eInside Events

Tony Award-Winning Performer Ben Vereen Visits Kent State University

Tony award-winning performer Ben Vereen
will be at Kent State on Oct. 10 and 11 for a
performance and lecture.

Kent State University’s College of the Arts, in conjunction with the Thomas Schroth Visiting Artist Series, presents the community with two unique opportunities to see Tony award-winning performer Ben Vereen. On Wednesday, Oct. 10, Vereen and his band will perform “Steppin’ Out with Ben Vereen” in the E. Turner Stump Theatre on the Kent Campus at 7:30 p.m.

Vereen and his band will perform music by such greats as Sammy Davis Jr. and Frank Sinatra, while also performing some of the most-loved songs of Broadway. Patrons can expect to hear such great songs as “The Lady is Tramp,” “It Was a Very Good Year,” and “My Way,” “If I Ruled The World,” “Ol’ Black Magic” and “Mr. Bo Jangles.” Vereen’s performance will also feature music from such great Broadway shows as "Jesus Christ Superstar," "Cats" and "Hair,” among others.

Tickets are $50 for gold circle seating, $25 for general reserved seating, $20 for seniors (60+), $10 for students with a valid college ID and for those under age 18. Tickets are available for purchase at the new Performing Arts Box Office located in the Roe Green Center for the School of Theatre and Dance in the Music and Speech Building at 1325 Theatre Dr. on the Kent Campus. Tickets can be reserved by phone at 330-672-ARTS (2787), in person or online at www.kent.edu/artscollege. The Performing Arts Box Office is open Monday–Friday, noon – 5 p.m., and will be open one hour prior to the performance. The box office accepts Visa, MasterCard, Discover, cash and personal checks. Tickets will only be sold at the door, depending on availability.

On Thursday, Oct. 11, at 7:30 p.m. in the Kent Student Center Ballroom, the Thomas Schroth Visiting Artist Series continues Vereen’s visit to campus with a free, public lecture. The lecture, “Up Close and Personal with Ben Vereen,” will feature Vereen weaving light conversation and personal experiences in with thoughtful reflections on arts advocacy, overcoming adversity, arts in education and disabilities in the arts.

Reservations, recommended but not required, can be made by calling 330-672-ARTS (2787) or online at www.kent.edu/artscollege. Seating will be available on a first-come, first-served basis at the door. Doors will open at 6:45 p.m. A complimentary dessert reception will follow the lecture.

Since 2002, the Thomas Schroth Visiting Artist Series has presented guest artists respected in the field of theatre, dance, visual arts, music and architecture.

Kent State University Celebrates disAbility Awareness Month

Kent State University will celebrate disAbility Awareness
Month throughout the month of October with several events.

Kent State University will celebrate disAbility Awareness Month throughout the month of October with several events. The word disability is intentionally spelled with a lowercase letter d and a capital letter A to emphasize ability.

On Oct. 9, award-winning actress, author and deaf advocate Marlee Matlin will speak about her disability and the goals she has accomplished. Matlin will deliver her keynote address at the Kent Student Center Ballroom at 7 p.m. Matlin won an Academy Award for Best Actress in 1976 for her role in Children of a Lesser God, and she has starred in ABC’s family’s Switched at Birth, The Apprentice, CSI Miami and more.

Dogs on Campus, a pet therapy program, will take place on Oct. 18, from noon to 1 p.m. on the second floor of the Kent Student Center. Dogs on Campus will give students an opportunity to relieve stress while working with certified therapy dogs. The program was developed by Kathy Adamle, Ph.D., faculty member in Kent State’s College of Nursing. Adamle’s research shows that many students consider their pets to be part of their families and that leaving home can add to the usual stress of any college student.

“People don’t have to be ill or have been in a disaster to enjoy pet therapy,” Adamle says.

Join the Wick Poetry Center and Student Accessibility Services on Wednesday, Oct. 24, from 12:30-1:45 p.m. for a poetry reading on the Kent Campus by Angie Orlando, Katherine Orr, Ph.D., and Connie Triplett. The event will take place on the second floor of University Library and will include open mic time and a Q & A session. For more information or questions about the Wick Poetry Center readings, contact Leah Subak at accessterpsksu@gmail.com.

