About the 2017 JAY Finalists

2017 JAY Finalists in Visual Art

Nicole Kallenberg Heere * Sean Rayford * Cedric Umoja

Nicole Kallenberg Heere

Through December 2016, Nicole’s painting "Mommy's Little Helpers" was used by Theatre Lazina Nowa to advertise the play All About My Mother on billboards and posters in the city of Krakow, Poland. She continues to be an Artist in Residence at Tapp's Art Center in Columbia, South Carolina where her artwork was presented at "Figure Out" art exhibition in 2016. Her work was included in the Columbia Artists Guild inaugural show, "Our Art: A Celebration of Life and Creative Freedom," at City Art gallery in Columbia. In October 2016 she was selected as the cover artist for the fall issue of Jasper Magazine and was featured along with magazine editor Cindi Boiter on ArtsWACH for WACHFox news. From October 2016 - May 2017, Nicole showed with French Art Network at Galerie Rue Toulouse: New Orleans, LA and was honored at an artist meet and greet at Galerie Rue Toulouse in December. In January 2017, she enjoyed a solo show at Kershaw County Arts Center in Camden, SC and in February 2017 she was featured in French Quarterly Magazine, New Orleans, LA. In April 2017, she had a solo show at Patriot's Hall Performing Arts Center (Formerly Jasper John's High School) in Sumter, SC, and from May 2017 – present she has been represented by Mitchell Hill Gallery in Charleston.

Sean Rayford

Sean Rayford is a freelance photojournalist and commercial photographer working during the last year with The New York Times, The Washington Post, Getty Images, the Wall Street Journal, Time Magazine, the Associated Press and more. His commercial clients include the ACLU, Chernoff Newman, and the Columbia Visitors Bureau. Sean produces The Angry Whale, a photography webzine focusing primarily on local narratives with a heavy emphasis on the local music scene, along with national stories including a look at street protests in Cleveland during the Republican National Convention. He won the Best Photo Story from the South Carolina Press Association in 2016 and the Atlantic Institute Peace and Dialogue Award: Media and Communication in 2017. He enjoyed a Solo exhibition called “Documents” at Anastasia and Friends, a book release, Inundated, and was named one of 51 Instagram Photographers to Follow in the US by Time Magazine, all in 2016. He won the Free Times Best of Instagram Honorable Mention, in 2017. In 2016 Rayford had extensive coverage of rioting in Charlotte, NC for Getty Images, and Hurricane Matthew in the Carolina’s for The New York Times, Getty Images and The European Press Agency. After the election of Donald Trump Sean’s storylines have often intersected with the resulting protest movements including contentious congressional town hall meetings.

Cedric Umoja

Cedric Umoja has enjoyed the following exhibitions over the past year: Afrofuturism (a group exhibition) at 4th Wall Gallery in Charleston SC, as part of the Spoleto Arts Festival; "WE BLEED TOO!" a solo exhibition at the Goodall Gallery in Columbia; "Libation," a three person exhibition at Charleston City Gallery in Charleston SC; and, the MOJA African American / Caribbean Arts Festival. Cedric has completed a number of murals including "The space I'm in" in the Mission District of San Francisco, CA and "23 Million miles" on Millwood Avenue in Columbia. He has performed live art at MOCAD (Museum Of Contemporary Art Detroit) and performed in the film, Bridge (Refrain) as an actor/co-producer, and music supervisor, shot in Columbia. He has also completed commission work for Radio Krimi, Experience Columbia, LuLu Lemon, USC, and Coach Michael and Chantal Peterson.

*****

2017 JAY Finalists in Theatre

Chris Cockrell * Mandy Applegate Bloom * Bakari Lebby

Christopher Cockrell

Christopher Cockrell is both a musician and actor, with most of his musical contributions being offered to the theatre. In July, 2016 Chris musically directed the Trustus season opener American Idiot, nominated for the Free Times Best Theatrical Production award.  In October 2016, after 15 years of playing Riff Raff, Chris musically directed The Rocky Horror Picture Show which won the Free Times award. In December he was the sound guy for the Great American Trailer Park Christmas Musical. And in February 2017 he musically directed the Love is Love cabaret. During March 2017 he was the artist in residence at Hammond School and musically directed Into the Woods.  In May he competed in the Vista Queen Pageant as Raven Black for which he won the Judge’s Choice award. He reprised his role in July for the Jasper Summer Lovin’ Lip Sync Battle and won.  June 2017 saw him musically directing Rock of Ages.

Mandy Applegate Bloom

Mandy offered a burlesque performance featuring a body positivity, sexuality, and autonomy talkback at Hoechella Music Festival in August 2016, and was presented in an article and podcast with Auntie Bellum on Burlesque in August 2016. She also taught the Burlesque Beginners Dance Class Series at Tapp’s Arts Center in October 2016. Mandy was a singer and performer in the PALSS Torch Cabaret Benefit at CMFA October 2016 and was choreographer/movement coach for The Great American Trailer Park Christmas Musical at Trustus Theatre in December 2016.  Her most outstanding performance though was the dual leading roles in (and choreographer for) Grey Gardens at Trustus, March 2017. Mandy also judged the annual Vista Queen Pageant at Trustus Theatre this year.

Bakari Lebby

In August 2016 Bakari was inducted as a Trustus Theatre Company Member where, the month before he had performed as Gerard in American Idiot. He is an actor, sound designer, and writer for The Mothers Sketch Comedy troupe. He ran projection and did video design for Hand to God at Trustus Theatre, directed, did sound design, projection design, and graphic design for some girl(s) at Workshop Theatre, assisted with costume design for Sex on Sunday at Trustus Theatre. Bakari was also selected to direct One Another (Jon Tuttle) for Syzygy: Eclipse Plays.  His podcast, Soda City Sessions, boasts more than 70 interviews online, and his band, Sandcastles, released the album, Die Alone, in 2016.

*****

2017 JAY Finalists in Music

Those Lavender Whales * Fat Rat * Tyler Matthews

Those Lavender Whales

The group was mainly focused on releasing and supporting their second full length "My Bones Are Singing" (which came out in April) which garnered some national and international press, a Free Times cover story, and a good amount of touring up the east coast and around the southeast. Before the release of their album, they played an Arts & Draughts last fall, a special stripped down set with upright bass and electric guitar at the Nickelodeon for a Magic Hour in January with Valley Maker, and a songwriter event at Deckle Edge literary festival earlier this year.

Tyler Matthews

One of Tyler Matthews’ goals for the last 12 months was to gain music coverage beyond state lines. Producing his first full-length album in the form of the soundtrack for Exit 8 achieved just that — generating positive reviews, commentary, and interest from music blogs across the country. Along with scoring Exit 8, he served as the video editor for the film which gave him the opportunity to create a film trailer. This led to scoring and producing an additional composition which subsequently went on to receive a Gold Addy Award for Original Music at the Addy Awards. Tyler was one of 2 freelancers to win a gold award out of 250 professional entries. He was recognized by the American Advertising Federation of the Midlands as the member of the year for the video he volunteered to make promoting the Addy’s.  He was a selected filmmaker for the 2nd Act (Mr. Wonderful) Film Festival in October 2016, which involved creating original music for the film as well as tapping into music industry contacts Skylar Spence and Niilas who gave me the green light to use their music for Mr. Wonderful. He ran a successful Kickstarter campaign to submit Mr. Wonderful to the short film festival circuit, and supported other musical artists and organizations around the community through video and audio production. He played shows around Columbia for Jasper, Scenario Collective, and miscellaneous house parties. However, the vast majority of his music work was done in the studio setting on a Macbook Pro - Writing, Recording, Engineering, Mixing, Mastering, etc.  He was the producer of Insanity Podcast and was selected “Who to Stream” by Cola Daily, after being named New & Noteworthy on iTunes earlier in the year. He produces the music and all multimedia for the podcast.

FatRat Da Czar

As South Carolina’s godfather of hip hop, Fat was the Invited speaker/panelist at 2017 Charleston Music Confab and a performer at Charleston Music Confab (Charleston Music Hall). He was named the Free Times Best Hip Hop Artist and the 2017 Free Times Writers Pick for Best Annual Event or Festival for Love, Peace & Hip-Hop Festival, which he previously founded. He established a hip-hop headquarters at Tapp’s Arts Center on Main Street, and was an invited participant in EdVenture’s 100 Men Who Cook for Kids fundraiser. He executive Produced hip-hop artist Cole Connor’s album: SODA (Sometimes Our Dreams Align) and was an invited speaker at Richland Library’s Music Entrepreneur Seminar: Find Your Voice. Fat released the album, RailRoad, co-authored the book Da Cold Warrior, released the Cold Warrior double CD, performed at Freeway Music Festival (at the Music Farm Columbia) and performed at the Indie Grits opening party.

