Measure in Love – A look into a decade of Torch by Haley Sprankle

 

AIDS.

One little acronym with a heavy connotation.

In the early 1980s, a handful of men began experiencing a series of rare illnesses that were often diagnosed as cancer or pneumonia. The cancer was referred to as Kaposi’s sarcoma and the pneumonia was called Pneumocystis Pneumonia Carinii.

By July 1982, it was diagnosed as AIDS.

Because this traumatic illness was often linked to homosexuality or drug use, many who sought treatment faced great adversity—judgment, discrimination, and often the refusal of care.

Then came an acronym with a much more positive outlook.

PALSS.

In 1985 Palmetto AIDS Life Support Services was created in South Carolina in order to fight AIDS with the proper treatment and care. Their services were, and still are, free to those suffering from HIV/AIDS and their loved ones. They were the light in the dark for many people.

Over 25 years later, PALSS still offers support and care to those in need.

In 2005, the organization formed a benefit concert called Torch.

“I have very good friends who were and still are on the Board of Directors of Palmetto AIDS Life Support Services. It was at their request that we put together the first and all subsequent benefits. Torch, in its current form, was first performed in 2005,” Artistic Director Randy Moore says.

As Artistic Director, Moore is in charge of selecting the performers for the show.

“When I was asked to do Torch for the first time, we were in the middle of the SC Shakespeare Company’s production of Man of La Mancha in Finlay Park. Most of the original Torch cast of four men and four women were selected from that musical production. Those who weren’t were hastily recruited at the last minute to help balance out the cast. We only had a little more than two weeks to put the entire show together,” Moore remembers. “While I wanted to keep the core group for future productions, some of the original cast weren’t able to do Torch again– some for just one year, some for several. In fact, only four cast members have performed every single year. It’s very difficult to find the same talent available every single year. So, we added new performers to take the place of those who were absent. As the years progressed, some of the original performers were able to return which increased the cast size. This year, we will have every single performer who has done Torch in the past ten years and our largest cast ever- twelve people.”

Many of the performers who have graced the stage for this sentimental benefit have been seen on local stages all over Columbia, one of which is local actress and choreographer Mandy Applegate.

“Performing with this group is incomparable! I am amazed at this web of friendship and love that spans decades. Some of these people I have known for 20 years, some for closer to 10.  We frequently work together in musicals and choirs and are all friends outside of that as well,” Applegate says. “Some nights we can barely get through songs because we are either laughing, or crying, or both. We are truly a little family, and at times, our teamwork is effortless.”

This weekend, the benefit celebrates its 10^th anniversary.

“Torch has grown so much since our first offering. We’ve expanded to two nights of performance, enlarged our cast and increased seating to include theatre seats as well as cabaret tables. I’m honored and humbled to have been a part of it these past ten years and to have raised so much money for such a terrific organization as PALSS. It also means a lot to have worked with these talented performers, whom you’ll never otherwise see all onstage at the same time,” Moore says.

In the end, both PALSS and Torch are all about love for one another, and how that love is used to help others through the good and the bad.

“Torch is a beautifully intimate gathering in support of PALSS and their very important work with food, drinks and song, guaranteed to warm your heart,” Applegate says. “Knowing we are raising money for PALSS, which is completely local, is truly heartwarming. The work they do is a gift to our community, and we are glad to give our service of song in support of that each year.”

Don’t miss Torch this weekend, November 7-8 at 6;30 in the Black Box Art Space at CMFA on Pulaski Street!

2014 JAY Awards - Big Apple Swing on Nov 21st - Limited tickets on sale NOW

Please join Jasper on November 21st at 7 pm as we announce and honor the recipients of the 2014 JAY (Jasper Artist of the Year) Awards in Dance, Literary Arts, Music, Theatre, and Visual Arts at Columbia’s historic Big Apple.

Step back in time to 1937 when the Big Apple dance – which originated right here at the Big Apple in Columbia, SC – was hopping and the juke box was bopping. Grab a fistful of silver to toss from the balcony to the dance floor below when the music stops. Be sure to get your dance card signed so you’ll be ready to hit the floor when Vicky Saye Henderson sings those special tunes. Enjoy an open bar, hors d’oeuvres provided by Scott Hall Catering, dance demonstrations by Big Apple experts Durlach & Breedlove, chances to win great prizes & tickets to the most exciting arts events in town, and be the first to see an original 1930’s Dance Hall show starring Vicky Saye Henderson & the Apple Jacks.

Your Master of Ceremonies for the evening is Terrance Henderson.

Due to the intimacy of the venue, only 100 tickets will be sold to this event and they are going fast! So don’t wait too late to get yours. Click HERE to grab your ticket before they're all gone!

Tickets are $25 in advance, $50 for a preceding VIP champagne reception with Big Apple dance lessons demonstrated and taught to you and the 2014 JAY finalists by Richard Durlach and Breedlove.

Director Daniel Gainey Dishes on Workshop Theatre's "The Dining Room," opening Thursday 11/6 at 701 Whaley - a preview by Haley Sprankle

Chattering excitedly, the cast of The Dining Room at Workshop Theatre fills the room with energy as they await the start of rehearsal.

“Alright everyone, let’s get started.”

The cast immediately focuses, and Act I begins.

“And the dining room!  You can see how these rooms were designed to catch the morning light.”

The Dining Room is a play by A. R. Gurney which features 18 vignettes set in various dining rooms, and the problems each family may face in theirs.

In director Daniel Gainey’s upcoming production, there is a cast of six actors (Ruth Glowacki, Samantha Elkins, Emily Padgett, George Dinsmore, Hans Boeschen, and Lee Williams) who portray all the characters, young or old.

"If I win the lottery, I'd form an acting troupe with this group and be a happy man. I look at them, and can't help but smile that six intelligent and talented people trust me enough to risk themselves and their craft for my vision.  It's humbling, and they are so brilliant," Gainey remarks.

Not only does having the cast play a multitude of characters of different ages showcase each actor’s versatility as a performer, but it also gives a sense of timelessness to the play; it shows that we all carry the issues we face throughout our lives.

"Nostalgia is a vicious plague or an effective sedative, depending on where you fall in history,” Gainey says. “Gurney is poking at a lot of nostalgic icons or scenarios, as if to make us diagnose ourselves. Are we holding on to our pasts because our futures are empty, or are we living in a past dream to avoid a current nightmare? What are we really missing, and is it worth the energy we spend to pass it to the next generation? Those questions are relevant everywhere and at all times, I think."

This generational difference plays a major part in the production. Each scene is set in a different time with people of differing ages trying desperately to understand each other.

“That’s your generation, Dad.”

“That’s every generation.”

“It’s not mine.”

“Every generation has to make an effort.”

Although new generations may bring change, people often still hold on to what they know, and hold on to the past.

"When you walk in a room, but forget why you went there - that pull, that path that leads you to that spot over and over again - like the pause in a seeming ridiculous, heavy handed run-on sentence - that feeling is what this show is all about,” Gainey says.

Gainey’s direction of the cast and minimalist use of props and costumes draws the audience in to what the story is really about: a sense of home.

The Dining Room connects, whether it is the room or the play. But I didn't want this to be a love letter to a room that is disappearing in many new home constructions,” Gainey says. “For me, it's the characters. I feel like I've known the people before--or even be related to them--and sometimes, I think I am these characters. When a play can do that, you have to dig into it."

The Dining Room runs at 701 Whaley’s Market Space from November 6-9. Thursday through Sunday performances are at 8 p.m. with additional matinees on Saturday and Sunday at 3 p.m. Go to workshop.palmettoticketing.com, or call (803) 799-6551 to reserve your tickets now.

~ Haley Sprankle

Preview: PURE Theatre Brings The Mountaintop to Columbia

 

Audiences will be transported to 1968 Memphis during The Mountaintop, a drama produced by Charleston’s PURE Theatre at Harbison Theatre at Midlands Technical College on Saturday, Nov. 8, 2014 at 7:30 p.m.

Regarded by the Charleston City Paper as “Charleston’s go-to for the best in contemporary theatre,” PURE Theatre will bring The Mountaintop to Harbison Theatre’s stage during its tour as the inaugural production of a new statewide touring circuit, developed this year in an initiative led by Harbison Theatre with other presenting theatres in the South Carolina Presenters Network. By collaborating with producing theatres like PURE, Harbison Theatre hopes to expand and ensure access to excellent, professional theatre in all South Carolina communities.

With a powerful dialogue that delves into Martin Luther King Jr.’s fundamental humanity, the play takes place on April 3, 1968, in Memphis’ Lorraine Motel, Room 306, where Dr. King spent the final evening of his life. The story consists of only two characters: King and hotel maid Camae, who turns his room service call into a stirring and poignant discourse marked with moments of levity and humor.

The Mountaintop depicts King as a man exhausted from his travels and concerned for the safety of his family, an image that strays from the common view of King as an always-poised, indestructible public figure.

