UNews - Faculty of Fine Arts

Local businesses partner to support unique music initiative

trevor.kenney — Mon, 09 Feb 2015 18:43:21 +0000

The love of music has led a pair of local businesses to come together in support of an exciting music initiative in the Faculty of Fine Arts at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge.

Local music will benefit from the support of the Geomatic Attic and Lucky Star Guitars.

Lucky Star Guitars and The Geomatic Attic, both prominent supporters of local and visiting musical acts, have collaborated to fund the new Lucky Star Guitars/Geomatic Attic Digital Audio Arts Award. Mike Christou, Tom Anderson and Fred Greene of Lucky Star Guitars and Mike Spencer of The Geomatic Attic see it as a harmonious relationship.

“Five years ago, when Lucky Star brought forward the idea of donating guitars, getting them signed by the performers that came through The Geomatic Attic and holding a raffle, we loved the idea,” says Spencer. “Many scenarios for using the money to assist fine arts students were discussed and we feel the creation of this award will benefit not only the Digital Audio Arts (DAA) program but the local music community as a whole – and for many years to come. This sort of initiative is one of the reasons The Geomatic Attic was created in the first place.”

The new award creates a unique opportunity for ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge students, the end result being student-recording projects with student art elicited for album covers. Each year, 500 CD units highlighting a DAA musician will be produced and sold, with proceeds adding to the continuation of the award.

The initiative began with a guitar, generously donated by Lucky Star Guitars, which was raffled off in support of the award. The Geomatic Attic had visiting artists sign the guitar in advance of a raffle. To date, four guitars have been raffled in support of the award.

“We at Lucky Star Guitars enthusiastically partnered with Mike and The Geomatic Attic and we are presently auctioning our fifth guitar,” says Christou. “We’re pleased that the U of L Faculty of Fine Arts has partnered with the two of us for this recording project, and thank the initiative of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ and the generosity of the Sakamoto family for creating this spectacular recording studio.
“Our objective with the recording and CD production is to promote local musicians, student production specialists and artists, and ultimately contribute more money to the funds that will be raised by future guitar raffles and through the sales of our CDs. Our vision is that this project will promote local talent and the U of L’s commitment to the community.”

In addition, The Geomatic Attic and the U of L have partnered to present The Geomatic Attic U of L Concert series. Beginning February 23 with the Acoustical Sounds of Big Sugar, this series will feature outstanding live musical acts from throughout the Canadian Prairies performing in the U of L Theatre. Again, a portion of the proceeds from each concert will fund the Lucky Star Guitars/Geomatic Attic Digital Audio Arts Award.

“This is such a unique concept and it’s only made possible because of the commitment of both Lucky Star Guitars and The Geomatic Attic supporting aspiring local musicians and artists,” says Dr. Ed Jurkowski, dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts. “Our students will now have an incredible opportunity to make their mark in the music business while still studying their craft. I’m very grateful for their generous support of our program.

The Country Wife is naughty and satirically flamboyant

trevor.kenney — Wed, 12 Mar 2014 21:01:25 +0000

A titillating and rollicking sex comedy, The Country Wife was considered too naughty for 18th and 19th century audiences. However, 21st century theatre goers can enjoy this production on the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Theatre stage from March 18 to 22 at 8 p.m. nightly.

The Country Wife was considered too naughty back in its day. You be the judge.

This 300-year-old classic, written by William Wycherley, has continued to entertain audiences since it was first produced in 1675, however, not without controversy. Filled with wildly entertaining innuendo and clever plot twists, this Restoration play transports audiences back to a satirically flamboyant era!

Harry Horner spreads an explicit rumour of his unfortunate impotence throughout the town. His strategy is perfectly risqué - to trick the townsfolk into allowing him to fraternize with the local women. While chasing his sexual exploits he encounters the lusty Margery Pinchwife, a country girl betrothed to the unassuming and naïve Mr. Pinchwife. Their ridiculous relationship and crass calamity keeps audiences enraptured from beginning to end!

“Our production connects the audience with the characters on stage – an approximation of theatre as it was done when this play was first written. Theatre was lively, with conversations and interaction between audience and actors. Our version works to accomplish that,” says Ron Chambers, director. From traditional-style bench seating to ‘orange wenches’ sashaying through the audience selling their wares, this up-close and personal experience is not to be missed.

The sumptuous set, designed by Jim Wills, and beautiful costumes, designed by Leslie Robison-Greene, transport audiences to an extravagant 17th century. Over 900 hours have gone into the construction of the highly detailed costumes alone.

“The actors have studied how people of that era wore and used their clothing, their postures and movements. The audience will be able to see the incredible detail that was put into constructing these costumes since they will be seated close to the actors as well,” says Chambers

Tickets for The Country Wife are available at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ Box Office, or by calling 403-329-2616. Tickets are priced at $18 regular, $15 senior, $12 students and are also available for purchase online: uleth.ca/tickets.