                                                 *****

                           2017 JAY Finalists in Literary Arts

                    Al Black * Nicola Waldron * Don McCallister

Al Black

Al Black is a northern born Southern poet who is trying to make up for 50 years of hiding his poetic life beneath a layered costume of respectability. He publishes in journals, online blogs and anthologies, most recently in Fall Lines 2017. He organizes and hosts a weekly poetry venue called Mind Gravy and three monthly poetry venues called Magnify Magnolias, Poems: Bones of the Spirit, and Blue Note Poetry as well as two monthly poetry workshops, in addition to organizing and hosting a monthly lyric singer/songwriter event called Songversation. Al co-founded the Poets Respond to Race Initiative with the poet, Len Lawson in May 2015 on which Len and Al continue to tour organizing and hosting readings and events connected with the initiative and, in February 2017, they co-edited, Hand in Hand: Poets Respond to Race published by Muddy Ford Press.

Nicola Waldron

Nicola Waldron has enjoyed a number of essays being accepted for publication or published in nationally-recognized magazines and websites this year, including "Ictus, or 1984 Redux" which was shortlisted for the Proximity personal essay prize in July 2017; “If Plan 'A' Don’t Work Out”: in About Place; and “Containing the Chaos: Spiral Form in Memoir” in Assay. “Spill” which was published in Marked by the Water in October, 2016 was performed as a staged oration at Tapp’s Art Center as part of the Marked by the Water commemoration of the first anniversary of the 1000 year flood. An excerpt from her book, River Running Backwards, was published in Fall Lines, summer 2017, and she was selected as a playwright for the Syzygy: Eclipse Plays project in spring 2017 for which she wrote the play Visitation. Her poems “Dream” and “Birthday in October” were published in in California Quarterly, July 2017; “Walking the Sawmill” in California Quarterly, in fall 2016, and “Crawlspace” and “After a Flood” were published in Marked By The Water, 2016. (“Crawlspace” was also published in Jasper, October 2016.) Nicola also participated in Bones of the Spirit, Mind Gravy, and Magnify Magnolias.

Don McCallister

Over the past year, Don began his own indie publishing company, calling it Mind Harvest Press, to publish his own backlog of material including Let the Glory Pass Away which launched in February 2017. His short story, “Eye of the Vandal” received an Honorable Mention from the Short Story America Fiction Contest and his short story, “Ruby in the Dust,” was published in Fall Lines 2017. In addition, his papers from the publication of Fellow Traveler were selected for the Grateful Dead Archives at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Don teaches creative writing at Midlands Technical College. 

*****

Vote

Jasper Artists of the Year

2017

http://jasperproject.org/jays

Then join us on Tuesday, December 5th at 7 pm in the 701 Whaley Market Space for the

2017 JAY Awards & Retro Snow Ball

and

Caroling with Those Lavender Whales

Retro Family Photos

Pop UP Art Show & Silent Auction by Thomas Washington

Silent Auction of Original Christmas Ornaments Created and Donated by Columbia-based Fine Artists in Support of Jasper Magazine

Cash Bar by The Whig

and more ....

REVIEW: Top Girls at USC - by Cindi Boiter

Top Girls, a 1982 play by Caryl Churchill, should be out of date. In a world where humanity makes forward progress toward social justice, where intelligence and talent are unencumbered by ties meant to maintain a system of oppressed and oppressive people, and where common good is truly valued and not simply paid lip service to, the conflicts in Top Girls would be a sad remembrance of a darker time. If social justice advanced at anything close to the rate that technology does, the issues addressed in this play would be no more than historical observations from which we learned, as a culture, and vowed to never repeat.

Sadly, Top Girls, a bitterly depicted play about women’s personal and professional sacrifices in the workplace—and in life, in general—is as contemporary now as it was thirty-five years ago. Cell phones. The Internet. Personal computers. Humans can do a lot, but we can’t seem to find a viable solution to a single one of the problems of women working outside the home and parenting their children. And any solutions we may have found are currently under threat.

Churchill’s Top Girls, brilliantly directed by Lindsay Rae Taylor for the University of South Carolina’s Department of Theatre and Dance, is not an easy play, but it’s a good play and it requires some investment on the part of the audience. Beginning with the opening dinner party scene during which women from various time periods arrive and begin to develop their characters by talking over one another as if they were commentators on a cable news show, the audience is challenged to follow conversational threads—a task that may come easier to some than others. From my perspective I picked up bits and pieces—enough to make me eager to research the characters to find out who was real and who was not.

Fictional character Marlene, played by Kimberly Braun, is the host of the party, a contemporary character celebrating her promotion at an employment agency. Marlene is the constant in the play which takes us on a non-linear journey through time.  Purposely anachronistic, the dinner party guests represent various oppressions of women throughout history. World traveler and real-life author Isabella Bird, played by Libby Hawkins, may have the most autonomy in that she elected to travel rather than tie herself down to a home life. Real-life Buddhist medieval nun Lady Nijo, played by Kelsey McCloskey, began her life in various stages of sexual servitude, and Dull Gret, a character from Flemish folklore who leads a band women into battle in Hell, as depicted in Pieter Brueghel the Elder’s painting, is played by Liv Matthews. Amber Coulter plays the probably fictional Pope Joan whom, legend tells, disguised herself as a male in order to pursue her studies and was eventually elected as Pope. Patient Griselda, played by Amelia Bruce, is a character from Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales who marries a Marquis and agrees to always obey him. As possibly the most poignant of the dinner party guests, Griselda’s obedience requires she give up her children in order to prove her devotion to the Marquis. Finally, Cassidy Spencer plays the role of the servant, as women are wont to do.

The following scene and the second act take the audience from a British backyard where two young girls play and make their confessions and back and forth between the aforementioned employment office and the home of Marlene’s sister and child. The conflict of the play is the same conflict appreciated by so many women today—how to power through a career and deciding what role, if any, parenting will play in the process.

While the playwright made some forgivable axiomatic assumptions, given the time in which it was written and the lack of examination of the extensive role the patriarchy plays, has played, and continues to play in the relative autonomy and agency of women, the absence of women of color from the script is less forgivable. In this way the play is guilty of being a product of its time, perpetuating a practice that, thankfully, has since been identified and is hopefully being ameliorated.

Kudos to the cast of Top Girls, all of whom, with the exception of Marlene who works throughout the play, play multiple roles and they do so strongly. There are powerful women on the stage of Top Girls. Charismatic, confident, and demanding of the audience’s attention. There were no weak links in the ensemble. The use of music contemporary to the eighties lifts the drama and there are many light-hearted moments. Particular compliments are due to costume designer Anna Ison who nailed the shoulder pads as well as she did Dull Gret’s appropriation of men’s iconic war symbols into women’s wear. Finally, congratulations to the cast on an opening sequence of slo-mo poses and posturing and choreography that set the stage for an exceptional night of entertainment. Catch the play to see those first few moments of fun – but stay for the rest of the evening, and leave with your feminist fires aflame!

Dance Scene at the Nick, a new film series

By: Susan Lenz

On Monday night, Restless Creature: Wendy Whelan kicked off the Nickelodeon's new special programming series Dance Scene celebrating the best in contemporary dance-based cinema. Four more films are slated over the coming month of Monday evenings. Programming coordinator Amada Torruella described the series as "riveting tales of spirit and commitment, capturing the passions and partnerships that subtend the dance world." Each film is partnered with a local organization to highlight area dancers, artists and community leaders and their relationships to international dance movements.

Before the theater darkened for Restless Creature, Columbia City Ballet's artistic director William Starrett introduced principal dancer Regina Willoughby. Regina discussed her journey into ballet, her support system, and future plans after retirement. For Willoughby, dance is the fabric of her life, and her upcoming retirement will be a time for celebration. Using all of the available space, Regina then performed the first half of a new work she choreographed on herself to a piece by Dustin O’Halloran. When asked about the musical selection, Regina commented on the soft, new beginnings of the piece that builds in excitement only to end, abruptly but peacefully, much like she envisions this, her final year as a professional ballerina.

Between the film and Regina’s presentation, I learned something new and was truly entertained. I highly recommend this enlivened and well-curated series. Hope to see you on subsequent Monday nights!

For tickets and additional information on the Dance Scene series, please visit http://nickelodeon.org/. Below is a list of the upcoming films:

Alive and Kicking, a dynamic exploration of the history of swing dancing, will be screened on Monday, October 30th and is partnered with a performance by Palmetto Swing Dance Association.

KIKI, a film set in the New York LGTBQ community's dance and ballroom scene, will be screened on Monday, November 6th and is partnered with South Carolina Black Pride, featuring MeMe Revlon and Babe Ebony.

Rize, a documentary on clowning and krumping in Los Angeles, will be screened on Monday, November 13th and is partnered with Fuse Arts Alliance.

Mr. Gaga, a documentary on Ohad Naharin, the artistic director of the Batsheva Dance Company, will be screened on Monday, November 20th and is partnered with both Columbia City Ballet and modern dancer Carolina Lewis Jones.