“I love this play because it shows one of our country’s greatest leaders as the person he was when no one was watching,” says Katie Fox, Executive Director of Harbison Theatre at Midlands Technical College.

“Martin Luther King Jr. accomplished amazing works and led thousands of people, but he was also a person who questioned himself, made mistakes and sought forgiveness,” notes Fox. “When we remember these things about him, we also remind ourselves that though we may experience moments of weakness and doubt, we are called on to be our best for each other.”

It has been a longtime professional goal of Fox’s to make it easier for all communities to have access to high-quality theatre, believing that everyone benefits from involvement with professional artists – yet it can be hard for rural areas and smaller communities to afford top-rated, artistically strong touring groups.

As a part of this new statewide touring circuit, The Mountaintop will be presented in five theaters in Camden, Beaufort, Manning, Cheraw and here at Harbison Theatre in Columbia, the first theatre to invest in the circuit, giving it seed money to make smaller theatres' commitments easier. Fox and fellow participating presenters are optimistic that the statewide touring initiative will be successful with The Mountaintop, and expand in years ahead.

The Mountaintop is one of 9 shows selected for Harbison Theatre’s 2014-2015 Signature Series. Individual show tickets and The Flex Pass, offering a 10% discount with the purchase of 4 or more tickets, can be purchased at www.HarbisonTheatre.org.

Tickets are available via phone at 803-407-5011, or in person at the Harbison Theatre Box Office, Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The box office also will open two hours prior to each show in the Signature Series.

About Harbison Theatre

Rooted in the performing arts, Harbison Theatre at Midlands Technical College offers programs and productions that encourage reflection, examination and discovery; and that provide entertainment, education and opportunity to professionals, learners and community members in all stages of life. To learn about upcoming events, purchase tickets, or pursue sponsorship and volunteer opportunities with Harbison Theatre, please visit www.HarbisonTheatre.org.

Drac is Back! At the Koger for the next three nights -- by Abby Davis

The dark and delightful Dracula is back! Columbia City Ballet presents Dracula: Ballet With A Bite at the Koger Center Thursday, October 30^th through Saturday, November 1^st at 7:30 pm each night.

Columbia City Ballet’s Artistic and Executive Director William Starrett transformed Bram Stoker’s classic horror novel into a classic and captivating performance. Premiering in 1991, Dracula has since become both a Columbia favorite and a widespread phenomenon. As stated by Dance Magazine, “This entertaining extravaganza guarantees a good time.” The performance is sexy, spellbinding, and an incredibly fun experience for all, appealing to both ballet aficionados and newcomers simply seeking some Halloween fun and entertainment.

Dracula’s 19^th year is sure to deliver just as much of a brilliant bite as in years past. The show features many returning cast members as well as some fresh new faces. Autumn Ingrassia, Bonnie Boiter-Jolley, and Claire Richards are this year’s beautiful maidens. Regina Willoughby, a company favorite, returns as Lucy Westenra, and Claire McCaa is back as Mina Hanker. While your eyes might be focused on the gorgeous and scantily clad dancers, the visuals and lighting are equally spectacular. The spooky visuals have been designed by Columbia City Ballet’s own Technical Director, Ryan Stender, and Lighting Designer Aaron Pelzek has also contributed his touch to Transylvania.

T his haunting extravaganza is the perfect way to get into the Halloween spirit and kick off the holiday season. If you want to dive into the spirit of the season even more, be sure to participate in the annual costume contest during Saturday’s performance.

Tickets can be purchased at Capitol Tickets, online at www.capitoltickets.com, or by calling (803)-251-2222 and range from $15-$42. University students are encouraged to take advantage of special discount student pricing on Thursday, October 30^th: all tickets are $10 with a valid student i.d.

- By Abby Davis

Guest Blog: Cathy Stayman invites you to Gurf Morlix at The Little Yellow Music House

The intimacy of a private event like this is replicated all over the world now and LYMH is fortunate to be among them. -- Cathy Stayman

The Little Yellow Music House will be hosting an evening of music with song writer and producer Gurf Morlix on Sunday, November 9th. As a supporter and mutual friend of Jasper’s creator, Cindi, it would be my pleasure to extend an invitation to you.