Creative writers crowned as competition winners

trevor.kenney — Wed, 19 Feb 2014 21:43:58 +0000

Thanks to a generous alumnus, ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge students have the opportunity to flex their creative-writing muscles and possibly win fame and fortune. The annual Striking Prose short story competition and Play Right Prize playwriting competition, sponsored by alum Terry Whitehead (BA '94), are proud to announce the 2014 award winners.

Contest winners, from left, include Czarina Zoleta, Liam Monaghan, Travis Robinson and Chelsea Woolley.

Taking the first place prize in the Striking Prose category is Travis Robinson for his short story, The Contest, in which a radio contest captures the attention and imagination of a small town. This was the only award presented this year for Striking Prose.

A three member jury consisting of Dr. Jay Gamble, Dr. Kiki Benzon and Dr. Heather Ladd critiqued the story by saying that through carefully building suspense, the author shifts perspectives between a number of average men and women, finally showing his audience that the extraordinary is never far from the ordinary. The strength of this story was its shifting focalization and whirling perspectival shifts. They also indicated that a contest where something is won and something is lost is the uneasy irony of this finely observed short story.

First place for the Play Right Prize went to Czarina Zoleta for her play, In Another Life, which the jurors unanimously agreed on because the script moved them so strongly.

“There are beautiful relationships between characters in this script and the structure creates strong dramatic tension,” says Zaborsky on behalf of fellow jurors Jacqueline Russell and Meg Braem. “We thought it was subtle in its poignancy. All three of us were moved by the story. It also managed to successfully create believable alternative worlds.”

Because the quality was so high, this year’s Play Right Prize jurors found it too hard to decide on second and third place winners, so two second prize awards were presented to Liam Monaghan for Mad Little Gods and Chelsea Woolley for Goose, respectively. This was not Woolley’s first award for the Play Right Prize competition. In 2012, her play 1000 Names won second place and was produced in the 2012/2013 TheatreXtra season.

Monaghan and Woolley split the second and third prize awards, receiving $500 each. The jurors said that both plays captured great character voices and showed a wonderful use of conflict. Of Mad Little Gods, they said that the juxtaposition of Christmas hymns with the darkness of the tragic subject matter was a strong choice that creates a discomforting tension for the audience. The character voices in Goose were strong and clear, and Goose is a very likable character that has the audience immediately on her side.

Both winning entries receive a $1,500 prize, one of the most lucrative awards in the country for a student competition. The $5,000 in prize money is generously donated each year by alumnus Terry Whitehead, the competition aiming to encourage excellence and development in student playwriting.

The winning play and short story each receive a public reading on Thursday, Mar. 27at 7 p.m. in the David Spinks Theatre. Admission is free and everyone is welcome to attend.

Fiction at Fifty playwriting competition announced

trevor.kenney — Mon, 10 Feb 2014 22:09:39 +0000

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge alumnus Terry Whitehead (BA ’94) learned early that he was not destined to become an actor, but it did not dampen his enthusiasm for the theatre.

Terry Whitehead supports theatre at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge through a number of different avenues.

Already the backer behind the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ’s annual Play Right Prize and Striking Prose competitions, Whitehead is now the lead donor behind the Fiction at Fifty playwriting competition that will commission a new, full-length on-campus play to be produced in October 2017 in celebration of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge’s 50th anniversary.

“I thought this would be a great way for the Department of Theatre and Dramatic Arts to participate in and celebrate the 50th anniversary,” says Whitehead, a managing partner with Alexander Whitehead Executive Search in Vancouver and Calgary. “What greater thing to do than commission brand new Canadian plays and then have that play produced and performed on the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ stage?”

Whitehead studied English at the U of L and took full advantage of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ’s liberal arts focus by participating in a variety of theatre classes, saying he had ample opportunity to be on stage.

“That’s where I realized my career in theatre was not on stage because you need talent, of which I lacked,” jokes Whitehead. “But I really came to appreciate what putting together a play was all about. I saw all the comparisons between a sports team and a theatre production, in terms of the teamwork needed to be successful, and those experiences were very formative to me.”

Fiction at Fifty is open to all Canadian playwrights, amateur or professional, single or as a collective. Playwrights must submit a four-page commission proposal to the contest by Mar. 17, 2014, at which time a jury will select three proposals and offer a $2,000 commissioning contract to each to write a full-length draft within 18 months.

From there, a second jury will convene and evaluate the completed drafts and select a winning play. An additional $2,000 plus travel expenses will then be awarded to the winner, as well as royalties upon production of the play. The play will be a part of the Department of Theatre and Dramatic Arts mainstage season in October 2017.

“One of the great things about this contest is that the format allows for three plays to get initial funding, it’s very rare that playwrights get a commission to go and write their works,” says Whitehead. “What’s been so great about this process is the work that the entire department and especially Doug MacArthur and Nick Hanson have done to pull this together. It’s one thing to come up with an idea and quite another to have support throughout the entire department to make it happen.”

For more information on the Fiction at Fifty playwriting competition, visit this website.

For more inspiring stories on the individuals and organizations who have helped shaped the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, please visit: http://www.uleth.ca/campaigns/giving/

UNews - Faculty of Fine Arts

Local businesses partner to support unique music initiative

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