January 2005

January 7,  Friday
Theatre Auditions: Vampire
1:30-4:00 P.M., Center for the Arts, Room 232
A Non-Credit Theatre production with 4 performances in Hepburn Zoo March 10-12, 2005; to be directed by Richard Romagnoli. Vampire, by surrealist playwright Snoo Wilson, in a satirical fashion, charts the vampirization of free will through different periods of British history. Open to middlebury College students only.  Students in faculty directed shows or who have a speaking role in student credit shows for spring term are not eligible to audition. For more information, please call x5601.

January 11, Tuesday
Richard Goode, piano
7:30 P.M., Center for the Arts, Concert Hall
Richard Goode is one of the great pianists of our time, as well as artistic director of the Marlboro Music School and Festival. His recent recordings of the Beethoven sonatas and Bach's partitas have received critical acclaim. A look at some of the reviews of Goode's playing reveals certain special qualities: "wise playing;" "mellow insights, deep emotional involvement, and self-effacing pianism;" "remarkable attention to detail." Sponsored by the Middlebury College Performing Arts Series. Reserved Seating. Tickets: $12/$10/$5; buy tickets online
Pre-performance dinner: Rehearsals Cafe, 6:00P.M.Reservations required.

January 13, Thursday
Succulent Senses (…mmm…mmm…good)
10:00 A.M.-12:00 P.M., Center for the Arts, Dance Theatre
A workshop with choreographer and performer Darrell Jones, whose work has been seen with Bebe Miller, Urban Bush Women, Ronald K. Brown, Min Tanaka and KOKUMA Dance Theater.  This workshop, which is open to participants of all levels, is aimed at expanding our senses through breathing/ stretching exercises, writing observations, and improvisational scores which deal with specific aspects of sensory awareness. Free

January 14, Friday
Let Freedom Sing!
A Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
8:00 P.M., Mead Chapel
Actor Esau Pritchett delivers speeches from Dr. King's writing, adapted and directed by Mike Kiernan. Francois Clemmons conducts a community choir of area residents, professors, staff, and students, performing spirituals that were prominent during the civil rights movement. Free
Call for singers: new participants are welcome.  Interested singers should come to Mead Chapel on Thursday, January 6 at 5:00 P.M. to sign up.)

January 15, Saturday
Bamboozled
3:00 and 8:00 P.M., Dana Auditorium
Spike Lee's (Do the Right Thing, Malcolm X) satire of the TV industry portrays a Harvard-educated black writer at a major network. Frustrated that his ideas get nowhere with the network brass, he devises an outlandish scheme: reviving the minstrel show. The program is so racist that he expects to be fired, but instead it's a huge hit. [U.S., 2000, 135 minutes] Sponsored by the Hirschfield International Film Series, with support from Wonnacott Commons and African American Studies. Free

January 18, Tuesday
Behind-the-Scenes Lunch and Discussion:
An Experiment with an Air Pump
12:30 P.M., Center for the Arts, Seeler Studio Theatre
This edition of the Behind-the-Scenes Lunch features "The Power of Light over Darkness," a panel discussion with Heidi Grasswick (Associate Professor of Philosophy),  Jeremy Ward (Assistant Professor of Biology), and Cheryl Faraone (Professor of Theatre and Women's and Gender Studies and director of An Experiment with an Air Pump). Moderated by Sheila Seles '05. Members of the cast and crew also share insights in their work. Presented as part of the "Blinded by Science" mini-celebration of science and the arts. Lunch is provided. Free

January 19, Wednesday
Gattaca
7:30 P.M., Warner Hemicycle
This slick futuristic thriller explores what could happen if genetic engineering made possible the creation of perfect human beings.  Ethan Hawke, Jude Law, and Uma Thurman star in this film that poses tough ethical questions at an action-packed pace. Presented as part of the "Blinded by Science" mini-celebration of science and the arts, capped off by the production of "An Experiment With An Air Pump" Thursday-Saturday.  Free.

