On Saturday, February 17, Athens’ own The Wild Honeybees and LargeMouth Brass Band took to the stage of the Ohio University Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium to celebrate Mardi Gras with an evening of brass music and dancing. WOUB’s Madeleine Hordinski captured the event with some photos, which are below.
The 2018 48-Hour Shootout has come and gone, leaving in its wake a number of impressive short films that were cobbled together in a matter of only a (literal) couple of days February 2 through February 4, 2018.
WOUB’s Emily Votaw spoke to each of the ranking teams from the competition, trying to get in depth information on their individual creative processes, the various roadblocks that came up throughout the hurried productions, and what each group took away from the strenuous weekend.
FIRST PLACE IN THE OPEN DIVISION
“Give It a Shot” by Third Place Productions
Genre: Western
In this film, a young woman is tasked with watching an old western movie, which she finds endlessly boring to the point of putting her to sleep. As she slumbers, she slips into another reality wherein the days of the cowboy are not so far in the past. In the end, she saves herself, but in a rather exciting fashion.
WOUB: What were your initial thoughts when you ended up with the “western” genre?
Baylee Gorham, Junior, Integrated Media (Director of Photography): There must be a duel!
Vanessa Henning, Junior, Integrated Media (Director): Thank god I’m directing it and not writing it.
Leah Nutter, Junior, Integrated Media and Spanish (Producer): They didn’t have post-it notes in the old west! And our prop was a post-it note.
Hope Mueller, Junior, Integrated Media (Writer): Carley and I, the writers, already had talked about the possibility of us getting western and we already had an idea of what we wanted to do. We were oddly prepared story-wise for a western, and honestly I was really excited for the challenge.
WOUB: What was the inspiration for the plot of your movie?
Carley Matson, Junior, Integrated Media (Writer): I was originally inspired by an episode of Black Mirror to make a short about a girl watching a Western film that essentially causes her to get trapped inside of the film. Hope and I developed the idea further and tossed around tons of ideas with the rest of the team before finally coming up with the final plot.
Hope Mueller: My main thought was to make a semi-funny western that almost made fun of the genre itself. Westerns are a bit outdated, so we used that to our advantage. We wanted to take those tropes and twist them a bit. We had the concept of a woman kind of being transported into a western, and she’s like a fish out of water, so of course she isn’t going to totally comprehend these macho male archetypes out male characters presented. We wanted it to be funny, but also female empowering, and I think we hit the mark.
WOUB: How did you find a location with cattle to shoot at? What was the process of securing that?
Baylee Gorham: While shooting b-roll we came across a man in a tractor feeding his cows and we pulled up, flagged him down, and asked if we could film his cows. He was very understanding and helpful despite the spontaneity of the encounter.
Vanessa Henning: A moment of luck really. We shot a lot of b-roll, and didn’t know if any or all of it would be in the final cut. The cows just happened to be the right fit for the scene.
WOUB: I liked that our heroine was never saved by the “big, strong cowboy,” – could you elaborate on that creative decision?
Baylee Gorham: As an all female team we definitely wanted to challenge some of the traditional western tropes
Carley Matson: I wanted the heroine to save herself and not give in to stereotypical Western movie tropes that typically rely on the big, strong cowboys to save the day from the bad guys. Our heroine hates old west films because of stereotypes like that so she wasn’t willing to settle on being saved.
Hope Mueller: We wanted our main character to fight those western stereotypes of a man saving the day, so we wanted her to refuse his help.
WOUB: How was the progression of the filming – what were some major roadblock or unexpected advantages?
Leah Nutter: I think we had somewhat of an advantage because our team members had cars on campus, so we could drive to some more rundown locations with all of our equipment. I don’t know if our film would’ve been the same if we didn’t get the locations that we did.
Baylee Gorham: I think the biggest challenge was working against the clock and filming everything we needed to before the sun set. It taught us a lot about working as efficiently as possible.
Vanessa Henning: The biggest thing that worked against us was the weather. On the day of filming it was below freezing and we were outside all day long. We only had one interior shot throughout the entire short. The greatest advantage were the parameters we had to work within. Having to make a western in Ohio in below freezing temperatures forces one to be creative.
I wanted the heroine to save herself and not give in to stereotypical Western movie tropes that typically rely on the big, strong cowboys to save the day from the bad guys. Our heroine hates old west films because of stereotypes like that so she wasn’t willing to settle on being saved. – Carley Matson, writer of winning entry to the 2018 48-Hour Shootout
Tess Greweling, Senior, Screenwriting & Producing (Actor, Producer): The snow that fell Sunday was also a major challenge. We struggled to finish shooting Saturday, so we had to get really creative about how we would maintain continuity. I’m very grateful we were able to make it work.
Hope Mueller: The weather was definitely the worst. Almost all of our scenes were outside so we basically froze all of Saturday. We had to get one more shot outside on Sunday, which was unfortunate because it was snowing and messed up some of the continuity. Also just the editing time frame was rough, our editor stayed up all night and then we basically exported 15 minutes before it was due. While we did not get to include every little detail we wanted because of the time crunch, we still produced something we were all extremely proud of.
Jessica Lucas, Senior, Integrated Media (Editor): The weather was definitely a challenge but our actors did a great job of convincing the camera that it wasn’t 20 something degrees! Editing was definitely a challenge. We decided it’d be best to edit on Adobe Premiere and I hadn’t really used it before this because I was educated on Final Cut Pro X. That slowed me down a little bit, but we got through it! We were definitely cutting it close to the time it was due but minus a few editing flaws due to time, I think we had a great turn out.
SECOND PLACE IN THE OPEN DIVISION
“Prohibition” by Son of a Glitch Productions
Genre: Science Fiction
It’s the future. And it’s in Athens. Alcohol, once one of the cornerstones of the culture in Athens, has been outlawed, bringing another prohibition to a town once rich in liquored mirth. Our hero steals a secret stash of booze from some unsuspecting fraternity brothers, only to find himself in a chase to preserve his own life. Son of a Glitch Productions is a member of AVW Studios, and director Christina Dietrich is currently the president of the student run video production house.
WOUB: Can you tell me a little bit about the creative process that led to the creation of “Prohibition?”
Christian Dietrich, Junior, Integrated Media (director): Well, we all kind of met at my apartment right after we got the genre on Friday night. We all sat around spit balling ideas for a while. We knew that we needed to establish a sense of place, since we were working with sci-fi, and my director of photography and my special effects person came up with some great ideas, but a lot of them were not ones that we could really do in a 48-hour time period. This isn’t my first 48-hour shootout, I had been on a team last year that tried to put together a film that we didn’t really have the time to make in 48 hours. Knowing that we had only that amount of time really shaped how we were going to do the story.
WOUB: Can you tell me about the writing of the story, how you decided to focus on the story of prohibition?
Christian Dietrich: Since it was taking place in Athens, we decided that it would be interesting to reference the alcohol culture in Athens, and see what it would be like if there was another prohibition in the distant future and how that would impact Athens. After we came up with this idea, my writer went off to the quiet room to come up with the first draft, and pretty soon after we started working on the first shot.
WOUB: How did you find your actors?
Christian Dietrich: We had one person on our team already who had acted in a couple of our movies, so we knew we had at least one actor. We decided to focus on him and thena few people around him for the film.
WOUB: Can you tell me about the inspiration for the aesthetic of the film?
Christian Dietrich: Collin Black, who was on my team, and I, are both big fans of Bladerunner, so even though we didn’t want to parody Bladerunner, we did want to show that we were inspired by it. The tone and look that we wanted to create for Prohibition was very much based on Bladerunner.
WOUB: Did your team run into any problems during filming?
Christian Dietrich: Honestly, we didn’t have a lot of problems. I went in fully expecting that we wouldn’t even get it done. In the team meetings that we had before the filming weekend, we had discussed that the two genres we really hoped we wouldn’t get would be musical or sci-fi, and we ended up with sci-fi. Honestly, the hardest part was choreographing the fight scenes at the end. In order to figure all that, we knew we had to shoot at night, and that we wanted to shoot in a particular parking lot. However, we misjudged when it was going to get dark, and ended up waiting about an hour and a half for it to get dark enough for the shot. We were going to use my drone, but because we had been waiting in the cold, I lost navigational control of my drone, so we couldn’t use it. That was our main hiccup. The other one was that it was often very crowded where we were shooting, so sometimes we would have to wait for a large crowd of people to leave the area. There was a particular moment when we were planning to break for lunch, but when we got outside, it was overcast, and perfect for another shot that we were planning on, so we forced ourselves to keep shooting and we postponed lunch. I think that if we had taken that lunch, we would have been much more tired when we came back, and maybe wouldn’t have finished the film at all.
