Category: Arts

UIndy Theatre presents musical comedy

Emery Lade as Olive Ostrovsky stars as an eager speller

Emery Lade as Olive Ostrovsky stars as an eager speller

A heartwarming comedy is this season’s opening production from the Department of Theatre at the University of Indianapolis. The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is a long one-act musical comedy conceived by Rebecca Feldman with music and lyrics by William Finn, a book by Rachel Sheinkin and additional material by Jay Reiss.

The 2005 Broadway production earned good reviews and box-office success and was nominated for six Tony Awards, winning two, including Best Book. It opens October 21 in UIndy’s Ransburg Auditorium, 1400 E. Hanna Ave.

Featuring a fast-paced, wildly funny, and touching book, and a truly fresh and vibrant score, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee has charmed audiences across the country with its effortless wit and humor. An eclectic group of six mid-pubescents vie for the spelling championship of a lifetime. Six spellers enter; one speller leaves! At least the losers get a juice box. A riotous ride complete with audience participation, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is a delightful den of comedic genius.

The run continues Oct. 21-22 & 27-29, with performances at 8 p.m., and on Oct. 23 with a 2 p.m. performance. Admission is $12 for the public, $10 for UIndy alumni, senior citizens, groups of eight or more, and non-UIndy students with ID. Tickets and more information are available at uindy.edu/etc or 317- 788-3251

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI).

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Author Alexander McCall Smith to speak on Oct. 10

smith-alexander-mccall-c-michael-lionstar

Alexander McCall Smith

Author of acclaimed No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency to speak in downtown Indy

Alexander McCall Smith, British best-selling author and Emeritus Professor of Medical Law at the University of Edinburgh, will speak at the Indianapolis Public Library – Central Library on Monday, October 10, at 7:30 p.m., as part of UIndy’s University Series and Sutphin Lectureship.

McCall Smith has written more than 100 books, including specialist academic titles, short story collections, and a number of immensely popular children’s books. But he is best known for his internationally acclaimed No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series, which rapidly rose to the top of bestseller lists throughout the world.

This event is free and open to the public. Online registration is requested.

Alexander McCall Smith’s appearance, included in the University Series and in partnership with the Indianapolis Public Library, is underwritten by the Sutphin Lectures in the Humanities, endowed in memory of Samuel B. Sutphin by his sons Dudley V. and Samuel Reid Sutphin. The Sutphin Lectures bring scholars of distinction to our campus community for the benefit of students and the broader community.

FACS opener features Leppard, De Pue

De Pue

De Pue

The University of Indianapolis will kick off its annual Faculty Artist Concert Series presented by Katz, Sapper & Miller on Sept. 19 with a gala opening night featuring Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra Conductor Laureate Raymond Leppard and ISO Concertmaster Zach De Pue.

The 2016-2017 series includes 18 classical and jazz concerts from September through April featuring UIndy music faculty and distinguished guest artists. All events begin at 7:30 p.m. Mondays in Ruth Lilly Performance Hall of UIndy’s Christel DeHaan Fine Arts Center. Admission is free.

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Theater performances focus on health issues

TanglesUIndy’s Department of Theatre has a great season planned for the coming year, but two productions on campus over the next few days are connected instead to the College of Health Sciences.

Friday night brings Tangles, a unique stage musical about a family’s experience with Alzheimer’s disease. The play is part of the national conference on physical therapy and aging taking place this week at UIndy.

The performance begins at 7:30 p.m. Friday in Ransburg Auditorium, with a discussion to follow at 9 p.m. Tickets are $15 per person and may be purchased at the door or in advance at this link, which also has more details on the story.

ModifiedOn Tuesday and Wednesday, Dr. Sally Wasmuth of the School of Occupational Therapy will premiere a sequel of sorts to the theater-as-therapy project she staged in June. Modified, the new play by local writer Ben Asaykwee, features a cast of seven people in substance-abuse recovery who signed on for the six-week project as an alternative to group therapy or other more conventional approaches to maintaining sobriety.

