The Amateurs of the Opera by Kirby Knowlton and Haley Sprankle

 

 (Palmetto Opera generously offered two guest tickets to Jasper interns who would write about their first experience at the opera. Please find the young women's article below.)

The Palmetto Opera has been working to make opera a part of Midlands and South Carolina culture since 2001. Its mission is to contribute to the community’s entertainment, education, and economy and to introduce as many people to opera as it can. The Palmetto Opera also aims to promote local talent by hiring local performers and utilizing Columbia venues. Overall, it hopes to bring opera to people who’ve never experienced it before, people like Jasper intern Haley and me (Kirby).

Last Saturday, Haley and I had the pleasure of attending the Palmetto Opera’s Great Moments in Italian Opera at Harbison Theater. The show featured a full orchestra of local Columbia musicians and a troupe of world-class traveling soloists Teatro Lirico D’Europa. Directed by Giorgio Lalov, Teatro Lirico D’Europa is composed of baritone Dobromir Momekov, soprano Stanislava Ivanova, mezzo-soprano Viara Zhelezova, and tenors Fabián Robles and Simon Kyung. The company has toured extensively around the world, performing at top international stages and musical festivals. Their latest traveling concert is Great Moments in Italian Opera, a sampler of the best-loved Italian arias with an opportunity to meet the performers afterward. The show is made up of solos, duets, and ensembles from some of the most influential operas ever written.

“Have you two ever been to the opera before?”

“No ma’am,” we both replied.

So what could two non-opera-goers such as ourselves possibly think or have to say about the opera?

Kirby: Hey, this music actually sounds familiar! No, I’ve definitely heard this before. It’s funny how much opera is a part of culture that I would have heard it before and never consciously processed it.

Haley: That girl in the orchestra was in my computer science class last semester. Wow, they sound great! I had no idea how talented she is!

Kirby: Am I supposed to be understanding these words? I mean, is this English and just different-sounding because it’s opera? Or am I listening to Italian? Does it matter? Nope. I can definitely tell what this guy’s singing about. That’s a I’ve-Got-Lady-Problems face.

Haley: Ivanova has wonderful dynamic changes for a soprano. I find most sopranos to just be loud, but she exhibits beautiful control over her voice through her breath support. Even her vocal runs are at a perfect volume, and are gorgeous at that!

Kirby: It appears that in opera, the relationship between the singer and the audience is much more tangible than in other types of live performance. Several times in Momekov’s first solo, he would pause to give the audience a moment to laugh or react. It seems as though the singers sing with more gusto when the audience gives them a reason to.

Haley: Not only does Momekov have a lovely, powerful voice that he’s able to send to all corners of the room, but his stage presence is also enviable. Through his facial expressions and body language, he was able to playfully engage the audience. He drew us into the song and destroyed the language barrier that kept the audience from understanding the piece.

Kirby: Maybe opera is the simplest, most innate incarnations of human emotion. I don’t even know the plots of these stories, but if I just sit back and listen, it almost doesn’t matter. The performers cease to make music come out of their mouths. After a certain point, it’s pure, concentrated emotion. The notes turn into elongated cries, sighs, and laughs. Even without understanding the words, I can understand the feelings.

Haley: The passion behind each singer’s performance is so breath-taking. Not only does each singer command the stage during their solos, but they also create dynamic relationships between each other in duets and group numbers. As each voice compliments the other, the singers emote and relate to each other beautifully. Through their wonderful performance and the structure of the music itself, the audience is able to fall into the story of each relationship between the singers onstage.

Kirby: Honestly, I never understood the appeal of opera until Kyung’s first solo. I tried to come to this performance with an open mind, but there was still a voice in the back of my head whining and wondering how long it would take. But during Kyung’s aria, I understood all the to-do, that going to the opera is not just a fancy, high-culture activity, but something that speaks to and enriches the deepest parts of you. At its best moments, opera transcends entertainment and becomes something you don’t seek out because you want to, but because you need to. We go around with all these ideas about how to be, but when it comes down to it, all humans want is to connect to other humans. And I’m glad the opera was one way that I was able to do that.

Haley: From beginning to end, I was truly engaged in each moment of the performance. I was skeptical at how I would be able to understand the opera and its culture of it all, but it was all too easy to fall in love with. Each and every performer displayed vocal technique that I could only dream of, and acted out pieces in a way that even the most unfamiliar audience member could comprehend. This lively, energetic evening did not display the propriety and exclusivity that I would have expected from the opera, but rather an all-inclusivity that sought to bring in people from all backgrounds to help them find an appreciation for opera. That was almost more beautiful than the performance itself.

“The only way opera is going to become a real part of culture in Columbia is when folks like you come out to support it,” Kathy Newman, the Chair of the Board of Directors for the Palmetto Opera said.

Other than what Kirby has gathered from popular culture and what I’ve (Haley) learned in my musical theatre training, the two of us had no idea what to expect when we entered Harbison Theater for the performance, but even non-opera-goers such as ourselves would recognize some of these names, such as La Traviata and La Boheme.

The general population seems to have the impression that they are disconnected from the opera, when the opera is incorporated into most aspects of pop culture without our realization of it. Whether it’s in a movie, a television series, or even a video game, opera surrounds us. Its powerful themes and iconic tunes ingratiate themselves into our everyday lives, but it’s our jobs now to recognize it.

So, what does this mean for you? Go to the opera, listen to ETV radio and NPR in hopes of catching some classical music, be aware of the score when you’re watching a movie. As for Kirby and me, you may just catch us at the next event for the Palmetto Opera.

Go to palmettoopera.org for more information on their mission, opera, and future shows.

"CMA Chamber Music on Main" First Concert of 2015

The Columbia Museum of Art presents the third concert in the 13^th season of "CMA Chamber Music on Main"on Tuesday, February 10, 2015, at 7:00 p.m., intimately set in the museum's DuBose-Poston Reception Hall. Artistic director and internationally acclaimed cellist Edward Arron hosts an evening of chamber music with a debut by a new violinist and an arrangement by popular clarinetist.

"Our first concert of 2015 brings back two Columbia favorites and 'CMA Chamber Music on Main' veterans: clarinetist Todd Palmer and pianist Gilles Vonsattel," says Arron. "And we will have another exciting Columbia debut, this time by the virtuosic and passionate young violinist Bella Hristova, whose career is rapidly on the rise. The program includes one of Beethoven's great masterpieces of the classical era, a captivating and entertaining suite by Stravinsky, a vividly colorful sonata by Debussy, and the South Carolina premiere of our very own Todd Palmer's trio arrangement of the Grand Duo Concertant by Carl Maria von Weber. This program promises to be a thriller! I look forward to seeing you in February."

Gilles Vonsattel on piano, Todd Palmer on clarinet, and Bella Hristova on violin join Arron to perform:

• Ludwig van Beethoven - Piano Trio in c minor, Opus 1, No. 3
• Igor Stravinsky - Suite from L'histoire du Soldat for Clarinet, Violin, and Piano
• Claude Debussy - Sonata for Violin and Piano
• Carl Maria von Weber - Grand 'Trio' Concertant for Clarinet, Piano, and Cello (arr. Todd Palmer)

Upcoming concerts in the 2014-2015 season are:

• Tuesday, March 10
• Tuesday, April 28

Presented by U.S. Trust. $40 / $30 for members / $5 for students. All seats are on a first-come, first-served basis.

Happy hour at 6:00 p.m. Concert begins at 7:00 p.m. Museum shop and galleries open during happy hour.

For tickets and program information, visit columbiamuseum.org

Mavis Staples Plays Harbison Theatre this Saturday, January 31st

If you pick up Greg Kot’s new biography on The Staple Singers, I’ll Take You There: Mavis Staples, The Staple Singers, and the March Up Freedom’s Highway, you’ll notice that, time and time again, he returns to waxing poetic about two things: Roebuck “Pops” Staple’s guitar tone, and Mavis Staple’s voice. And indeed, there’s something definitive about these two sounds, something that seems important if you want to understand the broad history of American music. And, really, America itself. While the group definitely had their share of hits and mainstream success, they’ve always been more important than the numbers suggested. They brought gospel into the mainstream in a way starkly different than their contemporaries, blending rural blues and Americana influences into their spiritual and topical songs with a spiritual fervor that’s never quite been equaled. Guitar player after guitar player, from Stax’s Steve Cropper (of Booker T and the MGs) to Ry Cooder, rave about the shaky tremolo guitar tone that defined the group’s early sound, while the surprise of the little girl with the deep, earth-shaking voice is one that still confounds audiences today.

Mavis started singing in her family group when she was just 11 years old, but from the start she was the star power. While Pops and her brother Pervis also took lead vocal turns, it was Mavis that had audiences enraptured. The Staple Singer’s first big hit was “Uncloudy Day,” which features the young singer starting her lead vocal in her lowest register, something that shocked audiences experiencing the group for the first time.

