A&E

Music, life, history spark playwright's inspiration

By Olivia Morales · Tuesday, March 30,2004 11:31 p.m.

There was a time when Ntozake Shange did not wear shoes. Some may have considered this strange, but for Shange, it was more a question of the familiarity of life and the substance of art that dictated her wild Bohemian behavior throughout her youth. "I didn't know how to wear shoes, I didn't dance in shoes," Shange said. "And then I'm at the Tonys, wearing shoes." Shange, a Tony-nominated writer best known for her play "For Colored Girls who have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow is Enuf: A Choreopoem," visited the Wellz-Metz Theatre Monday to give a lecture on her craft.

Award nominee at IU

By Stacey Laskin · Monday, March 29,2004 11:17 p.m.

The day Samrat Upadhyah, an IU creative writing professor, discovered he did not win the 2004 Kiriyama Prize, he sat at a desk in his Ballantine Hall office writing. "It's fine," he said. "I'm just honored to be even nominated."

Skilled in fashion

By Jaime Cohen and Jaimie Cohen · Monday, March 29,2004 1:03 a.m.

The Coquette fashion show held Friday night at the Indiana Memorial Union was met with excitement, compliments and much success. Months of hard work paid off for Collins resident Ruth Vaca, Union Board committee head Markeyta Martin and all of the student designers involved. The show, sponsored by Collins Living Learning Center, the Union Board and PEOPLE magazine, was a chance for student designers who were not part of the fashion design program to show off their talent in front of seven judges and more than 100 audience members. Five finalists' designs were chosen for the runway show. The student designers had to make all of the clothes themselves without using name brand clothing in their designs. This year's first place winner was Katie Dombek.

Final performance of jazz band

By -Jenny Kobiela · Sunday, March 28,2004 11:20 p.m.

IU's jazz band will perform its final single concert tonight at the Musical Arts Center. The band will be performing music from "West Side Story" and other pieces. The group, which is led by world-famous IU Professor David Baker, will also perform "Eye of the Hurricane" by Herbie Hancock and "Sunfest" and "Miami Nights" from Baker's "Miami Suite."

Buskirk-Chumley adds films to roster

By Josh Kastrinsky · Sunday, March 28,2004 11:18 p.m.

Film lovers and connoisseurs will soon be treated to a nostalgic film experience unrivaled by today's corporate theater. The Buskirk-Chumley Theater, a historic establishment in downtown Bloomington known for its concentration on visual arts, has announced a new regular film series to begin this fall. The series marks the first permanent series presented by the theater since 1995.

Ballet to combine modern, classical dance

By Jessica Dalsing · Friday, March 26,2004 12:56 a.m.

A fast-moving and upbeat performance characterizes the Spring Ballet as a program that is user-friendly for the most experienced audience members or first-timers. The IU Ballet will be presenting the "Homage to Tchaikovsky" at 8 p.m. March 26 and 27 in the Musical Arts Center. "It is a wonderful introduction to dance," said Virginia Cesbron, chair of the ballet department. The performance offers a sampling of three very different ballets, but all the ballets are set to music by Tchaikovsky. Each selection requires a different type of dancing and different tone. Molly Diemer, the public relations coordinator for the IU Ballet, described the selection as "very eclectic."

Collins debuts first fashion show

By Jaime Cohen and Jaimie Cohen · Friday, March 26,2004 12:29 a.m.

The first annual Coquette Fashion show sponsored by Collins Living Learning Center, the Union Board and People magazine kicks off at 8 p.m. tonight in Alumni Hall at the Indiana Memorial Union. The show is the first campus fashion show that allows non-design majors a chance to display their design skills.

'Laramie Project' opens with threat of anti-gay protestors

By Jenica Schultz · Friday, March 26,2004 12:27 a.m.

The IU Department of Theatre and Drama's production of "The Laramie Project," a docudrama, has been reproduced throughout the nation since its New York premiere in 2000. The play was originally produced by members of the Tectonic Theater Project and captured the attention of Pastor Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan., an anti-gay group that has picketed many of the performance locations. Phelps and his group recently announced they will be picketing IU's production of "The Laramie Project" April 1 through 3.

Around The Arts

By Alyson Brodsy · Thursday, March 25,2004 12:23 a.m.

Boxcar Books presents poetry readings Bloomington's Boxcar Books will host a weekend of poetry kicking off at 7 p.m. Friday with an Acoustic Women Showcase, presenting local singer/songwriters. The showcase features Denise Dill, Sara Downey, Sarah Graub, Serene Peterson, Morgan Stewart and Allison Williams. Poetry readings continue at 7 p.m. Saturday (admission with donation requested) with poets from Lexington, Ky., Brooklyn, N.Y. and Bloomington.

