Visual and Performing Arts News

Category: Art

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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Puppet Workshops and Performance Open to Ages 6 and Up

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puppets lined up

A puppetry workshop will be held from 3 – 4:30 p.m. tomorrow (Jan. 25) in Walker 208. We will be creating puppets for a performance with the Superior Wind Symphony at 7:30 p.m. February 15.

Puppeteers should be available to rehearse at the following times:

  • 3 – 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 1
  • 3 – 4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 8
  • 8 – 9:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 10
  • 8 – 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 12

Contact Trish Helsel to reserve a spot, or for further information.

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Participate in Haunted Mine Tour

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Quincy Mine with Northern LightsAre you interested in working on the annual Quincy Haunted Mine Tour? We need actors, crew, builders and overall ghouls, ghosts and goblins who want to help us scare people silly. The Haunted Mine will begin building very soon, installs will start Oct. 20, and runs October 24, 25, 26 in the evenings.

If you want to get involved, email Professor of Practice Josh Loar (VPA).

Note: VPA students already involved do not need to email again, unless you haven’t signed up yet.

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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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Contemplative Forest Art Walk at Ford Center

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A self-guided tour, Contemplative Forest Art Walks is a series of mindfulness meditation stations in the Ford Center Forest. Each station is marked by a hand-painted, nine-foot-tall banner installed among the trees.

Public reception free and with refreshments on (Wednesday) July 31 from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Short remarks by artist Anne Befflel, Professor in Visual and Performing Arts, about the project at 6:15 p.m.

More information and a map can be found at www.annebeffel.com

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Summer Puppetry Workshops for All Ages

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hand puppets with sunglassesAssociate Professor of Theatre in Visual and Performing Arts, Trish Helsel, will be offering a week of puppetry workshops in partnership with the Copper Country Community Arts Center and sponsorship by K. C. Bonker’s the week of August 12-17.

The workshop is the culmination of research and work made possible from a REF grant. The Puppet Project is an initiative to introduce and establish the art of puppetry into our local culture through education and performances.

Students of all ages will learn to construct and manipulate various types of puppets. With themes provided by local poets Hugo Gordillo and Kelsey Carriere, the puppets will come to life telling stories of plants, animals, and music!

Classes are carefully designed for the age groups/school grades designated. Please register your child for the appropriate group. Grades are “rising,” meaning the grade they will enter this fall. A parent or guardian must be present for classes and the recital for children younger than Kindergarten age.

Classes are offered in the Ballroom at the Copper Country Community Arts Center, 126 E. Quincy Street, Hancock. Dress for mess! We recommend you bring a water bottle, especially for longer sessions.

The Saturday Recital (and rehearsal) will be at Michigan Technological University, in the McArdle Theatre, 2nd floor of the Walker Arts and Humanities Center. Wear dark clothing to make your puppets stand out better!

Registration:

To Register, go to the SDC Ticket Office or register online.

Registration fees cover materials and instruction and vary by age group.

$20 – Toddlers: Monday/Wednesday 9:15am – 10:00am
$20 – Preschool (3-4 years): Monday/Wednesday 11:00am – 12:00pm
$20 – K-2nd Grade: Monday/Wednesday 1:00pm – 2:30 pm
$25 – 3rd-5th Grades: Tuesday/Thursday/Friday 9:00am – 11:00am
$25 – 6th-8th Grades: Tuesday/Thursday/Friday 1:00pm – 3:00pm
$25 – 9th-12th Grades: Monday/Wednesday/Friday 4:00pm – 6:00pm
$30 – Adults: Tuesday/Thursday/Friday 6:00pm – 8:00pm

All registrants must sign a Michigan Tech waiver form.

For more information, contact Trish Helsel: (906) 487-3283, helsel@mtu.edu

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Rock, Paper, Scissors in gallery b

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The department of Visual and Performing Arts announces its semi-annual student showcase, “Rock, Paper, Scissors,” featuring works of art created in Project Learning Lab by Michigan Tech students.

Project Learning Lab is an innovative arts classroom based inside Rozsa gallery b. The exhibition runs through 8 p.m. today (April 22).

The works on display were created by students in Lisa Gordillo’s Traditional Sculpture Studio. Students from many campus disciplines are represented, including business, math, engineering and theatre. Students in the class study sculptural traditions from around the world, and create three-dimensional works using those traditions as a guide.

This year, the class focused on Guatemalan cultures, and created barriletes (giant kites), nawales (personal symbols informed by the Mayan calendar) and Estelas (large carvings).

The student artists are:

  • Ben Baize
  • Nate Evink
  • Abby Kirk
  • Aaron Kruzel
  • Jared Mcdowel
  • Alex Ordakowski
  • Laurel Payne
  • Piper Schlaeppi
  • Brett Schnabelrauch
  • Hunter Storie
  • Traven Thai
  • Alexandra Walker
  • Alex Weber
  • Isobel Wentworth
  • Kitty Williams
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Assistant Professor Lisa Gordillo Named Distinguished Teaching Award Finalist

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Congratulations to Visual and Performing Arts Assistant Professor, Lisa Gordillo, who was named as a finalist for this years Distinguished Teaching Award.

The William G. Jackson Center for Teaching and Learning recognizes outstanding contributions to the instructional mission of the University. Based on more than 50,000 student ratings of instruction responses, ten finalists have been identified for the 2019 awards. The selection committee has solicited comments from students, staff, faculty and alumni to aid in deliberation.

The process for determining the Distinguished Teaching Award recipients from this list of finalists also involves the additional surveying of their spring classes. The selection committee makes the final determination of the award recipients. The 2019 Distinguished Teaching Awards will be formally announced in May.

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Exhibit of Student Art

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Celebrate Michigan Tech’s student artists and spend a relaxing evening enjoying artworks created in Visual Arts courses.

The exhibit will be in a open-house format from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Friday (April 19). The exhibition will be in two locations — the hallway galleries outside of Walker 209 and the Studio for Here and Now, G04W Wadsworth, across from the WMTU studios.

This event is free and open to the public.

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Closing Reception for Salon!

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The Department of Visual and Performing Arts and the Rozsa Center invite you to join local and regional creative thinkers for a conversation on art, literature and other ideas.

This “salon-style conversation” will take place in the Rozsa lobby before Friday’s (April 12) performance of Tech Theatre’s production of “Sunday in the Park with George,” a musical based on the creative life of Georges Seurat.

This event is part of the gallery exhibit, Salon!, bringing together the spring musical and the spring gallery exhibit in a public conversation.

Salon Conversation, with guest speakers, 5:30-6:30pm in the Rozsa Lobby; Gallery Reception, 6:30-7:30pm, Rozsa Gallery A-Space

Edzordzi Agbozo, poetry

Jared Anderson, on arts and collaboration

Linda King Ferguson and Dr. Tomas Co, on painting 

Libby Meyer, music

M. Bartley Seigel, poetry

Dana Van Kooy, on plantations, colonialism, art, and literature

With music throughout by Mike Christianson and Superior Wind Symphony students.

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