Pervis Staples, From I’ll Take You There:

“We’d trick ‘em. The audience would be looking for me to come up with the low part—this was for the people who had heard the record but had never seen us before. I’d come up to the mike and switch over at the last second where Cleotha was, then Mavis would step up. That messed them up, but it woke up the crowd. When you wake up the crowd in church, the spirit starts hitting ‘em. It goes through them. Even the ones who want you to think they’ve already sanctified were going at it. It’s like they couldn’t believe what they were seeing, like a little miracle or the hand of God or some s#!t like that.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmBNuNNnGHY

Their early records were very bluesy, rustic gospel numbers, but they would later spend time on labels like Stax and Warner Brothers that would seem them branch out with more elaborate, pop-friendly production and songs that could serve both religious and secular audiences. Folks like Bob Dylan and The Band were huge fans, with the latter developing their trademark vocal blend by imitating the family and the former carrying on a pseudo-courtship and friendship with Mavis that lasts to this day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCSzL5-SPHM

The other reason the group’s place in American history is so outsized, though, is that they in many ways soundtracked the Civil Rights Movement. Pops developed a close relationship with MLK and Jesse Jackson, and the Staple Singers often opened up for the leaders at Civil Rights rallies. They sang many of the traditional gospel tunes, like “We Shall Overcome,” that were repurposed for the movement, and Pops himself wrote many original tunes inspired by the movement.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lA8tX0PNgss

While the fortunes of the group waxed and waned over the course of the 1980s and 1990s, Mavis is currently in the middle of a late-career renaissance. With the help of folks like Ry Cooder and Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy, since the mid-2000s she’s returned to a sound and style reminiscent of the Staples Singer’s early days with great success. In 2015, as we celebrate the 50^th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act and the critically acclaimed Selma is in theaters, we are incredibly fortunate to be able to also go see  Mavis, arguably one of the best soul singers ever, take us to church in Harbison Theatre. -Kyle Petersen

Tickets are still available SOLD OUT at the Harbison Theatre website here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZKPOes4SwY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5RTxtzAbLk

One Columbia and the City of Columbia Install Second Public Art Sculpture

 

One Columbia for Arts and History and the City of Columbia are proud to announce the installation of a second sculpture resulting from the public art pilot program.

Commissioned with a generous donation from Agapé Senior, the piece entitled “Moments” was created by artists Shaun Dargan Cassidy and Tom Stanley. Both artists are faculty members in the College of Visual and Performing Arts at Winthrop University.

“Agapé Senior is pleased to support the City and One Columbia’s public arts initiative by funding this sculpture.  Our company works to improve the communities in which we serve through local chambers and Rotary clubs, as well as non-profit support, and now with the corporate headquarters on Main Street, this opportunity just seemed like a great fit for us.  Plus, I am a graduate of Winthrop University so having the artists from my alma mater create the piece, this project came full circle for me personally.” says Scott Middleton, Founder and CEO of Agapé Senior.

The stainless steel sculpture is composed of open box structure with an attic above and a tree root system below evoking memory and a collected lifetime of stories. These elements combine into a new sapling that grows up from these symbols of one’s life moments.

Artist Shaun Cassidy explains “’Moments’ was designed to use recognizable imagery to act as triggers to provoke associations with memory, decay, growth, the past and the future. The sculpture is intended to be both contemplative and aspirational and to provide a quiet moment of beautiful visual poetry on Main Street.” Cassidy adds, “We are grateful to One Columbia for the opportunity to create a significant permanent work in such a prestigious location in Columbia.”

“Not only is this a great addition to Main Street, it also serves to demonstrate public art’s power to transform Columbia into a true City of Creativity,” said Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin. “None of this would be possible without strong public/private partnerships with great businesses like Agape and we’re very excited about what the future holds.”

“It is a privilege to work with businesses like Agapé that have a strong dedication to making Columbia the finest city it can be,” Lee Snelgrove, Executive Director of One Columbia for Arts and History states. “This sculpture in particular reflects the values of our City in how we’re taking unique elements of our past to create new growth. Art is an important part of our identity.”

A public announcement ceremony will be held on Thursday, February 5 at 10am at the sculpture on the 1600 block of Main Street.

The installation of this sculpture would not have been possible without the joint efforts of multiple departments of the City of Columbia, the City Center Partnership, and the Greater Columbia Community Relations Council.

Artists interested in submitting their qualifications for consideration for future projects can find the call for artists on the One Columbia for Arts and History website at onecolumbiasc.com.

Drawing the Line with Eileen Blyth

 

Artist Eileen Blyth's upcoming solo art show “Drawing the Line”, does exactly as its title suggests. It drives us to decide at what point we've reached our limits, exhausted all possibilities, seen all there is to see.

With a nod to graphic arts icon Milton Glaser, the show encourages viewers to look closer, to examine the tiniest details and open their minds to new or unforeseen perspectives.

According to Glaser, no artist should stop exploring and discovering new prospects. Just because an artist has landed on something that resonates-that sells or is widely celebrated at one moment in time - does not mean that the artist is done and should be satisfied to produce within the confines of that success. “When you do something that basically is guaranteed to succeed, you're closing the possibility for discovery,” Glaser said. “The arts provide a sense of enlargement and the sense that you haven't come to the end of your understanding.”

An established painter, sculptor, and installation artist, Blyth is pushing herself to shift and mutate boundaries, to ensure that she is growing creatively. For many years, Blyth has alternated between two-dimensional paintings and three-dimensional sculptures, all falling under the abstract umbrella. Recently, she noticed that some 3-D effects were showing up in her 3-D work. "It was surprising to recognize the 3-D lines and shadows within the confines of the 2-D line and composition. There was an internal shift, a moment of playfulness that intrigued me." Blyth says. “It is not meant to be the purpose of the work; it is just the bonus. The viewer is invited to discover what he is actually seeing, a suggestion that transcends the natural world.”

With this in mind, Blyth decided to take stock, to look back at her purest origins. Last fall, she enrolled in a life drawing class. “I realized I hadn't picked up a piece of charcoal since college,” she explained. “I wondered whether I could still draw the human figure. I didn't forget how to draw, but I had to reconnect my eye and hand, my memory and reality. After a long while, an artist can forget how to actually ‘see’.”

“I was exploring the foundation and inspiration, the origin of my marks, penetrating lines that punctuate so many of my paintings. Was I saying anything relevant with the lines and shadows, or was I just repeating myself?”

Blyth’s new work reflects on the unspoken dialogue that takes place between artist and viewer. It seeks to reshape perspectives and connect with the viewer in new ways. “I want to convey something personal in every piece,” Blyth said. “I want to make authentic connections that are meditative and mindful of perpetuating circles we all naturally experience.”

There is playfulness in many of these paintings. They invite viewers to join visual puzzle pieces, to make their own discoveries within the lines.

“Drawing the Line” runs from February 13-24, 2015, at Vista Studios Gallery 80808 on Lady Street in the Congaree Vista. There will be an opening reception on Friday, February 13, 2015 from 6:00-9:00pm. For further details, visit www.vistastudios80808.com or email e@eileenblyth.com.

Art from the Ashes Book Launch and Gallery Opening on February 1st at Tapp’s - A JASPER Project

 

Over the course of four evenings in the summer of 2014, more than two dozen literary, visual, and musical artists gathered in the Jasper Magazine office with experts on the February 17^th, 1865 burning of Columbia. The artists immersed themselves in the events that took place the night of the burning as well as the days and nights leading to and immediately following it. Six months later, their inspirations have come to fruition in a multi-disciplinary series of arts events – Art from the Ashes.

Art from the Ashes: Columbia Residents Respond to the Burning of Their City is a collection of poetry, prose, and even a screenplay by some of Columbia, SC’s most dynamic writers, including Ed Madden, Tara Powell, Ray McManus, Susan Levi Wallach, Tom Poland, Al Black, Jonathan Butler, Rachel Haynie, Debra Daniel, Will Garland, Betsy Breen, and Don McCallister. Edited by Jasper Magazine’s Cynthia Boiter, it is a publication of Muddy Ford Press and the first in the press’s new series, Muddy Ford Monographs.

In concert with the book launch, Art from the Ashes: The Gallery will open on the same evening, also at Tapp’s, and will run throughout the month of February. Participating visual artists include Susan Lenz, Kirkland Smith, Christian Thee, Michael Krajewski, Jarid Lyfe Brown, Whitney LeJeune, Mary Bentz Gilkerson, Cedric Umoja, Michaela Pilar Brown, Alejandro Garcia-Lemos, and Kara Gunter.

Join us as we celebrate the book launch and gallery opening from 5 – 7 pm. Visual artists will be on hand to answer questions about their work and literary artists will be signing and reading from their writings. Musician Jack McGregor, who created a three movement musical composition in response to the burning, will premiere his work as well.

Additional events include a Visual Artists Panel Presentation on Thursday, February 5^th at 7 pm and a Reading and Book Signing on February 17^th at 7 pm, followed by a concert by Columbia-based musical artist, the Dubber.

All events take place at Tapp’s Arts Center on Main Street and are free and open to the public

Westward Bound: The New Frontier of First Thursdays and Frame of Mind by Haley Sprankle

The arts have become and continue to remain an integral part of Columbia with the plethora of local theaters, visual artists, literary artists, dance companies, and musicians present. While all of this art was here, not many were aware of it due to a lack of shared understanding across disciplines. That seemingly changed after the start of one, free event.

First Thursdays on Main Street.

