UW News

May 30, 2013

Arts roundup: Exhibits, one-act plays, music aplenty — and undergraduates stage Hitchcock

UW News

Poster for the Undergraduate Theater Society's production of "The 39 Steps," Late spring is perhaps the busiest time for arts at the UW, as talents of all creative stripes show off their work. This week, the School of Music offers several evenings of entertainment with jazz, guitar, combined bands and the powerful, 100-voice UW Gospel Choir, as ever under the guidance of Phyllis Byrdwell.

Also, masters of fine arts students continue their annual exhibit at the Henry Art Gallery, the School of Drama has one-act plays by Tennessee Williams, and the Undergraduate Theater Society presents the Hitchcock thriller “The 39 Steps,” where four actors assume about 40 different roles.

Master of Fine Arts/Master of Design exhibition, May 25 – June 23. The annual exhibit by graduating students, held at the Henry Art Gallery. Admission is $10, $6 for those 62 and older, and free to members and UW students, faculty and staff. 206-543-2280.
Also: 2013 Master of Design Thesis Presentations, 5-8 p.m., June 6, in the Henry Art Gallery’s Education Room. RSVP and learn more online.

Tennessee Williams one-act plays, through June 9. UW School of Drama presents five one-act plays written by Williams from the 1930s through the 1950s, performed in the Glenn Hughes Penthouse Theater. “The peak of my virtuosity was in the one-act plays, some of which are like firecrackers on a rope,” the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer said, no doubt in his languid southern drawl. Tickets are $10-$18, available online or through the UW Arts Ticket Office, 1313 NE 41st St., 206-543-4880.

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. In the Hutchinson Hall Cabaret Theater. Tickets are $5-$10.

Poster for the "Music is My Life" exhibit in Molly'c Cafe at the Henry Art Gallery.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. Learn more online or on Facebook.

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. In Meany Hall. Tickets are $10-$15. 206-543-4880.

Guitar Ensemble, 7:30 p.m., May 31. Students of Michael Partington will perform music written or arranged for guitar in a program that includes music from Europe and South America. In Brechemin Auditorium. Tickets are $5, cash or check at the door. 206-685-8384.

“Boomer Jazz,” 7:30 p.m., May 31. Percussionist Tom Collier will be  joined by UW faculty members Marc Seales (piano) and Steve Korn (drums), and scholarship winner Carmen Rothwell (bass) for a concert in the Meany Studio Theater featuring jazz arrangements of popular songs from the 1960s. The program will include Jimmy Webb’s “Galveston,” Carole King’s “Up On The Roof” and Johnny Cash’s “Ring Of Fire” as well as songs recorded by the Rolling Stones, The Beach Boys, the Beatles and Frank Zappa. Part of the ongoing Mallethead Series. Tickets are $12-$20. 206-543-4880.

The UW Gospel Choir, directed by Phyllis Byrdwell, will perform June 3 in Meany Hall.

The UW Gospel Choir, directed by Phyllis Byrdwell, will perform June 3 in Meany Hall.Gary Louie

UW Gospel Choir, 7:30 p.m., June 3. Phyllis Byrdwell leads the 100-voice gospel choir in songs of praise, jubilation and other expressions of the Gospel tradition in Meany Hall. Tickets are $10-$15. 206-543-4880.

Exhibit: “Quartet,” June 4 – 28. A showing in the UW Tower Mezzanine of fiber/textile art works by students of the UW Certificate in Fiber Art program. Reception 6-8 p.m., June 4.

University Choirs: “UW Sings,” 7:30 p.m., June 4. The University Singers, Women’s Choir and Men’s Glee Club present their popular year-end concert in Meany Hall. Program selections include works by Hugo Distler, Giuseppe Verdi, Selim Palmgren, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Lennon and McCartney and others. Tickets are $10-$15.