Arts Marathon Weekend 2008
Visit the official Arts Marathon Weekend website at
http://48hours.cal.msu.edu/
Click here for a PDF of the Arts Marathon Weekend brochure.
Michigan State University will sponsor its first annual "Arts Marathon Weekend" on April 18-20, featuring 48 hours of continuous programming showcasing the best of the MSU arts scene and offering a unique opportunity for mid-Michigan audiences to see uninterrupted performances, exhibitions, films, and readings.
Most events are free; all are open to the public.
The event gets underway at 5 p.m. on Friday, April 18, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony with MSU Provost Kim Wilcox in the courtyard between Kresge Art Center and the MSU Auditorium. It ends at 5 p.m. on Sunday, April 20. In between, more than 90 separate events will be held, including a public rally in support of the arts at the State Capitol Building in downtown Lansing at noon on Saturday, April 19. For information, call (517) 355-5633.
"This weekend of more than 90 separate events represents the coming together of several MSU colleges and departments, and a diverse range of programs,” says MSU Provost Kim Wilcox. "The energy of this single weekend is in many ways a compressed version of the University’s Year of Arts and Culture – a Weekend of Arts and Culture."
"Arts Marathon Weekend is a wonderful opportunity for MSU students and the mid-Michigan community to share in the university’s rich artistic traditions," says Rob Roznowski, assistant professor of theatre and an organizer of the event. "Over one weekend, you can sample nearly every kind of creative endeavor, from live theatre and digital filmmaking to poetry slams and jazz."
Highlights include:
Friday, April 18
- Michigan Indie Music (Fairchild Theatre, MSU Auditorium, 5 p.m. - midnight): A diverse selection of Michigan’s best independent music.
- Ceramics Open House and Pottery Sale (Kresge Art Center Ceramics Studio, 5 p.m.): Stop by for studio tours, throwing demonstrations, a wood kiln fire, and the MSU Ceramics Club Pottery Sale.
- Creating a Character: Acting Workshop (Room 12, MSU Auditorium, 5:30 p.m.): Join in this workshop devoted to creating an individual character for theatrical performance.
- 48-Hour Animation Slam (246 Communication Arts and Sciences Building, 6 p.m.): Participants create short 3D animation movies in 48 consecutive hours.
- Residential College in the Arts and Humanities Poetry Slam (RCAH Theatre, Synder-Phillips Hall, 7 p.m.): Interactive celebration featuring the competitive art of live poetry performance.
- PLUS: College of Music Jazz Spectacular; plays, improv comedy, and readings throughout the night at the Arena Theatre and Studio 49; Avenue Q and Babes in Arms at the Wharton Center; experimental video; Israeli folk dancing; a drawing marathon; Chinese culture presentations; music recitals; Department of Art and Art History Undergraduate Exhibition; museum exhibitions and events related to human rights throughout the world.
Saturday, April 19
- The Arts in Contemporary Russian Film (235 MSU Auditorium, 8:30 a.m.): Showing and discussion of “The Russian Ark” (2002; directed by Alexander Sokurov) with faculty members and students from the Department of Linguistics and Languages.
- Children’s Activities (Room 12, MSU Auditorium, all day starting at 9 a.m.): Creative dramatics, face painting, and theatrical storytelling activities for kids.
- Comics and Animation Workshops (Writing Center, Bessey Hall, 10 a.m.): Demonstrations of creative software for producing comics and digital movies. Panel discussions of comics and graphic novels and author signings at 11 a.m.
- Rally at the Capitol (noon): Rally on behalf of the arts in Michigan; Representative Mark Meadows will offer a proclamation celebrating MSU’s commitment to the arts and their importance to the mid-Michigan community.
- A Literary Marathon (LookOut! Gallery, Snyder-Phillips Hall, from noon to midnight): Literary classics read non-stop around the clock by students in the Residential College in the Arts and Humanities.
- Popular Songs in Ojibwe (Studio 49, MSU Auditorium, 7 p.m.): Learn simple songs in Ojibwe language.
- PLUS: Seminars on theatrical costuming, lighting, and scene design; seminars on puppet-making, stage combat, dialects, and tap dancing; plays throughout the day in the Arena Theatre; dance; jazz workshops and ensemble performances; music recitals; twentieth anniversary taping of “The SHOW,” a college-based sit-com; musical theatre open mic; MUSE fashion show at the Lansing Center; Be-Bop Spartans; Your Mom Improv.
Sunday, April 20
- Shakespeare Marathon (Room 144, MSU Auditorium, midnight): Participate in reading of some of Shakespeare’s most famous texts in this late night reading of the Bard’s works.
- Power, Justice, and the Media (108 Kresge Art Center, 11 a.m.): Film screenings, with audience discussion, on philosophy as critique of society.
- “Waking Beauty” (Fairchild Theatre, MSU Auditorium, 1 p.m.): A children’s play by MSU faculty member Anne Levy performed by the Phoenix Players, a performing arts troupe from South Lyon, Michigan.
- Student Film and Video Festival (Studio D, Communication Arts and Sciences Building, 2 p.m.): MSU students will present their film and video projects.
- 24-Hour Theatre Performance (Fairchild Theatre, MSU Auditorium, 2:30 p.m.): View the culmination of the 24-Hour Theatre Marathon—a show written and performed by theatre students entirely during the Arts Marathon.
- PLUS: Scene painting workshop, children’s drama activities; art exhibitions; chamber music recital; German for Kids.
ARTS MARATHON WEEKEND SPONSORS: The Office of the Provost; College of Arts and Letters; College of Communication Arts and Sciences; College of Engineering; College of Music; Residential College in the Arts and Humanities; Kresge Art Museum; MSU Museum; Department of Art and Art History; Department of Journalism; Department of Linguistics and Languages; Department of Telecommunication, Information Studies, and Media; Department of Theatre; Department of Philosophy; Department of Writing, Rhetoric, and American Cultures; American Studies Program; Chinese Language and Culture Program; Film Studies Program; Professional Writing Program; Rhetoric and Writing Program; WKAR; Writing Center; Wharton Center for Performing Arts; MSU Playwrights; Your Mom Improv; Ceramics Club; INTERSECT: The Studio for Creative Inquiry; The Center for Poetry; The Book Arts Program; Impulse Dance; Orchesis; MSU GLFSA; MSU Swing Dance Club; Snyder-Phillips Residence Life; Student Apparel and Design Association; Alpha Psi Omega; the ROIAL Players; and the Phoenix Players.
This event is a highlight of the university’s 2007-08 Year of Arts and Culture, an initiative comprising a year of activities involving MSU’s arts and culture units and academic programs. For information, visit www.artsandculture.msu.edu.