Visual and Performing Arts News

Auditions for “On the Verge” Tonight and Tomorrow

Published September 11, 2018

The Michigan Tech Theatre Company will hold auditions for “On the Verge” by Eric Overmyer at 6:50 p.m. today and tomorrow (Sept. 11/12) in the McArdle Theatre on the second floor the Walker Arts and Humanities Center.

“On the Verge” has roles for three women and up to eight men. This is an open call; no preparation is required. “On the Verge” is a whimsical comedy featuring three determined women, who set off to explore the remaining unknown territories of Africa, South America, the Himalayan Mountains and the ice-bound poles of the earth in the 1900’s.

They encounter strange people: the crew of a German dirigible expedition, a mysterious Dragon Lady, and an abominable snowman to name a few. To their surprise, they discover they are not only exploring the wilds of space but the slippage of time. By the end of the play, they find themselves in a Las Vegas Nightclub circa 1955, courted by bikers, dancing the Tango and tumbling toward the 1970s.

Heather Abbott to Appear at Rozsa Tomorrow

Published September 11, 2018

By Heather Powers

The Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts and the Center for Diversity and Inclusion present Boston Marathon bombing survivor Heather Abbott. She will present “Disabilities in Today’s Workforce: How Trauma Shaped One HR Executive’s Business Practices,” at 7:30 p.m. tomorrow (Sept. 12) at the Rozsa Center.

At the time of the Boston Marathon bombing, Abbott enjoyed a high-powered career as a human resources executive with a Fortune 500 company. Little did she know that one day she would become the very kind of employee she was entrusted to protect.

On April 15, 2013, on what is referred to as Marathon Monday in Boston, Abbott, of Newport, Rhode Island, set out on an annual tradition with six friends. They would attend the Red Sox game, followed by a walk over to the finish line to watch the runners. But that day changed her life forever.

Abbott was struck by shrapnel from the second of two bombs, severely injuring her left foot. After three surgeries in four days, Abbott was faced with an agonizing decision—should she try and save her left foot or amputate her leg below the knee. With the help of other amputees, and the support from thousands around the country, Abbott made the difficult decision, at the age of 38, to live her life as an amputee.

Abbott has remained a model of strength and resilience and is determined to help other victims of limb loss. She is a certified Peer Counselor for the American Amputee Coalition and is helping other amputees adjust to their “new normal,” as others helped her. By starting the Heather Abbott Foundation, she has another chance to continue to pay it forward for all amputees.

This lecture is presented as part of the Social Justice Lecture Series and Van Evera Distinguished Lecture Series. Tickets to this lecture are free, however, due to limited seating tickets are required, and are available by phone, 7-2073, online at mtu.edu/rozsa, in person at the Central Ticketing Office in the Student Development Complex or at the Rozsa Box office the night of the show. Please note the Rozsa Box Office is only open two hours before performances.

Meditation Circuit Combines Mindfulness, Public Art

Published September 8, 2018

By Tanya Maki

Announcements

Two men and a woman stand beneath a cloth banner in a pine tree grove. Imagine the sunlight slanting toward the forest floor, filtered through viridescent leaves and pine needles. Imagine walking slowly, meditatively, through the wedges of light, fully focused on the moment, completely present. Dust motes swirl in the light. Birds call to each other above. A fly buzzes by. Twigs and decaying leaves crunch under foot. From branches above, delicate hemp banners painted in many shades of green to mimic the landscape waft gently on the breeze.

Meditation, the practice of focusing solely on the present moment and letting go of the clutter of the mind, appears to have an increasing number of health benefits. Anne Beffel, professor of visual and performing arts at Michigan Technological University and director of Studio Here Now, intentionally looks for ways to create space for mindfulness within public art. Studio Here Now is a creative public art design studio and gallery located on campus in Wadsworth Residence Hall.

Read the full story on mtu.edu/news

Olé! Tickets on Sale Now

Published September 7, 2018

By Heather Powers

Tickets are now on sale for Olé!, the headline act for the 2018 Parade of Nations. Sponsored by the Parade of Nations and the Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts, Olé! will perform at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 15 on the Rozsa Center stage.

