Category Archives: The Arts at Penn

November 21, 2013 · 1:54 pm

Theater Scene

Author: Noelle McManus, C’17

As most of you may know, I am highly involved in the theater community at Penn. However, what you may not know is that I recently was given an opportunity to continue with iNtuitons, who just finished Midsummer Night’s Dream, on their general board for next semester. This means that I will be able to shadow older board members in order to find out what each position is like, take part in the choosing of the show we will put on next semester, and work on the show. I am so excited to get started because I am very interested in continuing with the theater scene at Penn.

The other group that I am currently working with is Stimulus Children’s Theater, which has just celebrated Stim Day! Stim Day was November 17th, and it is a day that the entire production team (cast, crew, and board) comes together in the PAC shop and finishes the last little things that need to get done before the show! It was really fun and I got to do 3 of my favorite things: paint, eat pizza, and eat cake!

This upcoming weekend and week are bound to be exciting as well. My first birthday as a college student is this weekend! Also, my college house is hosting a Thanksgiving Food Drive Gala on Sunday! Tuesday night marks the beginning of my first Thanksgiving Break and I’m so excited to see my family again.

Wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving!

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November 13, 2013 · 4:31 pm

I’m Coming Home

Author: Carolyn Grace, C’16

The class flags have been stowed away, the tents have been taken down, and the red and blue balloons have been deflated.  But that isn’t stopping me from blogging about the fantastic weekend that was Homecoming!  Here are some pictures of what I did to celebrate the Red and the Blue:

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Counterparts literally kicked off Homecoming weekend with a kickball game against the Penny Loafers, a fellow a cappella group.  We met at High Rise Field and played for about an hour, ending the game in a tie 3-3.  It was so much fun! Who knew we could be artsy AND athletic??

SATURDAY

I began the day yet again with Counterparts!  We performed a few songs from our Fall show on College Green as a part of QuakerFest.  Because we were the last a cappella group to sing, we got to lead the crowd in “The Red and the Blue.”  Several CP alumni were there to cheer us on!

After our performance, I ran into several Sigma Kappa girls including Nikki Moorer, a member of the Class of 2016 Class Board.  A bunch of us SK’s and CP’s then decided to watch the Penn-Princeton football game together.  Donning my “Puck Frinceton” t-shirt, I made my way to Franklin Field with the others.  Despite the tough loss, we still had really good time watching our fellow sisters in Penn Cheer, throwing toast, and cheering on our Fighting Quakers!

Later that evening, a bunch of my friends went to the joint Fall show for Glee Club and Penn Dance: “Esspressionage – A Latte of Trouble.”  It was fabulous!  After going through my show a couple weeks ago, I can now appreciate fully the amount of effort that goes into making a production, be it singing, dancing, or theatre.

 

SUNDAY

Sigma Kappa welcomed back our alumni with a brunch at our chapter house!  It was great to see a lot of the girls who graduated last year come out for our special alumni breakfast bagels.  I may or may not have nabbed one with cream cheese and lox!  After such a hectic day before, Sunday morning brunch was certainly a nice, relaxing end to the weekend.  Homecoming is a blast as an undergrad.  While I have no intention of rushing the remainder of my time at Penn, and I can’t wait to experience this special weekend as an alum.  Hurrah Hurrah!

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November 5, 2013 · 5:49 pm

Two Weeks

Author: Carolyn Grace, C’16

It’s a shame that my job has me blogging only twice a month.  A lot can happen in two weeks, especially when you’re a Penn student.  These past several days were particularly buzzing with activity, so I’ve decided to make this post a re-cap of what I’ve done since my last post.  Enjoy!

October 22nd – 25th: Going GrΣΣk

This year's Greek Week logo

This year’s Greek Week t-shirt logo

As a Junior Delegate on the Panhellenic Council, I helped organize this fall’s Greek Week.  Panhel, IFC (Interfraternity Council), and MGC (Multicultural Greek Council) sponsor a week of academic, social, and philanthropic events for the Penn Greek community each semester.  This year, we hosted a Penn Faculty Speaker Series, an Academic Bowl trivia game, a dodgeball tournament, and a Meet the Greeks BBQ.  The events were really fun, and they did a great job of bringing together the various frats and sororities on campus!

October 27th: Running for the Cure

After 13 years of playing purely water sports, I decided to run my first ever 5k: the Rena Rowan Ribbon Run.  The final Greek Week event, the Ribbon run benefits the Rena Rowan Breast Center at Penn’s very own Abramson Cancer Center. The Rowan Center provides all clinical services a woman facing breast cancer may need; including integrated cancer treatments, psychosocial counseling, cancer risk evaluation, and nutritional counseling.

SK at Rena Rowan!

SK at Rena Rowan!