REVIEW: Jellyroll & Delicious Dish - Secret World,

By: Michael Spawn

With the October 21st release of its latest studio venture, Secret World, Jellyroll & Delicious Dish have taken a swipe at the dubious notion that bar bands should stay in the bar.

A frequent presence on Columbia’s performance scene, the JR&DD business model is a humble but time-honored one: Get people in the door and keep them placated with songs they already like or love while generously peppering the setlist with original tunes that fit seamlessly in with the established favorites, unabashedly showcasing the influence of the artists who made the original songs possible in the first place. In short, it’s music for it’s own sake, playing for the love of the game--unpompous, void of ego or pretense.

So it is with Secret World. Produced by fellow Columbia music fixture Rev. Marv Ward, the eight original compositions (plus one reprise) that make up the record reveal a JR&DD firing on every cylinder. The songs of bandleader and primary writer Bentz Kirby, which tend toward the mellower side of country and folk-influenced rock, succeed because Kirby has the faith in them necessary to let them stand on their own merits, be they politically charged lyrics, singalong choruses, or stirring sentimentality. Due to a near-fatal cardiac episode five years ago, Kirby takes it easy on himself concerning his vocal work, which has replaced booming power with an easygoing sweetness that services the songs without trouble. The vocal thunder comes courtesy of vocalists May Evans Kirby and Jenn McCallister, who mostly do backup work but take the lead (and writing credit) on two of Secret World’s tracks,  the jazzy, sultry “Emotional Glasses,” and the blues ballad “Take Your Coat,” respectively. As with Bentz’s songs, these two highlight the talents of their creators and recreate the relaxed atmosphere of the best JR&DD shows.

In all, Secret World is refreshing release from a band whose simple love of their craft and disdain for gimmickry is evident on every track.

Some Things Never Die: Decades of Columbia City Ballet's Dracula

by Susan Lenz

In the spring of 1994, William Starrett came to my little frame shop with an order for Columbia City Ballet. Easily, he talked me into exchanging my services for performance tickets. I took my six year old son to the next performance: The Ballet Tara. It was not critically acclaimed, but we didn’t know any better. We loved it and very much looked forward to the next season’s opening show, Dracula: Ballet with a Bite.  

We loved Dracula too. My son left the Koger Center asking for dance lessons. He wanted nothing more than to be on the stage with the Undead. Looking back, I can now see that even a six-year-old boy might feel the attraction of half-clad female vampires using their sexuality to lure men into rolling around on the floor of hot red and passionate purple stage set. What’s not to like when the contract-required long hair of the female cast is part of the choreography? Alluringly slung in full head tosses? The seduction hasn’t changed since Dracula debuted in 1991. 

Yet, much else has. And change is necessary. This is the twenty-second time Dracula has been part of Columbia City Ballet’s season (since 1991, there were a couple years when Dracula’s Revenge or Frankenstein was done instead of the original cult classic.) There is a constant need to update costumes, props, and sets. Every year demands a physically grueling number of rehearsals to introduce new dancers to their parts and ease seasoned dancers into new roles. Over the years, additional music has enhanced the original ASCAP award-winning score by the late composer Thomas E. Samanski. 

Jason Cobb, Office and Educational Outreach Manager, showing off a package of Dracula fangs.)

Even the fangs have changed. Early productions required dancers to visit Tom Hoffman, the company dentist, for full mouth impressions. Nowadays, thermoplastic fangs come in tiny coffin boxes from Dracula House. This year’s show will feature a new Gothic chair fashioned after a set designer’s recent trip visiting Eastern European castles. There’s a new character too: Renfield, Dracula’s weird, fly-eating minion.

Katie Heaton and Amanda Summey, members of the Undead.

Obviously, the cast has changed every year. In 1991 Gillian Murphy, now principal at American Ballet Theater in New York City, danced as a senior apprentice. William Starrett portrayed the protagonist, Jonathan Harker, but would later become Count Dracula before retiring.

In 1994, I left my younger son at home. He had just turned four and was in pre-kindergarten with Amanda Summey, one of this year’s Undead. By 1996, my elder son did appear in Dracula. He was one of the children in an idyllic picnic scene with Bonnie Boiter-Jolley, now a soloist with the Ballet and a Maiden of Darkness who is featured on this year’s advertisement poster.

Over the years, and now decades, I’ve seen Dracula: Ballet with a Bite dozens of times. It’s part of my never-dying Halloween tradition. I always look forward to the same campy, sexy fun as well as the updates and transitions that keep the production fresh.

For tickets to the show, please visit http://www.kogercenterforthearts.com

7:00 PM Friday, October 27, 2017
7:00 PM Saturday, October 28, 2017

There is masquerade “Gala with a Bite” ball after Friday’s performance. This ticketed event will be held at City Market Place, 705 B Gervais Street. Tickets can be ordered atbrownpapertickets.com/event/2962339 or by calling (803) 799-7605. On Saturday, there is a 6:00 PM pre-show lecture in the Koger Center Ballroom with Artistic Director William Starrett. During Saturday’s intermission, over $100 in prizes will be awarded through a costume competition for audience members. Dracula: Ballet with a Bite is also scheduled for Charleston’s Sottile Theater at 7:00 PM on Halloween night.

Robbie Robertson Talks About Indie Grants & Whistler's Mother

Jasper: Tell us about your good news from the SC Film Commission.

Robbie:  My short screenplay, WHISTLER’S MOTHER, was recently selected as one of three shorts to be produced by the Indie Grants program which is administered by The South Carolina Film Commission and coordinated by Trident Technical College. I will be producing and co-directing with Lorie Gardner, CEO of Mad Monkey Productions, and one of my frequent collaborators.

Jasper:  How does Indie Grants work?

Robbie:  The Indie Grants is the only one of its kind program in the nation, using short films for production development and job training, while also creating international industry exposure for the state’s film industry. Funding the projects creates training environments for emerging crew and professional development opportunities for South Carolina filmmakers and other artists. 

Each Indie Grants project will employ Trident Technical College film students in its production, giving students hands-on training under the filmmakers and other production professionals, and acting as a bridge to full-time professional employment. Along with my project, Whistler’s Mother, the other projects selected for production include Abducted, written by Josh Barkey of Fort Mill with Ben Joyner attached to direct; and People Moving Through Time, a partnership with Indie Grits Labs & the Nickelodeon Theatre, written and directed by Roni Nicole Henderson and produced by Seth Gadsden of Columbia.

In the past, Indie Grants shorts have been official selections of top international film festivals, such as Sundance, Slamdance, Palm Springs, Austin, Stiges, LA, Cucalorus, DragonCon, Tallgrass, and many more. The projects have also attracted an impressive roster of working professionals in the entertainment industry including Oscar-winning Cinematographer Russell Carpenter (Titanic, Ant-Man), actor AJ Bowen (You’re Next, The Sacrament), DP Peter Simonite (The Perfect Guy, 2nd Unit DP on Tree of Life), writer Brad Land (Goat), Casting Director Avy Kauffman (Lincoln, Life of Pi), and Script Supervisor Martha Pinson (Wall Street, Hugo, The Aviator). 

Jasper:  Now tell us about your project.

Robbie:  My project is a fictional back story exploration of the famous painting WHISLTER’S MOTHER by James McNeil Whistler. As a child, I was always intrigued and rather scared of the painting and imagined what was the real story behind this infamous mother. In researching the real-life family, I learned the Whistler family lived in Russian in the 1830s and lost a young child and my imagination started running wild from that point forward. The story really started jelling for me when I also uncovered an ancient Russian fable about an evil child killing witch named the Baba Yaga. I found a way to blend the two stories and have created what I call a dark fable about a desperate mother, codependent relationships born of tragic loss that also result in the birth of creativity. I also hope to use the short film as a “proof of concept” to create a feature version of the same story.

Deciding to partner with Lorie Gardner, one of the most brilliant business people I know, has helped me elevate the scope of this project and we are so excited to bring this story to life. The official logline for the script is: The artist James Whistler spent years trying to capture the essence of his mother for his most famous work of art. Not to create a masterpiece, but to save his mother from possession by the Baba Yaga, an evil Russian witch. 

Jasper:  What happens next for your film?

Robbie:  Right now, we are in preproduction with Brad Jayne and Kevin Peterson from the Indie Grants program who are serving as producers on the project. I’ve also been working with a wonderful script consultant named Geoff Gunn who has helped me prep a shooting script. We are also working with a casting director from Charleston named Matt Sefick who is sending out audition notices to agents on both coasts.

Jasper:  When will we get to see the finished product?