All of these events are free and open to the public.

For more information, visit www.kent.edu/sas/disability-awareness-month-october-2012.cfm.

World-Renowned Harvard Chemistry Professor to Speak at Kent State on Oct. 9

Whitesides to speak in the Kiva about simplicity

Harvard Chemistry Professor George M.
Whitesides will speak about "Simplicity as
a Component of Invention," on Oct. 9 at
Kent State.

On Oct. 9, Kent State University will host a seminar featuring Harvard Chemistry Professor George M. Whitesides at the Kent Student Center Kiva. The seminar, “Simplicity as a Component of Invention,” will begin at 3:30 p.m. and is free and open to the public.

With more than 950 scholarly scientific articles, Whitesides is one of the most cited scientists in the world for his work in the areas of NMR spectroscopy, organometallic chemistry, molecular self-assembly, soft lithography, microfabrication, microfluidics and nanotechnology. He is currently the Woodford L. and Ann A. Flowers University Professor at Harvard, one of only 21 university professorships at the institution. He is listed as an inventor on more than 50 patents and has co-founded more than 12 companies with a combined market capitalization of more than $20 billion.

One of his many current research and development projects, the fabrication of a medical diagnostic lab-on-a-chip, has gained international notoriety for its simple, effective design. The low-cost “lab-on-a-chip,” made of paper and carpet tape can be made for only one cent. He has co-founded a nonprofit called Diagnostics for All that aims to provide dirt-cheap diagnostic healthcare devices to people in the developing world.

"Complexity is relatively simple to think about (at least for academics); simplicity is more complex,” Whitesides says. “This seminar will consider simplicity, together with an idea we call stackability, as a parameter in research, using two examples—one from ongoing large-scale technology, and one from our own research.”

Whitesides received his A.B. degree from Harvard College in 1960 and earned a Ph.D. in chemistry from the California Institute of Technology in 1964. Among his many awards, Whitesides is the recipient of the American Chemical Society's Award in Pure Chemistry (1975), the Arthur C. Cope Award (1995), National Medal of Science (1998), the Kyoto Prize in Materials Science and Engineering (2003), the Dan David Prize (2005), the Welch Award in Chemistry (2005), the Priestley Medal (2007), the Dreyfus Prize in the Chemical Sciences (2009) and the 2009 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Chemistry.

To learn more about Whitesides, go to the Whitesides Research Group home page.

Related video: Professor Whitesides TED talk (Feb. 2010) on "Toward a Science of Simplicity."

Kent State University College of the Arts Celebrates Dual Milestones

College marks 10th anniversary of Schroth Visiting Artist Series and prestigious All-Steinway status for the Hugh A. Glauser School of Music

Kent State University’s College of the
Arts and the Thomas Schroth Visiting Artist
Series present pianist Arnaldo Cohen at
a Kent Campus event on Oct. 13.

Kent State University’s College of the Arts is celebrating two milestones. The Thomas Schroth Visiting Artist Series, known for presenting impressive guest artists since 2002 to the university and community in the areas of visual arts, music, theatre, dance and architecture, celebrates its 10th anniversary this year.

Additionally, the college’s Hugh A. Glauser School of Music recently acquired the All-Steinway designation after completing its Steinway campaign. In honor of these two impressive accomplishments, the college, in conjunction with the Thomas Schroth Visiting Artist Series, proudly presents pianist Arnaldo Cohen to the Kent Campus on Saturday, Oct. 13, at 7:30 p.m. The performance by the highly lauded, Brazilian-born pianist Cohen will take place in the University Auditorium in Cartwright Hall at 650 Hilltop Dr. on the Kent Campus. Free parking is available in the Cartwright Hall lot off of Terrace Drive.

