fayettevillearts.org

The Fayetteville Public Library will host an art discussion and exhibit by artist Robert Glick

Friday, August 29, from 5:30 to 8 p.m.

The talk will take place in the library’s Walker Community Room.

Glick’s artwork will remain on display in the library’s Media & Magazine Section through October 6.
Glick is a Eureka Springs artist who crafts conceptual and figurative abstracts using acrylics and oils, sometimes combined with resin, plaster, graphite, paper and other materials. Glick joins language and form into motifs that juxtapose the instinctual and rational, the raw and refined, the abstract and tangible.
For more information, call 856.7140 or visit www.robertglickart.com” href=”http://www.robertglickart.com”>www.robertglickart.com.

BY KEVIN KINDER Northwest Arkansas Times

There were songs to sing, but no way to sing them.

Then, in October of last year, two men had an idea. There should be an allmen’s choir, similar to those Michael Bedford had participated in while he lived in Texas. A few weeks later, the group had a governing board. After a few months of auditions, the group had a roster of 37 members.

It’s been a busy year for the Singing Men of Arkansas, an all-men’s volunteer choir that had its first public performance in February at the First United Methodist Church in Springdale. Since then, the group has performed several more times, including at an Aug. 8 fundraiser for presidential hopeful U.S. Sen. John McCain.

All this after a bit of uncertainty from Bedford, the group’s director and a former music minister at a local church who has many years of experience directing choirs. But he knew there were talented male voices in the area, and he knew there was a lack of a similar outlet in the area as well.

“I didn’t know what to expect. I was hopeful it would take off,” he said.

The Singing Men of Arkansas is founded on the idea that even though the members are not paid for the shows, the results of the combined voices can be professional.

“We wanted to have not just a choir that gets together and tries to sound decent, we want something outstanding,” Bedford said.

Bedford expects hard work from each of the members of the choir, but says the vocalists also have fun in the process.

“I don’t find many people who approach things haphazardly are those having fun. … We work hard together, and we accomplish something wonderful together,” he said.

Part of that fun comes from the friendships the members of the choir have made among their ranks. Vocalists come from not only the larger cities in the area, but also outlying towns such as West Fork, Huntsville, Lowell, Prairie Grove and more, bringing together people who might not otherwise meet.

The members are not just diverse in the towns they live in. One of the members, Bedford said, has experience singing in Broadway productions in New York City. Others have only the work of a church choir on their singing resume.

It is the director’s firm belief that anyone can learn to sing. He finds that many men are discouraged not only by the stereotype that male singers are “sissies” but also by those in their past.

“One of my greatest irritations is that so many men have missed out on being able to use their voices because someone has told them, ‘You can’t sing.’” Bedford said.

“In order to match a pitch, you have to do a little work, and that’s why people spend a lifetime to get good at singing.”

Oh, and make no mistake about it, this group is not made up of sissies — several of the members ride motorcycles to the group’s weekly practices at George Junior High School in Springdale.

As a unit, the men sing a wide variety of tunes, ranging from American classics to gospel to more contemporary cuts by artists such as Billy Joel. The group has also recently expanded its knowledge of patriotic songs as it expects to be called upon to sing at more political functions during the election season. Since just as many of the members are Democrats as Republicans, Bedford said his group would welcome the chance to perform at a rally for the Democratic presidential hopeful.

But concerts for highcaliber guests are not the main goal of the Singing Men of Arkansas, Bedford explained.

“Our goals are musical, and the byproducts will come,” he said.

To help build the program, the group is always looking for new members and plans two audition periods each year. One of those takes place Sept. 2, and prospective members are asked to visit the group’s Web site at www. singingmenofarkansas.org for a list of membership requirements and an application form.

All auditions are conducted privately.

“We don’t want people to be intimidated,” Bedford said. “The majority of folks who audition have a great chance of making it.”

The membership requirements are minimal, but a certain amount of time spent rehearsing is expected from all the members.

Of course, if things keep going the way they are, potential members might need to save a lot of dates — the group is already booked through April 2010.

“I do have big aspirations for the group, and they are achieving in many ways,” Bedford said.

