Theatre & Dance

Defying gravity鈥� and the box office

Rachel Sauer — Tue, 26 Nov 2024 18:08:25 +0000

Defying gravity鈥� and the box office Rachel Sauer Tue, 11/26/2024 - 11:08

Adamari Ruelas

抖阴旅行射 Boulder lecturer Marla Schulz examines the Broadway-musical-turned-film Wicked and how the movie musical endures

Since the Broadway musical Wicked opened in fall 2003, it has been beloved by both critics and audiences. Based on Gregory Maguire鈥檚 1995 novel, it has dominated Broadway, becoming the fourth-longest-running musical of all time and amassing more than $5 billion in sales worldwide via the Broadway show and a touring production that has been to more than 100 cities in 16 countries.

So, it wasn鈥檛 much of a surprise when Universal Studios announced plans to bring the musical to the big screen in 2014. After a slew of delays, many due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the film was finally released on Friday, following a months-long, pink-and-green global marketing blitz.

Marla Schulz, a lecturer in the 抖阴旅行射 Boulder Department of Theatre and Dance, says part of Wicked's appeal is the story of a misunderstood girl turning into a misunderstood villain.

During its opening weekend, the film grossed $165 million worldwide鈥�the biggest-ever opening weekend for a film based on a Broadway musical, demolishing the previous record set by Into the Woods鈥攁nd currently has a 90% score on Rotten Tomatoes. What makes this Broadway-to-film musical so successful when several of its recent predecessors鈥攊ncluding Dear Evan Hansen and Cats鈥�flopped?

According to Marla Schulz, a lecturer in the University of Colorado Boulder Department of Theatre and Dance who earned her MFA in dance with an emphasis on musical theater, there are many things that make Wicked special.

鈥淎 lot of people resonate with the story of a misunderstood girl turning into a misunderstood villain. It feels clever and also poignant,鈥� Schulz explains.

Stage to film

As with anything that fans deeply love, however, there are those who argue that adapting a Broadway musical to a film is unnecessary, especially if it is considered 鈥減erfect鈥� as is, like Wicked.

鈥�(But) going to see a musical can be quite difficult, especially for people who might have fewer resources or live in rural areas,鈥� Schulz says. 鈥淭ickets to go to the theater can be expensive, especially if you want to see a union production. To see the original production, you frequently have to travel to a large city to either see a touring production, or you can spend a lot of money to go to New York. Adapting live musicals to film makes the artform significantly more accessible.鈥�

The cheapest ticket to see Wicked on Broadway is almost $200, which doesn鈥檛 include travel or accommodation costs for those who don鈥檛 live in New York City. For many, this can be an insurmountable expense, even for the biggest fans of the original book and Broadway musical. Once the production is made into a film, however, it becomes accessible to millions.

Of course, like most things that have huge, passionate fanbases, stage-to-film adaptations inevitably draw backlash, even before the film is released. In everything from casting choices to set design, Broadway musicals often draw intense scrutiny when they are adapted into film.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not an easy thing to do,鈥� Schulz says. 鈥淵ou have audience members who are comparing the movie version to the staged version. In most cases, the writers have a specific reason they wanted this story told as a musical, on stage, with the opportunities and limitations that it provides.

Cynthia Erivo (left) plays Elphaba and Ariana Grande (right) plays Glinda in the film Wicked. (Photo: Universal)

鈥淲hen it moves to a film, the big question that comes up is what does this new medium have to add to the story? And if it doesn鈥檛 have anything to add, then why are we doing it?鈥�

This can be part of what makes the musicals-turned-film flops so notorious: They failed to do the original production justice, Schulz says. Perhaps inevitably, both critics and fans ask, 鈥淗ow?鈥�

Everything from bad costumes and editing to inconsistent world-building can add up to a bad adaptation of a beloved musical. The 2019 film adaptation of Cats鈥�a beloved musical that ran for 18 years and almost 7,500 shows on Broadway鈥攊s a recent example.

Schulz says that it can be quite easy to mess up an adaptation. 鈥淭he Dreamgirls movie musical is an example of what can go wrong when you don鈥檛 properly set up the world of a musical. For a large majority of the movie Dreamgirls, all the songs are diegetic (heard by both the film鈥檚 characters and audience), emanating from a performance or a recording session. When 30 minutes in we finally get a song that is non-diegetic, it鈥檚 quite jarring. If you鈥檙e going to do a musical film, do that from the beginning in all aspects; embrace it.鈥�

Defying gravity

Gauging by its opening weekend box office totals, the Wicked film adaptation has so far avoided the pitfalls of the so-called flops that preceded it. The second half of the story鈥擣riday鈥檚 release covers Act I of the stage musical鈥攊s scheduled for release in 2025.

The film also has recouped its $150 million production cost.

At a time when the box office success of Broadway-to-film adaptations can most accurately be called inconsistent, Wicked is so far defying expectations (and gravity).

Did you enjoy this article? Subscribe to our newsletter. Passionate about theater and dance? Show your support.

抖阴旅行射 Boulder lecturer Marla Schulz examines the Broadway-musical-turned-film Wicked and how the movie musical endures.

Traditional

White

Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba and Ariana Grande as Glinda in Wicked (Photo: Universal)

A day at the circus (with a remote-controlled glove)

Anonymous — Mon, 31 Jul 2023 21:31:32 +0000

A day at the circus (with a remote-controlled glove) Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 07/31/2023 - 15:31

Rachel Sauer

抖阴旅行射 Boulder theater instructor Jordan Feeler learned how to troubleshoot sparkly homages to Michael Jackson and illuminated magician props while working with Cirque du Soleil in Las Vegas

A memorable day in Jordan Feeler鈥檚 career as a props technician and props maintenance lead for Cirque Du Soleil: Michael Jackson ONE was when he approached the staff at a machine shop in Las Vegas.

