arts

Scores Make Waves

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Ronald Sadoff, Siu-Lan Tan, Elizabeth Margulis and Stefan Koelsch
Making waves at “Making Waves” were (l-r): Ronald Sadoff, Siu-Lan Tan, Elizabeth Margulis and Stefan Koelsch.

Answer this question, “What’s the best movie you ever saw?” and chances are your answer will be accurate  for a slightly different question: “What’s the best movie you ever heard?”

Professor of Psychology Siu-Lan Tan, a leading figure in the psychology of film music and the editor of The Psychology of Music in Multimedia, has been involved in two recent projects exploring the critical role of musical scores (some say the “heartbeat,” others the “symphonic music of our day”) to the emotional impact of a film.

The most recent project is a film titled SCORE: A Film Music Documentary. Siu-Lan’s was one of some 60 live interviews compiled for the film, including conversations with the top living film composers in United States and the United Kingdom (Hans Zimmer, Danny Elfman, Randy Newman,  Howard Shaw, Trent Reznor, Alexandre Desplat, among others), film directors like James Cameron, producers like Quincy Jones, and several film scholars.

Siu-Lan will appear in SCORE several times. In the meantime you can view a short trailer for the film.

A related project that occurred in late March was the panel discussion “Making Waves: Why Movies Move Us.” The conversation was sponsored by the New York University (NYU) Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, and in addition to Siu-Lan it featured Ronald Sadoff, chair of the NYU department of music and performing arts professions and director of film scoring at NYU Steinhardt; neuroscientist Stefan Koelsch, professor of biological psychology and music psychology at Freie University Berlin; and Professor Elizabeth Margulis, director of music cognition lab at the University Arkansas.

At the event Siu-Lan used movie clips from films including Indiana Jones, Gravity, and The Shining to explore why music is an essential component of how emotion is conveyed in film. The panel occurred at NYU’s Frederick Loewe Theatre.

Danny Kim prepared four short videos that were shown at the presentation. “One surprising highlight was when we played Danny’s last video,” said Siu-Lan, “an eight-minute collage of scenes and music from films. It was meant to play in the background as people left the theater, and we invited them to do so. But to our astonishment, the whole audience stayed and watched with rapt attention and applauded at the end!” That’s the surprising power of music.

Nor was it the only surprise of the evening. Alumnus Matthew Jong ’15 (currently a graduate student pursuing a degree in music business at NYU) showed up for the panel discussion. “I was delighted that Matt could come,” said Siu-Lan. “We were unable to connect in person, but he emailed me later to let me know he was there, and he wrote, ’Please tell ‘K’ I miss it for me!’”

Disabling Life’s Challenges: A Paradigm Shift

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Sean Bogue ’18, Emma Franzel ’17, and Kyle Lampar ’17 in a scene from IMMOBILE
Sean Bogue ’18, Emma Franzel ’17, and Kyle Lampar ’17 in a scene from IMMOBILE by Brittany Worthington ’13. Photo by Emily Salswedel ’16.

Festival Playhouse of Kalamazoo College presents the world premiere of Immobile, a play by alumna Brittany Worthington ’13, on April 28 through May 1. The play is directed by senior Maddie Grau ’16 as part of Festival Playhouse’s annual Senior Performance Series

Immobile is a story of relationships and self. Megan’s husband Alexander (Kyle Lampar ’17) is a quadriplegic as a result of an auto accident. Though he loves Megan (Emma Franzel ’17), who is also his primary caregiver, Alexander encourages her to start a new chapter—-with a new man, Caleb (Sean Bogue ’18)—-thereby challenging each character to reexamine what being mobile—-both physically and emotionally—-really means.

“These three characters are on the path of realizing their able-bodied privilege, and the loss of that privilege,” says Grau. “Megan struggles to find happiness once Alexander asks her to prioritize herself in a world that tells her to put him first. The unconventional relationships that develop in the wake of his decision are unchartered territory that Worthington explores through moments of unforgiving humor and emotional uncertainty.”