Publication:Northwest Arkansas Times;  Date:Aug 24, 2008

Cat Donnelly email@nwarktimes.com

Anaconda

III.

I have opened like a bowl for you I have split my skin like a wet, ripe husk muskmelon orange tomato red sweet warm pulp, blood purple I have moved aside, leaving you room to crawl inside my skin a shell

— Brenda Moossy Drink in the smooth Southern voice of local slam legend Brenda Moossy, feature for Ozark Poets and Writers Collective, at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Nightbird Books, 557 S. School Ave. in Fayetteville. In a sense, she will be returning home.

In the mid-1980s, Moossy and other local poets formed OPWC, the longest continuously running poetry organization in Northwest Arkansas. Since the early days, OPWC has grown and embraced other genres of writing, and the slam poets have splintered off into a sister group that has some common members and devotees.

Moossy was one of the first area slam masters, and has gone on to write and perform poetry for the page and the stage. She competed with the Ozark Poetry Slam Team in four National Poetry Slams.

At the tender age of 18, Moossy walked her first novel into Grove Press in New York City for her book deal, which was rejected. This in no way put a damper on her zeal to continue writing.

A first-generation American of Lebanese descent, Moossy has found similarities between her work and that of other Arab poets, like an emphasis on details and the inclusion of rich descriptive terms. Moossy, a member of Radius of Arab American Writers, took First Place Excellence in Writing in Fiction, as well as a Certificate of Achievement in Poetry in the 1999 Qalam Awards Contest.

Moossy was born and raised in East Texas during the ’50s and ’60s. She fled small town life for Austin during the Summer of Love, 1967, discovering hippies, feminism and more. Moossy began her studies at the University of Texas at Austin, but was distracted by what was happening on the local scene and dropped out.

With her new friends, Moossy sought cheap land in Arkansas’s Madison County, where they formed the Blunderosa Commune near the town of Red Star. Only two of the original 15 members of the ill-fated commune had any experience in country living. After only five months, Moossy moved out.

Moossy entered the University of Arkansas, but three years into her course work toward medical school, she discovered she was pregnant with her son, Peter Moossy adjusted her studies to become a nurse.

Moossy concentrated on caring for patients with HIV and AIDS as a hospice nurse, a task few others were willing to attempt in the mid-1980s when there were so many frightening myths about the disease. She feels her work has impacted her world view and her writing.

Moossy enrolled in the Master of Fine Arts program in Creative Writing at the University of Arkansas where she received a 1999 Lilly Peter Fellowship in Fiction and was active in the Arkansas Writers in the Schools program. She performed in Poets on Tour and served on the SlamMasters Council and the executive council for Poetry Slam, Inc. the parent corporation for the National Poetry Slam.

Writers of all ages have enjoyed classes and workshops that Moossy has conducted on poetry and performance. She has given numerous public readings across the country at the hippest places in Boston, New York City, San Francisco and Berkeley, Calif.

Moossy was a poetry/ spoken word correspondent for “Ozarks at Large,” a news magazine produced by the UA radio station and NPR affiliate KUAF. One of Moossy’s poems was included in “Spoken Word Revolution,” an anthology of the world’s best slam poets. Brenda has four limited edition chapbooks and co-produced an audio tape titled “Ozark Women Poets — Snake Dreams.”

Moossy is a rare breed where the craft of her written word is as important as how it is heard by the audience. Her language use is as precise as it is strong. Her poetry shows that she has mastered the art of turns.

In the supreme irony of life, the noble caretaker of the sick is herself now battling inoperable lung cancer. In October 2007, Moossy smoked her last cigarette. Three days later she learned she had lung cancer. Her prognosis will remain uncertain as she continues with her treatments in Dallas. For a person who likes to read the end of the novel first to find out how it all turns out, the waiting is difficult.

A few months ago, friends had organized a fundraiser to provide for her in her time of need. Moshe Newmark, owner of Nature’s Water, had previously been on slam teams with Moossy. Ginny Masullo, another OPWC founder, felt moved to try to give back to someone who had given so much of herself. Moossy is no lon- ger able to work, and medical bills are piling up.

