Visual and Performing Arts News

The 2019 41 North Film Festival Returns, Oct. 31–Nov. 3

Published October 9, 2019

The annual 41 North Film Festival will be held Oct. 31 to Nov. 3 at the Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts. This year’s program features more than 20 films from around the world, along with music, events and special guests Anishinaabe filmmaker/producer Michelle Derosier and Michigan Tech alumnus actor/writer/producer Curtis Fortier.

This year’s highlights include:

Thursday, Oct. 31, 7:30 p.m.: HUMAN NATURE, which delves into the complexities of editing the human genome. Followed by a Q&A with Caryn Heldt (ChE), Paul Goetsch (BioSci) and Alexandra Morrison (HU).
Friday, Nov. 1, 7:30 p.m.: PICTURE CHARACTER (an Emoji Documentary). This informative and entertaining film covers everything from how emojis came into existence to how new emojis are added to the unicode system. To add to the fun, come in an emoji-inspired costume and you might win a prize. Stick around after the film for emoji cookie decorating and music in the lobby.
Saturday, Nov. 2, will feature a full day of programming about our relationship to the environment. Films include ANTHROPOCENE: THE HUMAN EPOCH, THE BIGGEST LITTLE FARM, HONEYLAND, and our featured presentation of Michelle Derosier and her film ANGELIQUE’S ISLE, inspired by the true story of Angelique Mott, an Anishinaabe woman who, with her husband, was abandoned by unscrupulous copper miners and left to die during the winter of 1845 on an island off of Isle Royale (today known as Mott Island).
Sunday, Nov. 3. Michigan Tech alumnus Curtis Fortier will be on hand to present and discuss some of his work as an actor/writer/producer. Fortier will be followed by a new docudrama about the life of information theorist Claude Shannon, THE BIT PLAYER. The festival will close Sunday evening with MAIDEN, the thrilling and emotional story of the first all-female crew to compete in the Whitbread Round-the-World Yacht Race.

See the full line-up of films and events at 41northfilmfest.org. The festival is free and open to the public. Students will need to bring their HuskyCard. Tickets for everyone else can be reserved at tickets.mtu.edu or by calling 7-2073. They will also be available in the Rozsa lobby prior to each film.

Music-O-Rama Saturday at Rozsa Center

Published October 3, 2019

By Tanya Maki

Announcements

Join us for Music-O-Rama, an annual musical variety concert, celebrating the diversity, history and variety of music at Michigan Tech. Performers from many of the major Michigan Tech music ensembles such as Jazz Lab Band, Superior Wind Symphony, conScience: Michigan Tech Chamber Singers and the Michigan Tech Concert Choir; will appear throughout the hall, playing music from around the globe.

Music-O-Rama will be presented by the Department of Visual and Performing Arts at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, (Oct. 5) at the Rozsa Center. The concert is an annual crowd favorite. Come and listen to new music composed by Tech students as well as performances by Tech students and community members.

Tickets are on sale now, $13 for adults, $5 for youth, and no charge for Michigan Tech students with the Experience Tech fee. Tickets are available by phone at 487-2073, online at mtu.edu/rozsa, in person at the Central Ticketing Office in the Student Development Complex, or the night of the show at the Rozsa Box Office, which opens two hours prior to performances.

Participate in Haunted Mine Tour

Published October 1, 2019

By Heather Powers

Are 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.

Doug and Mary Lindgren Gift to Pep Band

Published September 30, 2019

By Heather Powers

News

Mary Lindgren, David Hemmer, Doug Lindgren, Jared Anderson, Michael Christianson, and Jake Aguado

Let’s get this show on the road!

Doug Lindgren, a former member of the Husky Pep Band, and his wife Mary recently supported the Husky Pep Band Traveling Roadshow Fund with a gift of $5,000. Their gift helps the Husky Pep Band with instrument/equipment repairs and purchases, transportation and housing arrangements, and music distribution on their traveling roadshows.

David Hemmer, Dean of the College of Sciences and Arts, Jared Anderson, Chair of Visual and Performing Arts, Ben Larson, Director of Advancement of the College of Sciences and Arts, Michael Christianson, Associate Professor, and Jake Aguado, Pep Band President In Training, attended the ceremony where the Lindgrens announced their support.

Doug and Mary have been generous Michigan Tech supporters for more than 45 years. While the Pep Band is an iconic institution at Michigan Tech, its annual budget is shockingly small. With their gift establishing the Pep Band Travel Fund, they help ensure the Pride of Pasty Land can travel far and wide, supporting our great Husky athletes and striking fear in the hearts of their opponents.—David Hemmer

Doug, alumni of 1969, earned his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering. Both him and Mary have a home in Flagstaff, Arizona.

42FT – A Menagerie of Mechanical Marvels Saturday

Published September 25, 2019

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Announcements

From the inventive Cirque Mechanics who brought us “Pedal Punk” in 2016, comes 42FT – A Menagerie of Mechanical Marvels. At the center of every circus rests a 42ft ring full of thrills, laughs and excitement.

