CenterStage: Calendar

September 2008

Modern Marvels: Book Club Kickoff
Let’s Talk About: Jewish Literature
Ellis White Lecture Hall (Hammond Campus Center)

Presented as part of the New England Writers Series and a grant through Nextbook and the American Library Association (ALA). Local support for the series is provided by the Jewish Heritage Endowment and the Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities.

Admission: free

Sept. 16 – Oct. 28

Tuesday, Sept. 16: gallery talk at 6:30 PM

Opening reception
at 7 PM

GALLERY EXHIBITION:
Kinetic sculptures by A.M. Lilly
Campus Center Art Gallery (Hammond Campus Center)

A.M. Lilly, who practiced architecture in the US and Europe before beginning her work as a sculptor in 1997, works with a foundation of t-bars and tripods, yet weaves gentle wave-life kinetic movement into her intriguing sculptures.  

Artist’s statement: I work with movement because I have questions about space, about the intermingling of space and object.  Strangely, it is the very transparency of space that makes it opaque to our perception.

These works use skinny lines moving in space.  Emptying out the volume reduces the visual mass, implicating more of the space around the work.  This emptying-out of mass makes it possible to imbue space without occupying space.

Admission: free

Italian Book Club: Gomorrah by Robert Saviano
Center for Italian Culture Room (4th floor)

Amelia V. Gallucci-Cirio Library

Gomorrah is a first-hand account of Robert Saviano's undercover investigation of the Camorra in Sicily and its role in a globalized network of criminal activity. He reveals details of the illegal disposal of toxic waste in the Mezzogiorno, the trafficking in drugs and counterfeit luxury goods. The book won the Viareggio Prize in Italy, and now is in English translation. Facilitated by Professor Teresa Fava Thomas.

Sponsored by the Center for Italian Culture

Admission: free

Modern Marvels Book Club
Let’s Talk About: Julius Knipl, Real Estate Photographer by Ben Katchor
Ellis White Lecture Hall (Hammond Campus Center)

“Steeped in a melancholy, gray-tinted world of elevated trains, luncheonettes, and gently decaying tenements, Katchor’s perambulating photographer, Julius Knipl, documents a rapidly vanishing urban netherworld.” Humanities scholar Michael Hoberman leads the discussion.

Admission: free

October 2008

Saturday,
Oct. 4
at 8 PM

Reduced Shakespeare Company: The Complete History of America (abridged)—Special Election Edition!
Weston Auditorium

Tickets: $25/$22/$7

Co-sponsor: Rollstone Bank and Trust

New England Writers Series
Robert Cormier Lecture
Elizabeth Winthrop: Counting on Grace
Kent Recital Hall (Conlon Building)

Tickets: $10/general public; $7/ FSC staff, faculty and seniors; $5/FSC students (at the door)
Free with CenterStage membership card!

The Robert Cormier Lecture was established through an initial gift from Knopf Delacorte Dell Young Readers Group, a division of Random House Children’s Books. The lecture is in memory of the late, young adult fiction writer, who gave so graciously of his time and talents to the community and the College. Support for the New England Writers Series comes from the Roberta Fitzmaurice Connors ’63 Endowment.

Tuesday, Oct. 14
at 3:30 PM

Harrod Lecture Series
Kent Recital Hall (Conlon Building)

Benjamin Railton, Assistant Professor of English, presents “Cross-Cultural Conversations and Transformations: Redefining American Identity through Five Centuries of Personal Narrative.”

The series honors the late Walter F. Harrod, who served on the Fitchburg State faculty for 29 years.

Admission: free

Tuesday, Oct. 14 at 7 PM

Modern Marvels Book Club
Let’s Talk About: A Contract with God
by Will Eisner
Alumni Room- A (Hammond Campus Center)

Each week during the 1940s, Will Eisner drew “The Spirit,” a comic about a masked detective that earned him fans around the globe. In 1978, he revolutionized comics again by producing the first “graphic novel.” The stories in this novel showcase Eisner’s unique ability to capture character with the quick strike of his pen. Humanities scholar Michael Hoberman leads the discussion.

