September 20, 1996




Figment Becomes Fixture

Katie Novak, a senior history major, and Seth Fox, a junior in English, admire the Claes Oldenburg/Coosje van Bruggen sculpture, Torn Notebook, in UNL's new Madden Garden. Torn Notebook, recently unveiled by the artists themselves, is the latest addition to the Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery Sculpture Garden, which features more than 30 sculptures from a variety of world-renowned artists. (Photo by Donna Simon)














Previn and Pittsburgh: Two Music Greats to Grace Lied Stage

André Previn, who has conducted some of the world's top orchestras, will conduct the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in an evening of classical music at 8 p.m. Oct. 4 at the Lied Center for Performing Arts.

One of America's best known and most versatile musicians, Previn will conduct the orchestra's performance of Wolfgang A. Mozart's Symphony No. 40 in g minor, K 550. The nearly 100-member orchestra also will perform Richard Strauss' Symphonia domestica, Opus 53.

Previn previously conducted at the Lied Center last year. He is an award-winning composer of orchestral, chamber, stage and film scores. In addition, Previn is a pianist in jazz and chamber music, a prolific recording artist and author.

"The Pittsburgh Symphony is one of the four or five great orchestras in this country and André Previn is one of the top conductors in the country today. To have the two of them together is a real treat," said Larry Lusk, interim director of the Lied Center.

"They are going to play a very interesting program that includes the well-known and probably best symphony of Mozart and a beautiful, romantic work seldom heard," he said in reference to the Strauss work.

The 101-year-old Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, which first began touring internationally in 1947, has won high critical acclaim for each tour abroad. As early as 1936, the orchestra was broadcast from coast to coast, with its first recording made in 1941.

The concert is sponsored in part by the Jack and Katherine Thompson Family Endowment of the Lied Performance Fund. Tickets are $42, $38 and $34; and half price for youth 18 and under or UNL, Wesleyan and Doane students with valid identification.

The Lied Center box office is open for walk-in sales weekdays from 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and 90 minutes before the performance. Phone orders may be placed by calling 2-4747 or 1-800-432-3231.

'Cultural Survival Project' at the Women's Center

The Cultural Survival Project, on display through Sept. 30 at the UNL Women's Center, is a collaborative creative effort between recent immigrant/refugee youth and University of Nebraska artists Wendy Weiss and Shelley Fuller.

The two artists worked throughout the spring of 1994 with a group of refugee youth from Vietnam and Belarussia, ranging in age from 11 to 18, to create artwork. The work is in the form of photographs by the youngsters taken in their home environments, text written as an exploration of the images and of significant features of the immigration/refugee experience, from the point of view of a child or young adult, and textile prints made from these images and text. Photographs, drawings, textiles and text that explore the immigration/refugee experience compose this exhibit.

The project brings images and text directly to the general public that communicate both what is unique and what is common in human experience between peoples of varying national and racial origins.

A grant from the University of Nebraska Extension and Service Council funded the initial phase of this project. The YWCA Survival Skills Program provided staff support and transportation for the participants in this project.

The Office of Affirmative Action and Diversity, the College of Fine and Performing Arts and the Department of Textiles, Clothing and Design funded the production of this exhibition. The Women's Center is located at 340 Nebraska Union.

Native Poet to Give Readings, Lectures Oct. 2

Two free public readings/lectures will be delivered Oct. 2 by Simon J. Ortiz, one of the North America's leading Native poets.

"Native American Creative Verbal Expression" will be presented at 10 a.m. at the Lincoln Indian Center, 1100 Military Rd. "Demystifying Language" will be delivered at 2:30 p.m. in the Great Plains Art Gallery, 204 Love Library.

Ortiz has published 15 books of poetry and his works have appeared in translation in Italy, Switzerland, Russian, Denmark, Nicaragua and Austria. His poetry is known for its ecological awareness and political commentary as well as its literary excellence and linguistic virtuosity.

His appearance at UNL is sponsored by the UNL Research Council, the Center for Great Plains Studies and the Western Literature Association.

Theatrix to Stage 'Women' One-Acts

UNL's Theatrix will present Women, by Dario Fo and Franca Rame at 8 p.m. Sept. 26, 27, 28 & 29 in the Studio Theatre. Women is a compilation of three one-act plays; "Women Alone," "I Don't Move, I Don't Scream, My Voice is Gone," and "Tomorrow's News," telling the stories of women who have been married, raped, battered, abused and murdered. The latter two plays are based on true stories.

Directing and starring in Women is Ebru Gokdag, who was born in Ankara, the capital of Turkey. Gokdag started acting when she was eight years old for a famous television drama, Kaynanalar. Like Rosanne in the United States, Kaynanalar also aired in Germany. She graduated from Anadolu University Theatre Conservatory in 1993 at the head of her class. After graduation, she became a junior faculty member at Anadolu University and became a professional actress at Tiyatro Anadolu, the first professional university theatre in Turkey. Gokdag came to the United States in 1994 to work on a master's degree. She attended East Texas State University for a time and then transferred to UNL in January 1996.

Theatre Offers Drama for Youth

The UNL Theatre department will present "Creative Drama for Youth" on six Saturday mornings, Oct. 5, 12, 19, 26 and Nov. 2 and 9 in the Temple Building.

Creative Drama for Youth sessions explore the world of theater through the improvisation of appropriate stories, poems, legends and world events. Using imagination, the senses, concentration, voice and body, students develop skills in beginning acting. It is not a course in theater production and no play will be produced. Sessions are informal and imaginative and a perfect compliment to school work in language arts and social studies. Sessions may include mask-making, puppetry and costume creation.

The 9 to 10:15 a.m. session for elementary students is full, but the 10:30 to 11:45 a.m. session for grades 6-8 has some openings.

For more information, contact Karen Libman, 2-1626. Fee for the series is $25. Registration deadline is Oct. 1.

Dance of India at Mabel Lee Sept. 28

UNL Dance will present Madhusri Raj Sethuraman, a dancer from India, at 6 p.m. Sept. 28 in 304 Mabel Lee Hall.

Sethuraman is a classical Bharatanatyam dancer with 25 years of training and experience. She began her training with renowned dancer Padmabushan Smt. Kamala at the age of four and had her premier performance at the age of eight.

Sethuraman has given more than 250 performances both in India and the United States, on stage and on television. She received the "Best Dancer" award for 1978-79 by the Rosary Matriculation School, Madras. In 1992 and in 1994, she toured the United States performing in New York, Washington, Houston, Chicago, Los Angeles and several cities in Nebraska, Kansas and Iowa.

Since coming to the United States in 1988, Sethuraman has been engaged in promoting the art of Bharata Natyam. In 1991, she started the Srutilaya Dance School, teaching more than 50 students. She has been a visiting instructor at the University of Iowa dance school and has also been affiliated with a University of Iowa organization "Arts Outreach," which promotes art and culture among the youth of America. As a part of this group, she has been conducting dance workshops in several elementary and high schools in the United States.

Sethuraman has choreographed four ballets - Ramayana, Krishna Leela, Hari Hara Anjali and the Sneetches, which received an Iowa Arts Council grant for 1994. Her current piece, Dashavatar, describes the 10 incarnations of Lord Vishnu. This dance involves several dancers based in Iowa City and several musicians from India.

Tickets are $5, $3 for seniors, students and youth. They are available only at the door.

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