The Little Yellow Music House is my living room where we have changed it up once a month, for the last three years, to host small intimate house shows. The living room furniture is slid aside, followed by bringing in comfy folding chairs allowing us a relaxing cozy atmosphere. In preparation for the concert, we are all asked to bring a dish to share along with your choice of beverage. The intimacy of a private event like this is replicated all over the world now and LYMH is fortunate to be among them.

~~~

A friend of mine once said, "Gurf is a rare visitor, and a peerless songsmith. Don't miss him. He's also droll. You can never go wrong with droll. Anyone can be acerbic, but it takes a master to be droll."

“In my pocket, weighed a thousand pounds. I could hardly move, it was dragging me down.”

“Strike a bargain, what you think you need. But, you’re gonna get cut and you’re gonna bleed.”

It’s lyrics like these which stands up and grab my full attention! What about you? Who is this fellow? His name is Gurf Morlix, yet I don’t know him. As time passed, his name continued to show up on other CD liner notes, yet I still didn’t know him.

I first saw Gurf, along with Kevin Triplett, in Charlotte at the Evening Muse. The two of them were touring in support of Kevin’s taping of the film “Duct Tape Messiah” and Gurf’s CD “Blaze Foley’s 113^th Wet Dream”. What kind of combination is that? Gurf used to play with Blaze Foley until the untimely death of his friend. I don’t know if I want to tell you about the bits and pieces I’ve collected in my head over the last handful of years. I feel strongly that Gurf Morlix and furthermore his friend Blaze Foley’s lyrics can, will, and do stand up on their own.

“I’m tired of running around finding answers to questions I already know.”

“Almost felt you touching me, just now. Wish I knew which way to turn and go.”

As we are reminded over and over again, very few of these well crafted songs end up recorded by the legends. As for Blaze Foley, John Prine recorded Clay Pigeons, Merle Haggard recorded If I Could Fly, and Lyle Lovett recorded Election Day. In other situations such as Gurf’s, he has either worked with or produced for Lucinda Williams, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Warren Zevon, Ian McLagan, Patty Griffin, Robert Earl Keen, Michael Penn, Buddy Miller, Mary Gauthier, Tom Russell, Jim Lauderdale, Grant Peeples, and Slaid Cleaves, to name but a few. Oh my goodness, the feeling that must be!

For this house concert there is a $20 suggested donation with 100% of your donation given to the musician.

4:00 PM - BYOB/Potluck Social Gathering

5:30 PM - Gurf Morlix

In conclusion, I suppose this is how we all get to know people, one note at a time, one word at a time, and one conversation at a time. We’d be so blessed to have you come join our musical family at our Little Yellow Music House. To get your reservations, email lymh2011@gmail.com or call me at 803-309-0214.

Your hostess,

Cathy

Two Worlds in One Night: 2014 Cola-Con Dance Party

 

Cola-Con is not your average comic book convention: not only is the convention centered on the relationship between hip-hop culture and its influence in the comic book world, but it also focuses on local hip-hop and alternative artists in the performing and visual arts categories. This year, Mo' Betta Soul & Cola-Con present the Cola-Con Dance Party, which will be held this Thursday, October 30^th 2014. The dance party will serve as a fundraiser for the upcoming Cola-Con 2015.

Since its conception in 2011, Cola-Con has been a culturally vibrant event that brings local artists together while cultivating the parallel worlds of comics and hip-hop. “Cola-Con was an idea that initially began as a way of showcasing all of the great talent of artists in

Hip-Hop and the comic world in South Carolina,” says Preach Jacobs, the founder of Cola-Con. “I used to go to all the comic cons with Sanford Greene, one of my best friends that has worked for Marvel and DC and saw how many artists loved hip-hop culture. [It] wasn’t a huge leap to put them together.”

Some of the first guest artists to be represented at the 2011 convention included Talib Kweli and 9^th Wonder. Since then, the convention has featured performances from artists including Ghostface Killah from Wu-Tang Clan, Phife from A Tribe Called Quest, dead prez and the Foreign Exchange. In addition to these performers, the convention has featured panel discussions with names from the comic industry including the executive producer for The Boondocks and Black Dynamite Animated Series, LeSean Thomas.

Many people in Columbia may not realize how interrelated the comic and hip-hop cultures are with each other, and how they have influenced each other as they developed.  Cola-Con helps bring these two worlds together while educating those in our community who may not be as familiar with these scenes.  Jacobs says, “Comic industry is almost identical to hip-hop culture. . . .Every comic illustrator I know started with doing graffiti. So, it’s something that hip-hop knows well.  Years ago, comic books were not seen as a legit form of writing or entertainment, maybe even seen as a fad.  Now, we have books like The Watchmen that’s on the Time magazine’s top 100 books of all time. Hip-Hop is getting the recognition the same way.  Harvard University, the flagship university this country and probably the world, has started a hip-hop archive.”  Jacobs also states that this hip-hop archive is a big achievement in representing the importance of Hip-Hop culture in our society’s development.

“I used to be frustrated by the lack of diversity, but it’s my responsibility to create what I don’t see.  Columbia is a city that doesn’t have many outlets not just for hip-hop, but for black music in general.  There aren’t places for soul music in this city.  So, I’ve been doing things like my show, Mo’ Betta Soul, bringing soul musicians to the area like Eric Roberson, Anthony David and looking at bringing people like Musiq Soulchild and Bilal along with the hip-hop events I’m doing with Cola-Con to help.”

This year’s dance party will include performances by Pete Rock, a legendary hip-hop producer, doing a DJ set. Other guests include Producer Black Milk, representing Detroit, and Atlanta’s finest: DJ Rasta Roof (Phife of ATCQ) from Smokin’ Shells.

In addition to great music and dancing there will be a silent auction, live art, and a costume contest! The dance party will be, “an opportunity for like-minded artists to be together. It’s very rare to have an outlet for hip-hop music in this city and this is something for us,” says Jacobs. Make sure to wear your Halloween costumes and be ready to dance!

“Cola-Con is just proof that hip-hop and comic book cultures aren’t going anywhere. . . . My goal is to keep it moving.”

~By Sirena Dib

Event will be held Thursday October 30^th, 2014 @ 701 Whaley from 8pm-12am. Advance tickets are $25. Get tickets here: goo.gl/4VGL

DON'T FORGET TO VOTE ON THIS YEAR'S JAYS -- JASPER ARTISTS OF THE YEAR - VOTING ENDS AT MIDNIGHT ON NOVEMBER 3RD -- DO IT NOW!

REVIEW: Dancing Through Life – A Look at Paul Taylor and His Work by Haley Sprankle

“I can’t help it.”

That is dancemaker Paul Taylor’s response when asked why he choreographs.

Taylor became a professional dancer and choreographer in 1954 and has astonished audiences with his innovative pieces since then. In relying on the music and the world around him, his work is unique and draws audiences in with its relatability and infectious energy.

The Paul Taylor Dance Company graced the Koger Center stage last night and performed three of Taylor’s pieces, each with its own distinct theme and vibrancy.

The first, Diggity, was a lively take on dogs and their interactions with each other. Each dancer executed their solos with grace and wonderful stage presence and then melted into a wonderful unity with the ensemble that not many soloists can accomplish. The ensemble as a whole displayed phenomenal transitions from energetic, fast movements to complete control, giving the piece beautiful shape and dynamic.

The second, The Word, shocked audiences with its eerie vulnerability. The piece featured what seemed to be school boys faced with their innate sexuality and inner desires, similar to what is presented in Duncan Sheik’s musical Spring Awakening. The dance featured ominous shadows, a lot of contrast in movement and formations, and amazing characterization. The piece was attacked with such intensity that audiences were left silent in fear of ruining the mood set by the piece with their accolades.

The show closed with the third piece, Esplenade, one of Taylor’s most well-known pieces. The dance is characterized by a sense of nonchalant playfulness as take on pedestrian movement, giving the piece a sense of realism. Between the beautiful canons, effortless formation changes, and complete trust between partners, the piece exuberated energy that was the perfect end to the evening.

The USC Dance Company is taking on Taylor’s much sought after choreography November 6-7 at 7:30 at the Koger Center in their Masterpieces of the 20^th Century concert in which they will perform his piece Company B.

“When looking at the repertory that would be included in the season Susan Anderson spoke to Kyra Strausburg and Stacey Calvert to see what Paul Taylor work they suggested we look into.  Without hesitation both replied Company B. It is a work that was created for professional ballet companies.  Being that our program is known for its strong ballet concentration we saw this as a great opportunity to expose our students to something different,” Sabrina McClure, the Administrative Specialist of the USC Dance Program, says.

With the presence of Taylor’s company this past week, dancers who will perform in Company B were able to take advantage of their expertise and experience.

“The residency of the Paul Taylor Dance Company included the opportunity to present our rehearsal of Company B to the Paul Taylor Dancers.  They were able to provide feedback and suggestions on the work based on their own experiences performing the piece,” McClure says.  “The USC dancers were able to converse with their counterpart from the Taylor company to discuss their role and how to take their performance to the next level.  This amazing opportunity will give new light to the USC dancers to further investigate their movement and performance in Company B.”   

For 60 years now, Taylor’s work has influenced and impacted audiences and dancers alike, and will continue to impact the world of dance and the arts.

“Paul Taylor has made modern dance more attainable and relatable. The topics he touches are profound and sometimes controversial yet relatable to any audience,” McClure says. “His choreography is highly sought out by many professional companies based in different genres.  It is not specific to just modern dancers or just ballet dancers.”

CMA brings a Ceramics Workshop - Ladies Night Out (can dudes come, too?) - Arts & Draughts - Rahul Pophali concert at Baker & Baker

Columbia Museum of Art Adult Art School: Ceramics Workshop