Admission: free

Thursday, Oct. 16
at 2 & 7 PM

Italian Neo-Realism Film & Lecture Series:
From Despair to Hope           

Open City (Roma, città aperta, 1946)
Ellis White Lecture Hall (Hammond Campus Center)

Tickets: $7/general public; $5/ FSC staff, faculty and seniors; $3/FSC students (at the door)

Sponsored by the Center for Italian Culture at Fitchburg State College

Modern Marvels Book Club
Let’s Talk About: Maus I/II by Art Spiegelman
Alumni Room- A (Hammond Campus Center)

The comic book transfigured, this graphic novel tells the story of Spiegelman’s parents, Vladek and Anna, Jews reaching maturity in Europe on the verge of Nazism, and their terrifying history and eventual survival in the concentration camps. In 1992 the Pulitzer Prize committee recognized Spiegelman’s groundbreaking achievement by awarding him a special prize for Maus. Humanities scholar Michael Hoberman leads the discussion.

Admission: free

Italian Neo-realism film series: 
Bicycle Thieves (Ladri di biciclette, 1948)
Ellis White Lecture Hall (Hammond Campus Center)

Sponsored by the

Tickets at the door: $7/general public; $5/ FSC staff, faculty and seniors; $3/FSC students

Nov. 4 – Dec. 12

Tuesday, Nov. 4: artist book signing
at 6:30 PM

Opening reception
at 7 PM

GALLERY EXHIBITION:
Illustrations by Peter Reynolds
Campus Center Art Gallery (Hammond Campus Center)

Peter Reynolds dreams, thinks and talk in picture.  A self-described “off-the-path kid,” stories and images were the tools he used to make sense of his world.  This exhibition makes us into his world of illustrations from many of his well-known books.

ARTIST STATEMENT:  My art is a form if thinking of breathing, of making noise, of whispering of cajoling, of gently nudging.  My art is soft blanket wrapped around marble sculptures – monuments to ideas I hope to survive me.  I have chosen in the past decade to explore themes of the journey, bravery, free will, creativity, dreaming, and visioning though gentle, whimsical, often wistful, ‘children’s book’ art.  My hope is that my work helps you feel what I feel when I create.  A sense of peace.  A sense of wonder. A sense of the possible.

Admission: free

Saturday, Nov. 8
at 8 PM

Spotlight talk
at 7:15 PM

Noche Flamenca
Weston Auditorium

Spotlight talk at 7:15 PM: The influence of flamenco guitar. Jose Lezcano, professional guitarist and professor of music at Keene State College will discuss the influence on flamenco guitar on the classical Spanish repertoire—techniques, rhythms, and styles, and with some live examples.

New Foundation for the Arts
With support from Orchard Hills Athletic Club

Tickets: $25/$22/$7

Master class with members of Noche Flamenca
Parkinson Gym

Tickets per class: $15/general public; free to FSC students (call for tickets)

Nov. 12-15
at 7:30 PM;

Nov 16
at 2 PM;

Nov. 19,
at 7:30 PM;

Nov. 20
at 6 PM

Nov. 21 and 22
at 7:30 PM;

Theater performance: The Rimers of Eldritch
by Lanford Wilson
McKay Auditorium

It’s a mystery really. In a small town in the Midwest a man has been killed. The town bum has been shot. But why? Some say he was forcing himself on a young girl. As the play unfolds this simple accusation is unhinged as Wilson leads us through the complex social, psychological and sexual patterns of a town where the Bible is quoted liberally. In the rich swirl of characters we meet a middle age woman falling for a boy working in her café, the tender relationship between a young man and a dreamy disabled girl and a senile old mother abused by their righteous children, among many others. An American classic by one of our greatest contemporary playwrights. Directed by Richard McElvain

Tickets: $7/general; $5/students, seniors, FSC faculty and staff (at the door)

Italian Neo-realism film series: Umberto D. (1952)
Ellis White Lecture Hall (Campus Center)

Sponsored by the Center for Italian Culture at Fitchburg State College

Tickets: $7/general public; $5/ FSC staff, faculty and seniors; $3/FSC students (at the door)

Composing for the Silent Movie
Kent Recital Hall (Conlon Building)

Admission: free

Lecture

The Devil Music Ensemble presents
Red Heroine (Hong Xia)
Kent Recital Hall (Conlon Building)

Tickets: $10/general public; $7/ FSC staff, faculty and seniors; $5/FSC students (at the door)

Harrod Lecture Series
Kent Recital Hall (Conlon Building)

Laura Garofoli, Assistant Professor of Behavioral Sciences, presents “The Development of Sex Differences in Mathematics.”