Flipping through fairytales

By Jamie Lusk · Thursday, March 25,2004 12:19 a.m.

Once upon a time, children's alphabet books were filled with magpies and bullfinches while adventure books starred pincushions living their lives one escapade at a time. That time was the 18th century and children's books and their place in society have come a long way since then. IU's Lilly Library proudly stores a sprawling treasure of 14,000 children's books from the 18th and 19th centuries, donated by the Ball family of Muncie.

The dumb fashionista

By Patrice Worthy and Patricia Worthy · Thursday, March 25,2004 12:17 a.m.

I have realized the fashion industry is very exclusive. The most people get to see of the industry is on television and through magazines. This limited view of the industry tends to create stereotypes concerning fashion and the people who love it. Although some of the stereotypes can be scathing, others are quite comical.

Buskirk-Chumley switches from cultured to countercultured for a night

By Benjames Derrick and Benjamin Derrick · Thursday, March 25,2004 12:15 a.m.

The Thursday before students headed out of town for spring break, Bloomington experienced a shockwave of heavy metal at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater, a place usually reserved for more traditional art forms. "I wanted to give the Bloomington metal scene some recognition. I wanted to have it here (Buskirk -Chumley) because it has a big stage and a concert atmosphere," said event coordinator Mark Reeves, founder and owner of Reeves Entertainment, the main supervisor of the event.

Harmony unites East and West

By Claire Blaustein · Thursday, March 25,2004 12:14 a.m.

The International Vocal Ensemble specializes in bringing music of diverse cultures to IU's campus. This weekend, however, cultures will cross further as the IVE hosts the Fukushima Kodály Choir. The Fukushima Kodály Choir is an ensemble made up mostly of primary school teachers from the northern provinces of Japan.

IU students take talk show stage

By Holly Johnson and Holy Johnson · Thursday, March 25,2004 12:13 a.m.

When junior Amanda Fick hit the highway for a cross-country road trip with her two roommates over spring break last week, she hardly expected to find herself rubbing elbows with a daytime talk show host or cooking chili with a reality TV star. Covering thousands of miles in 30 hours left Fick and her friends exhausted, and sunning in Santa Monica.

Dark comedy an original

By Alyson Brodsy and David Germain · Wednesday, March 24,2004 12:39 a.m.

LOS ANGELES -- Some filmmakers tiptoe around the word "remake." Others delicately suggest their film is not so much a remake as a "revisitation or reimagining," afraid of being scorned for filching someone else's ideas. The Coen brothers guffaw over such euphemistic distinctions. "Listen, this is a remake," said Joel Coen, who joined with brother Ethan to write, produce and direct "The Ladykillers," starring Tom Hanks in an update of the 1955 Alec Guinness black comedy. Leave it to the Coens to call it a remake while infusing it with so much of their own warped humor and macabrely funny imagery that it feels entirely original.

'Queen of Soul' hospitalized

By Alyson Brodsy · Tuesday, March 23,2004 11:19 p.m.

NEW YORK-- Aretha Franklin has been hospitalized for an undisclosed ailment and is in stable condition, her publicist said Monday. 'The Queen of Soul,' who lives in Detroit, was hospitalized Saturday, according to Gwendolyn Quinn, her New York City-based publicist. Quinn declined to say where the singer had been hospitalized.

Gypsy spirit soars at IU

By -Jenny Kobiela · Tuesday, March 23,2004 11:18 p.m.

Critically-acclaimed cimbalom player Kalman Balogh and the Gypsy Cimbalom Band will present a concert titled "The Music of Gypsy Spirit" tomorrow.

OutKast wins twice to lead Soul Train awards

By Alyson Brodsy · Sunday, March 21,2004 11:30 p.m.

LOS ANGELES -- OutKast's "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below" won two awards, including R&B/soul or rap album of the year, to lead the winners at Saturday's 18th-annual Soul Train Music Awards.

Breakfast for dinner?

By Suzanna Lindemann and Suzanne Lindemann · Sunday, March 21,2004 11:24 p.m.

Living in the fast lane of college life has its ups and downs. One of these downs is studying all night and oversleeping to find yourself rushing out the door with no breakfast. Although this is something ill-advised by nutritionists, some of us just don't have the time to enjoy a healthy breakfast. Well, it's time to reclaim the lost time and have breakfast for dinner. Instead of running to Denny's or Waffle House, try these easy recipes you can make at home.

Copperfield astounds audience

By Daniel Castro · Sunday, March 21,2004 11:21 p.m.

Before any jokes or tricks, David Copperfield had the audience at the IU Auditorium March 11 close their eyes and picture the place they would most like to travel. He announced that for one audience member that night, the dream of traveling to that special place would come true.