News @ the Peck School of the Arts

THEATRE ALUMS - Youngblood Theatre’s “Flu Season” in the hospital

By Tom Strini
ThirdCoast Digest
February 28, 2012

Youngblood Theatre needed a cold institutional space for The Flu Season, Will Eno’s play set in a hospital psychiatric unit. As it happened, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee has tens of thousands of cold, institutional square footage, in the recently acquired original Columbia Hospital complex at Newport and Maryland.

UWM has put some of that space, now called the Northwest Quadrant, to use, and contractors are at work in parts of it. But lots of it is dormant, with something of a Twilight Zone vibe.

Take the old hospital cafeteria, for example. Michael Cotey, Youngblood’s artistic director, did. During an interview in this space, Cotey, who is directing the show, spoke over the racket of a thumping radiator...

Visit ThirdCoast Digest to read the full article.

Many Peck School faculty, students and alums contributing to Present Music's "Around 30"

Present Music, Milwaukee’s new music ensemble, will provide the stage for 30 of the brightest, most inventive young composers, musicians, dancers, designers, videographers, architects and visual artists (all around 30 years old) from Milwaukee and around the country on Saturday, March 3 at 7:30pm at Turner Hall Ballroom. Numerous UWM Peck School of the Arts faculty, students and alums will be participating in the event:

- Steven Moses, BFA alum, and lecturer Jaimi Patterson will be featured in the I’m Not A Pilot music video for Ami’s Song.

- Lee Ann Garrison, Chair of the Art & Design Department, is transforming Turner Hall into an art gallery for the evening.

- The program will feature the world premiere of Music Department lecturer Amanda Schoofs' new composition featuring percussion, electronics and dance.

- Simon Eichinger, BFA alum, and Associate Dance Lecturer Christal Wagner will present the world premiere of a dance piece set to national composer Sean Friar’s Little Green Pop

- BFA alum Shannon Lee Molter will showcase her fashion designs and giant puppets.

- Miranda Levy, MBA and BFA alum, will showcase her fashion designs.

- Ross Nugent, Associate Film Lecturer, and Film student David Whitzling will also be lending their talents to the show.

Visit Present Music for more information about the show.

Dance alums to perform in Wild Space Dance Company's "Delicious" new production

Coming February 9-11 at the Milwaukee Rep's Steimke Theatre, Wild Space Dance Company will serves up a moveable feast of inventive dance and wry humor in "Delicious," inspired by appetite, the culinary arts and the pursuit of satisfaction.  The production will feature recent UW Peck School of the Arts Dance grads Lindsey Krygowski, Molly Mingey, Jessie Mae Scibek and Yeng Vang-Strath, in addition to alumni Liz Herbst Fransee, Angela Frederick, Allison Kaminsky and Laura Murphy.

Tickets are $20 for adults and $18 for students and seniors. Tickets can be purchased through the Milwaukee Rep Box office at 414-224-9490.

DANCE ALUM - Visiting dance instructor teaches for semester

By Megan Favignano 
The Webster University Journal
February 1, 2012

This spring, the Webster University dance ensemble spring concert will include a traditional folk dance for the first time. Leonard Cruz, guest assistant professor in the dance department, will help choreograph the dance at the spring concert.

“It’s exciting for me to be able to share my heritage and my culture to students,” Cruz said.

This is Cruz’s first semester at Webster. One of his classes focuses on the dances of the Philippines.

Cruz is a Filipino-born dancer who began dancing at the age of four.  At 17, he had the opportunity to perform at the Kennedy Center for former President Ronald Reagan after being named a presidential scholar in the arts...

Visit the Journal to read the full article.

Dahmer documentary by local filmmaker showing at Austin

By Duane Dudek
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
February 1, 2012

"Jeff," a documentary about Milwaukee serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer by local filmmaker Chris James Thompson, has been accepted by the South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin, Texas.

Thompson is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee film program and has worked on the films "The Pool" and "Collapse," by Milwaukee-based director Chris Smith. He also directs commercials.

The film's website is www.jeffthemovie.com.

Thompson made "Jeff" after winning the best Midwest director award for his short film "Kyoko Naturally" at the Milwaukee International Film Festival in 2007...

Visit the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel to read the full article.