Arts & Issues 2015-2016 Season
Lucky Plush Productions
The Queue
Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2015, 7:30 p.m.
Dunham Hall Theater
Equal parts dance and theater, “The Queue” unfolds in a fictional airport, where travelers stumble humorously, tragically and awkwardly into each other’s private lives. Created by Lucky Plush founder/director Julia Rhoads and collaborator Leslie Danzig, “The Queue” finds its influences in early 20th century forms of slapstick, vaudeville, Busby Berkeley-style choreography, creaky one-act plays and a 1746 farcical play about a family inheritance. These sources and performance vocabularies collide with contemporary dance and the distinctly non-theatrical context of waiting to create a dance-theater production showcasing Lucky Plush’s signature blend of immediacy, humor and kineticism.
Lucky Plush presents dance-theater work that is often recognized for its complex choreography, surprising humor and incisive commentary on contemporary culture.
The SIUE College of Arts and Sciences Colloquium, the Greater St. Louis Humanities Council and Arts & Issues proudly present
The Keynote Address on Communities features:
Amy Hunter:Creating Community Post Ferguson: Fear and Fictive Kinship
With the recent events in the St. Louis Region we have an opportunity to model what good and inclusive communities look like. What gets in the way of creating the society we would all like to see?
Amy Hunter, Director, Racial Justice, YWCA Metropolitan St. Louis, is a dynamic speaker and a powerful advocate for the YWCA's two-prong mission of eliminating racism and empowering women. She has been instrumental in incorporating these themes into all of the organization's internal and external programming.
Thursday, Oct. 1, 2015, 7:30 p.m., Maplewood-Dogwood Room, Morris University Center
7:30 -8:30 p.m
The SIUE and SIUC Combined Orchestras
Michael Mishra, SIUE Conductor, Edward Benyas, SIUC Conductor
Featuring Sara Sant’Ambrogio
Monday, Oct. 26, 2015, 7:30 p.m.
Dunham Hall Theater
Once again, the orchestras of both Southern Illinois University campuses will be combined for an exceptional musical event. Michael Mishra, professor of music and director of Orchestral Studies at SIUE, and Edward Benyas, music director of the SIUC Symphony Orchestra, will conduct the concert. The guest artist will be Grammy Award-winning cellist Sara Sant’Ambrogio, who will play Dvorak’s much-loved “Cello Concerto.” Sant’Ambrogio leapt to international attention when she was a winner at the Eighth International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow, Russia.
Peter Maer
My Journey from Granite City to the White House
Thursday, Nov. 12, 2015, 7:30 p.m.
Meridian Ballroom,
Morris University Center
Veteran White House Correspondent Peter Maer will share memories of “My Journey from Granite City to the White House.” Maer retired from CBS News in January after nearly 40 years on the presidential beat. The SIUE graduate will describe how his hometown roots guided his reporting. He will recall some of the personalities–known and unknown– who he encountered during a journalism career that took him from small town Illinois radio to the pinnacle of network coverage. Maer will also offer his own opinions on the ongoing media and information revolution that will have a profound impact on the 2016 presidential campaign. Maer is a five-time recipient of the Merriman Smith Award for presidential coverage under deadline pressure. He has also been recognized with other honors, including the Edward R. Murrow Award. He twice served as commencement speaker at SIUE and treasures his Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from his alma mater.
George Winston
Solo Piano - The Winter Show
Sunday, Dec. 13, 2015, 2 p.m.
Meridian Ballroom,
Morris University Center
George Winston grew up mainly in Montana and spent his later formative years in Mississippi and Florida. His favorite music was instrumental rock and instrumental R&B including Floyd Cramer, The Ventures, Booker T. and the MGs, Jimmy Smith, and many more. Inspired by R&B, jazz, blues and rock (especially the Doors), Winston began playing organ in 1967. Four years later he switched to the acoustic piano after hearing recordings from the 1920s and 1930s by legendary stride pianists Thomas “Fats” Waller and Teddy Wilson. In addition to working on stride piano, he also came up with his own style of melodic instrumental music on solo piano called “folk piano.” His main influences currently are the New Orleans R&B pianists Professor Longhair, James Booker and Henry Butler.
Since 1972 George has released 13 solo piano albums, and his latest releases are “Love Will Come -The Music Of Vince Guaraldi Vol 2” (2010) and “Gulf Coast Blues & Impressions 2 – A Louisiana Wetlands Benefit” (2012).
This concert will feature George’s Winter Show, which will include melodic fall and winter type songs, some of Vince Guaraldi’s “Peanuts” pieces, compositions inspired by the New Orleans piano and the stride piano traditions, and songs from his 2015 album, “Spring Carousel - A Cancer Research Benefit.”
Please join us in support of a local food bank by bringing a donation of canned food to the concert. There will be collection baskets at the entrances.
R. Buckminster Fuller: The History (and Mystery) of the Universe
Written and Performed by D. W. Jacobs from the life, work and writings of R. Buckminster Fuller
March 31, 2016 show
Friday, April 1, 2016 7:30 p.m.
Center for Spirituality and Sustainability*, SIUE
Fifty years ago, R. Buckminster Fuller warned, “Spaceship Earth’s in danger. Find out what needs to be done!” This critically acclaimed solo show is about the man best known as the Leonardo da Vinci of the 20th century, grandfather of the sustainability movement and PR man to the universe. He was an architect, engineer, geometer, US naval officer, inventor, poet, utopian thinker and lecturer. This legendary designer, futurist and social commentator continues to grow in stature, as generation after generation discovers the power of his ideas to help each of us define and solve the biggest problems we face as citizens/crew members of Spaceship Earth. Bucky’s whole career was an action-oriented homage to the powers of the human heart, mind and imagination. You may never think the same again.
*Fuller designed the Center for Spirituality and Sustainability at SIUE in partnership with architect Shoji Sadao. A former member of the SIU faculty, he created the dome as a transparent replica of planet Earth.
R. Buckminster Fuller: THE HISTORY (and Mystery) OF THE UNIVERSE was developed and received its world premiere production at San Diego Repertory Theatre—March 31, 2000
Use of the name, likeness and words of R. Buckminster Fuller is by arrangement with the Estate of R. Buckminster Fuller.
Capt Jim Lovell
Apollo 13: A Succesful Failure
Meridian Ballroom,Friday, April 15, 2016, 7:30 p.m.
Morris University Center
A great American hero, astronaut Capt. Jim Lovell is most famous for his role in the American space age, specifically for his calm and careful command of Apollo 13. Lovell stoically articulated the five-word message, “Houston, we have a problem,” which quickly became a part of the American lexicon. The infamous problem was the explosion of the oxygen system inside the Apollo 13 spacecraft—a malfunction that seemingly doomed the NASA team. Through teamwork and decisive leadership, Lovell and his crew modified the lunar module into an effective lifeboat to safely return to Earth. As captain, he was instantly transformed into a national hero, and received the nation’s most distinguished honors including the Congressional Space Medal of Honor and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
Lovell’s inspirational story is a testament to the essential elements of heroism: a courageous spirit, quick and well-reasoned thinking, and meticulous attention to every detail. An unforgettable motivational speaker with an unforgettable story, Lovell inspires his audiences with his valiant and courageous journey. This event is held in conjunction with the 108th Illinois State Academy of Science Annual Conference on the SIUE campus
