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Fall Arts 2000; A Sneak Preview of Whatıs To Come

All Oberlinıs a Stage: Arts Guide to Fall Semester

by Raphael Martin

Oberlin has more than 400 concerts a year. When one factors in everything else Oberlin creates and produces ‹ theatre, dance, readings, opera, visual art and pop music ‹ the performance events take on a life of their own. This fall semester looks to be no different, with the arts taking a front seat as always.

THEATER

According to Theater and Dance Chair Paul Moser, ³this is going to be an unusually busy year for Theater and Dance, and a very exciting one. The range of material is very exciting ‹ some original, some traditional, some experimental and some of it quite provocative.²

Moserıs predictions look to be sound. In an unprecedented move by the Theater and Dance department, many of the Fall slots for the competitive space of Hall Mainstage will not be faculty productions, but rather student honors projects. Honors projects are always shaky, as the quality can vary dramatically from production to production. Nevertheless, they are always interesting and are a good way to see new theatrical voices in the rawest of stages.

First up is senior Kelly Smithıs production of the Wendy MacLeod play House of Yes (Sept. 28-30, Little Theater), which many may know from the independent film version starring Parker Posey. The play creates a fictionalized Jackie O.

For more mainstream fare (and I use the word loosely) try senior Aaron Bonner Jacksonıs production of the Sam Shepard classic True West (Oct. 12-15, Little Theater). This mid-career Shepard piece charts the tale of two brothers, one a screenwriter in Hollywood, the other a master thief. Shepard shows what happens when their two worlds collide.

Check out Senior Jessie Marshallıs eagerly anticipated honors project, an adaptation of the Medea myth Media/Medea (Dec. 8-9, Hall Mainstage). Marshallıs work is always visually fascinating and incorporates elements from dance and the visual arts. In addition, Senior Gabe Carleton-Barnes is producing Lucia Mad (Nov. 30-Dec. 3, Little Theater), a take on James Joyceıs family life.

Associate Professor of African-American Studies and Theater Caroline Jackson-Smith will be at the helm of the one faculty Mainstage production this fall, a production of Carlyle Brownıs The African Company Presents Richard III (Hall Mainstage Oct. 6-8). Set in New York at the turn of the century, the play charts a company of black actors and the uphill battle they face in trying to present Shakespeareıs Richard III.

DANCE

The most interesting news coming from the dance department is the two-week residency by Hellmut Gottschild and his wife Brenda Dixon Gottschild. Hellmut Gottschildıs work is an exploration of his childhood in Nazi-controlled Germany. The coupleıs residency will include various lectures on various themes, from ³African American Vaudeville² by Ms. Dixon to a talk by Mr. Gottschild entitled ³Of Touching and Being Touched.²

(³Of Touching and Being Touched,² Sept. 22, 4:30pm. ³Ballrooms, Nightclubs, and the Vaudeville Stage,² Sept. 26, 3 pm. ³The Africanist Presence in American Performance,² Sept. 28, 4:30 pm. All lectures take place in the Adam Joseph Lewis Center lecture hall. All are free.)

The couple will end both weeks in Oberlin with two dance pieces, the first a solo for Mr. Gottschild and the second in tandem with his wife. ³Maryıs Ark,² ³Blue Eyes,² and ³The Inability to Dissolve² end the first week of the residency, and ³Tongue Smell Color² ends the second week.

AUTHOR READINGS

One area that Oberlin does a stellar job with is booking exciting authors for readings. Go to all of the readings sponsored by the Creative Writing Department because if the writer is not on the ³NY Times Notable² list this week, they will be shortly. Eminent authors in the series have included fiction writer Gish Jen, poet Marian Baruch, and Kenyon College mythologist Lewis Hyde, all at Oberlin to discuss their new works. This semester, the Creative Writing Department brings back one of their own to begin the series.

Bee Season is Myla Goldbergıs (OC Œ93) debut novel and the press she has received (especially as it is a debut novel) has been stunning (Sept. 28, King 106, 4:45). Publishers Weekly noted that ³while coming-of-age stories all bear a certain similarity, Goldberg strikes new ground here, and displays a fresh, distinctive and totally winning voice. Bee Season is a tale of an eccentric family falling apart at the seams. . . an absorbing debut that finds congruencies between the elementary school spelling-bee circuit, Jewish mysticism, Eastern religious cults and compulsive behavior.²

Keeping it in the family, Creative Writing next turns to its very own David Young, Longman Professor of English and Creative Writing, to read from his new book of poems At the White Window. (Oct. 24, King 106, 7:30). Writing on Seasonings, his last book, Booklist noted that Youngıs work is ³skillful and astute. . . bring[ing] his own particular satisfying sense of place to these poems.²

The fall series concludes with Brown University poet C.D. Wright (Nov. 30, King 106, 4:45) reading from his new collection Deepstep Come Shining. ³Expertly elliptical phrasings, and an uncomfortable, generous feel for real people, bodies and places, have lately made Wright one of Americaıs oddest, best and most appealing poets,² Publishers Weekly raved earlier this year.

