'The Bear' comes to campus

Long time activist for transgender and transsexual individuals S. Bear Bergman has traveled the country lecturing at colleges about gender and sexuality. This week, Bergman comes to Athens.

Sponsored by the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Center, Bergman will perform his one-man show "Monday Night in Westerbork" at 8 p.m. on Thursday at the Elizabeth Evans Baker Theater in Kantner Hall.

The play is based on the experiences of a group of Jewish prisoners at the Westerbork concentration camp in the Netherlands during the Holocaust, where they put on cabaret performances to cope with their certain and inevitable deaths.

While the performance will educate the audience on the horrors of the Holocaust, it will also simultaneously bring in an air of humor and lightheartedness to the time, and be extremely moving. Bergman was inspired by his own experiences being brought up around Holocaust survivors and also coming out as a transgender Jew.

"(The play) is a multi-layered piece that can touch some aspect of most audience members' lives," said Mickey Hart, director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Center. "I hope the performance resonates with each person on some level. At the same time, I hope audience members come to see the diversity within the LGBT community."

Ohio University's rural setting makes it a vital stop for LGBT performers and artists such as Bergman.

"Since we are located in rural Ohio, it is vital to have LGBT speakers and artists come to campus on a regular basis. In larger cities, students have more exposure to LGBT people and events. Bringing an LGBT artist is a thought-provoking way to stir students' thoughts about issues they may not deal with on a regular basis, while also reflecting the lived experience for non-majority students," Hart said.

Bergman also will participate in discussions Friday at the School of Theater Lunch Bag Forum from noon to 1 p.m. at the Elizabeth Evans Baker Theater in Kanter Hall and at the "Perspectives: A Discussion with S. Bear Bergman" event from 2 to 4 p.m. at the LGBT Center in Baker University Center 354. All events are free and open to the public.

School of Theater takes 'The Hostage'

The School of Theater will present its first main-stage production of the year, Brendan Behan's classic Irish play "The Hostage," at 8 p.m. today through Saturday and Oct. 21 through 24 at the Forum Theater in the RTV Building.

"The Hostage" is set in 1950s Ireland and revolves around the IRA kidnapping of a young British solider that was used as a ploy to get British troops to release an IRA member before his execution. The young soldier is held in a brothel, where he meets a misfit group of people and falls in love with a resident of the house.

"The play itself is extraordinarily theatrical and has a lot of unconventional breaking of the fourth wall, like talking directly to the audience and singing out to the audience in a music hall fashion," said Dennis Delaney, head of the professional directing program and director of "The Hostage."

The integration of music into this play is one of the many things that make it unique, with more than 20 songs incorporated as well as a pianist and Celtic fiddler as members of the cast.

"The play has music, it has comedy, it has drama and it has a very strong political statement. It is one of those plays that has a little bit of everything, but the thing I love most about this play is its tremendous amount of heart," Delaney said.

Though the play was written by Behan over half a century ago and set in a time of prejudice and religious turmoil between England and Ireland, the major themes of the play can still resonate with audiences and students today.

"(The themes) are relatable to audiences now more than ever," Delaney said. "The idea of secular violence, religion as a controversial wedge between people who are really not that different from each other and the waste of human life for political and religious causes never stop."

Admission is free for Ohio University students, $7 for seniors and non-OHIO students, and $10 for general admission. Tickets are available by calling 740-593-4800 or visiting the College of Fine Arts ticket office in Kantner Hall.

Writers Harvest aims to break hunger's hold

The Ohio University Program in Creative Writing will host its annual Writers Harvest benefit reading at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 14, in the Baker University Center Theatre. Proceeds from the $5 admission fee will go to the Second Harvest Food Bank of Southeastern Ohio.
This year's featured writers are Ohio University faculty members Joan Connor and Erik Ramsey and local writer John Thorndike. The event aims to bring awareness to the issue of poverty in Southeastern Ohio.

"We choose writers who have a strong connection to the local community and a desire to have their work benefit those who are less fortunate," said Kevin Haworth, coordinator of special projects for the English department.

The Second Harvest Food Bank of Southeastern Ohio is one of 196 regional affiliates of Feeding America, which was formerly America's Second Harvest. It distributes surplus food, donated from manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers, to more than 200 food pantries, soup kitchens and congregate meal sites throughout Athens, Hocking, Perry, Vinton, Jackson, Gallia, Meigs, Morgan and Washington counties. Donations will be accepted at various locations throughout the week.

"Our university is based in a lovely rural area but not everyone sees those benefits directly,” Haworth said. “This is an opportunity to extend the bounty of the university to those outside its immediate reach."

The department is hoping to raise $1,000 from the event, which translates into several hundred meals -- or about two months of nutritious meals for a needy family, Haworth said.

"In the current economic environment, it would be difficult for most of us to write a check for $1,000, but by working together, $5 at a time, we can deliver just that."

Connor, professor of creative writing, is an award-winning author for her collection of short stories, "History Lessons" and her book of essays, "The World Before Mirrors." Two earlier collections of stories she has written are, "We Who Live Apart" and "Here on Old Route 7."

Ramsey is head of the BFA Playwriting Program at Ohio University. His plays have been workshopped and produced around the country, and several of his short works have been published by Samuel French and Dramatic Publishing. His latest play, "Lions Lost in Translation," has been developed, read and workshopped at numerous regional theaters.

Thorndike is the author of the memoir "The Last of His Mind," published in 2009 by Ohio University/Swallow Press. He is also the author of two novels, "Anna Delaney's Child" and "The Potato Baron," and a previous memoir, "Another Way Home." He lives in Athens, Ohio.

