Opening of BC Student Art Exhibition: Binding Friendship & Memory Palaces

This week, October 19 through 26, the Bapst Student Art Gallery will display an exhibition of student work, Binding Friendship & Memory Palaces, in response to the Burns Library Exhibition, Binding Friendship: Ricci, China, and Jesuit Cultural Learnings. This evening, Wednesday, October 19, a public reception will be held in honor of the opening of the exhibition from 5:00 – 6:30 p.m. Refreshments will be served.

Click on the image for a full size version.

Tonight’s exhibition opening launches a multi-media student art show inspired by Jesuitana materials from the John J. Burns Library of Rare Books and Special Collections. The show displays a range of artistic styles and scales. One student to keep an eye out for in the exhibition is Joon Sung Park ’12. A senior in the College of Arts and Sciences, Park submitted a collection of ambitious ceramic sculpture that explores the conflicts and cultural exchange between East and West. Working towards a major in Psychology and a minor in Art, Park recently completed time in the Korean army.

The student art exhibition is the result of collaboration between two BC faculty members—Associate Professor of Fine Arts Sheila Gallagher and Assistant Professor of History Father Jeremy Clarke, S.J. Father Clarke curated the Burns exhibit to explore the role of images in the history of East-West cultural relationships and the transfer of ideas.

Gallagher and Clarke came together with a number of goals for Binding Friendships & Memory Palaces. They wanted to engage students in the Burns exhibit’s conversations regarding the East-West relationships and history, as well as give students from different departments, such as History, Fine Arts, and Asian Studies, a chance to create a space for transdisciplinary conversations. They also wanted to support academic thinking outside of the classroom in a community supportive of a cultural and creative discourse.

The Bapst Student Art Gallery hours are Mon-Fri 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., Sat 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. The Gallery is closed on Sundays.

Erin Dionne ’97 Publishes Her Third Young Adult Novel

Erin Dionne ’97 is an accomplished author of young adult books. In three years, she has published three novels: Models Don’t Eat Chocolate Cookies,  The Total Tragedy of a Girl Named Hamlet, and now Notes from an Accidental Band Geek. Dionne is returning to Boston College this weekend to celebrate the release of her third novel for young readers, Notes from an Accidental Band Geek (Dial Books for Young Readers, 2011). The launch party is free and open to the public and it will take place on Sunday, October 2 from 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. at Gasson Hall, Room 305. Festivities will include a book sale, reading and signing, cake, a “Learn to March” clinic, and more!

About the book: Elsie Wyatt is a born French horn player, just like her father and her grandfather before her. In order to qualify for the prestigious summer music camp of her dreams, she must expand her musical horizons and join – gasp! – the marching band. There are no French horns in marching band (what the heck is a mellophone??), but there are some cute boys. And marching band is very different from orchestra: they march, they chant, they . . . cluck? Elsie is not so sure she’ll survive, but the new friends she’s making and the actual fun she’s having will force her to question her dad’s expectations and her own musical priorities.

BC Performs Anne Nelson’s “The Guys” in Memory of 9/11

This weekend marks the tenth anniversary of the tragedy of September 11^th. On this occasion, it is fitting that the BC community comes together to reflect, to mourn, and to consider the repercussions for our nation, our world, and ourselves.

On Sunday, September 11, the Boston College Theatre Department will present a staged reading of Anne Nelson’s The Guys, a play honoring New York City firefighters. Directed by John Houchin, The Guys will have one performance on September 11 at 7:00 p.m. in Gasson 100.  Admission to this performance is free and open to the public.

The players in The Guys are BC staff and faculty members. David Anderson Lewis, a member of Actors’ Equity and Boston College’s IT Department will portray the New York City Fire Department Captain who has lost eight men in the World Trade Center attacks. Actor/director Patricia Riggin, a Theatre Department faculty member, will play the writer who helps to eulogize them.

A post-performance reflection will be moderated by Erik Owens, Associate Director of the Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life.

