Lentz Exhibits Art and Soul of South Asia

The Lentz Center for Asian Culture opened South Asia: Art and Soul April 4. The exhibition features photographs taken by Sally Stoddard, and will run until Aug. 15. An artist's reception will occur from 5 to 7 p.m. April 14.

This exhibiton will be one of the last shows in the Lentz's 329 Morrill Hall location. In August and September the center will move to the Foundation Gallery Building, 1155 Q St.

Stoddard, who holds a B.A. in art and a Ph.D. in linguistics, was a teacher in India earlier in her life and recently has returned to familiar sites in India and Nepal and new-to-her sites in Bhutan and Burma. The exhibition will show sacred sites and spaces from these four countries. There will also be some accompanying genre pictures.

Although a few of these sites are well known, Stoddard's views are unique and individual. They include closeups of sculpture and interesting architectural details. They also incorporate the brilliant natural colors of South India as well as the colors of textiles, brightly painted architecture and deities dressed in silken robes.

As the elephant-headed god, Ganesha, is invoked at the beginning of all ventures, the exhibition will open with three photographs of him in different media. He is followed by photographs of Bhutan and Nepal. A chorten and a thangka from the Lentz collections will accompany photos of a building sized chorten (sacred reliquary) and a Nepalese man painting a thangka (painting of mandala on cotton).

The largest number of photographs are pictures of India. One section will show sacred buildings belonging to Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Christianity, Islam and Bahai faiths. A picture of St. Jude outlined in red neon is an interesting surprise. The tradition of caves carved out of the living rock and made into worship sites originated in India and then moved to China and Korea. In contrast are highly decorated Hindu temples and close views of sculptural motifs.

Photographs of Indian wedding rituals will be shown with a small ivory wedding procession, one of the Lentz Center's most popular items. Following the wedding items and photographs are pictures of Burma that show both everyday scenes and the golden roofs of Pagan viewed through the tall grasses. The Burmese harp from the Lentz Collection will be in this section.

Other items included in the exhibition are Bhutanese textiles and a sitar, donated by Donald and Velma Lentz. Statues of Brahma and Shiva, gifts of Cliff and Mary Hillegass also will be on display.

Shenandoah Shakespeare Express April 11, 12

The Shenandoah Shakespeare Express returns to Lincoln on April 11 and 12, for special performances of Renaissance theater classics. William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing will be presented at 7:30 p.m. April 11 in the Centennial Ballroom of the Nebraska Union. Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus will be staged at 2 p.m. April 12 in the Culture Center, 333 N. 14th St.

Based in Virginia's Shenandoah Valley, the globe-trotting Express is an ensemble committed to one central idea - that the plays of Shakespeare's era work best when performed under the conditions for which they were originally designed. The actors of the SSE play multiple roles on a bare stage, with minimal props, involving audiences that share the same light with the actors. These young performers' very modern acting styles and crisp delivery of the lines make for quick, lively shows.

Their approach has won the acclaim of audiences and critics. The Chicago Sun-Times noted that "Like MTV's 'Unplugged' concerts, which stress vocals and lyrics over high-tech sonic effects, Shenandoah Shakespeare Express emphasizes the playwright's language and the actor's versatility." The SSE has been praised for providing "fresh, fine theatre . . . pure Shakespeare, richly alive" (Boston Globe).

In past visits, the SSE has thrilled Lincoln audiences with its vigorous humor, its immediate rapport with theater-goers, and its inventive links between Shakespeare's plays and present-day popular culture.

One of Shakespeare's most delightful romantic comedies, Much Ado About Nothing delivers an ongoing battle of wits between reluctant lovers Beatrice and Benedick, along with the villainous Don John's schemes to shatter the wedding of Claudio and Hero. Can the bumbling Dogberry and his hapless crew save the day? The SSE highlights the play's background of military honor and strategy while the laughs keep coming. Tymberlee Hill and James Ricks play Beatrice and Benedick, tricked into admitting their much-denied admiration for each other.

Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus may be the single most influential play ever written in the English language. It helped to establish the power of blank verse - known as "Marlowe's mighty line" - as a vehicle for dramatic expression. It added that poetry to the story of a man who sells his soul not for riches, but for knowledge and power. The SSE production features John Michael MacDonald in the title role, with Chaon Cross as Mephastophilis, the Doctor's tempter and guide.

In addition, the Shenandoah Shakespeare Express will hold a workshop on Shakespeare's stage practices at 2 p.m. April 11 in UNL's Centennial Ballroom. There is no admission charge for the performances or the workshop.

These events are hosted by UNL's Theta Omega chapter of Sigma Tau Delta, an International English Honorary Society. Funding has been provided by the UNL Department of English, the College of Fine and Performing Arts, the University Programs Council, and Medieval-Renaissance Studies. For further information, call 472-1784.

Pianist Lang Performs at Lied April 11

Young pianist Lang Lang performs in the Johnny Carson Theater at 8 p.m. April 11 as part of the Lied Center's Discovery! Series.

For this performance Lang will play Sonata in E, Hob. XVI/31 by Franz Joseph Haydn; Sonata No. 3, in B minor, Op. 58 by Frédéric Chopin; Piano Pieces, Op. 118 by Johannes Brahms and Sonata No. 2, in B-flat minor, Op. 36 by Sergei Rachmaninoff.

Despite his youth, Lang has proven himself as a musician of maturity and depth. Born in Shen Yang, China, Lang began his music studies at the age of 3. In 1993 he entered the China Central Music Conservatory; soon after, his talents earned him admittance to the Curtis Institute of Music, where he studies with Gary Graffman.

Lang has received numerous awards including first prize in the Second Tchaikovsky International Young Pianist Competition and first prize at the Fourth International Young Pianist Competition. He mixes a solo recital schedule with performances with some of the world's leading orchestras such as the Houston Symphony, the Hong Kong Philharmonic, the Boston Chamber Orchestra, the National Symphony of China and the Moscow Philharmonic. Lang made his U.S. debut in 1988 with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra.

At Lang's Chicago debut in March of this year, he received glowing praise from reviewers from both the Sun-Times and the Tribune. Describing Lang's impressive performance, John von Rhein of the Chicago Tribune declared, "It was not simply his colossal technique that impressed but the deep and instinctive musicality behind it."

Tickets are $24, half-price for students. Box office hours are 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. weekdays. The box office in the Johnny Carson Theater opens one hour prior to the performance; no late seating is allowed in the Carson.

Guest Violinist Recital April 19

The School of Music presents guest violinist Jorge Barron, in a recital at 8 p.m. April 19 in Kimball Recital Hall. Admission is free.

The recital, chamber music by Mexican composer Manuel Ponce, will include the Sonata for Violin and Piano, Sonata for Cello and Piano, and the Trio for Piano, Violin and Cello. Barron will be joined by UNL music professors Karen Becker, cellist, and pianists Paul Barnes and Ann Chang-Barnes.

Barron has studied music in the cities of Zacatecas, Mexico, and Austin, Texas. He completed both the Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees in violin performance at the University of Texas at Austin. His main violin teachers have been Manuel Suarez and Vincent Frittelli (students of the late Ivan Galamian of the Juilliard School of Music), and Leonard Posner (student of Persinger).

Barron has been active as a performer and teacher, both in Mexico and the United States, performing with orchestras in Zacatecas, Guanajuato, and Chihuahua, Mexico, as well as Austin, Laredo, Victoria, and Corpus Christi, Texas. His research interests focus on the life and work of Mexican composer Manuel M. Ponce.

Barron teaches at the University of Zacatecas and is a Fulbright Visiting Scholar at the department of Music at Yale University for the academic year 1999-2000.

School of Music Presents Paley April 20

The School of Music presents guest speaker Elizabeth Paley at 2 p.m. April 20 in 119 Westbrook Music Building. Paley is assistant professor of music theory at University of Kansas in Lawrence. Her topic is "Musical Anachronies and the Story/Discourse Distinction". Admission is free and the lecture is open to the public.

