October 2011 events

October 1, Saturday

Potiche

3:00 and 8:00 PM, Dana Auditorium

When striking employees take her husband hostage, a trophy wife (Catherine Deneuve) takes the reins of the family business and proves to be a remarkably effective leader. Business and personal complications arrive in the form of her ex-lover (Gérard Depardieu), a former union leader. François Ozon’s broad comedy film is presented in French with English subtitles. Sponsored by the Department of French. Free

 

October 1, Saturday

From Idea to Art

4:00 PM, Mahaney Center for the Arts, Concert Hall

Video set designer Tim Bartlett ‘98 and composer Su Lian Tan will give an informal talk on creating and composing the new chamber opera Lotus Lives. From the initial inspiration to the rendering of ideas in musical and visual form, they will elucidate the process, including the communication between them that was involved. Images and music from the opera will be shown and discussed. Following this presentation, there will be the opportunity to ask questions of the artists. Free

 

October 2, Sunday

Glimpsing the Ephemeral

2:15 PM, Mahaney Center for the Arts, Concert Hall

Pre-performance discussion: Stephen Whiteman, Visiting assistant Professor, History of Art, Middlebury College, will briefly discuss themes relating to memory and identity in the opera "Lotus Lives" and in its staging before moderating a discussion with Su Lian Tan, composer, Tim Bartlett ‘98, set designer, and Arika Yamada, dancer, on the topic. Free

 

October 2, Sunday (also on Friday, September 30 at 8:00 PM)

Lotus Lives

8:00 PM Friday and 3:00 PM Sunday, Mahaney Center for the Arts, Concert Hall

An original chamber opera by Su Lian Tan and Anne Babson, featuring Brenda Patterson, soprano; Miriam Gordon Stewart, soprano; Meridian Arts Ensemble; and a video set created by Tim Bartlett ’98. Lotus Lives challenges the artifice forced on Chinese-American women and offers hope to those who would overcome stereotypes. With elements of rap, Chinese folk music, and dance-club music incorporated into its high-art classical melodies, Lotus Lives offers seemingly contradictory elements blended into a delicious and exuberant romp. Sponsored by the Department of Music, the Arts Council, the Committee on the Arts, and the Director of the Arts. Free

Read the press release>>

 

October 2, Sunday

Big APE: Disposable Goods

5:00 PM, Mahaney Center for the Arts, Room 109

Join us for a informal showing of Big APE’s lively and provocative production, Disposable Goods. The 60-minute “experience” examines the obsessive cycle of waste in our culture and questions who and what are deemed expendable. Four dancers blend intricate phrasing, rigorous partnering, text, song, and audience interaction. Expect the unexpected and come with an appetite—refreshments and cookies are served throughout the performance! Big APE Artistic Director Tiffany Rhynard performs and is joined by dancers Yina Ng ’09, Ellen Smith Ahern ’05, and Hanna Satterlee. Attention: this production is not appropriate for young children. Free

Photo Alan Kimara Dixon

October 4, Tuesday

Dance Lecture: Vermonja Alston

12:30 PM, Robert A. Jones ’59 House, Conference Room

Vermonja Alston presents “From the Narcissism of Vision to Kinesthetic Empathy: Dancing Towards an Embodied Cosmopolitan Aesthetic,” extending her work on Katherine Dunham in an effort to rethink cosmopolitan theory through the gendered, racialized, and sexualized body in motion. Vermonja Alston is Associate Professor in the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies, Departments of English, and Equity Studies at York University, Toronto, Ontario. She is a former dissertation fellow at Middlebury College. Lunch is provided. Sponsored by the Center for Comparative Study of Race and Ethnicity, International Studies Program, Latin American Studies Program, Dance Program, Department of History, The Rohatyn Center for International Affairs. Free

October 5, Wednesday (through October 19)

