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(05/24/08 3:30am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>The budget of a college student can be a downward spiral. The moment a postage stamp is out of the price range, it’s time to step up as a responsible adult and take some action. So what kind of change is in order? A life-altering change: Seek out free stuff on campus! While it may seem like the university system is draining students of their funds, benefits to the “poor college student” stereotype exist. From newspapers to movies to hip-hop dance classes, your life can feel pretty rich without spending any money at all. Union Board Film SeriesThe Union Board’s weekly film series is the oldest in the country, according to the its site. The movies change, the auditorium gets renovated, but one thing remains the same: free tickets for students. “We try to cover a wide genre of films,” said Union Board Director of Films Rachel Elman. “Our committee is formed out of a wide variety of interests that we try to reflect in the series.” The 2007-2008 series included the Oscar-winning “Atonement,” the romantic comedy “27 Dresses” and a special International Film Festival during the month of February. Films run at 8 and 11 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights in the Whittenberger Auditorium at the Indiana Memorial Union. Student Newspaper Readership Program News-hungry students will be happy to find The New York Times, USA Today and The Indianapolis Star free at IU. Thanks to the IU Student Association, newspapers can be found around campus and in the dorms Monday through Friday during the school year. Counseling and Psychological ServicesWhen the stress of class and college life weighs students down and they’re not sure where to turn for help, CAPS can step in as a valuable resource. With two free counseling sessions per semester, CAPS Director Dr. Nancy J. Stockton said the service can be helpful for students dealing with the transition from home to college. “There are some temptations for students to isolate themselves in their own rooms on such a large campus,” Stockton said. “CAPS groups can be good for people to use their social skills in a safe environment.” CAPS offers both individual and group sessions. Stockton also noted the CAPS section of the IU Health Center Web site additional resources for students. “There are stress management tips and relaxation exercises on our Web site that can be downloaded,” Stockton said. Students will also find assessment tests for depression or stress on the CAPS Web site. CAPS has appointments available as well as regular walk-in hours. For more information on CAPS and its resources, visit www.indiana.edu/~health. Jacobs School of Music performancesWith the exception of ballet and opera performances, most musical performances at the Musical Arts Center are free. Midweek orchestra concerts and jazz jam sessions can take studenwts away from their finite math homework – if only for an hour. Student performances on everything from piano to the saxophone also deliver high-caliber performances, sometimes more than one in a day.Recreational Sports group exercise classes Besides free access to workout equipment at the HPER and SRSC (as most students refer to the two most popular exercise centers on campus), Recreational Sports offers many free exercise classes every day of the week. If you miss high school varsity soccer practice, check out the sports conditioning class; if students count the Electric Slide or the Tootsie Roll among their best dance moves, they can upgrade their style with a hip-hop dance class. For students worried they won’t be able to get around campus easily to the free events, they can use both the IU and Bloomington Transit buses for free with their student IDs. And don’t neglect the assortment of museums, either: the IU Art Museum, Mathers Museum of World Cultures, Lilly Library and the Kinsey Institute Gallery are all waiting. With so many free offerings on campus, what do students still hope to see at zero charge? After a moment of deep contemplation, junior Chris Kremser came up with his perfect answer. “Basketball tickets,” Kremser said. Well, maybe next year.
(07/12/07 4:00am)
n"Secret Weapon", its eighth full-length album, MxPx sticks to its guns-- for the most part. The album overall has a "poppy-er" feel than in the past, but the result of the music doesn't stray too far from the group's roots.\nIt's amazing that Mike Herrara's voice has barely changed after 13 years as the frontman of punk-rocking MxPx, but safe to say that the consistency of Herrara's voice and the niche that the group's sound has filled has kept the group afloat and allowed the trio to produce accessible punk-rock music (a difficult task) throughout its career. \nThe lyrics, however, have changed. While the topics of MxPx tracks are generally geared towards the teen-angst crowd, "Secret Weapon" could be the sound track to an assembly on self-esteem at a junior high school. The humor of the early albums and the darker feel of more recent albums are both missing, leaving the album with a cheerful feel -- but also the desire for something more.\nThere are a few surprises on the album. "Sad Sad Song" is pop-punk meets "That Thing You Do." A track with the name "Punk Rock Celebrity" gets an unexpected boost with horns. The best track, "Drowning", might not come across as a hit, but it combines MxPx's older punk-rock sound with its poppy-er attempt with ease.\nAlthough the album could be characterized as "over-produced," it's difficult to criticize a group for taking advantage of sound-perfecting technology; however, a group that is known for a raw sound - especially in the punk-rock genre -- should be a little more cautious so as not to isolate fans who relate as much to the unprocessed sound of the music as they do to the lyrics.\nThis is not MxPx's best album but fans will find there are enough so-fast-your-head-can't-keep-up-so-your-body-has -to-do-the-work tracks to make up for the so-so lyrics.