Trombone Choir to Perform April 14

The School of Music presents the Trombone Choir, under the direction of professor Scott Anderson, at 5:30 p.m. April 14 in Kimball Recital Hall. Admission is free.

The 17-member student ensemble will perform works ranging from the traditional "Scarborough Fair" to music from Wagner's opera "Die Walkure."

Julien donkey-boy Next Up at Ross Film Theater

From Harmony Korine, the screenwriter of Kids and the director of Gummo, comes the first American film to be certified by the strictly realist Danish Dogma group, Julien donkey-boy opening at the Mary Riepma Ross Film Theater on April 6.

Julien donkey-boy is also one of the first works to fully exploit the hallucinatory, impressionistic possibilities of digital video.

Scottish actor Ewen Bremmer (Trainspotting) slips into the itchy skin of Julien, a teenage holy fool from Queens with a harshly disciplinarian father (Werner Herzog) and a loving, bustlingly pregnant sister (Chloe Sevigny).

The brilliant camera work uncovers a whole new palette of electric colors, as Korine traces ­ sometimes comically, sometimes tragically, always outrageously ­ his hero's efforts to find a place for himself in an absurd, violent world.

Julien works as an attendant in a school for the blind, helping the vision-impaired as they learn to navigate the world around them. Julien is also a schizophrenic who lives with his pregnant sister Pearl, his high school athlete brother Chris, his grandmother, and his overbearing, abusive father.

Julien donkey-boy is showing April 6 through 8. Screenings are at 7 and 9 p.m. on Thursday and Friday and at 1, 3, 7 and 9 p.m. on Saturday.

Backyard Farmer Show Launches 47th Season in April

Now in its 47th year, the hour-long program Backyard Farmer will air 7 p.m. CT Tuesdays, April 4-Aug. 29 on Nebraska Educational Television Network. It also will be rebroadcast on NETV's Educable at 9 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. Thursdays, said Brad Mills, program producer for the University of Nebraska.

Water conservation became a theme from drought conditions in Nebraska, Mills said.

"We don't know what weather conditions will be like this summer, but knowing how to conserve water is good information anyway," he said.

Backyard Farmer is a gardening question-and-answer program hosted by NU Cooperative Extension specialists Fred Baxendale, Roch Gaussoin, Don Steinegger and John Watkins. NETV's Reggi Carlson moderates the panel. It also features video segments demonstrating how-to ideas such as pest management.

This year, John Fech, horticulture specialist for NU's Southeast Research and Extension Center in Douglas County, will be featured as a roving reporter on several Backyard Farmer shows, Mills said. All-American plant and flower varieties, Nebraska-made garden products, and hardscapes such as patios and gazebos are expected to be among Fech's topics.

Landscaping at the Panhandle Research and Extension Center in Scottsbluff is expected to be featured. A series on pond management covering landscaping, plant selection and wildlife also is planned. Program topics emphasize research being conducted at NU's Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

The entire show also will be video streamed on the Backyard Farmer Web site at http://byf.unl.edu/.

Counties scheduled to be featured this year include:

o April 11, Dodge; April 18, Saunders; April 25, Knox.

o May 2, Phelps and Gosper; May 9, Gage; May 16, Polk; May 23, Seward.

o June 20, Dawson; June 27, Scotts Bluff.

o July 4, Dawes; July 11, Merrick; July 18, Platte; July 25, Cuming.

o Aug. 1, York; Aug. 22, Lincoln.

A set of Backyard Farmer videotapes covering more than 2.5 hours of sound, easy-to-follow information from the 1998-99 season is available. Volume I of Backyard Farmer Gardening Tips covers tree selection and planting, mulching, pruning shrubs and other tips. Volume II covers soil and garden preparation, controlling deer and rabbits and xeriscaping, or using drought-resistant plants to create a landscape. Volume I sells for $17.95, Volume II for $22.95. The set costs $32.99. All prices include shipping and handling. To order, call (800)755-7765.

Backyard Farmer is a collaboration between NU Cooperative Extension in NU's Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources and the Nebraska Educational Telecommunications Commission.