THIRD PLACE IN THE OPEN DIVISION
“Supernatural Stories to Spook Your Butt” by Get Out of My Room Mom and Let Me Eat My Dunkaroos In Peace
Genre: Supernatural
Split into a number of entertaining and bone-chilling vignettes, this film examines everything from the horrors of finding a mermaid in your bathroom to a monster making it’s way through a city of boxes to a shopping cart with a mind of it’s own to the terrors of capitalism.
WOUB: What were your initial thoughts when you got the supernatural genre?
Tanner Bidish, Junior, Screenwriting major, Producer and Actor: So I was in the meeting when we were assigned all our prompt and initially I thought ‘oh this is great Phil loves silly supernatural things!’ Like Evil Dead is one of his favorite movies. So when I got home after that meeting, the whole team was in my house watching Evil Dead highlights.
Phil Hickey, Junior, Integrated Media, Director: And if you look up the “best parts” of Evil Dead on YouTube, it’s all the wrong parts, it’s all the serious like gorey violence stuff when I just want to see Bruce Campbell dance around a lot in that movie but apparently it’s not best of compilation material
WOUB: How did you guys decide to make a few vignettes instead of a cohesive film?
Phil Hickey: That was actually Aaron (Brown)’s idea. We went into this kind of not really wanting to try too hard if we are completely honest we just wanted to make something that we would have a good time making and that we could be proud of. If we could get just two people to laugh, even if they were on our team, that would be enough. I just wanted to color on some boxes. I would be really upset if this wasn’t my first time buying crayons at midnight for a film.
Tanner Bidish: we started the writing process with about 12 people, and we would just go around the table and ask each other about each person’s ideas, and a lot of those rough ideas became a short vignette that was cool that lot fo people’s input got included.
Phil Hickey: One idea we had to cut was Avatar vs. vamprioes I thought it would be fun to paint my actors blue and make it look like garbage. But we couldn’t keep every idea. I will always use any excuse to papyrus font in a film.
WOUB: It’s true, papyrus is both an underrated and overhyped font, honestly.
Phil Hickey: True. Like at least if it’s comic sans, you’re a grandpa or you’re don’t care.
We went into this kind of not really wanting to try too hard if we are completely honest we just wanted to make something that we would have a good time making and that we could be proud of. If we could get just two people to laugh, even if they were on our team, that would be enough. I just wanted to color on some boxes. I would be really upset if this wasn’t my first time buying crayons at midnight for a film. – Phil Hickey, director of “Supernatural Stories to Spook Your Butt”
Tanner Bidish: Or a grandpa or a fifth grader.
WOUB: What were some of the difficulties you guys ran into while filming?
Phil Hickey: Well, our director of photography had to leave multiple times to go play with his band.
Tanner Bidish: He’s in a punk band, he had stuff to do.
Phil Hickey: Yeah, I don’t think he realized the level of commitment involved. But that was fine, we had other people who could hold a camera.
Tanner Bidish: we went to Wal-Mart a few times to get things and some of the difficulties we had were forgetting what we needed and buying more than we needed.
Phil Hickey: Like is a picture frame and some black shirts that we just need to return
Tanner Bidish: the box city shot with our friend Noah singing outside, the boxes weren’t weighted down by anything.
Phil Hickey: Yeah, and it was freezing.
Tanner Bidish: And another problem we had, or maybe it was just something cruel that we did, we got Mike all outfitted as the mermaid and ready to go and he went upstairs to sit in the tub. And then Aaron and Phil left to dump footage onto an SD card and then Billy had another SD card and they were running around town for 45 minutes and Mike was in the bathtub for an hour with his feet taped up just waiting for us.
WOUB: Yeah, I really enjoyed the repetition of the footage of someone finding something in the bathroom.
Phil Hickey: Well, we’re glad somebody liked it.
Tanner Bidish: Yeah, when Phil said we were going to reuse that footage, I was nervous at first. But everyone who watches it seems to like about it now.
WOUB: I really thought that was a part of the film that made it stand out and created a sense on continuity.
Phil Hickey: I love people who told me that when they saw that scene again, they were like ‘g*d d*mmit!’
WOUB: I know you mentioned that you all went in just wanting to have fun, but I was curious if you were ever concerned if the particular sense of humor you catered to throughout the film might not be the same one that the judges had?
Tanner Bidish: Several times throughout the 48 hours I would say something along the lines of “oh man, I feel like Andie Walla is going to hate this,” and at the time I knew it was going to be a ridiculous movie. We never thought about making a movie for the judges, we thought about making a movie for ourselves.
Phil Hickey: This is my fourth 48-hour shootout, and I’ve been on teams where they took it too seriously and it’s nobody’s fault but trying to make a great incredible product in 48 hours unless you’re an incredibly capable team just kind of drags everybody down. And I knew I didn’t want that. I just wanted to cover my friends in meat and play around for a while.
Tanner Bidish: Yeah this was the first shootout I’ve been in, and I didn’t expect to make a professional product, because you only have 48 hours. Some teams really set out to make something wonderful and that’s awesome because that’s a real challenge, but feeding off of everybody else’s energy in our group I was happy to make something ridiculous and I think it made it better.
Phil Hickey: A big part of that was Aaron Born just pushing for it to be ridiculous.
Tanner Bidish: Yeah, we had a lot of silly people on our team.
FIRST PLACE IN FRESHMAN/SOPHOMORE DIVISION
“The Secrets Kept From Us” by the Film Flamingoes
Genre: Musical
It’s a classic tale of a college romance gone awry. Our protagonist believes a life on the silver screen is his destiny, only to find that his beloved is seeing another man. However, things have a way of turning themselves around in romantic musicals.
WOUB: What were your initial thoughts when you were assigned the musical genre?
John Amato, Freshman, Director and Co-Editor: audible sigh We had been joking about what we would do if we were assigned a musical in our meetings before the weekend, so we could kind of come up with a plan of action about what we were going to make. But honestly I wasn’t too worried.
Caleb Winning, Freshman, Assistant Director: Really, it wasn’t too bad. It was just like another form of writing where you had to have the music ready.
Brandon Tasker, Freshman, Actor and Musician: Right away we figured that we just needed to get started as soon as possible to figure out what we were going to do.
WOUB: What about the music? Are any of you trained musicians?
Caleb Winning: Well, I grew up playing piano, but that’s nothing like Allie (Harris, freshman, actress) who is classically trained at it.
WOUB: Wow, Allie, did you help out a lot with the writing of the music, then?
Allie Harris, Actor: My training helped a little when we were brainstorming music, but it mostly had to do with me coming in a playing a few things and then everybody being impressed by it enough that they wanted to use it.
WOUB: How did you go about writing a musical?
John Amato: Basically we decided that we needed to write it based on the line that we were given alongside the prop and genre, and we decided to create the story surrounding that line completely.
Caleb Winning: We wrote the songs and then wrote the script based on those songs, incorporating those songs.
Brandon Tasker: It helped a lot to grow up listening to musical soundtracks. A lot of the stuff I listened to, there wouldn’t really be any talking without music unless it was a really long feature, but since we had like five minutes to work with, we had our characters singing the whole time.
WOUB: How did you come up with the idea of a college romance gone wrong to base the plot on?
John Amato: Well, we had this idea of this guy getting cheated on by a girl, and as we progressed, we added another actress, so it made sense for the main character to meet the other girl and fall in love with her.
Brandon Tasker: Yeah, and Jess (Ulrich) is used to breaking my heart anyway.
WOUB: How about deciding to use the laundry room of a dormitory? I liked that decision.
John Amato: Yeah, we like that laundry room and we had used it in another movie that we made together. We all like that place.
Brandon Tasker: And doing laundry is kind of a lonely thing, you don’t really go to the laundry room looking for love, you’re usually wearing scrubby clothes.
Caleb Winning: It’s also a place that all college students can relate to, because everybody has to do laundry.
On Saturday, February 10, 2018, Americana orchestra The Dustbowl Revival, Columbus’ own Doc Robinson, and Cincinnati’s The Tillers performed an intimate on-the-stage-with-the-audience in Ohio University’s Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium. The show was a benefit for local spinal muscular atrophy benefit organization Adyn’s Dream. WOUB’s Zane Wilson photographed the event, and his work is below.
The Between Love & Hate theme lecture series presents Harry Allen showcasing his 30-year collection of photos of the legendary hip-hop group Public Enemy on Thursday, Feb. 8, from 6-8 p.m. in Porter 102.
Allen’s collection includes images of members before the band was formed. These pictures have been part of documentaries for the BBC, MTV and VH-1 and are part of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African American History and Culture’s permanent collection.
Allen also will discuss the role of social justice in journalism and the development of Public Enemy. The presentation engages the space between love and hate. Is it a thin line or, is there a wide line?
This event is co-sponsored by the Ohio University Hip Hop Congress and College of Arts & Sciences.
About Harry Allen, Media Assassin
Harry Allen a.k.a “the media assassin” is a hip-hop activist, journalist, and producer of the blog Media Assassin. For more than 25 years, Allen has written for publications such as VIBE, The Source Magazine, The Village Voice, and numerous other outlets.