I ran in honor of my Mom, whose strength and knowledge of her diagnosis brought her to theAbramson Cancer and Rena Rowan Breast centers.  Some fellow Sigma Kappa sisters joined me, and our team ended up doing extremely well!  We placed 1st, 2nd, and 4th overall in the Women’s division, and we won Best Sorority Participation!

November 1st – 2nd: Private ‘Parts

Our fall show poster

Our fall show poster

After almost 6 weeks of rehearsing, Counterparts finally performed our fall semester show “Private ‘Parts”! Now, I know what you’re thinking, and yes, the show title was dectective themed.  Just look at the poster!   In all seriousness, though, the show was fantastic.  I sang a jazz number called “Baby I’m a Fool” by Melody Gardot.  It’s been my favorite CP solo so far!  My family came to see us perform, as did a lot of my friends and alumni of the group.  After the show, past and present CP members went to City Tap House for dinner to celebrate another successful show.  Videos of our performances will be up on our YouTube channel within the next couple weeks, so stay tuned!

Counterparts, before the start of our fall show!

Counterparts, before the start of our fall show!

November 3rd: Handle With Care

The album cover for Handle With Care

The album cover for Handle With Care

Counterparts’s newest CD, “Handle With Care,” is officially available!  We recored the CD last spring, and since then our Music Director and President were working with the studio to mix and master each track.  And the results are incredible!  One of my solos from last year, “Your Heart Is As Black As Night,” is featured on the album.  I’m so excited to listen to it, and I’m so proud of CP.  Our hard work really paid off!  We sold a lot of copies this past weekend at our show, but we have also made it available for download online.  Take a listen, and buy it today 🙂

November 5th:  QUIZZO

This year's logo for SK Quizzo

This year’s logo for SK Quizzo

SK is kicking it into gear with preparing for Quizzo.  There are now 10 days left until the event, and we still have so much to do!  We’ve been actively recruiting teams across campus (Right now, I’m working on registering both a Counterparts and a Mask & Wig team) as well as collecting donations, creating flyers, and ordering shirts for the event.  The prizes look awesome: free spring break trips, free overnight stays at hotels in Atlantic City, pro athletic gear, Tory Burch bags, club box tickets to 76ers games, and gift cards upon gift cards.  I wish I could play!

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October 22, 2013 · 8:56 am

Come celebrate 5 years of Arts and Culture!

Author: Janell Wiseley

Homecoming Weekend is just a view short weeks away, Nov. 8th-10th.  Don’t forget to register for events like:

Classes Without Quizzes

Classes Without Quizzes

 

Penn Alumni Film Festival

Penn Alumni Film Festival

 

Alumni Arts Fair

Alumni Arts Fair

 

Gallery Hop

Gallery Hop

 

Taste of Penn Spectrum

Taste of Penn Spectrum

 

Register Today!

 

 

 

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October 2, 2013 · 7:05 pm

You, Me, and CP

Author: Carolyn Grace, C’16

Music is my passion.  I can’t think of any other way to describe the one thing that gets me going each and every day.  I have been singing since I was 8 years old.  Choirs, a cappella groups, musicals, high school cabaret shows, you name it.  Within my first few days as a freshman at Penn, I knew that what I wanted more than anything was to be able to keep singing.  I left the Annenberg Center after Freshman Performing Arts Night with one goal on my mind: I had to be in an a cappella group.

A cappella at Penn is awesome!  The groups here are incredibly talented and their styles so unique.  In addition to singing pop, each group performs a specific genre, be it indie, rock, jazz, anything.  With so much breadth in the music community, it was overwhelming as a freshman to decide which groups I wanted to try out for.  After a week- long audition process, I received a knock on my door late one night.  I opened my door and was greeted by 15 people singing and cheering for me.  From that moment on, I have been a member of Counterparts!

My first official night as a member of Counterparts!

My first official night as a member of Counterparts

Founded in 1981, Counterparts specializes in both jazz and pop music.  We sing anything from traditional jazz standards to songs you hear on the radio right now.  Fun fact: R&B singer-songwriter John Legend was President and Music Director of Counterparts while he was a student at Penn!  Therefore, we are famous by association 🙂

Each semester, CP (our nickname for Counterparts) performs a concert of 13 to 15 songs that we arrange ourselves.  Sometimes we perform around campus or in downtown Philadelphia as well.  In addition, we record a CD every other year, the most recent of which will be out within the next month.  Having such a wide range of repertoire is so beneficial because it really allows our group to expand in different directions.  Plus, I love jazz!

Our newbs Andrew, Emily, Michael, and David. Welcome to CP!

Our newbs (left to right) Andrew, Emily, Michael, and David. Welcome to CP!

