Poems Flow with Your Cup of Morning Joe via River Poems from One Columbia and the office of the Poet Laureate

 

Local poets come together to create coffee sleeve poems about the historic flood and rivers of Columbia for national poetry month this April.

In conjunction with One Columbia for Arts and History, Ed Madden, the city of Columbia’s poet laureate, has created a project titled River Poems. This project will focus on bringing poetry to the people of Columbia during the entire month of April. Since 1996, April has been national poetry month, and one of the tasks of the poet laureate is to promote the literary arts. “As a project for the poet laureate, last year and this year both, we put poems on the buses. We had already decided the theme this year would be the river, because it is the theme for Indie Grits, but I think the flood added additional urgency to the theme,” says Madden.

Along with the bus project, the second project this year was to put the poems on coffee sleeves. “We’ve been trying to think of ways to promote poetry in unexpected places, so coffee sleeves felt like a really obvious place to put poetry,” says Madden. “You can drink your morning cup and read beautiful literature.”

Seven local writers came together for this wonderful opportunity to spread literature around the city. The writers include, Jennifer Bartell, Betsy Breen. Jonathan Butler, Bugsy Calhoun, Monifa Lemons Jackson, Len Lawson, Ray McManus, and Madden himself. After sending out a limited call to those artists to create a piece of poetry eight lines or fewer, each poem was then stamped on thousands of coffee sleeves that will be distributed at independent coffee shops around Columbia. Including both Drip locations, and the Wired Goat.

“I think the idea of the coffee sleeves is so smart. Columbia has a healthy relationship with the arts, especially the performing arts. But the city gives a lot of love to the fine arts, the design arts, and the literary arts that has thrived here for quite some time.  You’d expect that from a capital city to a certain extent. But what is unique in Columbia is that the art scene is so diverse, and there is a growing respect for that diversity. The literary scene is no exception. There is a little something for everyone here. I hope that resonates,” says Ray McManus, poet and author of the poem Mud.

Each of the eight poems centers around the idea of the river that runs through Columbia. This idea ties in with the theme of this year’s Indie Grits Festival, which is Waterlines as well as The Jasper Project’s multi-disciplinary project Marked by the Water, which will commemorate the first anniversary of the floods in October. There are also a few featured poems that represent the voices of people effected by the historic flood which ran through the city last October. Overall, each poems creates a sense of what the rivers mean to each poet, and how in many ways people are still mending together the pieces almost six months later.

When writing her poem titled What Stays, Betsy Breen was thinking back to a particular image she recollects from the flood. “I was thinking about the flood in October, and all the debris that washed up during that time. I have a particular image in my mind of a part of Gills Creek that I pass every morning on the way to work. The week after the rain stopped, it was filled with both keepsakes and trash. I was thinking of that when I wrote this poem,” says Breen.

It was almost opposite for McManus, who says most of his inspiration almost always comes from books and projects. “I love exploring directions that I didn’t otherwise intend. I’ve always been drawn to rivers; the way they perform; the way they’re always moving. And we depend on them more than we realize, especially in the most basic of functions. We grow from rivers, from the mud of rivers. At some point they become a part of who we are,” says McManus.

National poetry month begins on April 1. Columbia is sure to be celebrating all month with something to read as people drink their coffee and travel to work. “We are always looking for more ways to promote the arts, and I believe this year that includes a pretty unique project,” says Madden.

Don’t forget to pick up your cup of morning joe this month to feel the inspiration of poetry. Breen reminds us that “National Poetry month is much larger than this poem or project, of course, and I do hope people pay attention to all the different kinds of poetry around them.”

-- Alivia Seely

More From Tess DeMint: Ed Madden Compares Notes with Former Vista Queen Participant Jason Watkins (Tess Tickles)

This is the fifth in a series of blogs written by Tess DeMint (aka Professor Ed Madden), a contestant in the 18th annual Vista Queen Pageant, a fundraiser for our beloved Trustus Theatre.

Please support Tess by visiting Trustus Theatre. Each vote costs $10 and all money goes to Trustus Theatre.

You can also donate to Trustus (and support Tess!) at Tess’s donation site:  https://www.gofundme.com/fxudjbhs

“Just have fun,” he said.

Last week Bert and I had dinner with Jason and Katy Watkins–Jason is also known as Tess Tickles, the 2014 Vista Queen. I wanted to know what the experience of Vista Queen was like for someone who had been through it, what advice he might have for me, drag novice and VQ newcomer.

When we walked in the restaurant—one of their favorites—the wait staff welcomed Jason by name, circling around us almost like courtiers for royalty. Jason made his way between tables, shaking hands with other regulars. We got a special corner table—one apparently usually reserved for another regular patron and his wife. It was made available to us. The waiter already knew what Jason wanted.

In another corner, I saw Jim and Kay Thigpen. A good sign. This was the place to be.

Katy is an old friend (we tied for “most liberal” when we went through Leadership Columbia together, ages ago), so there was some catching up, new jobs and old acquaintances. But then we quickly got down to business. I asked about costumes, about practicing in heels. I asked about talent.

Jason didn’t have a fitting with a costumer, he said. No fake hips. Katy laughed, “He’s a perfect size 6.”  Both of them talked about particularly beautiful queens, particularly memorable acts, particularly drunken contestants.  She said Tess/Jason was hilarious, though she occasionally wanted to crawl under her seat.

Jason wrote a song for his talent. He pulled out his phone at the table, read me the lyrics.  That year, the sixteenth contest, the theme was “Sweet Sixteen,” so Jason wrote a song about being 16—a boy at a military school, rebellious, desperate for sex, the chorus emphasizing that he could never have dreamed, when he was 16, that he might be a Vista Queen.

“Just have fun,” Jason kept saying, telling me about the madness of backstage. “And just remember, they’re all drunk,” as if that might temper my stagefright. I wasn’t sure.

Tess Tickles and Tess DeMint. It was the old Tess and the new, and their faithful consorts. It was instruction in local knowledge and vernacular practices of drag—what to expect, what to avoid. There at a corner table over sushi and salmon, royal counsel, advice from a queen.

Avoid Arts Fatigue: Jasper Pop Up Release at The Whig

This is the time of year when the abundance of arts events in the Soda City become almost overwhelming and, if you're not careful, arts fatigue can set in and you end of missing out on some fine opportunities to see some important art just because you've ingested all the great films and fashions and studio tours you can handle. You are done. Sated. Nothing more than a blob of a person trembling on the sofa mumbling terms like diagesis, denouement, and iconographic, groping blindly for a bag of Doritos and the remote and listening for the soothing tones of the intro score to Sanford and Sons.

Jasper decided that rather than adding to the overflowing cup of cultural activities availing themselves to us in the calendar days ahead we'd just keep it simple this month.

Come on out to The Whig tonight anytime after 7 and pick up your new copy of Jasper. Will Green is whipping up a batch of Jasper Juice with herbs fresh from the Muddy Ford garden. The mag is lovely this time around with features on Meg Griffiths, Roni Nicole Henderson, and the Prairie Willows, some nice poetry, an essay by Susan Lenz, a guest editorial by O.K. Keyes, and a piece on Tamara Finkbeiner's favorite films, and more.

So stop by. It'll be chill.

