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Department
Updates Check out the inside scoop on faculty, students, staff, and more. See the Alumni Spotlight page for news on alumni. Mason Gross School of the
Arts Faculty Activities and Accomplishments Dance
Robert Benford performed as a percussionist and creative collaborator in composer Glen Fittin’s live score for choreographer Donna Scro-Gentile at St. Mark’s Church in New York City March 9 - 11. Professor Benford recorded the score for choreographer Randy James’ Unknown Horizon which was presented at St. Mark’s Church in New York City March 24 - 26. On March 26 he had a video recording session which produced an instructional video on the subject of hand drumming and percussion for modern dance technique class. The video will be produced and released by OM Video of Houston, Texas.
Maya Chafe performed at the Café Pan Latino in New York City on March 10; at the Spanish Tapas in West Paterson, New Jersey on March 17; and at La Mama ETC Club with Gazpacho Andaluz, a flamenco ensemble featuring all original music and lyrics on March 24 - 26. She also performed March 24 at Tonic in New York City. Jeff Friedman facilitated the acceptance of a proposal to Douglass Library to acquire $10,000 worth of media materials specifically targeted for graduate MFA course development.
Debra Keller choreographed and performed for the I’ll Have What She’s Having… Dance Project at Rider University Yvonne Theater in Lawrenceville, New Jersey on March 11 and 12.
Julia Ritter and her company Julia Ritter Performance Group toured Prague, Czech Republic to teach and perform as part of the Con Tempo Festival, sponsored by the Duncan Centre Conservatory from March 11 to 24.
Theater Arts
Lee Blessing’s play, A Body of Water, won the Humana Festival’s Sternberg/American Theater Critics Association New Play Award. The award comes with a $25,000 grant.
Marshall Jones, founding producer of the EMERGE Theater Company, produced a benefit evening for the company in Nicholas Music Center on Thursday, March 23. The performance featured scenes directed by alumni and faculty which featured professional actors many of whom are alumni as well as students.
Lenard Petit directed The Frog Bride at the New Victory Theater on Broadway which opened in March. A play for children with David Gonzalez the story teller, it was performed with live classical music by Serge Prokofiev. The setting featured video images on a giant screen of paintings by Vasily Kandinsky. He is also the director of The Scams of Scapin, the Rutgers Theater Company’s current offering.
J. Allen Suddeth staged the fights for an American premiere production of The Murder Of Issac, at Centerstage in Baltimore, as well as the violence in Pillowman, at George Street Playhouse. He also consulted on or staged extensive sequences for several plays at Mason Gross, among them, The Lonesome West, Our Lady Of 121st Street, My Sister In This House, and The Scams of Scapin. He will also be a guest judge at The North Carolina School Of The Arts, testing the graduating BFA students in stage combat performance skills.
Visual Arts
Lynne Allen, Emma Amos and Judith Brodsky have work in the exhibition entitled Unstitched, Unbound: Imprints for Change at the Nathan Cummings Foundation, New York, NY. The exhibition closes on June 2, 2006. Hasan Elahi’s work on Silicon Valley in the exhibition Calling into the Void San Jose, CA.
Barbara Madsen had an installation at the Recitation Gallery, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware. The installation is entitled More ! More ! More ! and ran March 2 - 18. Thomas Nozkowski currently has work in the Third Annual Celebration of Recently Published Faculty Authors at the Alexander Library, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ.
John Yau was awarded a Guggenheim.
Steven Westfall (PTL), New Paintings at Lennon, Weinberg, Inc. New York, NY. Professor Westfall also has work in a three-person exhibit at the Wooster Arts Space New York, NY. The exhibition ran until March 25. Professor Westfall also had two feature-length articles in Art in America, one on Elizabeth Murray and the other on James Siena.
Shoshana Dentz (PTL) is in a group exhibition entitled Seeing Elsewhere at the Education Alliance Gallery, New York, NY. The exhibition dates are March 15 - May 15. She also has a temporary mural project on the façade of Triple Candie (a gallery on west 126th street) New York City.
Music
Faith Esham performed the leading role in The Merry Widow with the Treasure Coast Opera in Fort Pierce, Florida on March 4.
Floyd Grave’s book, The String Quartets of Joseph Haydn, co-authored with Margaret Grave, has been published by Oxford University Press, February 2006. According to one of the advance reviews, the book's "well-chosen words will at once explain, fascinate, and entertain all readers. This is a magnificent accomplishment, and it will assume a lasting place in the literature on Haydn."
Kynan Johns conducted the Limburg Symphony Orchestra in Maastricht, the last week of January in a four concert German tour. Concerts were part of the Mozart 250th anniversary and were held in Bad Hamm, Witten, Oberhausen and the new KonzertHaud in Dortmund, Germany. Professor Johns conducted the Santa Barbara Symphony Orchestra, Santa Barbara, CA, as part of their Music Director search with Mozart's Jupiter Symphony on February 18 and 19. Min Kwon gave a recital for International Women's Day in Singapore; a recital and master class at Yong Siew Toh Conservatory at the National University of Singapore and Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts in Singapore in March. Professor Kwon will also perform in Perth, Australia and Cape Town, South Africa in March. She adjudicated the New Jersey Symphony Young Artists Auditions in February and recently performed in an ambitious solo concert at Carnegie Hall’s Weil Hall.