(06/24/07 10:52pm)
Early Friday evening, a small group gathered at the Runcible Spoon for June’s installment of the Runcible Spoon Poetry Series, a monthly poetry and music event at the restaurant. \nFriday’s reading, “A Celebration of Male Words,” focused on men’s voices in poetry. Jumping from serious topics, such as the Iraq war, to whimsical ones, such the hunt for the perfect rake, the evening’s selections touched on a wide variety of topics. \nDavid Keppel, a Bloomington poet and winner of the Iraq war poetry contest run by prolific New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof, read a series of poems on the Iraq war, including his winning 2004 poem “Broken Interrogations.”\nKeppel also focused on the voice of Iraqi poets, reading selections by Iraqi poet Salem al-Asadi, translated by Salih Altoma, IU professor emeritus of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures.\n“In most countries, poetry is a very public thing, a very political thing,” Keppel said. “Being a poet is giving a voice to your people. It gives each of us a chance to be a part of that voice.”\nJack King, a native of New York, was also featured in “Male Words.” His poems embraced the idiosyncrasies of life in both his home state and his “Hoosierland.”\nEric Rensberger, the last of the three featured poets, peppered his reading with comedic irony and self-deprecation.\nMusical duo “Chapman and Brown” built upon Renseberger’s comedic air with French drinking songs and early-20th century Hawaiian tourist songs, using guitar, ukulele and unique sounds.\n“These events are very friendly and open for anyone,” Keppel said. \nKeppel heard about the Runcible Spoon’s poetry readings when he arrived in Bloomington in 2001. \nJesse Morelock, a Bloomington resident and nursing student at Ivy Tech, heard about the series and has attended the event every month this year.\n“It’s really the only (event) I know of in Bloomington like this,” Morelock said. He read an excerpt from his most recent literary endeavor during the open-mic portion of the evening.\nMorelock started writing as a creative outlet for “all the thoughts and problems” inside his head, he said.\nEqually poetic in character is the Runcible Spoon itself, a house-turned-restaurant that still holds a cozy-home-library feel. A hodgepodge of chairs filled the tiny room where the poetry series took place, enclosed by bookshelves stuffed with a rainbow of bindings.\n“It feels like I’m in someone’s living room,” said Bethany Scharnowske, a server at the Runcible Spoon. \nShe also commented that events such as the Poetry Series and the atmosphere are two reasons why she enjoys the Runcible Spoon so much and why others do, too.\nThe Runcible Spoon is located at 416 E. Sixth St., and is open 8 a.m. - 11 p.m. daily. The Runcible Spoon Poetry Series will close its season July 27 and resume in September.