Join OPWC for the performance poetry of Brenda Moossy, one of the most sought-after poets in the South. Performances are not censored and strong or racy language is sometimes used. Admission is free, though a hat is passed for the feature. There’s also a free raffle for a book from the UA Press and a Nightbird Books gift card. For details, visit www.uark. edu/ua/mmasull/opwc.

Cat is a nontraditional undergraduate student in the Creative Writing Program at the University of Arkansas, and lives in Durham with her husband, two sons, two pugs and 30 chickens.

Publication:Northwest Arkansas Times;  Date:Aug 24, 2008

The University of Arkansas J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences
Department of Music presents

An Afternoon with  Wagner and Verdi

The Fulbright College department of music will feature UA faculty member Janice Yoes in a vocal program, “An Afternoon with Verdi and Wagner” on Sunday afternoon, August 31st at 3:00 p.m. in the Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall.  Mrs. Yoes will be joined by guest artists Brenda Frye, soprano, Howard Goode, baritone, and Mary Scott Goode, piano.  They will be performing excerpts from three Romantic operas, Richard Wagner’s Lohengrin and Giuseppe Verdi’s Aïda and Il Trovatore.

Yoes has been on the UA faculty since 1985, where she teaches voice.  She sang professionally in a world-wide career for over 30 years and was noted as an interpreter of Wagner and Strauss heroines, as well as those of Verdi and Puccini, and sang in many major opera houses throughout the world.

The Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall is located in the Fine Arts Building on the UA campus.  Free parking is available in the parking deck, which can be accessed from Stadium Drive and is located directly to the west of the Fine Arts Building.  The admission is free and the public is cordially invited to attend.  For more information, please call the department of music at (479) 575-4701.
Janice Yoes with Featured Guest Artists
Brenda Frye, Howard Goode, Mary Scott Goode

Stella Boyle Smith Concert Hall    Sunday,  3 P.M.
Fine Arts Center    August 31st,  2008

PROGRAM

Lohengrin, Act II, Scene II    Richard Wagner
Euch Lüften…      (1813-1883)
Elsa!…
Entweihte Götter…
Ortrud! Wo bist du?
So zieht das Unheil…
Brenda Frye, Elsa/ Janice Yoes, Ortrud/ Howard Goode, Friedrich

Intermission

Aïda    Giuseppe Verdi
Ciel, mio padre    (1813-1901)
Janice Yoes, Aïda / Howard Goode, Amonasro

Il Trovatore    Giuseppe Verdi
Act I: Tacea la notte placida…Di tale amor
Act II: Il balen del suo sorriso
Act IV: D’amor sull’ ali rosee
Udiste!…Mira, di acerbe lagrime
Brenda Frye, Leonora / Howard Goode, Count di Luna
All selections accompanied at the pianoforte by Mary Scott Goode

Analog to Digital Drawing 1 / Mike Davis Gutiérrez / M 6-7:30PM / Glass Table
Typography* / Sonia Davis Gutiérrez / M 6-8PM / Red Table

Collaboration Studio 1 / Sonia Davis Gutiérrez / T 6-8PM / Glass Tables
Design Studio 2* / Justin Williams / T 6-8PM / Red Table

Western Design History* / Mike Davis Gutiérrez / W 6-8PM / Glass Tables
Digital Identity 1 / Sonia Davis Gutiérrez / W 6-8PM / Red Table

Time Based Media 1* / Sonia Davis Gutiérrez / TH 6-8PM / Red Table
Professional Practice 1 / Jeannie Ozlanski / TH 6-7:30PM / Glass Tables
Creative Identity 1 / Eric Huber / TH 7:30-9PM / Glass Tables

*seminar has prerequisites

Fall term begins Monday, August 18!

For program catalog, seminar descriptions and enrollment information visit:
www.newdesignschool.org

TheatreSquared kicks off its third season with “Moonlight and Magnolias,” a smart new comedy by Ron Hutchinson, at 8 p.m. Fri., Sept. 5, at Walton Arts Center’s Nadine Baum Studios in downtown Fayetteville. The show opens the performing arts weekend of the Fayetteville Arts Festival and continues through Sept. 21, with performances on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets are $22 ($18 for seniors, $10 for students) and are available at the Walton Arts Center box office at 479-443-5600 or on-line at theatresquared.org.