Robbie:  All Indie Grants projects have to be shot between November 2017 and February 2018. So, with any luck—and maybe some magic from the Baba Yaga—we’re looking at next summer for a finished product.

~~~

Robbie Robertson is a playwright, screenwriter and a graduate of the University of South Carolina and UCLA’s professional screenwriting program. His first play, Mina Tonight!, was published by Samuel French Inc. and has been produced in regional theatres across the nation. In 2015, Robertson produced a sold out run of his staged adaptation of the film Satan in High Heels at both Dixon Place and TheatreWorks in NYC. Robertson’s screenplays have placed in several national contests, including his comedy, Sweet Child of Mine, being named one of the top 12 comedy scripts in the Austin Film Festival’s Screenwriting Competition. Robertson was also a Top 10 Finalist in the 2016 London Table Read My Screenplay contest with his original pilot, DENMARK (an adaptation of Hamlet set in 1940s South Carolina) and the same work was named one of the Top 100 Pilots of 2016 by The Tracking Board in Los Angeles. Most recently, Robertson’s drama, AT-RISK, was a Top 25 Semi-Finalist in the 2016 Zoetrope Screenwriting Contest. He is currently developing AT-RISK with producer/actor Kristian Alfonso (“DAYS OF OUR LIVES.”) Robertson was the recipient of the SC Arts Commission 2014 Media Screenwriting Fellow and is looking forward to producing and co-directing his first short film, a supernatural thriller that reveals the backstory of the woman featured in one most iconic works of art in modern history—WHISTLER’S MOTHER.

A Place for Every Dancer: Civic Ballet

By: Susan Lenz

When my husband Steve Dingman finished his PhD, he accepted a job here in Columbia. We moved in January 1987 and shortly thereafter, I got pregnant and we bought a house. We considered this the beginning of our "real lives" as tax-paying adults and felt the thrill of doing cultural things like attending the ballet. We'd never seen the Nutcracker and were excited to attend a Thanksgiving weekend performance at the Township Auditorium. Columbia City Ballet, a civic company, had guest dancer William Starrett performing the role of the Cavalier Prince. Little did we know that the local dance scene was about to change radically.

By the next year, Columbia City Ballet became a professional company under the direction of William Starrett. Instead of amateurs performing almost all the roles (hiring guest professionals only as needed, generally for leading male parts requiring complicated partnering), a professional troupe was hired. Paid dancers replaced local high school students. Ideally, this meant Columbia's audiences could expect a higher level of technical ability and better quality. It also meant that local student dancers had fewer opportunities to perform. That's when Ann Brodie's Carolina Ballet was founded, a civic company to continue the tradition of training pre-professional dancers. 

Ann Brodie's Carolina Ballet is still mounting the Nutcracker at the Township Auditorium over every Thanksgiving weekend. This is their 30th year. All 163 dancers who auditioned last August were cast. Co-artistic director John Whitehead said, "It is our duty and responsibility to find a place for everyone. We make the dancers look good because they make the production look good." Over the years, several have gone from being mice to Sugar Plum Fairy. A civic company provides a unique training ground with performing opportunities. When I asked about the difficulties of casting, John explained that age, ability, and height are important factors. Plus, there are only so many costumes and dancers in particular scenes. (For example, there are only twenty Bon-Bon outfits.)

Rehearsals for this year's show have been underway for weeks. The dancers come from a variety of different ballet schools and programs. Older dancers rehearse every weekday evening after their regular ballet class plus Saturdays and Sundays. Younger dancers come on the weekends from 2 to 5:30. There are guest performers too, including Chris Beattie, a character actor who has been the Rat King for twenty-three years. Miss Libby's Dance School in Sumter sends tap dancing soldiers for the battle scene. The second act opens to the angelic voices of Capella Pueri, St. Peter's Catholic School choir under the direction of Andrew Kotylo. Neil Casey conducts The Columbia Festival Orchestra throughout the show.

I asked John Whitehead if he ever tired of this annual production. Confidently, he said no. He finds personal revitalization in the energy of the kids. I asked his co-artistic director Mimi Worrell if she had ever been Clara, the most coveted role for a young girl. No. Her first part was as a Party Girl. Over the years, she has danced just about every other role either as an amateur in a civic show or for pay in a professional company.

Over the years, I've seen plenty of Nutcracker productions, with choreography as different as George Balanchine's to Septime Webre's and companies as far away as Pacific Northwest and London's Royal Ballet. Yet, the one I know the best is still Ann Brodie's at Carolina Ballet. I will always love seeing young dancers living their dream and growing up on stage from part to part. 

Tickets are available by calling (803) 576-2350 or visiting www.ticketmaster.com

Dates and times for the production are:

• Friday, November 24, 2017 - 7:30pm

• Saturday, November 25, 2017 - 7:30pm

• Sunday, November 26, 2017 - 3:00pm

NUMBTONGUE at Jam Room Music Festival by Bria Barton

The Jam Room Music Festival is set to open Saturday, October 14, and one act in particular, NUMBTONGUE, is preparing to perform independently for the first time at the event.

Inspired by the likes of Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, Emily Dickinson, and David Bowie—to name only a few of the countless creative minds that influence him—Bobby of NUMBTONGUE is an entity whose music and talents stretch beyond experimental. They’re bordering on the side of transcendental.

A self-described sugar addict with a tendency for sleepless days and nights, Bobby infuses and binds his music with pieces of deeply personal, historical, and natural.

He sat down with Jasper to discuss his recent album as well as his much-anticipated performance for The Jam Room Music Festival.

Q: A lot of your music on Exhumation had to do with your son and your feelings upon becoming a father for the first time. How has that dynamic been maintained (or not) now that he is a little older? How has that affected your writing process?

NUMBTONGUE: Becoming a father is certainly a sliver of what light Exhumation casts about me, but a sliver in a prism.  The theme thus far in the song that is NUMBTONGUE is largely one of self-fragmentation.  These songs are less an attempt to gather those fragments in a manageable whole as they are a building frustration at being unable to do so, mostly especially in a vacuum, alone. 

“The blind man blindfolded shuts his eyes, in the deepest cave, and it gets him high…” I say at one point.

So I fear saying that being a new dad is a dominant theme, as it may confound and confuse someone unaware of my aims. A hovering reality to be sure, that may help some listeners to know about me, but not required to understand what’s going on. 

Strangely most, if not all, of these songs began before I became a father. Records are about folding oneself inside out for all to see, and inevitably that part of my identity spills over, but often only as metaphorically parallel to the larger themes present. 

 I’ve said before in relation to this record that I haven’t fully processed becoming a father yet (not that one ever does), but it’s largely my inability to process such a blinding weight of self-identity (among many) that grips the other threads of me, each of which begin their own unspooling in the process. 

Who am I as a child and son?  

Who am I as a husband?  

Who am I as a citizen? 

Who am I as a sentient creature?

Who am I when truly alone?  

“Who am I that you would consider me?”

There was also an unexpectedly prescient tone of cynicism (for my personal life that is) present on the record, from a time when I was seeking merely to be more honest with myself, as someone prone to hope to a fault. 

Yet now I feel more fragmented and disillusioned than ever.  I told my mom recently that, “It’s not that I’m hopeless, I’ve just never hoped less.”  Which is an odd thing to say now as a father of two. 

But the year 2016 was a bleeding year for me for a number of personal reasons I won’t go into, and the burden of completing the nearly conceptually finished ‘Exhumation’ at the time without it becoming tainted by that dark year nearly killed my desire to complete the project entirely. The album was delayed for over a year.

It’s almost as if I’m only just now consciously processing what I was saying on the record without knowing I was preparing myself for an unforeseen fallout.  I finished it because I needed to begin the next chapter before anyone had even heard the first. So I’m grateful to have made this record for my future self to perform as an unexpected solace. It’s become quite the table of contents of things to come.

Q: Describe the logistical and creative differences between the experimental music you’re doing now and the “artrock” music you wrote with The Sea Wolf Mutiny.

NUMBTONGUE: In many ways Numbtongue is a culmination and continuation of the ideas explored in The Sea Wolf Mutiny. That may manifest itself in some unsatisfying ways to fans of that former project, but they shouldn’t necessarily be surprised.

The name NUMBTONGUE in part suggests this, in that I feel like I am saying what I was always saying, and in some ways it feels I’ve said nothing at all. I’m numb to the truth of it all because it’s all too real and overwhelming. I can’t feel it but I know it’s there, at once an inability to speak both from atrophy & overuse.

The primal idea of NUMBTONGUE, oddly enough, is actually pulled from a quote the very first drummer of TSWM Joel Eaton told me once. He left early on to live in NH but it always stuck with me.  He mentioned it in relation to some lyrics we were writing at the time during a rehearsal. I messaged him about it when crafting Exhumation trying to hunt down this quote that eventually inspired Track 6 “Disjecta Membra” as I couldn’t locate it on my own and never asked about it further at the time.