The bulk of the shop鈥檚 business was producing parts for the aerospace industry, but Feeler figured it couldn鈥檛 hurt to ask: 鈥淗ey, I designed this thing to make a remote-controlled, sparkly, sequined Michael Jackson glove drive around a stage. Can you machine parts for it?鈥�

Fortunately, they said yes and were excited about the challenge, and Feeler got a much-improved mobile glove. It was a memorable but by no means extraordinary day in props for one of the most well-known shows in not only Las Vegas, but worldwide thanks to touring productions.

At the top of the page: Cirque du Soleil: Kooza, which is in Denver until Aug. 13, includes a wide variety of props and performances. Above: Jordan Feeler, an instructor in the Department of Theatre and Dance, gained broad experience in props while working with Cirque du Soleil: Michael Jackson ONE in Las Vegas.

Feeler, an instructor in the University of Colorado Boulder Department of Theatre and Dance, teaches courses in props, hand drafting, advanced woodworking, stage machinery and others鈥攕kills that he honed over six years with Cirque du Soleil and more than 15 years in theatrical production.

The touring Cirque du Soleil: Kooza is at Denver鈥檚 Ball Arena through Aug. 13, and while certain props needs vary between touring and residency shows, like Michael Jackson ONE in Las Vegas, there are many fundamental similarities: The props must be sturdy and safe, they must meet performers鈥� needs, they must hew to the show鈥檚 initial designs, and they must be eye-catching but not distracting from the performance as a whole.

We recently spoke with Feeler about the world of props for a show as well-known and spectacular as Cirque du Soleil.

How did you get into props?

Feeler: I was never really interested in being onstage as a performer, but I always loved the technical aspects of theater鈥攈ow it involves creativity and design and engineering skills, and then really practical things like sewing and carpentry.

So, I studied technical direction at Webster University Conservatory of Theatre Arts and kind of hopped around doing different jobs after I graduated. I was working as a scenic painter in St. Louis and then in Sacramento, and I figured I was already out that way, I might as well pop down to Las Vegas. I鈥檇 tried applying online, but I heard it was a lot easier to get your foot in the door if you鈥檙e actually there, so I just moved to Las Vegas and applied everywhere.

At one point, there were something like seven Cirque du Soleil shows in Vegas, so I applied to pretty much all of them and got hired on to Michael Jackson ONE in February 2013 before it opened in June that year.

Props is one of many teams in Cirque du Soleil; what was your team鈥檚 role as the show prepared to open?

Feeler: To start with, the director and directing team basically envisions the entire show鈥攚hat they want it to look like, and they started at least a year in advance of when I came on. They went through and storyboarded the show, then different design teams, which were all based out of Montreal, started designing everything from props to costumes to rigging and lighting.

There was a props design team of three or four specialists who were heading that design work up and prototyping all the props, and then our Las Vegas props crew of about 10. The props design team were prototyping by October 2012, working with artists there in Montreal to figure out the needs of the performers, and then things began coming our way, a lot that weren鈥檛 finished.

For Michael Jackson ONE, there were a ton of props to build. There was a bench that had to light up and have a performer inside of it for some magic acts, there was a little remote-control car, there was a Michael Jackson sparkly glove that had to drive around stage and have its wrist lift and fingers actuate. It was so creative, things I鈥檇 never worked on before.

How are performers鈥� needs incorporated into prop design and construction?

Feeler: When you鈥檙e working with performers of that caliber鈥攁rtists from all over the world who are so amazing at what they do鈥攊t鈥檚 so important to always be communicating with them to make sure that everything is just right for them. There was a magician in the show, and just the slightest thing would throw their performance off, so we were always checking in and making sure the props were doing exactly what they needed, making sure things were safe.

We were constantly getting input from not only performers, but other departments鈥攔igging and lighting, carpentry, costumes. It鈥檚 all completely intertwined because you also have to be thinking that it needs to look seamless to the audience.

How did working in props with Cirque du Soleil differ from your previous theater work?

Feeler: I think probably the biggest difference was the depth we could get into and the time we had. For what we would call 鈥渘ormal鈥� theater, the tech process can be as short as two days鈥攜ou do a few rehearsals and within a week the show is up. In that situation, in props, you have to be so fast鈥攜ou鈥檙e constantly thinking on the fly, just immediately problem-solving and sometimes with Band-Aid fixes. With Cirque du Soleil, that process happened over months, and then there was a month-long preview period before the show officially opened.

But there are certain similarities in props that you see across all theater. Where something like rigging is really specialized and more aligns with engineering and certain, specific skills, props is so broad. There鈥檚 sewing, painting, molding and casting, metalwork, electronics, there are all these different things, and you acquire skills in all of them as you go along.

Feeler worked with Cirque du Soleil: Michael Jackson ONE from the time before it opened in 2013 until 2019.

The nice thing about Cirque du Soleil was there were specialists in pretty much everything, so I could go to a lighting specialist and say, 鈥淚 want to do this,鈥� rather than having to figure it out myself. It鈥檚 pretty common in the industry to have that interdepartmental collaboration, but in Cirque it鈥檚 magnified by 10.

Another thing that was nice about Cirque du Soleil was time was certainly on our side. We had months to develop and test things, we had a lot of time to think things through. We were able to create a binder full of contingency plans where we asked, 鈥淚f this happens, how do we respond?鈥� We had time to sit down and play out every little distinct scenario that could go wrong.

When I made the shift to props maintenance, there was even more opportunity to go through and play with things and experiment and replicate what was going wrong when something happened. The crew would give us notes from the previous night鈥檚 show, and then we could make the adjustments and changes, or in some cases redesign a prop entirely and make it more functional. With a show like Michael Jackson ONE, which just hit its 10-year anniversary in Las Vegas, we were thinking about what would make the props more durable and consistent with the original designs.

Once the show opened, then we focused on maintaining functionality and appearance while incorporating notes from performers and stage managers. That became the fun part. For example, there was this mechanical hand, this Michael Jackson glove, that was designed and built by a brilliant engineer. It has so much going on in such a small package, but it kept malfunctioning where it would be driving down and then spinning out, which wasn鈥檛 supposed to happen. We weren鈥檛 sure what was going on, but I was able to figure out that the frame was sort of tweaked and if we could go through and reinforce frame, that would fix it.

