CAS News

Events

Concerts A-Plenty

By

From UPBEAT

The University’s Flute Ensemble, String Quartet, and Jazz Combo will perform on Tuesday, November 27, at 6 p.m., in Mago Hunt Center recital hall. The concert is free and open to all. A highlight will be a performance of Giuseppe Verdi’s String Quartet in E minor.

The University’s Jazz Band will perform on Thursday, November 29, at 7:30 p.m., in Buckley Center Auditorium. The concert is free and open to all. The newly formed Jazz Band combo II will begin the program with modern compositions, and the Jazz Band combo I will perform music from the Buddy Rich Band, Stan Kenton Band, and new music by contemporary composers.

For more information contact Jewell Yaguchi, performing and fine arts, at ext. 7228 or yaguchi@up.edu.

2012 Advent Concert

By

From UPBEAT

The annual Advent Concert will be performed on Saturday, December 8, at 8 p.m., at St. Mary’s Cathedral. The University Singers, Chamber Singers, and Women’s Chorale invite all University community members to join them for this festive performance with music in honor of Mary on this Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Featured work will be Vivaldi’s Magnificat with string orchestra.

Tickets are free but required for admission, and are available from the performing and fine arts office or by calling ext. 7228.

Wayne Miller Poetry Reading

By

From UPBEAT

Poet and editor Wayne Miller will read from his work on Monday, November 12, at 7:30 p.m., in Buckley Center room 163 as part of the English department’s Readings and Lectures Series. Miller is the author of three poetry collections, including his most recent The City, Our City.

The reading is free and open to faculty, staff, students, and the public. For more information contact Molly Hiro, English, at ext. 8031 or hiro@up.edu.

An Evening with a Poet

By

By: Hannah Murray, Guest Commentator

From THE BEACON

Have you ever wondered who is behind those words on the page? Literature is meant to be an intimate conversation between the author and reader, but what if you actually got to ask those questions up close and personal? Questions like: Why did you use such interesting line breaks on page 45? What was your inspiration behind this book? How did you get into writing poetry? For many, these thoughts are simply a tool to dive into the literature but for some lucky ones, Monday was an opportunity to ask these burning questions. Wayne Miller, the author of several esteemed works including The City, Our City, The Book of Props, and Only the Senses Sleep,was on campus this past weekend and on Monday gave an inspired reading of his past works as well as a sneak peek into his current project.

In preparation for Miller’s arrival, Dr. Asarnow’s Contemporary American Poetry class read The City, Our City and spent a week discussing the intricate, often abstract topics Miller presents. The first stop on his journey at UP was for a question and answer session in our class. As a sophomore, this was my first experience having a direct conversation with such a successful, distinguished author. Later that afternoon, the English Department hosted a small dinner which included 8 students from Contemporary American Poetry, Dr. Asarnow, and Wayne Miller at St. John’s greatest pub: McMenamin’s. Over Cajun tater tots, Miller told us about his views on Poetic translation and how they can be the greatest tool to examining language. He told us everything from the journal that’s always present in his back pocket to his literate fluency in Albanian all the way to his aversion to tomatoes.

One of the greatest insights Wayne shared with us was that when writing, it is important to listen to what the words are trying to show you. By listening, you may end up with something much greater than what you set out to do. Lastly, and what I think to be most important, he spoke of one of his favorite poets, W.H. Auden, and told us about his favorite ideal: “A poet is, before anything else, a person who is passionately in love with language.” I hope that Wayne inspired many during his reading, but if nothing else, it was an evening full of laughs.

Hannah Murray is a sophomore biology major. She can be reached at murray15@up.edu.

 

Waiting for Lefty

By

Theater students stage political uprising

By Nathanial Quinn, Guest Commentator quinn15@up.edu

From THE BEACON

Clifford Odets’ landmark play Waiting for Lefty can be described as an event to be experienced by all. While this show was written about a union strike that took place in the 1930s, it is just as significant for society today. Its goal then and now is to remind us to stand up for what we believe in, much like occupiers and protesters are doing now. It is about a group coming together for a unifying cause, overcoming obstacles and deciding to take the initiative.

Jared Lee, the second-year directing grad in charge of the piece, wants the audience to be reminded that “we are the 99 percent.” He hopes the audience will be moved to participate during the action of the play, though it’s not a requirement. In order to facilitate this, Lee intends to rearrange the theater space “to create a sense that we are all in a camp together—in one unifying space, where the audience and the actors are equals.”

When the play opens on Nov. 28, cast members will be protesting outside the Mago Hunt Theater, and encouraging incoming audience members to rally as well. Upon entering the space, should you feel like having your voice heard, you can take up a sign—or bring your own—and treat our show as a place to voice that opinion, be it for or against the movement.