That track eponymously refers to the archaeological term for pieces of pottery recovered from ancient civilizations at dig sites, and he told me that disjecta membra poetae (or “scattered truth” if you will) was a phrased once used by a theologian-philosopher J. G. Hamann from his essay Aesthetica in Nuce: “The fault may lie where it will (outside us or within us): all we have left in nature for our use is fragmentary verse and disjecta membra poetae. To collect these together is the scholar’s modest part; the philosopher’s to interpret them; to imitate them, or – bolder still – to adapt them, the poet’s."

I would say that passage has been one of the key motives behind the themes of self-fragmentation explored in The Sea Wolf Mutiny and NUMBTONGUE.  I actually almost called the record Self Storage in light of the location it was recorded in. 

But the word ‘exhumation’ implied a resurrection of sorts, and ‘exhaustion’ as well, and I liked that it almost sounds like the word “human exhaust” in a sense.  More importantly, it is a rarely used form of a word normally saved for the context of exhuming a body, usually when investigating a crime or an archeological dig.  

In many ways, TSWM were trending in these NUMBTONGUE directions even before its hiatus, so this project was and is more an attempt to grow and stretch that sound we had found.  One with any knowledge of previous TSWM work will hear it’s hallmarks in NUMBTONGUE both lyrically and melodically.  

The themes of alienation; the shattering of the myth of self; yearning for a home I’ve never been to before; “do I actually control what I believe?”; searching for what ultimate reality we can all grasp as true together; and decrying my utter failure to gather the shards of us all to do so; “if heaven is there what is it like and who walks there? These are just a few things wrestled with here.

There is a meditation on Exhumation where I wonder “sometimes I wish we really could be born again” in a song that wanders in the dark while blindfolded hoping to bump into some kind of quantum god (Constant), and my son coos and whines in the background of a song about the flaws in our definitions of intimacy (Mirabal) that is as much about being a husband as it is being a bad friend or lover. These are very The Sea Wolf Mutiny subjects.

From a logistical standpoint, I decided to seek stylistic choices that pulled from my roots as a drummer at heart, learning to craft a song towards its moments of silence more effectively than I had before, seeking to serve that silence and space between the notes.  So I let songs be born from the drums and bass guitar more often then the process allowed in the previous band. This was as much about being different for it’s own sake as it was to serve the theme of fragmentation by starting with grooves only and almost no tones.  

I would also ask myself: “What can I get from almost nothing? What does it sound like to have just excavated guitar distortion like an artifact?” Because tonally I wanted to explore the more primal languages of rock and roll even further than I had so far.  This meant recording no guitar amps and plugging directly into an audio interface preamp, not only to keep quiet around my family but to get in touch with the raw electricity before any pedal or amp could touch the signal. I learned later this is called ‘console distortion’. 

I used to devote myself to a single instrument (piano) and single role as wordsmith and lead singer, but I decided I wanted to wear all the hats this time. Sometimes it’s easier to color inside your own lines instead of outside someone else’s. I decided to flesh out and build upon each rough draft layer by layer until I liked what I heard and it felt complete. The whole record sounds as if it’s a Salvador Dali painting drawn on notebook paper. 

It was interesting living into such a disembodied recording process: a bedroom holding my one year-old son recording vocals, a climate control storage crafting one song for seven hours straight, tracking back up vocals into a Mac mic while parked in my minivan as a train drove by. The list goes on.

For many of the more abstract moments, I felt like a foley artist for a movie sometimes in my gathering of sounds via my smartphone, specifically sounds of a scattered metallophonic quality: clanging children’s toys or wind chimes while some kids played by the pool. 

Technology available now makes one feel limitless, and I was interested in limiting myself within those limitless possibilities.  One way was to use only instruments nearby that I already owned, not buy anything new.  There was one element that nearly scuttled the whole thing: I recorded all synthetic drums save one tambourine.  However, I felt compelled to use one drum kit in logic pro to aid in my ‘sophisticated rough draft’ approach by keeping it intentionally boxed in, almost like it was the only drum machine I owned, so that anything that bloomed from it had believable roots. Since I had no drum machine and loved this one kit so much, I leaned in. 

There are drumbeats and melodies on Exhumation that date back to middle school for me.

I always dreamed of making a record alone: writing, recording, mixing, producing, mastering. I tend to write songs in a manifold way in terms of instrumental composition, but rarely would I complete them to the degree. So this record sounds like all of my private demos always sounded in my last band, I just decided to release them. So in a way my process is no different and this just where I’ve evolved to at this point.  It just so happens I needed to stop tinkering with it and release it into the wild, so here we are. 

I think of TSWM as it’s own experiment in deconstructing rock and roll, working out whatever my worldview was back then in broad daylight, meditations and prayers outsourced to other ears. All of which are present in NUMBTONGUE.  Another contrast was I wrote nearly everything from guitars and drums and almost nothing on the piano except for two tracks for the better part of 2 years. There was a comfort zone I wanted to challenge there in order to expand how I thought about rhythm, timbre and tone, since I didn’t have to feel trapped on a piano. I have however found my way back to the ivories of late. 

Q: You’ve never played JRMF with one of your own projects. How are you preparing to showcase NUMBTONGUE?

NUMBTONGUE: Practice, practice, practice.  I am eternally grateful for Danny, Steve, Phil and Adam diving headfirst into this abstraction of my self with me, as this music is interminably difficult to evoke live, even for it’s author.  I’m beyond proud of our efforts over the past 7-8 months to reify three years of work.  

Why did you want to be a part of JRMF?

JRMF has consistently honored the local scene next to many an indie juggernaut, and it seemed as good a time as any to finally present one of my own projects on it’s stages.  It’s actually odd it hasn’t happened yet.

What aspect of JRMF are you most excited about?

Performing on the same stage as GBV and HGM is pretty amazing. And sharing a bill with so many talented friends and scene mates (Valley Maker, The Lovely Few, King Vulture, Barnwell, Fat Rat) and having a chance to hear us all in a bigger way than normal always excites me. There’s no place like home.

What I’m looking forward to the most though is finally playing almost every track off of Exhumation in a live setting. And also, debuting a brand new song no one’s heard yet, a song you know is great, is forever my happy place.

What can the audience expect from JRMF and your performance?

They can expect a robust and sophisticated oeuvre from almost every artist performing. I can’t wait. As far as NUMBTONGUE, for those that have seen us live so far, there will perhaps be more keys present than usual from yours truly.  I’ve found myself returning to that home of late.  And it feels good.

REVIEW: Building the Wall at Trustus by Frank Thompson

“Your eyes can deceive you. Don’t trust them.”
- Ben (Obi-Wan) Kenobi, Star Wars

  As is often the case in my experience with Trustus Theatre, I left Saturday night’s performance of Robert Schenkkan’sBuilding The Wall with a completely different story in mind. Just as their recent production of Barbecue had me humming a tune from Jekyll & Hyde: The Musical as I walked to my car, Building The Wall  left me contemplating the Star Wars saga, specifically the themes of redemption and the oft-blurred lines between good and evil.  This speaks well to the universality of the themes being examined this season at Trustus. If a new piece of work can activate the emotions and associations of the audience member, there’s an immediate sense of connection with the story. Not to get overly existential about it, but (with only a slight wink at the company’s name) it creates an immediate sense of trust in the script. Part of Trustus’ overall philosophy is that theatre is storytelling, and the story in Building The Wall is tightly and unapologetically told through two characters, each of whom is much more than our eyes reveal.

   Staged in Trustus’ “Side Door” black box theatre, Building The Wall is a touch claustrophobic and uncomfortable, especially pre-show, when one of the play’s two characters sits and waits for someone to arrive, for something to happen, or perhaps simply passes the long, boring day of a prisoner in solitary confinement. Rather than being drawbacks, the forced intimacy and uncertainty about the silent, orange jumpsuit-clad man onstage establish an overcrowded jail atmosphere, enhanced by subtle sound effects that go from barely audible to noisy and back to near-silence in no particular order or pattern. Director Jim O’Connor puts a masterful touch on establishing place and theme well before the show begins, and his skill remains on display through the next 90 minutes, which leave the collectivemoral vision of the audience inside a fun-house mirror room.

   The story is a simple one, but chilling in the way only a “this could actually happen” cautionary tale can be. Security guard Rick, played by J.B. Frush-Marple, is in prison in 2019, for crimes against humanity, and he is visited by a History Professor, Gloria (Lonetta Thompson), who seeks to understand his actions. Their initial meeting provides a stark contrast in visual types, with Frush-Marple bearing a strong resemblance to a taller, slightly leaner Hugh Laurie of House fame, complete with requisite stubble. He slouches and paces, as his emotions motivate him, and his jumpsuit immediately establishes “criminal.” Thompson, by contrast, is very put-together and professionally dressed. Given the sophistication of her vocabulary compared to Rick’s, there is clearly an education gap, but once again, the eyes (and ears) can deceive. Rick turns out to be far from the cornpone stereotype he first seems, and Gloria has much more to her than a “liberal female academic” stock character.