Explore the expressive possibilities of hand-building and decorating functional earthenware pottery. Learn hand-building techniques using underglazes and slips to create a variety of surface textures and designs and how to successfully fire work. This two-day class is designed for all levels of experience with clay, and allows you to both create three-dimensional objects and address the issues inherent to decorating these forms. The objects you create from clay will become three-dimensional canvases on which you can explore your own personal style and artistic voice.

Instructor Kristina Stafford is currently working as education coordinator at the Columbia Museum of Art. Since earning her MFA from the School for American Crafts at the Rochester Institute of Technology, she has also worked as a Professor of Art at Bridgewater State University in Bridgewater, MA, and Artist-in-Residence at the Clay Art Center in Port Chester, NY. Stafford has work in galleries from South Carolina to New York and continues to enjoy an active studio process.

Saturday and Sunday, November 1 and 2, 2014

Noon - 4:00 p.m.

$100 / $80 for members.

And ...

"Ladies' Night Out" is a celebration of women, fashion, and art, featuring fabulous food, local artisans selling their work, and the mind-blowing sounds of DJ Alejandro. (But we hope the dudes can come, too!)Guests can peruse wares and shop with vendors, whose offerings include scarves by Alicia Leeke, purses by Mary Catherine Kunze, and jewelry by Cindy Saad, among others. The CMA's deluxe gift-wrapping station will be available to beautifully package parcels. Attendees also have the opportunity to view the Norman Rockwell: Behind the Camera exhibition. Hors d'oeuvres are provided by Earth Fare and a cash bar will be available for wine, beer, and a specialty drink prepared just for the occasion.

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

6:00 to 8:00 p.m.

$10 / join or renew your membership that night and get in for free.

And ...

Another Great Arts & Draughts

The Columbia Museum of Art hosts the next Arts & Draughts on Friday, November 7, 2014. Art, drink, and be happy! Special thanks to our sponsors The Whig, WXRY, Jam Room, and Free Times.

The BANDS: •Stephanie Santana •Can't Kids •ET Anderson

The FOOD: •The Wurst Wagen •Bone-In Artisan Barbecue •Fair Food Truck

The BEER:

Enjoy a beer tasting of selections from Widmer Brewery of Portland, Oregon and Cash Bar provided by The Whig. •Widmer Brrr seasonal ale - a hoppy Northwest-style red ale •Widmer Hefeweizen •Widmer Alchemy Pale Ale

And MORE...

•Unique perspective tour: "A Queer Tour of the Gallery" led by USC Director of Women and Gender Studies and Jasper Literary Arts Editor, Dr. Ed Madden. •Exhibition Tours of Norman Rockwell: Behind the Camera led by Bauer Westeren. •Dance: Rockwell-inspired dance demo by the Richard Durlach and Breedlove dance team - (catch Durlach & Breedlove at the Nov, 21st JAY Awards ~ Big Apple Swing!) •Film screenings of The Norman Rockwell Code, a short film parody of The Da Vinci Code. •Dr. Sketchy's Live figure drawing sessions at 8:15 p.m. and 9:35 p.m. •Rockwell-Inspired Photo Booth •D.I.Y. Art projects •Interactive art •Scavenger hunts

Friday, November 7, 2014

7:00 - 11:00 p.m.

$8 / $5 for members / join or renew your membership that night and get in for free.

And ...

Baker & Baker Presents the Art of Music

The Columbia Museum of Art Hosts an Evening with Tabla Master Rahul Pophali

The Columbia Museum of Art hosts the next Baker & Baker Art of Music concert with tabla master Rahul Pophali on Sunday, November 9, at 6:00 p.m. Pophali is one of the most versatile tabla players in today's younger generation. A dazzling performer and an incessant innovator, he has carved a niche for himself in the world of percussion music.

"Tabla is the principal rhythm instrument in North Indian Classical Music," says Pophali. "It is widely used in different styles of Indian music and in fusion with world music today. The art of tabla-playing features spontaneous improvisations alongside renditions of traditional repertoire.

I believe my music is a journey, an adventure into the realm of sounds and rhythms. I draw inspiration from the audience and surroundings to fuel my creativity. I am looking forward to performing at the Columbia Museum of Art; a place replete with works of art will surely inspire the best out of me!"

Pophali began concert performances at an early age and, since then, has toured extensively in several countries in Europe and Asia. His desire to explore various possibilities with the tabla and an urge to experiment led him to perform with several reputed world, rock, flamenco, and jazz musicians across the globe. Passionate about spreading his art form, Pophali has conducted workshops and lecture/demonstration sessions for several institutions and music schools in India and Europe.

Sunday, November 9, 2014. Doors at 5:30 p.m. Galleries open. Concert at 6:00 p.m. $12 /

$10 for members / $5 for students

For more information on all these exciting CMA events and offerings, visit

columbiamuseum.org

"The Other Place" at the Trustus Side Door Theatre - a review by Rachel Arling

The Trustus Side Door Theatre production of Sharr White’s The Other Place provides an intriguing  night of theatre that challenges its audience with questions about personal identity, the effects  of illness on relationships, and the conflict between memory and reality. The eighty-minute play  begins relatively straightforwardly as Juliana, a brilliant 52-year-old scientist, gives a presentation pitching a new drug to a group of doctors. Juliana’s lecture is practiced and polished, and she  radiates self-assuredness to an almost annoying degree. We have no reason not to take her at  her word. However, as this darkly humorous mystery play continues, it becomes clear that Juliana  might be a less reliable narrator than we first assumed.

Directed by Jim O’Connor, the show is well-suited to the intimate venue because the script gives  the audience a first-hand view into Juliana’s head. We experience events in the same fragmented  way that she does, so it’s appropriate that we are also right there with her physically in the small  space. The set is minimalistic, especially during the first half of the play, when the scenes switch  abruptly (sometimes mid-sentence) between various locations. The slightly more detailed set of  the play’s second half depicts “the other place:” the Cape Cod vacation home that has been in  Juliana’s family for generations. The set is supplemented with excellent use of projections that  serve as PowerPoint slides for Juliana’s presentation, and the projections also occasionally set  the turbulent mood with images of crashing waves. The costumes, designed by Jean Gonzalez  Lomasto, are simple but well-chosen (though I was sometimes distracted by the clomping sound  of the women’s high heels on the hollow wooden stage, but this is a minor complaint.)

The cast is comprised of four capable actors whose chemistry together increases as the play goes on. As Juliana, Erica Tobolski must carry the show. She navigates the highs and lows  of the complex character with dexterity, understanding that Juliana uses her acerbic wit and  authoritative demeanor as coping mechanisms that help her to grasp at the vestiges of control  over her life. Like the character of Vivian in Margaret Edson’s Wit, Juliana often breaks the fourth  wall to share the details of her struggle with an illness that might be cancer. Tobolski successfully  establishes a close relationship with audience members as she enlists our help to try to make  sense of her “episodes.” I do wish that some of the transitions between the different scenes and  audience addresses were clearer; however, I recognize that the blurred transitions might be a  directorial choice intended to illustrate the muddled nature of Juliana’s experience.

Bryan Bender plays Ian, Juliana’s husband. (Or is he her “soon-to-be-ex?” This is one of the  mysteries the playwright wants us to contemplate.) Both physically and emotionally, Bender  provides a solid, patient, and grounded presence compared to Tobolski’s agitated restlessness;  their relationship dynamic reminds me of the couple from Next to Normal in more ways than one.  Bender and Tobolski do their best work together during the climactic flashback scene that takes  place at “the other place.”

G. Scott Wild and Jennifer Moody Sanchez play the other men and women in the show. Wild has  the play’s two smallest roles, but he brings them to life with his typical skillful energy. Sanchez  plays three different characters: Juliana’s doctor, Juliana’s distant adult daughter, and a stranger.  She makes distinctive choices for each one, but I liked her best as the stranger. The scene  between Juliana and the stranger is hilariously entertaining because of the ridiculous situation  and the way the two actors react to one another. More importantly, though, the scene provides a  touching example of an empathetic connection between two people who have never met before. The stranger shows kindness to Juliana even though it doesn’t come easily to her because she is  dealing with myriad issues of her own. The two women are united by their suffering in “the other  place,” and sometimes the formation of such a connection is enough to help both of them start  the healing process.

This production of The Other Place, which runs through November 1, is worth seeing. Don’t  expect to sit back in your seat and relax, though; the show requires its audience to watch actively  and make judgments about what’s happening. But doesn’t all effective art do that?

~ Rachel Arling

The Other Place runs through Saturday, November 1st in The Richard and Debbie Cohn Trustus Side Door Theatre (although the closing Saturday night is currently sold out.) The doors and box office open thirty minutes prior to curtain, and all Trustus Side Door tickets are $20 for general admission and $15 for students.  Reservations can be made by calling the Trustus Box Office at (803) 254-9732, and tickets may be purchased online at www.trustus.org.  The Richard and Debbie Cohn Trustus Side Door Theatre is located at 520 Lady Street, behind the Gervais St. Publix. Parking is available on Lady Street and on Pulaski Street.  The Trustus Side Door Theatre entrance is through the glass doors on the Huger St. side of the building.

Meet Tom Dempster -- Composer, Educator, & Assistant Editor of Music at Jasper Magazine

Thomas Dempster is a composer writing predominantly chamber, electroacoustic, and multimedia works. With over 70 completed works to his name, his output ranges from solo miniatures to extended works for orchestra with soloists. His music bears accessible yet decidedly individualistic traits, from tonal references to extended techniques, from touching on classical forms to experimental soundscapes and video works.