As an expert covering hip-hop culture, he has been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, MTV, VH-1, CNN, the BBC, and NPR. Most hip-hop fans know him for his long-time association with the seminal band Public Enemy, and for his “cameo” on their classic record, Don’t Believe the Hype.
Allen serves as an adviser to the Archives of African American Music and Culture at Indiana University, and as the host and producer of his weekly WBAI-NY/99.5 FM radio show, NONFICTION.
Allen also worked in the crisis public relations and affairs department of computer entertainment corporation Rockstar Games from 2004-06. His research also includes architectural design in computer and video games. Allen’s work has been recognized by institutions like the Graham Foundation, the Smithsonian Institution’s Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation, and the New York State Council on the Arts.
Adyn’s Dream is a local charity that raises funds for families living with spinal muscular atrophy, a neuromuscular disorder that damages motor nerve cells that exist deep in the spinal chord, making it an enormous physical undertaking for sufferers to do things that the rest of us take for granted — like running, swimming, and even easy breathing.
The group has been bringing one after another stunning musical act into the area for lively fundraisers, and 2018 is no different. Saturday, February 10 will mark the second time that the organization has partnered with Ohio University to bring a fantastic show to the stage of the Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium for a good cause. This year the show will feature The Dustbowl Revival, The Tillers, and Doc Robinson. Tickets are only $20 in advance, and $25 at the door, and can be purchased here.
WOUB’s Emily Votaw had the opportunity to speak with Zach Lupetin, the frontman of The Dustbowl Revival, just about a week prior to the band’s performance in Athens. The two talked about falling in love with the music of Bob Dylan, what it was like to build what many refer to as a ‘Americana orchestra,’ and his very first epic recording, which he completed while still in undergrad.
Although the February 10 show is sure to be stunning, it is beyond a shadow of a doubt that the truly stunning thing about the performance is the cause for which it is raising funds. As previously explained, Adyn’s Dream works to raise funds for families living with the debilitating condition that is spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). Last year alone, the group spent over $18,000 in direct support and assistance to families dealing with the illness. Brian Bucher, (father to the namesake of the organization, the music-and-Harry-Potter-loving Adyn,) said that Adyn’s Dream was able to sponsor six families last year to attend their very first Cure SMA conference, which took place in Disney World.
“Over the last two years, we have sponsored 10 families to attend this life-changing conference, which amounts to about $15,000 spent to help these families,” said Bucher. “The conference is one of the very few opportunities where children with SMA can meet other children with SMA, very often the first time they will have met another child in a power wheelchair and similar struggles, and parents can network with other parents. It also gives parents the opportunity to become familiar with the different types of therapies as well as meet with the scientists and doctors on the front line of fight against SMA. We remember our first conference, and it changed our lives. It is an incredible experience in which words fall short in explaining its impact.”
This year Adyn’s Dream is working with Cure SMA to craft a special evening of entertainment for the conference, and although Bucher can’t give out too many details, it’s apparent that Adyn’s Dream is becoming more and more recognized as one of the most active and accomplished SMA charities in the country — as they have been named the gold sponsor of the 2018 Cure SMA conference, which will take place in Dallas, TX.
Last year Adyn’s Dream executed their first Secret Santa Giveaway, which allowed folks to nominate someone living with SMA and to let the organization know what that person’s dream holiday gift might be. Bucher said they received 35 nominations and purchased gifts for each one, ranging from iPads to adaptive living equipment to money for tickets to Broadway shows.
“(We) gift wrapped each present, repackaged them, and shipped them to the recipient! We then received videos and pictures as these individuals opened their surprise gift,” said Bucher. “It was unbelievable and definitely the most moving and impactful project we’ve done. We hope to raise enough money this year that would allow us to do this again!”
It was only recently that any one drug was approved for the treatment of SMA. In December of 2016, the FDA approved nusinersen (marketed as Spinraza,) as a drug to be administrated directly into the central nervous system intrathecally. After a long and arduous back and forth with their insurance company, Adyn was ultimately denied for coverage to begin the potentially life-altering (and incredibly costly) treatment, the insurance company stating that the drug was “not medically necessary.”
“After multiple appeals, providing them (the insurance company) multiple pieces of data from the same studies that convinced the FDA it was necessary and safe, they continued to deny coverage,” said Bucher. “Thankfully, the company that created the drug, Biogen, has a program to provide the treatment for free for those individuals who have been denied by their insurance companies – as this is not an isolated issue around the country. Last week, Adyn received her fourth dose via a lumbar puncture – a.k.a. spinal tap, and we are excited to see it’s impact as time continues. Our struggle is by no means unique. SMA families and individuals are fighting insurance companies all over the country for this, in many cases, life saving treatment.”
Bucher has big goals for Adyn’s Dream in 2018, including the expansion of the Secret Santa Giveaway and a goal to sponsor even more families to attend their first Cure SMA conference. He said that the Saturday, February 10 concert will the the organization’s biggest fundraiser of the year.
“This is definitely our biggest and most important fundraiser of the year! We are in need of people coming out and showing their support, all while enjoying one of the biggest and best concerts we’ve had the opportunity to host! Three great bands for only $20, we intentionally set ticket prices low to make the concert as accessible to as many people as possible. Because of this, we are relying on a great turnout in order to allow Adyn’s Dream to meet our goals in 2018!” said Bucher, who said there will also be another fundraiser on Wednesday, February 28 at the Ohio University Women’s Basketball game. “As some people know, this is Adyn’s fourth year on the OU Women’s team, and she will be recognized as one of the two seniors this year on the team. They are also working to turn that into a fundraiser for Adyn’s Dream! Also, there are students at OU who are running in the Race for a Reason on behalf of Adyn’s Dream! We absolutely LOVE & cherish our involvement with certain organizations in the Ohio University community!”
Bucher said that people can stay up to date with that the organization is doing on their Facebook page, which is updated frequently.
The 2018 48-Hour Shootout continues throughout Saturday, February 3 and will conclude tomorrow on Sunday, February 4 at 6 p.m. at the screening of the completed films in the Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium at 6 p.m. Attendance to the screening is free.
WOUB’s Emily Votaw checked in with two of the Ohio University School of Media Arts and Studies student teams who are taking part in the 2018 48-Hour Shootout, SS Productions and Team Oovoo Javer.
Students involved in the 2018 Ohio University 48-Hour Shootout were busy throughout the evening of Friday, February 2 getting things going on their individual productions. WOUB’s Emily Votaw dropped in on the animation teams involved in the competition: Stump Studios and the aptly named animation team, around 11 p.m. on Friday night, to check in on how their productions were progressing.
The students were given their random genres, lines of dialogue, and props earlier in the evening, during the competition’s 5 p.m. kickoff event in Baker 230. The groups were about seven hours deep when Emily Votaw stopped by, and things are looking good for our animation groups.
The 2018 Ohio University School of Media Arts and Studies 48-Hour Shootout will conclude on Sunday, February 4 at the screening of the completed films in the Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium at 6 p.m. Attendance is entirely free! Keep tabs on the competition on Facebook and Twitter.
Early in the spring semester every year, dozens of Ohio University Media Arts and Studies students take to the streets of Athens with their audiovisual equipment in hand to achieve the seemingly impossible: crafting a film in a scanty 48 hours.
Their resources include the equipment room in the RTV building on the OU campus and whatever else they happen to own or can scrounge up. The event starts at 6 p.m. on a Friday (this year that Friday being February 2,) and concludes that very same Sunday at 6 p.m. with a free showcase of the completed films in the Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium.
2018 marks the 15th anniversary of the event, and the first that Ohio University School of Media Arts and Studies lecturer Andie Walla will serve as the faculty advisor for.
“Frederick Lewis has been running this for the past 15 years, and at this point it’s a pretty well-oiled machine,” said Walla a few days for the kickoff for the 2018 event. “Students in the media arts and studies school look forward to this every year, and winning it is a coveted bragging right among students.”
Walla decided to keep the majority of the details about the event the same: on Friday evening each of the 17 teams was randomly assigned a genre, a prop, and a quote (this year all of the quotes are taken from various superhero movies,) that they music incorporate into their film.
For the first (and, likely, the last) year, the students enrolled in Ohio University’s Ohio in L.A. program will be participating. However, they have a submission deadline that is a half hour earlier than the Athens-based teams, and they must attend each of the mandatory meetings via video call.
This year Walla is working alongside three student producers, who are assisting in organizing the endeavor. Among those students are Annabelle Fisher, a veteran to the 48-hour shootout process, and Ben Carpenter, one of the students who works in the equipment room.
Perhaps the biggest change to the event is the way in which the presentation of the films on Sunday, which will no longer include the exhausted, awkward words from someone on each presenting team.