   During the interview, Rick tells Gloria a story many of us fear is all too possible. Following a terrorist attack on Times Square, the president declares martial law, and begins rounding up immigrants from multiple countries for deportation. Not understanding the incredibly challenging logistics of such an operation, the government sets up holding stations…which become tent cities and worse.  As this gruesome progression continues, Rick is all too aware of what’s happening, but needs his job for the insurance to care of his two children, at least one of whom has serious medical difficulties. Rick is a man caught in a place of terrible conflict.  Rick speaks with sincerity about his black friends, and the audience actually feels a touch of sympathy for this most unsympathetic (at first glance) character. Even when pressed about Muslim friends, he admits to not having any, but says he’s “got no problem” with them, commenting that “they kinda keep to themselves”. Don’t misunderstand – Rick is still a shitkicker Texan, and unlikely to join the ACLU, but there’s no hate in him, and certainly not homicidal tendencies. The more we get to know him, the more we understand his plight, and feel a begrudging sympathy for this lower-middle-class Sad Sack who seems to have caught every bad break life could offer, including taking the fall for “just doing his job”. Frush-Marples manages to capture the conflict between what one would imagine to be prejudices learned from the cradle, and new perspective brought about through the horrors he has witnessed.

   As Gloria, Thompson brings her signature coolness and poise to the role. One of the things I admire about her acting style is that she always seems to be the person in control of the situation, even when she isn’t. As mentioned above, Gloria’s use of academic terminology and an advanced vocabulary suggest a well-to-do, Ivy League type, yet she mentions her Ford Fairlane which has needed a full engine rebuild for at least a year, indicating that she is not as affluent as she may appear. This could easily have “knocked her down a peg or two,” but Thompson’s most effective combination of full acceptance of what we now know to be the life of a struggling teacher, combined with her utter calm (well, practically utter) at the raging, doubletalk, and moments of true sincerity from Rick establish her as the voice of calm and reason. It is Gloria with whom we naturally sympathize, yet even she loses her cool for a second or two here and there. Neither the demon nor the saint is fully without a drop of the other’s virtues, which kept bringing me back to the light and dark sides of The Force. I won’t beat the Star Wars comparison to death, but some strong thematic parallels are there.

   The set is simple, slightly cramped, and a bit harshly lit, as would be the case in a prison interview room. Props to Brandon McIver and Frank Kiraly, respectively, for these nice touches of verisimilitude.

   Building The Wall is a thought-provoking, frightening, and realistic play that will leave you thinking. Also, the entire show is performed in one act, so if you order an interval drink before the show, you’ll wind up hanging out and drinking it, chatting away to various production team members, while the company closes up shop for the night. I speak from experience.

   When I was a kid, one of my favorite comic books was a Marvel title called What If…, an anthology series, which featured monthly stories on how changes to canonical history would have changed the outcome. (“What If Spider-Man Had Joined The Fantastic Four”, as I recall, had a fairly tragic ending, and the writers weren’t afraid to make a hypothetical turn out badly from time to time.) In many ways, Building The Wall is a real-life version of that comic book. This is a What If… that has the potential to come true.  I responded to it both as a piece of political theatre and as a master class in textured acting from two talented, experienced, pros.

   It isn’t a night full of laughs, nor should it be, but Building The Wall is an important work with a message that needs to be heard. Bravo to Trustus for once again being unafraid to address controversial and sometimes disturbing situations and themes. This is “Grown-Up Theatre” at its best.

-FLT3

Tim Conroy's New Book Launches New Series for Muddy Ford Press

Join Tim Conroy early for pre-launch purchases

Tuesday at 5 pm at Immaculate Consumption

Festivities start at 6 pm

Chapin-based boutique publishing company, Muddy Ford Press, announces a new series of books, The Laureate Series, with the publication of Theologies of Terrain by Tim Conroy, edited by Columbia poet laureate, Ed Madden. There will be a launch party for the book on Tuesday, October 10th at 6 pm at Immaculate Consumption at 933 Main Street in Columbia, behind the SC State House, at which Conroy will read from the publication. The event is free and open to the public.

“The purpose of The Laureate Series is to celebrate the tradition of poetry that is born to South Carolinians and to promote and honor the relationship between mentor and protégé, advocate and postulant, poet and poet,” says publisher Dr. Robert Jolley. Poets laureate in South Carolina are invited to work independently with a poet of their choice who has not yet had a book of poetry published. Muddy Ford Press will publish the new author’s book and provide her or him with a number of copies of the book, as well as arrange for readings and promotion of the book.

Muddy Ford Press approached Madden, who is the publishing house’s poetry editor, about the new series earlier this year and he agreed to work with Conroy on this publication. The poets worked most of the year on Theologies of Terrain. “Working with Tim on this project was a joy,” Madden says. “His poems were lovely already, but it was such a pleasure to take this journey with him, thinking about how the poems might work together as a book. This is a beautiful collection, and these are poems we need -- the perfect inaugural book for the laureate series.”

Praise for Theologies of Terrain has been abundant. 

“’In this dwelling of scars/the history of dirt is blood,’ Tim Conroy tells us in this excellent debut. There is sadness in these poems, vivid renderings of childhood abuse and of lives that ended too soon, but the beauty of the natural world is also acknowledged, as is the realization that memory offers consolation as well as sorrow, all of which leads to the poet’s hard-earned affirmation that ‘love has saved me.’ Bravo!”  – Ron Rash – author of Serena, The World Made Street, The Risen, Saints at the River and more

“‘In the journey you inventory/all it is you carry,’ writes Tim Conroy early on in Theologies of Terrain. These fine poems map a complex and beautiful journey through loss, love, and, finally, revelation. They chart masterfully the complex hills and valleys of grief and memory. They probe at the edges of the mystery of family, maybe the landscape most full of hard, sometimes impassible terrain. There are many beautiful poems here, and we are lucky to have such a collection to map our own journeys.”   – John Lane – author of Fate Moreland’s Widow, My Paddle to the Sea, and more

“There are so many lovely things in this book. There are poems that break me and poems that resonate long after I’ve turned the page. I am delighted to help bring this beautiful book into the world.”  – Ed Madden – author of Signals, Ark, Prodigal: Variations, and more

Conroy is a former special education teacher, school administrator, and vice president of the South Carolina Autism Society. His poetry and short fiction have been published in literary journals, magazines, and compilations, including Fall Lines, Auntie Bellum, and Marked by the Water. A founding board member of the Pat Conroy Literary Center, established in his brother’s honor, Conroy lives and writes in Columbia, South Carolina.  “Ed is a poet of incredible instinct, knowledge, skill, generosity and vision,” Conroy says. “He gives the poet the gift of immersion into their work. I was fortunate beyond belief to have him as my mentor and editor.”

Tim Conroy, author of Theologies of Terrain

Full disclosure: Muddy Ford Press was the underwriter for Jasper Magazine during the first five years of publication. Editor Cindi Boiter also serves as associate publisher for Muddy Ford Press.

Audition Hopes and Dreams in Columbia Dance

By: Susan Lenz

Columbia City Ballet is busy rehearsing both Emanuel: Love is the Answer for their October 20th performance at Charleston Music Hall and for Dracula: Ballet with a Bite that will be staged in multiple locations in the southeast.  Columbia Classical Ballet is busy rehearsing Imagine: Ballet Rocks for its October 13th show here at the Koger Center and for another weekend in West Virginia. These are busy, professional companies. 

And behind the scenes they are both also getting ready for the annual holiday tradition called Nutcracker. Most ballet companies in the United States depend on this one production to "pay the bills" for the rest of the season. This one show is a mainstay in Columbia's dance scene, and there's good reason for it.

In an online Christmas eve 2014 Time Magazine article, Sarah Begley and Julia Lull explain the relatively recent Nutcracker phenomena. Ten years after San Francisco Ballet first brought the full-length ballet to America in 1944, New York City Ballet's George Balachine cast thirty-five children in his iconic choreography. Ever since, children have been part of the visual and financial equation. As the article points out, "when your kid's in the show, you've gotta see it—and you probably have to reserve tickets for the whole extended family, too. That means whether you have a young star or just a young audience member, if you're only going to see one ballet per year, it will probably be The Nutcracker."

Music commentator Miles Hoffman once told NPR, "for thousands and thousands of children [The Nutcracker has] been their first exposure both to ballet and to classical music."  That is certainly the case here in Columbia. Over the years, I've personally watched young dancers grow up through the available roles, from mouse to bon-bon to party girl to a dancing flower blossom. Hopes and dreams hang on auditions. 