Audiences will feel like they are entering an Occupy camp as they enter the theater. Cast members for this show are going above and beyond taking on the roles of Odets’ sharply delineated characters; they will portray actual occupiers as well. You can expect to see these people, hear their opinions and witness their strife and anguish as you move further into the performing space. Once in the theater, designer Eric Lyness has created an environment defined by chain link fences, a wall of doors, and tarps overhead, to deepen the audience’s feeling of being in an Occupy camp. By stretching the set out into the audience, Lyness intends to help create Lee’s idea of unity between actor and audience. Actors will also be present in this environment, but not until the show begins will the audience actually know who is a performer and who is a spectator.

Student costume designer Hope Robinson is also working to make the show feel as real as possible. All cast members have a basic occupier costume, and as they adopt other characters throughout the show, they add and remove costume pieces to signal a change in character. These costume pieces will be seen hanging around the set in various locations, as though they were donated articles of clothing for the protesters.

As you walk around campus this month, you will see some of your colleagues sporting buttons that say “Where’s Lefty?” and “Occupy.” We encourage you to ask about them. While these emblems are there to gain your attention, they also represent individual stories for each character of the show. Stop and ask, and we’ll happily give you some insight into the production—as well as buttons of your own, if you’d like.

Nathaniel Quinn is a first-year graduate directing student who, in addition to appearing in Waiting for Lefty as a union boss, is also the show’s dramaturge. He can be reached quinn15@up.edu.  The play runs from November 28 through 30.

Machinal Debuts This Week

By

From UPBEAT

Machinal, an expressionistic play, will be per- formed November 9-11, 15-17 in the Mago Hunt Center Theater. All performances are at 7:30 p.m., except the Sunday performance, which is at
2 p.m. Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for students and seniors. For reservations starting call 7287.

Machinal is an expressionistic modern age tragedy of isolation turned to murder. Loosely based on the sensational 1927 murder trial of Ruth Snyder, the first woman put to death by the electric chair, the play is set against an industrial landscape. Playwright Sophie Treadwell’s classic early 20th century feminist play speculates about what circumstances might drive a seemingly harmless stenographer to commit murder in a male-dominated, mechanized, materialistic world. This play deals with adult themes and is intended for mature audiences.

Vote UP

By

September through November

The “Vote UP” program–a collaboration between University of Portland faculty, staff, and students to increase on-campus voter turnout, engagement, and dialogue in the weeks leading up to the 2012 Presidential election–will be holding a series of events in the coming weeks. The program will include voter registration drives, weekly panel discussions about key issues, debate and election-watch parties, and a post-election wrap-up. Each panel will be followed by discussions facilitated by TOLCS (Teaching Our Leaders Civil Discourse and Service), students trained by the Communication Studies department in civic discourse and public dialogue.

All “Vote UP” events are free and open to the public and will be held at 7 p.m. unless otherwise noted. Locations are subject to change – please check the official Vote UP website at  www.up.edu/voteup  for the most up-to-date information.

Date Event Sponsoring Group Location
9/25 Panel: Health Care UPSNA St. Mary’s Lounge
10/2 Panel: Immigration MEChA St. Mary’s Lounge
10/3 Presidential Debate Watch Party UP Marketing The Cove (6 p.m.)
10/9 Panel: Economy/Budget College Repubs/Dems St. Mary’s Lounge
10/11 Vice Presidential Debate Watch Party UP Marketing The Cove (6 p.m.)
10/16 Presidential Debate Watch Party UP Marketing The Cove (6 p.m.)
10/22 Presidential Debate Watch Party UP Marketing The Cove (6 p.m.)
10/23 Panel: Women’s Issues Feminist Discussion Group St. Mary’s Lounge
10/30 Panel: International/Foreign Policy International Club St. Mary’s Lounge
11/6 Election Watch Party Student Activities The Cove (5 p.m.)
11/13 Panel: Post-Election Implications Roosevelt Institute St. Mary’s Lounge

Vote UP is being sponsored by The New York Times as well as the University of Portland Political Science department, Student Activities, and the Moreau Center for Service and Leadership.

Contact Jeromy Koffler, Student Activities director, with questions at  stuact@up.edu  or 503-943-7470.

Columbus Day Storm, 1962 on Display

By

October

Fifty years ago on October 12, 1962 a major storm struck Portland, remembered by those who experienced it as “the Columbus Day storm.”  The roof of St. Joseph Hall, a two-story wooden structure to the west of Howard Hall then serving as a residence for several Holy Cross religious, was ripped away by the wind and many of the native Douglas firs on the campus were uprooted.  Power was lost to much of the city including the campus.  The food service at the Commons improvised with hamburgers cooked over charcoal on the grills that originally lined the west entrance to the building.

The University Museum has created a display to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Columbus Day Storm.  The display is located in the display case near the computer stations in the Pilot House and will be in place until the end of October. Contact Carolyn Connolly, Museum Coordinator, at 8038 or piatz@up.edu for more information.