“It started with the creation of the Frame of Mind Series. I had space in my retail location that I wanted to fill with art (as I approach my eyewear as a wearable form of art). I connected with local artists and started doing a monthly art series (Frame of Mind Series). This lead to me asking my neighbors to do something similar on the same night, the concept being strength in numbers. The rest is history,” says the man behind the screen of First Thursdays, Mark Plessinger.

Plessinger owns the eyewear boutique Frame of Mind where he not only sells unique eye wear, but also features local visual artists.

“There are two main influences [in starting Frame of Mind]. One is my experience in the eyewear industry. I have worked in almost all facets of the industry (from big box chain to small private doctor to eyewear boutique). I understand where the markets exist within the industry and what I needed to do to set myself apart from others,” Plessinger explains. “The other is art. My family is filled to overflowing with artists and I have inherited a very art centric viewpoint of the world and business.”

Plessinger’s business was located in the heart of Columbia, but is now making the move to West Columbia.

“We are going to continue to do art, just like we have always done. The big difference is going to be a change from an "alternative art space" to an actual gallery. We are establishing a roster of artists who will be represented in their "home" gallery (Frame of Mind). We will continue to do the Frame of Mind Series, but on a less frequent schedule. Also, since the space is bigger than our current space, we will be incorporating events from our Shamelessly Hot brand into the location,” Plessinger says.

With this move comes a transition for First Thursdays on Main Street as Plessinger no longer will spearhead the initiative.

“Everything transitions, everything has a lifespan. I created First Thursdays on Main based on a specific model. It was designed to give the growing retail and restaurant sector on Main Street a free place to highlight their businesses. We picked a consistent date, create a brand, and a PR arm and gave the street the ability to fill in with what they wanted to do. It was a very low cost, grass roots idea (and one that was successful),” Plessinger says. “However, like everything, the event has grown and changed. Thus a new model is needed for its continued growth and success. We have begun to partner with a local event producer with the idea of them creating a new model (with new ideas and goals). We believe that this will give the event and Main Street the best opportunity to grow.”

These new beginnings in our familiar territory of Columbia bring about a new leader.

“After Mark moves, the essential parts of First Thursdays will continue. Preach Jacobs will be taking over as the leader of the event series, but many of the same organizations and merchants will participate,” Lee Snelgrove, the Executive Director of One Columbia, adds. “There could be some delays or minor lulls in the transition and it will likely take some time to develop a similar momentum that it once had. But, there are already a few events planned for the night of February 5^th. So, overall I don't think there will be much trouble during the transition.”

Although Plessinger is moving on to a new frontier, his impact on Columbia has set a standard for the arts community that will not be lost.

“One of the most amazing things about the Columbia art scene is its size and depth,” Plessinger says. “If I see a difference in our community now, it is that the city is slowly beginning to recognize that depth and size." - Haley Sprankle

Review: Mark Rapp & Stephanie Wilkin's "Woven"

By: David Ligon

As the lights come up, the stage was occupied by three platforms high above the floor with a five man band occupying them. After a subtle “one, two, three” from the bandleader they began to perform a big and brassy opening number called “Celebrating Life.” It immediately transported the audience to a New Orleans dancehall with the dancers onstage, coming in and out in pairs as they did the Charleston with huge smiles on their faces. It’s no surprise that New Orleans would have an influence on how composer Mark Rapp would shape his full-length work, Woven. He had lived and worked in New Orleans for the past decade, and most of the pieces that would become Woven were apart of Rapp’s master’s thesis. He and his collaborator, choreographer Stephanie Wilkin, both share a rich and experienced history that starts in Columbia then leads on to New York City, where they each found success. Neither had met each other until Rapp caught the interest of Katie Fox, the Executive Director of the Harbison Theater at Midlands Technical College. The theater ultimately invested in this show as part of Midlands Tech’s Performance Incubator series, with Woven as its third fully-funded collaboration. Katie Fox led a “speed date,” as she refers to it, while helping Rapp search for the perfect choreographer.  When he saw Wilkins’ choreography on a DVD, he was moved, and the collaboration began.

The intention of this series is to have the show previewed and then for it to become a touring work. After its debut, Fox was thrilled to announce that the show had already received two offers from production companies to begin touring.

Requiring two months of preparation, Woven is an ambitious collaboration, a 90-minute work combining jazz music and contemporary dance. Jazz music can sometimes be intimidating and difficult to choreograph because it’s scattered melody and improvisations, which pushes some choreographers away.  But Wilkins took that challenge head on and let her strong and fabulous dancers improvise in certain ways, just as jazz musicians tend to do. Wilkins makes a great effort to blend in interesting nods to swing dance while keeping a contemporary framework. Contemporary choreography has a way of being led by raw emotion, and deals with pedestrian movement and expands on it, sometimes playing off what your partner does on stage with a set of rules. Ms. Wilkins had very interesting ideas, new lifts I hadn’t seen before, and new combinations of movement that worked well with the evening’s music. The structure of her movement is interesting, because it incorporated a lyrical contemporary style, as well as Broadway and swing. It created unique juxtapositions not often seen. The structure of the movement gives more organization to the often-scattered music that can be associated with jazz.

Wilkins is an Adjunct Professor at the University of South Carolina, and when she was looking for talent, she picked five dancers from the university: Emily Anzalone, Rhe’a Hughes, Vidal X. James, Dallas King, and Dustin Praylow. She used one professional dancer from Columbia, Anthony Hinrichs, who currently dances with UNBOUND, a local contemporary-jazz company and is also on the faculty of Southern Strutt in Irmo. The dancers were enthusiastic about being a part of this work, and they danced with great ease despite the difficulty of Wilkins’ choreography.

With just six dancers in total, which is small amount for a 90 minute full-length work, it sometimes felt like the piece hadn’t reached its full potential. In the future perhaps more dancers can be added, spreading out the responsibilities to create a broader feel and really explore the main characters more. Hopefully a bigger cast can be incorporated in the future so Ms. Wilkins can have more to work with and not tire out the dancers. The moment where this was most clear was a video break in the fifth section of the first act, “Sweet Serene.” It was obviously meant as a break for the dancers, who until that point had been dancing wonderfully in couples and as a group. The video montage felt unnecessary since the dancers would be constantly going in and out of character. The constant real life or blooper moments that were happening on screen took away from the storyline and the music didn’t seem to sync that well either.

The night was comprised of two acts with eleven pieces of music with a story revolving around a couple and the evolution of a relationship from first encounters, to breaking up, to self-loathing, and ultimately getting back together. Dallas King and Anthony Hinrichs took on these demanding roles. Ms. Wilkins not only gave them athletic, aerobic challenging choreography, but she was also able to capture the emotions needed for the storyline.

The couple that was featured in the video, King and Hinrichs, now appears onstage, and the struggle that was depicted towards the end of the video is now more visually stimulating. The expressiveness that the film tried to capture is better understood on stage. After Ms. King leaves, Mr. Hinrichs is left all alone and he began to dance passionately and expressively, using a lot contractions and pliés as he is dancing through his pain. He’d jump high and turn, a tour en l’air, and immediately jump to the floor into a push up position, crawl out from that and tour en l’air again, all while playing the angsty adolescent boy trying to find love. He shakes a lot as if he was going insane from a broken heart, and he tries to compose himself but he can’t. He collapses; giving up under one of the platforms, and the moody cool jazz score is an appropriate ending to the first part of the evening. The second act opens with Ms. King dancing to slow lyrical number, almost pensive about what had happened in the previous act.  The movement quality is so strong with Ms. King that she is quite able to express the pain her character is going through. In the end they found their way back together dancing a beautiful pas de deux of him mimicking her every move, as if to say we’ve got this together.

The most disconnected part of the evening was when the dancers would leave the stage and do not return at all as the music finished. This happened more than once and it was disappointing that the dancers never really got to give their own punctuation at the end of each movement. These moments however were to give each musician time to do their own thing and give the improvisatory nature of the music its own autonomy. These jazz solos, although quite impressive, felt vacant because the dancing suddenly stops and the stage is free from movement. It felt as if there were two shows going on or the story of the song had yet to be completed. But when the dancers were on stage the juxtaposition of these two mediums worked really well together. The jazz music gave each movement a breath of happiness when sometimes contemporary movement can feel overly emotional and pained, although it didn’t seem like this was Ms. Wilkins’ approach. This show was a success because it brought two mediums together not often seen, and did an exceptional job. People will be clapping their hands with the dancers, and stomping their feet to the amazing music presented. Hopefully the show can add a few more dancers and then this already amazing production can be polished and made even better for people all across America.

Diving a little deeper … In the Red and Brown Water at Trustus Theatre: A Preview by Rosalind Graverson

 

When Columbia starts trusting the arts programs and supporting them more, the organizations can start taking more risks and exploring. Trustus Theatre has reached a point where they can start sharing unique theatre experiences with their audiences. That's exactly what their production of In the Red and Brown Water is.

First in The Brother/Sister Plays trilogy, written by Tarell Alvin McCraney, the series blends Yoruba mythology with a modern day story set in the Louisiana projects. The trilogy is described as a choreopoem, combining poetry, movement, music, and song. The language throughout the show is beautifully lyrical, but it's not what you expect to hear from the average citizen of Louisiana.  Along with the poetry, the actors are also called to say their stage directions, reminiscent of Shakespeare's asides.