So, during what we call darks, which is a week out of year when they shut the show down and everyone does maintenance, my boss was like, 鈥淗ey, you鈥檙e going to redesign this.鈥� So, I did, and then found a machine shop that mostly made aerospace parts, but they were excited to do it. Who doesn鈥檛 want to make weird stuff for the circus?

What advice do you give students interested in pursuing a theater career in props?

Feeler: One of the most important things I can tell students is to approach people, ask questions and then listen. If you鈥檙e a decent person and you鈥檙e a hard worker, if you have some skills, you鈥檒l find work and you can make a good living.

With my students, it seems that everybody wants to learn how to weld, there are a lot who enjoy carpentry and painting, and the more tools you have in your tool bag, the more marketable you are in this industry. I tell them to always be learning new skills.

I mean, I鈥檓 horrible at sewing but I can do it if I have to. I spend way too much time on YouTube just learning about how things are made, which is a really fun aspect of this field鈥攊t鈥檚 challenging, but it鈥檚 something new every day. There鈥檚 not really a book that can tell me how to make an 8-foot-tall Poseidon head that moves and its eyes blink. That鈥檚 something I just had to figure out.

Did you enjoy this article? Subscribe to our newsletter.

抖阴旅行射 Boulder theater instructor Jordan Feeler learned how to troubleshoot sparkly homages to Michael Jackson and illuminated magician props while working with Cirque du Soleil in Las Vegas.

Traditional

White

Reducing violence, with help from The Bard

Anonymous — Tue, 23 May 2023 16:55:16 +0000

Reducing violence, with help from The Bard Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 05/23/2023 - 10:55

Sarah Kuta

Colorado Shakespeare Festival staffers share Shakespeare & Violence Prevention program with scholars and practitioners in England, including at Shakespeare鈥檚 Globe theatre

Scientists largely understand what contributes to violence in schools and communities鈥攁nd how to stop it. But actually putting that research into practice can be challenging.

Live theater can help.

That was the message the Colorado Shakespeare Festival鈥檚 Amanda Giguere and Heidi Schmidt shared with an array of Shakespeare scholars and practitioners during a weeklong outreach tour in England in early May.

During their trip across the pond鈥攆unded by grants from the Office for Outreach and Engagement and the Center for Humanities & the Arts鈥擥iguere and Schmidt met with experts at Shakespeare's Globe, the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Shakespeare Institute and the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust.

They gave presentations on 抖阴旅行射 Boulder鈥檚 innovative Shakespeare & Violence Prevention program in hopes that other theater companies and related organizations might one day implement similar initiatives to help prevent bullying, mistreatment, self-harm and violence in schools.

Amanda Giguere (left) and Heidi Schmidt (right) outside Shakespeare鈥檚 Globe.

鈥淲e have the research, but the science alone is not enough,鈥� says Giguere, the festival鈥檚 director of outreach. 鈥淲e really need engaging, human-focused storytelling and art to solve the problem of violence.鈥�

Becoming an 鈥榰pstander鈥�

Founded in 2011, the Shakespeare & Violence Prevention program aims to help students recognize harmful or potentially unsafe situations and take steps to intervene. This interdisciplinary initiative is a collaboration between the Colorado Shakespeare Festival and the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence.

Through the program, actors visit various Colorado elementary, middle and high schools to perform abridged versions of Shakespeare plays. (During the most recent school year, they performed The Tempest and The Merchant of Venice, and next year they鈥檒l be touring and presenting Romeo and Juliet and The Comedy of Errors.)

Afterward, the actors invite students to role-play moments of conflict or violence from the play and ask them to propose an alternative strategy to help reduce or prevent some of the harm.

鈥淭his is all rooted in the power and efficacy of the 鈥榰pstander,鈥� also known as an ally or active bystander,鈥� says Giguere. 鈥淚t can be extremely effective when one person decides to take action if someone is being bullied or if they are aware of planned violence, rather than passively sitting by. Sometimes all it takes is one person to say, 鈥楬ey, that鈥檚 not cool,鈥� and usually the mistreatment stops right away.鈥�

Giguere and Schmidt along with the staff of Globe Education.

To help conceptualize violence, researchers often use the metaphor of an iceberg. Although really big acts, such as school shootings, are the ones that make the news, they are just the tip of the iceberg, says Giguere. Those acts are typically rooted in a broader culture that tolerates and even perpetuates bullying, microaggressions and general mistreatment. The violence iceberg also includes self-harm and suicide.

In the long run, the program鈥檚 organizers hope that cultivating a robust community of upstanders among students will help reduce small acts of violence and, ultimately, will help foster more positive, supportive school climates. Together, those changes should, in turn, help prevent even larger, more devastating incidents in the future.

And just as rehearsing helps actors polish a performance, practicing can help students become more comfortable and familiar with an array of upstander strategies.

鈥淲e鈥檙e using Shakespeare鈥檚 plays to give the kids a fictional metaphor they can step into and practice their own upstander strategies,鈥� says Giguere. 鈥淲e practice so many things in this world that we want to get better at鈥攚e practice tying our shoes, we practice CPR, we practice active shooter drills. All of those things don鈥檛 come easily, and they take practice. The same goes for upstander behavior.鈥�

Borrowing from The Bard

Shakespeare鈥檚 plays鈥攑articularly the tragedies and history plays鈥攁re brimming with conflict. And while the words may be more than 400 years old, the themes remain relevant today.

鈥淢any of these stories are rooted in a lot of what still shapes violence today, which is deep pain, deep trauma, deep division, deep disconnection,鈥� says Giguere. 鈥淎s I鈥檝e been investigating these plays over the years, I really do think Shakespeare was trying to figure out something about why humans are so violent with each other.鈥�

His plays also contain multiple perspectives鈥攕ometimes even within the same character鈥攚hich helps students think about the complexity and messiness of the human experience. People are not all bad or all good, but some mix of both.

