“The Drowsy Chaperone” makes its way to WCU

April 7, 2013 By Leave a Comment

Students from the School of Stage and Screen rehears "The Drowsy Chaperone" Photo by : jessica Chester

Western Carolina University’s School of Stage and Screen has been working hard for several months in preparation for their next play, “The Drowsy Chaperone,” which is scheduled to open April 11 on the main stage of the John W. Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center. Tickets are on sale now at the box office of the Center. The show will be performed at 7:30 p.m. April 11- 13 and 3 p.m. April 14.

The cast and crew of “Drowsy” has spent many days and nights rehearsing on and off stage in order to deliver the best presentation of the show as possible.

While the actors are busy rehearsing their lines and choreography, the designers are hard at work putting together the stage and costumes.

“It starts with the script, then the research, then collaborations with the directors and actors, then I put it down on paper and we either build it or order it,” said Susan Brown-Strauss, resident costume designer at WCU and the designer in charge of all of the costumes for “Drowsy.”

Most of the costumes for “Drowsy” were made from scratch in the costume shop by costume shop manager Tony Sirk and costume shop assistants Clara Kelly, Lauren Smith and Charity Haskins, who also happens to be Janet, one of the main characters in “Drowsy”.

“Because I work here, I can make and try on, make and try on. It makes it easier,” said Haskins.

Susan Brown-Strauss and Charity Haskins working in the costume shop. Photo by: Jessica Chester

Creating the costumes is one of the longest processes in the making of a play. Costumes can be changed and redesigned up to the day of the play.

“It’s a constant back and forth between directors and designers and actors on what works best,” said Brown-Strauss.

While the costume designers are busy off stage, the cast of “Drowsy” has recently been on stage running through the play stop/start style.

Stop/start rehearsals are when the cast rehearses the scenes in sections, stopping to correct mistakes and change tiny details that will make the play run more smoothly.

“It starts with props and stage… then comes the lighting and orchestra and then is the final dress rehearsal with the costumes and everything right before the show,” said Claire Eye, co-director of “Drowsy”.

The week before the play opens the cast will spend a couple days rehearsing stop/start style. The final dress rehearsal will be the day before the show is performed in front of a live audience on the main stage.

“It’s fun to see it from stumble to the final show,” said Eye.

See and hear the sounds of the show from their last week rehearsal.

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Tuition and fees: What students should expect for the 2013-14 academic year

January 9, 2013 By Leave a Comment

With a new academic year comes a new set of increases on tuition and fees. The Board of Trustees approved the increase of 5.54% for 2013-14 school year. Making sure that students are informed is the sole priority of Student Body President, Alecia Page.

“WCU takes 25 percent of its tuition increases and puts it back towards financial aid,” said Page at the student-only forum held to discuss tuition and fees. “So whenever you increase tuition eight percent then two percent of that goes into the financial aid pot, so we’re catching up just a bit in financial aid for how much we’re increasing, but what you need to bear in mind is that we still weren’t meeting 100 percent of need with the financial aid that we had before.”

Page said that a great deal of the increase is going back into the classroom, specifically within technology needs. The total proposed in-state undergraduate tuition increase is $272, or about six percent. This same amount will be applied to out-of-state tuition, as well. This has always been one of WCU’s strong points, as many students can get out-of-state tuition for less than in-state. Attracting more out-of-state students allows for in-state students to receive more financial aid, as out-of-state students do not receive financial aid. According to the information from the WCU Office of Pubilc Relations 20 percent of the proposed tuition increase would go to need-based financial aid, with 5 percent designated for merit-based financial aid. The remaining amount would be allocated to graduate assistantship funding (5 percent); faculty merit salary increases (20 percent); increasing capacity of liberal arts courses (15 percent); adding faculty to high-demand programs (20 percent), enhancing academic technology (10 percent); and library collection enhancement (5 percent).

Students could see increases on their health services fee, transportation fee, sustainability fee, food services fee, housing fee, etc.