The cast features some familiar faces: Avery Bateman, Kendrick Marion, Katrina Blanding, Kevin Bush, Annette Dees Grevious, and Jabar Hankins; and some new ones as well: Bakari Lebby, LaTrell Brennan, Felicia Meyers, and Leroy Kelly.

Not only does the audience get to experience something new, but the production team and cast do as well. We asked Avery Bateman to share some of her experiences getting to know her character, Oya, and Kendrick Marion to explain some of the differences in the rehearsal process between this production and a more typical play or musical.

Avery: “Oya is a completely different character in comparison to the others I've portrayed throughout the years. She delves deep into a part of my spirit that I have not returned to in a while. She is both regal and vulnerable. Her regal persona is that of her Orisha/Goddess name. "Oya" known as "The Mother of Nine" is the orisha or storms, wind, change, magic, death and the cemetery, and the guardian between worlds. She is the bringer of death and new life (hope). Oya's orisha persona has every right to stand high and tall with pride. However, her vulnerable persona, her humane side is a type of soul that is complex and broken. Oya's broken spirit gives her a complexity that I as an actress must sit and think about every now and then so that I give her the correct amount of balance when on stage. I must say that I am extremely blessed to not have experienced all that "Oya the human" has experienced in my youth. Everything that she loves deeply is taken from her against her will. I've not had the privilege of portraying a person of this definition in all my years of theatre. I've only ever portrayed the comic-relief character or the misunderstood villian or the obliviously happy sunshine. All of them had great dimension but none of them reached into my chest and broke my heart as much as Oya. I love this character; she has helped me understand love and life in a way I don't think I would have ever understood fully if not for this show.”

Kendrick: “This production differs from your normal straight play because there are so many other elements and textures involved with this piece. The text itself reads like poetry, and McCraney challenges the actors to portray it as such, while still making it feel natural and conversational. Both the music (most of which we arranged) and the stylized movement help to tell the story in an almost ethereal way. This has been an incredibly challenging piece, but an amazing experience, and I cannot wait for Columbia to take the journey to San Pere, Louisiana with us!”

Also, in the gallery at Trustus, Ernest Lee , The Chicken Man, will have his art showing and for sale. Wednesday, February 4th at 7:30, he will have a meet and greet and give a talk, "The Life and Art of Ernest Lee, The 'Chicken Man.'"

Be sure to get your tickets for In The Red and Brown Water, opening Friday, January 23rd and running through February 7th.

Movie Review: DJ Spooky's "Rebirth of a Nation," Showing Monday, Jan. 19 at 7pm at The Nick

Watching the Birth of a Nation (1915) is a chore.

Based on the novel The Clansman by Thomas Dixon, Jr. and directed by D.W. Griffith, the film is an dramatic and epic silent film that tells the tale of two prominent families, one from the North and one from the South. Proceeding from antebellum unity, both political and between the two families, and the horrors of the Civil War in Part I, it continues into the violent, untenable Reconstruction period which ends the familial and political reconciliation thanks to the Ku Klux Klan. It’s pretty painfully racist throughout, too.

Renowned for its cinematic innovations as well as for its powerful cultural impact upon its initial release, viewers usually have to grit their teeth to get through its nearly 200 minute runtime today. The power the film had as the first major full-length picture and the thrilling cinematic storytelling innovations it introduced are mostly lost on us, unless we’re looking for them, and the rampant historical inaccuracies, downright creepy use of blackface (used most often when white female characters are also in the scene), and outrageously blunt racism are shocking and alienating to audiences used to the likes of Selma (2014) and 12 Years a Slave (2013).

This disconnect is partly why, as DJ Spooky (née Paul Miller) insists, it is so important that we see and understand the film today. While there have many spirited debates about what it’s actual box office haul was, Birth of a Nation was easily the most popular film of its time, even as it faced boycotts (mostly north of the Mason-Dixon line) from the NAACP. It was the first film screened at the White House, where President Wilson purportedly said that it was like “writing history with lightning. And my only regret is that it is all so terribly true.” It is often credited with the resurgence of the Klan in the 1920s, and was used as a recruitment tool for the white supremacist group up until the 1960s.

What’s more, Birth of a Nation serves as one of the most powerful examples of the ways moving images can play an outsized, almost coercive role in how our society understands the world around us. DJ Spooky actually says that he was inspired to make the remix by watching 24 hour news coverage of the Iraq War and Hurricane Katrina, noting the present-day way narratives of race and power are constructed by the stories told through moving images. This is his main entry point into his “remix,” Rebirth of a Nation (2007). Originally conceived and commissioned as a live performance by a number of arts festivals, including Spoleto USA, Miller’s goal was to apply the DJ turntable principles to film, cutting, splicing, and upending the film to different ends than the ones intended by its creator. More importantly, he also gave it a new, more dissonant score that fits modern sensibilities around the film much better. Eventually, these performances gave way to a full-length film, with the score performed by the Kronos Quartet in addition to Spooky himself.

Perhaps somewhat problematically, this remixed version of Birth of a Nation makes the whole experience easier to stomach. Cut almost in half to 100 minutes, a feat achieved partly through editing (much of Part I appears cut out) and partly through speeding up key sequences, the film rides its hypnotic score, which alternates between ghostly, oscillating synth lines, understated string parts, and the occasional high lonesome wail of harmonica, through its convoluted narrative with relative ease. While hardly spliced and diced to the extent that the term “remix” suggests, there are some nice use of lines and shapes as well as highlights, lens filters, and shifts in focus, which work as a kind of hip close-reading of the film as well. Those changes as well as the occasionally clunky voiceover allow audiences both a stronger and more comfortable sense of disconnect from the visceral experience of the film--as well as a means to critique and deconstruct some of the ways in which Griffith is manipulating us.

That being said, these interventions can often feel half-baked, particularly when long stretches go by with a mere lens filter shift or when scenes pregnant with meaning, like the two infamous near-rape scenes which gives the films its bizarre sexual charge, are left uncommented upon. The film shines brightest, actually, in its opening minutes when it connects the film’s politics of racism, fear, and extreme prejudice with heartbreaking news footage from the 21^st century and (somewhat bluntly) overlays DJ Spooky’s thesis via voiceover. There are also key interventions in the name of historical accuracy, like during parts of the Reconstruction section, or times when the voiceover inserts an important cultural mythos being formed, like when the “superhero” white man fights off multitudes of free black men in the barn. In a film so fraught with meaning and multiple layers of meaning, it would have nice to see more of them though.

All in all, it’s difficult not to recommend this film, particularly if you’ve never seen the source material. It retains much of what’s important (and troubling) about the original while allowing an easier, quicker, and more critically distant position that makes the entire process ever-so-slightly less painful. And it’s important to understand this film if you want to understand the country's history, present, and future. -Kyle Petersen

Rebirth of a Nation is screening at The Nickelodeon Theatre on Monday, January 19^th at 7pm. For more information or to purchase tickets go here.

Two Local Artists Put On a Carefully Crafted Night of Live Music and Dance at Harbison Theatre on Jan. 17

Join trumpeter and composer Mark Rapp and choreographer Stephanie Wilkins at the Harbison Theater for a night of the weaving of two art forms.  With live jazz music and varied styles of contemporary dance, Woven: Life in Notes and Steps “alludes to how everyone is connected in the giant web of life, like threads strung together,” says Rapp.  The show is comprised of eleven live, original musical movements alongside contemporary ballet and swing dancing.  “Each piece, each melody is choreographed while the solos are improvised by both dancers and instrumentalists—inspiring one another—creating an exciting, organic and unique artistic presentation each time.”

Rapp and Wilkins did not meet before this project, but found they had much in common during their collaboration.  Both artists are originally from South Carolina and found great success living and performing in New York after completing their MFAs in their respective arts disciplines.  The pieces now known as Woven were born in New Orleans in the 1990s as part of Rapp’s master’s thesis.  He knew he wanted to incorporate dance, but it wasn’t until he linked up with Harbison Theater at Midlands Tech’s executive director, Katie Fox.  After viewing some DVDs of local choreographers’ work, Rapp felt a connection with Wilkins’s choreography. For the first few months of rehearsal, Wilkins and her six dancers had to perform to recorded music. “The first time we worked with the musicians, it was glorious. It was amazing. It was so different. It brought the dance to life so much more,” Wilkins says. The different movements in Woven, some traditional jazz, some contemporary jazz or swing, inspired a knitting of different dance styles that changes with the music. The very nature of jazz, its aliveness and undulation, allows for the dancers to improvise at times.

Woven will be the third performance to come out of the Harbison Theater at Midlands Tech Performance Incubator. The project aims to promote sustainable local employment, especially for artists. “It reflects the college’s overall mission of connecting capable people with sustainable rewarding careers,” Fox says. “We want performing artists to live in our community.” Fox hopes that the show will travel to other stages and believes it will enrich the lives of the Midlands community. -Kirby Knowlton

Woven: Life in Notes and Steps Harbison Theatre at Midlands Technical College 7300 College St., Irmo Saturday, January 17th at 7:30 p.m. $22 harbisontheatre.org / 803-407-5011

Jesus Christ Superstar at Kershaw County Fine Arts Center

 

The Fine Arts Center of Kershaw County (FAC) is pleased to present the Camden Community Theatre’s production of the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar. The performance will run Thursday, January 29-Sunday, February 1 in the Wood Auditorium. Performances are 8:00 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, and 3:00 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for students, senior and military. There is a discount for groups of 10 or more. Jesus Christ Superstar is sponsored by TruVista.

