May 23, 2013
Arts roundup: Springtime concerts, exhibits — and vintage one-act plays
“Marcus,” by Carly Cummings, part of the Master of Fine Arts/Master of Design exhibition at the Henry Art Gallery through June 23.Peter Kelley
Spring is a great time for the arts at the UW, and this week is a perfect example. The School of Music offers several evenings of entertainment and the Henry Art Gallery hosts its annual exhibit of work by students earning master’s degrees in art and design.
Meanwhile, the School of Drama is staging one-act plays by Tennessee Williams. “The peak of my virtuosity was in the one-act plays,” the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer said, no doubt in his languid southern drawl. “Some of which are like firecrackers on a rope.”
Also, Molly’s Café at the Henry has an exhibit of fanciful musical devices imagined by homeless youth and gathered by Information School doctoral student Jill Woelfer. And the Undergraduate Theater Society takes on an Alfred Hitchcock classic.
Master of Fine Arts/Master of Design exhibition, May 25 – June 23. The annual exhibit by graduating students, held at the Henry Art Gallery. Advance notes say students in these programs investigate and experiment with art while developing advanced techniques and engaging in critical discourse that strengthens their understanding of art, theory, methodology and practice. Jim Rittimann, the museum’s head preparator and exhibit designer, provides curatorial assistance and guidance. Public reception 7-9 p.m., May 24. RSVP online. Admission is $10, $6 for those 62 and older, and free to members and UW students, faculty and staff. 206-543-2280.
Catalin Rotaru
Catalin Rotaru, double bass, 2 p.m., May 26. The internationally known bassist, also a faculty member at Arizona State University, performs works by Faure, Mozart, Porumbescu, Chopin and Vieuxtemps in Brechemin Auditorium. The last in the 2012-13 Barry Lieberman and Friends series. Tickets are $15, cash or check at the door. 206-685-8384.
“World Percussion Bash,” 7:30 p.m., May 28. The UW Percussion Ensemble, co-directed by Tom Collier and Andrew Angell, shares its May 28th concert in the Meany Studio Theater with the UW Steel Band, directed by Shannon Dudley. The ensemble will perform contemporary works composed for a variety of percussion instruments, and the steel band performs Caribbean dance music and more, including an arrangement of “What a Wonderful World.” Tickets are $10-$15. 206-543-4880.
Anna Lamadrid of the School of Drama’s Professional Actor Training Program, in character for her role in an evening of one-act plays by Tennessee Williams.
Tennessee Williams one-act plays, May 29 – June 9. UW School of Drama presents five one-act plays written by Williams from the 1930s through the 1950s directed by master’s of fine arts directing candidates Leah Adcock-Starr and Tina Polzin, performed in the Glenn Hughes Penthouse Theater. The plays feature actors from the school’s graduate and undergraduate programs. Tickets are $10-$18, available online or through the UW Arts Ticket Office, 1313 NE 41st St., 206-543-4880.
University Chorale, Chamber Singers and Baltic Tour Choir, 7:30 p.m., May 29. The chorale and chamber singers’ spring quarter concert in Meany Hall, featuring the choir assembled for a 2013 tour of the Baltics. The Chamber Singers will perform works by Eric Whitacre, Eric Barnum, Leonard Bernstein and the world premiere of “The Girl Child of Pompeii” by Robert Vuichard, for chorus and digitally processed sound. The University Chorale will perform works by Aaron Jay Kernis, Paul Mealor and others, and the tour choir will perform Latvian folk songs and other works. Tickets are $10-$15. 206-543-4880.
Studio Jazz Ensemble and Modern Band, 7:30 p.m., May 29. The jazz ensemble will perform big band arrangements of songs by Don Menza, Cole Porter, Thelonius Monk, Ray Brown and others. The Modern Band will perform a set of original compositions by its members. Tickets are $10-$15. 206-543-4880.
Combined bands: “Made in America,” 7:30 p.m., May 30. The UW Wind Ensemble, Symphonic Band and Campus Band present a concert featuring works about America or by American composers. Along with works by Stravinsky, Milhaud, and Ives, the program includes the overture to “Candide,” by Leonard Bernstein, “American Games,” by Nicholas Maw and “Concerto for Flute and Wind Orchestra” by Mike Mower, featuring UW Wind Ensemble concerto competition winner Colleen McElroy as soloist. In Meany Hall. Tickets are $10-$15. 206-543-4880.
The Music Emote is a device conceived by a homeless young person, presented in an exhibit at the Henry Art Gallery’s Molly’s Cafe.
Exhibit: “Music is My Life,” May 30 – Aug. 29. As part of her dissertation research in the UW Information School in 2012, doctoral student Jill Woelfer asked homeless young people age 15 to 25 to imagine a music device that could help someone experiencing homelessness, then draw a picture of that device and write a story about a situation where it could be used. This exhibit, in Molly’s Café at the Henry Art Gallery, consists of eight panels with reproductions of 18 of those drawings and stories, prepared by a community-based team led by Woelfer. The goal of the project, Woelfer said, is “to bring the voices of homeless young people to the community in order to increase understanding and spark further discussions.” Learn more online or on Facebook.
Play: “The 39 Steps,” May 30 – June 9. The Undergraduate Theater Society presents a play by Patrick Barlow and Alfred Hitchcock based on Hitch’s 1935 adventure film. The fast-paced intrigue starts when a lonely man meets a mysterious, thickly accented woman who claims to be a spy. A murder sets in action this story with more than 40 characters performed by a cast of four, dozens of locales and a few Hitchcock jokes along the way. In the Hutchinson Hall Cabaret Theater. Tickets are $5-$10.
School of Art graduation exhibits:
- Masters of fine arts show by painting and drawing students Carly Cummings and Marcus Watson, May 28 – June 1, Sand Point Gallery. Reception 6-8 p.m. May 27.
- Three-dimensional Forum (3D4M) exhibit in the Jacob Lawrence Gallery for several students receiving their bachelor of fine art degree, May 28 – June 7. Reception 4-7 p.m. May 28.
- Three-dimensional Forum (3D4M) exhibit in the Ceramic and Metal Arts Building for Master of Fine Arts student Jared Bender, May 28 – June 1. Reception 6 p.m., May 28.
- Alley Art Party: Students in an Interdisciplinary Visual Arts capstone class present senior projects in a single night in the alley between 42nd and 43rd streets along 15th Ave. NE. 5-8 p.m. May 29. More information on Facebook.