Why I Said Yes - Tess DeMint (aka Ed Madden) Explains Love of Trustus

This is the fourth in a series of blogs written by Tess DeMint (aka Professor Ed Madden), a contestant in the 18th annual Vista Queen Pageant, a fundraiser for our beloved Trustus Theatre.

Please support Tess by visiting Trustus Theatre. Each vote costs $10 and all money goes to Trustus Theatre.

You can also donate to Trustus (and support Tess!) at Tess's donation site:  https://www.gofundme.com/fxudjbhs

I know my favorite row in the theatre.  I know my favorite seats.

I remember when Trustus Theatre staged Angels in America, one of the first if not the first regional theatre in the nation to do so.  I had seen the original New York production as a graduate student, and I taught the play at USC, so I was inclined to be critical.  But Trustus overwhelmed me with a beautiful, profoundly moving, and memorable production.

I remember Lonesome West and The Lieutenant of Inishmore by Martin McDonagh and other crazy Irish plays at Trustus.  The playwright was savagely funny, and the local production amplified his ability to make violence simultaneously hilarious and horrifying.

Which one of those plays was it that Alex Smith as the suicidal priest broke my heart?

I remember the rocking productions of Spring Awakening (yes they did that here and it was fucking amazing) and Hedwig and the Angry Inch—and being so tickled when Hedwig clearly directed the song “Sugar Daddy” to a couple of dear friends in the front rows.  (I won’t call out your names, Gordon and Doak.)

I remember taking my honors seminar to see Standing on Ceremony last spring as the semester began.  A collection of one-act plays about same-sex marriage, the performance introduced most of the very issues we were about to discuss.  The Trustus production (and talkback after) helped to set a tone for the rest of the semester as we began our own serious study of marriage politics.  I usually give students the option of a creative final project rather than a traditional research paper, and a couple of students wrote their own one-act plays, adding to the political and emotional complexity of what they had seen at Trustus.

More recently, I remember Chad Henderson’s haunting and gorgeous production of The Brothers Size.  The extraordinary acting (my Vista Queen fellow contestant Bakari Lebby and his colleagues were amazing), the minimal but strangely beautiful and convincing staging.  The intimacy of the sidedoor theatre.  The fireflies.

I remember Jim Thigpen—and later Larry Hembree—introducing a play and reminding us that we could always trust the theatre (trust us), even if we didn’t know the play or the playwright, because it would be good and it would be done well.  And I remember Kay’s smiling face at the ticket window, her easy laugh.

I remember working so hard for years with gay and lesbian organizations in South Carolina, and the way that Trustus would open their doors to us, the way they’d let us buy out the final dress rehearsal for a show as a fundraiser for our local community center.  The way the place filled with GLBT folks and their friends, laughing through The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told, laughing at Hunter Boyle as the bitchy Santa Claus, laughing through tears at the end as the lesbian couple gave birth to a child and the gay couple resigned themselves to the new HIV drugs not working.  I remember a room full of people I loved laughing and feeling giddy and connected to one another, giggling at the silliness of When Pigs Fly, or stunned by the professional production of Take Me Out.

It was the Jim and Kay Thigpen School of theatre and aesthetics and collaboration and community and inspiration and love.  It was and is the theatre’s mission: “a safe space for exploration of the political, the personal, and all things human.” It was and is the theatre’s artistic mission: to produce works “that start and nurture dialogues.”  As they say on the webpage: “Our success will be measured by our commitment to collaboration and innovation, while our impact will be measured by the creation of a more diverse and vibrant Columbia.”

I remember that fundraiser at Most Fabulous, the huge spread of food Bert prepared, and the enormous bouquet of flowers—mostly from our yard—and a potted night-blooming cereus Bert put on the table, the large prickly arm of it reaching over the spread, ending in a tight white blossom.  I remember that it opened up during intermission, the incredible smell filling the bar.  A magical night.

I know my favorite row in the theatre, my favorite seats.  I know Bert and I will order a bottle of white wine, and he will have to get the basket of popcorn refilled at intermission.  I know it feels like home to be there.

So when Chad Henderson walked up to me at the Deckled Edge literary festival’s opening night and asked me to be in Vista Queen, I said yes.  I didn’t think about it: I said yes.  I was immediately terrified at what I had agreed to (though Bert was clearly delighted), but I said yes.

Why?  Because I love this theatre.  Because of so many good memories and so many amazing plays.  Because of the community Trustus makes possible and the community it enables and sustains.  Because Chad asked me.  Because I know which seats are my favorites.

Not Drama Queen?! More from Vista Queen Contestant Tess DeMint (aka Ed Madden)

This is the third in a series of blogs written by Tess DeMint (aka Professor Ed Madden), a contestant in the 18th annual Vista Queen Pageant, a fundraiser for our beloved Trustus Theatre.

Please support Tess by visiting Trustus Theatre. Each vote costs $10 and all money goes to Trustus Theatre.

You’ve never been back here? she asked, smiling.

No, I hadn’t.

I followed Brandy into the back room, a door just beside Chad’s office, upstairs at Trustus.  Racks and racks slam-packed with costumes, dresses, jackets.  Shelves of labeled plastic bins.  Military hats.  How far did it go? I couldn’t see the other end. The long-suppressed theatre queen in me starting trembling, giddy, overcome. (Theatre queen, not drama queen.)  I ran my hand down a rack of jackets and fur.

It was my meeting with Brandy, who is helping with costumes for Vista Queen.  We met upstairs, in a small sitting room filled with a couple of rolling racks of dresses.  I had a couple of selections set aside from my first meeting with T.O., but Brandy was helping to augment and complete the look.

I had pretty good luck at my first drag consultation, and I even found something crazysexycool (and a little assymetrical) while shopping.  But we weren’t set, we weren’t certain.  There was one incredible black and blue metallic beaded gown that looked like Tammy Faye Bakker meets Loretta Lynn.  It was heavy.  It was tempting.  It was too small.

And anyway, was it really the right look?  Brandy and I talked about Tess, who she is, what she’s like.  I said ebullient and awkward.  We agreed: not church lady (that’s been done), but religious, perhaps awkwardly so.  Brandy described a character from the movie Blue Like Jazz, someone she said was almost uncomfortable to watch.  Uncomfortable.  Was that Tess?

Earlier in the day, over coffee at Drip on Main with Cindi Boiter, we talked about Vista Queen.  I showed her a photo of one costume selection.  She thought Tess should be sexier.  Should she?  Showed the same photo to another friend: he burst out laughing.

Also ran into Phil Blair from The Whig.  He’s sending me dates for Tess to do a Vista Queen fundraiser night at the bar.  (Watch for more info! Also a donation site up soon!)

Tess is still a work-in-progress.

So when Brandy said, “Let’s see what we can find back here,” and opened the door to that magic back room of props and costumes, I wondered: Is Tess back here?

We looked for a while, laughed a lot, found a cow outfit, but didn’t really find anything that said Tess, found ourselves back in the sitting room with the same selections I’d already tried on.  We talked about hip pads and bras.  Brandy jotted down some notes, about how to alter and accessorize what I had already to make it more fitting (literally and figuratively) for the Tess we imagined.

Bert said that one item we found really really really needed a little brooch of some kind.

I’ve got just what you need, Brandy said.  She pulled out a tiny heart-shaped pin with pink and blue gems out of her purse.

Perfect.