Jesus Christ Superstar was first performed  in the 1970s with music composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, and book and lyrics by Tim Rice. It is loosely based on some of the gospels’ accounts of the last week of the life of Jesus Christ. The story begins with the preparation for Jesus and his disciples to arrive in Jerusalem and ends with his crucifixion. It highlights both the political and personal struggles between Judas of Iscariot and Jesus, struggles that are not in the Biblical accounts of the relationship.

Jesus Christ Superstar is directed by FAC Educational/Theatre Director Jami Steele with John Norris as music director. The cast includes: Josh Rowe (Jesus,) Doug Gleason (Judas Iscariot,) Scott Jordan (Peter,) Will Moreau (John the Beloved,)  Zack Gurley (Simon Zealotes,) Bill Arvay (Pontius Pilate/Andrew,) Bob Blencowe (Herod/Thaddeus,) Cortlin Collins (Mary Magdalene,) Gary Phillips (Caiaphas,) Resi Talbot (Annas,) Richard Hahn (James/Ensemble,) John Carrington (Philip/Roman Guard/Ensemble,) Harry Little (Bartholomew/Roman Guard/Ensemble,) Shannon Whalen (Matthew,) Mathew Eberhardt (Thomas,) and Chase Hastings (James, son of Zebedee/Ensemble.) The ensemble also includes Anne Grace Gaddy Brasington, Kelly Nevling, Emily Hinley-Clelland, Michelle Brickner, Katrina Brickner, Alyssa Coleman and Dorca Madrid.

“Jesus Christ Superstar is such a powerful show.  I am thrilled that we can bring it to the FAC stage,” said Kristin Cobb, FAC executive director. “I had the opportunity to be in the show here almost 25 years ago and it was one of those experiences you never forget.  I know this cast will put together another unforgettable performance that audiences will be talking about for years to come.”

For tickets or more information, please call the Fine Arts Center at 803-425-7676 or visit the FAC web site at www.fineartscenter.org. The Fine Arts Center is located at 810 Lyttleton Street in Camden. Office hours are Monday through Wednesday and Friday, 10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m. and Thursday 10:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.

Americana Duo Bennett & Coolidge Play Jasper Release Party on January 15th

By: Al Black

I met Tom Coolidge four or five years ago at Utopia playing some of his own music and accompanying other musician at the Open Mic Thursdays; later, I saw him on stage with the Plowboys. He finally agreed to play at Mind Gravy, but said he had formed a duo with Steve Bennett who had been picking around the Midlands for 40 years with different bands and currently played with a local blue grass Americana band, Blue Iguana. I ask the name of their duo and he replied just call us, Bennett and Coolidge. The Mind Gray partisans loved them.

I asked them for a bio and here is their reply:

"Steve Bennett and Tom Coolidge play folk music, sort of, or maybe they play Americana music… if anyone can really figure out what that is. They both write songs, some are funny, some are serious and some are both. But they also play other people’s songs too … some you may have heard some you may not have heard. Basically Steve and Tom play music they like, but also think other people like too, and might find entertaining. Steve plays guitar and mandolin and Tom plays guitar and harmonica… they both sing… in harmony sometimes. Both of these guys have been at this for a while having played, individually, in a number of acoustic bands over the years. They met several years ago at Bill’s Picking Parlor and found common ground in the music they were playing. The main thing is that they enjoy making music, really enjoy playing together and really, really enjoy playing for folks who like music that is not run-of-the-mill, music that        may be familiar, but you may not have heard in a while, music that other folks don’t play, but  some they do."

This Thursday, 01/15/2015, they will be playing for the Jasper Release Reception at the Historic Siebels House and Gardens, 1601 Richland St, Columbia.  Come enjoy the release of the 21st edition of South Carolina's premier arts magazine, the announcement of Jasper's 2015 Masters of Art; the announcement of the city of Columbia's new and first ever Poet Laureate by OneColumbia; the announcement of Columbia's 2015 One Book, One Columbia by Richland Library; Historic Columbia's presentation of the Burning of Columbia sesquicentennial commemoration schedule and hear some great music from Bennett & Coolidge.

Eugene Strikes Back! "Broadway Bound" at Workshop Theatre Completes Acclaimed Neil Simon Trilogy

"Being in love can be a real career killer.”

That's a classic quote from the beloved Eugene Morris Gerome, the protagonist of Broadway Bound, the final play in Neil Simon’s autobiographical trilogy, which opens this Friday, January 16 in The Market Space at 701 Whaley.   University of South Carolina professor David Britt, who directed both previous installments for Workshop Theatre, returns to finish out the series.

USC senior Ryan Stevens steps into the lead role to complete the Eugene trifecta.  “First and foremost, it’s a real honor to get to step in and be the culminating Eugene," says Stevens.  "Jared Kemmerling, who played him in Brighton Beach Memoirs, really created a very youthful, energetic portrait of Eugene as a kid.  Jay Fernandes, whom I’ve gotten the pleasure of working with personally, carried him through into young adulthood in Biloxi Blues.  They both, in their respective shows, had to show Eugene growing up and adapting to different things - to the Depression, to the War, etc.,” Stevens says.  "For me, in Broadway Bound, he’s older now - he’s starting his proper adult life. He’s got a chance here, a chance for efficacy. In the previous two plays, Eugene was really more observant, of family drama, of drama in his unit. With his career here, with the chance to become a writer, he’s getting an opportunity to actually do something for himself, for everyone to see.”

As a member of USC’s improv troupe Toast and a playwright himself, Stevens is no stranger to comedy and to the trials that a writer such as Eugene may face.

“I’m about his age, and as a senior here at USC, I’m about to be in a pretty similar career situation.  I know how he feels, absolutely!  When you’re writing, you want to believe what you’re writing in, and sometimes that carries over into a sort of syndrome where you just decide ‘This first draft? It’s flawless. Final draft. Done.’   Eugene’s brother, Stanley, in a lot of the scenes they share, is poking holes in the logic of what Eugene writes. Every critique he has is valid, but for Eugene, it’s infuriating!  Any writer, in having their work reviewed, has that feeling of ‘Dammit, I know the logic is weak and this joke didn’t land and there’s a huge plot hole there, but I’ll be DAMNED if someone who isn’t me is going to tell me!’ I like to think that I, as Ryan, have gotten better at taking critique, but Eugene still bristles a little when he has to do the dreaded thing that haunts all writers’ dreams: edit,” Stevens elaborates.

Alongside all these comedic moments there is still a serious story to be told.

Simon is “very deft at handling all the clashing moods that happen inside this little house," Stevens explains. "David Britt has been great at reminding us that all of the humor comes from the same place as the drama, because it comes from us, the characters, the people and our relationships to one another. Neither humor nor drama really occur in a vacuum -- there has to be the human element to tether it, to make it feel real (and) relatable,”

While the story may be set in a decade different to our own, audiences today can still cherish the lessons learned through the eyes of a young writer similar to Stevens himself.

“Right now, these days, there’s all this talk about how this generation is the worst generation ever, that we’re lazy and entitled, and all this nonsense, which I really think is nonsense, because we didn’t do any of this! We didn’t create the world’s problems - the generation before us did, and we’re just the ones footing the bill. But by the same token, we’ll stand a much better chance of solving our problems and closing this hostile generation gap if we quit believing it ourselves. A lot of people my age have heard it so much that they’ve started believing it themselves,” Stevens says.  "Broadway Bound is very clear in the fact that the previous generation of adults is always just as backwards and screwed up as the current one. It was true in the 1940’s, it’s true today, and it’ll be true in the future. There are always generation gaps. Broadway Bound wants the younger generation to realize that their parents are fallible, yes, and fallible because they’re people too. The age range in the play is at the point where the youngest character is 23, and therefore, nobody is a child anymore. Everyone is sort of on an equal playing field. Which is how it should be, for young and old. There’s no talking down in this play, there’s no pretension or condescension to anyone. The kids and the parents are on the same plane. Does that level of emotional honesty have some blowback? Of course. But it’s still better than acting like the people of yesterday, today, and tomorrow are too divided to communicate.”

Broadway Bound's cast includes Samantha Elkins and Lou Warth Boeschen, returning from 2013's production of Brighton Beach Memoirs, again playing Eugene's mother Kate and her sister Blanche respectively.  William Cavitt,who appeared in Britt's 2014 production of Biloxi Blues in a different role, will portray older brother Stanley, while Chris Cook, last as seen as Lear opposite Cavitt's Edgar in this past fall's SC Shakespeare Company production of King Lear, plays father Jack. David Reed, who performed with Cook and Cavitt in the 2013 High Voltage production of Dracula, rounds out the cast as grandfather Ben. Reed in a way comes full circle with this performance, having played Jack in a 1990 incarnation of Broadway Bound at Town Theatre. The original Broadway production ran for over two years, and was nominated for four Tony Awards and four Drama Desk Awards, winning two of each, and was a 1987 Pulitzer finalist. The original cast included Jonathan Silverman, and Jason Alexander (who went on to star in The Single Guy and Seinfeld respectively) as Eugene and Stanley, with Linda Lavin (a Golden Globe winner for the long-running tv series Alice) as Kate.

