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Show LIVE 04.12.2010 CD Silent film making its comeback on Provo stage It is difficult to imagine films without an abundance of special effects, let alone an era in •which films were absolutely silent apart from the ramshackle sounds of a film reel and piano accompaniment. Set during this silent film period of the early 1900s, a new production tilled "A Flickering" will be performed by a UVU-dominated cast at the Provo Theatre April 8 - 1 9 . The brainchild of Melissa Leilani Larson, award-winning playwright, screenwriter and teacher in the UVU Theatre Arts Department, the play introduces audience members'to a bygone era full of dilemmas and comedic drama similar modern times. "I think the fact that the play takes pjace in a period we don'toften talk about — it's set ^Brook- lyn and New York City in 1916 — will be enjoyable to people, as it can serve as an introduction to that time and place. Movies are so much a part of our pop culture that it's nice to take a step back and look at where things started," Larson said. Spoiled by today's cinematography, one might wonder "Why the first stages of film? What does this period have to offer us when we have progressed so much further than they were able to initially?" Larson no doubt sees value in early cinema because it not only gave birth to contemporary film but also required more from those involved. "I have been fascinated by silent film for quite some time. It's so very different from what ^\ye see and feel in the very theatrical — meaning that watching old films feels like watching a play — because so many of the actors were profes- sional theatre actors and had that training. It's a really interesting period to explore academically and creatively," Larson said. Responding to the appearance of unnecessarily "tacked-on" multimedia forms in recent productions she's seen, Larson was inspired to dissent from the trend and create a production about film without relying on film or other mediums to do the job of the cast. "We have some very talented actors who are able to take the comedy and drama that I hope is inherent in the script and bring it to new levels that a wide variety of people can enjoy," Larson said. "We've had a very effective rehearsal process, and I think people will be impressed by the level of talent that this show is putting forth, and that so much of it is coming from UVU." Focused on the ethical questions that commonly surface within artistic Iines-of-work, the pro| duction is said to inspire introspection with lighter tones of humor throughout. "There were several potent messages at the ' front of my mind while , drafting the play; if an audience member hits on | any of those, if they take it away with them to chew on it for a while, then I'm happy," Larson said. "TheI hope is that people are . also entertained by what ' they see. The show is a lot of fun; everyone from the director to the design- | ers and cast have worked very hard on this produc- I tion. And, ooh — we have a live piano! It's going to I be great." Mck of the week Amazon.com MGMT: Congratulations, •! April 13 [\ Coheed and Cambria: Year of the Black Rainbow, April 13 Amazon.com Freelance Whales: Weathervanes, April 13 : : Tickets are available ' at the box office one hour . prior to the show or online at www.ProvoStage. org. Tickets are $12 with exceptions made for | students, seniors, and educators for whom tickets cost $10. DVD Pick of the week photos courtesy of MELISSA LEILANI LAHSON More than meets the eye Al MITTON/UVUReview These cyanotype silhouette images were created by Mariah Miller with the guidance of Teagan Alex. E Z JESSICA BURNHAM Culture editor Recently the Senior Seminar Class of UVU Art and Visual Communications (AVC) Professor Alex Bigney coordinated a mentoring program through the Boys & Girls Club associated with Child and Family Services. "Alex always says 'this is what you are going to do when you graduate - you show' and so he helps us with that. It's what the whole class is based on and he wants us to make it something interesting," said photography major Rebecca Harbaugh. Having brainstormed the concept of getting involved in the local community, the class went on to fill out applications and go through background checks in order to be accepted as volunteers. They then went through a "speed dating" process in which they spent a few minutes with each potential mentee. Afterwards, each UVU student mentor and each high school student mentee made a list of their top choices and they were paired accordingly. The class was made up of a full range of art students from potters to painters to photographers, and though many of the mentees were not previously familiar with the the medium in which they were working, they we able to learn a new skill and develop appreciation for various art forms. The mentorship culminated in a recent exhibition at F Stop Cafe, wherein mentors and mentees were able to display the fruits of their creative labor. Paired with UVU photo major Teagan Alex, Mariah Miller was able to experiment with the cyanotype photographic process, which, as she explained, includes mixing and painting chemicals onto paper, placing negative photographs on top and exposing them to UV rays for approximately 20 minutes, transferring them to water and then hydrogen peroxide and then letting them dry, a process the leaves an image on the paper. "It was my first time ever doing something like this, but it was really fun. I've always seen it on TV so I thought it was really cool that we were actually doing it," Miller said. "I wasn't too into photography; I was more into graphic design, so working toSee ART SHOW'B3 Asst. Culture editor The BFA Ballet degree has only been available at UVU for the past three years and when the Board of Regents approved the BFA program, dance students were more thai^ thrilled to be a part of it. In order to enhance the new BFA program, the Repertory Ballet Ensemble was added to the curriculum to give dancers real dance experience. "It's a wonderful company; we're proud to showcase our students as they've come up through the program," said Jackie Colledge, ballet coordinator. The company will be showcasing its talent during the spring concert, which is at 7:30 p.m. on April 14-16 at the Ragan Theater. Tickets for the general public are $10 and $8 for students and faculty of UVU. Ballet has a rich and beautiful history, and UVU is now proudly a part of that history. The Royal.Academy of Dance, later named the Paris Opera Ballet, was founded in 1661, and was the first to offer professional ballet instruction. And now, all these many hundreds of years later, UVU participates in the instruction of the art known as ballet. It was said by Jean Georges Noverre, a 1700s French choreographer, that the purpose of ballet is to "represent characters and express their feelings." And it was then that he encouraged dancers to remove their bulky costumes and do away with their masks. Noverre believed that it was the dancer's body that should be used to articulate emotions. As with any art form it seems that the expression of emotion is the purpose and is the very thing that makes the art so appealing. Whether the emotion is love, anger, joy or sadness, the fluid movement of the ballerinas as they move gracefully across the stage pulls the spectators into the private world of those before them. It is almost an intimate experience between audience and performer, as the dancers offer up their raw emotions and the patrons take them in and contemplate the message. UVU students and community members alike have the opportunity to take part in this moving dialogue. Come experience emotions brought to life, through the movement of the body; come to the Repertory Ballet Ensemble in Concert. Pirate Radio, April 13 Tenderness, ':: April 13 ;-j Amazon.com Tenure, April 13 Al MITTON/UVUReview Far paintings by Jutianne Jensen using acrylics, oils, material and string. Near paintings by Krystal. Davidson using acrylics. Emotional expressions LLANDREA LINDGREN Amazon.com Theatres Pick of the week •t! t! yahoo.com ;. Kick Ass, April 16 : The ->j Secret^ in Tfie/fcj Eyes, *•;! April 76:; yahoo.com Death at a Funeral, April 16 te Al MITTON/UVUReview BFA ballet students share a night of emotion expressed through the movement of their bodies. ^:m\ |