More from Tess DeMint -- TOO MOTHER-OF-THE-BRIDE: ON SHOPPING

This is the second in a series of blogs written by Tess DeMint (aka Professor Ed Madden), a contestant in the 18th annual Vista Queen Pageant, a fundraiser for our beloved Trustus Theatre.

Please support Tess by visiting Trustus Theatre. Each vote costs $10 and all money goes to Trustus Theatre.

Last weekend we decided to go shopping.

At that first consultation with T.O., I had tried on things from the theatre wardrobe, and settled, I think, on a couple of possibilities.  But no shoes there, and still in need of at least one more getup.  T.O. suggested visiting thrift stores, if only to get a sense of what I liked, what might work.

When we were in Arkansas during spring break, we ran across a booth of formal dresses in an antiques mall, all the dresses marked down to $30 and $40.  Maybe a formalwear shop closing up.  Some crazy things, mostly prom dresses.  We decided to check it out.  I slid a big jacket on: too small.  I found a chart for size translation on my phone: it included waist and jacket sizes for men and the corresponding women sizes.  We looked through all the sizes.  Nothing for me there.

That was, of course, before the consultation, before I’d even settled on a name or a persona.  Now I have a better sense of who I could be, what I might look like.

Goodwill, where we started shopping, was full of many things, but not much that seemed useful.  Way too many outfits that looked like tired professional women at work.  I did find a choir robe for $6, which seemed maybe worth buying.  The shoe rack had some scary-cool things, but nothing in my size, nothing in an interesting color.  I noticed my own shoes were dusted yellow—pollen, that film of yellow coating everything right now, the air filled with the sexual life of plants.

At one consignment shop, somewhat high-end, filled with furniture and bric-a-brac, as well as racks and racks of clothes, we had a little more luck.  There was a ruffled pink thing that looked promising.  (I texted Tio a photo. “Drama,” he wrote back approvingly.)  A large woman in orange seemed annoyed we were in her section, and practically pushed me aside with her cart.  She was perhaps unamused by two men giggling over the options on the plus-size dress racks, which could mostly be dismissed as (as Bert put it) “too mother-of-the-bride.”  Not the look for a Vista Queen.

At another consignment store, Second Chances, when we mentioned Vista Queen, the woman behind the counter brightened up, walked us through the store, determined to help us find the right thing.  When I told her what I thought my size should be (based on that internet research and the things I pulled on at the first consult, encased in my fake hips and bosom), she laughed, oh honey you don’t need something that big.  She pulled out a lovely beaded black size 16.  Just pull it on over your clothes, she said, to get a sense of how it fit, how it looked.  It was breathtaking—and breath-taking, too tight.

We checked our watches.  We had dinner plans.  It was our wedding anniversary—eleven years after being unlawfully wed, as I like to say, that long-ago ceremony filled with family and friends, but unacknowledged at the time by state law. While we searched the consignment shop, our minister, who now lives in the Upstate, sent a text of well-wishes from himself and his wife.

One more.  Behind the desk was a flouncy white ruffled dress that slid maybe too easily over my head.  Bert suggested a slit up the side to make it a little less matronly.  We texted a pic to T.O., me in the middle of the shop, the dress pulled over my jeans and green shirt.

He agreed with Bert: too mother-of-the-bride.

I hope T.O. deleted that picture.

Gravedigger’s Tale, Interactive Retelling of Hamlet, Performs at Longstreet Theatre April 21-23

The 40-minute one-man show is presented as part of the celebration of Shakespeare First Folio exhibition at the University of SC

The UofSC Department of Theatre and Dance will host Gravedigger’s Tale, an interactive retelling of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet, April 21-23 at Longstreet Theatre. Show time is 6pm nightly and admission is free, with seating available on a first-come basis.  Longstreet Theatre is located at 1300 Greene St.

In Shakespeare's play Hamlet, the Gravedigger appears briefly in Act V to perform a comic exchange with a fellow gravedigger before speaking to Hamlet and presenting him with the jester Yorick’s skull.  In this production, the Gravedigger arrives with a trunk and a book and answers “questions” from the audience with pieces of text from Hamlet. 

Conceived and directed by Robert Richmond (Folger Theatre’s Julius Caesar, Richard III, Henry V and more) and performed by Louis Butelli, this forty-minute interactive audience experience combines the text from Hamlet with some original and traditional music.  The short run-time makes it a perfect companion piece to the University’s production of The Tempest, being presented at Drayton Hall Theatre at 8pmnightly during the run of Gravedigger’s Tale.  Tickets for The Tempest can be purchased by calling 803-777-2551, beginning Friday, April 8.

Gravedigger’s Tale is being presented as part of the celebration of the Shakespeare First Folio exhibition at the University.  The University of SC was chosen as the only location in SC to exhibit the First Folio, which is on a nationwide tour sponsored by Washington DC’s Folger Shakespeare Library (owner of the largest collection of surviving Folios in the world).  The First Folio will be on display at Thomas Cooper Library from April 14-30.  More information on the Folio exhibition can be found online at http://library.sc.edu/p/firstfolio.

Butelli is no stranger to the University theatre program, having most recently directed the Moliére adaptation Scapin, which ran at Longstreet Theatre in February.  He is currently on a national tour withGravedigger’s Tale for the Folger Shakespeare Library.  Butelli has appeared in several productions of Shakespeare’s works for the Folger Theatre, winning a prestigious Helen Hayes Award in 2012 for his work in Henry VIII (directed by Richmond).  Cyclops: A Rock Opera, an original musical co-created by Butelli through his production company, Psittacus Productions, received a Pulitzer Jury nomination in 2012.  

For more information on Gravedigger’s Tale, contact Kevin Bush by phone at 803-777-9353 or via email at bushk@mailbox.sc.edu. 

Ed Madden is Tess DeMint in the 2016 Vista Queen Pageant

It's the 18th annual Vista Queen pageant at Trustus Theatre and, this year, Jasper will be bringing readers a behind-the-scenes look at the tucking and taping and general mayhem that accompanies the only kind of pageant we could ever support - a mockery!

Meet Tess DeMint, (aka Ed Madden).

You'll be learning more about Tess in the weeks to come.

In the meantime, Tess and Ed have started doing the work that it takes to be a woman. As Simone De Beauvoir  says, "One is not born a woman, but becomes one." Here's a bit of what that involves -- 

I’m wearing high heels as I write this.

I’ve been wearing them the past hour or so as I move about the hotel room, putting away things, washing my face, answering emails.  I’m trying to get used to them, used to how I walk in them, used to how I should walk in them.  On Monday, when I met with Tio for my first drag consultation, he told me I walked like a gorilla, told me that I needed to let my hips and arms move.  He had helped me into hip pads and a dress, after I’d pulled on the obligatory three sets of stockings and tights, after I’d tucked myself best I could.  When he asked me if I knew about “tucking,” I said that I had read about it.  I’m an academic: it’s what I do.  He laughed.  I was the first person, he said, who had ever told him they read about tucking.  It was actually a little scary to read—especially when you see, “This may cause damage to the genitalia.”  Tio assured me that I didn’t have to use tape.

I walked around the room, best I could.  A gorilla.  He said I seemed to be getting better every time he turned around.  Bert said it was a little scary.  Tio told me to wear the heels around the house, to practice walking in them.

A video I found online tells me to look up and straight ahead, not at my feet.  Yes, I have been watching videos on how to walk.  I also watched some Yanis Marshall videos—more inspiration than aspiration, nothing I could imagine doing myself.  (I also think Arnaud Boursain—the tall bearded one—is sexy.)