So, recently I went to Lancaster, one of eight locations where Columbia City Ballet Artistic Director William Starrett and staff cast children for their company's Nutcracker tour. I met fourteen-year-old Joey Effren, who has been on-pointe for four years. She's hoping to become a snowflake in her third appearance in the annual show. Eleven-year-old Grayson Knox auditioned on-pointe for the first time. She hopes to be in the party scene. It was eight-year-old Carmela Tiedt's first audition for CCB. She's seen the Charlotte Ballet's Nutcracker for the past several years. In two weeks, Carmela and the others will receive their audition results in the mail. If cast, the letter will include a twice-per-week over five-weeks rehearsal schedule. Columbia City Ballet sends a ballet mistress to teach all the parts and steps to every location. They also bring all of the costuming, from town to town and cast to cast. The logistics are mind-boggling. Little Carmela is hoping there are mouse ears and a tail in her future.

Columbia Classical Ballet isn't holding open auditions this year. They cast children from their official training site, Pavlovich Ballet School. Artistic Director Radenko Pavlovich said that past open auditions became "a nightmare" because of conflicting rehearsal schedules, family vacations, school commitments, and outside activities. Besides, Columbia Classical Ballet's professional dancers are having to learn two completely different Nutcracker choreographies. They have their own show, but are also dancing the major roles for a production with Charleston Ballet in Charleston, West Virginia. That cast will include local children who are learning directions and staging before the professional company arrives. Nutcracker is far more complicated that the fairy-tale picture it paints on stage.

As audience members, we are lucky here in Columbia because we have a variety of opportunities to see the production. My advice is to see the show more than once. This is an excellent chance to compare the two professional companies and to see hopes and dreams danced out on stage. Below is a listing of dates and ticket information.

But there's more!

I haven't mentioned the civic company here in town. Ann Brodie's Carolina Ballet is a pre-professional civic ballet company that annually presents The Nutcracker at the Township Auditorium over Thanksgiving weekend. Most roles, even the major parts, are danced by local talent. Casting happened in late August. They are already well into rehearsals and I'll blog about this upcoming show at a later time!

Columbia City Ballet's Nutcracker performances at the Koger Center:

3:00 PM Saturday, December 9, 2017
7:30 PM Saturday, December 9, 2017
3:00 PM Sunday, December 10, 2017
3:00 PM Saturday, December 16, 2017
7:30 PM Saturday, December 16, 2017
3:00 PM Sunday, December 17, 2017

Columbia Classical Ballet's Nutcracker performances at the Koger Center:

7:30 PM Friday, December 1, 2017
3:00 PM Saturday, December 2, 2017
7:30 PM Saturday, December 2, 2017
3:00 PM Sunday, December 3, 2017

Tickets to either company's complete season are available on the Koger Center website:

www.kogercenterforthearts.com

Rosewood Art & Music Festival - Tomorrow!

by Jenna Schiferl

Alexandra White has been doing art festivals since she was four years old. She often accompanied her mother, who was an oil painter, to various shows and exhibitions from a young age. White is now an artist herself, specializing in acrylic and oil mixed media pieces.  Her work, under which she is better known by the name Abstract Alexandra, is displayed in galleries across the United States.  She has been an active member of the arts community for more than 20 years, and her accomplishments as an art advocate led to the creation of the South Carolina Artists group and the She Festival.

It only seems natural that White would eventually fill the role as the Visual Arts Coordinator of Columbia’s only micro urban festival.  The 7th annual Rosewood Art & Music Festival is slated to occur Sep. 30 next to Rockaway Athletic Club.  Festival Director David Britt explains that the phrase “micro urban” means that Columbia possesses desirable attributes commonly found in larger cities.

“The festival enjoys an array of talent, yet keeps an intimate feel. Its ethos is simple: celebrating art and community,” Britt says.

Founded in 2001 by Forrest Whitlark and Arik Bjorn, the vision of the festival was to create a free, inclusive space for artists and musicians within the Shandon and Rosewood community.

The festival is unique in more ways than one. In addition to being a micro urban festival, the event differs from others in that it exclusively focuses on fine arts.  As the Visual Arts Coordinator, White oversees artist applications and facilitates the selection process.

“Originality and artistic quality are the main, but not the sole criteria, used to select exhibitors and juried show artists.  Other factors such as; the clarity of images provided and their ability to be viewed online, also contributed to the decision.  Moreover, we like to include a variety of media, subjects, and artistic styles,” White says.

This year, the festival received over 100 exhibitor submissions.  Artists were able to submit work from a myriad of categories including digital art, pottery, ceramics, sculpture, photography, fiber, jewelry, wood, metal, glass, and installation, among other things. The submissions must be whittled down to only 50 exhibitor slots that are available.

“It can be hard because you don’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings, but you can’t be everyone's friend. So you have to make a decision that’s best for the festival. And that’s what we do. We make decisions that are best for the festival,” White says.

After initial application, vendors are placed on one of three main festival maps.  She emphasized the importance of correct placement of artists in relation to their neighbors.

“You may end up being at a festival that you paid $800 to be a part of, and you’re next to people doing the same kind of work that you do.  I’ve always found that infuriating, that people don’t take the time to separate people and organize them,” White says.

She pointed out that without proper artist arrangement, it creates a chaotic and overwhelming experience for both the festival-goer and the exhibitor.

“It raises that anxiety and it raises that competition, instead of everyone working together as a common good within the community,” she says.

Both Britt and White mentioned that the Juried Show is what really separates the festival from similar events. The festival will give over $2000 in award money to the winners of the juried exhibit. A panel of 2-3 professionals within the art community will judge the works based on a detailed numeric gauge system.

Even with the festival 20 days out, White works with accepted artists each step of the way. She hosted a forum to answer any questions artists might have about the festival or the itinerary.

“It is an opportunity for artists to gain more insight about being in the festival, and gives them key points on how to successfully display and promote their work. In short: we take care of our artists!” Britt says.

The festival also boasts a stellar lineup of musical performances. Alarm Drum, Grace Joyner, and Debbie and the Skanks will perform on stage one, while Cletus Baltimore, Post Timey String Band, and Flat Out Strangers will perform on the second stage.

The festival features free admission and will kick off at 10 a.m. on Saturday. White offers a piece of advice for potential festival-goers.

“Come with a clear mind. Ask questions … Don’t ever feel like the artist is unapproachable, because all artists are approachable … Come with an eagerness to learn or just enjoy the surroundings and take it all in. Art is created to make us happy. It’s what makes us distinctly human,” she says.

JerryFest in Five Points: A Celebration of the Life and Art of Jerry Garcia

By Karie Grace Duncan

On Sunday, October 1, Loose Lucy’s and The Five Points Association will host JerryFest in Five Points to celebrate the life and art of Grateful Dead guitarist Jerry Garcia. 

This will be George Fetner’s fourth year playing at Jerryfest with his band George Fetner and The Strays. The band formed just in time to perform at JerryFest in 2013, the last year that JerryFest was hosted at Jake’s on Devine.

Fetner emailed Jenn McCallister, owner of Loose Lucy’s and host of JerryFest about the opportunity to play at Jerryfest. When she said yes, Fetner and another guitarist friend from college, Anthony Charles, formed a band with Matt Fenech on drums and Cory Takach on bass. 

“That’s where I got the name The Strays from,” says Fetner. “Anthony was from a different time in my life. Cory was from a different time. Matt’s from a different time.”

The band instantly clicked with each other and with the crowd at JerryFest. “We had a lot of people who were really enthusiastic about it who said ‘you guys really took the spirit to another level,’” says Fetner. 

Fetner and The Stays performance at JerryFest is different from the band’s original performances because they feel a responsibility to represent the vibe of The Grateful Dead.

“We try very hard to recreate the sound of the group,” says Fetner. “We want the people in the audience to close their eyes and say, ‘this feels like a show’”

“Hopefully after a couple of minutes, they’re hooked and can trust us with what we do,” says Fetner. 

But getting the vibe right isn’t just about sounding like The Dead for Fetner and JerryFest goers.
“Part of The Dead’s music was the experience and having fun,” says Fetner.

“Especially in the early days of their band, they didn’t see a separation from their band and the scene,” says Fetner. “So they didn’t see themselves as getting on stage and performing for you, they saw themselves as sort of a medium for having fun and having a community. It’s hard to find that in a genuine way with original music.” 

Going to see JerryFest at the Five Points fountain with a group of Columbia area Deadheads comes close to that experience for Fetner because it fosters that community aspect. 

“It makes you feel like ‘I wish this could happen every time that we played’ or ‘I wish this could happen to every band in the scene every time,’” says Fetner. 

Even more than that community aspect, JerryFest brings back the peace, love, and music spirit of the ‘70s that was embodied by The Grateful Dead. 
“It’s hard not to be in nostalgia a little bit with a band that is around 50 years old,” says Fetner.

As the second biggest Five Points event each year, JerryFest is a place for everyone. 

“If you are a Deadhead it’s probably the most fun event to go to without having to pay $30 to see a touring cover band. This localizes it,” says Fetner. “If you’ve never listened to them, but you’re curious you should come because it’s super fun and it’s free and you get to experience the crowd aspect and some interesting people.”

Fetner will play with Fetner and the Strays and Alien Carnival at this year’s JerryFest. The other bands in the line-up are Cletus Baltimore, Stillhouse, and Ring Around the Sun.

