What: Arsenic and Old Lace, a dinner/dessert theatre
When: March 26 at 7:00 pm, March 27&28 at 6:30, March 29 at 1:30
Where: Michigan League, Hussey Room
How Much: Dessert $35 ($17 for students), Dinner $65 available at the Michigan Union Ticket Office
Come and enjoy an evening of great food and watch a comedic performance of the play Arsenic and Old Lace. It is a black comedy about the Brewster Family including murder, plastic surgery, and humor, all set in Brooklyn, New York.
Can you remember the last time you truly believed in magic? For some of us, it has been a long time since we let our minds wander into the world of possibilities. But if you just take a moment, separate yourself from the world around you, and take a look at what life has given you and the memories you possess, you may find that you are in your very own fairytale. The world is a much more beautiful, giving place than we usually give it credit for. What Cinderella showed me, and what I often forget in my everyday life, is how we must, with every fiber of our being, hold onto the magic we have experienced even in the seemingly insignificant moments.
The theme from the movie was that one must always have courage and be kind. At first glance, this short message may not seem all that significant. However, upon closer inspection, I came to find that even this corny, cliche moral has a lot of power. The character of Cinderella fully embodied this as a way of life, having in every action an optimism that seems impossible to muster given her situation. We all know the story of Cinderella, a kind soul whose mother died as a child and father passed away after remarrying a cruel women with two atrocious daughters who treat Cinderella as a servant instead of an equal. However, throughout the film, Cinderella showed a strength in her that you don’t come across on a daily basis. A strength to look past her situation and still see what is good in the world, and instead of lashing out at the world that had been so cruel to her, to try and make it better with every chance she got.
One of my favorite parts of this new adaptation was how they developed Cinderella’s character alongside that of the Prince’s character. Instead of Cinderella being a helpless girl who was whisked off her feet by Prince Charming, she actually had the gusto to stand up to the prince and speak her mind, meeting him as an equal instead of a lesser character. Even after the ball, when Cinderella was not sure she would ever meet her prince again, the movie emphasized her strength ad ability to accept life for what it is. She would have gone on happily enjoying her sweet memories and the small things in life with or without the prince coming along.
Besides the beautiful character development in the movie, there was also an astounding level of artistry in the cinematography, music, costume design, and set design. Everything that ended up on screen was nothing short of breath-taking. Every color seemed more saturated and more vibrant than I had ever seen it. Of course, Cinderella’s ball gown stole the show with how it swept across the floor when her and the prince danced, or with how it resembled rippling water when she ran from the castle. Cinderella’s house was divine, with every quaint aspect of a country home that anyone could ever imagine, as well as a regality in the interior that seemed almost out of place. There were also certain compositional elements of the film that really caught the attention of the viewer. It was clear that a lot of thought was put into how each frame could bring out the emotions in the scene as well as the magic in the story. And the music was the icing on the cake. In my opinion, a movie is nothing without a good soundtrack, and I was not disappointed. The music, by Patrick Doyle, was interwoven into every scene to reach into the audience’s heart and pull tears out of your eyes. You found yourself longing to set Cinderella free from her life of toil, desirous of being at the ballroom with so many magnificent people, or wishing for even one moment in the presence of the prince and his father to experience their love firsthand. You know you have stumbled across a really good movie when you consciously notice the absence of any music and how it leaves you hanging in anticipation, just waiting for what will come next.
Overall, I can’t say enough good things about this movie. I had no expectations going in, but was pleasantly surprised to find myself feeling alive and full of joy when leaving the theatre. Seeing such a wonderful story as this will make you see the beauty in the world and have you believing in magic again.
Saki Mafundikwa at TED talks February 2013
As a part of the Penny Stamps Speaker Series, this past Thursday featured Saki Mafundikwa. Mafundikwa, originally from Zimbabwe, came to the U.S. to study and after establishing himself as a graphic designer, he returned to his home country of Zimbabwe to create the Zimbabwe Institute of Vigital Arts (ZIVA).
The talk began as an introduction of his own personal history and proceeded to discuss his journey to becoming a graphic designer. He used to draw while he was younger, helping his mother with embroidery designs and assisting his father with the mechanical aspects of his watch repair business. After seeking asylum from Zimbabwe during the rough political years, he received the opportunity to study in the U.S. during the early 80s. During his time as an undergrad he found himself creating covers for campus journals and designing texts and typography for those who request it of him. He also talked about how this hobby was fleshed out from taking drawing classes. From life drawing, to still life, to practicing self-portraits, Saki emphasized the impact that repeated drawing and practice of making forms was important to his growth in the graphic design world. He was accepted into the MFA program at Yale and continued to take electives in drawing while focusing on graphic design. During his interview for the MFA program, he was asked if he had ever investigated African alphabets. Saki realized that no, he had not. He had only known the Latin-alphabet of his language. This question lead to the direction and development of his studies in graduate school. He focused on studying different African alphabets and what the symbols represented. Not only did this process result in a thesis, but it also lead to his desire to write a book on African alphabets later on.