So I’m sitting in a hotel room in Spartanburg, after attending Bodies of Knowledge, a gender studies conference at USC Upstate, in a pair of very black and very shiny high heels, about two inches high.  (Wishful thinking? Maybe I exaggerate?)  The rest of me looks like the rest of me: khaki pants, a green button-down shirt, some green striped socks.

I’m thinking about gender and heels and movement.  At the conference, I participated in a “queer movement” workshop with the enthusiastic performance artist Leigh Hendrix.  I hadn’t intended to stay for that last session, but I asked Leigh if it would help me be a better Vista Queen.  She assured me it would, if only to think about how my body moves.  We curled on the floor in fetal position.  We moved through the room with our six limbs (arms, legs, head, tail).  We did what felt comfortable; we stopped if it didn’t.  Make a heroic shape, she said.  I stood like the statue of an orator.  Make a male shape, she said.  Arms crossed, legs spread, aggressive stare.  Someone else sat on the floor, manspreading.  Make a female shape.  I stood legs slightly crossed, my hip out, one arm loosely crossing my chest, the other lifted, my wrist bent, my hand curled loosely back, a finger pensive against my chin, a downcast but withering gaze.  Honestly, I felt more Tim Gunn than female.  Leigh looked at me, laughed: you’re ready.

But we weren’t wearing heels.

-- Ed Madden/Tess DeMint

To vote for Tess, um, Ed, please visit Trustus Theatre. Each vote costs $10 and all money goes to Trustus Theatre.

REVIEW: Trustus Theatre's Peter and the Starcatcher

Trustus Theater’s production of Peter and the Starcatcher, by Rick Elice, based on the novel by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, is a fantastic voyage through the imagination and it’s absolutely not to be missed.  After a hugely successful run on and off Broadway, the adult prequel to Peter Pan is skillfully brought to the Trustus stage by director Robert Richmond. In the age of sequels, prequels, and reboots, Peter and the Starcatcher truly adds to the ethos of Peter Pan, painting a portrait of a boy that longs for a home, a family, and a chance to enjoy a childhood.

The cast of pirates, lost boys, savages, and mermaids is made up of favorite local veteran actors as well as newcomers. Johnathon Monk gives us a tender and melancholy orphan in the boy who will become Peter Pan. Despite being a grown man, Monk is able to convincingly convey a childlike look of innocence and wonder, especially via his evocative eyes. This is a very physical show and whether he is pantomiming running through a jungle or doing the back stroke in the sea, Monk is a delight to watch. Grace Ann Roberts is wonderful as Molly, a plucky 13 year old over-achiever that craves adventure. Roberts gave a very natural and poised performance; I look forward to seeing her onstage again. Hunter Boyle hilariously plays Molly’s nanny, Mrs. Bumbrake. Kevin Bush plays Bumbrake’s love interest, a salty seaman named Alf. Boyle and Bush are both very funny, especially in their scenes together. The standout performance of the night is given by Paul Kaufmann as Black Stache the Pirate. The role seems written for the veteran Columbia actor. Kaufmann’s impeccable comedic timing, voice range, and general joie de vivre are all able to fully shine here. He creates a villain you can’t help but love. The ensemble as a whole is strong and does a great job of creating the world they inhabit.

Much like children at play, the actors create extraordinary places and things with ordinary everyday objects. A rope forms a doorway, a plastic glove becomes a bird. A little imagination goes a very long way here. Richmond proves you don’t need pricey special effects or elaborate costumes to leave your audience dazzled. Though not a musical, we are treated to a few very entertaining numbers under the musical direction of Caroline Weidner. She and Greg Apple provide live accompaniment throughout. The set, designed by Baxter Engle and constructed by Brandon Mclver, opens up the Trustus stage like I’ve never seen before, transforming the space into a massive ship, along with ropes and pulleys that are used to great effect throughout the show. The back wall of the stage looks directly into the dressing room, which I was afraid might be distracting, but wasn’t in the least. In fact it was a nice touch that added to the idea that this show has nothing to hide, that we’re all on this journey together. I enjoyed Matt "Ezra" Pound’s sound design, particularly before the show started where creaking ship and sea noises set the mood nicely. Jean Lomasto’s costumes are reminiscent of children playing dress-up, inventive and interesting to look at.

This is a charming tale, appropriate for children and grownups alike. It tells us an entertaining story of how Neverland became a magical island and why Peter Pan never wants to grow up. It’s sometimes hard to trust people with beloved characters from our childhood for fear we might be let down. I urge you to trust Richmond and his cast, to take their outstretched hand, leave your grownup problems behind you, and go on an adventure. You won’t regret it.

- Jennifer Hill

Photos by Richard Kiraly

Columbia City Ballet’s Body and Movement Explored Returns featuring Caroline Lewis Jones & more

 

Body and Movement Explored is a unique collaboration showcasing the works of Columbia City Ballet dancers and several guest choreographers who have created a mixed repertoire of works for the professional members of the Columbia City Ballet company.

Among the guest choreographers is Columbia-based, but internationally known dancer and choreographer Caroline Lewis Jones. Lewis-Jones has been dancing for over 27 years. At the age of 18 she moved to New York City where she performed for six years. Her credits include the VMA’s with NSYNC, the Latin Grammy Awards, WNBA National Commercial, Commercial work, Disney Industrials, Britany Spears “Me Against the Music” video, MTV’s Body Rock Fitness Video, and more. Although successful as a commercial dancer, her true passion lies within contemporary company work, where she has had the opportunity to work for Mia Michaels Company R.A.W, Dee Caspary’s IV Dance Company, Notario Dance Company, Rhapsody and Company, A.S.H Contemporary, and Justin Giles’ Soul Escape. In 2001 she traveled to Seoul, Korea where she performed for Jason Parson’s and POZ Dance Theatre.  In July 2010, Caroline performed with Sonya Tayeh from “So You Think You Can Dance” with her company in Chicago. She also choreographs for studios around the country, and teaches for  Adrenaline Dance Convention and The Dance Sessions.

Other guest choreographers include Rachael Leonard from Florida, Jerry Opdenaker, who performed with the company in Nutcracker, technical artist Ryan Stender, and local favorites Journy and Anna Wilkes-Davis.

During Jerry Opdenaker's 22-year dancing career, he worked as a principal company member for ballet companies such as Pennsylvania Ballet, Kansas City Ballet and Ballet Florida. As director of the nationally recognized STEP Ahead, Ballet Florida’s choreographic workshop, he was declared as a “Jewel of the Palm Beaches.” He has choreographed for the New York City Ballet, Milwaukee Ballet, McKnight Foundation Ballet, Gamonet, Ballet Florida National Choreographic Initiative and Florida Grand Opera. For the past five years he has served as the dance discipline coordinator for the National Foundation for the Advancement of the Arts  YoungArts program and directed his own company, O Dance, in West Palm Beach.

Rachael Leonard is co-founder and artistic director of Surfscape Contemporary Dance Theatre (SCDT), an adjudicator for the American College Dance Festival Association, a master artist in residence for Very Special Arts and an internationally published author of dance articles and papers. Leonard has choreographed throughout the US and taught at College of Southern Idaho, University of Utah, Alma College, Jacksonville University, Rowland-Hall Saint Marks School, Lowell Elementary School, Stoneleigh-Burnham School and Atlantic Center for the Arts.