Prof. Charles A. Meyer Photography Exhibition in BC’s New Level Three Gallery

"Man in Front of Bullet Riddled Wall" Vukovar, Croatia.

This spring, a new gallery debuted at Boston College. On the third floor of the O’Neill Library, a selection of Professor Charles A. Meyer’s photography serves as the thoughtful and awe-inspiring inaugural exhibition for the new Level Three Gallery.

In Witnessing Conflict: Photographs from the Balkans, Kosovo, South Africa, and Northern Ireland, Meyer takes a photographic survey of regions where people of differing ethnic backgrounds or religious persuasions are in conflict. The series examines perspectives of peace, reconciliation, and restorative justice among the perpetrators, victims, and/or survivors of these conflicts – all of whom have come to understand the necessity for reconciliation.

Sponsored by the Dean of the College of Arts & Sciences, Institute for Liberal Arts, Arts and Social Responsibility, Arts Council, and the O’Neill Library, Witnessing Conflict will be on display until September 14th, 2011 at the Level Three Gallery in O’Neill Library during the library’s open hours. As with any art exhibition at Boston College, access is free and open to the public.

Paul Daigneault ’87 Named BC’s 2011-2012 Monan Professor

Theatre educator, stage director and arts leader Paul Daigneault—a 1987 graduate of Boston College—has been named the University’s Rev. J. Donald Monan, S.J. Professor in Theatre Arts for the 2011-2012 academic year.

Daigneault is the founder and producing artistic director of SpeakEasy Stage Company in Boston, a mid-sized resident regional theater currently celebrating its twentieth season. Under his leadership, SpeakEasy is one of the most successful and respected professional theaters in New England, with a strong reputation for producing regional premieres of contemporary musicals and plays.

Daigneault is the first BC alumnus to hold the prestigious Monan Professorship in Theatre Arts. During his year-long residency, he will direct a production of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s critically acclaimed musical Into the Woods, as part of the celebration of the 30th anniversary of BC’s Robsham Theater Arts Center. He will also teach an advanced class in Musical Theater Performance, serve as a mentor to student directors, and as a guest lecturer in other courses.

“I look forward to returning to BC to work with students over the course of an entire school year,” Daigneault said. “I’m curious to see how things have changed since I was a student a generation ago.”

Daigneault has remained involved with his alma mater. In 2007, in recognition of his professional success with SpeakEasy, he received the Alumni Award for Distinguished Achievement from BC’s Arts Council and was a special guest during the University’s annual Arts Festival, during which the award was presented.

Named for University Chancellor and former Boston College President J. Donald Monan, S.J., the professorship enables the Theatre Department to bring nationally and internationally recognized professional theater artists to work with, and teach, undergraduate students at the University. In addition to honoring Fr. Monan’s dedicated service to BC, the professorship was established in memory of late Trustee E. Paul Robsham, M.Ed.’83.

Daigneault will be the fifth Monan visiting artist, following Karen MacDonald (2010-11), director Carmel O’Reilly (spring 2010), actor Remo Airaldi (fall 2009), and Broadway music director Mary- Mitchell Campbell (2008-09).

Author Chuck Hogan ’89 is 2011 Arts Council Alumni Award Recipient

This year, the Boston College Arts Council has selected Chuck Hogan to receive the 2011 Arts Council Alumni Award for distinguished artistic achievement. Chuck Hogan is the New York Times bestselling author of several acclaimed novels, including Prince of Thieves, Devils in Exile, The Killing Moon, and The Standoff. His non-fiction has appeared in The New York Times, and his short fiction has twice been anthologized in The Best American Mystery Stories annual.

His novel Prince of Thieves was awarded the Hammett Prize from the International Association of Crime Writers for “literary excellence in the field of crime writing,” and in 2010 was adapted into the film The Town, directed by and starring Ben Affleck, with Jeremy Renner, Jon Hamm, Rebecca Hall, and Blake Lively.

Hogan is co-writing with Oscar-winning filmmaker Guillermo del Toro, the writer and director of Pan’s Labyrinth, the international bestsellers The Strain and The Fall, published worldwide in twenty-nine languages. The third novel in their collaboration is titled The Night Eternal.