Admission: free

Modern Marvels Book Club
Let’s Talk About: The Quitter by Harvey Pekar
Alumni Room A (Hammond Campus Center)

Ostensibly covering Pekar’s early years, this dark graphic novel tackles everything from his brief stint in the Navy to jazz criticism and mid-century race relations. But a surprisingly hopeful message ultimately surfaces. Humanities scholar Michael Hoberman leads the discussion.

Admission: free

Italian Book Club: The Silent Duchess by Maraini
Center for Italian Culture Room (4th floor)
Amelia V. Gallucci-Cirio Library

The Silent Duchess, a mesmerizing historical novel by on of Italy’s premier women authors, is the sinner of the Premio Campiello (Italy’s equivalent of the National Book Award). Set in Sicily in the early 18th-century, The Silent Duchess is the story of Marianna Ucrìa, the daughter of an aristocratic family and the victim of a mysterious childhood trauma that has left her deaf and mute, trapped in a world of silence.  Facilitated by Assistant Professor Rala Diakite

Sponsored by the Center for Italian Culture

Admission: free

Wednesday
Dec. 3
at 7:30 PM

ANNUAL WINTER ENSEMBLE CONCERT
Weston Auditorium

Featuring the Fitchburg State College Concert Band and Fitchburg State College Jazz Band

Admission: free

Thursday, Dec. 4 at 6 PM

DANCE CLUB WINTER SHOW
Weston Auditorium

Kick off your holiday season with the FSC Dance Club’s 5th annual Winter Show featuring selections from many of the club’s classes in a winter theme.

Tickets: $5/general and students available at the Hammond Center Info Desk          

ANNUAL WINTER CHORAL CONCERT
Weston Auditorium

Featuring the Fitchburg State College Concert Choir and Chamber Singers

Admission: free

Modern Marvels Book Club
Let’s Talk About: The Rabbi’s Cat by Joann Sfar
Alumni Room A (Hammond Campus Center)

After eating a parrot, an aged Algerian rabbi’s cat develops the ability to speak and quickly declares his desire not only to be Jewish, but to have a bar mitzvah. The rabbi engages his pet in a spiraling debate, touching on topics such as spelling, parental love, and the very nature of Jewish identity. Humanities scholar Michael Hoberman leads the discussion.

Admission: free

Saturday, Dec. 13
at 2 PM and 7 PM

RESCHEDULED FOR MAY 9

John McDermott
Weston Auditorium                                                       

In his only New England engagement, beloved tenor John McDermott returns with his exquisite holiday program. A most special afternoon is promised.

For an early treat, go to www.johnmcdermott.com

Sponsor: Workers’ Credit Union

Tickets: $28/$28/$10

Jan. 27 – Mar. 17

Tuesday, Jan. 27: Gallery talk with two members from SWPC (Seeing with Photography Collective) at 6:30 PM.

Opening reception at 7 PM

Gallery Exhibition:
Shooting Blind: Photographs by the Visually Impaired
Campus Center Art Gallery (Hammond Campus Center)

This unique exhibition offers entry to another world—a reality that is at once mysterious, evocative, and beautiful, arousing a blend of memories and emotions. These unique photographs are made by Seeing with Photography, a collective of photographers, with varying degrees of visual abilities, that have been active in New York for more than  seven years. The members use their cameras to explore the world and better understand themselves while creating luminous works of art. These remarkable images are made using Polaroid’s positive/negative film as well as an old technique called “painting with light,” in which flashlights are used to illuminate the subjects over long exposures in complete darkness. Through this process the photographers achieve a result of striking imagery imbued with a charged and bristling energy, distinct from the ordinary

Aperture, a not-for-profit organization devoted to photography and the visual arts, has organized this traveling exhibition and produced the accompanying publications.

Married Life
Ellis White Lecture Hall (Hammond Campus Center)

USA · 2008 · 90 mins · color · English

Tickets: $7/general public; $5/ FSC staff, faculty and seniors; $3/FSC students (at the door)

Free with CenterStage membership card!