Never seen before by any audience this year celebrates the fourth year of the Body Movement series. Performed at the CMFA Arts Space March 11^th and 12^th at 7:30p.m.

“At the helm of the state’s largest dance company I felt it was extremely important to create the Body & Movement series to help foster the talents for young modern, contemporary and classical choreographers," says William Starrett, Artistic and Executive Director of the company. "Not only from the midlands area but throughout the southeast so they could gain the experience of working with top professional dancers and simultaneously give the dancers opportunity to dance original works created for them with a wide range of creative styles, dance genres and artistic viewpoints.”

A total of twelve mixed repertoire pieces will be performed set to a variety of not only classical but popular music. Dancers include Anna Beavers, Madeline Foderaro, Katie Heaton, Courtney Holland, Laura Lunde, Bonnie Boiter-Jolley, Philip Ingrassia, Abby McDowell, Reinaldo Soto, Denis Vezetiu, Regina Willoughby, Claire Richards, Camilo Herrera, Rebecca Bowles, Maurice Johnson, Emily Carrico, Ashley Concannon, Jordan Hawkins, Brandon Michaels, Ian Samuels, Autumn Hill, and Amanda Summey.

In addition to the performance, company member and gifted photographer Ashley Concannon will open an exhibit of her collection of work on Columbia City Ballet dancers.

According to Concannon, "The BME series was highly influenced by recent works done by Photographer BAKI, particularly those with dancer Friedemann Vogel. I love the movement and lighting of his photography, the balance of strength and grace. I wanted to imitate his work, with just a bit less of a whimsical look. I studied other works created by photographers Rachel Neville and Steve Vaccariello, and ultimately came up with this new collection of my own."

Body and Movement Explored will be held at the CMFA Art Space at 914 Pulaski Street in the Vista on Friday, March 11th and Saturday, March 12th at 7:30 p.m. The end of the performance will have an open mic discussion where the audience is invited to explore and discuss on their experience directly with the choreographers. Tickets are $25 in advance at www.brownpapertickets.com and $30 at the door. For more information or for help with ticketing call the Columbia City Ballet offices at 803.799.7605. A Facebook event revealing more information about the choreographer line-up can be found online here, https://www.facebook.com/events/685877574887978/

Youth Arts Month at Kershaw County + Winnie the Pooh

The Fine Arts Center of Kershaw County (FAC) is gearing up for another Youth Arts Month with its annual Community Youth Production, as well as the annual Youth Art exhibition—“You Gotta Have Art” in the Bassett Gallery. This year’s Youth Production, Disney’s Winnie the Pooh Kids, a musical production that features more than 100 local children from grades first through eighth, will open in the Wood Auditorium at the FAC on Thursday, March 17. With so many children involved, director, Jami Steele (FAC’s Director of Education & Theatre) has created two separate casts, allowing all of the children to enjoy a more fulfilling experience of participating in live theatre. The play runs through Sunday, March 20. Performance times will be 7:00 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, and at 3:00 p.m. on Sunday. Winnie the Pooh Kids is sponsored by Modern Turf and Target Distribution Center. Tickets are $10 for adults and $8 for students, seniors and military.

Disney's Winnie The Pooh Kids is a delightful new show based on the beloved characters of A.A. Milne and the 2011 Disney animated feature film. Featuring  favorite songs from the film as well as new hits by the Academy Award-winning Robert and Kristen Lipez (Frozen,) this honey-filled delight is as sweet as it is fun. The play takes place in Pooh’s home, the Hundred Acre Wood, where Winnie the Pooh is once again in search of honey. Along  the way, he meets his pals Tigger, Piglet, Rabbit and Owl but soon discover that Christopher Robin has been captured by the mysterious Backson! As they prepare for a rescue operation, the animals learn about teamwork, friendship, and sharing snacks.

There are two separate casts performing in this year’s production. The Pooh Cast will perform on March 17 and 19 and include Tyler Follmer, Gabrielle Mason, Alexandra Bernier, Allison Wert, Laurel Taylor, Casey Blair, Riley Brazell, Tyler Truesdale, Thomas Portee, Sam Lawing, Julianna Willoughby, Elizabeth Jordan, Brianna Lloyd, Alyssa Reckelhoff, Alexia Ramy, Abby Grace Knafelc, Mary Baxley Shuler, Erin Watts, Taylor Harrop, Bailey Sue Rabon, Millie Rollings, TC Truesdell, Reagan Crocker, Liza Watkins, Alannah Futch, Olivia Drakeford, Camden Kimpton, Mary Elise Drakeford, Cailin Cokley, Leigh Thomas, Syriana Wright, Maci Kimpton, Jakob VanZant, Samantha McCutchen, Brianna Follmer, Roman Lawing, Cooper Rollings, Zoe Turner, Nahra Anne Joseph, Julia Ann Rushing, Asa Orr, Phoebe Jordan, Brianna Ratcliff, Lily Futch, Hailey Barnes, Ellen Shuler, Ella Palmer, and Priscilla Brice Chivers.

The Tigger Cast will perform March 18 ad 20 and include Keaton Heitger,  Corey Thomas, Colin Clay,  Hank Tarte,  Chloe Morgan,  Brenna Yeary,  Autumn Barkley,  Lucas Wilhelm,  Sofia Wilhelm,  Ethan Irizarry, Alex Matthews,  Emilia Robinson,  Hailey Dallas, Elissa Stockman,  Emma Richburg, Amilia Wilhelm, Emory Gunter,  Cabot Brunson, Caleb Clay,  Gaby Aponte, Matthias Fox,  Laila Houser, Carmen Scott,  Lucy Moore, Addie Stegner,  Kate Moore, Cergio Rivera,  Jordan Johnson, Montana Fuller,  McKinley Dutcher, Brynna Nedderman, Craig Jeffers, Laine Redfearn, Eliana Collins, Lucy Houser, Dalton Sharpe,  Maggie Long, Sebashtian Sharpe, MacKenzie Melton, Harris Fuller,  Blair Gunter,  Kaitlyn Brannen, Aurelia Kopans, Mae Stegner, Hailey Scott,  Lily Ann Sharpe,  JoeAnna Parnell,  Lillian Chmiel, Bella Barkley, and DéSaussure DuBose.

Bryant Herring will act as producer and technical director. Margaret Buckelew takes on the job of stage managing this large production, and several local teens are fulfilling backstage roles including Mason Freiburg, Bailee Gurley, Zac Willoughby, Courtleigh Cobb, Jesse Morgan and Bryce Lail. Musical directors are Amanda Britt and Brianna Grant, both of whom were recently seen in CCT’s production of Little Shop of Horrors.

For more information or to purchase tickets call 803-425-7676, extension 300 or visit the FAC website at www.fineartscenter.org.  The Fine Arts Center of Kershaw County 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.

Exclusive: South Carolina Filmmakers Chris White & Emily Reach-White Premiere Teaser for New Project

by: Wade Sellers

Greenville filmmaker Chris White likes to keep busy. White, along with his wife and filmmaking partner Emily Reach-White, were fresh of their city-by-city filmmaking tour of their award winning feature film Cinema Purgatorio when they decided to move full speed ahead with their current production. “As my wife Emily and I wait to secure funding for our next feature, we thought it’d be fun to make a series of short films with our family, friends, and favorite collaborators” says White. The result is Unbecoming, a five-film anthology shot over the summer of 2015. The teaser premieres online today.