Hogan graduated from Boston College in 1989 with a degree in English Literature. He regularly returns to campus in order to speak with students about his experiences as a working writer. He has appeared at the Arts Career Night, was the first alumni guest at the Master Class series, and other events. He lives outside Boston with his family.

Chuck Hogan’s Festival Appearances

Thursday – 4:30 p.m.	Inside the BC Studio  Live interview with Mr. Hogan. Devlin Hall, Room 101
Thursday – 7:00 p.m.	Film Screening: The Town  Watch the screen adaptation of Chuck Hogan’s Prince of Thieves with free popcorn! Followed by Q&A and book signing with Mr. Hogan. Devlin Hall, Room 008
Friday – 4:00 p.m.	Arts Awards Celebration and Reception  Presentation of Arts Council Alumni Award. Outdoor celebratory reception to follow. Please register for this free event. O’Neill Plaza
Friday – 7:00 p.m.	Lowell Humanities Series  Mr. Hogan talks with BC professor Chris Wilson about the Boston Crime Story. Please register for this free event. Devlin Hall, Room 008

Previous Arts Council Alumni Award winners have included actress Amy Poehler ’93, photographer James Balog ’74, actor Chris O’Donnell ’92, singer-songwriter Ellis Paul ’87, and playwright Bill Cain ’70.

13th Annual Arts Festival Gearing Up on BC Arts Insider

On April 28th, the biggest celebration of the arts at Boston College will burst on the campus scene. Thousands of visitors will flock to campus from the 28th to the 30th to enjoy the 13th annual Boston College Arts Festival. As an expression of the Arts Council’s excitement, anticipation, and hard work in preparing for this grand event, BC Arts Insider will spend the next few weeks highlighting the alumni, faculty, students, and special guests performing on campus.

This year’s festival features a greater infusion of professional mentors beyond Boston College’s faculty and staff.  Several professional alumni artists are returning to campus to work with students in various genres – a cappella, dance, improv theater, fashion, and more – to enhance the students’ creative preparation for the festival and for their lifelong artistic development.

For more information on the Boston College Arts Festival and information on how you can get involved, be sure to check out the Arts Festival Facebook page at facebook.com/bcartsfest and become a fan!

BC Artist-in-Residence Séamus Connolly Profiled in WSJ

No fiddler has won more solo championships than Séamus Connolly, Sullivan Artist-in-Residence at BC. Connolly’s newest project is compiling a book of 400 transcribed tunes that 50 musicians will record on companion CDs. His accomplishments and work have been recently featured in an article written by Earle Hitchner and published in The Wall Street Journal.

The text that follows is a brief excerpt from the article:

On campus, Mr. Connolly teaches a fiddle class, directs the Gaelic Roots Music, Song, Dance, Workshop and Lecture Series, and, with librarian Elizabeth Sweeney, oversees the archives of the Burns Library Irish Music Center, to which he has donated 400 cassettes and numerous reel-to-reel tapes of field recordings. “Séamus is as much beloved for the intensity of his commitment to Irish traditional music as he is revered for his professional abilities,” emphasized Thomas Hachey, executive director of Boston College’s Center for Irish Programs.

Mr. Connolly’s commitment is nowhere more apparent than in the behemoth project now absorbing him: compiling a book of 400 transcribed tunes that 50 musicians will record on companion CDs. So far, 350 tracks have been recorded, of which 200 are in finished form.

Mr. Hitchner is a music columnist for the Irish Echo.

Monan Professor Karen MacDonald Leads BC Affiliated Artists Honored by IRNE Nominations

This week, several artists with ties to the Boston College Theatre Department have been nominated for 2011 Independent Reviewers of New England (IRNE) Awards. Since 1997, the IRNE Awards have recognized “the extraordinary wealth of talent in the Boston theatre community.” Leading the nominees is 2010‐2011 Rev. J. Donald Monan, S.J. Professor in Theatre Arts Karen MacDonald, with four nominations. Frequent BC production designers Jeff Adelberg, Scott Clyve, Karen Perlow, Cristina Todesco, and BC alum Paul Daigneault ’87 have also been nominated.

