News @ the Peck School of the Arts

DANCE ALUM - Living the cheesy life: He said/she said

By Lori Fredrich
OnMilwaukee.com
June 28, 2012

Clock Shadow Creamery Cheesemaker Ron Henningfield and his wife, Josie, grew up in East Troy. They attended the same high school, were involved in some of the same clubs and had a few mutual friends. But, it wasn't until they were in college that they began dating. It was then that the adventure began.

Josie studied dance at UW-Milwaukee while Ron studied agriculture at UW-Madison. After graduating, Josie – who had performed in musical theater since she was a child – landed a job working as a dance teacher and choreographer. Likewise, Ron spent some time working on the dairy farm before taking a job as a leadership facilitator and serving as a high school agriculture and biology teacher in Delavan. He also began working with area cheesemakers to hone his craft. In 2010, he was quite possibly the first and only Wisconsin high school teacher to also be licensed as a Wisconsin Cheesemaker.

Read the complete article at OnMilwaukee.com.

MFA student April Sellers awarded MANNC residency

Congratulations to April Sellers, a graduate student in the dance department, who was recently awarded a residency at MANCC, the only national center for choreography in the world located in a major research institutition - The Florida State University School of Dance. April will attend MANCC for three weeks in the spring of 2013 and create a new duet for herself and a company member, Kenna Cottman. They will be exploring race relations amongst women of Generation X. Fellow alumna Amii LeGendre will also join April for two weeks of the residency to serve as rehearsal director.

Read more about April here.

Art & Design faculty Lindsay Lochum's work to be featured at international photo exhibition

Peck School of the Arts photography lecturer Lindsay Lochum, in collaboration with Barbara Ciurej, was one of five photographers selected to be featured in FRESH 2012: Summer Exhibition at the Klompching Gallery in Brooklyn from July 25-Aug. 20, 2012. 

Co-curator Fred Bidwell said of the chosen photographers: "As individuals, these artists have expressed clear, contemporary and personal points of view—each of their images are strong, yet gain depth and meaning as a body of work. As a group, this work shows a way forward for photography ... these artists skillfully build on the language of the medium that we have come to understand, while stretching our experience and understanding of what photo-based art can be."

Click here to read more about the exhibit and see the other featured photographers.

FILM ALUM - Jonah Whipp to remake French Sci-fi classic in South Korea

Film alum Jonah Whipp is currently in South Korea working on a new film project, "Yeok." The film is a remake of Chris Marker's 1962 science fiction film La Jetee. The original film, which is constructed almost entirely out of still photos, tells the story of a post-nuclear war experiment in time travel. Jonah will be using Marker's original film as a starting point to retell this story in a Korean setting.

Jonah said of the project: "My goal is NOT to simply remake his film but to use his film as a visual reference to explore how a different culture would react to his setting. It also offers me an opportunity to explore certain aspects and issues within Korean culture that I am interested in such as: food, history, war, suicide, bullying, etc. Working everyday I don't have the time to give my full attention to these issues. Now that I have been given an artist residency I have the opportunity to learn more about this land, and I want to be creative about doing it. The importance of this project is the exploration of the culture of the last divided country in the world. An opportunity that will die with the eventual unification of these two countries.

Learn more about Jonah's project on his Kickstarter page.

 

 

Fine Arts Quartet: A magical “Trout” on a Summer Evening

By Jonathon Brodie
Third Coast Digest
June 25, 2012

A memorable performance has not only the right performers, but also the right music. Sunday night, the Fine Arts Quartet (Ralph Evans and Efim Boico, violins; Nicolò Eugelmi, viola; Robert Cohen, cello) with the venerable pianist Menahem Pressler and bassist Robert Kassinger were well matched with the repertoire on the third of four Summer Evenings of Music at UWM’s Zelazo Center.

Schubert’s “Trout” Quintet was the biggest work of the evening. This masterpiece is a 19th-century version of a “broken consort”–violin, viola, cello, piano and bass.  Because of the quirky instrumentation, we don’t hear the Trout live all that often, which made Sunday’s performance all the more welcome.

Read the full article at Third Coast Digest.

THEATRE FACULTY - Burns and Cane Review “The Tragedy of King Lear” at Shakespeare & Company

By Gail Burns and Roseann Cane 
Berkshire on Stage
June 24, 2012

King Lear runs from June 16–August 19 at the Founder’s Theatre in Lenox, MA

Roseann Cane: This was my perfect night at the theater: a startling, vigorous production of a well-known and very familiar play that challenges my preconceptions.

Gail Burns: Director Rebecca Holderness has set this stunning production of “King Lear” in Russia at the time when the old Tsarist regime was crumbling and revolution was in the air. This sits well with the play’s theme of the relentless usurpation of the older generation by the young.

Read the rest of the article at Berkshire on Stage.

THEATRE FACULTY - Silverdocs film examines dynamic of aging

Anne Basting, theatre associate professor and director for the Center on Age and Community, provides insight into the aging of the post-World War II baby boom generation in a recent article on Gazette.net. Read the full article here.

Fine Arts Quartet free Summer Evenings of Music

By Beth Stafford
UWM News
June 18, 2012

In honor of the Fine Arts Quartet’s 66th anniversary, all Summer Evenings of Music concerts are free and open to the public. Space is limited and tickets are required.

Those interested in attending should phone the box office at 414-229-4308 as soon as possible.

In recognition of this anniversary, Stephen Basson, former Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra principal bassoonist, will host pre-concert talks beginning at 6:30 p.m.

All concerts begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Helen Bader Concert Hall at the Helene Zelazo Center for the Performing Arts. All programs subject to change.

Visit UWM News to read the full article.

MUSIC FACULTY - Brewers honor UWM Guitars for Vets pioneer

By Beth Stafford
UWM News
June 14, 2012

Bev Belfer, the driving force behind a beginner’s guitar class at UW-Milwaukee that is open to all military veterans, will be honored by the Milwaukee Brewers on June 19 as the Community Achiever for the month.

Belfer, senior lecturer in UW-Milwaukee’s Peck School of the Arts Music Department, will be recognized on the field during the pregame ceremony and will receive a certificate for her services along with a bag filled with Brewers memorabilia. She also will throw out the ceremonial first pitch for the 7:10 p.m. game against the Toronto Blue Jays.

FILM FACULTY - Milwaukee LGBT Film/Video Festival receives PrideFest Medal for Merit

Congratulations to film lecturer Carl Bogner, festival director of the Milwaukee LGBT Film/Video Festival, which recently received a PrideFest Medal for Merit "for exemplary commitment and contribution to Wisconsin's LGBT community" at the Opening Ceremonies of the 2012 PrideFest. In this picture, Carl accepts award on behalf of the Festival. Also pictured are other Medal for Merit recipients: Michael Lisowski, of the Queer Program, and Karen Gotzler, interim director of the Milwaukee LGBT Community Center.