His music has been performed widely throughout North America and Europe, including GEMDays (UK), Di_Stanze (Italy), Toronto Intenational Electroacoustic Symposium, the San Francisco New Music Festival, Electronic Music Midwest, Electroacoustic Barn Dance, NYCEMF, University of Kentucky new Music Festival, ICMC, the Indiana State University Music Now! Series, SEAMUS, Society of Composers Inc., College Music Society, the National Flute Association, the North American Saxophone Alliance, and numerous others. Dempster is a recipient of awards, honors, and grants from BMI, ASCAP, the South Carolina Arts Commission, Sigma Alpha Iota, Ithaca College, Black House Collective, Vox Novus, and the Columbia (SC) Museum of Art. Among the commissions he has received are those from the Greenbrook Ensemble, the Blue Mountain Ensemble, the Governor’s School of North Carolina, the Ohio State University New Music Ensemble, and others. Several of his works are commercially available from Potenza Music Publishing. He is an affiliate composer of Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI)

Dempster serves as an Assistant Professor of Music at South Carolina State University in Orangeburg, SC, where he teaches courses in music technology, composition and theory, and music business. He directs the BulldogBytes Concert Series at SC State, an annual concert series devoted to experimental and digital music. He is an assistant editor with Jasper magazine (Columbia, SC), a contributor to the new music digest I Care If You Listen, and an album reviewer for the Society for Electroacoustic Music in the United States (SEAMUS). He has given lectures on musical aesthetics, intellectual property issues, and musical analysis at CMS, NYCEMF, and SCMEA conferences. He studied at the University of Texas (MM, DMA) with Kevin Puts, Dan Welcher, and Russell Pinkston, and at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (BM) with Eddie Bass, Craig Walsh, and Frank McCarty. He studied bassoon with Michael Burns, has performed with many orchestras throughout the Southeast, and is a proponent of extended performance techniques for the bassoon.

Dempster resides in the Columbia area with his wife, visual artist Kara Gunter. When not teaching, composing, bassooning, or otherwise musicking, Dempster can be found tending to his lush front yard gardens or thumbing through the various books that have taken over his house. Some weekends he can be found searching the state for either the perfect shrimp and grits or the best curry. Visit his website at www.thomasdempster.com.

A Soda City Love Letter from Emile DeFelice

This love letter to the city appeared this morning on the Huffington Post's blog. It's a lovely piece that captures the way so many of us feel about our city, to which I would only add that we have an arts community that rivals and will soon surpass any other city in the Southeast. Lots of folks seem to want to compare us to Austin -- and that's nice. Austin is a very nice town. But we aren't Austin -- we're our own city. We are Columbia. And this is Emile -- and he's running for office.

Dear Columbia, or as I like to call you, Soda City,

It's been 23 years since I was dropped off at your doorstep with only a suitcase, a box and not much to offer. You quickly became one of the best things that ever happened to me.

Within days, you gave me three restaurant jobs throughout your Five Points. I worked the breakfast shift at what is now Drip Coffee, lunch at the Gourmet Shop and dinner at Garibaldi's. You gave me the opportunity to attend grad school at the University of South Carolina. You gave me my first home, a small and sturdy in-town house for $39,000, on which I made many monthly payments of $332 by selling vegetables I grew in the back yard. You gave me a neighbor who loved me like a son. You gave me Chris the Postman who sees the overdraft notice come in one day and texts me the next when he has a few checks for me in his bag.

You gave my two children great educational opportunities. One grew up in the (three!) ballet companies here and is headed to Yale after a dance stint in D.C., and the other is spending her tenth grade year in Spain on her own volition.

You gave me great mentors and people to look up to and emulate, and I take great pleasure in returning the favor to help folks get up the ladder. You gave me newspapers that are small enough to listen and engage with me, yet large enough to matter. You gave me racial and international diversity. You gave me a business atmosphere that had plenty of opportunities for me to fill in the missing pieces with my own ideas. You gave me a city filled with people who are ready for good things to happen and who give people that try a chance.

You have a vibrant Main Street with my favorite dive bar, The Whig. I can take the family to dinner for less than $50 out on Decker Boulevard at my favorite Korean restaurant, Arirang, or hit up Real Mexico for lunch - Cubano, please! You help me relax with killer cocktails at Motor Supply, The Oak Table - and oh yeah, thanks for the 150 bourbons to choose from at Bourbon! We sneak away to the Nickelodeon for great indie movies and hit the amazing Three Rivers Greenway when we want to get out and move our bodies. You give me everything I want and need. I lack for nothing. You are the most underrated and misunderstood town in the South, the gangly girl who's growing into a great beauty.

I've done my level best to give back even more than you've given me, and after it's all over, I hope you think I'm one of the best things that ever happened to you.

Love, Emile

Emile DeFelice loves food, the challenges of farming and business, and finding ways to connect farmers and feeders. He founded the All Local Farmer's Market in 2004, now called Soda City, featuring dozens of farmers, food, and artisans from Columbia every Saturday morning on Main Street. Emile grew vegetables and produced specialty pork at his nationally-acclaimed Caw Caw Creek Farm for nearly 20 years before recently redirecting his attention to Soda City and a brick and mortar version of the market, Nest. His efforts earned him a fellowship award by the Southern Foodways Alliance. He serves on the board of the Animal Mission and co-founded Columbia's Mardi Gras Festival, from which 100% of the profit goes toward the Mission's spay and neuter program.

"King Lear" in Finlay Park - a review by Jillian Owens

The South Carolina Shakespeare Company opens their fall season with King Lear, one of Shakespeare’s best-known tragedies. George Bernard Shaw once said "No man will ever write a better tragedy than Lear,”  and one can definitely see where he’s coming from. Madness, betrayal, suffering, war, and death are all over this play, and the body count is nothing short of impressive.

The elderly King Lear (Chris Cook) is ready for retirement. He plans to divide his kingdom among his  three daughters, Goneril (Raia Hirsch), Regan (Sara Blanks), and Cordelia (Katie Mixon.) But there’s  a catch: the largest quantity of land will go to the daughter who can prove she loves him most. Goneril  and Regan are perfectly happy to deliver speeches of loyalty and devotion that drip with aspartame. But  Cordelia remains stoic, saying she has nothing to compare her love to. Her frankness leads to her father  disowning her and splitting his lands between Regan and Goneril. The King of France, impressed with her honesty offers to marry her:

“Fairest Cordelia, that art most rich, being poor; most choice, forsaken;  and most lov'd, despis'd!  Thee and thy virtues here I seize upon. Be it lawful I take up what's cast  away.”

And they hop off to France.

Lear quickly learns how fickle filial loyalty can be. As soon as he relinquishes his power, he loses all  respect from both of his daughters. They chide him for being raucous, and force him to let the majority of  his entourage go. This shocking fall from power and dignity leads Lear to become more and more insane as the play progresses. The former King quickly learns that his only true friends are his now-disguised former pal Kent (Tracy Steele) whom he banished for defending Cordelia, and his Fool (played by Jeff Driggers.)

Intermingled in this main plot is further drama with a troublemaking illegitimate son by the name of  Edmund (Bobby Bloom) to the Earl of Gloucester (Richard Purday.) He tricks Gloucester - way too easily - into thinking his legitimate son Edgar (William Cavitt) plans to steal his estate.   Eyeballs are removed, women are seduced, and lots of folks die in some pretty creative ways.

In this production of Lear, director Linda Khoury has assembled a large cast with varying skill levels and a  curious array of accents. Cook is a vulnerable and powerful Lear, and he captures his descent into madness with an intensity that evokes sympathy. Hirsh and Blanks are appropriately evil as Goneril  and Regan, and Mixon makes for a wonderful contrast as the honest and sincere Cordelia.  Edmund gets some of the best lines in the play, and Bloom delivers them with acerbic intensity:

“Wherefore should I stand in the plague of custom, and  permit the curiosity of nations to deprive me, for that I am some twelve or fourteen moonshines lag of  a brother? Why bastard? wherefore base?”

Driggers plays the Fool (see what I did there?) not so much as a clown, but as a terrified young man who grasps  the gravity of a dangerous situation from which he must save his friend. There’s an urgency about this Fool that is an unexpected take on the character. Cavitt delivers one of the most challenging and high-energy  performances in the play as the selfless, though hopelessly naive, Edgar.

A few members of the ensemble couldn’t quite pick an accent - which was distracting - but as I said  before, this is a large cast and every actor’s performance can’t always be golden. At the preview performance I attended, there was a moment of nudity that I’m not altogether sure was simply a wardrobe  malfunction. I can’t imagine bringing small children to something as heavy as a Shakespearean  tragedy, however, so this might not be an issue for you. The key players do interesting work, and the SC  Shakespeare Company takes a straightforward interpretation of King Lear to a few surprisingly creative  places.

~ Jillian Owens

King Lear runs Wednesday, October 22 through Saturday, October 25 in the Amphitheatre in Finlay Park. Curtain is at 7:30 PM, and the Wednesday performance is free!  For more information, visit http://www.shakespearesc.org/ .

City Art presents Judy Bolton Jarrett's "Passages" - opening reception Thursday during Vista Nights

Judy Bolton Jarrett’s solo exhibition “Passages” begins Oct 16 for Vista Nights. The opening reception at City Art will be the next Thursday, Oct 23 from 5-8pm. The artist will be in attendance for both events.

