Visual and Performing Arts News

Category: Lectures

Public Performances and Receptions at the Rozsa and McArdle Cancelled

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As you are likely aware, Michigan Tech is carefully following guidance from the recent Stay Home, Stay Safe executive order issued by Governor Whitmer.  Campus is closed to the public, except for critical services, and faculty and staff are working from home.  We were sad that the current COVID-19 situation necessitated cancelling or postponing the rest of our arts season at Michigan Tech, but we are hopeful that measures that we are taking now will make a big difference in keeping our community safe and healthy.
With the cancellation of the remainder of the season we will provide three options for all single tickets and pro-rated package tickets purchased to the following Rozsa/VPA events that were cancelled or postponed.  These include:

Option #1 Contact the SDC Ticket Office at tickets@mtu.edu for a refund of your concert tickets.  Season Subscriptions, Pick-6, and Pick-3 packages will be pro-rated.

Option #2 Tickets may be traded for an equivalent performance in the 2020-21 Season.  Some Presenting Series Events have already been rescheduled for next season, including:  Manual Cinema (Sept. 4, 2020), Audiopharmacy (March 19, 2021), and Vieux Farka Touré (March 20, 2021).  Tickets Visual and Performing Arts Department student concerts (Tech Theatre, KSO, Choirs, Bands, Jazz) can be redeemed for a performance in the 2020-21 season by contacting tickets@mtu.edu.

Option #3 Unrefunded or untraded tickets refunds may be donated to the Friends of the Rozsa Fund.  This gift will be tax-deductible and will be acknowledged by the Michigan Tech Fund.  This can also be done by contacting tickets@mtu.edu.

We appreciate your patronage over this past season and look forward to announcing our 2020-21 season.  Details about next season will come soon.  Please visit the Rozsa website for more information, www.mtu.edu/rozsa

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Pioneer Pilot Lt. Colonel Olga Custodio Presentation

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Pioneer pilot Lt. Colonel Olga Custodio will present “Querer es Poder: Where There’s a Will, There’s a Way” at 6:30 p.m. today (Oct. 21) at the Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts.

Custodio, who after being turned away from flight school because she was a woman, became a pioneer as the first woman — and Latina — to complete United States Air Force military pilot training and become a USAF pilot, and later the first Latina commercial pilot for American Airlines. Now retired, she continues to lead and inspire, championing STEM and motivating women and girls to pursue aviation and male-dominated professions.

This event is part of the Social Justice Lecture Series and Van Evera Distinguished Lecture Series. Tickets are free, but required for all public events at the Rozsa. Tickets are available by phone at 906-487-2073, online, in person at the Central Ticketing Office in the Student Development Complex, or the night of the event at the Rozsa Center box office. Doors open one hour prior to performances.

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3rd Annual GeekU.P. Mini- “Comic-Con” Charity Event

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GeekU.P. LogoJoin us for a fun-filled geektastic charity event!  GeekU.P. is a mini-con charity event celebrating geek culture offering an artists’ alley, vendors, cosplay contest, celebrity Q&A’s, autograph sessions, and more!

To be held September 14th at the Michigan Tech Memorial Union Ballroom in Houghton, MI. from 1:00 pm to 8:00 pm.  Tickets are available at Black Ice Comics, 403 Lakeshore Drive in Houghton or at the door. $10 for adults, $5 kids 14 and under, and $5 for students with ID.

The 2019 charity recipient is ‘Don’t Do It Yourself’ (D.D.I.Y) which serves as an emergency funding source for the people of Houghton and Keweenaw counties that are facing a financial hardship due to a medical crisis. For more information regarding DDIY, please visit ddiyup.org.