After graduating with an MFA from Yale, Saki began working as both a freelance graphic designer as well as for Random House designing book covers. He found that he was often being called upon to design covers for books on African Americans. While he enjoyed the work, it also made him question his relationship with his home country of Africa and what that meant to him now that he had spent so much time in America. After taking up teaching positions at different Universities, Saki made the move to Zimbabwe to establish what he found his calling to be, creating a school of graphic design. He wanted to bring the opportunity to people who had talent but did not have the money or other means to attend art school. Saki has since successfully established a small school of graphic design students, with some of his alumni going on to graduate school in the United States as well, even his alma mater. I think the most rewarding part of hearing his story was how he was bringing skills and the necessary education to his home country and how he was the cause of enabling more success stories such as his own in others.
Link to Saki’s TED talk: http://www.ted.com/talks/saki_mafundikwa_ingenuity_and_elegance_in_ancient_african_alphabets
Craft Spells (above). Photo credit: Daniel Dorsa.
The show last Wednesday night at the Blind Pig featured the bands Craft Spells, and had two bands opening for them: The Bilinda Butchers and Gosh Pith. Initially, the venue was pretty empty. The first band was one I had not heard of, and apparently it was not too well known around Ann Arbor either. It turns out the first band, Gosh Pith, is based in Detroit. I found it interesting looking up their bio later that the two member band had formed by happen-chance somehow in Paris, and while the story was interesting, the music itself was not. I found it hard to enjoy the electronic beats and intermittent vocals, which probably would have been better if not for the technical problems they experienced trying to find a balance between the different sounds.
The next band to play was The Bilinda Butchers. They come from San Francisco, and got a lot more enthusiasm from the audience when they stepped up. Their songs were familiar and the more upbeat dream pop songs were more popular. Unfortunately, the sound technology was still malfunctioning and though the band attempted to fix the sound problem between songs, they were never able to quite get it. The Bilinda Butchers feature a delicate, more ethereal vocal lead and though it was audible, it was drowned out by the percussion at times. It was nice to see that some of the members of the next band, Craft Spells, were standing at the front of the stage swaying along with the music and cheering them on.
Finally Craft Spells came on stage and by this time the main floor was pretty packed. The band set up immediately and started playing some of their more popular songs like “After the Moment” and “Nausea”. Their songs are a lot less poppy than The Bilinda Butchers, but they have a fuller sound with more waves of electronic and synth. It was pretty to listen to and as the final band to play, it was a nice way to enjoy and wind down. Overall, it was one of the more patchy performances I’ve seen at The Blind Pig, but I found that the sounds of the bands complimented each other nicely.
You’ve seen the movie, now see it live: Musket is presenting Into The Woods on March 27 and 28 at 8pm and March 29 at 2pm!
The entirely student-run theater organization will be performing the Sondheim musical at the Power Center for Performing Arts.
Don’t wait until the last midnight to get tickets! Buy yours in advance from the League Ticket Office for $7 for students and $13 for adults. At the door they’ll be $10 for students and $15 for adults.
Whatever opinion you might have about TED (Technology Engineering Design) Conferences, it would be impossible to say that you don’t walk out of a conference feeling like you’ve absorbed a semester’s worth of information.
Each year TEDxUofM puts on an independent conference at the Power Center, and this year’s theme was Constructive Interference. The format is always the same: the doors open and people stream in to get their creative name tags, activities and coffee charge everyone for the day ahead, speakers ranging from activists to cartoonists.
I am always surprised by how big the event is. Weeks after ticket sales open, there are no spots left. This showed at the Power Center, where students, faculty, and outsiders filled every seat and streamed into the walkway outside. That’s the beauty of going to the conference rather than streaming it online–during the conference it was ridiculously easy to bump into someone and learn about their lives. Furthermore, TED attracts a certain type of curious personality that makes it easy to talk about issues other than the weather during lunch.
As for the speakers themselves, I was pleased that I didn’t see any bad speakers. Sometimes it happens. Not at U of M.
Some of the highlights were Herbert Winful, who talked abotu how hidden passions can connect people. As he states “It was love at first sight when I first laid eyes on Maxwell’s Equations.” This man studied electrical engineering at MIT, so he was not lying. Jill Halpern, another graduate of MIT, also spoke about tying together math and creativity.
Probably my favorite event of the day, however, was Raj Mehta’s talk called “Addiction 101.” It was simple, yet challenged the way in which we view addicts and stereotypes. Furthermore, he stated some unsettling facts about the apathy of our system. One example was that there are 40 institutions for juvenile detention in Michigan, but only 1 for rehabilitation. Even more astounding, this man was a former heroin addict, yet recovered and managed to graduate Michigan with a 4.0 GPA. That’s more than I’ll be able to pull off by the time I graduate.
The picture above is another one of the highlights of the conference. Two Michigan students, Marisa Diamond and Charley Leonard, showcased incredible acrobatic talent on stage. They flipped, flew, and astounded us. I felt guilty for not doing anything better with my life as a student.
While several of the speakers were famous and big-shots in their industries, TEDxUofM is wonderful because it also brings in alumni and faculty alike to speak to current students and faculty. Cliff Lampe, for instance, teaches at the School of Information, and what is incredible is that if you liked his talk today you could easily have him as a professor next semester!
If you get a chance, follow TED, TEDxUofM, and attend next year’s conference. It will be worth it.
