Anne's Arts & Activities Blog

Members of the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford faculty had far more on their plates than their regular teaching loads during the spring semester. Faculty members presented papers, directed a play and wrote. Dr. Helma de Vries-Jordan , assistant professor of political science, traveled to Atlanta; Columbia, S.C.; Raleigh, N.C.; and Asheville, N.C., to conduct interviews for an upcoming book on the marriage equality movement in the United States and Europe. Dr. Donna Dombek presented a paper titled “What is Wrong With These Students and How Can We Fix Them: The Changing Face of Motivation and Engagement Strategies in the College Classroom” at the 21st Century Academic Forum Conference at Harvard University in Boston. Dombek argues that today’s students are not “broken,” but rather have adapted to a new environment for learning and living – one that is not reflected in a traditional college classroom. In addition to working on her ...

A unique production of the classic play “Our Town” will be presented by Little Green Pig Theater next week at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford. Thornton Wilder’s popular Pulitzer-prize winning drama will take the stage at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 28 in the Bromeley Family Theater in Blaisdell Hall. The Five Points Star arts blog called the Little Green Pig production “a fresh, innovative, heart-squeezing new production.” Performed with an all African-American cast, director Jay O’Berski told the Chapel Hill (N.C.) News that the Durham, N.C., theater group follows Wilder’s story line. “It’s a place where birth, weddings and death are unencumbered by the sensationalistic elements that normally accompany black stories in modern media. It’s a look at what was and what is, through the lens of America’s most produced, iconic play.” Five Points said the cast, which must play multiple roles, is “uniformly strong,” and particularl...

The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford has promoted two members of the faculty to the rank of full professor. Dr. Kevin A. Ewert has been promoted to professor of theater, and Tim Ziaukas has been promoted to professor of public relations. “Achieving the rank of full professor is a major goal for many faculty members,” said Dr. Steven Hardin, vice president and dean of academic affairs. “We’re very happy that Tim and Kevin have achieved this important goal. The university is proud to recognize their significant accomplishments through the awarding of this promotion.” Ewert teaches theater and is the director of the theater program. In addition to teaching and directing the student production each semester, he is an accomplished Shakespeare scholar, most recently co-editing “The Routledge Companion to Actors’ Shakespeare” last year with John Russell Brown, former associate director of the Royal National Theatre in London and the editor of the “Oxford Illustrated Histor...

The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford’s Division of Communication and the Arts will present a unique production of “An Evening of Stories by Edgar Allan Poe” next week. Shows take place at 7:30 p.m. April 12 and at 7:30 and 10:30 p.m. April 13 and 14 at the Seneca Building in downtown Bradford. There is no Sunday matinee. Tickets are $6 for the public and $2 for all students. Due to the unique nature of the production, advance reservations are necessary and can be made by calling the Bromeley Theater Box Office at (814)362-5113. Dr. Kevin Ewert, associate professor of theater, is directing the production, which will relate stories by America’s master of the macabre, including “Ligeia,” “Berenice,” “Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Cask of Amontillado.” “This production is a kind of a haunting,” Ewert said. “We’re taking an old building and inhabiting many of its empty rooms with Poe’s tales of obsession, madness and terror. “The rehearsal pro...

A pair of University of Pittsburgh at Bradford faculty members published or presented at conferences during the Fall Semester. Dr. Kevin Ewert, associate professor of theater, had a chapter published in “Shakespeare Closely Read: Written and Performance Texts,” edited by Frank Occhiogrosso. The chapter, “Close Enough Reading? Or, Trying to Ascribe the Actor’s Part in Analyzing Performance Texts,” originated as a paper for the 2008 International Shakespeare Conference in Stratford-upon-Avon, England. The paper steps back from examining only the effect of an actor’s performance to understanding its origins and the choices made along the way, and suggests ways that the actor's specific contribution to the whole can be researched and studied by those not involved in rehearsals or the run of a production. Dr. Donna Dombek, associate professor of education, made a poster presentation at the 40th annual Pennsylvania Association of Colleges and Teacher Educators’ Te...

The fall Spectrum series at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford will include a visit by a screenwriter, two classic dramas and music by flutist Sarah Tiedemann. The Spectrum series, which supports the arts curriculum at Pitt-Bradford, will open with a visit by screenwriter Brad Riddell at noon Oct. 11 in the Mukaiyama University Room. His talk is free. Riddell’s screenwriting credits include assignments from Universal, Paramount and MTV Films. He wrote the fourth film in the “American Pie” series, “Band Camp,” which remains the highest-grossing live action straight-to-DVD movie production to date, and has worked on sequels to franchise films such as “Josie and the Pussycats,” “Slap Shot” and “Road Trip.” Currently he is producing his own script, “Harmony” with director Stu Pollard. Spectrum theater begins Oct. 15 with a performance of John Steinbeck’s classic, “Of Mice and Men” at 7:30 p.m. in the Bromeley Family Theater. Cost for the public is $10 to $12; for all students, free. ...

A University of Pittsburgh at Bradford theater professor is the associate editor of a new book on modern Shakespearean actors. Dr. Kevin Ewert, associate professor of theater, edited the “The Routledge Companion to Actors’ Shakespeare” with John Russell Brown, former associate director of the Royal National Theatre in London and the editor of the “Oxford Illustrated History of Theater.” “Brown is one of the most important and influential scholars in the field of Shakespeare performance,” Ewert said. Initially, Brown asked Ewert to write a chapter about Colm Feore, a Canadian actor who made his name at the Stratford Festival of Canada, near Ewert’s boyhood home. Later, Brown asked Ewert to join him as associate editor for the volume. Ewert said the volume focuses on living actors from England, Europe and North America “at the top of their games.” Each chapter gives insight into the actors’ approach to the material and characters they perform. In most cases, the contributi...