Architectural Design Exhibition: Billie Tsien

Johnson Memorial Building, Lobby

An exhibition of work by the New York architectural firm Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects. Billie Tsien is in residence at Middlebury working with architectural studies students as a Cameron Visiting Architect. See associated lecture on October 13. Sponsored by the Department of History of Art and Architecture and the Cameron Family Arts Enrichment Fund. Free

Pictured: American Folk Art Museum, New York

October 7, Friday (through October 15)

Portraiture in Sculpture

Johnson Memorial Building

An exhibition of student artwork from Jim Butler’s spring course Sculptural Portraiture. The sculptures investigate the portrait-image, using glazed ceramic, blown glass, steel, wood, and plaster. Unexpected combinations of materials and processes surprise the viewer. Executed in scales from miniature to one-to-one, these human images explore physicality, psychology, and emotion. Sponsored by the Program in Studio Art. Free

Pictured: Cleopatra Cutler ’11, Personalities, top row: mold-blown glass, plaster; bottom row: low-fire glazed bisque, graphite, sodium silicate; photographed with model Naomi Shafer ’12

October 8, Saturday

Another Year

3:00 and 8:00 PM, Dana Auditorium

British director Mike Leigh is renowned for his acclaimed films, which include Secrets and Lies and Vera Drake. His newest film takes a look at four seasons in the lives of a happily married couple and their relationships with their family and friends. “Love and loneliness are presented, in almost equal parts, with subdued precision in the richly abundant Another Year”—USA Today. Sponsored by the Hirschfield International Film Series. Free

 

October 10, Monday

FIRST TIME! Jazz@Amherst Meets MiddJazz

8:00 PM, Mahaney Center for the Arts, Concert Hall

Middlebury College’s Sound Investment Jazz Ensemble will present a joint concert with the Amherst College Jazz Ensemble. The evening will be a celebration of the 50th anniversary of an historic jazz event. On July 6, 1961, the Count Basie Orchestra and the Duke Ellington Orchestra met in a New York City recording studio and cut the album entitled “FIRST TIME! The Count Meets the Duke.” It remains one of the few collaborative band albums ever produced. Now, fifty years later, Middlebury’s Sound Investment Jazz Ensemble has invited the Amherst College Jazz Ensemble to come to town in that same spirit of making incredible, swinging music together. The 2011 concert will feature a varied program. In a nod to the historic Basie-Ellington album, selections from the Basie-Ellington FIRST TIME! album will be played by the Amherst and Middlebury bands simultaneously. Each ensemble will also perform a few of the numbers they are working on individually. Combos from each school will round out the program. The evening promises to be one of the highlights of Middlebury’s fall jazz programming. Free

Read the press release>>

 

October 13, Thursday

Kluge’s Yesterday Girl and Post-War German Identity

4:30 PM, Robert A. Jones ’59 House, Conference Room

Lecture by Stuart Liebman, professor of media studies at the City University of New York and the CUNY Graduate Center Programs in Art History and Theatre. Liebman’s specialty is the cinema of the Holocaust, Jewish cinema, and post-WWII German film. Cosponsored by the Departments of Film and Media Culture, Religion, German, and History; the Rohatyn Center for International Affairs; Brainerd Commons, and the Aquinnah Fund for Jewish Studies. Free

 

October 13, Thursday

Into Death’s Dark Night: Exploring a Royal Maya Tomb at El Diablo, Guatemala

4:30 PM, Axinn Center, Room 229

Stephen D. Houston, MacArthur Fellow and Dupee Family Professor of Social Science and professor of anthropology and archaeology at Brown University, gives an illustrated lecture on the dramatic July 2010 discovery of this extraordinarily rich tomb. Yielding textiles, ceramics, carvings, and the bones of six children who may have been sacrificed at the time of the king’s death in the late fourth century, the tomb was named one of Archaeology Magazine’s top 10 finds of the year. Sponsored by the Middlebury College Museum of Art, the Department of Sociology and Anthropology, and Ross Commons, in conjunction with the exhibition Painted Metaphors: Pottery and Politics of the Ancient Maya. Free