Schmidt (left) and Giguere (right) seated inside Shakespeare鈥檚 Globe.

Role-playing also helps students develop empathy because it encourages them to step into a character鈥檚 shoes and consider the scene from their point of view, Giguere says. That鈥檚 a useful skill for responding calmly and compassionately during a heated moment, rather than reacting with additional anger or violence.

鈥淭aking time to pause, take a breath, think about the world from another person鈥檚 perspective is one of the key building blocks of a safer community,鈥� Giguere says.

The power of interdisciplinary collaboration

During the past 12 years, the program has reached 126,000 students across the Front Range, with a goal of spreading into other parts of the state in the near future. Collaborating with other university departments has been a major driver behind that success, says Giguere.

In addition to drawing on evidence-based research from the Center for the Study and Prevention of Violence, the program has collaborated with numerous other partners, including the Office of Institutional Equity and Compliance, the School of Education and the Department of Theatre & Dance.

As the program has demonstrated, bringing together experts from across campus鈥攖hen sharing that combined knowledge with the public鈥攃an produce powerful results.

鈥淪ynthesis of knowledge across disciplines and fields is one way that such knowledge becomes more meaningful and more connected to social practice and everyday life,鈥� says David Meens, director of the Office for Outreach and Engagement.

To learn more or support the Shakespeare & Violence Prevention program, follow this link.

Colorado Shakespeare Festival staffers share Shakespeare & Violence Prevention program with scholars and practitioners in England, including at Shakespeare鈥檚 Globe theatre.

Traditional

White

Research & Innovation Office names newest Faculty Fellow cohort

Anonymous — Fri, 09 Dec 2022 18:13:09 +0000

Research & Innovation Office names newest Faculty Fellow cohort Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 12/09/2022 - 11:13

The Research and Innovation Office has announced the 2023 RIO Faculty Fellows cohort, which includes 17 faculty members from departments and research institutes spanning the campus.

Traditional

White

Dancers move for social change

Anonymous — Fri, 09 Dec 2022 17:42:57 +0000

Dancers move for social change Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 12/09/2022 - 10:42

Cay Leytham-Powell

抖阴旅行射 Boulder, Old Dominion dance professors to discuss dance鈥檚 role in social change on Dec. 15

What role does dance play in social change and repair?

That鈥檚 the question that award-winning choreographer and University of Colorado Boulder Assistant Professor of Dance Helanius J. Wilkins and Kate Mattingly, a nationally recognized scholar and assistant professor in the Department of Communication and Theatre Arts at Old Dominion University, will discuss on Thursday, Dec. 15, at the Mi Chantli Art and Movement Sanctuary.

At the top of the page and above: University of Colorado Boulder Assistant Professor of Dance Helanius J. Wilkins performing on stage.

Doors for the event, titled Walking and Tracing Creative Portals: Activating Archives for Belonging and Equity, will open at 6:45 p.m., and the program starts at 7 p.m. Seating is limited for this free event, and reservations are strongly encouraged. Light refreshments will be available.

Additionally, Wilkins will discuss his latest and most ambitious national work to date, a multi-year venture: The Conversation Series: Stitching the Geopolitical Quilt to Re-Body Belonging. This performance focuses on an interracial, male duet that explores the 鈥渧alue of bodies coexisting鈥攕haring weight and responsibility, dancing to become better ancestors.鈥�

As the dancers 鈥渢ravel鈥� to make and share this work, they stitch together a 鈥渄ance-quilt鈥� to broaden people鈥檚 understandings of what it means to be American and to 鈥渟ew ourselves together anew.鈥�

Wilkins鈥� Conversation Series will feature new choreographies, a documentary film and a digital archive of the process and performance. This event also will include the first screening of a new documentary short (see trailer) that highlights Wilkins鈥� process for working with communities through this work, plus a Q&A with the audience.

Wilkins鈥� project brings together artists, humanitarians, social justice activists, diversity, equity, inclusion and social justice consultants, and members of diverse, intergenerational communities nationwide.

A native of Lafayette, Louisiana, Wilkins has choreographed and directed more than 60 works. From 2001 to 2014, he was the founder and director of the EDGEWORKS Dance Theater in Washington, D.C., an all-male dance company of predominantly African American men.

He won the 2008 Pola Nirenska Award for Contemporary Achievement in Dance, the highest honor given by the Washington Performing Arts Society, as well as the 2002 and 2006 Millennium Stage Kennedy Center Local Dance Commissioning Project Award.

Earlier this year, Wilkins won a $10,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts for a choreographed duet intended to 鈥渉eal and unite鈥� and to reflect 鈥渞e-bodying belonging to become better ancestors.鈥�

This event is co-sponsored by the University of Colorado Boulder Office for Outreach and Engagement and the Boulder County Arts Alliance.

抖阴旅行射 Boulder, Old Dominion dance professors to discuss dance鈥檚 role in social change on Dec. 15.

Traditional

White

Five staffers are named A&S employees of the year

Anonymous — Fri, 30 Sep 2022 16:25:03 +0000

Five staffers are named A&S employees of the year Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 09/30/2022 - 10:25

Asuka Morley, Stacy Norwood, Lia Pileggi, Michael Shernick and Alicia Turchette recognized for going well above and far beyond the call of duty

Five outstanding staff members have been named employees of the year by the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder.

The honorees are:

Asuka Morley, administrative assistant and graduate program assistant in the Department of Asian Languages and Civilizations.
Stacy Norwood, program coordinator at the Department of Theatre and Dance.
Lia Pileggi, digital imaging and technology coordinator in the Department of Art and Art History.
Michael Shernick, program coordinator in the Stories and Societies Residential Academic Program.
Alicia Turchette, program manager for the Department of Women and Gender Studies.

Colleagues nominated each of the awardees, bestowing high praise in all cases.