“By Sunday, the students are delirious, and it’s always very awkward when they get up to present their film,” said Walla. “So, we’re going to have each team submit a couple of words about their film that they would like the judges to know, which will be read off by the emcees of the event. We’re hoping this will improve the screening experience for everyone.”
Walla, who participated in a number of the early shootouts and has judged a few herself, said that typically the portions of the productions that are lacking are audio and on-screen talent. To curb the issues with acting, Walla has worked to incorporate contact information for the Lost Flamingo Company, the non-major, student-organized theatre troupe associated with Ohio University, into the general information that students receive when the shootout kicked off.
Some of the judges for this year’s competition include Alex Kamody of the Athena Cinema and a number of faculty and staff from the media arts and studies program.
“We have a great panel of judges lined up this year, and a big part of what they’re going to be focusing on is how true each group stays to their assigned genre and line of dialogue and prop,” said Walla. “Every year there are groups that blow off their prop or genre, and those things are important, as well as general production value and an original and creative idea.”
All 17 groups gathered in Baker 230 at 5 p.m. on Friday, February 2 to receive their props, lines of dialogue, and genre. Although some were disappointed and others delighted in their random assignments, one thing is for certain: this is a weekend that will remain one of their most intense (and, depending, perhaps most unpleasant,) experiences in undergrad.
“This is an event that really challenges students to use their resources wisely, and I think that is the biggest thing that they take away from this,” said Walla, who said she remains close friends with the rest of her 48-hour shootout team from the years she participated in the competition. “Maybe the people who were on my (48-hour shootout) team went into that experience not being the best of friends, but it was certainly a bonding experience by the time we were finished with it. A lot can happen in 48 hours.”
All of the submitted films from this year’s 48-hour shootout will be screened in the Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium on Sunday, February 4 at 6 p.m. Attendance is entirely free! Keep tabs on WOUB’s coverage of the 2018 48-hour shootout on Twitter @woubculture and on Facebook. Follow the hashtag #48hourOU for social media posts throughout the weekend associated with the shootout.
Tickets are now on sale for Tantrum Theater’s 2018 season! You can buy tickets here.
The Cake (June 6 – June 24)
By Bekah Brunsetter
Directed by Shelley Delaney
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
Della believes there’s no problem so big it can’t be solved while eating one of her perfectly delicious cakes. When Jen, the daughter of a dear friend, returns home to get married, Della is thrilled to bake the wedding cake—until she discovers Jen’s groom is not a groom, but a bride. Della is torn between deeply held faith and her love for Jen, who struggles to reconcile her own conservative roots with her liberal life. In a nation deeply divided on social issues, this new play by Bekah Brunstetter (NBC’s This Is Us) is a delectable confection of humor, compassion, and Southern hospitality. How do we love when the political meets the personal?
BUY NOW
Next to Normal (July 11 – July 29)
Music by Tom Kitt
Book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey
Directed by Robert Barry Fleming
Catch me, I’m falling.
Father, mother, sister, brother. The Goodmans may seem like a comfortable family, but they’re just trying to make it through another day. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and three Tony Awards, this emotional rollercoaster of a rock musical twists through suburban life in contemporary America with honesty and heart. Examining one family’s struggles with mental illness, medication, and grief, Next to Normal offers hope for self-acceptance even when nothing is truly normal.
BUY NOW
Performances in the Abbey Theater
Dublin Community Recreation Center
5600 Post Road
Dublin, OH 43017
tantrumtheater.org
Box Office: (614) 793-5700
The coming weeks bring with them a slew of exciting performing arts events on Ohio University’s campus. Check out the details below! You can always check out tickets for the events at this link.
Daniel Martin
Magician – Comedian – Entertainer
Friday, February 2, 2018, 8 p.m.
Ohio University’s Memorial Auditorium
Daniel Martin has quickly become one of the most in demand performers touring today. His high-energy fusion of Exhilarating Magic, Cons & Sarcastic Improv continually leads to record breaking crowds and consistent standing ovations at theaters, universities and celebrity events worldwide. Daniel was recently awarded 2016’s “Best Variety Artist & Best Male Performer” along with winning last year’s “Entertainer of the Year” award. Campus Activities Magazine also recognizes him as the “Highest Rated/Best Reviewed Act” for the last two years. His awarding winning magic has been seen by millions on CBS, NBC, WGN, VH1, Discovery and most recently the “Top 100 Magic Moments in History” on the BBC.
3 Doors Down Acoustic
Back Porch Jam
with special guest Elvis Monroe
Wednesday, February 7, 2018, 7:30 p.m.
Ohio University’s Memorial Auditorium
3 Doors Down has announced plans to stage the “Back Porch Jam” Tour, an acoustic interpretation of the band’s hits, fan favorites and deep album cuts. All ticket purchasers will receive a limited-edition digital EP featuring acoustic performances of “Kryptonite,” “It’s Not My Time,” and “I Don’t Want To Know.”
Formed in 1995, Grammy Award-nominated multiplatinum Mississippi rock band 3 Doors Down consistently captivates audiences worldwide. The quintet’s many accolades include selling 20 million albums globally, receiving three Grammy nominations, and winning two American Music Awards, and five BMI Pop Awards for songwriting including “Songwriter of the Year.” Their debut The Better Life, became certified six-times RIAA platinum in 2000 and was fueled by the success of juggernaut hit “Kryptonite.” This was followed by 2002’s sophomore album, Away from the Sun which went triple-platinum and saw similar success with “When I’m Gone” and “Here Without You.” 2005’s platinum Seventeen Days and 2008’s 3 Doors Down each earned #1 debuts on the Billboard Top 200, while Time of My Life landed at #3 in 2011. Ignited by the single “In The Dark,” 3 Doors Down unleashed their sixth full-length album, Us and the Night, which debuted top 10 on the Billboard Top 200 in 2016.
Lara St John & Matt Herskowitz
Tuesday, February 6, 2018, 7:30 PM
Ohio University’s Baker Center Theatre
Canadian-born violinist Lara St. John has been described as “something of a phenomenon” by The Strad and a “high-powered soloist” by the New York Times.
She has performed as soloist with the orchestras of Cleveland, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, and the major orchestras of Europe, Asia, South America and Australia/New Zealand.
The Los Angeles Times wrote “Lara St. John happens to be a volcanic violinist with a huge, fabulous tone that pours out of her like molten lava. She has technique to burn and plays at a constant high heat.”
Uniquely combining the superlative technique of a classical virtuoso with his prowess in jazz, world music and free improvisation, pianist, composer and arranger Matt Herskowitz has carved out a unique and personal voice in music. Over the course of the last decade, Matt has produced a series of critically-acclaimed recordings, premiered his works in settings from New York’s Central Park to Germany’s Köln Philharmonie, collaborated with top classical, jazz and pop artists, and has performed at music festivals across the globe.
Twenty years after they began releasing records as the Indigo Girls, Amy Ray and Emily Saliers have politely declined the opportunity to slow down with age. With a legacy of releases and countless U.S. and international tours behind them, the Indigo Girls have forged their own way in the music business. Selling over 14 million records, they are still going strong. Amy & Emily are the only duo with top 40 titles on the Billboard 200 in the ’80s, ’90s, ’00s and ’10s.
The duo will perform at Stuart’s Opera House on Thursday, April 19 at 8 p.m.
Tickets:
$78 – Box Seats
$68 – Floor
$58 – Balcony
$58 – Standing Room (folding chairs)
Tickets On-sale Friday, February 2 at Noon – through Stuart’s Opera House ticket office: 740-753-1924, https://stuartsoperahouse.org/
January 23 to March 3 Ohio University Art Gallery in Seigfred Hall will host Temporal and Corporeal: a Broad Scope of Performance Art, a multidimensional exploration of contemporary performance art. There are numerous live events planned throughout the exhibition’s duration, and the opening reception for the exhibition is planned for Thursday, January 25, 6-9 p.m. An artist panel and discussion is planned for Friday, January 26 1-4 p.m. in Mitchell Auditorium.
WOUB’s Emily Votaw spoke with Courtney Kessel, the gallery coordinator for Ohio University Art Gallery, about the unique exhibition, as well as some of the basic questions that arise when one considers what performance art is at all.
Temporal and Corporeal: A Broad Scope of Performance Art
January 23–March 3, 2018
Ohio University Art Gallery
Seigfred Hall, Athens, Ohio
Reception: Thursday, January 25, 6-9 p.m.
Artist presentation and panel: Friday, January 26, 1-4 p.m. in Mitchell Auditorium, Seigfred 5th floor
Exhibition Blog: temporalandcorporeal.tumblr.com
School of Art + Design proudly presents an exhibition of contemporary performance art, “Temporal and Corporeal: A Broad Scope of Performance Art,” at Ohio University Art Gallery in Athens, January 23–March 3. Live performance events, visiting artist panel discussions, and a reception open the first week of events.