Wednesday, Feb. 4 at 6:30 PM

RESCHEDULED FOR March 25

Italian Book Club: La Bella Figura:
A Field Guide to the Italian Mind
by Beppe Severgnini
Center for Italian Culture Room (4th floor)
Amelia V. Gallucci-Cirio Library

La Bella Figura: A Field Guide to the Italian Mind is Beppe Severgnini's lighthearted introduction to life in Italy and Italians. He describes contemporary Italians and what is important to them: how families relate to their children, what works and what doesn't, and elemental issues like soccer (calcio), Vespas, and pizza. Along the way he describes life in Italy from the perspective of an Italian. Facilitated by Professor Teresa Fava Thomas.

Sponsored by the Center for Italian Culture

Admission: free

Book Club

Thursday, Feb. 5
at 7pm

From Silence to Voice: Putting Nursing Center Stage
Kent Recital Hall (Conlon Bulding)

Suzanne Gordon is an award-winning journalist and author who writes about political culture, women’s issues, nursing, and health care. For 20 years, she has been observing nurses and other caregivers in hospitals and health care institutions across the country and writing about care giving and health care reform issues. She is recipient of several Book of the Year Awards from the American Journal of Nursing.

Presented by the Student Nurses Association with additional support from CenterStage’s New England Writers Series and WITS (Women in Today’s Society).

Admission: free

Thayer Symphony Orchestra Open Rehearsal
Weston Auditorium

This event has been canceled. It will be rescheduled.

Thayer Symphony Orchestra’s
Valentine’s Day Concert
Weston Auditorium

This event has been canceled. It will be rescheduled.

Harrod Lecture Series
Kent Recital Hall (Conlon Building)

Jon Krasner, Associate Professor of Communications Media, presents "Critical Pedagogy: Cultivating Mindful, Creative, and Critical Thinking."

Admission: free

Tap Dance Master Class with JTO
Parkinson Gym

Tickets per class: $15/general public; free to FSC students (call for tickets)

Friday, Feb. 27
at 10 AM

Off the Beaten Path: A Jazz & Tap Odyssey Matinee

For its matinee performance, the Jazz & Tap Odyssey company brings a fast-paced, shortened version of its work. The matinee is open to area schools and seniors.

Tickets: $15/seniors; $5/ students

Off the Beaten Path: A Jazz & Tap Odyssey Feature Performance
Weston Auditorium

Funding from: New Foundation for the Arts
Co-sponsored by: Sentinel & Enterprise

Tickets: $22/$20/$7

Volver
Ellis White Lecture Hall (Hammond Campus Center)

SPAIN · 2006 · 121 mins · color · Spanish w/English subtitles

Tickets: $7/general public; $5/ FSC staff, faculty and seniors; $3/FSC students (at the door)

Free with CenterStage membership card!

Danú
Weston Auditorium

Co-sponsored by PJ Keating
with additional support from the Ann Hyland-Zimmerman Irish Culture Fund and Fitchburg Irish-American Association.
Media co-sponsored by Worcester Magazine

Tickets: $25/$22/$10

Tuesday, Mar. 24: gallery talk at 6:30 PM

Opening reception at 7 PM

Gallery Exhibition: Objects for the Living
Campus Center Art Gallery (Hammond Campus Center)

Craig Lupien uses oil, wood, shellac, acrylic, paper and ink producing fascinatingimages to contemplate. His other mixed media works range from cow's milk paint, shellac, acrylic, paper, ink on wood and cavas to acrylic, cow's milk paint, ink and paper on wood and canvas.

Artist’s statement: Objects for the Living mixed media series is a visual translation of a personal need for non-utilitarian objects that define a purpose to living. Much like life each piece encapsulates a struggle between a promise to fulfill and a failure to fulfill while the colors simultaneously associate meaning and metaphor.