Pictured: Polychrome Cylinder Vessel, Chama, Guatemala, Late Classic (600–800 CE), pottery, 13 x 7 x 7 inches. Collection of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, 38-14-1

October 13, Thursday

Architectural Studies Lecture: Billie Tsien

7:00 PM, Dana Auditorium

Billie Tsien of Tod Williams Billie Tsien Architects has designed buildings for the American Folk Art Museum in New York and the Neurosciences Institute in California, among many others. “We see architecture as an act of profound optimism. Its foundation lies in believing that it is possible to make places on the earth that can give a sense of grace to life—and believing that that matters. It is what we have to give, and it is what we leave behind.” View an exhibition of Tsien’s work October 5–19. Sponsored by the Department of History of Art and Architecture and the Cameron Family Arts Enrichment Fund. Free

October 13-15, Thursday-Saturday

Annual First-Year Show: Love Song

Thursday at 8:00 PM, Friday at 8:00 and 10:30 PM, and Saturday at 8:00 PM, Hepburn Zoo

Love Song is an off-kilter, moving comedy about love's transformative powers, a  journey through reality and fantasy and back again. 10 actors will take on the roles of a controlling sister, a playful brother-in-law, a pillaging girlfriend, and a misfit hero who's a little bit lonely. "Crisp, tough, undogmatic... a smashing, compassionate new play." Written by John Kolvenbach '88; directed by Tara Giordano '02. Cast: Matt Ball, Emma Eastwood-Paticchio, Michelle Irei, Alia Khalil, Viviana Lozano, Chelsea Melone, Charlotte Michaelcheck, Adam Milano, Stephen Paolillo, McKay Sheftall. Crew: Katy Svec, Julia Angeles, Mary Richards. Designers: Kelsey Ferguson, Lindsey Messmore, Emily Rosenkrantz, Naomi Shafer, Ele Woods. go/firstyearshow. Tickets: $4; on sale September 26. Go to the Box Office>>

October 14, Friday

ArtsWalk

5:00-7:00 PM, Johnson Memorial Building

Current work by students enrolled in studio art courses are on view to the public as part of the town-wide ArtsWalk. Sponsored by the Program in Studio Art. Free

Pictured: Lingji Hon’11, graphite pencil, colored pencil, watercolor

 

October 14, Friday

Paul Lewis, piano

8:00 PM, Mahaney Center for the Arts, Concert Hall

Internationally recognized as one of the leading pianists of his generation, Paul Lewis continues his two-year Schubert project, performing all the mature piano works from the Wandererfantasie onwards. On this third of five total Middlebury programs, he performs the Wandererfantasie as well as Schubert’s Four Impromptus and Moments Musicaux. Sponsored by the Middlebury College Performing Arts Series. Reserved Seating. Tickets: $25/20/6. Go to the Box Office>>

More about this concert>>

Read the press release>>

 

 

October 15, Saturday

Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives

3:00 and 8:00 PM, Dana Auditorium

Celebrated filmmaker Apichatpong Weerasethakul tells the story of Uncle Boonmee, who has chosen to spend his final days in the countryside surrounded by his loved ones. Surprisingly, the ghost of his deceased wife appears to care for him, and his long-lost son returns home in a nonhuman form. “Encountered in an appropriately exploratory frame of mind, [this movie] can produce something close to bliss”—New York Times. In Thai with English subtitles. Sponsored by the Hirschfield International Film Series. Free

 

October 20, Thursday

Gossip, Hearsay, and the Acoustic Architecture of Intimacy in the Erotic Classic Jin Ping Mei