“It’s wonderful news,” says Department Chair Scott T. Cummings. “The Theatre Department takes pride in having accomplished theater professionals working with our students.”

MacDonald is nominated for “Best Actress” for her work as Kate Keller in Arthur Miller’s All My Sons at the Huntington Theatre and “Best Solo Performance” in the Merrimack Repertory Theatre production of The Blonde, The Brunette, and the Vengeful. Karen was also in the cast of Huntington’s Bus Stop, which was nominated as “Best Ensemble” and “Best Play.”

Also notable is the nomination of Boston College alumnus Paul Daigneault ’87, Artistic Director of Boston’s SpeakEasy Stage Company. Paul has received IRNE nominations for his directing of Title of Show and Body Awareness. Paul returned to BC in the spring of 2008 to direct Urinetown the Musical.

The annual awards which were founded by Beverly Creasey of the Journal Newspapers and Larry Stark of TheaterMirror are announced each spring. This year the winners will be announced at an event at the Boston Center for the Arts on April 25, 2011. For more information, go to www.stagesource.org.

BC Stages “New Voices 2011″

The Boston College Theatre Department and Robsham Theater Arts Center underscore their continued commitment to support “new work” this winter, when they present the second production of the spring semester, New Voices 2011, an evening of original plays by BC student playwrights.

The production—performed in Robsham Theater’s Bonn Studio Theater—features two works: The Missing Piece by Riley Madincea ’11 and Chase 304 by Meghan Crosby ’12. Both plays are staged under the direction of Theatre Department Chair Scott T. Cummings.

“This is a great opportunity not just for student playwrights but for student actors as well to learn about new play development,” noted Cummings. “The crucible of rehearsal prompts lots of changes and adjustments in the scripts. It’s an exciting process.”

The Missing Piece tells the story of an estranged brother and sister who are reunited by their mother’s funeral. Their encounter with a mysterious stranger leads each of them to a better understanding of who they are and what really matters in life. Chase 304 is a slice‐of‐life comedy about eight college women hanging out in their dormitory common room late on a Saturday afternoon. The play takes a tender look at campus life from a distinctly female point of view, as the characters deal with homework, social lives and the perplexing questions of love and romance.

“The two plays could not be more different in tone and style,” Cummings said. “I think the audience will be pleasantly surprised.”

Meghan Crosby '12, Riley Madincea '11, and Scott T. Cummings. Photo courtesy of Lee Pellegrini.

Both Madincea and Crosby are undergraduate theatre majors who are active on campus. The director of My Mother’s Fleabag, BC’s oldest improv comedy troupe, Riley Madincea plans to pursue a career in acting after graduation. Meghan Crosby is active in a number of campus cultural groups, including the University Chorale, Liturgy Arts Group and Artists Striving to End Poverty. She will appear in the Theatre Department’s spring production of the musical Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.

The New Voices 2011 cast features BC students Courtney Alpaugh ’13, Shannon DeBari ’13, Owen Grover ’12, Hana Hyseni ’13, Maggie Kearnan ’14, Steven Kreager ’12, Phoebe Kuhlman ’13, Thais Menedez ’14, Nicole Trauffer ’13, Mary Vasile ’14 and Sarah Winglass ’14. The production team includes resident Costume Designer Jacqueline Dalley and three guest artists: Cristina Todesco (Scenic Design), Scott Clyve (Lighting Design), and David Wilson (Sound Design).

The production opens Wednesday, February 23, 2011 at 7:30pm and runs through Saturday, February 26, 2011, and Sunday, February 27, 2011 at 2pm in the Bonn Studio Theater at the Robsham Theater Arts Center. Tickets are $10 and are available at the RTAC Box Office, or by calling 617‐552‐4002. For more information, please go to www.bc.edu/theatre.