Workshop Theatre's new production of Neil Simon's Broadway Bound will run January 16-25 at The Market Space at 701 Whaley. Tickets can be purchased through the Box Office at (803) 799-6551, or online at www.workshoptheatre.com .

~ Haley Sprankle

BREAKING NEWS -- Ed Madden is Named City of Columbia's First Ever Poet Laureate

As one of only a few southern cities to create the position, One Columbia for Arts and History and the City of Columbia are proud to announce the selection of poet Dr. Ed Madden as Columbia’s first Poet Laureate. Madden will serve a four-year term that begins January 2015.

Madden is the founding literary arts editor of Jasper Magazine.

Recognized by Mayor Benjamin and the members of City Council in a resolution passed on October 21, 2014, the honorary position of Poet Laureate will “encourage appreciation and create opportunities for dissemination of poetry in Columbia, promote the appreciation and knowledge of poetry among the youth, and act as a spokesperson for the growing number of poets and writers in Columbia.”

“Dr. Madden is not only a world class talent and scholar but also a leader who, through his actions as well as his words, exemplifies the very best of who we are and who we hope to be,” said Columbia Mayor Steve Benjamin. “We’re honored to have him serve as our city’s first Poet Laureate and confident that he will exceed our highest expectations.”

"Ed has led poetry summer camps for a number of year and has some good ideas of how to involve kids and families into the activities he'll conduct as poet laureate,” states Councilman Moe Baddourah, the chair of City Council’s Arts and Historic Preservation Committee. "I believe he's the right person to take on this job."

Dr. Ed Madden, Associate Professor of English and the Director of Women’s and Gender Studies Program at the University of South Carolina, holds a PhD in Literature from the University of Texas at Austin. Originally from Newport, Arkansas, he has lived in Columbia since 1994. He has published three books of poetry and is currently working on a fourth entitled Ark, to be published in 2016. He is the recipient of the inaugural Carrie McCray Nickens Fellowship in poetry from the SC Academy of Authors as well as a fellowship for prose writing from the SC Arts Commission.

His first scheduled readings as City Poet Laureate will be part of the State of the City Address on January 20, 2015 as well as for the commemoration events for the 150th anniversary of the burning of Columbia on February 17, 2015.

“I am excited to have been chosen for this position, and really honored to be the first poet selected,” said Madden.  “Columbia is a city so rich in writers, I’m also very humbled.” He is looking forward to using this position to promote poetry and the literary arts in the area.  “I want to be a champion for poetry, language, and the arts, and I want to use poetry to document the life and culture of the city.”

Dr. Madden is excited about the possibilities of community work and hopes to work with local schools, libraries, and writing groups. He particularly hopes to develop forums for youth and student voices, and he’s planning a project on walls and windows that would highlight the work of community writers in public spaces.

One Columbia will provide financial support for the Poet Laureate to conduct activities that support the organization’s mission to promote and strengthen the arts in Columbia.

“It’s a privilege to be able work with Ed,” Lee Snelgrove, Executive Director of One Columbia for Arts and History states. “He has the skills and ambition to craft the position of poet laureate into something very special that will bring even more recognition to the City for it’s deep pool of artistic talent and strong support for the arts.”

Dr. Madden was selected to serve in this role by a selection committee representing the literary community, city government and academia. The members of this committee were: Nikky Finney, winner of the 2011 National Book Award for poetry; Tony Tallent, Director of Literacy and Learning at the Richland Library and Board Chair of One Columbia; Councilman Moe Baddourah; Michael Wukela representing the office of Mayor Benjamin; Jonathan Haupt, Director of the University of South Carolina Press and One Columbia board member; Sara June Goldstein, Senior Coordinator for Statewide Partnerships with the SC Arts Commission; Cynthia Boiter, co-founder of Muddy Ford Press and editor of Jasper Magazine; and Alejandro García-Lemos, a Columbia artist and founder of Palmetto Luna.

"The choice of Ed Madden, as Columbia's first poet laureate, is a lovely luminous moment for our city and state,” says Nikky Finney. “Poetry has the grace and power to both inspire and guide. The city of Columbia and the state of South Carolina need more poetry in its heart and soul. Ed is absolutely the one to help direct it there and there.”

An official presentation will take place on January 15, 2015 between 6-8pm at the Seibels House (1601 Richland Street). The event will also feature the official launch of Columbia’s One Book, One Community 2015 selection of On Agate Hill by Lee Smith and will be hosted by Jasper Magazine, who will be celebrating the release of their January issue and Historic Columbia who will feature the series of events commemorating the 150th anniversary of the burning of Columbia. The event is open to the public.

Plowboys Listening Party for "Gravity & Willpower" at The Whig on January 7

The phrase "ragged but right" has been used countless times to describe any number of bands with more heart and spirit than skill and discipline.

But rarely has a group taken it  as much as an article of faith as Tom Hall & the Plowboys.

Although they are hardly a band lacking chops or extensive musical training, with more than six records and countless live shows under their belts, the band has worked its way through folk operas and film soundtracks, long digressions into blues, zydeco, and alt-country, and rarely have they sounded like anything has gone entirely according to plan.

Which is exactly how they like it.

Gravity & Willpower, which is album number six for this rotating cast of characters, is in many ways a distillation of so many of the precepts that Hall has led the group with. Featuring longtime members like Andrew Hoose (drum), Bill Stevens (bass), Phil Hurd (fiddle) and David Lee Michelson (guitar) alongside some members who have fallen in along the way like Chris Lawther (banjo), Bert Cutts (trumpet), and guest instrumentalist Adam Cullum (accordion and piano), the ramshackle outfit cut a dozen songs over four hours, with minimal rehearsal and forethought. The result, predictably, can be a little rough and gritty, but these are songs that lean heavily on the timeless tropes of old-timey music, with ambling and meandering solos that feel entirely of the moment -- largely because they were created and conceived that way. And while Hall may not be a perfect singer by any stretch, his grizzled baritone and spirited delivery are indomitable, driven by, as the title suggests, "gravity and willpower" more than anything else.

While the Plowboys may not be for everyone, it's hard to totally reject the obvious and infectious joy these musicians bring to their restless and ramshackle jams, and a party can never be far away when these guys are playing. What's more, over the last 14 years as a band, they've come to represent something about the wild, wacky, heartfelt, and joyous vibe of Columbia in a way I can never quite explain.

The listening party for the album is this Wednesday, January 7th, at the Whig. Come and listen, and join these fellow ne'er-do-wells for a drink. -Kyle Petersen

Steven Chapp and Diane Kilgore Condon at if ART Gallery

NOW ON VIEW @ if ART Gallery

STEVEN CHAPP: Running With Crows

&

DIANE KILGORE CONDON: Holding The Songbird

Through January 10, 2015

if ART Gallery presents two simultaneous December-January solo exhibitions of paintings and prints by two Upstate South Carolina artists, Easley’s Steven Chapp and Greenville’s Diane Kilgore Condon. Both exhibitions, Running With Crows and Holding The Songbird respectively, opened last week and will run through January 10, 2014.

Steven Chapp, owner of Black Dog Press, will conduct a drypoint workshop at if ART on Saturday, January 10, 2015, 10:00 am ­– 4:00 pm. During the workshop, participants will create their own drypoint plates, which will be printed by Chapp at the end of the workshop. Enrollment will be limited to 10 participants; cost is $65 per participant. Those interested should contact the gallery to enroll.

Both artists typically include a lot of animal imagery. Chapp has a go-to-bird, the crow, which features in many of his monotypes, drypoints, linocuts, woodcuts and other prints as a metaphor for humans. Kilgore Condon creates in her oil paintings fantastical but technically often possible scenes featuring birds of many kinds, bees, deer, hare, geese, dogs and other animals.

            Chapp (B. 1952) is a native of Kansas City, Mo. For three decades, he has been a steady presence on the South Carolina art scene, especially in the Upstate. Best known as a expert printmaker, Chapp has shown in galleries, art centers and museums throughout the region, including the Greenville County (S.C.) Museum of Art, the Burroughs and Chapin Museum in Myrtle Beach, S.C., the Spartanburg (S.C.) Art Museum and the Pickens County (S.C.) Museum of Art and History. He worked on two projects with artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude, in Kansas City in 1978 and Key Biscayne, Fla., in 1983. In 2011 and 2014, Chapp organized Shifting Plates I and II, traveling exhibitions of works by South Carolina printmakers. Chapp has retired as a teacher for the Greenville County School District. He holds an MFA in printmaking and drawing from Clemson University and a BFA from Appalachian State University.

Kilgore Condon (b. 1964) is the owner of ArtBomb Studios. ArtBomb, established in 2001, launched what is now Greenville’s most important arts district, the Pendleton Street Art District. The Wassau, Wis., native was raised in the East and Midwest and in 1983 moved from Florida to Greenville to attend Bob Jones University. There she studied with Carl Blair and in 1988 received a BA in Fine Arts. Kilgore Condon is among the South Carolina Upstate’s most prolific and respected painters.