Join us for an opening reception, Thursday January 25, 6–9 p.m., and an artist presentation and panel discussion on January 26, 1–4 p.m. in Mitchel Auditorium, Seigfred 5th floor. Artist Danielle Abrams will join us at Ohio University the week of January 23 for the opening week events surrounding the exhibition.
Guest artists Yana Evans, Danielle Abrams, and OHIO alumnus Kris Grey will give artist presentations and join a panel discussion, Friday, January 26, 1-4 p.m. in Mitchell Auditorium, with light refreshments. Open to the public, and free.
Additional visiting artists and performances are planned throughout the length of the exhibition, and will be announced soon.
Artists in the exhibition include: Will Arbery, Matty Davis, Kenny Polyak, & Kora Radella, Janette Chien and Wayne Kleppe, E.J. Cobb, Kara Dunne, Marisa Finos, Cari Freno, Lindsay Garcia, Rae Goodwin, Mary Addison Hackett, Greg Hatch, Brock Jensen, Heather Joy Layton, Daniel Lichtman, Katie Mansfield, Yelena Myshko, Rebecca Pappas, Hyun Gi Park, Sam Posso, Keegan Shiner, Heather Sincavage, Christine Stiver, and Megan Young.
Dr. Jennie Klein and art history students in the School of Art + Design will be contributing texts and essays in response to this exhibition and its performances at temporalandcorporeal.tumblr.com.
Featured Guest Artist Bios:
Danielle Abrams is a working class, African American, Jewish, Butch Lesbian artist whose performances are shaped by her identity and background as a biracial woman. Abrams animates a series of characters that represent a cross section of ethnicities, races, and genders. Many of these performance characters come from her own background. More information about Abrams’s work, as well as videos of her performances, can be found on her web site: www.danielleabrams.com
Ayana Evans is a NYC based artist who works frequently in Chicago, where she grew up. Evans’s work questions the space between African American identity, Hip Hop Culture, and endurance performance. Garbed in a neon-yellow, zebra-striped catsuit, Evans often forces art world audiences (most of them of European descent) to confront the inherent biases of the art world. Evans’s on-going performances/public interventions include: “Operation Catsuit” and “I Just Came Here to Find a Husband.” She has curated and co-curated performance art shows throughout the U.S and worked in arts education for a decade. She is Editor at Large for www.cultbytes.com. Her recent press includes articles on New York Magazine’s The Cut, Hyperallergic, the Huffington Post, gallerygurls.net, and CNN. More information can be found on her her web site: www.ayanaevans.com
Kris Grey/Justin Credible received their MFA from Ohio University in 2012. They are a gender-queer artist whose work combines strategies of communication, activism, community building, education, lecture, and studio production. Grey’s work addresses what it means to be trans* in the sense of always in transition and the refusal to rest in binary identities. Grey’s work deals with what it means to change one’s gender, histories of non-normate folk, and corporeal excess via endurance and community performances. More information can be found on Grey’s web site: kristingrey.com
Gallery Hours:
Gallery hours are Monday–Saturday 10:00a.m.–4:00p.m., and Thursday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. For additional information, please contact Courtney Kessel at the Ohio University Art Gallery, School of Art + Design Seigfred Hall 536, Athens, Ohio, 45701 or at (740) 593-1994.
This College of Fine Arts event is made possible through support from Arts for Ohio.
The Ohio University Art Gallery, located on the 5th floor of Seigfred Hall, is open Monday-Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Thursday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Sponsors include: School of Art + Design, Ohio University Art Galleries, LGBT Center, Gender and Sexuality Studies, African American Studies, Ohio University Multicultural Center and Honors Tutorial College Cutler’s Scholars Program, and Arts for OHIO.
Follow along at the Ohio University Art Galleries Facebook Page for updates @ohiouniversityartgalleries.
A retrospective exhibition featuring 36 works spanning the career of Ron Kroutel, Emeritus Professor of Art at Ohio University’s School of Art + Design, will open January 20 and run through April 22, 2018 at the Kennedy Museum of Art, located at 100 Ridges Circle, Athens, OH 45701.
The opening reception is planned for Friday, January 19, 6-7:30 p.m., featuring a prelude made up of a walk and talk with artist Ron Kroutel and guest curator Rajko Grlić from 5:15 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Kennedy Museum of Art’s gallery hours are
Monday–Wednesday, Friday: 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
Thursday: 10 a.m.–8 p.m.
Saturday–Sunday: 1–5 p.m.
University Holidays: Closed
Luca Guadagnino’s critically acclaimed coming-of-age romantic drama, Call Me By Your Name, (based on the 2007 novel of the same name by André Aciman,) is coming to the Athena Cinema on Friday, January 19, and on Sunday, January 21, the first 100 tickets to the 7:30 p.m. showing will be FREE thank you to the generous sponsorship of Hillel and Ohio University LGBT Center. Tickets are available on a first-come, first-serve basis, starting the day of the showing. Screening will be followed by a panel discussion exploring the film’s theme of intersecting LGBTQ and Jewish identities.
Free admission only applies to the first 100 patrons to this particular showing.
The film is the third and final installment in Guadagnino’s thematic Desire trilogy, which is made up of 2009’s I Am Love and 2015’s A Bigger Splash. Call Me By Your Name is set in gorgeous 1983 Northern Italy, where Elio Perlman (played by Timothée Chalet) develops romantic feelings for his father’s assistant, Oliver (played by Armie Hammer). The film also stars Michael Stuhlbarg, Amira Casar, Esther Garrel, and Victoire Du Bois.
Friday, February 23, 2018, at 8 p.m., CMT Next Women of Country Presents: Sara Evans “All the Love Tour” featuring RaeLynn and Kalie Shorr will come to Ohio University’s Memorial Auditorium
ACM and CMA Award winning country music star Sara Evans has partnered with CMT for its fourth annual Next Women of Country Tour in 2018. “CMT Next Women of Country presents Sara Evans All The Love Tour featuring RaeLynn and Kalie Shorr” launches February 12 in New York City with 15 shows from coast to coast. Special guests RaeLynn (“Lonely Call,” “Love Triangle”) and Kalie Shorr (“Fight Like A Girl,” “Two Hands”) are among the impressive roster of CMT’s “Next Women of Country” artists.
Tickets:
$55 – first 10 rows
$35 – Remainder of Floor
$25 – Balcony
Concert Connection Pre-Sale: January 4 @ noon – 3 p.m. (tickets for concert connection members must be purchased directly through the Memorial Auditorium ticket office either by phone or in person). Click here for more information about Concert Connections
Public On-Sale: January 5 @ noon (online, in person, or by phone). Please Note: We expect a high volume of calls the first day of sales. This will make it difficult to purchase tickets over the phone.
Purchase Tickets Online – Click Here
If one types “Italy” into a Google image search, the results are a visual cornucopia of gorgeous hilled country sides, artfully crumbling remnants of the Roman empire, stunning designs by the likes of Versace and Fendi and Prada, and heaps of gourmet pasta and deeply hued highbrow wines. It’s no wonder that Italy is one of the main places that American travel internationally, and if anyone is aware of the centuries-long fascination that Americans have with Italy, it’s experienced travel guru and host of PBS’ Rick Steves’ Europe, Rick Steves himself.
On Sunday, December 31, WOUB-HD will broadcast Rick Steves’ Heart of Italy at 12 p.m., which documents Rick’s plunge into the Italian heartland. He starts out in Umbria, sleeping in a agriturismo (farmhouse inn) and learning how delicacies like pecorino cheese and prosciutto are made. He then visits Assisi, gendering at is Giotto masterpieces and incredible basilica. Rick also makes a trip to Siena, and ends up in Cinque Terre, where he is schooled on the “five lands” of Italy, everything from the vineyards of Vernazza to the hardscramble Riomaggiore.
“Just like any place one imagines travelling to, Americans have an idealistic view of Italy in general, but I would say that, largely, Italy actually delivers for those expectations,” said Francesca Colloredo, an Italian professor in Ohio University’s division of Modern Languages. Colloredo was born and raised in Milano, and first came to New York some 35 years ago. She has been on staff at Ohio University for the past 12 years. “For example, I’ve never heard an American say that they had a bad meal in Italy, or that Rome was just ‘so-so.’ Americans think of Italy as a country of people who are relaxed and who are surrounded by beauty, and that’s not wrong. I don’t think that it is a distorted idea that Americans have, but perhaps a little idealistic.”
Molly Morrison, Ph.D., is the director of the Italian Studies Certificate program at Ohio University, who also developed a longstanding study abroad program in Florence, Italy for OU students. Morrison came on staff at Ohio University in 1997 after studying extensively in Italy. Before her interview with WOUB, Morrison reached out to students that have travelled abroad with her in the past to get their words on some of aspects of their trip that they found the most surprising.
