In September

At Fairmont State University
September 6 - 27
Graphic Arts Department Animation Exhibition
Brooks Gallery
Free and open to the public.

ALL MY SONS opens October 13

ALL MY SONS by Arthur Miller opens Oct. 13 at Fairmont State University’s Wallman Theater.

I have the priviledge of being a part of this in the role of Kate Keller. Artist in Residence Jeffrey Ingman is our director. The experience is a good one, though extremely demanding. Ingman did an unusual thing in casting three freshmen in key roles, but from my perspective, he made some great choices. I’ve never worked with more focused, dedicated and hard-working young actors.

For those who may not be familiar with the show, here’s the synopsis from the publisher, Dramatists Play Service, Inc.

THE STORY: Is concerned with the fortunes of the Keller and Deever families. During the war Joe Keller and Herbert Deever ran a machine shop which made airplane parts. Deever was sent to prison because the firm turned out defective parts, causing the deaths of many men. Keller went free and made a lot of money. The twin shadows of this catastrophe and the fact that the young Keller son was reported missing during the war dominate the action. The love affair of Chris Keller and Ann Deever, the bitterness of George Deever returned from the war to find his father in prison and his father’s partner free, are all set in a structure of almost unbearable power. The climax showing the reaction of a son to his guilty father is fitting conclusion to a play electrifying in its intensity.

Show dates are:
October 13, 14, 15, 20, 21, 22 at 7:30 p.m.
October 16 at 2:00 p.m.

Emotional Education

There’s a provocative op/ed in yesterdays NY Times…

No Emotion Left Behind
By TIMOTHY P. SHRIVER and ROGER P. WEISSBERG

Saying that “Promoting students’ social and emotional skills plays a critical role in improving their academic performance.”

One has to wonder how the artistic disciplines play a part in all of this.

More FestivALL pictures

Thanks to Christian Cox (our Geoffrey) for more backstage pics
from FestivALL Charleston.

And for some scenes of downtown and other areas of the event, check out Cindy Snodgrass’s album of community art projects that hung all over downtown. Cindy was Artist-in-Residence for the event. She specializes in community and environmentat art — fairly large-scale stuff. Check out her portfolio at windsphere.org.

Ben Zander on leadership

It’s an old article, but check it out anyway. If you haven’t seen Ben Zander in action, you’ve missed something great. As the conductor of the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra he does some incredible things with young musicians. Go to http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/20/zander.html

By the way, Fast Company is a great magazine for small businesses, too.

on blogs…

The Boston Globe editorial page today…

“‘BLOG” HAS A strikingly uninspiring sound, as if it were a cousin of blah-blah-blah — a heavy stream of words without much sparkle. But blogs are lighting up the Internet, and the field is getting crowded.” more…