Performing on a nine-foot Steinway Concert Grand D, Cohen’s program for the evening will include such pieces as Bach-Busoni “Chaconne,” Alberto Nepomuceno “Air (from Suite Antiga),” Luis Levy “Valsa Lenta No. 4,” Radames Gnattali “Valsa No. 7,” Francisco Braga “Corrupio (Valsa Capricho),” Ernesto Nazareth “Odeon,” Ernesto Nazareth “Apanhei-te Cavaquinho,” Schumann “Arabesque op. 18,” and Chopin’s “Ballade No. 1” and “Scherzo No. 2.”

Advance ticket reservations are recommended to ensure a seat. To reserve a seat, call 330-672-ARTS (2787) or visit the new Performing Arts Box Office in the Roe Green Center of the Music and Speech Building at 1325 Theatre Dr. or reserve online at www.kent.edu/artscollege. The box office is open Monday – Friday, noon-5 p.m. Non-reserved tickets will be offered at the door based on availability. Doors will open at 7 p.m. Complimentary refreshments will be provided in the lobby following the concert.

Cohen has a reputation for astonishing his audiences with the musical authority and blistering virtuosity of his performances. His graceful and unaffected platform manner belies playing of white-hot intensity, intellectual probity, and glittering bravura technique bordering on sheer wizardry.

The Thomas Schroth Visiting Artist Series has brought noted artists such as composer Stephen Schwartz, Next to Normal actress Alice Ripley; Grammy-winning Emerson String Quartet; postmodern minimalist artist Richard Tuttle; artists and fashion designers Ruben and Isabel Toledo; and internationally acclaimed dance company Ballet Florida, to name a few. The Schroth series was established in 2002 by Cil and the late Max Draime of Warren, Ohio, to honor their dear friend, Tom Schroth (1922-1997). A noted regional architect, Schroth designed the Butler Institute of Art’s Trumbull museum in Howland, as well as numerous other award-winning projects. Schroth spent his life in Niles, Ohio, as a prominent architect and inveterate collaborator in the artistic life of the Mahoning Valley and Northeast Ohio. A world traveler, he saw human creativity as a window framing human experience. The Thomas Schroth Visiting Artist Series brings diverse views through that window to the Kent Campus and community. The events are free and open to the public.

For more information, visit www.kent.edu/artscollege.

University Libraries Presents Library Live!

Event is an information and resources conference for faculty, staff, students and other community members

Kent State University Libraries will sponsor a one-day conference at the University Library on the Kent Campus on Tuesday, Nov. 13, from 9 a.m. to 3:15 p.m. The conference will provide an opportunity for hands-on learning and a chance to find out about resources that can support your teaching and research. Sessions of interest to the general community will also be offered.

Lunch and refreshments will be provided.

Advanced registration is strongly recommended and required for lunch.

For more information and to register, visit www.kent.edu/library/librarylive.

Kent State University Orchestra Presents First Subscription Series Performance of the Year

Director Liza Grossman conducts the Kent State University
Orchestra during a performance.

The Kent State University Hugh A. Glauser School of Music’s Orchestra will begin its 2012-2013 Subscription Series with its Sunday, Oct. 14 performance in the University Auditorium at Cartwright Hall at 3:30 p.m. Cartwright Hall is located at 650 Hilltop Dr., with free parking located off of Terrace Drive.

Led by Orchestra Director Liza Grossman, the program will reflect a diverse timeline with compositions from the 1940s to today.

First, the Orchestra will perform “Internet Symphony: Eroica” by Grammy Award-winning Chinese composer Tan Dun. Google and YouTube originally commissioned the piece for the YouTube Symphony Orchestra. The piece premiered at Carnegie Hall in 2009 while being broadcast live on YouTube.

Second, “Tuba Concerto,” a piece by Ralph Vaughan Williams, will introduce audiences to new music instructor and Kent State alumnus John DiCesare. Vaughan Williams composed this work in 1954, four years before his passing. Though “Tuba Concerto” did not initially receive a positive public response, it soon became one of Vaughan Williams' most popular works and an essential part of the tuba repertoire for professionals.