Asuka Morley

Morley joined Asian languages and civilizations in December 2017. R. Keller Kimbrough, professor of Japanese and chair of the department, says she is the 鈥渆minently professional, all-knowing and ever-kind face of our graduate program.鈥�

Kimbrough added that Morley has consistently exhibited outstanding performance in all areas of her position, whether it be course scheduling, classroom assignments, maintaining the department鈥檚 webpage, consulting with faculty and students about rules and procedures, keeping track of students鈥� required courses and paperwork, meeting with visitors and prospective students, organizing and overseeing graduation ceremonies and other departmental events, 鈥渁nd even carrying books and boxes when faculty need help with an office move.鈥�

Jackie Coombs, program assistant in the department, concurred, adding that Morley is 鈥渋nstrumental in fostering an environment of exceptional support to enhance student learning and the mission of the university.鈥�

Coombs added: 鈥淪he has demonstrated leadership and innovation in an abnormally strenuous time that has delivered obstacle after obstacle due to the challenges of the pandemic. Asuka truly is a rare find and our department would not be what it is today without her contributions.鈥�

Stacy Norwood

Norwood came to the department after a career as a professional stage manager, and that experience as 鈥渢he person responsible for everything鈥� is evident in her current role, said Bruce Bergner, interim chair of theatre and dance.

Bergner went on to quote colleagues who praised Norwod in many ways, including these:

"She goes beyond the call of duty, creating a nurturing and proactive atmosphere in the front office鈥攈er office door is filled with encouraging quotes and tear-off words of encouragement should anyone need a bit of a lift. She is inspirational."

"In our regular meetings, (Norwood) is the glue that holds our committees together鈥攁lmost like a sage guide."

Lia Pileggi

"Stacy was the safe harbor during the storm of COVID, keeping the office running when we were scattered all over Colorado, always facilitating working communication channels."

Pileggi joined art and art history in 2015 and has in recent years gone 鈥渢ruly above and beyond to help the department and its members thrive,鈥� said Jeanne Quinn, professor and chair of the department.

Quinn noted that Pileggi stepped in to fill a critical need: Students needed to photograph their work, but there was no system of helping students. 鈥淟ia took it on, acquiring backdrops, lights and other necessary equipment, found space, fitted it properly and began working with faculty to integrate the teaching of this skill as part of our undergraduate program,鈥� Quinn said, adding, 鈥淚t has paid great dividends for our students and is a much-used and appreciated facility.鈥�

Last year, Quinn added, Pileggi served on the department鈥檚 diversity committee, which worked 鈥渁s never before to address issues that had been brought to the committee by concerned students and alumni.鈥�

The committee met 22 times over the course of the year, conducting multiple 鈥渓istening sessions鈥� to hear and record the experiences of students, staff and faculty regarding DEI issues. 鈥淟ia scheduled the meetings, kept records of the meetings and listening sessions, and essentially kept the committee moving forward,鈥� Quinn said.

Michael Shernick

Shernick is a longtime staff member whose service to residential academic programs is 鈥渂road, deep and multi-faceted,鈥� said Eric Stade, professor of mathematics and director of the Stories and Societies Residential Academic Program (RAP).

Stade included a dozen bullet points highlighting instances in which Shernick provided key contributions. More generally, Stade noted, Shernick鈥檚 genuine affinity 鈥渇or helping people and for making them feel like they belong helps to instill a spirit of inclusivity in our RAP and Sewall Hall.鈥�

Additionally, Shernick has frequently helped English-language learners among the housekeeping staff read, interpret and respond to various documents written in English, Stade said.

Stade added: 鈥淛ust this week, a student in SRAP/Sewall Hall, unfortunately, experienced a traumatic event. The student immediately came looking, not for me or the hall director or an RA, but for Michael. And of course, Michael was there. That鈥檚 who he is.鈥�

Alicia Turchette

Turchette has been with women and gender studies for 13 years and is the 鈥済lue that has held the department together鈥� through staff changes and the pandemic, noted Julie Carr, chair of the department and a professor of English and creative writing.

Even during turbulent times, Carr said, 鈥淭urchette is unfailingly thorough in her work: managing the finances of the department; handling course scheduling; understanding and responding to pedagogic needs; communicating with students and staff about events and updates from campus, the college and the department; administrating the LGBTQ certificate program; administrating the (department鈥檚 graduate) certificate program; and helping me to understand the department by-laws and ongoing projects while keeping me on track for all administrative deadlines.鈥�

鈥淪he is somehow able to do the job of two (or three) people at once, though indeed she never should have had to,鈥� Carr said. 鈥淪he takes on this extra labor without a hitch, as she cares deeply about all aspects of our department. She is a joy to work with: thoughtful, careful and considerate of others鈥� feelings. She takes authority for what she knows (which is often more than anyone else in the room) and openly offers clear advice.鈥�

Asuka Morley, Stacy Norwood, Lia Pileggi, Michael Shernick and Alicia Turchette recognized for going well above and far beyond the call of duty.

Traditional

White

抖阴旅行射 dance prof wins $10k NEA grant to 鈥榟eal and unite鈥�

Anonymous — Tue, 07 Jun 2022 20:21:51 +0000

抖阴旅行射 dance prof wins $10k NEA grant to 鈥榟eal and unite鈥� Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 06/07/2022 - 14:21

Helanius J. Wilkins鈥� project aims to reflect 鈥榬e-bodying belonging to become better ancestors鈥�

Helanius J. Wilkins, assistant professor of dance at the University of Colorado Boulder, has won a $10,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts for a choreographed duet intended to 鈥渉eal and unite鈥� and to reflect 鈥渞e-bodying belonging to become better ancestors.鈥�

Wilkins鈥� initiative is among 1,125 projects across America totaling more than $26.6 million that were selected during a second round of Grants for Arts Projects fiscal year 2022 funding, the NEA announced recently.

With the NEA鈥檚 support鈥攁nd that of the College of Arts and Sciences, which matched the NEA grant with another $10,000 in funding鈥� Wilkins鈥� and the 抖阴旅行射 dance division will collaborate with several touring, commissioning presenter-partners, including Basin Arts and Acadiana Center for the Arts in Louisiana and Keshet Center for the Arts in New Mexico.