I have to admit, however, that I love the people in CP even more.  They are all-around talented musicians.  But they are also a hilarious, quirky, and welcoming bunch of individuals, all of whom I can honestly call friends.  Our rehearsals on Wednesday nights and Sunday afternoons are the highlight of my week, and already we have a great semester planned since arriving back at Penn.  We accepted 4 AMAZING new members, we’re putting the finishing touches on our newest CD (which I’m featured on as a soloist!), and we’re currently preparing for our Fall semester show on November 1st and 2nd.

CP performs its first Fall 2013 gig at the Penn Reunion Leadership Conference

CP performs its first Fall 2013 gig at the Penn Reunion Leadership Conference

Call me crazy, but that Geico camel and I are on the same page.  I love Wednesdays, and for good reason.  Once 8:00 PM rolls around, I’m going to make my way over to Williams Hall and head straight for the U-Lounge.  For the next 2 to 3 hours, I’ll be singing ridiculous words like “din-doh” and “jen-joh,” and I’ll be loving every minute of it!

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June 3, 2013 · 6:44 pm

The Year of Sound

Author: Lisa Marie Patzer

Each year, Penn’s Provost office sponsors a series of events around a theme chosen by faculty, staff and students.  The theme for 2013-2014 is the Year of Sound, a topic that can be further explored by nearly every area of academic study.  In conjunction with the yearly theme, a book is chosen for the Penn Reading Project (PRP), an initiative designed to introduce incoming freshmen to academic life at Penn.  Book of Rhymes: The Poetics of Hip Hop by Adam Bradley will be the text for the 2013-14 (PRP).

book-of-rhymes-cover

As a film student and visual artist, I have a keen interest in the pairing of moving image with sound.  As David Lynch said, “Films are 50 percent visual and 50 percent sound. Sometimes sound even overplays the visual.” The influence of sound design in film is perhaps one of the more common examples of how auditory experience impacts our understanding of things.

Less well-known is the use of sound in works by artists and avant-garde composers such as John Cage  (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992). Cage wrote music for film and also modern dance performances but his most notable works were those that dealt with chance and sound.  In 1952, Cage composed the piece that became his best-known and most controversial creation: 4′33″.

john_cage

The score instructs the performer not to play the instrument during the entire duration of the piece—four minutes, thirty-three seconds—and is meant to be perceived as consisting of the sounds of the environment that the listeners hear while it is performed.  Highly controversial at the time of Cage’s original performance, 4′33″ has since become a hallmark of the avant-garde and has been performed worldwide.

The Slought Foundation, located at 4017 Walnut Street, showcases a unique interactive installation by Cage. In 2010, with the help of the John Cage Trust, The Slought Foundation installed  “How to get Started”, featuring a rarely heard performance by the artist.  The visitor listens to a monologue by Cage and is then invited to contribute to the installation by recording their own “realizations”.  This site provides instructions for how to prepare:

1. familiarize yourself with Cage’s realization

2. get out ten index cards and write down ten topics of interest

3. practice extemporizing on each topic, in random order

4. notice that Cage never spoke for more than three minutes on a single topic

5. visit Slought Foundation and schedule a session

The topic of sound can be explored in many interesting ways and I look forward to the programming for this year.  Visit here to find out more about the Year of Sound and how you can get involved.

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April 10, 2013 · 8:00 am

PENN Alumni Family Programming continues . . .

Author: Kristina Clark

FAMILY DAY at WORLD CAFÉ LIVE
Saturday, April 20, 2013

World Café Live
3025 Walnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104

11:00 am – DOORS OPEN
11:30 am – 1:00 pm – LUNCH & CONCERT

Bring the kids for a fun-filled afternoon at World Café Live!
The Peanut Butter & Jams concert series welcomes
FATHER GOOSE

The Peanut Butter and Jams concert series is about creating a fun and interactive live music experience for kids and parents. The Peanut Butter & Jams series is a guaranteed crowd pleaser.
A family friendly lunch buffet (all you can eat) is included in the cost.

Tickets
$20 – Adults
$14 – Children

REGISTER NOW

For additional information, please contact Kristina Clark
at krclark@upenn.edu or 215-898-9326.

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January 15, 2013 · 3:27 pm

Philly Arts and Culture Check List

Author: Lillian Gardiner, GEd’11

Since I moved to Philly two years ago, I’ve frequently found myself thinking: “I want to do that!” in reference to some cool Philly thing. But until recently, all I had to show for my enthusiasm was a night at Eastern State Penitentiary’s “Terror Behind the Walls”—which I attended for a work event.

Working at Penn, I find myself confronted often with a myriad of activities, both in and around Philadelphia. Having a job in West Philly near the trolley and El lines makes getting to these events that much easier.