Olé! is a spectacular international comedy and music presentation featuring the exhilarating rhythms of flamenco, salsa, swing, blues and jazz, combined with hilarious slapstick comedy, full of surreal invention and fun. Paul Morocco, Guillermo de Endaya and Marcial Heredia perform together in a zany, unpredictable and spectacular show.

Tickets are on sale now, $15 for adults, $5 for children and no charge for students who have paid the Experience Tech fee. Tickets are available by phone at 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.

Faculty Attend Conference

Published September 7, 2018

By Heather Powers

The entertainment industry continues to increase its need for technologically advanced knowledge to realize complex scenic, lighting, and technical effects. Michigan Tech’s Visual and Performing Arts Department faculty know this.

Kent Cyr attended an entertainment engineering conference over the summer. The conference was an opportunity to compare notes with other theatre technology educators and industry leaders about the skills needed to succeed in the entertainment technology field. It provided some much-needed discourse about the type of skillsets that are coming out of degree programs, along with a better understanding of how those skillsets can be utilized. They also discussed the educational requirements of colleges and universities in an effort to help the industry understand what to expect from new graduates.

There were many take-aways from the conference for me… not the least of which was increasing my contact with the companies who hire our students. I am looking forward to the next conference and an opportunity to examine and refine the information and skills in which we train our majors.

Cyr brings back knowledge to further VPA’s theatre and entertainment technology degree program. The BS in Theatre and Entertainment Technology pairs well with any of the following BS degrees: Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Computer Science, as well as the School of Technology applied engineering degrees.

Two Exhibits Open Concurrently at the Rozsa Center Gallery Friday

Published September 5, 2018

By Heather Powers

“American and French Propaganda Posters” and “Shell-Shocked: Footage & Sounds of the Front,” are two separate exhibits that are meant to be seen together.

Both are part of the community-wide centennial commemoration of the “Great War, World War I & the Copper Country,” running through Nov. 11.

During the gallery opening reception, Stefka Hristova (HU) will give a talk entitled, “Iconography & War.” World War I called for broad public participation through multiple avenues: joining the military, buying liberty bonds or saving stamps, conserving food, taking up a public job. Everyone was expected to do their part, and new modes of propaganda were key to ensuring society’s “total mobilization.”

“American and French Propaganda Posters,” reflects numerous appeals to mass mobilization, resulting in some iconic images from the American campaign, for example, James Montgomery Flagg’s “Uncle Sam” and A.E. Foringer’s “Greatest Mother in the World” for the American Red Cross.

Hristova’s talk will take a closer look at the posters to reveal patterns of representations of men, women and children that tie into changing norms of social propriety.

In contrast to the patriotic rhetoric of propaganda posters, the immersive multimedia display of “Shell-Shocked” brings to life the reality of soldiers who fought the war, inviting visitors to experience soldiers’ journey from training to combat, from life at the front to demobilization and return home, if they survived the war’s abuses.

An installation space featuring a custom circular steel truss equipped with six 40” screens, twelve loudspeakers and 6,000 watts of available amplified power, “Shell-Shocked” recreates the sounds to accompany historic silent film footage of the war.

The installation was crafted by Kent Cyr (VPA) and Christopher Plummer (VPA) with sound-design assistance from students Luke Johnson, Brendan Espinosa and Noah Budd from the Visual and Performing Arts Department, Sound Design-BA program.

“American and French Propaganda Posters” are on loan from the permanent collection of the Marquette Regional History Center. The exhibits are made possible in part by a grant from the Michigan Humanities Council (MHC), an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).

Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in the WW1CC program do not necessarily reflect those of the NEH or MHC.

Light refreshments will be served at the opening reception, 5-7 p.m. Friday (Sept. 7). The exhibits will run until Oct. 2, during gallery hours: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday – Friday and 1 to 8 p.m. Saturday.