At the top of the page: Dance Assistant Professor Helanius J. Wilkins, left, and 抖阴旅行射 alumnus Avery Ryder Turner perform in The Conversation Series: Stitching the Geopolitical Quilt to Re-Body Belonging. Above: With the grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, Wilkins and the 抖阴旅行射 dance division will collaborate with several touring partners. Photo courtesy Christopher Michael Carruth.

The work is called The Conversation Series: Stitching the Geopolitical Quilt to Re-Body Belonging and is described as a multi-year, multi-outcome work that is 鈥渁n ongoing and always shifting dance-quilt, confronting and celebrating heritage, resiliency, justice and hope.鈥�

The work will benefit the participating dance artists, university students, faculty and broad and diverse audiences in Colorado, Louisiana and New Mexico, the NEA states, adding that the intended outcome is to support artistic activities and traditions 鈥渢o strengthen the nation's cultural infrastructure.鈥�

鈥淭he National Endowment for the Arts is proud to support arts and cultural organizations throughout the nation with these grants,鈥� said NEA Chair Maria Rosario Jackson.

鈥淭he arts contribute to our individual well-being, the well-being of our communities, and to our local economies. The arts are also crucial to helping us make sense of our circumstances from different perspectives as we emerge from the pandemic and plan for a shared new normal informed by our examined experience.鈥�

Wilkins said he was grateful for and humbled by the award. 鈥淭his support is huge and one I do not take for granted, especially given that significant national arts funding is super competitive and limited,鈥� Wilkins said.

The award affords Wilkins and his collaborators the resources to continue creative research and work that centers art and social change, and it encourages national visibility 鈥渨hich can be instrumental for cultivating new relationships and constructing new pathways for the continuation of the work more broadly,鈥� he said.

Discussing his work, Wilkins said that his creative research is rooted in the interconnections of American contemporary performance, cultural history and identities of Black men.

鈥淭o this end, as I move through the world as a human and as an artist, I am anchored in my truth鈥攎y identity鈥攁nd by my experiences as an American who is Black, male and queer. This anchoring in turn anchors my creative research and projects in questions about gaps in an America that (miss)sees the marginalized,鈥� Wilkins said, adding:

鈥淢y projects examine the raced dancing body and ways ritual can access knowledge. My work鈥攁n intentionally decolonizing process that centralizes systems for care and repair and practice over 鈥榝inal product鈥欌€攅mphasizes how our actions generate sensory engagements that reconfigure our relationships to ourselves (and each other) and environments around us.鈥�

To this end, as I move through the world as a human and as an artist, I am anchored in my truth鈥攎y identity鈥攁nd by my experiences as an American who is Black, male and queer. This anchoring in turn anchors my creative research and projects in questions about gaps in an America that (miss)sees the marginalized.鈥�

Wilkins said his work blurs the lines between art and social justice, adding that an aspect of how he uses dance to heal and unite is 鈥渢o first ground myself, and those who join me, by creating brave and courageous environments built upon embracing that there is no social justice without the body. Dance, for me, is care work.鈥�

Wilkins says to "re-body" a work is to give new body or a new orientation to 鈥渨ho belongs.鈥� He added:

鈥淚 am anchored by an aspect of my upbringing where I was taught to understand that our 鈥橝merican鈥� identity is one that is shaped by hybridity, resilience and co-existence. In a time of extreme political and social divisiveness, I am metaphorically 鈥榮titching鈥� us back together by drawing attention away from difference as a means to divide/separate but rather to heal and unite.鈥�

Specific to The Conversation Series: Stitching the Geopolitical Quilt to Re-Body Belonging, Wilkins said his current work requires that he engage communities, with his duet-partner and co-facilitator, A. Ryder Turner (MFA in Dance, 抖阴旅行射 alum '21), in a series of community-engagements (Systems for Care & Repair) that consist of embodied workshops and community conversation gatherings about belonging.

He added: 鈥淭hrough the Systems for Care & Repair, dance becomes a vessel/portal for communities to engage in collective recalling/remembering, sharing lesser known and/or erased stories, actively dreaming and doing.鈥�

The work will yield new choreographies, a documentary film, digital archive, and a diversity, equity, inclusion & social justice 鈥渢oykit,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hen traveling to each state, experiences in and with community becomes the source material for generating these outcomes.鈥�

For more information on other projects included in the Arts Endowment grant announcement, visit arts.gov/news.

Helanius J. Wilkins鈥� project aims to reflect 鈥榬e-bodying belonging to become better ancestors.鈥�

Traditional

White

Students and pros make climate change a joke, seriously

Anonymous — Thu, 07 Apr 2022 19:49:36 +0000

Students and pros make climate change a joke, seriously Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 04/07/2022 - 13:49

Clint Talbott

Annual Stand up for Climate Change Comedy event set for April 15 on campus, with professional, other acts premiering on YouTube one week later, on Earth Day

Climate change is no joking matter, but it should be, University of Colorado Boulder professors Beth Osnes and Max Boykoff contend. Humor, they say, could help a sharply divided nation find common ground, yielding less stagnation and more progress.

Osnes, a theatre and dance professor, and Boykoff, an environmental studies professor, teach a course on this topic, called Creative Climate Communications, and their students this semester have helped professional comedians in New York and Los Angeles craft comedy-themed stand-up routines, which the pros will perform on the coasts in coming days, along with 鈥渃itizen-comedy鈥� acts throughout the country.

抖阴旅行射 Boulder students themselves will perform in the Stand up for Climate Change Comedy event on April 15 at 7:30 p.m. in the Old Main Chapel on campus. The event, which is free and open to the public, will feature live performances of student comedy performances, sketches, songs and winning entries from an international climate-comedy video competition.

At the top of the page:鈥淲eathergirl Goes Rogue鈥� skit was a winning video in the 2016 Stand up for Climate Change Comedy video competition. Above: Stand up for Climate Change Comedy features student performances, sketches, songs and winning entries from an international climate-comedy video competition.

