UMW Continues Season with “Always…Patsy Cline”
The University of Mary Washington Department of Theatre & Dance will continue its 2013-2014 season with a production of “Always…Patsy Cline.” Performances will be Feb. 6-8, Feb. 13-15 and Feb. 20-22 at 8 p.m. and Feb. 9, 15, 16, 22 and 23 at 2 p.m. in duPont Hall’s Klein Theatre.
Taryn Snyder as Patsy Cline.
Photo by Geoff Greene.
Written by Ted Swindley, “Always…Patsy Cline” is based on the true story of Louise Seger, a fan of 1960s country singer Patsy Cline. Louise gets the chance to meet Cline when the singer comes to her hometown of Houston for a show. The two become fast friends and continue to keep in touch through letters until Clines’s tragic death.
The musical features many of Patsy Cline’s original hits, including “Crazy,” “Walkin’ After Midnight” and “I Fall to Pieces.”
Junior Taryn Snyder of Henrietta, N.Y., will play the role of Patsy Cline and junior Emily Burke of Fredericksburg will play the role of Louise Seger.
Emily Burke as Louise Seger.
Photo by Geoff Greene.
Patsy Cline was the first female solo artist to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1973. She died in 1963 in a plane crash coming back from a benefit concert in Kansas City at 30 years old. Her plaque in the Hall of Fame reads: “Her heritage of timeless recordings is testimony to her artistic capacity.”
The performance is directed by Gregg Stull, professor and chair of the Department of Theatre & Dance and Department of Music, with musical direction by Christopher Wingert. Scenic design is by associate professor Julie Hodge and costume design is by associate professor Kevin McCluskey. Lighting and sound designs are by guest artists Catherine Girardi and Anthony Angelini. For more information or to purchase tickets, call the Klein Theatre Box Office at (540) 654-1111 or visit http://umw.tix.com/.
Chronicles of Courage
UMW Digital Learning Conference to Appear on Public Radio Program
Highlights from the first Open and Digital Learning Resources Conference held at the University of Mary Washington in October will be featured on the public radio show “With Good Reason.” The conference, known as OpenVA, brought together more than 250 experts from Virginia institutions to examine the future of higher education and technology. The show, “The Future of Higher Education,” will air beginning on Saturday, Nov. 16.
Jeffrey McClurken moderated a panel during the first OpenVA conference at UMW. Photo courtesy of Tom Woodward via Flickr.
The program will feature the panel of David Wiley, Kin Lane, Alan Levine, Gardner Campbell and Audrey Watters, moderated by Professor and Chair of History and American Studies at UMW Jeffrey McClurken. Experts from Virginia Commonwealth University and Virginia State University also will discuss the challenges and opportunities of digital learning. The two-day conference was sponsored by the State Council for Higher Education and the University of Mary Washington. Audio files of the full program and its companion news feature will be posted online the week of the show at http://withgoodreasonradio.org/2013/11/the-future-of-higher-education/. For full videos from conference sessions, visit http://www.youtube.com/user/umwnewmedia.
“With Good Reason” is a program of the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities. The show airs weekly in Fredericksburg on Sundays from 1-2 p.m. on Radio IQ 88.3 Digital. To listen from outside of the Fredericksburg area, a complete list of air times and links to corresponding radio stations can be found at http://withgoodreasonradio.org/when-to-listen/.
Phi Beta Kappa Scholar to Visit UMW, Nov. 21-22
During his two-day visit, Deloria also will speak with students and faculty in a range of American studies and history courses and meet with PBK members.
Deloria is the Carroll Smith-Rosenberg Collegiate Professor at the University of Michigan and has joint appointment in the departments of history and American culture. He is currently the associate dean for undergraduate education in the College of Literature, Science and the Arts. He is the author of two prize-winning books, “Playing Indian” and “Indians in Unexpected Places,” as well as the co-editor for several others. He also has written for numerous scholarly journals in the fields of American Indian studies, environmental history and cultural studies. Deloria has served as president of the American Studies Association, as a trustee of the Smithsonian’s National History Museum of the American Indian and is an elected member of the Society of American Historians.
Founded in 1776, Phi Beta Kappa is the oldest and most widely known academic honor society in the nation, with chapters at 283 institutions and more than half a million members. Its mission is to champion education in the liberal arts and sciences, to recognize academic excellence and to foster freedom of thought and expression. The UMW chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, Kappa of Virginia, selects its members based on rigorous scrutiny of students’ academic achievements as demonstrated through grade point averages. UMW inducted 51 new members into the society last spring.
