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Mason Gross School of the Arts
Area Update March 2006

Faculty Activities and Accomplishments

Visual Arts

Thomas Nozkowski, has a solo exhibition at Max Protetch Gallery entitled Thomas Nozkowski. The exhibition dates are February 18-March 18.  His work is currently represented in a group exhibition at the Academy of Arts and Letter, New York.  It is the 2006 Invitational Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture and the dates of the exhibition are March 7-April 9.  

Michael Rees has a permanent sculpture and animation installation at the Kemper Museum of  Contemporary Art, Kansas City, MO.  He has an exhibition at the MARTa Museum which was curated by Jan Hoet, Herford, Germany.  The exhibition opened in May 2005 and will run through May 2007.

Two of John Yau’s poems have been selected to appear in an Anthology Of American Poetry, edited by David Lehman.  Professor Yau is currently in a book exhibition at Smith College Museum of Art. The work is entitled Too Much Bliss:  Twenty Years of Granary Books.  Part 1 of  Professor Yau’s two-part Essay appeared in the American Poetry Review, January-February issue. The article is entitled Jasper Johns’ Preoccupations.  Another writing of John Yau’s appeared in the December-January issue of Modern Painters.

Carrie Moyer (part-time lecturer) has work in an exhibit at Samson Projects Gallery, Boston, MA. The dates of the exhibition are February 3-March 11.   She also has work in an exhibition at the Longwood Art Gallery, Bronx, NY.  The exhibition is entitled Do You Think I’M Disco?  and will run until March 18.

Dance

Robert Benford appeared as a percussionist for a trio score written by composer John Toenjes. The 30-minute piece Value Intensity was presented by choreographer Todd Williams and his company Williamsworks at the Citigroup-Alvin Ailey Theatre at the Joan Weil Center in New York City in February.  Reviews of this concert appeared in The New York Times, February 11, 2006 and the Village Voice the week of February 13, 2006.

Sherry Alban choreographed for Mason Gross’ Opera Street Scene performed on January 28, 29, and February 4 at the Nicholas Music Center.

Christian von Howard performed in 2 out of 200, a world premiere choreographed by Randy James, at the State Theatre in New Brunswick on February 16.

Randy James showcased his company, Randy James Dance Works at City Center Studios in New York City on January 21 and 23.   On January 25, February 1 and 8, his company Randy James Dance Works conducted their workshop Turning Movement Into Dance and Dance for Athletes at the Highland Park Senior Center in Highland Park, NJ.   On January 27 and 28, his company performed the duet from Heaven’s Dust in the SWEAT-Modern Dance Series at the Center for Performing Arts at DeBaun Auditorium at Stevens Institute in Hoboken, NJ.    On February 16, Randy James Dance Works performed a World Premiere 2 out of 200 at the Dances from the Garden, a night of dance at the State Theatre in New Brunswick, NJ, featuring the four recipients of the New Jersey State Council of the Arts Choreographic Fellowship.  This dance was accompanied by Bart Feller, the principal flutist with The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra and the New York City Opera Orchestra with commissioned music by Mark Zuckerman, a New Jersey State Council on the Arts Music Fellowship winner.   Pre-show articles and reviews were published in The Star Ledger, The Asbury Park Press and The Home News Tribune.

Julia Ritter and her performing group, Julia Ritter Performance Group, performed Odd Sympathies: something just happened to me at the Dances from the Garden, a night of dance at the State Theatre on February 16, in New Brunswick, NJ, featuring the four recipients of the New Jersey State Council of the Arts Choreography Fellowship Award. 

Paulette Sears presented Improvisational Structures for the Educator, Choreographer, and Dancer as part of the Professional Workshop series at The Performing Arts Center in Ridgewood, NJ, on January 28.

Music

Faith Esham sang the part of Cio-Cio-San, in Madam Butterfly, with the Knoxville Opera, Knoxville, TN, on February 10 and 12.

Floyd Grave’s essay, entitled "Opposites Reconciled: Rondo and Fugue in Haydn's Op. 55/1," was accepted for publication in the Haydn Society of Great Britain Journal, 2006 volume.

Arnold Steinhardt performed with the Guarneri String Quartet at the Philadelphia Convention Center, Philadelphia, PA, the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the People's Symphony in New York City, NY in February.

