A&E

Open air theater gives graduate student professional experience

It was 8:30 on a summer evening, and once more James Neff stood ready on the stage. The late sun illuminated the crowd, making it impossible for the young lead to ignore his audience. Nearly 1,500 faces waited in expectation for the opening number.

Creating A Diva

The coming of an opera's opening night evokes all the wonders of another world manufactured for the stage. When most of us go to the opera, we are so busy appreciating the final product that the efforts made to bring it from the score to the stage are often overlooked. The fact is, an enormous amount of time, money and labor are put into transforming an idea into an impressive reality.

Emmy winner to film documentary on BPP

Although it is celebrating its 25th year of theater magic, the Bloomington Playwrights Project isn't throwing itself a party or buying itself presents. It isn't wearing a pointed birthday hat or eating cake and ice cream. Instead, the BPP will be the subject of a documentary created by two-time Emmy winner Bob Risher.

Baseball fund-raiser to benefit play group

While Major League Baseball players have months to prepare for the playoff series, Bloomington Playwrights Project teams get only 24 hours. This weekend the BPP proudly presents its Playoff Series, a baseball-themed fund-raiser. "We needed an idea for a profitable fund-raiser," said Sonja Johnson, BPP development director. "(Our artistic director) had done something similar to this with another group, and it was very successful, so we decided to try it."

Students finding flair for personal decorating, style at local stores

From contemporary clean to classic country, students arrive at their new residences ready to fill the space with personality. For many students, decorating their living space is an opportunity to settle into their surroundings while finding their own personal living style. Empty apartments, houses and dorms become an eclectic mix of flair and comfort.

Cross the street the Spanish Way

So my pressure has mounted as I have discovered that more than three people actually read this thing. You know when you're sitting in your 10 a.m. lecture and the person sitting next to you reeks of beer, bad B.O. and is in desperate need of a shower? You think to yourself, "Damn, someone had a good night last night!" They probably went out, got belligerent the night before, passed out for a few hours and rolled out of bed in time to get to class. It then gets to a point where you almost want to get up because it is unbearable (Those of you who don't have lecture classes can't partake in this exercise).

IU Festival Latino brings live music to Dunn Meadow

Latin beats drifted across Dunn Meadow's grassy field Saturday as IU's seventh annual Festival Latino showcased free live music, food and cultural activities as part of the celebration of National Hispanic Heritage Month. The event was organized not only to provide entertainment, but also to educate the public about cultural diversity.

Eva Ayllon performs at Buskirk-Chumley

As the streets of Bloomington were buzzing with people, music, dancing and artwork this weekend, so were all the concert venues during Lotus Fest. At 8 p.m. Saturday evening a line of fans waiting to see Afro-Peruvian singer Eva Ayllon formed at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater.

lotus festival 2004

This weekend, Bloomington's downtown area came alive with the unique international sounds of Lotus World Music and Arts Festival. The 11th annual multicultural event featured more than 30 artists from around the world, playing their own cultural tunes.

Whirling Dervishes demonstrate Turkish tradition

Saturday night, the Whirling Dervishes of Rumi performed the revolving Sema ritual to a packed house at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater as part of the Lotus Festival, the international music festival that drew a numerous spectators and world renowned artists to Bloomington this weekend.

Whirling Dervishes: A spin on spirituality

This weekend the Lotus Festival will present a mix of entertainment and spirituality. The Whirling Dervishes of Rumi will whirl Bloomington at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater.

Perlman opens IU concert season

London music critic Andrew Porter wrote in The New Yorker that experiencing violinist Itzhak Perlman in performance is experiencing "everything one wants a violin sound to be." The late veteran musician Isaac Stern once described Perlman's talent as "utterly limitless." In 2003, upon granting the Kennedy Center Honor to Perlman, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts said "the world falls in love with music when Itzhak Perlman takes up his violin" It's no surprise then that Doug Booher, director of the IU Auditorium, anxiously awaits Perlman's 8 p.m. performance Saturday at the IU Auditorium.

Latino Fest hits Bloomington

The IU Festival Latino is coming to Bloomington this weekend in honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month. The event will take place from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday at La Casa Latino Cultural Center, 715 E. Seventh St. The event will feature authentic food and music as well as the 2004 Mini-Soccer Tournament, in which four local teams will be competing.

Weekend festival offers taste of Mongolia

Traditional and contemporary Mongolian music, traditional wrestling, contortionists, religious talks, food and various arts and crafts will be part of the Mongolian Festival Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Hosted by the Tibetan Culture Center, the festival will take place during the same weekend as the Lotus Festival, which TCC Director Jigme Norbu hopes will increase Mongolian Festival attendance.

The Dorkestra reunites tonight

What do you call it when a guitar player, a bass player and a classically trained fiddle player mix together in New York? The Dorkestra. This year's Lotus Festival will see the 10-year reunion of The Dorkestra, a unique-sounding band that will be playing at the Bloomington Convention Center from 7 to 8:15 p.m. Friday and then again at Second Story from 10:45 to 11:30 p.m. Saturday.

Around The Arts

At 8 p.m. Saturday, the Bloomington Playwrights Project will hold a night of comedy. The season premiere of the original sketch comedy troupe All Sorts of Trouble for The Boy in The Bubble will be kicking off its third fall season after a short summer hiatus.

The MAC reopens with IU Philharmonic

After months of nail-biting and negotiating, the music school has at last reopened the doors to its monumental Musical Arts Center, complete with updated heating, cooling and sound systems, but more importantly, sans the asbestos. Following a benefit dinner for the Friends of Music Society, the IU Philharmonic, under the able baton of maestro David Effron, gave the MAC its first public performance since its closing at the beginning of the summer for renovations.

'BloomingOUT' celebrates one year of promoting diversity

WFHB, Bloomington's community radio station, is celebrating the one year anniversary of "BloomingOUT," Indiana's first and only locally produced Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender-themed radio program Oct. 7. The hour-long program airs 6 p.m. Thursdays on 91.3 and 98.1 FM.

WFIU celebrates music professor's 80th birthday

Classical music fans in the Bloomington area have just two chances left to hear broadcasts of selected performances by Janos Starker, internationally acclaimed cellist and IU distinguished professor of music. In honor of Starker's 80th birthday, which he celebrated over the summer, WFIU, IU's educational radio station, has declared Starker its Artist of the Month for September.

'Snobbed Out' in a black dress