very intuitive in adapting the original for the 24 NOTUS singers.DiOrio began conducting NOTUS last year when he joined the Jacobs faculty. He said the position fits him well because he’s both a conductor and a composer.“I’m very committed to both choral music and new music, so it’s the perfect position for me,” he said. “I couldn’t be happier to be here.”The group will perform again at IU in the spring as well as travel to New York City, among other places, for a performance at Carnegie Hall.DiOrio recognizes the hesitation many people feel when thinking about contemporary classical music.“A lot of people get scared when they think of new classical music as sort of crazy and alienating, but I deliberately choose music for my concerts and craft it in such a way so that people who come to the concert really have an experience by the time they leave,” he said.At Tuesday’s show, he said he crafted the works to send a message about modern music and the connections it shares with pieces from history.“All the music we hear today is somehow built on something that came before it,” DiOrio said. “In some sense there’s a part of some larger community and we’re all sharing in similar ideas and similar foundations, and even ideas that are 400 years old continue to inspire composers still living today.”Follow reporter Rachel Osman on Twitter @rachosman.
(10/07/13 2:05am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>There are countless restaurants in Bloomington, and a new company is trying to highlight the best of them.Started last December by IU student Eric Martinez, Bites of Bloomington Food Tours takes participants to six food establishments to give them a taste of local cuisine.“I want people to have the experience of trying a variety of foods in 3 1/2 hours,” he said. Martinez said he began to explore new cuisine at the urging of his roommate.“My roommate loved going out and trying places,” he said. “He took me out and got me out of my comfort zone, and I discovered new foods and restaurants.”After taking a food tour in Chicago, Martinez said he got the idea to start one of his own.He said he considered a few options before deciding on Bloomington.“Bloomington was the perfect city,” Martinez said. “Everyone I’ve worked with has been really supportive.”When deciding on tour stops, Martinez and Tiffany Hogan, an IU graduate who leads the tours, have very strict criteria. They said they only pick local locations that are distinct to Bloomington and serve consistent food with excellent customer service.“Sweet Claire Bakery is really unique because it’s the only place in town where you can get certain types of bread,” Martinez said. Other stops include Turkuazcafe, Baked! of Bloomington, Uptown Cafe and Oliver Winery. Many of the restaurant owners talk to the groups and answer questions about their establishments.Hogan also leads guests on a walk through the IU campus and Kirkwood Avenue, where she stops to give background about local landmarks.Martinez and Hogan said they did extensive research about the information presented on the tour.Martinez said they also solicit feedback via online surveys, which they take seriously.“We want to keep improving this experience,” he said. “And we plan to open a second tour route with brand new restaurants next year.”For more information on Bites of Bloomington Food Tours, visit its website atbloomingtonfoodtours.com.Follow reporter Rachel Osman on Twitter @rachosman.