4:30 PM, Mahaney Center for the Arts, Room 125

Lecture by Paize Keulemans, Assistant Professor of East Asian Studies, Princeton University. Given our (twentieth-century) tendency to associate eroticism with visuality, the 16th-century erotic classic Jin Ping Mei comes to us with a bit of surprise: many of its erotic scenes are told with a remarkable emphasis on its sound.  How are we to interpret the sighs and sounds, whispers and overheard conversations the novel portrays in such remarkable detail? Part of the three-part series “Imagined Identities: Literature and the Arts in Early Modern China,” organized by Rivi Handler-Spitz (Chinese), Stephen H. Whiteman (History of Art & Architecture); see associarted events on November 3 and 17. Sponsored by the Rohatyn Center for International Affairs, the Academic Enrichment Fund, the Department of Chinese, the East Asian Studies Program, the Middlebury College Museum of Art, the Department of History, the Department of History of Art & Architecture, Cook Commons, and the Mahaney Center for the Arts. Free

Pictured: "Pan Jinlian Eavesdrops on Hidden Spring Grotto," from The Plum in the Golden Vase, Chongzhen (1628-1644) edition.

 

October 20, Thursday

Addison County Chamber of Commerce Mixer

5:00-7:00 PM, Mahaney Center for the Arts, Lower Lobby

The Kevin P. Mahaney '84 Center for the Arts and the Middlebury College Museum of Art host members of the Addison County Chamber of Commerce for the organization's monthly mixer. Enjoy festive food and drink, see the newest exhibitions at the museum, and win fabulous, arts-related door prizes! For Chamber members only.

October 20, Thursday (through October 28)

Line in Space: Just a Corner of Your Memory Palace

Johnson Memorial Building

Students from Sanford Mirling’s fall class, Sculpture I—Communicating in Three Dimensions, exhibit works focused on the limitless, form-making possibilities of welded-steel rod. While tackling elemental aesthetic issues of balance, volume, perspective, and scale, each sculpture provides a glimpse into the artist’s own personal narrative. As a collection, these pieces represent earnest experimentations in translating two dimensions into three and memories into new realities. Sponsored by the Program in Studio Art. Free

 

October 20, Thursday (through November 3)

Architectural Design Exhibition: Koichiro Aitani

Johnson Memorial Building

Koichiro Aitani, architect and professor at Kyushu University, is in residence at Middlebury working with architectural studies students as a Cameron Visiting Architect. See associated lecture on October 27. Sponsored by the Department of History of Art and Architecture and the Cameron Family Arts Enrichment Fund. Free

Pictured: architectural work by Koichiro Aitani

 

October 26, Wednesday

Behind-the-Scenes Lunch and Discussion: Big Love

12:30 PM, Wright Memorial Theatre

Director Cláudio Medeiros ’90 introduces the play and leads a discussion about the upcoming production; members of the cast and crew share insights on their work. Lunch is provided. Free to College ID card holders; community donations accepted.

Read the press release>>

 

October 26, Wednesday

Ben Houge: An Evening of Ambient Soundscapes, Electronic Improvisation, and Video Art

8:00 PM, Mahaney Center for the Arts, Concert Hall

Video game composer, digital-media artist, and international new music impresario Ben Houge visits the Concert Hall for an evening of ambient electronic sounds, joined by his former music teacher, Peter Hamlin '73, guitarist Mark Christensen, and other musical guests. Sponsored by the Department of Music. Free

October 27, Thursday

Architectural Studies Lecture: Koichiro Aitani

7:00 PM, Johnson Memorial Building, Room 304

Koichiro Aitani, architect and professor at Kyushu University in Fukuoka, Japan, began his career in the office of famed Japanese architect Tadao Ando. After studying architecture in the U.S., he worked with the Thompson Design Group in Boston and in the San Francisco and London offices of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill before returning to his native Japan to practice and teach. View an exhibition of his work October 20–November 3. Sponsored by the Department of History of Art and Architecture and the Cameron Family Arts Enrichment Fund. Free

 