The project navigates an assortment of narratives that revolve around themes of personal devolution and change. They include a retired U.S. Senator with a dark secret, an in-school suspension that leads to a teacher with a captive audience of one, two lost souls’ unlikely meeting at a roadside diner, the stomach-churning memory of True Love lost, and a father’s last will and testament passed on via workshop mixtape.

White began raising funds for Unbecoming through an Indie Go-Go campaign in June of 2015. On June 22^nd of 2015 the film was fully funded. “There is no commercial objective with Unbecoming,” he explains. “It was meant to be a playground to try an artistic endeavor, but there were still expenses. The Indiegogo campaign was a way for me to go to friends and long time supporters of my work and ask for their support and let me play with this idea.”

Additionally, White had a growing desire to work with veteran actors on a project. “I had worked with a number of known actors on other people’s projects but not my own. You realize why these actor’s have and continue to work—because they are really good at their craft.” As a result, Chris and Emily reached out two to veteran actors who they had previous relationships with.

The film stars Andy Warhol discovery Patti D’Arbanville, who got her start career in the art pop pioneer’s Flesh and L’Amour. Her long career features a mix of television and film credits that include Modern Problems, Real Genius, Miami Vice and Woody Allen’s Celebrity. Starring with D’Arbanville is Michael Forest. Forest may be remembered as the Greek god Apollo in the Star Trek episode “Who Mourns for Adonis?” His 60 year film and television career spans such notable projects as The Twilight Zone, Gunsmoke, Amarcord and Cast Away.

Chris and Emily had a previous relationship with D’Arbanville, so they approached her about starring in the film during a visit to North Carolina. Forest was a tougher get, as he had largely been retired from television and film, only visiting fan conventions for his Star Trek connection, although he did take a recent turn appearing in Vic Mignogna’s Star Trek Continues series. “I had met Michael while working on Star Trek Continues” says White of the connection. “He was interested in the project but wanted to be talked into it.” Additional cast includes Aaron Belz, Teri Parker Lewis, Bill Mazzella and Lilly Nelson. All five films were shot and produced within a short drive of the White’s home in Greenville.

Unbecoming’s theatrical premiere is Sunday, April 3^rd at the wonderfully historic Tryon Theater in Tryon, North Carolina. Future screenings will be announced as they are scheduled.

UNBECOMING \ Teaser from Paris MTN Scout on Vimeo.

To buy tickets to the Tryon premiere:

http://unbecomingtryon.bpt.me/

Q&A with Lucas Sams on Future Fest 2016

by: Ami Pulaski

The inaugural Future Fest will be taking place this Saturday, March 5^th at Tapp’s Art Center from 2p.m.-until. Future Fest 2016 is the first music festival being presented by Tri City Rec, Columbia’s premiere international DIY record label.  We caught up with Lucas Sams, founder of Tri City Rec and the prolific musician behind Pray for Triangle Zero, to see what this music festival of the future is all about.

What is the Future Fest? What can we expect to see and hear?

Lucas Sams: Future Fest is a multimedia music micro-festival presented by Tri City Rec showcasing artists on the forefront of experimental and future music (future music being DIY produced music of varying genres, often Internet boon genres like vaporwave, future funk, nu disco) locally, regionally, and even internationally. There will be music videos from Uruguay's Lila Tirando a Violeta, accompanying visuals by Grawlix (who did work for Scenario Collective recently) and Obligatory Kaliedoscope (OK Keyes, a frequent collaborator with Ritual Abjects).

Which artists are going to be involved in the festival?

LS: Malls (one of Lucas Sams's vaporwave side-projects) Autofighter (media artist and p4t0 collaborator O'Neal Peterson's side project), local media artist and filmmaker Drew Baron's ambient noise project This Cave is Creepy (for the first time ever live), AUTOCORRECT, Pray For Triangle Zero, インターネットファクス M A C H I N E (future funk project of Vivian Penny, from NC's first live show as this alias. She will also be performing as 3ternal at the fest), L i l i n (ambient chillstep from AL's Logan Bush, who will also be performing as Depravity.),A h o m a r i, RITUAL ABJECTS, 3ternal / Depravity (Vivian and Logan performing their solo deathstep projects as combined act), Sandcastles. (Kari Lebby), and GARDNSOUND (Gardner Beson's experimental EDM project from Atlanta / Fayettville, GA.

Where can we preview the artists and their work before Saturday?

LS: The artists can be all found at their respective Bandcamp or Soundcloud pages, and many of the artists have releases that can be downloaded and streamed from tricityrec.bandcamp.com.

I see that the Future Fest is hosted by Tri City Rec. What exactly is Tri City Rec and how did it come into being?

LS: Tri City Rec is Columbia, SC's premiere DIY label of the future. All of our music is free to download (but pay if you want to), and we feature artists from SC, regionally, and all over the world, with several artists from Japan, one from Brazil, and another from Uruguay. I started Tri City Rec originally as a label for releasing my friends and my own music, and during the past year [it] has developed into a full-on international net label. I created it to promote and curate a collective of artists working on the fringes and creating interesting music outside the boundaries of convention.

When I began creating music, it was hard to find my niche, and dealing with people who didn't take what I was doing seriously, mostly locally, was disheartening. I decided not to wait until other people would help me release my music and release it myself. As I kept doing that, I wanted to help other artists doing the same thing as me have a platform to share their music, to promote collaboration and dialogue of diverse artists from all over.

What do you guys see in the future for the label?

LS: In the future, expect more physical releases (although we are so much more than a boutique tape label), more events like this, including a Future Fest 2017, if there's a world left to have it in, more artists, and more collaborations.

We believe that what we and labels like us are doing is the future of music distribution and record labels in general, so expect great things and unique experiences both real and digital.

Future Fest 2016

Tapp’s Art Center (1644 Main St.)

2 p.m.-until

Admission: $8 in advance/ $10 at the door

More info is available at the Future Fest 2016 Facebook Event page here.

Camper registration for Girls Rock Columbia summer program is officially open!

It's thaaaaat time of year again!

Camper registration for Girls Rock Columbia summer program is officially open! This year is especially exciting--to accommodate our growing camper population (thanks!), camp will be held at Hand Middle School this year!

General session (campers 8-12) will be held July 18-22, and for the FIRST TIME EVER, GRC will be offering a TEEN CAMP! Teen camp is a 2-week program (July 11-15 + July 18-22), and the showcase for BOTH camps is July 23!

For more information about camp and to get your young rocker involved, clickhere.

ALSO: if you've ever toyed with the idea of leading a workshop at Girls Rock camp (we bet you'd be great at it!), workshop signups are ALSO now open for ladies and trans and nonbinary folks! For more information on workshops, clickhere.

Poems on the Comet 2016! CALL to ARTISTS

Theme: I’ve known rivers

I’ve known rivers. My soul has grown deep like the rivers.

Langston Hughes, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers”

~~~~

In fall 2015, poems appeared on Columbia’s buses, telling the stories of the city.

This year we want poems about rivers—real rivers, imaginary rivers, our rivers—

the Congaree, Broad, and Saluda

riverwalks and river trails

the river keeper, riverside, riverbed

river critters, river’s edge, river’s mouth

river traffic (or rivers of traffic)

currents, crossings, confluence, Congaree Park

bridges and dams, flood and recovery

float trips, flight paths, canoes and tubing

upriver, down the river

I went down to the river to pray…

river of dreams, river of life maybe even cry me a river (but probably not River Phoenix)

~~~

Requirements:

Poems should be 10 lines or fewer & should address the theme of rivers.