“Moonlight and Magnolias” tells the fascinating and funny backstage story about the making of Gone with the Wind, the blockbuster of all blockbusters. Hollywood producer David O. Selznick, the outsized ego behind the making of the film, shut down production, fired his screenwriter and director, and hired legendary screenwriter Ben Hecht and director Victor Fleming, locking them in his office for a week to rewrite the film while subsisting on bananas and peanuts. That much is known. Unknown is what actually went on behind closed doors, and “Moonlight and Magnolias” imagines just that. The result is a fast-paced, often hilarious peek at the creative, frantic underside of show biz.

TheatreSquared has assembled a creative team of local professionals and visiting artists. T2 co-founder Amy Herzberg, University of Arkansas professor of drama who recently appeared in My Father’s War, directs. The cast includes several MFA UA graduates, including Bryce Kemph, Justin Scheuer, Virginia and Kevin Cohea.

The seasoned design team includes the University of Arkansas drama department chair Dr. D. Andrew Gibbs on lights, set designer Shawn Irish, costume designer Shauna Meador and sound designer Richard Rew. T2’s resident stage manager is Ashley Butler, a UA alumna.

TheatreSquared is a company of professional artists dedicated to producing exceptional contemporary theatre, operating in the Walton Arts Center’s Nadine Baum Studios. Upcoming in 2008/09 are the Pulitzer Prize-winning drama “Rabbit Hole” and the Dora Award-winning “Drawer Boy” as well as the “Discovery: Arkansas New Play Festival.” Visit  www.theatresquared.org for further information.

Annual event will focus on visual and performing arts during two-week celebration

NORTHWEST ARKANSAS – August 20, 2008 – Fayetteville Downtown Partners announces that the 2008 Fayetteville Arts Festival will take place beginning Friday, August. This year’s festival will focus on both visual and performing arts, with each area representing a week-long celebration of accomplishments by regional artists. Visual Arts events are scheduled to take place August 29th – 31st, while Performing Arts Events will take place September 5th – 7th.

Tickets for all events both weekends may be purchased at the door.  All visual arts events will take place at the Fayetteville Town Center, located at 15 W. Mountain Street off the Downtown Square in Fayetteville. All performing arts events will take place at the Nadine Baum Studios, located at the corner of Spring St and West Avenue, one block south of Dickson Street in Fayetteville.

The Visual Arts Festival will begin on Friday, August 29th with the Open Spaces Arts Party, scheduled for 7:00pm-9:00pm at the Fayetteville Town Center.

According to DeDe Peters, owner of DDP Gallery in Fayetteville, “The Fayetteville Town Center is partnering with the Festival on the Open Space Art Party.  The staff will use their skills of being one of the preeminent hosting facilities to present a fantastic event.”  Tickets for the Open Spaces Art Party have been reduced this year from $50 to $25.  Patrons attending the event will have the opportunity to view and purchase art prior to the festival’s public opening, which takes place on Saturday, August 30th from 9am-5pm and on Sunday, August 31st from 11am-4pm.

As in previous festivals, artists were selected from a juried application process.  Work produced by 40 chosen artists includes two and three-dimensional mediums such as paintings, sculptures, ceramics, textiles and jewelry.  “Many of the artists live and create in the region by also exhibit nationally,” says Peters.  Previous festivals have seen more than $50,000 worth of visual arts purchase.

The Performing Arts Festival continues the following weekend, September 5th -7th, with a kick- off reception on Friday, September 5th from 6-7.30pm at Nadine Baum Studios.  Beginning at 8pm that evening, TheatreSquared - Northwest Arkansas’ resident professional theatre company - opens its 2008-09 season with the Ron Hutchinson comedy, Moonlight and Magnolias, a smart, behind-the-scenes comedy about the making of Gone With the Wind.  Tickets to this event are available for $22 or $18 for seniors.

On Saturday, September 6th, Ceramic Cow Productions - producers of the popular Dupont, Mississippi series and most recently Pearl’s Sixth Wedding - will present Pearls of Wisdom at 12 noon. Tickets to this event are available for $10.