(06/24/07 10:48pm)
The sky may have been a dreary gray on Saturday, but Bloomington’s downtown square was the exact opposite. Swirls of colors and shapes sheltered under neat white tents clearly distinguished the 27th Arts Fair on the Square from any hint of the lackluster conditions.\nParents, children, couples and college kids gathered on the courthouse lawn to view and purchase original artwork, most of which was created by Indiana artists. \nThe sidewalks were jammed with strollers and people leisurely peering into booths of pottery, photography, stained glass, woodwork, metal sculpture, furniture, watercolor, jewelry and more.\nThis year’s Fair on the Sqaure, run by the Bloomington Area Arts Council, featured 50 artists and artist-duos. The fair might seem casual to the curious art explorer, but applying to secure a booth at the annual show is a competitive process.\n“The artists submit their work, which is then juried. We had between 90-100 artists apply this year, but the Courthouse lawn can only hold around 50 artists. It’s very competitive,” said Nicole Longevin-Burroughs, coordinator for Arts Fair on the Square.\nTom Reed, an artist who hand-carves cooking utensils out of exotic wood from all over the world. \n“I like the idea of being scrutinized,” he said. “I have high standards, and I want to be involved in events with high standards.”\nAfter life in Hollywood and San Diego, Reed moved to the small town of Sandborne, Ind., into what he called a “radically different lifestyle.” \nWith a marketing background in the music industry, Reed said he was happy to escape a business based on selling image more than talent.\n“I know people aren’t buying my work because I’m sexy,” he stated, “but because they actually like it.”\nNew to Arts Fair on the Square was Steve Swihart, a Bloomington resident displaying crafted furniture made of wood and limestone.\n“I like to classify my work as simplicity with a twist,” said Swihart, one of 14 news artists to the show.\nHis work literally is “with a twist.” Swihart’s furniture has a simplistic appeal, with straight, smooth tabletops, but with unexpected additions of twisty, knotty pieces of wood on many of the pieces.\n“I just wanted to see how I’d do and if people would like what I do,” Swihart said.\nPhotographer and IU alumnus Kyle Spears’ booth was full of matted and framed work – and a steady stream of interested customers.\nSpears graduated from the IU School of Fine Arts in 2004 and now lives in Nashville, Ind. He does a lot of his work while traveling, evident in his display of photos taken in Japan and around Europe.\n“I like to combine travel and photography; I really like street photography,” Spears said.\nHe talked about his next photographic quest and even got some advice on interesting places from visitors to his booth.\n“I’m going to Vegas,” he said with a chuckle. “It’ll be quite a change.”\nAs for the future, Arts Fair on the Square may have to change its name. \n“We’re getting a little large for the courthouse lawn,” Longevin-Burroughs said.
(06/04/07 2:05am)
Those who thought Blink-182’s slow descent from raw punk rock to a watered-down, made-for-MTV version of the same genre signified the end of the in-your-face music were wrong. \nPunk “rawk” is alive and well, and the torch is being carried by one of the genre’s longest-lasting groups, MxPx. Known for its consistent punk sound and steady following, MxPx has fittingly taken on the title of headliner for the 3rd Annual Tooth and Nail Tour, which stopped in Indianapolis on Thursday.\nMxPx shared the stage Thursday night with pop-punk groups Hawk Nelson, The Classic Crime, The Fold and Sullivan, who rounded out the line-up.\nNext to MxPx, the other groups are novices to the world of punk-pop. MxPx released its first album in 1994, while the next-oldest group on the tour, Hawk Nelson, released its debut album a decade later.\nMxPx guitarist Tom Wisniewski thinks the gap is hardly an issue.\n“We’re just all bands hanging out. Whether we’ve been together for a decade or ten weeks – it doesn’t really matter. We’re all here to play music and here to play it well.”\nSullivan opened the show while teenagers wearing black T-shirts and Chuck Taylor shoes, the staple punk-indie uniform boasting a lifetime nearly as long as that of MxPx, drifted into the venue.\nSullivan frontman Brooks Paschal was excited about his group’s appearance on the tour, especially to promote the release of its sophomore album, “Cover Your Eyes,” which hits record shelves Tuesday.\n“It’s just a really good, honest record,” Paschal said after Sullivan’s set Thursday. “As a band I think we’ve figured out who we are for this one – it’s more motivated; you just believe in it more.”\nPaschal was equally elated about touring with MxPx.\n“They are one of my favorite bands, if not my favorite band. They’ve really been an inspiration.”\nThe tour’s four openers warmed up the crowd for an ear-pumping three hours before MxPx finally took the stage for a full hour of pure punk rock. Singer and bassist Mike Herrera took requests from the eager audience and spent a good portion of the show honoring them.