Admission: free

Italian Book Club: La Bella Figura:
A Field Guide to the Italian Mind
by Beppe Severgnini
Center for Italian Culture Room (4th floor)
Amelia V. Gallucci-Cirio Library

La Bella Figura: A Field Guide to the Italian Mind is Beppe Severgnini's lighthearted introduction to life in Italy and Italians. He describes contemporary Italians and what is important to them: how families relate to their children, what works and what doesn't, and elemental issues like soccer (calcio), Vespas, and pizza. Along the way he describes life in Italy from the perspective of an Italian. Facilitated by Professor Teresa Fava Thomas.

Sponsored by the Center for Italian Culture

Admission: free

Special workshop with Sam Bush
Conlon 157 (Conlon Building)

Admission: free

Jam Session with Sam Bush
Conlon 157 (Conlon Building)

Admission: free      

Sam and His Band
Weston Auditorium

Find out more about Sam Bush at: www.sambush.com

Funding from: New Foundation for the Arts
Co-sponsored by Worcester Magazine

Tickets: $28/$25/$10

Standard Operating Procedure
Ellis White Lecture Hall (Hammond Campus Center)

Post-screening conversation facilitated by Professor Josh Spero.

USA · 2008 · 118 mins · color · English

Tickets: $7/general public; $5/ FSC staff, faculty and seniors; $3/FSC students (at the door)

April 2009

Dance Club Spring Shows

Weston Auditorium

Presenting the 27th annual spring dance show! The Dance Club—largest club on campus with more than 200 members—brings a dynamic and diverse show featuring selections from tap I and tap II, jazz I, II and III, lyrical I, II, and III, hip hop, modern, contemporary, theatrical, straight street, character, technique, contemporary ballet, jazz funk, Irish step, reggae, belly dancing, step, and Latin.

Tickets: $5/general and students available at the Hammond Center Info Desk                       

Italy for the Gourmet Traveler

The Fay Club (Main Street, Downtown Fitchburg)

Fitchburg and Leominster are home to Italians from many regions—Marche, Abruzzo, Sicilia, Calabria, Campania (Naples), Lazio (Rome), Lombardy (Milan) to name some. At this evening’s event, renowned Italian expert Fred Plotkin, will be our gastronomical guide as we sample foods from these various regions and delight in his raconteur style.   

Tickets: $25(Tickets must be purchased in advance)

Sponsored by the Sandro and Lillian Clementi Lecture Fund

Visions '09

VISIONS is the juried honors showcase of the year's best original student work in the Communications Media Department. The entire campus and local community look forward to this annual event, which consists of a gallery art exhibition, a film/video screening, and a presentation forum.

Opening Events: Wednesday, Apr. 22

4:30 PM Forum, Ellis White Lecture Hall

5:30 PM Reception, Hammond Lounge

5:30 PM Gallery Opening, Campus Center Gallery

7 PM Film and Video Screening, Weston Auditorium

Admission: free

Creating Harmony: The Displaced Persons' Orchestra from St. Ottilien

Ellis White Lecture Hall (Hammond Campus Center)

Holocaust Remembrance Day is marked with a screening of Creating Harmony, the sequel documentary to Displaced by John Michalczyk that centers on St. Ottilien’s in Bavaria, Germany

Tickets: $7/general public; $5/ FSC staff, faculty and seniors; $3/FSC students (at the door)

With additional support from the Jewish Heritage Endowment

Saturday, April 25 at 8 PM

This show has been cancelled.

CEU

Annual Spring Ensemble Concert

Weston Auditorium

Featuring the Fitchburg State College Concert Band and Fitchburg State College Jazz Band

Admission: free

May 2009

In Spite of Myself

Percival Auditorium

In Spite of Myself is a one-woman show, written and performed by Antoinette LaVecchia, examining the hysterical and universal struggles between an immigrant Italian mother and her Americanized daughter. Their dialogue is interrupted by colorful Italian-American characters that support and enlighten the universal mother/daughter relationship.

Tickets: $18/$15/$5

Sponsored by the Center for Italian Culture

Annual Spring Choral Concert

Kent Recital Hall (Conlon Building)

Featuring the Fitchburg State College Concert Choir and Chamber Singers

Admission: free

John McDermott
Weston Auditorium                                                       

In his only New England engagement, beloved tenor John McDermott returns with his exquisite holiday program. A most special afternoon is promised.

For an early treat, go to www.johnmcdermott.com

Sponsor: Workers’ Credit Union

Tickets: $28/$28/$10