Students who plan on majoring in a field that falls under the “special tuition rates,” such as physical therapy, communication science and disorders, engineering, and others can also expect increases.

Here are the proposed increases for the 2013-14 year:

Tuition

North Carolina undergraduate tuition $272

North Carolina graduate tuition $304

Out-of-state undergraduate tuition $272

Out-of-state graduate tuition $305

Mandatory Fees

Education and technology fee $34

Health Services fee $18

Transportation fee $16

Residential Living room rate fees are estimated to increase anywhere from $138 to $226 depending on where you live on-campus. This is however unless to live in a standard private room like Walker, Scott, Buchanan or Albright, which will decrease by $258. A private room in Reynolds is decreasing by a huge $810.

Food services fees will vary anywhere from $4 to $152. The only meal plan that shows no change is the declining balance plan for commuters.

Student parking fees are proposed to increase by $12 making a pass for the year $96 as opposed to last year’s $84.

Reaching out to your student leaders is the best way to voice your concerns.

“We talked to the Vice Chancellors who are working ardently on preparing this proposal,” said Page. “I also sit on the Board of Trustees who makes the final recommendation to the Board of Governors and I take every comment I get to them and sometimes it gets me really mean looks. With that being said, please feel free to take complete advantage of this opportunity and tell me very bluntly and honestly about how you feel about and eight percent increase.”

To learn more about the proposed tuition and fee increases for next year, visit www.wcu.edu. You can also express your concerns to page by emailing her at sga@wcu.edu or visiting the SGA office located on the second floor of A.K. Hinds University Center.

Related story:

WCU News: Trustees OK proposed tuition, fees for 2013-14

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The science behind the end of the world

December 7, 2012 By Leave a Comment

When it comes to matters of the end of the world, Dr. Enrique A. Gomez, Assistant Professor of Physics at Western Carolina University, applies some scientific truth to a few popular myths, taken from an article posted by National Geographic on Jan 3, 2012.

Myth: The planet and humans will fry due to lethal eruptions of solar flares.

“There is a grain of truth that’s with all myths and that is that the sun goes through an 11 year cycle,” said Dr. Gomez.

The sun goes through periods of time when it is extremely active and not so active. Every 11 years, the number of sun spots on the sun increases. What is a sun spot, you may ask? It is a region located on the sun that is slightly cooler than the rest of the sun, as well as being associated with magnetic fields.

The reason this myth is believed to be true is because in the year 2012, there is expected to be a solar maximum, meaning the maximum number of sun spots. It looked as though this solar maximum was going to “tremendous,” said Dr. Gomez. However, figuring out when the sun will reach its maximum number of sun spots is extremely difficult to predict.

“There is no prediction scientifically that says for certain that that was true, and certainly the Mayas did not actually have a prediction associated with the sun at all,” said Dr. Gomez. [Read more...]

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The WCU percussion ensemble review

December 7, 2012 By Leave a Comment

If you have never seen a percussion ensemble, you should. It is certainly a sight, and sound, to behold.

The WCU Percussion Ensemble preformed as a part of  the School of Music’s Concert Series on Nov. 19. The concert was held in the Coulter Recital Hall and was a free event.

The recital hall is beautiful with its high ceilings and wood accents. Everyone waits, and quietly murmurs to each other until the percussionists and conductor take the stage.  The performers wear black shirts and slacks, and the conductor wears a black suit. The atmosphere seems formal, which adds to the excitement of this type of performance. The audience claps, and then there is silence. The air is heavy with anticipation, from both the audience and the percussionists. One can feel how quiet it is. The mood is very serious and somber until the music begins.

The first piece played took us on a journey through many different sounds and emotions, as did most of the pieces played. It is like your ear is literally taken on an adventure and you are just along for the ride on this musical rollercoaster. It really is exciting.

This peice called, “Teamwork,” started off  more classical, then transitioned into what sounded like a jazzy, hip-hop beat near the end. This was a great piece to start off the performance because it was upbeat, and got the audience’s attention because of the unpredictable ending.