\nFilling in for MxPx drummer Yuri Ruley, whose wife had a baby three weeks ago, was The Summer Obsession’s drummer Chris Wilson. Handpicked by the absent Yuri, he did an impressive job jumping in to play the band’s songs – a couple of which he had never heard before.\nMxPx is slated to release its newest album “Secret Weapon” this July. The lyrics of the new album address a few of the idiosyncrasies of today’s society, such as excessive text messaging. \n“It comes from just looking at the world and the way it’s changed, as well as growing up a bit,” Wisniewski said. \nDespite criticizing society’s dependency on technology, Wisniewski was optimistic about the new album’s brighter tone, which he compared to his band’s 2005 album, “Panic.”\n“‘Panic’ was a pretty dark record, but with this album, there is definitely a more uplifting message.”\nMxPx recently rejoined Tooth and Nail Records, the label that gave the group its start back in 1994. After a rough falling out with the label, MxPx found refuge with A&M Records before joining up with indie label Side One Dummy.\n“It was well-known that there was ‘bad blood’ between the band and Tooth and Nail for a while,” Wisniewski said. \nWhen asked about the return, he cracked a smile. “They asked us if we wanted to record a few songs for an extended version of ‘Let It Happen’ (a 1998 compilation), and we started working with them again. It went really well, almost like a healing, and it just grew from there. It felt like a homecoming.”\nThe tour’s stop in Indianapolis took place at The Irving Theater, a historic building that originally opened in 1913 as a nickelodeon theater. After 81 years of showing movies, the Irving closed in 1994 and has since been revived as the largest all-ages music venue in Indianapolis. \n“We try to select events that will hopefully appeal to a wide range of people, including the underage crowd,” Joe Wisner, an owner of the theater, stated.\nThe Tooth and Nail Tour did just that. The punk-rock teenagers brought their parents in plaid button-ups and pleated khakis, while the show also caught a few 20-somethings, most of whom displayed long-standing loyalty to punk rock in MxPx tour T-shirts from the ’90s. \nWisniewski also commented on the wide range of fans MxPx has amassed over the years. \n“We’ve had some shows on this tour in bars and clubs and there’ll be an older guy sitting at the bar who’s just like, ‘Right on, man!’ and then up front you’ve got teenagers just going ‘Ahh!’” he said as he waved his hands in the air, mimicking the younger fans.\n“Secret Weapon” will be released a month after the tour ends June 11 in Salt Lake City.\n“This tour is pretty bad timing to promote our album, since it comes out a month after the tour is over.” Wisniewski said. “All we can do is tell people about it now and hope they don’t forget come July.”
(02/03/06 4:02am)
Junior Jessica Rothert examined her photo collage carefully and pointed out the last touches she made to the finished project. Crinkled from tape and glue, covered in pictures of broken glass and writing paraphernalia, it looked like it had seen a lot of attention. But this collage was no art class project or dorm room decoration.\n"We made collages to represent our characters," said Rothert, a junior majoring in theater and drama and English, of her assignment. Rothert plays Honor, a poet whose journalist husband, Gus, is divorcing her for a beautiful young journalist.\nAfter months of preparation, Rothert and her fellow cast members take the stage at 7:30 p.m. in the Wells-Metz Theatre for the Department of Theatre and Drama's first play of the semester, "Honour."\n"Honour," a contemporary drama by Australian playwright Joanna Murray-Smith, examines the lives of four people as they experience one divorce from very different perspectives -- wife, husband, daughter and mistress, according to a release.\n"What's beautiful about this play is that even though Honor is the one who is being divorced, she isn't the victim," Rothert said. "The play looks at the divorce from each point of view and how it affects all of them. It's amazing how realistic it is." \nThe cast of four was chosen in November, and Rothert said she used winter break to delve into the show.\n"I read about women in crisis and did research on divorce. I watched my mom, too," she said. "The scariest thing is that I am 21, and I'm playing someone who has been married for 32 years. There are many things Honor has gone through that I haven't experienced yet."\nIn a department brimming with talented graduate students, "Honour" is the second play this season to feature an undergraduate in the lead female role. \n"I think undergraduates are learning sooner that we have to work harder," Rothert said. "We really have to step up when competing with graduate students." \nDirector Murray McGibbon first saw "Honour" when he was going through a divorce.\n"It's a fantastic play that affected me profoundly," he said. "It knocked me sideways." \nMcGibbon, has won numerous awards for directing and points out that the themes of "Honour" are applicable to the lives of many students.\n"This subject is not often covered in drama, but it has universal appeal," he said. "Divorce is something that a countless number of students have come in contact with." \nHonour (the British spelling of the word honor) is a word or concept often associated with truth and courage, but the play strips it down and simply asks: What does it mean to be honorable?