Student Activities and Accomplishments
Dance
University DanceWorks, the student touring dance company, performed at Columbia High School in Maplewood, NJ; BOCES Cultural Art Center in Long Island, New York; and High Tech High School in North Bergen, New Jersey in March.
Theater Arts
The B.F.A. IV graduating class performed their New York presentation Rutgers BFA Actors 2006 on Monday March 20 at the Dodger’s Stages Studio 5 in New York City. The presentation introduces the graduating class to the New York professional casting community of agents, managers and casting directors.
Shawn Boyle (B.F.A. IV lighting designer) won first place in the undergraduate design competition at the South Eastern Theater Conference. Judges were Pamela Howard, Anne Militello, and Toni Leslie-James. He received several job interviews, and at least three departments are recruiting him for MFA programs. Visual Arts
Adrienne Heath-Stiefel, Mark Markin, Paul Loughney, Belinda Blum, Crystal Hernandez, Andrea Ellison and Hannah Barnes (M.F.A.s), had work in the Mason Gross Galleries, New Brunswick, NJ. The exhibition closed on March 10.
Hugo Perez was chosen for a Skowhegan Fellowship 2006. This is the most competitive fellowship in the United States admitting only 65 students.
Music
Academic Programs
Theater Arts
The Rutgers Theater Company production of The Scams of Scapin by Moliére and translated by Albert Bermel runs from March 24 to April 8, 2006 in the New Theater. The play was directed by faculty member Lenard Petit. The production features MFA III actors Letitia Lange, Liam Joynt, Wesley Broulik, Stacie Lents and Ruby Thomas, B.F.A. IV actor Matt Unger and M.F.A. II actors Josh Pfefferkorn, Christopher Halladay, and Jonathan Karp. The set was designed by M.F.A. II Kina Park, lights by M.F.A. II Laura L. Cornish, and costumes by M.F.A. III Liyun Xu. The sound design was by B.F.A. II Ricardo Pais. Louise M. Rawson (M.F.A. II) was the stage manager.
The Jameson Project’s February offering was My Sister in This House by Wendy Kesselman directed by guest artist and master of fine arts candidate Louis Wells. The cast featured performances from B.F.A. IV actor Carmen Goodine, Mfr II actor Beth Wettig and M.F.A. I actors Alana Dauter and Kristen Hansen. The sets, costumes and lights were designed respectively by B.F.A. designers Anne Penrod, Elizabeth Kochanik and Amith Chandrashaker, a B.F.A. lighting design alumni. The production ran from February 28 to March 5.
New short plays continue to be featured at the Theater Arts Department’s Midnight Special. The following short plays were read on Friday, March 3:
Garbage In, Garbage Out by Sharon Farrell (M.F.A. III) read by Nick Farco and James Shalkoski (M.F.A. I actors). The First Year by Demetra Kareman read by M.F.A. II actors Julie Cotton and Teresa Stephenson. The Honeymoon by Dano Madden read by Dano Madden and M.F.A. III actor Lauren Singerman. Quitting AOL by Sarah Kate O’Haver read by M.F.A. I actor Nick Farco and M.F.A. II actor Kate Geller. Groundhog Everlasting Night by Lia Romeo read by M.F.A. III David Carl. My Generation by Brett Williams read by M.F.A. III David Carl and M.F.A. I Nick Farco.
Grants
Dance
Julia Ritter was awarded a grant in the amount of $11,500 from The Trust for Mutual Understanding, and international foundation supporting artists. This grant was used for Julia’s company to tour Prague, Czech Republic from March 11 - 18.
Conferences, Seminars, Other Events
Visual Arts
Hasan Elahi participated in the College Art Association Conference entitled Artists in a Political Climate, Saturday, February 25.
On March 15 Thomas Nozkowski lectured at Amherst College, Amherst, MA. The title of his lecture was My Work. Current Press and Publications about Professor Nozkowski include:
Currently Hanging: New From Nozkowski by Mario Naves, The New York Observer. Thomas Nozkowski by Ben LaRocco, The Brooklyn Rail, March 2006 Thomas Nozkowski by Joseph Walentini, Abstract Art Online, March 1, 2006.
Thomas Nozkowski participated in a panel discussion with David Cohen, Michael Brenson, Martha Schwendener and Lili Wi at the National Academy Museum, New York, NY on March 3.
Other (e.g. New Appointments; Alumni Relations; Staff Activities; New Web Sites)
Dance (Alumni Relations)
Lawrence Edwards, B.F.A. ’05, Lori Beth Katz, B.F.A. ’03, Kristen Lamb, B.F.A. ’05, Marybeth Eibeler, B.F.A. ’05 performed in Randy James’ 13th New York Season March 2 – 5 at Danspace Project, St. Marks Church in New York City.