Worthington originally wrote Immobile for a playwriting class in her senior year. It was chosen for a showcase reading in the Student Playwrights Staged Reading Series at Kalamazoo College in 2014, and then featured in the Theatre Kalamazoo New Play Festival that same year. This month’s show is the first completely staged full production.

Says Worthington of her play, “I wanted to explore this idea of ‘selflessness,’ of putting others before yourself. What I found while writing Immobile is that every relationship in life forces us to make sacrifices but also provides unique gains. How do we reconcile those relationships that come into conflict with each other? If you’re a different person depending on the relationship you’re in, is one identity more authentic than another? In order to have a full sense of self, must we in fact be ‘selfless,’ and give up something we love or should we strive to ‘have it all,’ despite the pain it may cause others?”

The play opens in The Dungeon Theatre (139 Thompson Street) on Thursday, April 28, at 7:30 p.m.; continues Friday and Saturday, April 29 and 30, at 8 p.m.; and concludes with a final performance on Sunday, May 1, at 2 p.m. Tickets are $5. All students, faculty/staff members of Kalamazoo College are invited to attend the performance at no charge. Tickets may also be purchased at the door one hour prior to performance. To make reservations, please call 269.337.7333. For more information, please visit the Festival Playhouse website.

Nights (and Days) in the Museums

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Melany Simpson
Melanie Sympson

Join an evening of “Exploring Museum Careers with Kalamazoo College Alumni” on Thursday, April 21, at 7:30 p.m. in Dewing Hall Room 103. The discussion and Q&A comes from the inspiration of Professor Emerita of Art History Billie Fischer and Visiting Instructor of Art History Melanie Sympson. Sympson is teaching the spring term course “The Modern Art Museum,” and she has enlisted the three alumni panelists to visit her class in addition to sharing their stories with the general public. The alumni participants are John Cummins Steele ’83, Holly (Rarick) Witchey ’83, and Courtney Tompkins ’08. Each will speak about 10 minutes, sharing their from-there-to-here stories (where “there” is K and “here” is working in museums) and then take questions from the audience. The evening will be a true liberal arts fest, says Sympson, for museums are situated at the intersection of many disciplines. Steele is the director of conservation and conservator of sculpture and decorative arts at the Detroit Institute of Arts. He supervises conservation department staff in the examination, documentation, analysis, scientific research, conservation treatment, preservation, exhibition and interpretation of the DIA’s permanent collection. He earned his M.A. and certificate of advanced studies at Buffalo State College. At K he majored in history and earned a concentration in art history. He studied abroad in Erlangen, Germany.

Witchey is director of the Wade Project at the Western Reserve Historical Society. The Wade Project is a multi-year collaborative effort to create a model for studying individual family histories. She also teaches museum work related courses for Johns Hopkins University. Witchey earned her Ph.D. at Case Western Reserve University. At K she majored in political science and art history. She studied abroad in Muenster, Germany.

Tompkins is assistant to the program of research, Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts, at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. CASVA is a research institute that fosters study of the production, use, and cultural meaning of art, artifacts, architecture, urbanism, photography, and film worldwide from prehistoric times to the present. Tompkins earned her M.A. at American University. At K she majored in art history, and she studied abroad in Rome, Italy.

Better than a “Night at the Museum” is an evening exploring museum careers with these three distinguished alums. The event is free and open to the public.

Behind Closed Doors

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Photo by Van Forsman
Photo by Van Forsman

I want to talk about being uncomfortable—or, rather, being comfortable with what is uncomfortable—in order to learn and progress as an individual in a progressive society. Maybe this means I want to talk about art, or education, or both.

How important is disquiet to learning? How comfortable must I become with discomfort in order to progress as an educated citizen? I have been thinking about these questions a great deal lately, based on my experience with the recent art exhibit at K, “Behind Closed Doors.” The exhibit was sponsored by Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership (ACSJL) and appeared in various locations around campus during winter term (Dow Science Center, Mandelle Hall, Anderson Athletic Center, Dalton Theatre, ACSJL, Hicks Center, among others)
The exhibit featured a comment box open to anyone—faculty, staff and students of K as well as members of the general community. The exhibit’s purpose was to get people to have a conversation that they might not normally have about segregation and racism in our country.