\n"Each character has to define what honor is," Rothert said. "For Gus, that means not to lie. What each character understands honor to be affects why they make these choices." \nMcGibbon agrees. \n"There is this situation of following your heart's desire versus following your head's desire," he said. \nHe said it's about refocusing priorities, making promises to not only love and marry, but to be faithful and honorable -- \nrealizing the severity of commitment.\nTo emphasize the language and interactions between the characters, the set for "Honour" has been kept relatively simple. The stage, however, is surrounded on all four sides by the audience. \n"It's difficult to tell a story, the same story, when the audience is seeing different pictures," McGibbon said.\nThis arena-style set up presented a challenging task for first-year Master of Fine Arts scenic design student Chris Wych. \n"We wanted to keep the audience as close as possible, connected to the characters," Wych said. "It was interesting to figure out how we could push the limit of the space and keep within this box. The stage is like a boxing rink where the arguments take place."\nThe intimacy of the design heightens the tensions between the characters. \nCast next to Jessica Rothert are Jeff Grafton as Gus, Rosalind Rubin as Claudia and Alyson Bloom as Sophie.\n"It's been a happy production about a topic that is devoid of happiness," McGibbon said of the show. \n"This is a good drama, one that really wants to touch the audience. In the theatre, we write in vanishing ink," he said looking onto the empty stage. "We create these sculptures on the edge of the ocean that are then washed away."\nDown on the stage, two cast members moved into position, ready to be the living sculptures and collages essential to create the reality of "Honour"
(12/06/05 4:42am)
It was hard to miss all of the commotion Saturday night on South Jordan Avenue. "The Nutcracker" in the Musical Arts Center and the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in the IU Auditorium brought people, cars and something usually reserved for basketball games: policemen to control the crowds. In the midst of all the excitement, it might have been easy to miss the Wells-Metz Theatre nestled between the two larger venues, where a much smaller group sat rapt by the Theatre and Drama department's production of "Wit."\n"I was amazed," said IU alumnus Scott Britton. "The writing, performing and directing choices; top to bottom, everything was great."\n"Wit," the theatre and drama department's last show of the semester, tells the story of Vivian, a scholarly woman who battles ovarian cancer and must re-evaluate her life as she faces the reality of her approaching death.\nIn fact, rather than the play telling the story, Vivian tells the story herself. Casey Searles, who plays Vivian, began the show with her entrance and immediately started sizing up the audience. She didn't begin to speak until she was satisfied with it, and when she did talk, it was almost to lighten the mood. From that point on, it's hard to just watch the action and not feel that you are somehow participating in it yourself. Playwright Margaret Edson's choice for Vivian to directly address the audience creates a sense of intimacy and trust transcending the stage to the seats.\n"I thought the main actress (Casey Searles) was incredible; her performance was just incredible," student Jason Mirtl said after the show.\nSearles encompasses the intellect and, to use Vivian's own words, the "uncompromising academic standards" that shape the way the English professor approaches life and interaction with others. The humiliating situation of having a doctor who was once her student give her a pelvic exam or having to remind nurses of her name over and over stir Vivian's thoughts as she fights becoming just another patient to be studied in the hospital jungle.\nThe cast of "Wit" is relatively small with nine members, but each member has a unique relationship and impact on Vivian as she re-examines the manner in which she has spent her life. In a revealing scene where Vivian asks her doctor, Jason Posen, why he chose to study cancer, he responds with enthusiasm about the reproduction of cancer cells and research. The realization Vivian has at this point, that research is more important to Posen than people, reminds her of her own passion for her literature in contrast with creating relationships with her students.\n"It really looks at how we live our lives, how we care for others," said director Danielle Howard in an interview last week. "It shows the extremes of treating an illness before treating a person; before truly caring for a person."\nThe sporadic flow of nurses, doctors, tests and medications in and out of Vivian's new life reiterate her sense of losing identity and value as a person as she is constantly regulated by people who have no knowledge or desire to know who she really is. \n"It was a very powerful show," said junior Amanda Truxton. "It makes such a statement."\n"Wit" continues its showing every day this week at 7:30 until Dec. 10 in the Wells-Metz Theatre. For prices and ticket information, call the box office at 855-1103.