Christine Colosimo, B.F.A. ’88, choreographed and performed for the I’ll Have What She’s Having… Dance Project at Rider University Yvonne Theater in Lawrenceville, New Jersey March 11 - 12. Theater Arts (Alumni Relations)
Samantha Ivers (B.F.A. actor) appears with Denzel Washington in Spike Lee’s new film Inside Man that premiered on March 20, 2006.
Aaron Stanford’s (B.F.A. actor) new feature film, The Hills Have Eyes, premiered this month.
James Weisbecher (B.F.A. lighting designer) latest lighting design projects include Inside ESPN NFL Live; Baseball Tonight; Inside Sportscenter; Cold Pizza, Disney Nite of Joy, Switchfoot & Tree 63. Epcot's New Year's Eve Party 2005.
Adam Mucci (B.F.A. actor) will appear in a guest-starring role on a Soprano’s episode in April. Erin Cherry (M.F.A. actor) a reading of Voices on March 24 by Howard Zinn in New York Gregory Marcel (Bernstein - B.F.A. actor) appears in a new feature film, Sunkissed that has been accepted to film festivals in Miami and Toronto. Over the next two months, he will be shooting principle roles in two new independent features being produced in New York: Dagober with Gold Dragon Productions, and The Fay Lindsay-Jones Story with Minor Apocalypse Pictures.
Peter Hanrahan (M.F.A. playwright) His play, The Death Of One Good Dog at Colgate University. He is a full-time Story Analyst at the United Talent Agency who represents Harrison Ford, Johnny Depp, Charlie Kaufman, and M. Night Shyamalan among others in Los Angeles. Greg Mowrey (B.F.A. costume design) For the past two and a half years he has been the senior designer for Sideshow Collectibles new "Premium Format" 1/4 scale line of statuettes. He makes the masters, sculpts the bodies, makes the clothes and handles all the production bibles for the line that is produced in China.
Erik Bruce (M.F.A. costume designer) will be featured in the March issue of Interior Design in an article about designers who collaborate with architects. Mr. Bruce is featured with his company, Mary Bright Inc.
Brian Dykstra (M.F.A. actor) wrote and performed Clean Alternatives, billed as a toxic comedy by its producer 59E59 Theaters. Directed by Margarett Perry and the show closed March 12. Theatermania.com called it "Satire of a very high order. Sharp, incisive theater as well as searing political commentary."
Jonathan Fielding (M.F.A. actor) just filmed is second appearance on Guiding Light.
Lisa Pitts (B.F.A. actor) will appear in the leading role, Esther, at the San Diego Repertory Theater’s production of Intimate Apparel.
Kelly Meyersfield (B.F.A. actor) appeared in I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change! at the Repertory East Playhouse in Santa Clarita from March 10 - April 15.
Ellen Lawler (Hulkower – M.F.A. actor) is producing her new play GLORY PIE, after several very successful readings at the Knitting Factory in Los Angeles. It will be produced at the Coronet Theater in Los Angeles and runs from April 21 to May 21, 2006.
Derek Sonderfan’s (B.F.A. actor) New York stand up career continues Sunday March 12 and Saturday, March 18 at the New York Improv Comedy Club. He has a huge spot coming up at Caroline’s in April.
Visual Arts (Staff Activities)
Damian Catera performed new improvised pieces for radio and laptop at the uber arts festival on Saturday, March 11. The performance is part of free 103 point 9’s ScopeOnAir program and all the performances were broadcast on low power FM radio. Scope New York is located in Manhattan, New York.
Tiffany Calvert ’05 (M.F.A.) has new work at the Lisa Boyle Gallery, in Chicago, IL. The dates of the exhibition were March 4 - April 8.
Visual Arts (Alumni Relations)
Fachael Faillace ’05 (M.F.A.) has work in a group exhibition entitled Under Construction at the Shore Institute of Contemporary Arts, Long Branch, NJ. She also has work in an exhibit at the Arts Guild of Rahway, NJ entitled Structural Integrity. The exhibit is sponsored by Merck and Company and will close April 21. Jennie Jones ’96 (M.F.A.) had work entitled Simply Because You’re Near Me at Artists Space in SoHo in February. The exhibition was written up in the February 10 issue of The New York Times, Art in Review section page E37.
Joe Nanash (M.F.A.) had work in the 13 New York Underground Film Festival. His video, Shoot was screened on Saturday, March 11 and in the program, Dukes of Masturb.
Eathan Oh (B.F.A.) class of ’04 has been offered a position as a graphic designer in the New York Office of Landor. Landor is one of the world’s top identity design firms, with 23 offices in the US, Asia and Europe.
Yiles del Suriel (B.F.A.) class of ’05 participated in an art project at HUB Teen Center in New Brunswick, NJ. The project was part of Trans-cultural New Jersey’s Public Service Arts Program, spearheaded by Rutgers. Ms. del Suriel’s picture appeared in the Rutgers Focus a campus newspaper.
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