I decided to make a list of these “cool things” and check them off one by one. So, I did what any Type A personality would do when setting out to achieve a goal, I created an Excel spreadsheet. Now, all of the fun places to visit are nicely laid out in columns, along with web links, price of attendance, status updates, and a rating of my level of interest in said fun thing.

The Morris Arboretum’s Summer Palace Credit: M. McClellan for GPTMC.

Many of these events have a Penn connection, such as the Morris Arboretum and the Mural Arts Tour, but others are off campus. So far, I’ve gone to the new Barnes (free because of the Free First Sunday program), toured the “American Spirits: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition” at the Constitution Center (with discounted tickets as advertised through Uwishunu), and attended a Sixers game, followed by a beverage at Xfinity Live (biggest TV screen ever).

Up next, part two of the discounted tickets will be the Titanic Exhibit at the Franklin Institute. Then, a trip over to the Please Touch Museum, primarily because it’s housed in Memorial Hall, a remaining structure from the Centennial International Exhibition of 1876, the first official World’s Fair in the United States.

Image from upcoming exhibition at ICA, White Petals Surround Your Yellow Heart.

Image from upcoming exhibition at ICA, White Petals Surround Your Yellow Heart.

Also on the list are the Aquarium, the Kimmel Center, the ICA, and the Penn Museum. I also hope to make it to a free student rehearsal at the Curtis Institute and take a free class at Fleisher Art. Along with my cultural pursuits, I plan to include some less highbrow outings to Silk City Diner, Barcade, the Union Transfer. And maybe, if I get lucky, an Eagles game.

Feel free to post your suggestions as I’m sure there’s a lot I still don’t know about this awesome city both on and off campus!

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January 7, 2013 · 8:54 am

A History of Exploration and Discovery—Online

Author: Alex Fleischman

Happy 2013 to all Penn alumni.

With the holiday break still in session and spring classes still on the horizon, I find myself with time to kill. For those in a similar predicament, I recommend taking a look at the Penn Museum’s website for a compelling diversion. In this new year, we also have a new interactive map and timeline of the museum’s 125 years of anthropological and archaeological research.  The timeline combines pictures, stories, and fascinating information in a fun, accessible format. You can view it all here.

Just make sure you don’t spend more time exploring than you intended and consider getting out of the house and taking a drive into campus to check it out in person. In the meantime, here’s a screenshot of what you’ll see.

museum timeline (2)

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November 2, 2012 · 12:41 pm

Penn Rocks Out

Author:  Rebecca Eckart, GEd’13

As a new student at Penn, I found the enthusiasm of Penn alums and students during Homecoming Weekend  featuring arts & culture to be contagious.  And seeing the campus covered with red and blue—balloons, flags, and of course students, alums, faculty, and staff decked out in school colors—brought a truly festive air to campus despite the gray, pre-Sandy weather.

Homecoming Weekend this year had a lot of great events.  With academic, sporting, cultural, diversity alliance, and other events, there were plenty of opportunities for everyone to find something that spoke to them.  One new event this year was the Blutt Band Slam, made possible by the generosity of Mitchell Blutt, C’78, M’82, WG’87.  It featured six student groups/performers and two alumni groups, with a wide range of styles—rap, indie, rock, folk, classical, a cappella, and more.

The Band Slam was held on College Green, just in front of Van Pelt, and a lot of people passing through on their way back from the football game (which Penn won—go Quakers!) or heading to their next event stopped to listen.  All of the performers delivered outstanding performances—I was truly impressed by the breadth of talent and creativity of all the musicians.

I’m glad I wasn’t a judge—I can only imagine the difficulty they had in choosing just three winners!

Wars and Whores took the Alumni Prize of $250.  Wars and Whores, members Jeff Barg, C’02, GCP’10, Tamara MacKay Kimler, C’02, Byron Kho, C’05, and Miriam White, SPP’09, met as undergrads in the Underground Shakespeare Company.  They performed two songs from their original folk musical adaptation of Henry IV Part I.

Wars & Whores

The Hippocrates Trio, comprised of Rena Zheng, C ’07, M’15, Alex Pantelyat, C’04, and James Choi, D’14, took the Student Prize of $500. They’re a classical piano trio who formed this past summer, and participate in the Penn Med Music on Call student organization.  They perform for University of Pennsylvania Health System patients and families.

Hippocrates Trio

Finally, the overall winner was sophomore Sarah Lindstedt, who took home the $1,000 Overall Grand Prize!  Sarah writes and plays her own music, in addition to cover songs.  After the awards, the audience was treated to an encore performance by Sarah.

First prize winner, Sarah Lindstedt

I think all who attended would agree, the Blutt Band Slam showcased a lot of Penn talent and we hope to see it featured at many more Homecomings!

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