The lecture is sponsored by Kappa of Virginia, the Department of English, Linguistics and Communication, the Department of History and American Studies, the American Studies Program, the Honors Program, and particularly the Wendy Shadwell ’63 Program Endowment in British Literature. Additional information about the PBK Visiting Scholar Program can be found at http://www.pbk.org. For more information about Deloria’s visit, please contact Professor Gary Richards at grichard@umw.edu or (540) 654-2365.Historic Preservation Professor to Appear on Radio Program
Michael Spencer, assistant professor of historic preservation, will appear on the public radio show “With Good Reason” to discuss his class’s efforts to preserve a small church in Falmouth. The show, “Dreams of the Civil War,” will air beginning on Saturday, Nov. 2.
Michael Spencer
The program also will feature commentary from instructors from several Virginia institutions, including Christopher Newport University and Norfolk State University. Topics of the show will include life during the Civil War, the influence of slave culture and American colonial essayists. Audio files of the full program and its companion news feature will be posted online the week of the show at withgoodreasonradio.org/2013/11/dreams-of-the-civil-war/.
“With Good Reason” is a program of the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities. The show airs weekly in Fredericksburg on Sundays from 1-2 p.m. on Radio IQ 88.3 Digital. To listen from outside of the Fredericksburg area, a complete list of air times and links to corresponding radio stations can be found at http://withgoodreasonradio.org/when-to-listen/.
UMW Galleries Host Exhibit of Abstract Painting
The University of Mary Washington Galleries is hosting the exhibit “Anarchistic Abstraction” through Monday, Dec. 2 in both the Ridderhof Martin and duPont galleries.
Steven Cushner, ECHO #3, 2012, acrylic on canvas, 70″x75″, © Steven Cushner, Courtesy of Hemphill Fine Arts
“Anarchistic Abstraction” demonstrates facets of abstract painting’s ongoing anarchistic processes through the works of more than 20 artists. In this exhibit, anarchy is represented in two ways: as a state of lawlessness or disorder and as a free, utopian society of cooperation, without coercion or hierarchical authority. Both definitions, one signifying the urgency of revolution and the other based on democratic processes, tell the story of painting’s deconstruction, the profound doubt of its modern practitioners, and its evolution, especially since the 1960s.
Both galleries are located on College Avenue on the Fredericksburg campus and are open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Saturday from noon to 4 p.m.; and Sunday from 1 to 4 p.m. The galleries are closed during university holidays and breaks. Free parking for gallery visitors is designated in the lot on College Avenue at Thornton Street. For directions and more information, call (540) 654-1013 or visit http://galleries.umw.edu.
UMW Staff Volunteered at Day of Caring
University of Mary Washington staff participated in the Rappahannock United Way’s “Day of Caring,” on Friday, September 27.
UMW staff members volunteered at Micah Ministries as part of the Day of Caring.
Twenty-one staff members from 15 different offices across the university came out to work in teams at local nonprofit organizations and schools. One team spent their day at Micah Ministries’ sponsored transitional house, where they repaired shelving, cleaned and organized a storage shed. Other teams volunteered at the Fredericksburg Hope House and Hartwood Elementary School.
“It’s a great way for the university to show how much we care for the Fredericksburg community,” said Christina Eggenberger, director of service. “It’s a positive experience for everyone involved.”
One team of volunteers spent the day at Hartwood Elementary School.
Staff members were able to complete 99 hours of service in total.
The “Day of Caring” partners volunteer teams from local businesses with local non-profit organizations and schools to complete meaningful projects and make a difference in their community. This was UMW’s fourth year volunteering at the event.
Staff members from 15 different offices completed 99 hours of service.
UMW to Host James Monroe Life and Legacy Symposium
The University of Mary Washington will host “James Monroe: Life and Legacy,” a two-day symposium presented by The Papers of James Monroe and the James Monroe Museum and Memorial Library. The symposium will take place on Friday, Oct. 18 from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in Lee Hall, Room 411, and on Saturday, Oct. 19 from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in Monroe Hall, Room 116.
Leah Tams (right) is one of the UMW students who will present at the James Monroe symposium. She is pictured with Jarod Kearney, curator of the James Monroe Museum and Memorial Library.
The symposium will examine the life, legacy and interpretation of the fifth president of the United States through eight lectures and presentations by a variety of scholars. Presenters also will include UMW historic preservation students Peyton Brown, Heather Marshall and Leah Tams, who will present artifacts from the James Monroe Museum. The symposium will conclude on Saturday with the 26th annual Monroe lecture, a presentation by historical interpreter Dennis Bigelow.
The event is free and open to the public. More information, as well as a complete schedule of symposium speakers and presentation times, can be found at http://academics.umw.edu/jamesmonroepapers/events/.