Artist and Kalamazoo native J.D. Brink took two old doors, scarred them with bullet holes and shattered their windows. Perhaps the most violent stroke employed by the artist was affixing two original signs, one on each door: “Whites Only” and “Colored Only: No Whites Allowed”. The art exhibit was first displayed in Balch Playhouse on the opening night of The Mountaintop, a dramatic depiction of the Reverend Martin Luther King’s last night alive, set in Room 306 of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, on the eve of his assassination on April 4,1968.

Author Aunye Scott- Anderson
Author Aunye Scott- Anderson

The comment box offered people the chance to engage with Brink’s artwork and become part of a silent conversation with the campus community. A forum was held on February 26 in the social justice center to converse about the significance of the exhibit. Arcus Center Fellows Kiavanni Williams ‘18 and Erin Butler ‘18 revealed the comments from the box for reflection and discussion.

Unfortunately the event was poorly attended. I shared the nearly empty room with Kiavanni and Erin. The comments were neatly taped to the backs of smooth wooden doors like paintings in a gallery. The three of us read each comment to ourselves. Some comments provided personal anecdotes of racism experienced in the U.S., others questioned the purpose of the exhibit and seemed to resent the discomfort it inspired. Some were hauntingly irreverent about racism in the present day, and too many showed a troubling ignorance of the history of Black people in America (a group that includes persons of various backgrounds: African-American, Afro-Caribbean, Caribbean, Afro-Latino, African, and a number of mixed raced individuals). Twenty-six people commented, all anonymously, and, sadly, the comments ranged from overt racism to a disturbing obliviousness to the issue of racial discrimination in America as a present day issue.

I was most struck by what each comment shared: a sense of deep and brooding discomfort. It is indeed jarring to see, in 2016, a “Whites Only” and “Coloreds Only” sign, and several commenters wanted the exhibit removed. As a Black woman I have made a habit out of ignoring stares and holding my tongue when I hear people appropriate aspects of my culture for pleasure. I have felt the stiffness of a classroom where I am one of just a few Black students. I have endured jokes that stab instead of tickle. My freshman year I felt #unsafeatK and that sensation still lingers. My African-American peers as well as other students of color on this campus have also experienced the discomfort that those dilapidated doors with Jim Crow signs seemed to inspire in every building they stood.

To me, those doors are too familiar; I’d seen them before in the eyes of some who judged me entirely by my skin, in the eyes of politicians and teachers throughout my life. The duration of that discomfort has no doubt made a callus over once vulnerable parts of myself and my soul. But it has also made me aware, made me tolerant to the wiles of ignorance, and made me strong. It is through discomfort that we can truly discover the purest elements of our humanity. Hopefully struggle and education will guide us to a greater understanding of what needs to occur for all to live in peace.

Social Justice Building Designer Honored as Architect of the Year

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Social Justice Building Designer Honored as Architect of the YearJeanne Gang designed Kalamazoo College’s Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership (ACSJL). The journal The Architectural Review has awarded her its Architect of the Year award, citing both excellence in design and working sustainably and democratically with local communities. The article reads, in part, “The Architect of the Year award celebrates Studio Gang’s Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership at Kalamazoo College, Michigan, which took a novel tri-axial form. The first building purposed for social justice, Gang’s democratic and participatory design process involved the organization, students and public who now work from the Center.”

The ACSJL works to develop emerging leaders and sustain existing leaders in the fields of human rights and social justice. As a learning environment and meeting space, it brings together students, faculty, visiting scholars, social justice leaders, and members of the public for conversation and activities aimed at creating a more just world.

Kalamazoo College will host world premiere of WWII documentary by K alumnus John Davies ’75

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Heroes on Deck: World War II on Lake Michigan, a one-hour documentary film written, executive produced, and directed by Kalamazoo College alumnus John Davies ’75, will have its world premiere Tuesday February 16, at 7:00 p.m., in Dalton Theatre, Light Fine Arts Building (1140 Academy St.), on the K campus.