(12/02/05 2:03pm)
The Department of Theatre and Drama has tackled everything from murder to gay parenthood this fall, and now it will close the semester with the intimate play "Wit," a Pulitzer Prize-winner by Margaret Edson opening at 7:30 p.m. Friday in the Wells-Metz Theatre.\n"Wit" follows the story of Vivian, a successful English scholar who learns she is in the advanced stages of ovarian cancer and is forced to re-evaluate her life in the face of her own mortality. \n"Vivian discovers that as a patient she really has to fight for herself as a person to keep from being looked at as an object in a specimen jar. She has to fight for her humanity," said director Danielle Howard. "She uses her intellect and her wit as tools in this battle."\nThe production marks Howard's first main stage direction as an Master's of Fine Arts student at IU, and she said the opportunity to direct such a sought-after piece has been an amazing privilege. \n"'Wit' was pretty much on everyone's list as a choice piece for this season," Howard said. "There was talk all last year that this was a play the department definitely wanted to do."\nTaking on the role of such a complex, headstrong character has been a new experience for junior Casey Searles, whose past performances at IU have been much smaller than the lead role of Vivian.\n"I was initially worried about being so young and playing this older character that so many people have had an investment in. I didn't want to botch that," Searles said.\nHoward said she doesn't think Searles' age has limited her ability to take on the role of Vivian.\n"She's been fearless in her commitment to the character. She leapt right in from the beginning, just believing in the experience ahead of her," Howard said.\nThe cast met with different people in the medical field to discuss real-life experiences with ovarian cancer patients -- preparation in which both Searles and Howard discovered interesting parallels to the situations and themes proposed in "Wit."\n"They all had something very unique to offer, and yet their thoughts about death were very universal," Searles said.\nHoward said she believes this universality connects audiences with the play and its characters. \n"It is appealing because while everyone might not come in contact with cancer specifically, all will experience death or will be affected by the death of someone else. A lot of people can identify with Vivian; identify with re-examining one's life."\n"Wit" is comprised of nine cast members, a small number compared to the 34 in the department's last production, "Macbeth." Alongside Searles will be Josh Hambrock as Harvey Kelekian, Gargi Shinde as E.M. Ashford, Brian Stoller as Jason Posner, Claire Tuft as Susie Monahan and Rachel Crouch, Justine Salata, David Sheehan and Rachel Sickmeier in various roles.\nShinde pointed out the struggle in "Wit" to apply intellect to illness and the realization that mortality cannot be defeated by intelligence.\n"It's interesting that we cannot use intellectual knowledge to fight the most basic things," Shinde said. "For Vivian, that means coming to terms with her own death."\nHoward said she believes the evocative language of "Wit," which is often directly addressed to the audience, will resonate with the audience long after it leaves the theater.\n"The play puts you right there inside. You are never just a bystander, and yet you have to accept that you cannot do anything about the situation. It really pulls you in and makes you part of the experience," Howard said. "Ideally, it's something that stays with you and works on you"
(11/14/05 4:51am)
The lobby of the Ruth N. Halls Theatre was buzzing Friday night after the opening performance of Shakespeare's classic tragedy "Macbeth." The play, the third in the IU Department of Theatre and Drama's season, started its run with enthusiasm despite the dark mood of the show. \n"It was spectacular," said senior Erin Aakhus after the show. "It's a visual feast."\nIndeed, the atmosphere of "Macbeth" was established before the lights even went down. A smoky mist hovered over the dark set and lingered throughout the entire production, unsettling the audience and swirling around Macbeth's insatiable greed. The set, created by scenic designer Dathan Powell, incorporated dark and unusual elements like skulls, bones and rushing water. The mixture of dark metallic set pieces and the fluidity of the water and smoke illuminated Macbeth's desire to become king in contrast to his guilty conscience wavering over his dark deeds.\n"Macbeth" combined intense action and speech -- a swordfight followed by a soliloquy, in traditional Shakespearean fashion. The department's dynamic cast consists of 34 students, which is the largest for a nonmusical production in the past 20 years.