Steve ‘N’ Seagulls in Concert Wednesday

Published August 30, 2018

By Heather Powers

Take well-known rock and metal songs, play them in a bluegrass style and add a decidedly Finnish perspective and you have Steve ‘N’ Seagulls, one of the best Finnish bands to visit our area in decades.

Steve ‘N’ Seagulls bring their marvelous musical abilities, humor and unique mix of country and bluegrass at 7 p.m. Wednesday (Sept. 5) to the Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts.

The five-man band from Jyväsjtkä, Finland gained notoriety through YouTube videos. Especially popular was their bluegrass rendition of AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck.” Steve ‘N’ Seagulls have released two albums — “Farm Machine” and “Brothers in Farms,” which feature covers such as Guns N Roses’ “November Rain,” AC/DC’s “You Shook Me All Night Long,” Led Zeppelin’s “Black Dog” the Offspring’s “Self Esteem” and Metalica’s “Nothing Else Matters.”

Tickets for Steve ‘N’ Seagulls are available online at the Central Ticketing Office in the SDC, by calling 7-2073 or at the Rozsa Center box office starting two hours before the concert.

New Funding

Published August 6, 2018

By Heather Powers

Libby Meyer is the principal investigator on a project that has received a $3,800 public service grant from the Arts Midwest Touring Fund. Mary Jennings is the Co-PI on the project, “Minnesota Ballet Performance.”

The Minnesota Ballet offers productions ranging from full-scale broadway-style productions to small-scale, intimate repertoire dances. The Minnesota Ballet has a bountiful selection of full-length story ballets such as Coppélia, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Dracula, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and—of course—the holiday tradition of The Nutcracker!

Gallery Exhibit in McArdle Theatre

Published July 30, 2018

By Heather Powers

The work of artist Lisa Gordillo will be on display in a one-day gallery exhibit in McArdle Theatre. The exhibit, “Tal vez un cuerpo (maybe a body),” will be shown from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. tomorrow (July 31), in the McArdle Theatre (Walker 207).

Gordillo has transformed the theatre into a pop-up gallery space for her recent works inspired by U.S.–Latin American relations. Several pieces in the exhibit were shown last summer in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala, while others are new.

The theatre will be open for guests to stop by at any time and view the exhibit. All are welcome.

Web Series Seeks Talent for Aug. 11 Filming

Published July 23, 2018

By Tanya Maki

The filmmakers behind the Michigan-based Northbound series are seeking actors to be extras in an upcoming film shoot at the Great Lakes Research Center (GRLC) on the Michigan Tech campus.

Auditions can be done either by submitting a video or in person at the Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts. In-Person auditions will be done on Sunday (July 22), in room 120 at the Rozsa Center.

The actual filming will take place from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 11. The GLRC will be portrayed as a medical research facility. The extras will be playing a large group of characters who die, after a mysterious outbreak.

The team is looking for 25 to 30 extras in total. Three will be interacting with the main actors, without dialogue. An additional four actors are needed to play military guards, and will be needed between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. Aug. 11. The majority of extras will play doctors, nurses or lab technicians. All adults are welcome to audition. There are no age or gender preferences.

Northbound is a post-apocalyptic webseries made in the Upper Peninsula, that began in early 2014. To date, there are two seasons currently available exclusively on the online streaming platform Seeka TV, which you can view for free by clicking this link.

The upcoming shoot is intended for the first episode of Season 3, which will also be the final season of the series, and will lead into a feature film called Northstar. This is a community-driven project that has found an audience around the world. The filmmakers are seeking actors to become part of their ongoing effort to bring the UP to a wider audience.

How to Audition:

Send a Video
- Fill out a Talent Form by Sunday (July 22)
- The form requires an upload of a MP4 video – deadline 5 p.m. Sunday (July 22)
- You may use the scene provided, or use your own material, so long as the video is no longer than 1 minute.

Audition in Person

Fill out a Talent Form by Sunday (July 22)
You will be sent a 30-minute audition slot between 3 – 5 p.m. Sunday (July 22), in Rozsa 120 (choir room)
Using the provided scene, you will read or improvise for a video recording.

For more information, email Patricia Helsel.