The film is free and open to the public through a partnership between Kalamazoo College, the Kalamazoo Film Society (www.kalfilmsociety.net), and the Air Zoo (www.airzoo.org) in Kalamazoo.

Heroes on Deck tells the story of a little known chapter of United States involvement in World War II that took place on Lake Michigan, not far from Kalamazoo. Following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States Navy was desperate for pilots who could take off from aircraft carriers, strike the enemy, navigate their way back to the ship, and land safely – no easy task in the vast Pacific. With only seven carriers left in the entire U.S. fleet, none could be spared for training. In order to train thousands of young aviators, two old passenger ships were stripped of their upper decks and converted to “flattops,” Navy slang for aircraft carriers.

ill Murphy plane handler aboard USS Wolverine
Heroes on Deck: World War II on Lake Michigan has it’s world premiere Tuesday Feb. 16, 7pm in Dalton Theatre, Light Fine Arts Building, on the K campus.
John Davies ’’75 is writer, director and executive producer of Heroes on Deck: World War II on Lake Michigan.
Filmmaker John Davies ’75 will meet with K students and show his new film, Heroes on Deck, before taking the film to premieres in London, Washington, New York and other cities.

Between 1942 and the end of the war more than 15,000 pilots, including 41st President of the United States George H.W. Bush, practiced landings and takeoffs on the pitching decks of these “freshwater carriers” as they steamed up and down Lake Michigan. Eight successful takeoffs and landings, usually completed in a single day, were enough to guarantee a young pilot a trip to the Pacific.

Crashes, navigational errors, and “water landings” often led to serious injuries and occasionally death. As a result, more than 100 classic WWII fighters and dive-bombers sank to the bottom of the lake. For more than 30 years, with the U.S. Navy’s blessing, a team of skilled professionals has been identifying and recovering these forgotten warbirds, using deep-water divers, side-scan sonar, and Remote Operating Vehicles. More than 40 aircraft have been brought to the surface and a few have been restored to flying condition. Most are on display in museums and airports under the supervision of the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Florida.

One of these airplanes – a Grumman Wildcat – has been fully restored and is on display at the Air Zoo in Kalamazoo, while another is currently undergoing restoration there. Artifacts from these planes will be on display at the February 16 film premiere at K. Filmmaker John Davies and Air Zoo restoration experts will be present to answer questions.

Narrated by legendary newsman Bill Kurtis, Heroes on Deck uses interviews with surviving pilots and crew members, declassified film and stills, underwater recovery footage, and computer generated recreations that bring to life this vital chapter of American history.

The Kalamazoo College premiere is the first of 10 special viewings that are planned before Memorial Day weekend in May when Heroes on Deck will premiere nationally on Public Television. After K, Davies takes the film to premieres in London (The Royal Aeronautical Society); Cardiff, Wales; Pensacola, Fla. (National Naval Aviation Museum); Chicago, Ill. (Navy Pier); Washington, D.C. (Navy Memorial); Palm Springs, Calif.; and New York City.

John Davies is an Emmy Award-winning Producer/Director who spent the first decade of his career at WTTW-PBS Chicago helping to create documentaries and national series (including Sneak Previews with renowned film critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert). Moving to Los Angeles in the 1990s, John created series and specials for networks and cable channels including NBC, ABC, FOX, AMC, TRU-TV, VH-1, BRAVO, and Comedy Central. He’s also produced episodes of Biography for A&E, Intimate Portrait for LIFETIME and documentary specials for Showtime, COURT TV, and ESPN. His reality series, Run’s House, was an MTV hit and his feature length documentary, Phunny Business, (about Chicago’s first black owned comedy club) was hailed as “one of the best documentaries of 2012” by film critic Roger Ebert. John’s recent documentary, The 25,000 Mile Love Story, has won film festivals around the world and premiered on Public Television in fall 2015. He is currently developing Carson the Magnificent, a mini-series about the life of Johnny Carson.

Heroes on Deck spotlights a little known story of heroism performed on Lake Michigan off the coast of Chicago.
Heroes on Deck tells a little known story of heroism performed on Lake Michigan off the coast of Chicago during World War II.