School of music faculty present talent

The School of Music is showcasing some of its talented members with a series of faculty recitals. During the first two weeks of October, distinguished faculty members Paul Barte, organ; Matthew Morris, bassoon, and Sylvia Eckes, piano, will present their talents for the community.

"As a faculty musician, you strive to tell the composer's story," said Morris, a visiting assistant professor. "It's like time travel; I connect with them across time. It's as if I animate the bones of a dinosaur and make it get up and walk around the room."

Morris will showcase his love for 20th century English composers at 4 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 4, at the School of Music Recital Hall in Glidden Hall. The works included in his recital are pieces he is preparing to record for a CD project.

"The CD will showcase the English gift for lovely melodic writing and the depiction of vivid images," Morris said.

Barte performs at 8 p.m., Friday, Oct. 2, at Galbreath Chapel and Eckes performs at 8 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 6, at the School of Music Recital Hall. Admission is free to all concerts.

'Moving Bodies' redefines dance

Ohio University's School of Dance and faculty-led professional African dance and music ensemble, Azaguno, has reached across the Atlantic Ocean to create a dance concert that combines European and African contemporary dance.

Featuring the Cathy Sharp Dance Company from Basel, Switzerland, "Moving Bodies: A Euro-African Contemporary Dance Concert" will take the stage at Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 3.

"With funding for dance absent from public schools it is imperative that university dance programs work diligently to provide exposure to and training in contemporary dance forms, especially of diverse backgrounds, to ensure the position of dance in American cultural tradition," said Assistant Professor of Dance Zelma Badu-Younge.

The Cathy Sharp Dance Ensemble is an international group comprising six dancers from Switzerland, Italy, France, Belgium and Japan. Sharp, a native of Nashville, Tenn., was a soloist with the renowned Basel Ballet in Switzerland for 15 years before co-founding her company in 1991.

Azaguno is directed by Badu-Younge and Associate Professor of Multicultural Music Education Paschal Younge. The group is a colorful and vibrant multi-ethnic ensemble that focuses on research, preservation, education and performance of traditional African music and dance.

The concert is free for OHIO students with a valid ID, $9 for non-OHIO students and $12 for general admission. In addition, a free lecture and demonstration will be presented from 3 to 5 p.m., Friday, Oct. 2, at the Shirley Wimmer Dance Theatre in Putnam Hall and a free children's dance class will be held from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 3, at Arts/West on W. State Street.

"DeWitt Godfrey: Drawings"

Visiting artist DeWitt Godfrey gives a new meaning to the art exhibit by focusing on the process of making art in his current showing at the Ohio University Art Gallery.

Godfrey, associate professor of sculpture and director of the Institute of Creative and Performing Arts at Colgate University in New York, is best known for his large, abstract sculptures of circular, weathered steel that draw from his training as an architect. But for this exhibit, Godfrey changes directions and shows the process behind his structures.

"I have seen DeWitt's work and was interested in bringing him and his work to the galleries," said Petra Kralickova, curator of the Kennedy Museum of Art. "In keeping with the missions of Ohio University's galleries, it's important to bring art to the region that can not otherwise be seen or found unless you travel to a larger city such as Columbus or Cleveland."

His conceptual renderings not only show his architectural background, but also portray the link between form and context that includes the material, process, place and collaboration that go into one of his sculptures. The drawings on display include Godfrey's sketch titled "Exchange (Greenwich South Proposal)" of his well-known stacked spherical designs in New York City's Greenwich Village. Viewers get a sense of its enormous scale because cars are depicted driving through it.

"These preparatory drawings help the artist better realize the project and think about the scale, material, funding, viewers, environment among other aspects," Kralickova said.

Included in the exhibit are drawings and a folio of work correlated to an upcoming installation at The Ridges, just next to the Kennedy Museum of Art. That installation will be completed in May 2011.

The exhibit also includes graphite drawings of blocks, showing the artist's signature style and message on how shapes can fit together to create something lucid.

The Ohio University Art Gallery is located on the fourth floor of Seigfred Hall. Hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday. Admission is free. Visit www.finearts.ohio.edu/art for more information.

"L'Histoire du Soldat"

The Marshall Chamber Players, comprising Marshall University music faculty, will visit Ohio University to perform Stravinsky's famous "L'Histoire du Soldat" ("The Soldier's Tale") at 4 p.m. Sunday at the School of Music Recital Hall in Glidden Hall. The event is free and open to the public.

The piece, composed in 1918 during World War I, tells the story of a soldier coming home from war, who trades his fiddle to the devil for a book that knows the future of the economy -- something that many people wish they could obtain even 90 years later.

"It's really completely different from the work Stravinsky was writing at the time," said Michael Parkinson, director of the School of Music. "With the influence of the war, he didn't write the huge works he is so known for because many musicians had been enlisted."

Because so few musicians were available, each part includes only one instrument, meaning only the most talented musicians would be able to perform its difficult score that encompasses multiple genres.

"It includes elements of ragtime, early jazz and classical -- it almost sounds like the folk music of a 'town band' that gets together just for the joy of playing music," Parkinson said.

Meant to be a theatrical work, it includes narration and is told by three characters: the soldier, the devil and the narrator, all played by faulty members from Marshall University.

"It's such a great way to start the year with such a great concert. There's a lot of sarcasm and memorable melodies in the piece and people should be prepared to laugh throughout the performance," Parkinson said.