42FT – A Menagerie of Mechanical Marvels, is the latest invention from the creative minds of Cirque Mechanics. The company dares us to leap into the circus ring and experience the timelessness of this evolving art form. The show’s unique mechanical interpretation of the traditional, and its story full of the lore of the historic one-ring circus, create a welcoming place, like a big top, where we can be amazed. The action in 42FT is full of theatricality and a modern sensibility, showcasing a galloping mechanical metal horse and a rotating tent frame for strongmen, acrobats and aerialists.

Cirque Mechanics 42FT – A Menagerie of Mechanical Marvels comes to the Rozsa Center stage at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday (Sept. 28). Tickets are $25 for adults, $12 for youth, discount family packs are available and at no charge for Michigan Tech students with the Experience Tech Fee. Tickets are available by phone at (906) 487-2073, online, in person at the Central Ticketing Office in the Student Development Complex, or at the Rozsa Box Office the evening of the performance. Please note the Rozsa Box Office only opens two hours prior to performances.

Volunteer Ushers Needed at the Rozsa Center

Published September 13, 2019

By Heather Powers

The Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts is looking for volunteer ushers to help with all of this season’s arts events. Our volunteer ushers play an important role at the Rozsa helping us welcome and assist student and community visitors with every aspect of their experience in our venue.

Our volunteers greet and guide guests as they enter the building, take tickets and assist with theatre seating, answer questions about our facilities and programs, and help us create a friendly and welcoming atmosphere for all of our students and community patrons.

No previous experience necessary. Interested individuals may contact Samantha Hoover for more information, or go online to sign up to usher at the Rozsa.

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

Published September 2, 2019

By Heather Powers

Join 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:

Actor/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.

Marvel 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 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.

Michigan Tech Concert Choir Community Auditions

Published August 27, 2019

By Heather Powers

Uncategorized

The Michigan Tech Concert Choir will be holding auditions for community singers interested in participating in the choir this year. Formed in 1980, the Concert Choir performs regularly on and off-campus, including two regular concerts each semester, international tours every four years, and collaborations with the Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra and the Superior Wind Symphony. In Fall 2019 the Concert Choir will be performing Mozart’s Requiem on December 14. An audition signup is available online.

The audition will consist of vocal exercises to determine comfortable voice range and musical ability. Singers should prepare a short solo (any style) that highlights their voice. For more information please contact Jared Anderson.

Auditions for Tech Theatre’s First Fall Production, Black Comedy

Published August 20, 2019

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Announcements

Auditions for Tech Theatre’s first fall production, Black Comedy, is set for September 4 and 5, at 7:00 pm, in McArdle Theatre. In this hilarious fast-paced comedy, lovesick and desperate sculptor, Brindsley Miller has embellished his apartment with furniture and object d’arte “borrowed” from the absent antique collector next-door, hoping to impress his fiancée’s pompous father and wealthy art dealer. Everything goes wrong when a fuse is blown leaving the apartment in total darkness. Only we, the audience, are privy to the riotous antics that happen when the lights go out.

The play calls for 3 women and 5 men.

Here is a link to the script: Black Comedy

The play is set in 1960s London England and we will be going for British accents. The director is looking for potential for acquisition of the accent, so please bring an open mind and willingness to try! To assist in preparation, here is a link to a tutorial on a Standard British Dialect.

The production opens earlier this year than in past years, so the rehearsal schedule may be more demanding for a shorter rehearsal period.

The performances will be: October 11-12, and October 17-19.

Auditions will consist of cold readings from the script and comedic physical improvisation. (It’s a farce, after all!)

Hope to see you Wednesday or Thursday!

Rozsa 2019-20 Single Event Tickets on Sale Now

Published August 1, 2019

By Tanya Maki

Announcements

The Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts is pleased to announce their 2019-20 single event tickets are on sale today (August 1)! Discount season ticket packages went on sale July 1, with the best discounts available on all the season has to offer, and now you can buy single tickets to every event! For new season ticket buyers, welcome, we look forward to seeing you this season.

Featured this year are 12 Rozsa Presenting Series events, opening with a circus on the Rozsa stage in September. From the incredible Cirque Mechanics in “42FT—A Menagerie of Mechanical Marvels,” the latest invention from the creative minds of Cirque Mechanics, to the final Rozsa Presenting events in April with the brand-new “Surround Sound Music Festival”—A festival celebrating cultural diversity and encouraging listening in new ways, featuring Audiopharmacy, a Native American hip hop/reggae fusion band from the Bay Area; Vieux Farka Touré, a traditional guitarist and singer from Mali; and keynote speaker Evelyn Glennie, a virtuoso percussionist and TED speaker—In addition, there will be Stars of American Ballet, broadway theater with Aquila’s “1984,” five distinguished lecturers, and more than 33 Visual and Performing Arts events including music, theater, and visual arts events, and the ever-popular 41 North Film festival. This season promises to deliver spectacle and excitement, beauty and creativity, as grand as any in the Rozsa Center’s history. For full season details and to purchase tickets, contact Michigan Tech Ticketing Services at the Central Ticket Office (SDC), at 906-487-2073, or go online at mtu.edu/rozsa.