Jarrett comments, “Several years ago, as a pure transparent watercolor purist, I was introduced to the wonderful world of acrylics, especially the endless possibilities of adding and subtracting elements, and thus began a new chapter in my painting life! While I certainly consider my works as interpretations, I am constantly aware of what is not easily seen but is felt. My paintings reflect my love of color, design, pushing the envelope, and satisfying my ever-evolving curiosity of what's next, as art is a continuous flow of creative energy. Most recently I was given a “challenge” by a friend who builds and repairs clocks. He sent me a box of discarded parts and said, ‘Do something creative!’ That is how the Time Series began. Always remembering the power of words, I incorporate inspirational and motivational messages into each painting into each of the Time Series paintings. Also, a recent introduction to high-flow acrylics has added another element to my ever-growing list of favorites!”

Jarrett grew up in Winder, GA, in the north GA foothills and then graduated from Presbyterian College, Clinton, SC, in 1963. For 21 years she taught English in grades 7-12 in South Carolina and Alabama, changing careers in 1986 to pursue her artistic endeavors. Since 1990 she has had a small studio and gallery in the first bank building (circa 1908) in Chapin, SC, and continues to use that as her home base for showing her work and for creating new paintings, a continuous process.

She has originals in collections locally, nationally, and internationally and is a signature member of the South Carolina Watermedia Society and the Georgia Watercolor Society.

Jarrett was also featured in the September 2014 issue of Jasper Magazine.

City Art Gallery is located at 1224 Lincoln St. in the historic Congaree Vista area in Columbia, South Carolina. Gallery hours are Monday – Thursday 10 a.m. until 6 p.m., Friday 10:00 am until 5 p.m., and Saturdays 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. For more information contact Wendyth Wells, City Art Gallery, at 803-252-3613 or email ww@cityartonline.com. Visit online at www.cityartonline.com.

Will South & Douglas Gray - New Works at Gallery West -- Tuesday

Will South makes art, writes about it, organizes exhibitions on it, and very frequently talks about it. Art has been the single constant thread in his life. Like most of us, Will drew as a child. He simply never stopped. With a degree in studio art from Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, his professional life began managing a gallery where he organized shows on painters and wrote their biographies. This led to a Masters Degree in art history, which led to a PhD from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York. Living in Manhattan, Will took courses at the Art Students League while steeped in art theory at the Graduate Center. Today, he remains an art historian and an artist in equal measure.

As a museum curator, Will is known for making art accessible, whether in writing, on the wall, or in public talks. He shares his passion for art freely, and sees museum work as an ongoing opportunity for public service. Back in the studio, however, he reverts to the artist who has made art his entire life, only now one who has learned a great deal from art history.

"I enjoy narrative, abstract and innovative art forms," he says, "but as an artist myself I'm not interested in telling a story or inventing something new. What is enduring about an image is the sensuality of color, the refinement of shape, the human intelligence contained in line. The challenge for me is to edit out all but the essential. And the ongoing problem is to know what the essential is. If he or she keeps working, once in a great while an artist will touch on what it means to be human."

Douglas Gray is a Professor of Art at Francis Marion University in Florence, South Carolina. He joined the faculty in 1997 and is responsible for teaching Ceramics, Ceramics Sculpture and Three-Dimensional Design. Before coming to Francis Marion University, he taught at Sul Ross State University in Texas. He holds degrees from the University of North Texas and the University of Louisville.

In addition to his teaching responsibilities, Doug exhibits his artwork both regionally and nationally. His work has appeared in several periodicals and books including: Pottery Making Illustrated, Ceramics Monthly, Clay Times, Southern Living and the Lark Books' 500 Series. Originally trained in functional pottery, his work has evolved to include sculptural and architectural forms. He is particularly interested in color and surface. Additionally, he has explored various image transfer techniques on clay, a reflection of his interest in photography, printmaking, and story telling. Doug regularly shares his creative process through demonstrations, workshops, and publications.

Gallery West at 118 State Street in West Columbia will host a special exhibition of recent work by artists Will South and ceramist Douglas Gray from October 21 through November 16, 2014, with an opening reception on Tuesday, October 21, 5:00 - 8:00 pm. The public is invited to join the artists for wine and light hors d'oeuvres.

A Sense of Self multidisciplinary art experience at Anastasia & Friends - Part Two (of three)

October is Domestic Violence Awareness month and in response, Al Black, Bonnie Goldberg, and Anastasia Chernoff have teamed up with visual and performing artists to bring you, “A Sense of Self.”  “A Sense of Self” is a three-part series and a combination of  visual works created by artists (who-happen-to-be-women)  focusing on work that both empowers women and exemplifies their strengths and vulnerabilities, along with performance art by poets and singer/songwriters in response to the topic.

“October is Domestic Violence Month, and I wanted to tip the month-long observance on its ear by uplifting women in these complimentary ways,” says Al Black, Columbia poet and author of I Only Left for Tea, a new collection of poetry from Muddy Ford Press.

"When Al proposed the show idea to me, I immediately said, yes," says Anastasia Chernoff, owner of Anastasia and Friends, where the show is exhibited, "because the concept hit so close to home.  Last year, I experienced a brutal attack by a man I had been dating. Through this experience and other times difficult times in my life, I’ve realized there’s a whole lot of light and knowledge to be experienced in the darkness if you’re willing to open your eyes and take a look at it. This show is in response to Domestic Violence Awareness month, but is not specifically about domestic violence.  It’s about women who have experienced tremendous, difficult times in their lives and, rather than becoming victimized by their experience, they have become stronger, wiser and more empowered.”

"A Sense of Self" opened on October 2^nd as  part of the First Thursday on Main Street art crawl. The second part of the series will take place on Tuesday, October 14^th, from 6pm to 8pm, with performance of original works related to the topic by three male poets and three males singer/songwriters. The closing reception for the series will fall on October 28^th, from 6pm to 8pm, and will feature a combination of 6 male and female poets and singer/songwriters who will create new pieces based on their response to the exhibited art being shown.

The visual artists represented include Michaela Pilar Brown, Anastasia Chernoff, Bonnie Goldberg, Molly Harrell, Mana Hewitt, Heidi Darr-Hope, Dawn Hunter, Lee Ann Kornegay, Laurie McIntosh, Virginia Scotchie and Kirkland Smith.

The poets and singer/songwriters performing throughout the month are Ron Baxter, Al Black, Debra Daniel, Mason Diction, Pretty Feet (Alexander Madison Hoffman), Hope, Anna Howard, Katera, Susanne KlapperSense, Ed Madden, Mario McClean, Deb McQueen, Jerlean Noble, John Scollon, Tammaka Staley, Cassie Premo Steele, Tabu, Kendal Turner, Tonya Tyner and Rev. Marv Ward

“A Sense of Self” runs from October 2^nd through October 31^st. Anastasia & Friends art gallery is open to the public, Monday through Friday from 9am to 5pm and located at 1534 Main Street in Columbia in the front of the Free Times’ building, across the street from the Columbia Museum of Art. For more information, contact Anastasia Chernoff at 803 665 6902 or via email at anastasiachernoff@gmail.com.

Duo de Vista = One Flute, One Guitar, One Night of (Free) Incredible Music

Named after the city’s historic district, Duo de Vista returns to Columbia on October 10th at Shandon Presbyterian Church. Comprised of flutist Teri Forscher-Milter and classical guitarist Marina Alexandra, the duo put their passion and performance as soloists together to create an ensemble whose approach to classical music is colorful and adventurous.

Teri Forscher-Milter was named the principal flutist of the Knoxville Symphony in 2000 and has performed with several other symphonies, including the Cleveland Symphony, Atlanta Symphony, and South Carolina Philharmonic, just to name a few. Her many impressive achievements date back to 1994 when she was named a Presidential Scholar in the Arts, a prestigious award that allowed her to perform at the Kennedy Center and be honored by President Bill Clinton.

Marina Alexander has been described by Fingerstyle Guitar Magazine as an “amazing player that commands the guitar with world-class technique and musicianship that is uncommon.” Born in the Ukraine, she began to play the guitar at age six. Her music has appeared at the Piccolo Spoleto Festival and on National Public Radio. Alexander has also released two studio albums, the latter of which earned reviews from Soundboard, Classical Guitar (UK) and American Record Guide.

Both founding members of the duo are as passionate about music education as they are about performing. Forscher-Milter advocates for early injury-prevention in young musicians, as she has suffered from focal dystonia, a condition that forced her to learn to play with only eight functioning fingers. In addition to serving on the music faculties of Furman University, USC Aiken, and Columbia College, Alexandra founded the Guitar Muse Society and Southern Guitar Festival and Competitions to give opportunities to young guitarists in the southeast.

Part of the Arts at Shandon Concert Series

October 10th at 7:30

Shandon Presbyterian Church

607 Woodrow St, Columbia, SC 29205

Free admission

Jasper Announces Finalists for 2014 Artists of the Year - Time to VOTE!

Jasper and Muddy Ford Press and delighted to announce the finalists for

Jasper 2014 Artists of the Year

in Dance, Theatre, Music, Visual, and Literary Arts

Theatre

Catherine Hunsinger, actress

• Eponine, Les Miserables (Town Theater)
• Seven roles and cello, A Christmas Carol adapted by Patrick Barlow (Trustus Theater)
• Willowedane Poole, Constance [by the Restoration] (Trustus Theater)
• Fest 24 actor, Group 5 – Prom Night (Trustus Theater)
• Actress/Soloist in “The Orchestra Moves”, a South Carolina Philharmonic childrens’ concert series
• Actress/Soloist in the Americana concert of South Carolina Philharmonic’s pops series (St. Andrews Sisters)
• “Nasty” in Larry Hembree Bring Your Own Dinner Theater Fundraiser (Trustus Theater)
• Actress in First Citizens Commerical with Mad Monkey
• Actress in Pillar Awards short film with Larry Hembree
• Ensemble in Young Frankenstein (Workshop Theater)
• Veronica, Carnage (Living Room Theatre)
• Katherine, Blue Moon (Short film by Jeff Driggers)

Robert Richmond, director

• TEMPEST at the Warehouse in Greenville, SC
