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ONLINE ONLY: 'The Producers' takes the stage at IU Auditorium

By Dana Tesser · Thursday, Oct. 19,2006 11:16 p.m.

After a cancellation last year, the top Tony Award-winning musical in history, "The Producers," is finally here. The traveling cast will perform five shows at IU over the next three days at 8 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Graduate student and Miss Indiana performs lead role in opera 'Manon'

By Eric Anderson · Thursday, Oct. 19,2006 11:16 p.m.

Betsy Uschkrat, Jacobs School of Music graduate student and reigning Miss Indiana, will lead the school's production of Jules Massenet's classic opera "Manon" Friday, playing the character bearing the opera's name. "I love the role," said Uschkrat. "I feel like I'm playing two characters." Manon, she explained, begins the opera as a simple, provincial 16-year-old girl who is forced into mature womanhood by the cruel realities of life.

Techno music originators gather for first conference

By Erin Boyle · Thursday, Oct. 19,2006 11:11 p.m.

IU is scheduled to hold its first techno academic conference, "Roots of Techno: Black DJs and the Detroit Scene," from 8:45 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday in the Willkie Auditorium. Techno is electronically produced music that incorporates drum machines, multitrack mixers, computers and samplers. Most associate techno music with Europe, but black college students initially developed this genre in the late 1970s near Detroit.

Online Only: Widespread Panic draws mixed reviews

By Zack Teibloom · Thursday, Oct. 19,2006 12:28 a.m.

Widespread Panic fans walking into the IU Auditorium Wednesday night, buzzing with anticipation, said the night before in Evansville the balcony literally shook from the energy of the crowd. Wednesday night, the balcony was closed off, and there were several empty seats as close to the stage as the third row. Widespread Panic had fans dancing in their seats, but a number of concert-goers said the band failed to live up to expectations.

IU alumna uses theater to depict life as baby boomer

By Shannon McEnerney · Wednesday, Oct. 18,2006 11:08 p.m.

Diane Kondrat would not tell you to walk, jog, skip or hop to see a performance and show by Nell Weatherwax. Instead, she recommends you run. "If someone has never seen one of her performances, my advice is to run to see it because Weatherwax's artistic quality is top of the line," said Kondrat, a longtime friend of Weatherwax. The opportunity to see a show of Weatherwax's is at a prime, as she will perform at a fundraiser for the Bloomington Playwrights Project at 8 p.m. this Friday and Saturday. Tickets are $15 for general admission and $12 for students and seniors. No reservation is required. Her show "Boomer" is an improvised autobiographical movement theater performance.

SoFA Gallery gets in touch with nature

By Lindsey Landis · Wednesday, Oct. 18,2006 11:08 p.m.

Friday, the School of Fine Arts gallery will open the first part of a two-part exhibition series titled "Human Nature I: The Natural World" from 7 to 9 p.m. Fifteen nationally- and internationally-acclaimed artists and scientists will display more than 40 examples of sculpture, painting, video projection, animation and sound work. The pieces will "examine scientific experimentation, biological materials and living systems," according to a press release from the gallery. Gallery director Betsy Stirratt explained that the exhibit will be "a look at our relationship with nature." She said the first show will cover many different issues, including human ties to the environment and animals, as well as topics in health care. The exhibit will remain open until Nov. 18. The second show, which opens in February, will focus more on the advances in biotechnology. Stirratt described the material as being "more science-y."

Artist melds Music & Murals

By Ashley Wilson · Wednesday, Oct. 18,2006 10:58 p.m.

For Max Kauffman, making art is the easy part. It's the business side of it all that gets to him. A few months ago, Kauffman, a former IU student, decided to take his art on tour. He began calling venues in different cities across the country to convince them to show his art. This was no easy task.

Rock legend Chuck Berry still producing music at 80

By Alyson Brodsy · Wednesday, Oct. 18,2006 10:44 p.m.

ST. LOUIS -- As he turned 80 Wednesday, Chuck Berry could leave the hard work of great music to younger souls and rest comfortably as the rock 'n' roll legend who first made his mark in the 1950s. But Berry, the duck--walking, guitar--playing rock genius who defined the music's joy and rebellion in such classics as "Johnny B. Goode," "Sweet Little Sixteen" and "Roll Over Beethoven," has plenty left to say and play.

Desks designed by inmates put on display

By Alyson Brodsy · Wednesday, Oct. 18,2006 10:43 p.m.

PHILADELPHIA -- While dorm rooms keep students cramped close to their books, and studio apartments don't offer much room between the stove and the bed, it's rare to find living quarters smaller than those in prisons. So when conceptual artist Peggy Diggs wanted help designing furniture that fits in tight spaces, she turned to a group of 15 inmates at the maximum security State Correctional Institution at Graterford.