This piece was written in 1996 by Lynn Glassock, a Professor at UNC. He teaches Percussion, Introduction to Music Technology and is the Conductor of the UNC Percussion Ensemble. He has won many awards for his compositions, and was also awarded the “Outstanding Service Award” by the Percussive Arts Society in 2004. Glassock has performed with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, the Fort Worth Symphony, and was the principal percussionist with the Fresno Philharmonic.

This song showcased the many different sounds that can be made with percussion instruments.It was amazing how many sounds can be created by hitting something. There are marimbas (similar to xylophones,) chimes, drums and percussion instruments of every kind. There are different mallets, with different heads, which produce different sounds. There are wood marimbas and drums, as well as metal ones, all varying sizes, each producing a unique sound. There is even a gong!

What is so impressive is the sound the ensemble can create when they all play differently, all at once.  When playing all together, the ensemble can create a sound that would not be possible if one person did not play their part. It is inspiring.

They percussionists have tremendous control of their instruments. Sometimes they need to hit the percussion instrument very hard and produce a long ringing sound. Sometimes they must hit it as delicately as they can to produce a tiny sound. The small sound is just as profound as the louder sounds; it is being able to have the control to go from one end of the spectrum to the other without skipping a beat that is remarkable. The timing is also amazing. Everyone is playing something different, and it all comes together perfectly. The xylophonists are playing with four mallets at a time. The xylophonists and drummers sometimes switched mallets multiple times during a song.  The result is an invigorating array of pings, dings, and dongs that come together to make an enchanting, intricate song.

There was a short intermission and then the soloist’s preformed. The second soloist, Chris Smith, played the famous Christmas song, Carol of the Bells on marimba.

“Carol of the Bells,” or “Schedryk,” was written by Mykola Leontovich, ukrainian priest, composer, and choral conductor born in 1877. This song was immediately popular, and has been arranged many times by many people to produce different styles and sounds.  He taught at Kiev Conservatory and the Lysenko Institute, where he became known as an advocate for the autonomy of the orthodox church his homelands culture. He made his opinions known in his “Liturgy of John Chrysostom,” a piece he composed for an unaccompanied chior and soloist. His fervent nationalism made him a target for Soviets, and he was assassinated in 1921. He is considered a martyr among ukrainians, and his musical legacy is carried on by performers that play this beautiful holiday piece.

Smiths rendition of the piece resonated beautifully in the Recital Hall. Below is a recording of Smith playing “Carol of the Bells.”

The concert was a success, and the audience enjoyed it. If you missed the Percussion Ensemble, there are still two events in the WCU School of Music Series.

~Tues. Dec. 4 7:30 PM, WCU Wind Ensemble, Bardo Arts Center

~Fri. Dec. 7 7:30 PM Western Carolina Civic Orchestra, Coulter Recital Hall

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Illusionist Jason Bishop ignites Galaxy of Stars

October 11, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Illusionist Jason Bishop and his assistant, Kim Hess. Photo by Jared Gant.

“America’s Hottest Illusionist” Jason Bishop took the stage of WCU’s Bardo Arts Center on Sunday, Oct. 7 as part of the Galaxy of Stars series.

The show was nearly sold out with 850 of the 904 available tickets purchased.

The first illusion started with a rectangular box, about 36 inches long and 18 inches tall, being placed onstage. The front of the box had a television-type screen on which Bishop could change the images.

Bishop placed his assistant, Kim Hess, into the box. He then changed the screen a few times and opened the lid to the box, showing the audience that Hess had changed clothing. This happened many times and perplexed the crowd.

“She can change her clothes in two seconds, unless you go out to dinner with her,” Bishop joked.

Most of the illusions included audience participation. One trick involved borrowing a watch from an audience member and “crushing” it, when in reality the watch was never harmed.

The show was filled with Bishop’s signature sense of humor. One trick involved a Rubix Cube, which Bishop called “Russian for ’1986 stocking stuffer.’”