Drypoint Workshop Steven Chapp:

Sat., Jan. 10, 2015, 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.

Gallery Hours: Weekdays, 11 a.m. – 7 p.m.; Saturdays, 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.;

& by appointment

For more information, contact Wim Roefs at if ART:

(803) 238-2351 – wroefs@sc.rr.com

if ART Gallery

1223 Lincoln St.

Columbia, SC 29201

"Jack Frost" - Melissa Swick Ellington reviews the world premiere of the new show at Columbia Children's Theatre

Columbia Children’s Theatre presents Jack Frost, a world premiere musical with book and lyrics by Crystal Aldamuy and music by Paul Lindley II, through Sunday, December 14. Here in Columbia, SC, we have plenty of reasons to be grateful for the presence of CCT in our community, such as high quality children’s theatre performed by professional actors, educational outreach programs, and theatre training and performance opportunities for youth. Yet another reason to cherish CCT emerges with the production of Jack Frost, which further establishes the theatre’s commitment to the development of new works. Past original productions have included adaptations of Puss and Boots, The Snow Queen, A Christmas Carol, and a number of commedia dell’arte shows. Any artist who has collaborated on the production of new work for the theatre can tell you that such endeavors require a special level of dedication, hard work, and ingenuity.  We are fortunate to have a children’s theatre in Columbia that persists in the development and presentation of new plays and musicals right here in our own community.  Audiences will be delighted by the enchanting and upbeat experience of Jack Frost.

Director Jerry Stevenson delivers an entertaining production of this clever new musical by Aldamuy and Lindley.  Creative characters, inventive humor, and enjoyable music delighted the audience at the matinee I attended with my husband and two young children. The story explores the family life of the title character, focusing on parent-child conflict over tradition and responsibilities. While Isis and Ike Frost expect their son Jack to become part of the family business, Jack would rather cause mischief and go on adventures than toil away producing individual snowflakes or painting leaves. The warm Kringle family poses a worthy counterpoint to the icy Frost folks. When Crystal, the Kringle daughter, switches places with Jack, both families have a lot to learn.

Not only have Aldamuy and Lindley created the material for their first original musical, they are also involved in this production. Aldamuy has devised crisp choreography for numbers such as “Reindeer Tango” as well as providing stage management expertise. As Jack Frost, Lindley captivates the audience with his agile antics and impressive singing voice, evident in “Jack’s Ballad” among other strong musical numbers. Julian Deleon provides a comforting paternal presence as Chris Kringle, thus achieving another successful foray on the CCT stage. Rachel Arling (Christine Kringle, and - full disclosure - a contributor to Jasper), Carol Beis (Isis Frost), and Charley Krawczyk (Ike Frost) energize their scenes with appealing performances, while Kaitlyn Fuller portrays Crystal with vivacity and charm. Anthony Harvey plays the dual roles of Old Man Winter and Elf; his impish Elf becomes the show’s comedic engine. My preschool son’s belly laughs testified to Harvey’s hilarious and skillful portrayal, not to mention the kid’s desire to imitate some of the Elf’s inventive shenanigans. (At certain performances, Toni V. Moore plays Isis Frost, Jerryanna Williams plays Crystal Kringle, and Lee O. Smith plays Chris Kringle.)

Costume design (Donna Harvey and Stevenson), scenic artistry (Jim Litzinger, Stevenson, D. Harvey and A. Harvey), and sound design (Lindley) maintain the high standards of artistic quality that distinguish CCT performances. Distinctive color palettes work effectively to differentiate the worlds of Frost and Kringle, especially through the superb costuming choices. Matt Wright (Sound Technician) and Brandi Smith (Light Board Operator) also provide valuable technical support.

It is a credit to the community’s enthusiasm for CCT that a brand new and unknown work can draw a packed house similar to audiences that attend more familiar plays. My first grade daughter is always eager to go whenever I suggest a trip to CCT. Show title, genre, characters?  No concerns of hers; she is just elated at the prospect of another show. You see, my daughter – like so many of us in Columbia – trusts that whatever production she sees at CCT, she will have a great experience. Thank goodness for the extraordinary talents at Columbia Children’s Theatre for their vision and artistry. We can’t wait to see what they dream up next.

~ Melissa Swick Ellington

The world premiere of Jack Frost continues through this Sunday, Dec. 14, with morning, matinee, and evening performances.  For ticket information, call (803) 691-4548 or visit http://www.columbiachildrenstheatre.com/jack-frost/.  And don't forget - there's also Late Night (i.e. 8 PM rather than 7 PM) Date Night for Mom and Dad on Friday, December 12, and when the kids are away, the actors will play!  The cast performs the same script, but loosen up and bring out double (and triple) entendres for a riotous evening of PG-13-ish fun.  This is an unpredictable evening of fun and surprises that is pretty much guaranteed to make you say, "I can't believe they got away with that in a Children's Theatre!" Recommended for ages 17 and up.  And while 8:00 may be late for Children's Theatre folk, it's still early enough (since the show only runs one hour) that you can head out into the night for more fun, in a great mood, after having laughed yourself silly!  For more info or tickets, visit http://www.columbiachildrenstheatre.com/event/late-night-jack-frost/

Get Osamu Kobayashi While You Can - Thursday night at 80808

 

The process of painting is a power struggle. I take my paintings one way; they want to go somewhere else. And when they go somewhere else; I drag them in another direction. In the end, the paintings usually wins.

My work is reductive in form, often compositionally centered, and employs a spontaneous and intuitive array of colors, shapes, and textures. Using these elements I create visual dualities: chance vs. control, organic vs. geometric, warm vs. cool, large vs. small, etc.

Like a good story, the elements that comprise each work push and pull off of each other, creating a unified structure that stays contained--but never becomes subdued--within its own parameters.

The aim is to create work with a sensation similar to that of a clear thought: the idea has its bases covered; there’s no room for argument. In reality, however, these paintings can never be clear thoughts; they are much more open than that. They are more of a confrontation: between what I desire to know and what I can never know entirely. -- Osamu Kobayashi

If you read the most recent issue of Jasper you know how proud we are of our native son Osamu Kobayashi whose visual arts career has already lifted off the launch pad, sparks flying, smoke roiling, and is making that last almost slo-mo ascent into space. Right now, we can shade our eyes against the brightness, but soon he'll be another one of those star-like satellites in the sky that we can identify by its placement and history, but no longer actually touch. (Unless we sneak in a visit with him when he comes home to see Shige and the rest of his family on one of those rare, super-artist holidays.)

Watch this video by Brian Harmon starring Columbia Museum of Art chief curator Will South as well as Osamu's very proud brother Shigeharu Kobayashi to learn more about Osamu's upcoming exhibit this Thursday, December 12th at Vista Studios Gallery 80808 at 808 Lady Street.

Don't miss a chance to meet and chat with Osamu while he's in Columbia.

See you Thursday night at this free Columbia arts event.

Read more about Osamu here.

Holiday Shows A-Plenty Across Midlands Stages

There's no shortage of seasonal favorites to be found around town.  The winter holidays are all about tradition; as days grow shorter, darker, and colder, we're comforted by what is familiar.  Local theatres are no exception, offering revivals of yuletide favorites, as well as productions of classics from the screen and stage.  Here are just a few!

The Waltons was a huge hit on television, but in Earl Hamner's novels and on the big screen, they were the Spencers, and Hamner adapted his memories of growing up in rural Virginia into a stage play as well.  Narrated by Clay-Boy Spencer, The Homecoming recalls a pivotal Christmas, a missing father, and lean times during the Depression. Lexington's Village Square Theatre returns with this favorite from a few seasons ago for one weekend only, December 4-7. MonaLisa Botts directs; for information, call 803-359-1436, or visit http://www.villagesquaretheatre.com.

Similar small town warmth and values, filtered through a quirkier Southern Gothic perspective, earned Pamela Parker a Pulitzer nomination for her play Second Samuel.  West Columbia's On Stage Productions is reviving their successful production from earlier this year.  The Jasper review of that production said "like Steel Magnolias, the local ladies gather to chat at the beauty parlor, while the men convene at 'Frisky’s Bait and Brew,' the kind of place where you can get a Nehi and a Moon Pie as easily as a cold beer or a shot of whiskey...(The play) can be enjoyed at face value as a variation on Mayberry or Vicky Lawrence’s Momma’s Family, or taken at a much deeper level."

Most of director Robert Harrelson's cast return, including Debra Leopard, MJ Maurer, Courtney Long, Anne Merritt Snider, Courtney Long, Sam Edelson, and Antoine T. Marion.  Run dates are December 4-13; for information, call 407-319-2596, or visit http://www.onstagesc.com/.  There will also be a special staged reading of the sequel, A Very Second Samuel Christmas  on Saturday, December 6, with the playwright in attendance - your chance to give feedback on a new  work in progress!

Town Theatre is also bringing back a popular hit, the stage adaptation by David Ives and Paul Blake of Irving Berlin's White Christmas. Based on the 1954 film, this musical, nominated for multiple Tony and Drama Desk Awards, is directed and choreographed by Shannon Willis Scruggs, with musical direction by Sharon McElveen Altman.  Frank Thompson and Scott Vaughan play Army buddies who stage a show at a quaint Vermont inn, encountering show biz shenanigans and romantic entanglements with Abigail Ludwig and Celeste Mills along the way.   Joining them are Bill DeWitt, Kathy Hartzog, Parker Byun, Andy Nyland, and Bob Blencowe;  the show continues this week, closing with a matinee on Sunday, December 7, and you can find a review at Onstage Columbia.