Scott Whitener's book, /A Complete Guide to Brass: Instruments and Technique/, has been published by Thomson Schirmer. This new third edition book is used in over one-hundred American universities and colleges and is well-known abroad. The complete listing of the book is: Scott Whitener, /A Complete Guide to Brass: Instruments and Technique/ (Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Singapore, Spain, United Kingdom, United States: Thomson Schirmer, 2007). ISBN 0-534-50988-6

Theater Arts

Lenard Petit is directing the Rutgers Theater Company’s Spring 2006 production of The Scams of Scapin by Moliére and translated by Albert Bermel.

Jerelyn Jurinek has a painting entitled Stoop in retrospective From Postwar to Postmodernism: Three decades of Columbia Visual Artists.  Her photograph graces the posters and postcard for the show.

Lee Blessing’s play Going to St. Ives will be presented as a concert reading by Classic and Contemporary American Plays.  The reading will be directed by Oz Scott and will feature actors Bonnie Franklin and Hattie Winston February 21 and 22 at the Boston Court Performing Arts Complex.

Faculty members David Gordon and Vickie Esposito designed the sets and costumes respectively for the new musical Tin Pan Ally directed by Jiri Zizka which opened at the Maltz Jupiter Theater in Florida on January 19, to favorable reviews.  They had previously designed a production of Tin Pan Ally at the Wilma Trheater in Philadelphia in 1999.  Roger Hess produced the show in the hopes of raising money for a Broadway run of this new musical.

Shane Rettig designed the sound for The Civilians’ production of Nobody's Lunch, performing at 59 E 59 in Manhattan and The Music Teacher, by Wallace Shawn with music by Allen Shawn, at The New Group which previews in February and opens in March.

Student Activities and Accomplishments

Visual Arts

A representative photo of Ray Klimek’s (MFA) work Bargoed  was in an article in The Rutgers Focus, a University newspaper. The seven other students in the MFA Thesis show at the Mason Gross Galleries, New Brunswick, NJ, were mentioned by name.

Dance

University DanceWorks, the university performing dance company, performed at the Children’s House Montessori School in Highland Park, NJ, at the Long Branch High School in Long Branch, NJ; at Manalapan High School, Manalapan, NJ; and at the Piscataway Regional Day School in February.

The choreography of BFA Senior Blair Ritchie was chosen for public performance by Dance Theater Workshop at the prestigious Bessie Schonberg Theater in New York City on Saturday, February 11, 2006.  The work Everything You Can Do was performed by four BFA majors – Megan Hebert, Lauren Melusky, Sara Murphy, and Dana Prieto.

Theater Arts

Steven Jones, a BA student majoring in Theater Arts, will appear in one of the first several episodes of the new network series Conviction that premieres March 3.

Arkadelphia by Brett Williams, second year MFA playwright, came in third in the 2005 New Works of Merit Playwriting Contest.  His play will receive a staged reading in New York at the 13th Street Repertory Theater this spring.

Academic Programs

Theater Arts

The Rutgers Theater Company production of Our Lady of 121st Street by Stephen Adley Guirgis ran from February 17 to 25 in the Philip J. Levin Theater.   The play was directed by alumnus and guest artist, Eric Ruffin (MFA 2005). The production featured MFA I actors Nick Farco, Bjorn DuPaty, and Nathan Robinson, MFA II actors Rico Rosetti and Julie Cotton and MFA III actors Maurice McRae, Philip Sletteland, Kianné Muschett, Thérèse Cator, Lauren Walsh Singerman and Ruben Ortiz. BFA IV actor Ted Coluca rounding out the cast. The set was designed by MFA II Jisun Kim, lights by MFA II Benjamin Hagen, and costumes by MFA III Jane Friesen.   The sound design was by BFA II Brian C. Whitmore. Chandra LaViolette (MFA III) was the stage manager.   Alumnus Scott Hudson (MFA) who originated the role of Gail in the award winning off Broadway production of the play, saw a performance and spoke with the company about the play.