“Just like any place one imagines travelling to, Americans have an idealistic view of Italy in general, but I would say that, largely, Italy actually delivers for those expectations. For example, I’ve never heard an American say that they had a bad meal in Italy, or that Rome was just ‘so-so.’ Americans think of Italy as a country of people who are relaxed and who are surrounded by beauty, and that’s not wrong. I don’t think that it is a distorted idea that Americans have, but perhaps a little idealistic.” – Francesca Colloredo, professor of Italian at Ohio University
“Perhaps the smallest, and most humorous, thing is that in Italy, there is no salad dressing. There’s no ranch – and I think that kind of encapsulates the whole thing,” said Morrison. “There are other small things, like, for example, Italians don’t like to split checks, which can be an issue for students, and Italians also use plastic gloves while handling produce in the supermarket. There are lots of unwritten Italian rules for eating that students find surprising, like, for example, you would never have a cappuccino after a meal. It’s just not done. And Italians would never have a big breakfast of scrambled eggs and ham and bacon. Those smaller things both puzzle and fascinate students.”
Although American students may not understand why a merchant would bristle after being paid with a credit card for a $1.75 coffee or why Italian drivers do not stop for pedestrians, Colloredo said that generally Italians welcome American tourists sincerely.
“Italy has always had a pretty good relationship with America, and Americans are usually welcomed there more readily than they might be in some other European countries,” she said. “Most Italians speak some English, and they don’t usually get upset that Americans might not try to speak Italian, it’s a very warm country. As an Italian, I was always in love with America, and that’s why I came here. I didn’t know at the time that I would marry an American, but I always liked the country. My father travelled here when I was a child, and he would always talk about his love for this country.”
Part of America’s longstanding fascination with la dolce vita stems directly from the strong association that Italy has with fantastic food, and a diet that is not only tastier than the American diet, but also conducive to a longer life.
“Students often think that while they are in Italy, they will only be eating pasta and pizza, and nothing could be farther from the truth,” said Morrison. “Italians do eat a lot of pasta, but they also eat a lot of vegetables, they are big fruit and cheese eaters. They also eat meat, obviously, but meat is not the center of every meal.”
Morrison said that Italians have the longest reported average lifespan among European countries, probably in no small part thanks to their diet.
“In Italy, people eat a lot of pasta and they drink a lot of wine, but they are not as unhealthy and obese as Americans are in general,” said Morrison. The Mediterranean Diet (which is basically the Italian diet,) has surged in popularity in the U.S. over the past decade or so, and for a reason. The “diet,” which is more of a lifestyle, focuses on healthy fats, whole grains, legumes, fruits and vegetables and moderate amounts of red wine. This method of consumption has been linked with lower rates of obesity, as well as reduced risk for heart disease, stroke, and even Alzheimer’s disease.
Morrison said that another facet of an experience studying abroad in Italy that often confuses students is the lack of public restrooms and free sources of water.
“In America, if you go into McDonalds and don’t buy anything and just use their restroom, you’re not necessarily a bad person. In Italy, you often have to pay to use a restroom in a train station or in public, or if you use the bathroom at a bar, you’re going to have to buy something, like a pack of gum or something,” she said. “America is very much a drinking fountain kind of culture. But in Italy, when you go to a restaurant, you will have to buy a bottle of water if you want water to drink, it isn’t free. It’s not too common to ask for a glass of tap water.”
Being that Italy is home to some of the most renowned fashion houses in the entire world, it’s no surprise that Italians, in general, dress much better than Americans.
“This is something that I tell students again and again, but they don’t really get it until we are in Italy, even though we do have meetings before the trip,” said Morrison. “If a girl is wearing very short shorts, it kind of says very loudly ‘I am an American,’ because Italians just don’t dress like that. People don’t wear flip flops in public, and they certainly wouldn’t be caught dead in a pair of sweatpants outside their home. They don’t wear anything with slogans, either, not that they won’t sell clothing with slogans on it to tourists, because they will, and those items make great gifts, although no one wears them over there.”
In general, Morrison said that the number of American students who are utilizing their college years to travel abroad to Italy is incredibly high.
“People don’t realize how many American students are studying abroad in Italy, but that number is quite high,” she said. “Americans are fascinated with Italy for many reasons, I think. For the food, for the beauty of the country, for the art. Not every aspect of Italian culture may be loved by Americans, but it certainly intrigues us and fascinates us.”
The Ohio University Performing Arts Series has just announced that legendary singer-songwriter Lyle Lovett and contemporary folk music gem Shawn Colvin will perform on Ohio University’s Athens campus in the Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium on March 21, 2018 at 7:30 p.m.
Concert Connection pre-sale tickets will be up on Monday, December 18 noon to 3 p.m. and tickets will be publicly on sale on Tuesday, December 19 at noon. For information on buying tickets, check out this link. Tickets are $55 for the first 10 rows and $35 for the remainder.
LYLE LOVETT:
A singer, composer and actor, Lyle Lovett has broadened the definition of American music in a career that spans 14 albums. Coupled with his gift for storytelling, the Texas-based musician fuses elements of country, swing, jazz, folk, gospel and blues in a convention-defying manner that breaks down barriers.
Whether touring as a ‘Solo’ or with his ‘Acoustic Group’ or his ‘Large Band’, Lovett’s live performances show not only the breadth of this Texas legend’s deep talents, but also the diversity of his influences, making him one of the most compelling and captivating musicians in popular music.
Since his self-titled debut in 1986, Lyle Lovett has evolved into one of music’s most vibrant and iconic performers. Among his many accolades, besides the four Grammy Awards, he was given the Americana Music Association’s inaugural Trailblazer Award, and was named Texas State Musician.
His works, rich and eclectic, are some of the most beloved of any artist working today.
www.lylelovett.com
www.facebook.com/LyleLovett
SHAWN COLVIN:
Singer, songwriter and author Shawn Colvin won her first GRAMMY Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album with her debut album, Steady On. She has been a mainstay of the singer-songwriter genre ever since, releasing eleven superlative albums and establishing herself as one of America’s greatest live performers. She triumphed at the 1998 GRAMMY Awards, winning both Record and Song of the Year for “Sunny Came Home.” Colvin’s inspiring and candid memoir, Diamond In The Rough, was published in 2012. Diamond in the Rough looks back over a rich lifetime of highs and lows with stunning insight and candor.
Shawn was recently recognized for her career accomplishments when she was honored with the 2016 Lifetime Achievement Trailblazer Award by the Americana Music Association. Presenting her with this prestigious award was Bonnie Raitt. Said Raitt, “She’s simply one of the best singers I’ve ever heard- and a truly gifted and deep songwriter and guitarist… She was groundbreaking when she emerged and continues to inspire me and the legions of fans and other singer/songwriters coming up in her wake.”
Shawn Colvin’s forthcoming release, The Starlighter, will be released on Amazon Music on February 23rd, 2018. The Starlighter features Shawn’s tender renditions of traditional and standard children’s lullabies. The result is an album that captures the magic and mystery of children’s songs while also offering a moving and timeless musical experience.
For its final theater performance of the 2017 fall semester, Ohio University’s College of Fine Arts will be presenting a comedic and whimsical ensemble piece with its production of Failure: A Love Story. The show is free and open to the public, and will take place in the Forum Theater in the RTV building on the OU Athens campus Dec. 6-8 at 8 p.m., and Dec 9. at 7 p.m.
Written in 2012 by Chicago Playwright Philip Dawkins, Failure: A Love Story is a philosophical, comedic tale exploring love and the inevitability of death.
The play begins by addressing the audience with a narration of events to come: namely, that all three Fail sisters will soon be dead. The story follows the life and death of these members of the Fail family, as they live above their family clock repair shop in the ’20s and encounter numerous experiences of love and loss.
With this information the play quickly enters into a realm of theatrical, poetic storytelling, with an ensemble that is heavily driven by music, talking animals, personified clocks, and quirky humor.
“It basically explores different kinds of life and how we chose to live life, and sort of the inevitability of death and how we all deal with loss in a very whimsical, storytelling theater way,” said the production’s director Anne McAlexander.
Though Dawkins laid the foundation for the story, he left directors the artistic freedom to choose the size and characterization of the ensemble, which he describes in the original script as simply “the chorus.”
McAlexander chose to keep the ensemble at a total of 12 actors, one for each character, which includes the three Fail sisters, an adopted brother, two parents, four animals, a gramophone, and a man named Mortimer Mortimer.
Throughout the production, multiple actors will be playing more than one character and the play will be directly addressing the audience.
“The playwright gives you a lot of freedom to make the story come to life as you want it to come to life so the possibility of exploring all different sorts of things with the actors and designers was very exciting to me,” said McAlexander.
Additionally, throughout the piece there will be live music performances and numerous situations for the audience to use their imaginations.
“It’s going to be very fun and entertaining,” said McAlexander.
However, the play certainly has its share of thoughtful and philosophical moments.