The Arkansas Playwrights Workshop, under the direction of Bob Ford, will present Fresh Theatre, selected 10 minute plays at 2pm. Tickets to this event are available for $7, and a free reading from the National Writer’s Project follows the event 3.45pm.

Also on Saturday, September 6th, TheatreSquared presents Moonlight and Magnolias at 8pm.

On Sunday, September 7th, Moonlight and Magnolias plays at 2pm and at 6pm the weekend’s perennial favorite event, The 24 Hour Play Festival, to be hosted by Pearl Covington begins.  In the 24 Hour Play Festival, competing teams composed of five members each have 24 hours to write and rehearse a 10- minute script.  Performances begin at 6pm on Sunday evening until 8.30.  Plays are judged by a three member panel and cash prizes will be awarded for first, second and audience choice.  Tickets to this event are available for $10.

Following the 24 Hour Play Festival and as the votes are being tallied, TheatreSquared and Ceramic Cow Productions will present an exhibition performance of Splash Theatre.  “In Splash Theatre we will have two teams - One from TheatreSquared and one from Ceramic Cow.  TheatreSquared will write a 10 minute script for the Ceramic Cow team, and the Ceramic Cow team will write one for TheaterSquared,” said Mark Landon Smith, Co-Founder of Ceramic Cow Productions.  Two actors from each company will receive the script written for them a month in advance, however neither actor knows who their acting partner is.  There are no rehearsals.  The actors memorize their lines independently and discover who their fellow actor is the moment the curtain goes up at the performance.

An estimated 9,000 people will attend Fayetteville Arts Festival events over these two weekends, providing increased revenue to local businesses while promoting the arts community.

For additional information regarding the Visual Arts Festival events, call Fayetteville Downtown Partners at 479.571.3337.  For additional information regarding the Performing Arts Festival events, please call Ceramic Cow Productions at 479.571.4879, and for additional information regarding TheatreSquared’s production of Moonlight and Magnolias, please call 479.445.6333.

2008 Fayetteville Arts Festival Schedule of Events

VISUAL ARTS WEEKEND

All events take place at the Fayetteville Town Center
15 West Mountain Street
Fayetteville

Friday, August 29th
7-9pm
Open Space Art Party
Entertainment, food, beverages (alcoholic and non)
$25 per ticket

Saturday, August 30th
9am-5pm
Artist Booths and Interactive Events
FREE

Sunday, August 31st
11am-4pm
Artist Booths
FREE

PERFORMING ARTS WEEKEND

All events take place at the Nadine-Baum Studios
505 West Spring Street
Fayetteville

Friday, September 5th

6-7.30pm
Kickoff Reception
Entertainment, food, beverages (alcoholic and non)
FREE

8.00pm
Moonlight and Magnolias
Presented by TheatreSquared
Tickets at $22/$18 seniors

Saturday, September 6th

12 noon
Pearls of Wisdom
Presented by Ceramic Cow Productions
Tickets at $10

2pm
Fresh Theatre
Presented by the Arkansas Playwright’s Workshop
Tickets at $7

3.45pm
National Writer’s Project
Free Event

8.00pm
Moonlight and Magnolias
Presented by TheatreSquared
Tickets at $22
Sunday, September 7th

2pm
Moonlight and Magnolias
Presented by TheatreSquared
Tickets at $22

6pm
The 24 Hour Play Festival
Followed by
Splash Theatre
Presented by TheatreSquared and Ceramic Cow Productions
Tickets at $10

###

For more information, contact:
Daniel Keeley, President
Fayetteville Downtown Partners
479.530.8347
danielkeeley@sbcglobal.net
www.fayettevilledowntown.org

We will be holding open auditions on Saturday, September 13 beginning at 10:00 AM in the Studio Theatre at Walton Arts Center’s Nadine Baum Studios in Fayetteville (505 W. Spring St.).  We are currently casting all of the shows in the current season (with the exception of “Moonlight and Magnolias”) as well as for the Discovery: Arkansas New Play Festival.  We would also like to see talent that will be available for the 2009/2010 season of plays that we are currently selecting.  Here’s the scoop:

Area actors age 16 and over are invited to call T2 at 445-6333 to sign up for a five-minute audition slot.
Actors should prepare two contrasting monologues totaling three minutes or one monologue and 20 bars of one song to be sung à cappella.