In between sets, JerryFest attendees have the opportunity to participate in the Columbia Community Drum Circle and buy from a list of vendors. 

“If you ever went to a show, in the parking lot there was always people selling stuff and people who live on the road with the band and go from show to show,” says Fetner. “It wouldn’t be a JerryFest if there wasn’t some kind of vending going on.” 

The drum circle gives everyone at the concert the chance to be a part of the community that surrounds JerryFest.

“One of the biggest things that you can get from this kind of show is the feeling that you’re in it together, you’re in it with other people,” says Fetner. 

Deadhead or not, open yourself up to the experience of the Columbia arts community and you’ll have a great time at JerryFest. 

“Usually the people who are open like that can sneak right in the crowd and start high fiving people and the people who have seen a million Dead shows don’t know that this person is new to the scene, says Fetner.

JerryFest is a pet and family friendly, outdoor event. Vendors include food, clothing, and crafts from: Drifter Merch, Emerald’s Artistry, Hermana Luna, Hippy Do-Da, Sun.Salt.Moon, Sunshine Terrapin, Waccamaw Naturals. 
 

Up Close and Personal: Columbia Classical Ballet's first "Studio Series"

by Dance Editor Susan Lenz

Yesterday was the first time I've been inside Columbia Classical Ballet's rehearsal space near the corner of Trenholm and Forest. I came for the first of three "Studio Series" events. Two rows of folding chairs lined the mirrored wall and were filled to capacity.  Everyone was personally welcomed. Wine and light hors d'oevres were served in an adjoining area, with the Ballet collecting monetary donations and distributing information about season memberships, program advertisement opportunities, and company sponsorship levels. The event began with several brief pleas for financial assistance.  I didn't really mind the dollar-and-cent focus.  Arts funding in Columbia really is at an all time low.  More people need to both attend and contribute to performing arts…and, well...to ALL OF THE ARTS.

The dancing started nearly on time. Testosterone spun, leapt, and was barely contained by the six bare-chested young men who began the program with new choreography meant to feature their athleticism. The energy and applause grew, however, with classical variations, especially the pas de deux from Le Corsaire. The entire company filled the space for the final number.  As impressive as the talent was, the nearness to the performers was the highlight of the experience. The audience could see muscles flexing, sweat beads forming, and truly feel the strength and passion that goes into the lives of these dancers.

Afterward, I asked Hayden Slaff, a new recruit fresh from two seasons with National Ballet in DC, what he enjoyed most about the afternoon. His answer in a nutshell:  Seeing the faces in the audience. What he liked best was a two-way street. Columbia Classical Ballet's "Studio Series" is an up-close and personal opportunity to witness dance and dancers. I highly recommend this series.

"Studio Series" continues on Sunday, November 5, 2017 and Sunday, February 11, 2017.  Both begin at 5:00. To attend, visit http://columbiaclassicalballet.com and fill out the online reservation or dial (803) 252-9112.  I hope to see you there!

Girls Rock Roulette 2017 - by Bria Barton

... some bigger girls are getting their chance to shine.

An ensemble of rocker chicks is strumming, drumming and singing their way to New Brookland Tavern on Sept. 23 to show off what it means to have girl power.

Girls Rock Columbia is hosting Rock Roulette 2017, a fundraising event that goes toward funding their Girls Rock Camp and year-round programming.

Although Girls Rock strives to teach their younger members the splendors of music and self-confidence, on this night, some bigger girls are getting their chance to shine.

“At Girls Rock Camp, we always remind our campers that their most powerful instrument is their voice. It's really important to us that our adult volunteers and supporters have opportunities to use their voices just like our campers,” Jess Oliver, Girls Rock Columbia executive director, says. “We lead by example, so it's good to be able to empathize during camp week when we are asking them to do something that might be intimidating. This is a great opportunity for volunteers who might want to work on building up their confidence in front of an audience because they will have their band mates up there with them for support.”

Last month, the Girls Rock ladies were each assigned a band in preparation for Rock Roulette 2017. Over the last couple of weeks, their task has been to practice their instruments and compose at least one original song with their respective band members.

“I am most excited about the people who have never played an instrument. One of my band members is playing keyboard for the first time, and she showed up to rehearsal absolutely glowing,” Oliver says. “It helps me remember that, yeah, we are largely a summer camp for youth, but it's really important to empower each other too. We adults doubt ourselves sometimes and feel small and powerless too, so it's important to take the opportunity to do something brave and remember, ‘Oh yeah... I ROCK!’”

Those participating in Rock Roulette 2017 are also individually raising money for Girls Rock through their own Razoo links, which they have posted on their social media. Oliver encourages people to donate because every dollar goes “directly to Girls Rock Columbia's future programming.”

Oliver believes that the public should come out and support Rock Roulette 2017 because it might just be that inspirational push a person needs in order to step out of their comfort zone. Additionally, she says, “[Rock Roulette is] bound to be a fun and energetic night of community and positivity” and that the audience can expect to see “a lot of really big smiles.”

“I'm also really happy that we have some community members participating in Rock Roulette who have never volunteered with us,” Oliver says. “We want to continue to grow, and this is one way we can keep making connections.”

Rock Roulette 2017 begins at 8PM. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at http://www.ticketfly.com/event/1559008. They will also be available at the door.

The Dance Season Starts (with Gamecocks Athletics) by Susan Lenz

Fall is my favorite time of year! It's a seasonal thing. The local dance scene gets kicked off and college football swings into action. The only thing better would be an event featuring both. 

Guess what? It's going to happen on September 23rd during the Gamecock vs. the LouisianaTech Bulldog halftime show. This summer, athletic band director Cormac Cannon teamed up with USC dance company director Susan Anderson to stage "Dancing with the Stars." Dance majors with partner basketball great A'ja Wilson, WIS weatherman Tim Miller, student body president Alex Lordo, and Anya Martin (the men's basketball coach's better half).  All involved have been practicing long hours.

Unfortunately, the Gamecock team will be in their locker room during the show. They'd be good dance critics.  Sixteen members took Susan Anderson's Dance Appreciation course over the summer. A'ja Wilson took it during her freshman year. At the University of South Carolina (like the mission of Jasper Magazine), interdisciplinary approaches are fundamental. That's team spirit!

So ... a-one-and-a-two and a Go Cocks!  Dance your heart out this season.

Later this week I'll be posting my impressions of Columbia Classical Ballet's first "Studio Series." It will be my first, real review. My hopes for the season are to initiate critical conversation about the experience of seeing dance performances as well as to inform the public of upcoming local dance events.

Susan Lenz is a full time, professional studio artist in Columbia, South Carolina. Her studio is located at Mouse House, Inc. at 2123 Park Street where she has both a studio for 3D sculptural and installation work and a separate fiber art studio. Susan's work has been juried into numerous national and international exhibits, featured in solo shows all over the United States, and shown on television and in print. She has been awarded six full scholarship art residencies and several "Best of Show" ribbons. She also serves as Jasper's Dance Editor. 

PHOTO Exhibit at 701 Whaley Promotes Conversations about RACE: Black & White Opens October 2nd

PHOTOGRAPHY EXHIBIT PROMOTES CONVERSATIONS ABOUT RACE: BLACK & WHITE AT 701 WHALEY OPENS OCTOBER 2

Even before Black & White opens, it will have already achieved part of its goal—to promote frank, intimate conversations about race and to act as a tool for discovering more about people in the community. The resulting 20 black and white photographs will be shown at the hallway: community art space at 701 Whaley, October 2 through December 10. A reception will be held October 8th from 3pm-5pm at 701 Whaley in the Granby Room. Drinks and food will be provided along with a performance by Indigo Soul, led by Terrance Henderson.

The portrait exhibit was created by photographers Dalvin Spann, who is a 36-year-old Black man, and Lee Ann Kornegay, a 57-year-old white woman. They envisioned it as a project that would challenge both themselves, as artists, and ultimately the viewers of their work. The two artists were hoping to learn new things about their subjects and talk about what it feels like to be Black or white in today's world. Each agreed to photograph 10 people of a different color.

Kornegay began taking photos when her mother gave her a Canon camera back in 1977. She works frequently in video and has made numerous documentaries about such topics as West Africa, the landmark civil rights case Briggs vs Elliott, and even 701 Whaley, where the exhibit is being held. Spann first started taking photos as a way to show samples of his visual art, then became a serious student of black and white film photography in college. He is a co-founder of Izms of Art, a collective of black artists.

Black & White developed from the desire to gain and promote a better understanding of people of different colors. The artists hope the exhibit will serve as a tool for moving race relations forward and in a positive direction by something as simple as getting to know each other. “For me,” says Spann, “Black & White is a representation of people who use their art form, profession, and life to cross over the boundaries of color. True passion of what inspires you should have no bearing on color, race or walks of life.”