• FINDING RICHARD – USC  – Undergraduate female production of Richard III that exposed 26 students  and gender bended a Shakespearean history play, while exploring acting in a close up and personal arena.
• DREADFUL SORRY  – The winner of the South Carolina 2010 Film Commission grant was screened in the Orlando Film Festival. This movie gave on screen and behind the camera experience to over 45 students at USC.
• RICHARD III at the Folger Theatre, Washington, DC
• HAMLET USC – Set in an asylum the production focused on Hamlet’s madness and was inspired by America Horror Stories.
• Audio Book of RICHARD III – Folger Shakespeare Library – Continuing my passion to bring Shakespeare into the 21st Century this recording is the 6th fully dramatized production published by Simon & Schuster.
• WINTERS TALE at the Academy for Classical Acting, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Washington, DC
• A TALE TOLD BY AN IDIOT at Clark Studio, Lincoln Center, New York
• Audio Book JULUIS CAESAR Folger Shakespeare Library

Frank Thompson, actor and director

• September 2013: Thenardier in Les Miserables at Town.
• November/December 2013: Charlie Baker in The Foreigner at Town.
• November/December 2013: Directed Ho! Ho! Ho! at Columbia Children’s Theatre.
• March 2014: Directed Stand By Your Man at Town.
• May 2014: Igor in Young Frankenstein at Workshop.
• July 2014: Dialect Coach/Captain Hook in Peter Pan at Town.
• August 2014: Wrote/Directed A Night At The Previews fundraiser for Town.

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Music

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Can’t Kids

• This year we released Ennui Go which was a lot of hard work for us and many people who aren’t in Can’t Kids.
• We were the house band for the Indie Grits puppet slam where we collaborated with Bele et Bete.
• We put out ‘The Twist’ music video that was directed by Katherine McCullough.
• We released a song on the Tidings from the Light Purple Gam comp.
• We just finished our side of a split “7 record with Schooner out on Sit and Spin Records next year.
• We had a pet baby squirrel for about 3 weeks.
• We’ve obtained an early model Prius.

Greg Stuart

• 11/18/13 –organizes world premier of Los Angeles-based composer Michael Pisaro’s asleep, forest, melody, path (2013) for large, mixed ensemble and field recordings at the Columbia Museum of Art. Ensemble includes students from the USC Honors College, USC School of Music, and members of the greater Columbia music community. The field recordings used in the concert (i.e., environmental sound recordings) were made by Stuart and Pisaro in late 2012/early 2013 in Congaree National Park.
• 2/24/14 –Organizes a performance of the legendary Japanese percussionist Tatsuya Nakatani’s acclaimed Nakatani Gong Orchestra with 12 local musicians at the Columbia Museum of Art. The piece is an innovative, community-based ensemble consisting of large gongs suspended on custom hardware and played with handcrafted bows designed by Nakatani.
• 12/06/13 – Stuart plays a set at the Conundrum Music Hall concert of Mind Over Matter Music Over Mind’s (the brainchild of ethnomusicologist and eminent Sun Ra scholar Thomas Stanley). The piece is a collaboration with Columbia-based visual artist Nathan Halverson, Asleep in the watchtower (2013).
• 2/20/14 –Stuart’s USC-based experimental music performance group, the New Music Workshop, performs John Cage’s One7 (1992) at Conundrum Music Hall.
• 7/20/14 – Composes a new work for bowed bell and electronic sound, slab (2014) as a solo set opening for electronic powerhouse Jason Lescalleet’s July 2014 Columbia appearance at Conundrum Music Hall.
• Between 9/15/13 and 9/15/14 Stuart released the following recordings: Closed Categories in Cartesian Worlds Michael Pisaro/Matthew Sullivan, “Add Red” With Joe Panzner: Live at the Issue Project Room Joe Panzner/Greg Stuart + Jason Brogan/Sam Sfirri: Harness (Tape)

The Mobros

• handpicked to open for B.B. King on a few of his summer dates. July 23rd & 24th 2013
• on the road since January 17th traveling the east coast up to New York, through the Midwest to Chicago, and down through Texas going as far south as New Orleans. Having played 50 cities, The Mobros will finish their tour December 22nd in Charleston, SC.    January 17th- December 22nd 2014
• released their first full record February 25th  2014

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Visual Arts

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Eileen Blyth

• Juried in Vista Studios – Sept 2013
• Vista Lights – Group Show – Vista Studios – November 2013
• Big Paint Project – Jan-Feb 2014
• Volumes II – Women Bound by Art – group exhibition at The Curtis R. Harley Art Gallery- Spartanburg, SC, Jan – Feb 2014
• Artista Vista – Group Show – Vista Studios – April 2014
• Art Fields – Lake city – April 2014
• Big Paint Exhibition – Columbia College- August/October 2014
• One Columbia Public Art Installation – Sept 2014

James Busby

• James Busby, Figure 8, 701 Center for Contemporary Art, Columbia SC
• James Busby, New Paintings, Randall Scott Projects, Washington DC
• Slow is Smooth, Smooth is Fast, Kravets|Wehby Gallery, New York, NY
• Smoke & Mirrors, Randall Scott Projects, Washington D.C.

Kathleen Robbins, photographer

• Into the Flatland / Gandy Cultural Arts Center / University of Southern Mississippi / Long Beach MS (November 2013 – February 2014), University of Nebraska / Lincoln NE  (March – April 2014), Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art / Charleston SC (August – October 2014), University of Central Arkansas / Conway AR (September – October 2014),  Rebekah Jacob Gallery / Charleston SC (September – October 2014)
• The Kids are Alright: an exhibition about family and photography / Addison Gallery of American Art / Andover MA / (traveling exhibition) (September 2013 – January 2014)
• Photographers from the Permanent Collection, Ogden Museum of Southern Art / New Orleans LA /
• Somewhere in the South, Rebekah Jacob Gallery / Charleston SC  /
• CRITICAL MASS TOP 50: Color and Light, Southeast Museum of Photography / Daytona Beach FL /
• Sense of Place: Picturing West Greenville / Clemson University Center for Visual Arts – Greenville
• oxfordamerican.org, Borne, Eliza. “Interview: Kathleen Robbins on the landscape of the Delta,” oxfordamerican.org, September 19, 2014; Oxford American Magazine, Mar, Alex. “Issue 86: Sky Burial” Oxford American, Fall 2014; Oxford American Magazine, Brenner, Wendy. “Issue 82: Telegram” Oxford American, Fall 2013; Oxford American Magazine, Giraldi, William. Issue 84 / Oxford American, Spring 2014
• Lenscratch.com, Smithson, Aline. “Your Favorite Photographs of 2013 Exhibition”; Lenscratch.com, January 1, 2014 The Southern Photographer: Blog about Fine Art Photography in the American South
• Wall, John. “Kathleen Robbins at Rebekah Jacob Gallery” southernphotography.blogspot.com, August 12, 2014
• Artist Salon Series: Kathleen Robbins (October 2013) / Columbia Museum of Art, Columbia, SC
• Visiting Artist Lecture / Workshops (April 2014) , University of Nebraska, Lincoln, NE
• Artist Lecture (August 2014) / Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art, Charleston, SC
• Gallery Talk (August 2014) / Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art, Charleston, SC
• Patron Party Artist’s Talk (May 2014) / Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art, Charleston, SC
• Panel Discussion: “Southern Photography” (March 2014) / Rebekah Jacob Gallery, Charleston, SC

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Literary Arts

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Alexis Stratton, writer

• Published prize-winning fiction chapbook “Fratricide” (Dec. 2013) (published by BLOOM)
• Awarded 2nd Prize in Blue Mesa Review Fiction Contest (and publication) for short story, “The Ambassador’s Wife” (Dec. 2013)
• Wrote and directed short film, “Crosswalk,” which received the Audience Award at the Second Act Film Festival (Oct. 2013)
• Short fiction published in A Sense of the Midlands, ellipsis… literature & art, Fall Lines: A Literary Convergence
• Proposed and led the Imagine If project at Sexual Trauma Services of the Midlands, which was a collaborative, community-driven arts and anti-violence initiative asking community members to imagine a world without violence and show us what that world might look like through various arts media and genres. The project (which consisted of free monthly arts workshops at Tapp’s Arts Center and in community groups, an art exhibition in Tapp’s Arts Center in April 2014, and a kickoff event in April 2014 featuring musicians, spoken-word artists, dancers, and others) brought together local artists, musicians, activists, and others, connecting arts and community groups in the idea of envisioning a better world.

Julia Elliott, writer

• Book: The Wilds (short story collection) out with Tin House Book, Fall, 2014
• Book: The New and Improved Romie Futch (novel), Tin House Books, forthcoming
• The Wilds     receiving positive advance buzz,     including a starred review from Publisher’s Weekly, "The     International News Magazine of Book Publishing and Bookselling"
• Published short story “The Love Machine” on Granta.com,     September, 2014
• Featured in “18 Short Story Writers on Why They Decided     to Write a Novel,” BuzzFeed Books, August 15, 2014
• Interviewed by New York Times Bestseller Jeff     Vandermeer in “Julia Elliott and Jeff Vandermeer in Conversation,” Tin House     Blog, September, 2014
• Published short story “Caveman Diet” in Tin House     61: Tribes, Fall 2014
• Published short story “Bride” in Conjunctions: 62:     Speaking Volumes, Fall 2014

Darien Cavanaugh, writer and editor

• Founding director of The Columbia Broadside Project which pairs artists and poets from Columbia and throughout SC to work together to create an original “broadside” painting/image comprised of an original work of art and an original poem. The 2014 Columbia Broadside Project exhibit featured work from 28 poets and artists and was held at the Tapp’s Arts Center in downtown Columbia from February 6th to February 28th.
• Named as the recipient of the 2014 Arts and Humanities Award for Inspiration from the Cultural Council of Richland and Lexington Counties for work on work on The Columbia Broadside Project.
• Founding co-editor of The Frank Martin Review, a print and online literary journal.
• Poems published or accepted for publication in A Sense of the Midlands (Muddy Ford Press), Blue Earth Review, Burningword, Drunk Monkeys, Found Anew (USC Press), Coe Review, The Gap-Toothed Madness, Grievances, I-70 Review, Juked, Kakalak, Main Street Rag, San Pedro River Review, See Spot Run, and Sou’wester in the past year.

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Dance

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Caroline Lewis-Jones

• Oct. 2013 Vista Unbound Zombie Bar Crawl
• Nov and Dec 2013 Unbound performed at 3 different Christmas Events downtown
• Unbound performed at the Charleston Dance Festival