Other tricks included pulling a goldfish out of an iPhone, putting an iPhone in a balloon, and changing the face value of money.

Children watch in anticipation as Kim Hess stands on a locked box containing the bound illusionist.
Photo by Jared Gant.

The final piece before intermission was mind-blowing. Two men from the audience, Phil and Shawn, carried a large trunk onto the stage. Katherine Nagle, a junior at WCU, also helped by inspecting a large brown sack.

Each helper inspected the trunk and its three locks. Bishop gave the helpers the keys to hang onto. He then called children from the audience to come onstage and watch up close.

After the sack had been inspected for holes, Bishop climbed into it and had Hess tie a knot, locking him in the sack. Each of the helpers then tied one more knot.

The illusionist escapes!
Photo by Jared Gant.

Hess shut Bishop in the trunk and the helpers locked him in. Hess then stood on top of the trunk and pulled a curtain up around it.

When the curtain dropped, Hess had disappeared and Bishop was standing on the trunk, no longer locked in or tied in the sack.

Bishop then had the helpers unlock the trunk, where they found Hess tied in the bag, having changed her clothes again.

“I have seen shows like this before but I have never been picked to help,” said Nagle. “I checked the bag really good. There were two small rips in it but nothing that could pull apart.”

Bishop recruited young Allie from the audience. Photo by Jared Gant.

 

The second half of the show was much slower with fewer large illusions.

The first trick required a small child from the audience trying to stick their head through metal jail bars to prove that even a child couldn’t fit.

“Logically, if a child can’t get through, then I can’t get through,” Bishop said.

Six-year-old Allie of Sylva was perfect for this. The audience laughed as she wiggled and tried to make her head fit through all of the bar openings with no luck.

Bishop then went through the metal bars, after pulling up a curtain, of course.

Bishop told the audience about how he grew up in foster care reading about magic tricks from the public library. There was always one that stuck out in his mind which he practiced for years trying to master. He then performed a card trick by throwing cards from between his fingers and making new cards appear as if from thin air.

Hess then performed a skill that she had been mastering since she was four years old: baton twirling. While she kept the audience entertained, Bishop brought a box onstage, about four feet long. He then placed Hess inside the box, closed the lid, and threw a baton at her.

Hess caught the baton, naturally, and threw it back at Bishop. He then folded up parts of the box, making her disappear before the audience’s eyes.

Bishop and Hess levitate above the stage. Photo by Jared Gant.

To close the show, Bishop levitated Hess into the air at the back of the stage. He made her lift up a few feet, brought her back down, then sent her even higher into the air. He then levitated himself before bringing both of them back to the stage.

The whole purpose of the show was to make people question how things were happening. “I like to amaze people, make them think, make them wonder,” Bishop said.

Shows like this don’t come to WCU very often. “It took four years to get this act here,” said Paul Lormand, director of the Bardo Arts Center.

Before introducing Bishop onstage, Lormand acknowledged different groups in the audience. “I would like to thank Smoky Mountain News for their eight years as a sponsor,” he said.

For more information about upcoming events in the Bardo Arts Center, contact the box office at (828) 227-2479.

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Bring on your floats, your banners and your school spirit, Catamounts!

October 5, 2012 By Leave a Comment

Western Carolina University will kick off homecoming, 2012 with a parade on Main St. in Sylva on October 5 at 6:15 p.m.

There will be student floats, the homecoming court, the Pride of the Mountains Marching Band, WCU cheerleaders and more.

On Thursday evening, participating Catamounts were on the UC lawn decorating banners for their floats as well as painting pumpkins and enjoying free pizza and a live band. See the audio slideshow.

“It’s really important to Alpha Xi Delta that we support WCU with our school spirit during the parade and for the game,” said Emily Orr, AZD sister.

Following the parade, alumni, students, faculty, staff and friends are invited to enjoy music, dance and food on WCU’s Central Plaza, adjacent to the Alumni Tower, beginning at 8 p.m.

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