October 27–29, Thursday–Saturday

Big Love

8:00 PM each evening and 2:00 PM on Saturday only, Wright Memorial Theatre

OBIE Award-winning playwright Charles Mee spins an extravagantly emotional comedy about 50 Greek brides who are betrothed to their American cousins against their will. Their escape attempt launches a battle of the sexes, but love ultimately conquers all. “An MGM musical in Technicolor, a circus…”—New York Times. Directed by Cláudio Medeiros ’90. Sponsored by the Theatre Program. Running time: 90 minutes. Tickets: $12/10/6; on sale October 10. Go to the Box Office>>

Read the press release>>

 

October 28, Friday

Patrick Dougherty Revisits So Inclined

4:30 PM, Mahaney Center for the Arts, Room 221

The artist who created the dramatic site-specific structure at the entrance to the Mahaney Center for the Arts returns to the College to mark the formal departure of Middlebury’s installation and to provide an account of his latest projects. His illustrated lecture is sponsored by the Committee on Art in Public Places and the Middlebury College Museum of Art. Free

Read the press release>>

Share your message or photos about So Inclined>>

Pictured: Patrick Dougherty, So Inclined, 2007. Photo Tad Merrick

 

October 28, Friday

Hugo Wolf Quartett

8:00 PM, Mahaney Center for the Arts, Concert Hall

Having developed from an ensemble known only to chamber-music-lovers to one of the most sought-after string quartets of its generation, the Hugo Wolf Quartett left our audience on the edge of their seats when last in Middlebury. These “new stars on the quartet heaven” (Der Standard, Vienna) perform works by Mozart and Webern, plus Schubert’s G Major quartet. This free Performing Arts Series concert is made possible with generous support from the Institute for Clinical Science and Art, in memory of F. William Sunderman Jr. and Carolyn Reynolds Sunderman. Free; no tickets required. More information>>

Read the press release>>

 

October 29, Saturday

Vincere

3:00 and 8:00 PM, Dana Auditorium

This story of Mussolini’s secret lover, Ida Dalser, and their son Albino was nominated for a Golden Palm Award at the Cannes Film Festival. “It’s a thrilling, at times brilliant piece of staging that never forgets the emotional pull of either the tragic personal tale or the ramifications of history”—Variety. In Italian with English subtitles. Sponsored by the Hirschfield International Film Series. Free

 

October 29, Saturday

Rethinking Power and Authority in the Classic Maya Lowlands

4:30 PM, Mahaney Center for the Arts, Room 221

James Fitzsimmons, assistant professor of anthropology, examines how the Classic Maya viewed power and the boundaries of their kingdoms. He draws not only upon the written record left to us by ancient texts but also upon examples from his current research at the archaeological site of Zapote Bobal, also known in the first millennium as Hiix Witz, or “Jaguar Hill.” This illustrated lecture is given in conjunction with the exhibition Painted Metaphors: Pottery and Politics of the Ancient Maya. Free

Saturday, October 29

Fly Over Country

5:00 PM, Mahaney Center for the Arts, Seeler Studio Theatre

When her mother dies, Adelaide comes to stay with her Aunt Cate and Uncle Eli in LA. But what is meant to be a sweet family reunion turns dark when old wounds are reopened. A staged reading of a play by Sarah Sander '00, featuring Megan Byrne '96.5, Andrew Smith 97.5, and Ele Woods 11.5; directed by Cheryl Faraone. Sponsored by the Theatre Program. Free

October 29, Saturday

Hymns My Great Grandmother Sang!

Francois Clemmons, tenor

Kate Gridley, piano

8:00 PM, Mahaney Center for the Arts, Concert Hall

Alexander Twilight Artist in Residence Francois Scarborough Clemmons performs in a special concert dedicated to the memory of his great grandmother, LauraMae Sanders. He will perform a selection of hymns from his childhood, as well as spirituals and songs that remind him of the joys and troubles of those times . Free

Photo Vincent A. Jones '12

 

go to November events>>