\n"Macbeth" centers around the theme of power and the desire to have it, one dimension of which is present in the sexual tension between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. The play appropriately lacked any romantic feeling and filled its void instead with greed and ambition. Macbeth wrapped his arms slowly around the waist of his wife while complimenting her on her how unfeminine she is as they plot a murder. The production took care to display this heightened power and rejection of love, as power and deceit dominated the stage.\nLighting designer Robert Shakespeare also enraptured the audience with his designs for the show.\n"The lighting was especially powerful. It was very impressive," Bloomington resident Henry Berghoef said.\nBloomington resident JoAnn Kelley agreed.\n"I really enjoyed the use of red lighting. It was very effective," she said. \nKelley also praised the performances of the three witches, who appeared several times throughout the show. Their presence gave "Macbeth" an eerie, supernatural feel, making predictions and concocting potions that produced bloody consequences for the characters of the show. \nThe production team and cast have put together a compelling version of "Macbeth," which audience members said exceeded their expectations.\n"It's so much beyond what I could have expected from a college cast," Aakhus said. "It's very well articulated"
(11/11/05 4:43am)
Halloween might be over, but the Department of Theatre and Drama is keeping the devilish spirit alive with its presentation of Shakespeare's "Macbeth," opening at 7:30 p.m. tonight in the Ruth N. Halls Theatre.\nA story filled with witches, sword fights and murderers, "Macbeth" is not for the faint of heart. It remains one of Shakespeare's most notable tragedies, mixing in supernatural elements with reality, creating a dark, unsettling aura that has drawn in audiences for centuries. The theatre department's production is prepared to do just that.\nWith an incredibly talented cast and production team, director Dale McFadden said he is confident "Macbeth" will appeal to students.\n"It's one of the most accessible plays of ambition, retribution and downfall, and also explores questions of power and leadership," McFadden said. "It's very striking."\nSeveral nationally and internationally renowned artists have been brought in to help produce "Macbeth."\nProfessional fight director Neil Massey, who has directed fights for theaters all over the country, has worked with the cast to create the bloody battles and sword fights; Julia Lynn Powell, a prop craft artisan from Milwaukee, collaborated with properties master Leslie Hammond to make the contents of the witches' brew as well as the head of Macbeth that appears at the end of the show. Also a part of the production team is IU School of Music's own Adam Schweigert, a graduate student in electronic and computer music composition. Schweigert's work has been used internationally, and for "Macbeth," he created the sounds to accompany the dark scenery and underline the secret, deceptive ways of the characters.\nThe cast is composed of a variety of graduate and undergraduate students and reflects the wealth of talent in the theatre department. \n"The cast consists of 34 students, which is the largest nonmusical cast we've had in the 21 years I have been here," McFadden said. "They've been great to work with."\n"Macbeth" is the thesis project for two actors, Scot Purkeypile, who plays the title character, and Vanessa Ballam, who takes on the role of Lady Macbeth. The core of the cast is made up of graduate theatre students, with Eric Friedman as Macduff, Chris Hatch as Banquo and John Maness as King Duncan.\nMacbeth is also the thesis project for Carmen Killam, a third-year master's of fine arts costume design student. She has previously designed costumes for primarily contemporary pieces, but for "Macbeth" she has had the freedom to draw inspiration from many different sources to create a bold look for the show.\n"It's just one of those things you can do with Shakespeare -- experiment with different concepts," Killam said with a smile. "We wanted to create our own world, our own period."\nKillam cites designer Alexander McQueen as a key influence on her creations, as well as Asian influences she took from "Throne of Blood," the Japanese film adaptation of "Macbeth." \n"Most of the characters are in muted colors, but with such a play of power in the show, for some we decided to use red as a predominant color," Killam said. "It's a striking color that emphasizes and represents that powerful meaning. For King Duncan, I wanted the colors of his costumes to display what it is that Macbeth is striving for."