The Jameson Project’s February offering was Venus by Suzen Lori Parks directed by MFA II Will Pellegrini.  The cast featured performances from BFA IV actors Zenzele Cooper, Vichelle Jones, Douglas Calhoun; Patrick Carroll, Benjamin Garrett, Sarah Pearson and Kate Russell, MFA I actors Helen Farmer, Nichole Gant and James Shalkowski and MFA II actors Josh Pffercorn and Theresa Stephenson.  The sets, costumes and lights were designed respectively by Jessica Kosky (BFA IV), Jocelyn Glanzman (MFA I) and Victoria Miller (MFA I).

Public/Community Service; Outreach Efforts

Theater Arts

The Theater Arts Department’s Bachelor of Fine Arts program received mention as a top training program in the January 26, article in Variety entitled To Act Perchance to Dream.

Conferences, Seminars, Other Events

Visual Arts

There is an article in the February issue of Modern Painters on Thomas Nozkowski.   The article entitled The Modest Master:  Thomas Nozkowski’s Elusive Paintings, was written by John Yau.

Michael Rees is participating in several lecturers this month:

• Pataphysics by Michael Rees, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY. Curated by Dominique Nahas Feb. 2006.
• Symbolic Logic, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA organized by Golan Levin February 28, 2006.
• Monsters, Programs and Other Beautiful Fictions, by Michael Rees, The Art, Technology and Culture Colloquium of UC Berkeley’s Center for New Media, organized by Ken Goldberg March 15, 2006

Other (e.g., New Appointments; Alumni Relations; Staff Activities; New Websites)

Visual Arts (Alumni Relations)

Christopher Cozier (MFA ’88) has an installation in the upcoming exhibition No Country is an Island: Figures of Freedom in Recent Caribbean (American) Art at the Paul Robeson Gallery, Rutgers University, Newark NJ.  The exhibition dates are March2-April 6.

Annalee Davis (MFA ’89) will have a video in the upcoming exhibition No Country is an Island:  Figures of Freedom in Recent Caribbean (American) Art at the Paul Robeson Gallery, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ.

Michelle Forsyth (MFA ’00), has an exhibition at the Shift Collaborative Studio, Seattle, WA.   The exhibition is entitled Loops & Clashes and ran until February 25.

Beth Krebs ’04 and Eliza Newman-Saul ’05 (MFAs) have work in a group exhibition entitled Site 92 at Smack Mellon Gallery, New York, NY.  The dates of the exhibition are January 21-March 5.

Eileen Torpey (MFA ’01) is part of a group show curated by Cordy Ryman at Sundaram Tagore Gallery, New York, NY.  The opening date was February 15.

Linda Lindroth (BFA ’79) received an Artist’s Fellowship in Photography from the Connecticut Commission on the Arts for 2006.

Dance (Alumni Relations)

Irazema Rivera (BFA ’99), Mary Beth Eibeler (BFA ’04) Kristen Lamb (BFA ’04) Lori Beth Katz (BFA ’04) and Lawrence Edwards (BFA ’05) performed in the presentation Dances from the Garden which showcased dances choreographed by Faculty members Randy James and Julia Ritter.

Theater Arts (Alumni Relations)

Rebecca Mozo (BFA 2005) appears in sold-out production of Anton Chekov’s The Cherry Orchard with Annette Bening at the Center Theater Group Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles. The production opened February 2 and ran through March 19.

Stephen Speights (MFA) is the producer with the Blue Coyote Theater Group in Manhattan  - their new production Paradise runs at the Access Theater in February.

Stephen Balantzian (MFA) has booked a national commercial/King Kong promotional for Pappa John’s Pizza.

Adriana DeMeo (BFA) appears in Hitchcock Blond at Los Angeles’ South Coast Repertory Theater in Los Angeles.

Assaf Cohen (MFA) appeared this season in The Caucasian Chalk Circle South Coast Repertory in Los Angeles.

Heidi Dippold (MFA) appeared in Dumb Show this season at South Coast Repertory in Los Angeles

Christopher Keogh (MFA) appears Off Broadway in Conversation with a Kleagle that was inspired by events in the life of civil rights leader, Walter White, at the 13th Street Rep. The production runs from February 16 to April 7.

Derek Sonderfan (BFA) appeared on February 18 at New York’s The Improv in a casting call for the television series The Last Comic Standing.