They should also bring a headshot (or photograph) and acting resumé.

For each of its shows, the not-for-profit TheatreSquared expects to hire a mix of theatre professionals, both Equity and non-equity, from the area and from around the country.

TheatreSquared is currently interested in seeing actors of all ethnicities and are looking to fill roles with the following actors:

• 1 Male (High School Aged)
• 1 Male (College Aged)
• 2 Male (Middle Aged
• 2 Male (Senior)
• 1 Female (College Aged)
• 1 Female (Middle Aged)
• 1 Female (Senior)

Chicago’s legendary comedy improv theatre The Second City will appear at Walton Arts Center at 8 p.m. Friday, Sept. 5. Deface the Nation is The Second City’s all-political revue with customized comedy for the election year.  Featuring scenes and songs that poke fun at both political parties and a variety of pundits, The Second City proves that there’s no shortage of comedy coming out of Washington D.C.  Tickets for The Second City:  DeFace the Nation range from $20-$32 and can be purchased by calling the Walton Arts Center Box Office at 479-443-5600 or by visiting waltonartscenter.org.

Founded in Chicago in 1959, The Second City has become the premier training ground for the comedy world’s best and brightest.  Their alumni list reads like a who’s who of American comedy, as it includes:  Mike Nichols, Elain May, Alan Arkin, Joan Rivers, Robert Klein, Peter Boyle, Harold Ramis, John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, Gilda Radner, George Wendt, Martin Short, John Candy, Bonnie Hunt, Tim Meadows, Chris Farley, Mike Myers, Tina Fey, Steve Carell, Stephen Colbert, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Horatio Sanz, Ryan Stiles and countless others.

Not only will an evening with The Second City provide audiences with the chance to see comedy stars in the making, but they will also have the opportunity to see absolutely hilarious satire and cutting-edge improvisation.  From Bush to Clinton to Obama to the other Clinton, DeFace the Nation is a hilarious romp through the beltway and beyond. No topic or subject matter is off limits for The Second City.  If your parents asked you not to speak about it at the dinner table, chances are it will be made fun of in an evening with The Second City.

Immediately following Second City’s a special Young Professionals (YPAS) Cast Party will be held. YPAS is Walton Arts Center’s new young professionals group, offering young professionals the opportunity to enjoy the arts in a fun atmosphere. For patrons who are YPAS VIP members (formerly Tuesday Night Broadway Club), admittance to the Cast Party is free although a ticket is needed for entry.  For patrons who are not YPAS VIP members, admittance is $5.  This event will run for about an hour and a half and will feature light snacks, beer and wine.

Friday’s performance will feature Rachel Miller, Joey Bland, Anthony LeBlanc, Abby McEnany, Brooke Bagnall and Seth Weitberg.  These talented improv artists will entertain audiences both on the stage and off with an improv master class to be held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 4.  New to improv or acting? No worries! The Second City improv workshop, for ages 16 and older, will introduce beginning improv concepts such as listening, ensemble, and supporting your partner.   Participants will have a great time learning and playing with The Second City facilitators.  The improv workshop fee is $15, and the maximum amount of students is 15. Class will take place in Starr Theatre. For more information on learning with the cast of The Second City, check out waltonartscenter.org.

For more information on this performance, the beginning improv master class or about the YPAS cast party, contact the Walton Arts Center Box Office by calling 479.443.5600 or by visiting waltonartscenter.org.

Volunteers are needed to work the Fayetteville Arts Festival, especially during load-in and load-out during the visual arts weekend, August 29 – 31. There may also be volunteers needed for the performance weekend, September 5 – 7.

There are many slots/tasks available. Please contact Casey Hamaker at CaseyHamaker@gmail.com or (479) 841-1764 with a time that you can come and help out. Bring your friends; it’s a festival!

For more information, visit www.fayettevilledowntown.org/.