With the help of the Department of Visual and Performing Arts and local businesses, GeekU.P. has an exciting celebrity guest line-up this year:

Dean HaglundActor/artist Dean Haglund is known the world over as “Langly”, one of The Lone Gunmen, a role he played for nine seasons on the hit Fox TV series The X-Files and its spin-off series, The Lone Gunmen. Other television credits include Bones, V.I.P., Sliders, Home Improvement, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, and The Commish. In addition, Dean is a long-time improvisational comedian having performed with the Groundlings and Second City. He is a regular performer at the Improv in Los Angeles.

 

 

Jerry DeCaireMarvel artist, Jerry DeCaire, is one of the original artists for the comic book character Deadpool and is known for his illustrations in Thor, Wolverine, X-Men, and Hawkeye. He will also reveal his forthcoming comic, “Which-When-Man”, to be released in 2020. Jerry will do a real-time demonstration of his drawing techniques in a live performance.

 

 

 

Patricia SummersettPatricia Summersett is known for providing voice and motion capture for several video games, most notably the voice of Princess Zelda in the video game The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (worldwide 2017 Game of the Year) but also Rainbow Six: Siege, Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, and the Assassin’s Creed Franchise. Patricia was raised in L’anse, MI, and graduated from Houghton High School before pursuing her acting career in LA and Montreal.

 

All three celebrities will take part in Q & A sessions and autograph signings for attendees. Northbound Saga, an independent film company, is going to be with us and will be bringing actors, awesome props from their production, and some exclusive footage to share during a Q&A session.

We’re very excited about what we have in store for GeekU.P. this year, we want to welcome folks of all ages, especially our students, to Geek.U.P. to come have a great time. Even if it’s been years since you read a comic, or you’ve never played a video game, we can’t wait to share the fun, have folks meet some celebrities and help us raise money for DDIY! —Shana Porteen, GeekU.P. co-founder and owner of Black Ice Comics

I’m thrilled to celebrate local arts and culture in the community I grew up in! I certainly hope to inspire and provide insight for budding artists who may be thinking of a related career path, Shana and I dreamed up this event two years ago and I’m amazed how the festival has evolved so considerably. I’m excited to imagine how it may grow and expand in years to come!Patricia Summersett, GeekU.P. co-founder and guest celebrity

More information and the developing schedule can be found at our website www.geekup906.com.

Michigan Technological University is an equal opportunity educational institution/equal opportunity employer.

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Welby Altidor, of Cirque du Soleil, Presents “Creative Courage” Lecture

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Welby AltidorWhat does it take to spark innovation in life, art, business, engineering and technology? According to Welby Altidor, former executive creative director of Cirque du Soleil, it takes courage. But not just any courage—it takes creative courage.

Join Michigan Tech Career Services and the Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 6, to hear Altidor speak.

Altidor spent more than 20 years at the cutting edge of theatre, storytelling, human performance engineering and technology. In his book “Creative Courage: Leveraging Imagination, Collaboration, and Innovation to Create Success Beyond Your Wildest Dreams,” Altidor explains why fear and the status quo are the enemy of innovation.

During his presentation, he will address ways to unleash creative genius by practicing collaboration and controlled failure. Altidor believes that each of us possess creative genius, but it must be cultivated and developed through practice. Creative courage is more than practical tools and strategy, it’s a way life for Altidor and those who dare to embrace it.

On Wednesday, Nov. 7, Altidor will meet with a small group of Michigan Tech faculty at 8 a.m. and with a select group of students at 9 a.m. for an interactive discussion and Q&A session. Advanced registration is required to attend.

As a sought-after creative leader, Altidor continues to serve as a consultant for creative firms around the world and has been an invited guest speaker for Fortune 100 companies like Nike, Sephora and SAP.

He is currently the group chief officer for Cityneon, where he oversees international projects that include partnerships with Marvel (Disney) and Jurassic Park at Universal Studios.

Tickets are free and available now by phone, 7-2073, online, in person at the Central Ticketing Office in the Student Development Complex or at the Rozsa Box office the night of the show. Note the Rozsa Box Office is only open two hours before performances.

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