This is the third time Davies has returned to campus in recent years to show one of his films and meet with K students and faculty in documentary film, media arts, and theater arts classes.

CONTRARY MOTION Hits the Right Note

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Andy Mozina
Andy Mozina

On a musical instrument, contrary motion refers to a melodic motion in which one series of notes rises in pitch while opposing notes descend. In his debut novel, Contrary Motion, English professor Andy Mozina moves his 38-year-old character, Matthew Grzbc, in opposite directions in most every aspect of his life.

As a harpist living in Chicago, Matthew hopes to land a chair position in a symphony orchestra—but his every day has him playing on demand to dying patients at a hospice and to the sounds of chewing at hotel brunches.

As a just-divorced man, he dates a woman with whom he suffers erectile dysfunction—even while he can’t stop lusting for his ex-wife who is about to become engaged to another man. He’s a devoted and attentive father to his six-year-old daughter—but the girl teeters on the verge of a breakdown after witnessing her father “in flagrante delicto” with her mother while Mom’s boyfriend is out of the house. Adding drama, Matthew’s father suffers a fatal heart attack while listening to a relaxing meditation CD—leaving his son questioning his sanity as well as his mortality. Contrary Motion by Andy Mozina

When a longed-for audition for a harpist in the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra opens career possibilities for Matthew (if only his harp would stop buzzing and twanging), he is pulled once again in opposing directions. To audition or not to audition? And, should he be offered the chair, to move or not to move away from his girlfriend, his ex-wife, his daughter, his life in Chicago?

Matthew’s saving grace, the glue to keep his life from splitting down the middle with all that contrary motion, is his sense of humor. It’s hard not to root for the guy between chuckles. He is as perfectly imperfect as are we all on those days when we take an honest look in the mirror. He is riddled with anxiety when most of his fears are never realized. By end of novel, all that anxiety becomes a tad exhausting—-get it right, Matt! Do it, dude!—-and then he does that, too, hitting the perfect note, humanly well.

Andy Mozina has taught English at Kalamazoo College since 1999. He is the author of the short story collections, The Women Were Leaving the Men, which won the Great Lakes Colleges Association New Writers Award, and Quality Snacks, a finalist for the Flannery O’Connor Prize. His fiction has appeared in numerous magazines, and he has received special citations in Best American Short Stories, Pushcart Prize, and New Stories from the Midwest. Mozina is also the author of a book of literary criticism called, Joseph Conrad and the Art of Sacrifice.

“Autism in Love” a First of Four

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"Autism in Love"
A scene from “Autism in Love”

Kalamazoo College’s Arcus Center for Social Justice Leadership (ACSJL) will partner with Media Arts Academy of Kalamazoo to host free community sneak previews and discussions of films to be aired on the award-winning weekly PBS series Independent Lens, beginning with “Autism in Love” on Wednesday, November 11, at 5:30 p.m. at the Center (205 Monroe Street).

Formerly known as Community Cinema, the national screening series was recently re-launched as Indie Lens Pop-Up, a title that better underscores the relationship between the project and its sponsor, Independent Lens. “Indie Lens Pop-Up creates a warm, welcoming and enjoyable space for people of all ages and backgrounds to come together and develop a deeper understanding of issues that face our community,” said Mia Henry, executive director of ACSJL. “The powerful line up of films will focus on the history and context of issues in which struggle for social justice continues.” Kalamazoo is one of 75 U.S. cities where the program will occur. During the past decade, screenings of Independent Lens films have brought more than 331,000 participants together at more than 5,700 events to discuss issues that affect local communities. Kalamazoo screenings will include dinner and will be followed by a discussion led by youth participants from the Media Arts Academy and event co-sponsors. Events are free; please RSVP to acsjl@kzoo.edu.

“Autism in Love” (by Matt Fuller) follows four adults at different places on the autism spectrum who open up their personal lives as they navigate dating and romantic relationships. The first-person portrayals show that love finds a way in spite of the challenges faced by persons with autism.