All of that will be featured in the third-annual online Earth Day show, which will air on the Climate Comedy YouTube channel starting April 22. This year鈥檚 event has a broader scope than previous years, thanks to support from the Argosy Foundation.

Boykoff and Osnes are part of 抖阴旅行射 Boulder鈥檚 Inside the Greenhouse project, which strives to deepen understanding of how climate change issues can be effectively communicated 鈥渂y creating artifacts through interactive theatre, film, fine art, performance art, television programming.鈥�

Osnes and Boykoff note that some kinds of comedy, such as satire, can be off-putting. That鈥檚 why they offer up 鈥済ood-natured comedy,鈥� meaning comedy that is good for the environment and kind in intent, as another choice.

鈥淪atire is popular, but satire often involves ridicule, which means people are targets of that ridicule,鈥� Osnes says, adding: 鈥淲hat kind of behavior can we expect from people who have been made to feel ashamed or afraid of ridicule?鈥�

While sharp satire might be satisfying and useful in some instances, 鈥淚 don't know that we're achieving what we might want to be achieving when using satire on such a polarized issue as climate. We might be pushing people鈥檚 backs further up against walls.鈥�

But Osnes and Boykoff are not humor police. Rather, they focus on 鈥渇inding what unites us above what divides us, and we don't enforce this on our students,鈥� she said, adding: 鈥淲e teach it, and we talk about it, but we're not here to censor. We're not here to say this is how you have to do it.鈥�

She notes that including professional comedians has energized, even electrified, the class.

鈥淚t's just so exciting. They're just such fun learning experiences, and students walk away from these experiences鈥� having not only learned about the creative writing process in a socially relevant context, but also having had 鈥渏ust so much fun.鈥�

Osnes notes that students have come to her and Boykoff and said things like this: 鈥淚'm an environmental studies senior, and you're the first professor who's acknowledged the emotional component to learning this much about our environmental situation.鈥�

She adds that if students can associate positive emotions while thinking about climate change, 鈥渢hat can really help students start to process their negative emotions, which are overwhelmingly present: doom, guilt, fear.鈥�

Theatre Professor Beth Osnes, left, and Environmental Studies Professor Max Boykoff teach a course called Creative Climate Communications.

Processing those negative emotions, Osnes adds, 鈥渉elps them also sustain their engagement in the issue of climate change, so they're not going to burn out and disengage. And it also feeds constructive hope.鈥�

鈥淚 don't just say 鈥榟ope.鈥� I say 鈥榗onstructive hope,鈥� where you really can have a belief that your actions will make a difference.鈥� Without constructive hope, she says, taking action doesn't make sense.

Laughter itself is a way to cope with feelings of fear and guilt. 鈥淚 think laughter, the ability to laugh, is a measure of health,鈥� she says.

Such laughter might be particularly healthful when it reflects 鈥渟ome kind of recognition of our shared human condition.鈥�

鈥淲hen we share good-natured comedy together, something about our shared humanity is expressed 鈥� it is so fundamental to our human experience.鈥�

Such experiences, she says, can be 鈥渨arming and uniting鈥� in that, 鈥淲e all got something together at the same moment, or we all noticed some kind of a double meaning together at the same time. And all those things, I think, contribute to our ability to process our ability to feel connected to each other and to have hope.鈥�

Osnes views her work with students this way:

鈥淭his is not a dress rehearsal. You are citizens of this world today, and let's have a real impact with our work that we're doing in the classroom now. Let鈥檚 do it for real. That鈥檚 the idea behind it.鈥�

Annual Stand up for Climate Change Comedy event set for April 15 on campus, with professional, other acts premiering on YouTube one week later, on Earth Day.

Traditional

White

鈥楽he is gold鈥�

Anonymous — Fri, 18 Mar 2022 21:43:22 +0000

鈥楽he is gold鈥� Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 03/18/2022 - 15:43

Clay Bonnyman Evans

抖阴旅行射 Boulder graduate Rose Ann Bershenyi鈥檚鈥榞ifts are transformative鈥�

The list of Rose Ann Bershenyi鈥檚 significant gifts to the University of Colorado Boulder is impressively long.

Bershenyi (Art鈥�66; MFA鈥�69), who grew up in Boulder and spent her career as an art teacher specializing in jewelry and metalsmithing at then-Baseline Junior High School, has focused her many gifts over the years at arts programs.

鈥淚 wanted to make a difference for programs that don鈥檛 always receive gifts and students who may have a hard time getting a scholarship. Too often moneys aren鈥檛 available to the arts and people in the arts,鈥� says Bershenyi, whose mother was a scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Boulder.

Beyond art, Bershenyi has also given to Inside the Greenhouse Project, which works to deepen our understanding of how climate change-related issues are and can be communicated. The project does this by creatively communicating the complex topic through interactive theatre, film, fine art, performance art and television programming.

At the top of the page: Rose Ann Bershenyi meets with a few recipients of the many gifts she鈥檚 provided over the years at the College of Arts & Sciences Scholarship Brunch in 2018. Photo by Amber Story. Above: The Martyr, from the series Unofficial Portraits by Hung Liu, is part of the Sharkive, whose presence at 抖阴旅行射 Boulder was made possible in part through a gift by Rose Ann Bershenyi.

She has created endowed scholarships for students in art and art history, theatre and dance, the 抖阴旅行射 in D.C. program, and the Miramontes Arts & Sciences Program (MASP), which is an inclusive academic community for traditionally underrepresented and/or first-generation college students.

Bershenyi鈥檚 gifts have helped many individual students, as well as numerous institutions on campus.

Bershenyi has supported the 抖阴旅行射 Art Museum鈥檚 acquisition of artworks, including a quilt by Gina Adams and the Sharkive, an internationally important collection of prints created in the studio of Bud and Barbara Shark.