January 20, Friday (Through April 17)
Contemporary Photography and the Garden--Deceits and Fantasies
Center for the Arts, Middlebury College Museum of Art, Christian A. Johnson Gallery
Taking its title from a suggestive phrase in the 13th-century French poem "The Romance of the Rose," this exhibition of garden images brings together extraordinary photographs by 16 American and European artists. Among the nearly 70 images on view are depictions of Claude Monet's Giverny, as well as gardens in Scotland, Japan, Indonesia, India, Brazil, Mexico, and the United States. Museum admission is free.

January 20, Friday (Through August 14)
Art Now: Recent Middlebury College Presidential Portraits
Center for the Arts, Middlebury College Museum of Art
This installation presents portraits of three Middlebury College presidentscommissioned over the past 15 years. At its focus is a newly created hologram portrait of President Emeritus John M. McCardell Jr.  Also included in the exhibition are portraits of Olin Robison (1989) by Jack Beal and of Timothy Light (1998) by Kate Gridley. Museum admission is free.

January 20, Thursday
Opening Reception:
Contemporary Photography and the Garden--Deceits and Fantasies
Art Now: Recent Middlebury College Presidential Portraits
4:30 P.M., Center for the Arts, Middlebury College Museum of Art
Join the museum for a garden party and festive opening celebration of this exhibition. Curatorial remarks at 5:00 P.M. Free

January 20–22, Thursday–Saturday
An Experiment with an Air Pump
By Shelagh Stephenson
8:00 P.M. each evening and 2:00 P.M. on Saturday, Seeler Studio Theatre
1799: On the eve of a new century, the house buzzes with scientific experiments and furtive romance. 1999: In a world of scientific chaos and genetic engineering, the same house reveals a dark secret buried for 200 years. Directed by Cheryl Faraone. This production is the centerpiece of a festival on the arts and sciences, details to be announced. Sponsored by the Department of Theatre and Dance. Special pre-performance event on Saturday at 12:45-- see listing below.  Tickets: $5/$4/$3; on sale January 6.

January 21–22, Friday–Saturday
Julia Basso '04 and Kate Stamper '04 in Concert
8:00 P.M., Center for the Arts, Dance Theatre
Adding their own sparkling dance gems to a year studded with wonderful senior concerts, these two dancers collaborate on an evening of new works that highlight their special choreographic and performance gifts. Kate's mercurial speed and precision encounter Julia's luxuriant, expansive movement, producing a delightful stylistic mix. Tickets: $5/$4/$3; on sale January 7.

January 22, Saturday
Pre-show Lecture by Katy Smith Abbott
12:45 P.M., Center for the Arts, Seeler Studio Theatre
Discussion of the painter Joseph Wright of Derby and his work "An Experiment on a Bird in the Air Pump," upon which the Shelagh Stephenson' s play is based.  Presented as part of the "Blinded by Science" mini-celebration of science and the arts.  Admission to the lecture is free; tickets for the play at 2:00 P.M. are $5/4/3-- see listing above for details.

January 22, Saturday
Bus 174
3:00 and 8:00 P.M., Dana Auditorium
This documentary explores the hijacking of a Rio de Janeiro bus in 2000 and constructs a devastating portrait of the poverty and violence plaguing contemporary Brazil. "Tense, engrossing and superbly structured, Bus 174 is not just unforgettable drama but a skillfully developed argument."—J. Hoberman, Village Voice. [Brazil, 2002, 122 minutes] Sponsored by the Hirschfield International Film Series. Free

January 25, Tuesday
Target: Paradise
An A Cappella Musical
8:00 P.M., Center for the Arts, Concert Hall
Remember Vieques? Neither do these hapless Caribbean cruisers who find themselves shipwrecked on an island used for target practice by American bombers. Former Dissipated Eight musical director Andy Mitton '01 joins faculty playwright Dana Yeaton '79 and an ensemble of Middlebury College singers to present an original musical for voices only. Written and performed by the THEA1001 Ensemble, this rock-us, original comedy will be the CFA concert hall's first-ever a cappella musical!  Free

January 27, Thursday
An Afternoon of Chamber Music
4:30 P.M., Center for the Arts, Concert Hall
Program includes Brahms' Clarinet Quintet, Holst's Fugal Concerto and Beethoven. Performers are students in Su Lian Tan's  winter term course "Performing Chamber Music." Free