“I think this play deals with death in a really beautiful way… this play really gives people a chance to embrace life, accept life, embrace love in all of its different forms, and not be afraid of death,” said Carson Cerney, a third-year MFA actor playing Mortimer Mortimer. “Death is the one thing that unifies us, and for all of us to face one of our fears and to experience the journey together is going to be really special for the audience.”
The play will be performed by BFA and MFA acting students, and has been made possible through funding from Arts for Ohio.
If you’re looking for some over-the-top fun on the first Monday in December, look no further than Broadway for the Holidays, taking place in the Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium on Monday, December 4 at 7:30 p.m.
As the final installment in the celebration of the Ohio University’s School of Music 100th Anniversary, Maestro Luke Frazier (O.U. MM ’09) has brought a stunning array of Broadway stars to the Ohio University Athens campus for a night of music, dance, and general performance. Among those stars are Mary Michael Patterson (Phantom of the Opera), Claybourne Elder (Sunday in the Park with George, serving as the understudy to Jake Gyllenhaal), and Hilary Morrow, fresh off of her recent performance at the prestigious Birdland Jazz Club.
“I’ve done shows with each of them before, but I’ve never done a show with all of them together,” said Frazier. “What I’m trying to do with this concert is similar to what I try to do with my performances in Washington D.C., I’ve also brought in my stage director for this show. There will be all sorts of interesting lighting, costume changes, it’s a theatrical experience.”
The main difference between this particular show and the professional orchestra performances that Frazier puts on regularly with the acclaimed American Pops Orchestra, (which he founded in 2015,) is that instead of working with his professional orchestra, he will be working with the Ohio University Symphony Orchestra and Chorus.
“The show will be a mixture of fun conversation, great music, and some really interesting visuals,” said Frazier.
Tickets are available now, $8 for students, $13 for seniors, and $15 general admission.
In December 1999 a group of second graders in northeast Ohio sat down to watch a VHS tape of what they thought would be Charles Shultz’s heartfelt modern masterpiece, A Charlie Brown Christmas. Instead, the bulky monitor came alight with the likenesses of Justin Hayward, Mike Pinder, and Graeme Edge in the midst of an electrifying, orchestral Moody Blues performance.
This was Andrew Poulsen’s second grade class, and this incident was a product of his father’s intense Moody Blues fandom. When Poulsen’s mother had been charged with bringing in a copy of the cartoon for her son’s classroom holiday party, somehow the family’s VHS of the classic had been swapped with one of Poulsen’s father’s copies of a Moody Blues concert.
“The Moody Blues is not really a band that you think of as being anyone’s favorite,” said Poulsen, a graduate of Ohio University’s E.W. Scripps School of Journalism. “My dad is a very meat and potatoes kind of guy: he loves fantasy football and The Sopranos and a lot of other things that are really mainstream. The Moody Blues are a band that very much caters to those who have very esoteric tastes in music and art; and my dad’s tastes in just about anything else are not esoteric by any stretch of the word.”
December 31 at 11 p.m., WOUB-HD will broadcast Great Performances: The Moody Blues, which chronicles the band’s Toronto stop on their 2017 world tour, in which they play the entirety of their groundbreaking 1967 album, Days of Future Passed. The performance is certainly the kind of thing that a super fan, such as Poulsen’s father, would want to catch – but also a real treat for the casual listener, with the band cracking into the likes of “Nights in White Satin,” and more.
Poulsen said that while growing up, the only person he knew of who had anywhere the affinity for the group as his father was someone in his hometown who played in a Moody Blues tribute act, called Time Traveller.
That man is Jeff Costick, who formed Time Traveller in 1998 with some fellow musicians whose chops were mighty enough to handle the complexity of The Moody Blues’ catalog. It should be noted that Time Traveller (named after The Moody Blues’ 1994 five-disc compilation album of the same name,) is America’s number one the Moody Blues tribute act, having met and performed with various original members of the band multiple times.
“I’ve always been a big music fan, dating back to the ‘60s and ‘70s – everybody, you know, Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Iron Butterfly,” said Costick in an interview via phone with WOUB, driving back to Ohio from a private show put on by John Lodge, bassist of the Moody Blues. “A lot of Moody Blues fans are very hardcore fans, and they range in age from early teens to people in their 70s. They’re very, very loyal fans – you see a lot of the same people at concerts around the country.”
Cosick is in a similar age bracket as Eddie Ashworth, an associate professor for the Ohio University School of Media Arts and Studies.
“I think that The Moody Blues only fits a couple of ‘progressive rock’ categories: they sort of tackle these immense themes – every one of their albums seems to be a concept record. They also have some borderline pretentious lyrics, which are even nonsensical sometimes. A real hallmark of progressive rock is that sometimes you have to sort of turn off what the actual lyrical content is to enjoy the music,” said Ashworth in an interview in his office, the Moody’s In Search of the Lost Chord playing softly in the background. “So, they have concept albums, and the instrumentation they use is definitely progressive. But, where I think the band diverges from typical progressive rock is that oftentimes progressive rock prides itself on infuriatingly complex song construction, and over complicated playing – but at their heart, The Moody Blues are just a classic pop band. When you consider their body of work, it is just too pleasant to listen to, to be considered true progressive rock.”
Earlier this year The Moody Blues were named a 2018 Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame nominee, much to the delight of Poulson’s father.
“Another thing that is worth mentioning is that my dad is legally deaf without his hearing aids, and you would think that because The Moody Blues are so compositionally dense that it wouldn’t resonate with someone whose hearing abilities are already so limited, with someone who can’t even hear birds when they chirp. But he loves them, and when you look at the other musical artists that he likes it’s like Bob Seger and Jackson Browne and The Eagles – sort of your appetizer sampler of dad bands. But he loves The Moody Blues so much that he’s been getting fired up about them being on the ballot for the rock hall for years,” said Poulson, who mentioned that his father draw a distinct connection between Rolling Stone founding owner Jann Wenner selling his stake in the magazine and the band’s recent nomination. “Even though The Moody Blues’ music is something I hated as a child, I dreaded it – their music does have merit, so it makes sense.”
The band is responsible for some incredible things, such as introducing the very first Melotron to pop music.
“But, where I think (The Moody Blues) diverge from typical progressive rock is that oftentimes progressive rock prides itself on infuriatingly complex song construction, and over complicated playing – but at their heart, The Moody Blues are just a classic pop band. When you consider their body of work, it is just too pleasant to listen to, to be considered true progressive rock. – Eddie Ashworth, associate professor at Ohio University’s School of Media Arts and Studies
“That opening to “Strawberry Fields Forever?” We wouldn’t have it unless Mike PInder had introduced Paul McCartney to it,” said Ashworth. “And it’s been said that Brian Wilson was a big fan of the Moody Blues when he was working on all of his Pet Sounds era stuff, too. I think it’s easy to denigrate the band – and there are goofy things about them. Sometimes lyrically they ask you to make quite a stretch, and sometimes they overuse falsetto vocals. But if you look at the band as just musicians and songwriters, Justin Hayward is one of the great unsung songwriters of the ‘60s and ‘70s. He made really consistent, tuneful albums. He reminds me a lot of Neil Finn of Crowded House and Split Enz – but in the way that Neil Finn is hip, Justin Hayward is not.”
Perhaps those second graders who were subjected to The Moody Blues all those years ago ended up purchasing Pink Floyd t-shirts at Hot Topic in their youth, and some of them might have even gone on to become bona fide progressive rock fans.
“Another thing that is really weird is the way in which my generation has embraced and commodified Pink Floyd, and to a lesser extent E.L.O., Yes, and King Crimson, but not The Moody Blues at all,” said Poulsen. “My mom has said that “Nights in White Satin” was the slow dance song at her prom – and that song has a flute solo in it and all these bizarre orchestral swells. When I think of my school dances, it’s like “Get Low” by Lil John and the Eastside Boyz. It’s hilarious to think that The Moody Blues’ music is so fantastical, yet at the end of the day, it was modern pop music.”
The Charles Dickens holiday classic comes to life as a live 1940s radio broadcast, complete with vintage commercials for fruitcake and the magic of LIVE sound effects and musical underscoring. The Ohio University Lancaster student actors bring dozens of characters to the stage, as the familiar story unfolds: three ghosts take Ebenezer Scrooge on a thrilling journey to teach him the true meaning of Christmas. A charming take on a family favorite that will leave no one saying “Bah Humbug.” The play is produced by special arrangements with Playscripts, Inc.
Alexandra Downour, who plays Lana Sherwood in the play, is excited about the role because of its challenge. “Lana is an actress who plays many roles in a radio play. This means that I can use different voices to differentiate the characters,” she said. “It’s a chance to broaden my abilities on voice and character acting, making me a more diverse actress.”
Downour encourages all ages to attend the performance, “This is a wonderful family friendly show that brings everyone’s favorite characters to life onstage in a way many have yet to experience,” she said.