鈥淗aving (the Sharkive) materials on campus for class use, exhibition and research means that we can offer our visitors access to artwork by internationally known artists made in our own backyard,鈥� says Hope Saska, curator for the 抖阴旅行射 Art Museum, noting just one example of Bershenyi鈥檚 legacy. 鈥淭he acquisition offers numerous pedagogical opportunities, not only in the range of artists the Sharkive encompasses, but in the way the materials demonstrate artistic process.鈥�

Bershenyi鈥檚 generosity was essential in making sure that two important funds reached endowment status: the Art and Art History Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Endowed Scholarship Fund to provide scholarships for students who help diversify the student body, and a fellowship in the dance program to provide support for MFA candidates.

She recently gave to the Center for Native American and Indigenous Studies (CNAIS), and she helped to fully endow two funds that support students of dance.

鈥淚鈥檝e never had a donor like her,鈥� says Amber Story, associate director of development in the Office of Advancement for the College of Arts and Sciences. 鈥淗er gifts are transformative. She doesn鈥檛 want it to be about her; she just wants to help. She loves 抖阴旅行射, loves Boulder, and she trusts the university to do the right thing. She is gold.鈥�

Bershenyi, who now lives in Aurora, is hesitant to put herself in the spotlight, preferring to let her gifts speak for themselves. She says she seeks guidance from Story and others to determine where her donations will have the most impact and expects to continue giving into the foreseeable future.

鈥淚 give when I鈥檓 inspired, where it鈥檚 needed the most, with guidance,鈥� she says.

抖阴旅行射 Boulder graduate Rose Ann Bershenyi鈥檚鈥榞ifts are transformative.鈥�

Traditional

White

Rigorous skill-building is just the first act for theatre and dance students

Anonymous — Wed, 17 Nov 2021 22:13:25 +0000

Rigorous skill-building is just the first act for theatre and dance students Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 11/17/2021 - 15:13

Kenna Bruner

Whether it鈥檚 utilizing the costume shop, scene shop or the movement studio, theatre and dance students are putting what they learn in the classroom to practice

Putting on a performance is more than just being on stage. It requires intricate preparation鈥攚hich in turn, requires space.

Sciences such as physics, biology and chemistry depend on the classic type of laboratory for their experimental study and rigorous testing, but for students in the Department of Theatre and Dance, those spaces look a little different.

At the top of the page: Two students building a mannequin in a theatre shop (Patrick Campbell). Above: Ted Stark.

A recent walk through the halls of the University Theatre Building revealed students in classes building Adirondack chairs or making plaster masks in the scene shop, and painting cartoon images on silk in the costume shop.

In all these spaces, students take the theories they鈥檙e exposed to in classroom lectures and put them into practice during production season. Working on projects both big and small enables them to understand how practicality applies in the creation of art.

鈥淥ur classes use a different set of tools, and we have a different objective, but the research and effort that these students put into earning their degree is equivalent to what鈥檚 going on in all of the other departments,鈥� said Ted Stark, senior instructor and director of undergraduate studies in theatre and dance, adding:

鈥淲e encompass all of the departments on campus. 鈥� If, for example, you are working as a costume designer or a scenic designer, sure you need to be able to paint and draw. But a scenic design, for example, also includes engineering skills, sophisticated physics and mathematics. It includes a lot of art history and sociological research on costumes. There鈥檚 a lot of psychological research, historical context and kinesthetic learning. These valuable teaching tool send students into the world with a well-rounded education.鈥�

As students move through the personal and professional areas of their lives, they must take many different approaches they must take to individual and collective problems to success succeed鈥攚hether it鈥檚 maintaining a household or serving an employer.

鈥淲e鈥檙e not preparing students for a singular career path,鈥� Stark said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e giving them a lot of tools for their educational toolbox. In this day and age, it鈥檚 important to be able to pivot in their careers. The things students are learning for theatre can be applied to other areas of their lives.鈥�

Student building a costume in the costume shop (Patrick Campbell).

Here are three of those students:

Emily Ray is a senior and will graduate in May with a double major in theatre and history with a minor in Nordic studies. She鈥檚 working on an independent study that includes a dye project and an honors thesis on textiles and women in medieval Iceland.

鈥淚鈥檓 curious about how people made dyes before there were synthetic dyes,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 grew some plants in my garden over the summer, like woad that makes blue dye. Figuring out how to make dye from the plants and then using the dye on costumes was a practical application of my history honors thesis.鈥�

Natalie Connelly is a junior with a double major in acting and psychology.

鈥淚鈥檓 in an advanced movement class,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t focuses on physical movement and theatre. I chose 抖阴旅行射 because of the flexibility of the programs here. I was interested in both psychology and theatre, and a lot of theatre programs I was looking into at other colleges would only let me major in theatre, whereas here it鈥檚 flexible enough that I could do two different degrees at the same time.鈥�

Nikky Haabestad is a sophomore, majoring in design technology management in the BFA program with a focus on props.

鈥淚 was mentored by a senior last year and took over the prop shop when that person graduated,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 organize the props we keep in our storage space, and I teach other people how to do props. I came here without a specific focus. I didn鈥檛 know what area I wanted to go into specifically. But I had a lot of skills from various other areas. I decided to try out props since it鈥檚 different all the time. On any given day I do woodworking, sewing, metals, fabrication, use lots of hot glue, casting and scrapbooking. It鈥檚 fun because you get to do something different all the time.鈥�

Whether it鈥檚 utilizing the costume shop, scene shop or the movement studio, theatre and dance students are putting what they learn in the classroom to practice

Traditional

White

Theatre & Dance

Defying gravity鈥� and the box office

Related Articles

A day at the circus (with a remote-controlled glove)

Related Articles

Reducing violence, with help from The Bard

Related Articles

Research & Innovation Office names newest Faculty Fellow cohort

Related Articles

Dancers move for social change

Related Articles

Five staffers are named A&S employees of the year

Related Articles

抖阴旅行射 dance prof wins $10k NEA grant to 鈥榟eal and unite鈥�

Related Articles

Students and pros make climate change a joke, seriously

Related Articles

鈥楽he is gold鈥�

Related Articles

Rigorous skill-building is just the first act for theatre and dance students

Related Articles