Two other special performances are also scheduled for holiday fun. First,  Jamie Carr Harrington directs  Disney’s Sleeping Beauty - Kids, the culmination of her Fall Youth Program.  This timeless classic will magic its way into your heart this holiday season. There will be music and dancing, as well as magic spells and evil curses.  Maleficent crashes little Aurora’s Christening party, and places a curse on the baby simply because she was not invited. A urora is whisked away to the woods where she lives for 16 years.  Once upon a dream she meets a handsome stranger, who ends up being the prince who will break the spell with true love’s kiss. Come see Town Theatre’s Youth Program bring a little magic now to the stage, with ayoung beauty who pricks her finger on a spindle and falls asleep due to a curse. There will be fun bumbling fairies, happy woodland creatures, and fantastical goons. (Gotta love fantastical goons! ~ ed.) The show runs Dec. 12-14, with multiple matinee and evening performances.

Also, Jasper Theatre Artist of the Year Finalist Frank Thompson directs A Christmas Carol Columbia - a new version of the Dickens novella, presented live on stage as a radio play, and written by James Kirk. (The author, not the captain.) This special performance will be presented just one, at 3 PM on Sunday, Dec. 21st.  For ticket information on all three productions, call 803-799-2510, or visit www.towntheatre.com.

The St. Paul’s Players are presenting  The Fourth Wise Man, a musical adaptation of the short story “The Other Wise Man” by Henry Van Dyke (1852-1933), an author, educator, and clergyman who is credited with writing the lyrics for “Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee.”  The Fourth Wise Man is the story of Artaban, portrayed by Jim Jarvis.  Other cast members are John Arnold, Brenda Byrd, Olin Jenkins, Randy Nolff, Mark Wade, and Valerie Ward.  Artaban, one of the Magi who has studied the stars, endeavors to journey with Caspar, Melchoir, and Balthazar to pay tribute to the Christ Child. He carries three gifts, a sapphire, a ruby, and a pearl; however, during his travels he faces tests and challenges. What happens when he finally has the chance to meet Jesus face-to-face?

The St. Paul’s Players' production of The Fourth Wise Man will be presented in the Good Shepherd Theatre at St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church, on the corner of Bull and Blanding Streets in downtown Columbia.  A dinner theatre performance will be held on Friday, December 5 at 6 p.m.  The cost is $10.00 per person, with advance reservations required. Call (803) 779-0030 to make reservations.  Two more performances will be held on Saturday, December 6 at 3 p.m. andat  7 p.m. There is no cost for the Saturday performances and no required reservations. For more information, contact John W. Henry, Producer, at 803-917-1002, or Paula Benson, Director, at 803-206-4965.

Trustus Theatre found great success last year with Patrick Barlow's post-modern adaptation of A Christmas Carol, which remained faithful to the original Dickens material, while incorporating technical wizardry, live music enhanced with synthesizer effects, and sexy, steampunk-influenced costumes for the Ghosts.  You can read the Jasper review of that production here,  but there have been a few changes for this year's iteration, with Kendrick Marion joining Director Chad Henderson and last year's cast, including Catherine Hunsinger, Avery Bateman, Scott Herr,  and Stann Gwynn as Scrooge. The show runs through December 20 on the Thigpen Main Stage.

Trustus also has a couple of special events scheduled this month. First,  late nights are back with The Ladies of Lady Street Late Night Cabaret, featuring the best in female impersonation. Join a highly entertaining quartet of both local and guest performers on Friday December 12^th at 11:00pm.  The hour-long show features an entertaining mix of female impersonation, celebrity illusions, showgirl costumes, comedy, glamour and live singing. Vista Queen Emeritus Patti O’Furniture leads a cast that features Dorae Saunders (as seen on “America’s Got Talent” and former Miss US of A at Large),  the live singing talents of Denise Russell, and Veronica La Blank (Columbia’s Wild Card of Drag.) This is the second offering of a series of four shows during Trustus’ 30^th season. The show takes place on the Thigpen Mainstage;    tickets are $20 each and can be purchased online at www.trustus.org or at the door.  Doors open at 10:45pm after the evening performance of A Christmas Carol. The show is at 11:00pm. The Trustus bar will open at 10:45pm and will remain open during the show. Or, make a night of it, and check out the Trustus production of A Christmas Carol that same night at 8pm. Tickets for that show are also available online.

Then get ready for Jingle Bell Jazz, featuring the Mark Rapp Quartet and special guests on  December 17^th.  Celebrated jazz trumpeter Mark Rapp and his quartet present a grooving, swinging, funky fun Christmas concert that will leave you toasty, warm and happy for the holidays. Rapp has prepared unique jazz arrangements of such Christmas classics as: Angels We Have Heard on High, Jolly Old St. Nicholas, O Come All Ye Faithful, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer to Wham!’s Last Christmas.Rapp has performed with such distinct artists from Branford Marsalis to Hootie and the Blowfish, released 5 diverse recordings, and is featured leading and playing the closing track of Disney’s "Everybody Wants to be a Cat" CD which also features such artists as Dave Brubeck and Esperanza Spalding. Mark is a featured artist in Mellen Press' "How Jazz Trumpeters Understand Their Music" among a prestigious list including Terence Blanchard, Lew Soloff, Freddie Hubbard, Tim Hagans, Dave Douglas and more. Mark has performed in jazz festivals around the world from the Fillmore Jazz Festival, New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, Newport Jazz Festival, WC Handy Festival, to Jazz Festivals in Switzerland, Croatia and Brazil.  The concert performance will begin at 9pm. Tickets are $20 and may be purchased from www.trustus.org.  For more information or reservations call the box office Tuesdays through Saturdays 1-6 pm at 803-254-9732 .

 Theatre Rowe is presenting  Murder Under the Mistletoe at both its Columbia and Lexington locations: Scheduled dates are:

Lexington: December 4-7, 11-14, 18-21

Columbia: December 6, 7, 11, 12, 18, 19, 21

For information, call 803-200-2012, or visit http://scdinnertheatre.com.

Shakespeare's Kidz, the youth program of the South Carolina Shakespeare Company, presents MidWinter's Eve: A Shakespeare's Kidz Tale on December 11th, at 6:00 pm at the Richland Country Library - and it's free!  Written and directed by London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art graduate Katie Mixon, the show is a fun, family friendly, heart-warming inside look at Christmas in Elizabethan England. It's the night before Christmas, when William Shakespeare pops off for some holiday cheer with the wife for the evening. The Shakespeare brood is on their own! Young twins Judith and Hamnet dance, and duel with swords, while Susanna dreams of romance. Friends Emilia, Malvolio, Rosencrantz, and Guildenstern join the party, with a search for the Yule Log, and visits from The Lord of Misrule!   Will the Shakespeare kids and their friends survive the night, or will chaos trump all?

Featured in the cast of young performers are Elin Johnson, Joss Kim, Maize Cook, Walt Cook, Napoleon Rodriguez, Guillermo Rodriguez Oliveira, and Lindsay Knowlton.  The perforance is approximately 30 minutes;  you're encouraged to arrive at few minutes early to make your way downstairs and claim a good seat!  For more information, visit   http://www.shakespearesc.org/kidz.html.

Columbia Children's Theatre presents Jack Frost, the world premiere of a new musical for children, with music by Paul Lindley II, and book and lyrics by Crystal Aldamuy. Run dates are December 5-14.

Something’s up with the weather.  The leaves are turning non-existent colors, unexpected snows are blanketing the orange groves and farmers are getting frost bite in the summer.  What is going on?  Is it global warming?  No, it’s Jack Frost being “creative” again. When Jack’s rebellion and yearning for self-expression start landing him in hot water, his parents The Snow Queen and The Frost King, decide that a little time spent with the industrious and practical Kringle family would teach the head-strong lad a lesson. So, in a move straight out of Trading Spaces, Jack and Crystal Kringle trade lives and suffice it to say cleaning up after reindeer is not exactly Jack’s cup of iced tea.  With a book and lyrics by Crystal-Alisa Aldamuy and music by Paul Gilbert Lindley II this wintry world premiere musical is just the thing to warm your heart!

Show Times:

Friday, December 5: 7:00 p.m. - World Premiere Performance Saturday, 6: 10:30 a..m. Breakfast with Santa Package Saturday, December 6: 2:00 p.m., 7:00 p.m. Sunday, December 7: 3:00 p.m.Saturday, December 13: 10:30 a..m. & 2:00 p.m., 7:00 p.m. Sunday, December 14: 3:00 p.m.

PLUS: a special Late Night Date Night for mom and dad - adults-only performance on December 12 at 8:00 p.m.  For more information, call (803) 691-4548 or visit http://www.columbiachildrenstheatre.com/jack-frost/ .

By our count, that's at least thirteen special treats for the holiday, including live jazz, live drag,  a live radio play, and multiple for children, as well as featuring children.  Something for everyone!

~ August Krickel