The first Orchestra Subscription Series performance will also feature “Gayaneh Ballet,” a four-act ballet written by Aram Khachaturian. This piece was first performed in 1942 with the Kirov Ballet. The original plot featured a young woman struggling to balance patriotic convictions and personal feelings. The story has been modified several times, resulting in a plot now much more focused on romance than nationalism. The Orchestra will be performing the First Suite, which includes the very popular Sabre Dance.

Grossman says that audience members will be able to see the Kent State Orchestra members’ energy, passion and commitment to music throughout the performance.

“One of our missions as musicians and performers is to give our audiences an experience to feel something: a memory, an emotion, a new thought or a reminder of a previous experience they may have had with a piece of music,” Grossman says. “Live music is an incredible thing to have available to us, and to have the opportunity to support and encourage the professional musicians of the future is ensuring just that: the future of orchestral music.”

Tickets for the performance are $10 for adults, $5 for students with valid ID, and free for all full-time undergraduate students. Tickets are available weekdays, noon to 5 p.m., at the performing arts box office, located in the lobby of the Roe Green Center in the Music and Speech Center at 1325 Theatre Dr. on the Kent Campus. The Cartwright Hall box office will open one hour prior to the performance for walk up sales, and will also accept Visa, MasterCard and Discover. Tickets and more information are also available by calling 330-672-ARTS (2787).

Kent State School of Theatre and Dance Presents The Rocky Horror Show, Nov. 2 -11

Kent State University’s School of Theatre and Dance continues its 2012-2013 production season with Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Show, Nov. 2 -11, in Kent State University’s E. Turner Stump Theatre at the Music and Speech Center on 1325 Theatre Dr. in Kent.

Daniel Raymond Nadon, associate professor of theatre at Kent State University at Trumbull, will direct this production of the cult-classic show. The interactive rock musical follows innocent couple Brad and Janet as they encounter the mad transvestite scientist, Dr. Frank N. Furter, and his new creation, Rocky Horror. The Rocky Horror Show is intended for mature audiences.

“The Rocky Horror Show is pure fun,” Nadon says. “Audiences can expect a young energetic cast, a rock-concert vibe, edgy choreography, and a sexy, steampunk revisioning of this classic tale for a new generation of fans.”

Senior theatre studies major Liz Casper will play the role of Janet, and senior theatre studies major Jace Craft will star opposite Casper as Brad. Dr. Frank N. Furter will be played by senior theatre studies major Jayson Kolbicz.

Students are also leading some technical aspects of the show, with senior theatre studies majors Carly Shiner and Brian Chismar designing light and sound, respectively.

Shows run Friday, Nov. 2, to Sunday, Nov. 11. The Nov. 4 and 11 performances will be held at 2 p.m., and all others will be held at 8 p.m.

Single tickets for The Rocky Horror Show are free for full-time undergraduate Kent State students, $8 for non-Kent State University students with valid ID or students under 18, $14 for Kent State faculty, staff and Alumni Association members, $12 for seniors (60+) and $16 for adults. Groups of 10 or more are $10 per person.

Tickets are available at the performing arts box office, located in the lobby of the Roe Green Center in the Music and Speech Building at 1325 Theatre Dr. on the Kent Campus. The box office hours are weekdays noon to 5 p.m., and one hour prior to each performance. Tickets and more information are also available by calling 330-672-ARTS (2787) or by visiting www.theatre.kent.edu.

Flex passes for three, four or seven theatre and dance productions are available for purchase until Oct. 13. Prices for the flex passes are $42 - $98 for adults; $30 - $70 for seniors, Kent State faculty, staff and Alumni Association members; and $19.50 - $45.50 for non-Kent State students with valid ID. For tickets or more information, call 330-672-ARTS (2787).

The 2012-2013 season of the School of Theatre and Dance will continue with Winterplay, Nov. 30- Dec 2; The Roe Green Visiting Director Series’ Spring Awakening, Feb. 15-24, directed by Tony Award-winning actor Michael Ruppert; B.F.A. Senior Dance Concert and Student Dance Festival, March 15-17; Kent Dance Ensemble’s New View, April 5-7; and William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, April 19-28.