The performances begin at 7 p.m. each night in UIndy’s Studio Theatre, located in the lower level of Esch Hall, and each will be followed by a 15-minute discussion session with the players. Admission is free and open to the public.

Gallery shows include record-breaking artist

The 2016-2017 visual arts season at UIndy’s Christel DeHaan Fine Arts Center Gallery will feature work by faculty, alumni, students and other local, national and international artists, including one whose preferred medium is broken vinyl records.

"Who Is She?" by Lobyn Hamilton

“Who Is She?” by Lobyn Hamilton

Indianapolis-based Lobyn Hamilton literally cuts and smashes LPs — and their covers — into pieces that he then applies as collage elements to add color and texture to images on the canvas. His work has been seen on the hit TV series Empire and in the collection of multimedia artist-tycoon Kanye West.

“The vinyl record is my weapon of choice,” Hamilton says in his artist statement. “Think of high contrast, with two tones generally based on positive and negative space. Most of my work plays on filling the positive space with vinyl records and album covers. … My work is both pop and political in nature, but figurative. The work is often inspired by the recording on the album or the person behind the recording of that album.”

Hamilton’s exhibition, The Breaks, opens Oct. 10, with a reception from 4 to 6 p.m. in the gallery.

The season opens Aug. 29 with Deconstructions: New Work by Michal Lile. Lile, who earned his UIndy Master of Arts in Art degree in 2002 and now serves as a local school administrator, is forgoing his usual painting and instead repurposing 3-D objects into works that “explore sociopolitical entropy as they poke fun at the melodrama of a relationship in collapse,” he says.

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Health tech camp lets teens sample careers

As information technology becomes increasingly important in the world of health care, an upcoming three-day camp at the University of Indianapolis offers central Indiana high school students an opportunity to learn about careers in the field.

The Health Information Technology Camp runs from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. June 27-29. The cost is $150, but scholarships are available.

Developed in consultation with health care and business professionals, the camp will include fun science activities and programs to help students understand and explore college and career possibilities.

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UIndy, American Pianists announce partnership

Winner of 2017 American Pianists Awards will serve as artist-in-residence

DeHaan Center will host 2017 American Pianists Awards new music recital

APA logoThe American Pianists Association and the University of Indianapolis announced today a partnership to launch an artist-in-residence program and create opportunities for college students and the broader community to experience world-class musical talent.

Under the agreement, the winner of the 2017 American Pianists Awards in classical music – one of the world’s most prestigious music competitions – will serve as artist-in-residence at UIndy during the 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 academic years. Residencies each semester will include guest lectures, master classes, public performances, private lessons for students and other activities. The artist also will rehearse and perform a concert with the UIndy Chamber Orchestra.

Harrison

Harrison

“Our collaboration with the University of Indianapolis is one of the most exciting developments to have come forth at American Pianists Association in recent years,” said APA President/CEO and Artistic Director Joel Harrison. “I have worked with UIndy in numerous ways since my earliest years at APA, and I am especially delighted to have this entrepreneurial program come to life in such a creative way, thanks to the support and vision of the UIndy administration and faculty at all levels.” He noted that the partnership complements APA’s ongoing Concerto Curriculum program, through which its competition winners and finalists work with high school students.

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Comedies rule upcoming Theatre season

theater masksQuirky humor prevails in the 2016-2017 season just announced by the UIndy Department of Theatre.

The four productions include a musical, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee; a ripped-from-the-headlines political satire, The Totalitarians; a risqué British farce, Move Over, Mrs. Markham (as the annual Dinner Theatre production); and the Student-Directed Productions, which put undergraduates in charge of the onstage and backstage aspects of selected shorts.

Admission is free for UIndy students, faculty and staff with ID ($14 for Dinner Theatre), and L/P credit is available for students. Each run begins with a free preview on the Thursday before opening, and all non-musical productions include a Half-Price Second Thursday performance, with $6 tickets for the general public.

Tickets may be reserved at the Event Ticketing Center in Ransburg Auditorium and through (317) 788-3251 or www.uindy.edu/ETC.

In more detail, the season comprises: Read more

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