Submit your poems to

poetlaureate@onecolumbiasc.com

by May 15, 2016, for consideration.

First Show Infinite Room - Coming up Saturday Night

 

As Infinite Room, Columbia's newest iteration of Tom Law's late Conundrum Music Hall, prepares for its first night Jasper sat down with Jeremy Joseph to get the dirt on how Infinite got to where it is and where it's going from here. Here's what we learned:

In the proverbial nutshell, can you tell about how Infinite Room grew up from the ashes of Tom Law's Conundrum Music Hall in West Columbia?

When Tom sadly announced he was closing Conundrum back in October, we felt really remiss that Columbia would be losing its intimate dedicated listening room where all kinds of music and arts came together from the more traditional to the very avant-garde. But we realized that the eclectic music-loving community that surrounded the club was still intact, and if you have the people you have the power. So we came together, including much of Conundrum’s former staff, and brainstormed how we could pool our time and resources, and collectively re-open the club. During this time the old Conundrum space got leased so we moved on to find an existing venue we could partner with where we could start regularly booking shows and help reignite the spirit of diversity and open-mindedness that we found at our old haunt. Our first choice was Tapp’s, which shares a similar mission of being a progressive incubator for the arts in Columbia. They liked the idea and wanted to try things out, and so here we go!

Where is this room you call Infinite?

Infinite Room happenings will be taking place at Tapp’s Arts Center on Main, down in the underground in their Fountain Room. The spot is great for us since it’s an intimate performance space, which is part of what made Conundrum so special.

Who are the key players in making this magic happen?

Here are some of the people that are involved in helping to make this thing happen (in alphabetical order): Moses Andrews, Al Black, Cindi Boiter, Carl Burnitz, William Glenn Christopher, Mila Burgess-Conway, Alex Davis, Julia Dawson, Cecil Decker, Omari Fox, JB Frush-Marple, Grayson Goodman, Bekah Gregory, Tanisha Hall, Rae Hatton, Byron Hawk, Nic Jenkins, Chris Johnson, Sean Jones, Woody Jones, Daniel Machado, Tyler Matthews, Alice Rodriguez, Lucas Sams, Greg Stuart, Ross Swinson, Ahomari Turner, Alan Woodall, and Alice Aaron Wyrd

Tell us about the shows you have scheduled, please.

I’m gonna hand this question off to Rae Hatton:

We are all so excited about the upcoming shows we have planned.  We are really grateful to have such an excellent line-up of acts—all mostly local to the midlands.  Our first show this Saturday, February 27th, features Danny Joe Machado, about.theWindow, and Pray For Triangle Zero, and is being hosted by the hilarious Topher Riddle.  This will be a special kick-off event and we encourage everyone to arrive in their best David Bowie ensembles.  This is sure to be a dancey dreamy fun party tribute to celebrate the weird and wonderful.  Our second show on Saturday, March 12th includes Wasted Wine, Passing Worth, and Lost Wages. Queen It Shall Be will host and bring us spoken word and poetry readings, and the music is folky and twangy and plucky and fun.  The show on Saturday, March 26th includes Ritual Abjects, Ahomari, and Infinitikiss. It will be a glamorously bewitching evening with a glamour spell, and is about subversion, experimentation, and going on a listening journey.  All of these shows will be tremendous fun and we are so looking forward to the events and bringing people together to enjoy them.

What can the public do to help in sustaining this endeavor?

We are actively moving towards becoming a non-profit and then taking donations on-line, but for now what we could really use your support with most is in coming out to these shows. We have some off-beat and intriguing things in store and we want to make Infinite Room a bright part of Columbia’s infinite future.

Review: Columbia Children Theatre's Elephant & Piggie's We Are in a Play

by Melissa Swick Ellington

If you have Mo Willems fans in your house, make sure to visit Columbia Children’s Theatre for a marvelous production of his Elephant and Piggie’s We Are In a Play!, with book and lyrics by Willems and music by Deborah Wicks La Puma. And, really, even if you’re not already a devotee of Willems’ beloved children’s books, this musical will be an excellent introduction to the funny, real, heart-warming world of Willems. Director Jerry Stevenson and his talented team work their magic once again; the gratifying level of artistry that pervades CCT productions continues to reward audiences of every age.

Just as in Willems’ series of books, anxious Elephant and carefree Piggie are best friends who zestfully embrace diverse life experiences, including attending a party, learning how to dance, playing the trumpet, and sharing ice cream. Yet even best friends encounter bumps along the road, such as accidentally breaking a friend’s new toy. The meta-theatrical realizations of the song “We Are in A Play” provide hilarious commentary on the experience of live performance, while upbeat numbers like “Ice Cream Hero” enliven the show.

As mother to two proud Mo Willems enthusiasts, I was eager to accompany my young family to the CCT performance. (Full disclaimer: my kids are such hardcore Willems fans that they wore Elephant and Piggie costumes for Halloween last year; attending this production was serious business for our crew!) We all loved this show when we saw it at the children’s theatre in Charlotte, North Carolina last fall, and I daresay our family adored Elephant and Piggie even more at our hometown CCT. In particular, the believable comradery of the title characters in this production grounds the humorous action in a real relationship that resonates for kids and their families. My eight-year-old daughter observed that attending the CCT show felt like “going inside an Elephant and Piggie book!”

Paul Lindley II delivers an exquisite performance in the tour de force role of Gerald, the big-hearted, clever, endearingly worried elephant. Georgie Harrington shines as the perfect partner in friendship and fun through her heartfelt portrayal of insouciant and expressive Piggie. The pair demonstrates impressive vocal ability as well as enjoyable physical comedy, creating engaging interpretations of Willems’ cherished characters. Lindley and Harrington find the delicate balance of bittersweet poignancy in their characters’ understanding of the ephemeral nature of theatre, while affirming comfort in each other through a lovely rendition of “We’ll Be Friends.” As the sassy Squirrelles, Brandi Smith, Toni Moore, and Carol Beis provide winning commentary and an inviting “backup singer” presence, while Kaitlyn Fuller offers appealing performances as the droll Dog and ice cream salesman Penguin. (At alternate performances, Taylor Diveley plays Gerald; Diveley and Crystal Aldamuy play Dog and Penguin.)

Clever costuming choices by the brilliant Donna Harvey evoke aspects of the animal characters with color and texture, while suggesting vibrant personality traits through the style of clothing. Callbacks to other favorites in the Willems canon are another highlight; my family is somewhat obsessed with that fabulous “Pigeon” cane. The familiar color palette of the book series emerges in the whimsical and highly functional set design by Jim Litzinger and Harvey. Lindley provides strong music direction, while Aldamuy and Stevenson create charming choreography. The gifted professionals at CCT are at the top of their game with this stellar production.