CLASSICAL MUSIC / OPERA

As usual, there is a surfeit of student music occurring on campus ‹ all is worth stopping to hear. From the professional ranks Oberlin brings American mezzo-soprano Susanne Menter, who will perform a recital which will include, as of press time, works by Brahms and Faure. (Nov. 11, Finney Chapel, 8pm. In conjunction with the Artist Recital Series. $5 students, $18 public.)

Many in the Oberlin community consider the two operas during the course of the year to be the highlights of the season. A good bet will be the fall opera, Henry Molliconeıs Coyote Tails (Nov. 15, 17, 18, 19 Hall Auditorium- tickets limited.) Jonathon Field, the operaıs director, is rightfully excited about the piece. ³I am very proud of this. It is only the second time the opera has ever been done. It premiered two years ago in Kansas, and is based on Native American religious ideas and legends about Coyote, a trickster spirit. The production will be conducted by the composer himself. The libretto is by Sheldon Harnick, who wrote Fiddler on the Roof. We think this piece will get tremendous attention, and is a perfect fit for the Oberlin spirit.²

Another exciting event is an Opera Department sponsored forum entitled From Page to Stage (Nov. 12, Adam Joseph Lewis Center). The event will feature composers who currently write music for the stage speaking on their joys and frustrations. Panelists include extremely important jazz composer Anthony Davis, who has written two operas: X: The Life of Malcolm X and the recently performed Amistad, written for the Lyric Opera of Chicago. Davis also won a Tony award for his work on Tony Kushnerıs Angels in America. Other panelists will include composer-in-residence at Skylight Opera Theatre Richard Wargo as well as Henry Mollicone and Sheldon Harnick. The moderator will be David Bamberger, General Director of the Cleveland Opera.

VISUAL ART

The Allen Art Museumıs major fall show is Changing Visions of the North American Landscape. The show, according to the press release, ³explores some of the many different ways of interpreting visual records of our physical environment.² The exhibit is divided into four sections, with pieces from artists such as Ansel Adams, Christo, Edward Hopper and Jeff Wall. The four sections are entitled ³Awesome Spectacles and Majestic Idylls: Coming to Terms with the American Wilderness,² ³A Bountiful Harvest: Working and Playing on the Land,² ³Urban Landscape,² and the final section, ³Landscape of the Mind.² ³The exhibit is part of a larger initiative to integrate the museumıs collection into the general curriculum of Oberlin College.² (Oct. 24, 2000-Jan. 28, 2001, AMAM. Reception: Nov. 4, 5-7pm).

POP/ROCK/WORLD

Some good rock music will be gracing the ŒSco this fall. The world music line up at Finney looks to be especially promising. The ŒSco starts this year off with an extremely intimate set by Olympia, Washington based Sleater-Kinney (Sept. 15, ŒSco, 10pm, $7). S-K is an all female trio who are current critical darlings and have been well-loved on college radio for quite some time. They can be quite aggressive at times, but word has it that their new album is more melodic than other recent fare.

For you bluegrass fans who are still disappointed that Gillian Welch will not be returning from two years ago, the Cat will be hosting the Yonder Mountain String Band (Sept. 21, Cat in the Cream Coffeehouse, 8pm).

On the world music front, The Percussion Group of Guinee will be at Finney. This will be a particularly popular event for Harkness drumming circle devotees and any one else who needs a fix of rhythm (Oct. 7, Finney Chapel, 8pm). Also coming to Finney will likely be one of the biggest draws of the semester, folk singer Patty Griffin (Nov. 4, Finney Chapel, 9pm). Griffin has a ferocious legion of fans at Oberlin and will go down well with anyone who prefers their music on the Patty Wheeler, Nancy Griffith, Dar Williams side of the spectrum. Also look forward to a double-bill of two Matador Records bands: Bardo Pond and the fancifully named God Speed You Black Emperor! According to Matador, ³Bardo Pond wages intensity like no other. The music is a foaming, unbridled creature, constantly reinventing itself to unexplored parameters of Outness.² (Oct. 8, ŒSco, 10pm) Patty Griffin fans take note.

Thatıs what Iıll be going to this semester. You should too.

(The author thanks all who assisted in compiling this guide.)

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Copyright © 2000, The Oberlin Review.
Volume 129, Number 2, September 15, 2000

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