Although there are some differences between the holiday movie favorite and the play. “The stage play has the actors playing the roles of the more widely known story as if they are being broadcast over a radio station,” she explains. “Every actor is playing another actor who plays many characters in A Christmas Carol. It’s exciting to see the actors change roles quickly with their voices and character traits.”
Downour is a junior theatre and business administration major and hails from Berne Union High School. She splits her time attending classes at both Ohio University Lancaster and OHIO’s Athens campus. After graduation, she hopes to find a theatre of her own where she can direct and design shows.
“Professor Jones has been very generous with the opportunities he has given me to learn and expand on my abilities in theatre, and I hope that someday I can pay that forward to others who love theatre as much as I do,” she said.
Performances begin Thursday, December 7 through Sunday, December 10, tickets are $12 for reserved seating for adults and $10 for seniors, students and children. They are available online at here or at Ohio University Lancaster’s theatre box office (located in the OUL north lobby in front of Wagner Theatre, 1570 Granville Pike, Lancaster, OH) staffed Monday through Friday, 12 – 4 p.m., and one hour before shows or call (740) 681-3353.
Ohio University’s College of Fine Arts will be wrapping up the 2017 fall semester with its theater production of The Last Days of Judas Iscariot. The show will take place in the Forum Theater in the RTV building on the OU Athens campus Nov. 28-30 at 8 p.m., and Dec. 1 at 7 p.m. Admission is free and open to the public, however reservations are encouraged here.
The Last Days of Judas Iscariot was written as a provocative comedy in the early 2000s by Pulitzer-Prize winning playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis. The play examines the fate of the infamous Biblical figure, Judas Iscariot, as he faces trial for his actions in Purgatory.
Known largely in the Christian community as a former disciple of Jesus, and ultimately, his betrayer, Judas Iscariot has been demonized as the man responsible for Jesus’s death. Christian ideology suggests that his punishment is to suffer in the depths of hell for all eternity.
The Last Days of Judas Iscariot puts a unique twist on the familiar story by taking place in trial before Judas’s fate is declared. In doing so, the play explores themes of forgiveness, guilt, and sin through a thought-provoking, philosophical and comedic lens.
“The piece explores forgiveness, it explores mercy vs Justice. What I love about theatre is that if we can come to terms with Judas’s innocence in this particular play, then possibly we can come to terms with forgiving other people that have wronged us or that we have wronged,” said Jonathan Hetler, second year MFA directing candidate and the production’s director.
Additionally, the play ties in historic and culturally significant figures such as Mother Theresa, Sigmund Freud, Caiaphas, Saint Monica, and Satan as witnesses to the stand.
While OU’s production will be staying true to the original scripted play, they have adapted the trial aspect of the set with their own artistic vision.
“Our Purgatory does not look like a courtroom whatsoever. We’ve really adapted this idea that the place and setting is called Hope, which is located in downtown Purgatory. And this is a play on words because we designed the set to look very hopeless… and so the question is, is there hope or is it hopeless?” said Hetler.
The cast is comprised of OU BFA and MFA acting students, and is supported with funding by Ohio University through Arts for Ohio.
As a second year MFA Directing candidate, Hetler chose the play as part of his program, and for its intriguing and thoughtful nature.
“I think the play tackles guilt and shame at its root, and I think that’s something that anyone can relate to,” he said. “If we can come to terms with that, then we’re better off. If we can rid ourselves from guilt and shame and embrace this forgiveness that is bestowed on us than we might just be better off in the long run.”
Gloria Steinem is one of the most important minds of our time: a feminist, a writer, political activist, and lecturer. On the evening of Tuesday, November 21, Steinem stopped by Ohio University, and WOUB’s Madeleine Hordinski captured the evening with a some photos, which are below.
The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – The Touring Years is a 97-minute in-depth look into The Beatles’ earliest years, from their achingly precise performances at The Cavern Club in Liverpool in 1962 to their very last touring show in San Francisco’s Candlestick Park in 1966. Directed by Ron Howard, the film was advised heavily by surviving Beatles Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, as well as Yoko Ono and Olivia Harrison, widows of John Lennon and George Harrison.
The film depicts the band’s incredible skyrocket to the very top of the international consciousness, a feat that had never before been accomplished, and has yet to be replicated. From being terrorized by gangs of hundreds of screaming, barely-pubescent girls to the exploration of the band’s decision to stick strictly to studio recording after their 1966 tour, the documentary utilizes oodles of historical footage of the world’s favorite band to look into what made the group what it was.
November 25, at 8 p.m., WOUB-HD will broadcast the lauded documentary, which received favorable reviews from Beatles fans and film critics alike when it was released September 2016.
“It was really fun to see (The Beatles: Eight Days a Week) with my daughter when it came out,” said Chris Pyle, owner of Donkey Coffee and one of Athens’ very own true blue Beatles diehards. “Afterwards, she asked me ‘Dad! Why are they all chasing them and screaming like that? What are they going to do when they catch them?’ which are perfectly reasonable questions to ask coming from an 8-year-old.”
Beatlemania began shortly after the band’s release of Please Please Me, (which was recorded very minimally, and in a bit of a frenzy,) following their first unleashed singles in 1962. After the album was released in March of 1963, the group got their first taste of the insanity that would plague their touring years.
“There has been nothing like Beatlemania ever since The Beatles – nothing even comparable,” said Pyle. “I wish the film had explored a little more of the psychology – or perhaps psychiatry – that was behind Beatlemania. I can only guess that a portion of it relates to the fact that there was just a lot more mystery in the ‘60s, and mystery is a huge part of rock ‘n’ roll. Everything is uncovered now, you can look up any myth or legend and debunk it on google, and I think that is why rock music is slowly fading away. Back then, the only way you could find out about a band you liked was to go and see them.”
As The Beatles’ popularity swelled, so did the disturbing dedication of their fanbase.
“Everything is uncovered now, you can look up any myth or legend and debunk it on google, and I think that is why rock music is slowly fading away. Back then, the only way you could find out about a band you liked was to go and see them.” – Chris Pyle
“The crazy thing about the film is the fact that the band’s audience is the star of the film – like when the band comes to Australia, suddenly there were 300,000 people trying to see the Beatles, people trying to just get a glimpse of The Beatles in their hotel room,” said Pyle. “When the Beatles went to India, they figured that they had finally escaped all the craziness – but they were wrong. People recognized them there, too. They were the four most popular people in the world.”
It’s worth noting that The Beatles had years upon years of experience playing music professionally by the time they were touring internationally. From the very roots of their formation in 1957 – when Lennon met McCartney and Harrison – the band worked tirelessly under a number of monikers, regularly using the now off-the-market stimulant phenmatrazine to fuel their insane performance shifts in the red-light district of Hamburg.
“I feel like there could be an entirely new documentary just about the Hamburg years, you can’t get to where The Beatles were in 1963 without the band having worked really hard for seven or eight years beforehand,” said Pyle. “Sometimes you hear people say that they don’t like the early Beatles stuff, that it’s too much like a boy band’s music – and I think that’s just nuts. The music is amazing, and it’s held up all these years – and you could never get to the crazy, far out stuff that they created later on without it.”
On Thursday, November 16 at 8 p.m., the Ohio University Percussion Ensemble will present a concert made up entirely by works crafted by female composers in the Glidden Recital Hall on the Ohio University Athens campus. The performance will be directed by professor Roger Braun and graduate teaching assistants Forrest Yankey and Ryan Swanson.
“A lot of times you go to a concert (put on) by the School of Music, and a lot of the composers aren’t necessarily 21st or even 20th century composers; generally the composers have passed away,” said Seth Alexander, a second year graduate student and member of the ensemble. “And while composing is still a generally male-dominated field, unfortunately – you’ll find that there are a lot more female composers who have been creating work over the past 50 years. That means that a lot of their work is going to be more modernist, and oftentimes very difficult.”
The works that the ensemble will be tackling include two by women who have received Pulitzer prizes in music for their work: Julia Wolfe and Jennifer Higdon. Wolfe’s “Dark Full Ride” and Higdon’s “Splendid Wood” make up part of the concert’s program, as well as works by Johanna Beyer and Franziska Boas from the ‘30s. A piece by Ohio University alumna Chichun Lee is also a portion of the concert; and works by Susan Powell, Evelyn Glennie, and Keiko Abe.
“I was surprised when I realized how many female composer are out there right now,” said Morgan Sieg, an undergraduate in the Honors Tutorial College and another member of the ensemble. “There’s a lot out there, and a lot to look at, in those regards.”
The percussion ensemble is made up of Seth Alexander, Jack Barry, Josh Cleland, Ryan Garrett, Garrett Greene, Jake Evans, Alex Johnstone, Adam Jones, Reuben Miller, Savannah Schuring, Morgan Sieg, Ryan Swanson, Kyle Turner, Austin Walsh, Garrett Weddington, and Forrest Yankey.