\nNot to be overshadowed by the design work is the element of a Shakespearean play that makes it timeless -- the language. Joan Pong Linton of the Department of English will give a pre-show talk, "Riddling Macbeth: Shakespearean Tragedy and the Power of Words" at 3 p.m. today to address Shakespeare's use of language in "Macbeth."\n"The title 'Riddling Macbeth' plays on several things," Linton said. "The words the weird sisters (witches) speak to Macbeth seem at first like riddles, but when they come true, Macbeth returns to them and interprets the riddles in a such a way that gives him the confidence to go on and serve his ambition."\nLinton also said speaking with double meanings, or amphibious speech, was traditional of the rhetoric during the Elizabethan period when Shakespeare wrote "Macbeth." This use of language to create double meanings is evident in "Macbeth" and adds to the theme of reality versus fantasy, which is also shown in the soliloquies of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. \n"The soliloquies are very character revealing; Macbeth plotting to himself really shows the difference between how he appears and the reality of what he is planning to do," Linton said.\n"Macbeth" opens at 7:30 tonight in the Ruth N. Halls Theatre and plays tomorrow night and November 14 to 19. Tickets are $15 for adults and $13 for students and senior citizens. Student rush tickets are available 30 minutes before each performance for $10 cash with a valid student ID. Call the IU Auditorium Box Office 855-1103 to order tickets.
(10/27/05 4:20am)
Death is an inescapable part of life for all, regardless of sex, age, race or religion, but the practices of grieving and properly honoring a body after death differ greatly throughout the world. The Monroe County Historical Society explores these different practices in one of its newest exhibits, "Facing the Inevitable: Mourning and Mortuary Practices in Monroe County."\nA funeral service and burial might seem like the most likely ways to approach the death of a person here in the center of the Midwest, but "Facing the Inevitable" brings attention to practices from around the globe that are also represented in the Bloomington community.\n"The exhibit showcases the cultural diversity of our town and county and how our practices are influenced by the cultural groups we are a part of," said Carrie Hertz, creator of the exhibit. \nHertz, an IU student working on her Ph.D. in folklore, said the idea for the exhibit came to her earlier this year when a woven casket from the 19th century was donated to the museum, located at 202 E. Sixth St.\n"We weren't sure how we wanted to display the casket, but then the idea came to create an exhibit explaining how practices have changed over time and how culture influences the rituals of mourning and disposing a body," Hertz said. \nThe diversity is evident in each section of the exhibit, not only from the rituals practiced but also how death itself holds different meanings in different cultures. The Tibetan Buddhism display showcases a book on how to prepare for rebirth after death, which poses an interesting contrast to the Victorian Era section of the exhibit, which gives details of the rigid mourning that often lasted several years after a death.\n"A lot of people don't question that their practices are natural, but most are not necessarily natural but social ideas that have been shaped by cultural beliefs," Hertz said.\n"Facing the Inevitable" is a three-part exhibit focusing on the rituals surrounding death, mourning etiquette and how people are remembered after death.\n"Every society engages in these three sections. The differences lie within them," Hertz said.\nCatherine Johnson-Roehr, a member of the Monroe County Historical Society, was surprised by the extent of the exhibit.\n"It's much broader than I expected," Johnson-Roehr said. "The cross-cultural aspect makes it very interesting," \nThe exhibit places emphasis on practices of the Victorian Era, with a display of a black dress worn during the deep mourning period. Also on display are original pieces of jewelry worn during mourning rituals and often worn for the rest of one's life. A brooch from the 1800s holds a lock of hair worn in memory of a lost loved one. \n"The items are just really beautiful and fascinating; they are somewhat exotic," Hertz said. "I think my favorite part of the exhibit is the (commemorative) tattoo section. It's interesting that people get tattoos to remember others that have died," said junior Chad Miller.\nThe exhibit also includes sections on the histories of cremation and embalming, different types of gravestone designs and the importance in the United States of having the body to signify closure after a death.\nThe exhibit runs through February.