Fantasy hairstyles to take runway

By Ariel Ivas · Tuesday, Oct. 17,2006 11:30 p.m.

While most people might not consider hairstyling an art form, Jocelyn Robertson, performance and events director for the Bloomington Area Arts Council, disagrees. Robertson and the Arts Council will team up with local hair salons to present Bloomington's first "Curl Up and Dye for the Arts!" fantasy hair competition at 8 p.m. Nov. 10 at the John Waldron Arts Center Auditorium to prove that hairstylists can be artists, too.

Czech play to be 'unveiled' Friday

By Rorye O'Connor and Rorye O'Conner · Tuesday, Oct. 17,2006 11:29 p.m.

The comedy "Unveiling" by Vàclav Havel will begin its two-week run Friday at the John Waldron Arts Center to raise awareness about Havel, the writer, and his struggles in communist Czechoslovakia. The play will be shown at 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday and 26-28. Additional matinees are at 2 p.m. Oct. 21 and 28. General admission is $16; senior citizens and students with ID will be charged $13. Tickets are available at Bloomingfoods East or www.bloomingtonarts.info.

IU Art Museum director collects drawings for book

By Nicholas Mills · Tuesday, Oct. 17,2006 11:27 p.m.

Ten years of research have paid off for IU Art Museum Director Adelheid Gealt, whose reconstruction of 18th-century artist Domenico Tiepolo's New Testament drawings coincides with her latest book, "Domenico Tiepolo: A New Testament." The book features full-color photos of all 313 drawings, which were made with pen, along with titles and descriptions.

Widespread Panic at IU

By Zack Teibloom · Monday, Oct. 16,2006 10:45 p.m.

The IU Auditorium welcomes back "road warriors" Widespread Panic just a year and a half after their sold out Auditorium show. The former Bonnaroo headliners are expected to fill the parking lots with partying "Spreadheads" and induce dancing in the aisles during their trademark high-energy show at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday. Lower orchestra seats were still available as of Monday afternoon.

Heartland Film Fest brings IU grads back

By Rorye O'Connor and Rorye O'Conner · Monday, Oct. 16,2006 10:42 p.m.

Several IU grads and Indiana natives will return to the Hoosier state to participate in the 15th annual Heartland Film Festival, which opens Thursday in Indianapolis.

Singer Freddy Fender dies at 69 from lung cancer

By Alyson Brodsy · Sunday, Oct. 15,2006 10:44 p.m.

SAN BENITO, Texas -- Freddy Fender, the "Bebop Kid" of the Texas-Mexico border who later turned his twangy tenor into the smash country ballad "Before the Next Teardrop Falls," died Saturday. He was 69. Fender, who was diagnosed with lung cancer in early 2006, died at noon at his Corpus Christi, Texas, home with his family at his bedside, said Ron Rogers, a family spokesman.

At least my T-shirt can say 'nuclear'

By Alyson Brodsy and Teri Rosenbaum · Sunday, Oct. 15,2006 10:44 p.m.

I am not political. I would rather watch a "Meerkat Manor" marathon than watch a political debate. I'm too busy getting anti-Ugg boot petitions signed to read about Iraq, so my knowledge of politics is limited.

One-woman show explains Cha Cha feminist life

By Rorye O'Connor and Rorye O'Conner · Sunday, Oct. 15,2006 10:43 p.m.

Maria Elena Fernandez, star of Thursday's one-woman autobiographical performance, "Confessions of a Cha Cha Feminist," showed up almost an hour late, danced on tables and threw plastic razors at the audience. And they loved it.

Benefit brings in more than $1,500

By Shannon Valentine · Sunday, Oct. 15,2006 10:41 p.m.

Although the final amount raised Sunday night through the Hurricane Katrina benefit concert is not yet known, ticket and faculty CD sales generated at least $1,570, said event organizer Jenny Sherry.

Around the Arts

By IDS staff and Alyson Brodsy · Thursday, Oct. 12,2006 10:18 p.m.

City Lights series films explore sides of Christianity, Radio Friendly: Songs by American Pirates, Union Board hosts Horror Week film festival, Lecture to address Kinsey's impact on sexual minorities

Student organizes concert to aid New Orleans artists leans

By Shannon Valentine · Thursday, Oct. 12,2006 10:13 p.m.

In an attempt to invigorate and revitalize art and music in the Gulf region after Hurricane Katrina, the Jacobs School of Music hosts a concert at 1 p.m. Sunday in Auer Hall. The event, which costs $10 for students, will raise money for the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, the Greater New Orleans Youth Orchestra and Habitat for Humanity's Musicians' Village, according to a press release.

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