Three other films are planned for the 2015-16 academic year. “In Football We Trust” (by Tony Vainuku and Erika Cohn, Tuesday, January 26, 5:30 p.m. at the ACSJL, 205 Monroe Street) follows four Polynesian high school football players in Utah struggling to overcome gang violence, family pressures and poverty as they enter the high stakes world of college recruiting and the promise of pro sports.

“The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution” (by Stanley Nelson, Thursday, February 11, 2016, 5:30 p.m., venue to be determined) tells the story (and suggests the emerging current-day relevance) of a group of people that helped lead the new revolutionary culture that emerged in the turbulent 1960s.

“Peace Officer” (by Scott Christopherson and Brad Barber, Tuesday, April 26, 2016, 5:30 p.m., venue to be determined) explores the increasingly tense relationship between law enforcement and the public through the eyes of someone who’s been on both sides–a former sheriff who established Utah’s first SWAT team, a unit that 30 years later killed his son-in-law in a controversial standoff.

Choreopoem Ready to Move

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Students rehearsing for a Festival Playhouse production
Rehearsal for the Festival Playhouse production of “for colored girls who have considered suicide/ when the rainbow is enuf.” Photo by Emma Franzel ’17

Festival Playhouse of Kalamazoo College will present Ntozake Shange’s for colored girls who have considered suicide/ when the rainbow is enuf in the Nelda K. Balch Playhouse. The play opens Thursday, November 12, at 7:30 p.m. Additional evening performances occur Friday and Saturday, November 13 and 14, at 8 p.m., and a matinee concludes the run on Sunday, November 15, at 2 p.m. Tickets are $5 for students, $10 for senior citizens, and $15 for other adults. For reservations call 269.337.7333. For more information, visit the Festival Playhouse website.

Directed by Associate Professor of Theatre Arts Karen Berthel, Shange’s “choreopoem” is an award-winning landmark in American theatre. It has been described as “a dramatic elegy for black women” and noted for poetry “that gives you chills and makes you tremble” and its thematic treatment of courage. The play recently has been made into an award-winning film.

“Through storytelling and dance For Colored Girls depicts authentic renditions of Black women’s experiences,” according to Omari Oliver ’16, who plays the role of Lady in Red.

“Shange addresses issues that women of color have dealt with for centuries,” adds Nakeya Boyles ’16, who plays the role of Lady in Yellow and serves as the production’s dramaturg. “In the face of these issues, the women have found a way to prosper and defy the odds set against them.,”

Unlike traditional scripts built upon a sequence of scenes, For Colored Girls… is a series of poems infused with movement and music. “It is important for the audience to have an open heart and mind,” Boyles says.

Movement Coach Bianca Washington has remained true to the spirit of the original show and at the same time provided creative space for individual growth and expression. “It is important for me to help guide the cast into finding their own shape with the piece.”

Flat Iron at the Ledyard

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Russell Cooper's 2015 ArtPrize entryMore than 1,500 works of art at 160+ venues across three square miles. Yep, we’re talking ArtPrize in Grand Rapids, and one of those works was created by Russell Cooper ’89, Help Desk administrator at Kalamazoo College.

ArtPrize is a radically open international art competition decided by public vote and expert jury that takes place each fall in Grand Rapids. The 2015 competition began September 23 and continues through October 11.

Russell’s entry is titled “Flat Iron at the Ledyard” and features a singular location made to look like a collage of viewpoints (just the opposite of 2014’s ArtPrize piece “For Your Amusement”, a collage of multiple locations made to look like one imaginary and fantastical place). It is an old-school method of cutting and pasting real prints, with little or no Photoshop involved. The subject location is at Ottawa and Monroe Center in the heart of Grand Rapids, site of the Flat Iron Building on the Ledyard Block. Originally constructed in 1860, it’s one of three of the oldest historical buildings in downtown GR, and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. “Flat Iron at the Ledyard” is photographed over several months, with many times of day, many kinds of weather, and many types of pedestrian and automobile traffic patterns. If a picture is worth a “thousand” words, how about one made up of a “thousand” pictures? You can see Russell’s piece at Palatte Coffee & Art (150 Fulton Street East), and you can vote for it online.