• Traveled every weekend to a different part of the country to teach on the dance Convention, Adrenaline and to choreograph at various dance studios. Cities visited were Dallas, Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, Detroit, Oklahoma City, Atlanta, Charlotte, Columbia, St. Louis, New York City, Kansas City, Houston, Phoenix, San Francisco, and more
• Caroline was off from May till the end of August having her first baby

Katie Smoak

• Over the 2013-2014 season Katie retired from the Columbia City Ballet after 16 Professional seasons, and 26 consecutive years of performing with the company-from childhood through professional career.
• Katie started off as a Junior apprentice as an 11 year old, climbed the ranks through the Corps de ballet, then Soloist, and spent the last 4 years of her career as a Principal Dancer.  Never missed a Nutcracker in 26 years — Alice in Wonderland was her final performance.
• the longest standing company member (never out with an injury, never missed part of a season) of any dancer

Thaddeus Davis – Wideman/Davis Dance Co.

Information to come

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After you view our finalists profiles, head over to the Jasper 2014 Artists of the Year Ballot and cast your vote.

The winners of Jasper 2014 Artists of the Year in Dance, Literary Arts, Music, Theatre, and Visual Arts will be announced on November 21, 2014 at the release of the November/December issue of Jasper at the Jasper Artists of the Year Celebration and Fundraiser at The Big Apple in Columbia, SC with a limited supply of tickets. Ticket info coming soon.

REVIEW: SC Phil's Beloved Broadway by Rosalind Graverson

I love any excuse to get dressed up, so going to the South Carolina Philharmonic's Beloved Broadway concert sounded like the perfect way to spend my Saturday night.

This was the first of three concerts that the Philharmonic will be doing out at Harbison Theatre this season. This is a wonderful venue with intimate stadium seating, so no matter where your seat is, you still have a perfect view of every inch of the stage.

They opened with a medley of popular songs from Gypsy, The Fantisticks, and Funny Girl and proceeded to play selections from some of the most iconic shows from Broadway. I expected to be impressed just by the quality of the performance, but when they began to play "Show Me" from My Fair Lady, I knew we were in for a fun time. The arrangements suddenly had more character and personality than I remembered.  I grew up listening to this music, and hearing it played by a 45 piece orchestra brought back so many memories.

Every song that they played, I could hear the words in my head, and I'm sure more than a few people in the audience wanted to burst into song. The conductor, Morihiko Nakahara, introduced the Sound of Music section by saying something to the effect of "I'd never say this at the Koger Center, but feel free to sing along." Thank goodness the whole audience did not take him up on that because then we would've missed some of the quieter moments of the show. The cello section took the lead on "Edelweiss" and it was perfection. I just wanted to close my eyes and wrap up in a blanket by the fire and listen to them play that soothing melody all night.

Nakahara introduced the other sections and did mention that two of the composers' work  they would be playing are EGOT (Emmy, Golden Globe, Oscar, and Tony) and Pulitzer winners. Marvin Hamlisch and Richard Rodgers are the only two people to have one all five awards. "It's like winning 5 gold medals" Nakahara said.

Throughout the night we heard selections from West Side Story, Fiddler on the Roof, A Chorus Line, and the previously mentioned My Fair Lady and Sound of Music. I feel like you can't mention Broadway and not have something from The Phantom of the Opera, and they did not disappoint. I was suddenly on the edge of my seat listening so intently to every note. I would love to see this group do a full production of the Andrew Lloyd Webber classic along with some of our talented theatre and opera performers.

Towards the end of the night, Nakahara introduced the singers for the last portion of the concert. Avery Bateman performed "Don't Cry For Me Argentina" from Evita. The audience was blown away by her elegance and timbre. It was the perfect choice for the first song that we heard the lyrics to. Catherine Hunsinger sang "I Dreamed A Dream" from Les Miserables. She performed the part of the ingénue, Eponine, in the Town Theatre production last season, so it was nice to hear her perform a song she hasn't done before. I'm used to hearing Catherine sing soprano, which she does beautifully, but the low parts of this number were so mature and she blew me away.

At the closing number Nakahara, again invited everyone to join in and dance in the aisles, which was fitting for the Mamma Mia ballad, or as he said "Abba's greatest hits." Avery and Catherine were joined by Elisabeth Smith Baker and brought the evening home with 5 or 6 of the most popular Abba songs. All of these women are well known in the theatre community as Trustus company members and always provide professional performances; tonight was no exception.

If you haven't seen the South Carolina Philharmonic perform, please go to one of the many events happening this year, throughout the midlands. It'd be a shame not to witness this quality of musicianship while it's right at our fingertips. You don't have to go to Carnegie Hall to hear the classics; just go to the Koger Center or Harbison Theatre.

"Ajax in Iraq" at USC's Longstreet Theatre - a review by Kyle Petersen

 

It’s hard not to applaud Theatre South Carolina for picking Ajax in Iraq to open its 2014-2015 season. Playwright Ellen McLaughlin forges a conceptually complex narrative that intertwines Sophocles’ original Greek tragedy, a play often used as a discussion tool for military veterans and civilians both to explore the deleterious effects of wartime on an individual’s psyche, with the modern-day tale of a female soldier in Iraq who, after demonstrating a heroism similar to that of the storied tragedian’s protagonist, is raped by a superior officer and suffers from PTSD.   In the process, McLaughlin takes on the politics of our invasion and occupation of Iraq, the geopolitics of the region, the philosophical and psychological issues at the heart of all war, America’s treatment of its combat veterans, and the problem of sexual abuse in the military — all extraordinarily relevant issues for a generation of college students who have essentially spent their entire lives with our nation at war. That’s a lot of meat for this almost exclusively undergraduate cast to bite off.

Fortunately, this talented group were game for a challenge. Both Jamie Boller as AJ, the female protagonist, and Jasmine James as the goddess Athena, who narrates both storylines, shows poise and depth in their performances, with the former giving a nuanced treatment of the dramatic emotional swells her role was tasked with, and the latter providing a dynamic treatment to the lengthy monologues that are often weighed down with the heavy expositional load that the character carries. Reginald Leroy Kelly, Jr. was also a standout, with an impressive physical presence that brought Ajax’s bloodthirsty hysteria to life. The undergraduate ensemble cast as a whole dove into the play with verve, and captured the unsettling but time-honored truth that all wars are fought by children.

It’s also worth noting that the scenic design by Andy Mills was quite astute, with a gorgeously craggy set of stones with the fractured geography of Iraq outlined in chalk, and a small covered pit lowered in the center that provided an important literal and symbolic space for Ajax’s descent into madness. Director Peter Duffy’s blocking and Terrance Henderson’s choreography also made expert use of the theater-in-the-round framework, and the entire production team brought an impressive level of thought and poise to the table.

However, the play itself often felt too limited by its wide grasp. The vast majority of the story was told, rather than shown, to the audience, both by Athena as narrator and the Greek chorus of American soldiers. While on a microlevel McLaughlin’s words had power, the net effect felt too much like a rambling, lengthy, unfocused sermon. Relatively little time was actually spent on the most emotionally and thematically fraught element of the play, the details of AJ’s psychological trauma. Instead, lengthy digressions were taken to incorporate a Victorian spin on the history of the Middle East in the 20^th century and what amounted to a PSA about homeless vets. And, while the Ajax story obviously recognizes the long history of soldiers psychologically traumatized by war, I feel as if McLaughlin did a disservice to AJ’s story by pairing it so unproblematically with the Greek tragedy. After all, being raped by a superior officer is categorically and qualitatively different than failing to be properly recognized for one’s efforts, and apart from actually staging the rape, the play had relatively little to say on the subject, a pity given the enormity of the problem - women who served in the war were more likely to be raped by a fellow soldier than die in combat.

That said, the play is littered with powerful moments, among them the deft explication of how soldiers mostly end up fighting for love of one another more than any national, ideological, or moral reason, and a powerfully staged rape scene that placed the actors across the stage from one another and captured a cold, alienating sense of aloneness surrounding that act of violence that’s difficult to connote with a literal depiction. (The play also wisely closed on the lit images of soldier’s graves with the actors taking discrete bows from the edges—a sobering way to keep the focus on the issues rather than the theatrics of the performance.)

There’s no doubt that the subject matter and staging of such traumatic stories are worthwhile, and many will likely leave these performances with a heightened sense of our nation’s collective failure to grapple with the immense psychological damage our decade at arms has caused a generation of American soldiers. But I also can’t help but see the play as a bit too heavy-handed in its polemics and remiss in its elision of the extraordinary gender inequities in today’s military. These detractions limit the ability of the play to contribute to an important, underserved conversation around these issues. Despite McLaughlin’s considerable gifts, Ajax in Iraq will always feel like a bit of a failure because of that alone.

~ Kyle Petersen

Show times for Ajax in Iraq are 8pm Wednesdays through Saturdays, with additional 3pm matinees on Sunday, October 5 and Saturday, October 11.  Tickets for the production are $12 for students, $16 for USC faculty/staff, military personnel and seniors 60+, and $18 for the general public.  Tickets can be purchased by calling 803-777-2551 or by visiting the Longstreet Theatre box office, which is open Monday-Friday, 12:30pm-5:30pm, beginning Friday, September 26th.  Longstreet Theatre is located at 1300 Greene St.