At the show’s conclusion, my kindergarten son declared, “Wow! That was pretty awesome, right? Elephant and Piggie stick together!” Audience members of all ages are sure to agree after enjoying the irrepressible delights of Elephant and Piggie’s We Are in a Play! at Columbia Children’s Theatre. Performances will continue on Friday, February 26 at 7:00 p.m.; Saturday, February 27 at 10:30 a.m., 2:00 p.m., and 7:00 p.m.; and Sunday, February 28 at 3:00 pm. Ticket pricing includes $10 for adults and children ages 3 and up, $8 for active duty military and seniors, and $5 for Saturday night performances. Advance reservations are encouraged; visit ww.columbiachildrenstheatre.com or call 803-691-4548 for more information.

At the Jasper Beer Hall Starting Friday!

Jasper Beer Hall

At the Deckle Edge HQ & Hospitality Space

1216 Taylor Street

Schedule of Events

Friday

4 – 5:30        Tunes from the Dead w/ Fellow Traveler Author James D. McCallister

Saturday

9 – 10:30      Literary & Poetry Journal Editors Roundtable

12 – 1:30      Bo Petersen – Washing Our Hands in the Clouds – reading & signing

2 – 3:15        Writing Comics with Shige Kobayashi

3:30 – 5        Auntie Bellum presents “Sirens of South Carolina: Singers & Songwriters from the Palmetto State” with Stefanie Santana, Ony Ratsimbaharison, Kelley Douglas and Amy Cuthbertson

Sunday

12 – 1            Bettina Judd

1:30 – 3        The Watering Hole Poetry Slam

3 – 4               Have a Pint with Poet Ray McManus

Visit us throughout the fest to grab a beer & catch up on Deckle Edge news!

Darling Dilettante Does Politics: Cory Alpert 2016

by: Haley Sprankle

The University of South Carolina’s student body elections take place today, and it’s no surprise that local actor and arts enthusiast Cory Alpert’s name would come up.

Throughout the community, Alpert has be involved in a myriad of different large-scale projects from spearheading the SC Flood Relief movement within hours of the crisis to helping run and organize events like Famously Hot New Year. He’s been seen working on and backstage at Trustus Theatre, and is even a graduate of their Apprentice Company.

So why does a college election matter to Columbia?

Often, there seems to be a disconnect between the community of Columbia and the university environment. As a student, I’ve found that my peers on campus rarely know about the arts community and all it has to offer, while I’ve also found that my peers in Columbia are rarely aware of the work the students are putting out there.

That’s where Alpert comes in.

I was lucky enough to have the chance to sit down with the student body presidential candidate to get his thoughts on how he can better serve the students, the community, and how he can bridge the gap between the two.

Q: What makes you different from the other candidates?

Alpert: Unlike the other candidates, I’ve put forward a platform and a vision for USC that will help move us into the 21st century. My plan is realistic and pragmatic, with an understanding of the limitations of student government. We aren’t promising a fix to parking (which would require a change in state law), and we’re focusing on making USC a more inclusive place. I’ve shown this community my work ethic, and I’ve shown that I know how to get results. I don’t issue empty promises. A lot of that goes back to the community that raised me. I grew up in the Columbia arts community, and that’s become a formative part of who I am. We were taught to dream big and how to find ways to make those dreams a reality. We were taught to love each other unconditionally, even when someone makes a mistake. To me, that’s what we should have in a leader. How do you plan to connect the community of Columbia to the student community of USC?

Over the last few years, I’ve had the opportunity to get to know some incredible leaders around the city. I’ve come to believe that USC deserves to have a stronger relationship with the city, and students ought to have access to the incredible resources that we have to offer. I am always disappointed when I don’t see students filling our local theatres, or coming to events on Main Street, or eating at some of the wonderful restaurants in town. That’s something that I think we can fix. The biggest problem is awareness. By partnering with businesses and leveraging the visibility of student government, I’ll be encouraging students to go experience what Columbia has on offer. I’ll also be working with these businesses to make sure they’re coming on campus - that they are reaching out to students. This is about working, not waiting. My administration will be working to make sure that students have access to the career opportunities, leaders, resources, and events that our city has.

What issues do you feel are most important to our campus?

I think there’s a general sense that we’ve had enough talk on campus. There are groups and individuals who are trying to find ways to make this campus better, and they’re being met with a brick wall. We deserve to have leaders who aren’t full of talk. Whether it’s the clear race issues on campus that are arising every year, or the issue of being inclusive for our trans siblings on campus, or even the issues that Student Government has no power over like parking and wifi, students feel like their words are stuck in an echo chamber. It’s time that we have leadership on campus that works collaboratively to make sure that this campus is a better place every day.

You've talked about lowering tuition--how do you plan to actually lobby for and go through with that?

My plan calls for a reduced cost of attendance, and we’ll be working for something called open educational resources. Tuition is set by the state, and it would take something akin to an act of God to reduce that. But one thing that we can feasibly tackle are the cost of textbooks on this campus. After being introduced to OERs, I got really excited and wanted to learn more. Then, my campaign team and I spent a few weeks meeting with OER repositories and doing our research about how they’ve been implemented across the country. What we’ve found is that the average student at USC pays $1,008 per year on textbooks. That skyrockets to $1,500 per semester for freshmen. These costs hit minority and first-generation students the hardest. However, OERs, which are textbooks written by some of the top faculty in the country and used at our peer institutions, can help drive those costs down. While $500 per semester may not seem like much, that’s money that we’re saving students and allowing them to be successful without breaking the bank. The biggest roadblock to their implementation is simply awareness. So we’ll be doing what UMass Amherst did when they saved students over $1 million when they implemented OERs, by sitting down with faculty and academic administration to convince them to switch over to these resources. After a few conversations already, professors at USC are excited about these resources and want to make sure their students have the chance to be successful regardless of their income level. All it takes are a few leaders willing and able to do the work to make the switch a reality.

What are your biggest hopes for this student body if you're president?

At the end of the day, it comes down to having a culture at USC that’s better than when we found it. It’s about being a part of a team that works to make USC a more inclusive and supportive place every single day. I want to leave office and have people feel that they can change this campus for the better. I’m in a really fortunate position, because I don’t need to bolster my resume with this office, so I’m in a great position to work with students and make sure that they can do something great. Student Government ought to work for the students, and it ought to dream big for where we should be. Rather than trying to fix problems that student government has no control over, I’m presenting a vision of a USC that works for every student, and allows them to be successful throughout their lives because of their time on our campus.

____________________________________________________________

As a long time friend and fellow advocate of both my school and city, I’ll be voting for Cory today. Let’s start now and change this school for the better!

Check out Cory Alpert's campaign video here.

PREVIEW -- !Women, Art, Revolution - by Alivia Seely

 

Revealing the values and beliefs of the Feminist Art Movement, director Lynn Hershman-Leeson, has gathered interviews with artists, curators, historians, and critics for over four decades in her film !Women Art Revolution.

The documentary examines the beginnings of the movement in relation to the 1960’s anti-war movements and through the evolution of female art empowerment in the 60’s and 70’s.

Selected by MOMA New York as one of the three best documentaries of the year, !WAR presents new ideas about gender, race, sex, class, and art in all of its complexity. The story of these women who exploded onto the art scene in unconventional ways that did not match the views of those in power positions is enthralling. The film features the likes of The Guerrilla Girls, Judy Chicago, Miriam Schapiro, Rachel Rosenthal, and many, many more.

!WAR will show at The Nickelodeon on Feb. 16th at 6:30 p.m. as a part of their Art Docs series. Roni Nicole’s documentary featuring local artist Michaela Pilar Brown will accompany this screening.