Arts & Lifestyle
Of Interest ...
Architect hired at NCSA
Stephen Atkinson of Greenville, N.C., has been
appointed the new University Architect at the North
Carolina School of the Arts (NCSA). He began his
duties at the School in February.
"Stephen Atkinson brings a wealth of experience
from the private sector, the UNC system and state of
North Carolina that will guide NCSA's capital pro
grams with a renewed energy and perspective," said
Christopher J. Boyd, associate vice chancellor for
facilities management at NCSA.
For the past seven years, Atkinson served as a cap
ital projects manager in the Facilities Engineering and
Architectural Services department at East Carolina
University (ECU). In that capacity, he was responsible
for design and construction administration for projects,
ranging in cost from $300,000 to $20 million.
In addition to his work at ECU, Atkinson has
worked with several prominent private architectural
firms including Lambert Architecture and Edwin
Bouldin Architects, both of Winston-Salem, and J.
Hyatt Hammond Associates of Greensboro.
Atkinson has a Master of Architecture from
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University,
and a Bachelor of Arts in chemistry and German from
the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is
a registered architect with both the North Carolina
Board of Architecture and the National Council of
Architectural Registration Boards and a member of
the American Institute of Architects.
Fellowship awarded to professor
Sarah Watts, professor of history at Wake Forest
University, has been awarded a 2008 John Simon
Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship in the
"category of fine arts research.
She was among 190 scholars, scientists and artists
selected from a group of more
than 2,600 applicants from the
United States and Canada in
the ? foundation's 84th annual
competition. Guggenheim
Fellows are appointed on the
basis of stellar achievement
and exceptional promise for
continued accomplishment.
. Watts is currently drafting a
book manuscript based on
research in which she has
assembled 257 previously
unstudied satirical political
Watts
cartoons produced between 1897 and 19 1U by
German Expressionist Lyonel Feininger.
"Lyonel Feininger figures prominently among
German Expressionists, yet his career as one of
Germany's most prominent political satirists has been
overlooked, leaving him a sleeping giant in the cultur
al history of Bismarck's Reich," Watts said. "My
study of Feininger's cartoons will present for the first
time works that have never been seen together or col
lected in one place. It will analyze Feininger's satires
within their milieu, delineating the possibilities and
limits of political protest in Imperial Germany at a
time when mass media was superseding art as a pri
mary vehicle of visual culture."
Watts has been a member of the Wake Forest fac
ulty since 1987. She holds a bachelor's degree in his
tory from Oklahoma College of Liberal Arts, a mas
ter's degree in German history from the University of
Oklahoma and a doctorate in United States history,
also from the University of Oklahoma.
Lopez to star in reality series
NEW YORK (AP) - Jennifer Lopez is no
stranger to reality television: She's made cameos on
Fox's "American Idol" and MTV's "DanceLife,"
which she produced, about six aspiring dancers strug
gling to make it.
But this time, the full attention will be on JLo.
Lopez has signed on to star in an unscripted series
for TLC following the stylish actress-singer-dancer
businesswoman as she juggles her career with
mommy duty.
Lopez, 39, and husband Marc Anthony, 38, wel
comed twins Max and Emme in February. Lopez took
months to publicly confirm her pregnancy last year,
yet waited only weeks after giving birth to publicly
display the babies on the cover of People magazine.
Lopez, who has three fashion lines, is also an
executive! producer on the TLC program, which will
show the star launching a new fragrance to add to her
collection of namesake perfumes.
Youth Orchestras auditions
The Winston-Salem Youth Orchestras (WSYO)
will hold auditions for the 2008 - 2009 concert season
in Room M201 of the Scales Fine Arts Building at
Wake Forest University. Auditions will be held on
Thursday, May 22 beginning at 4:30 p.m.; Tuesday,
May 27 beginning at 4:30 p.m.; and Saturday, May 31
beginning at 10 a.m. ?
The WSYO consists of two separate groups: the
Youth Symphony, for advanced students, and the
Youth Philharmonic, for intermediate students. The
Youth Symphony is a full orchestra of student musi
cians who have demonstrated the ability to perform at
an advanced level. The Youth Philharmonic is a full
orchestra for student musicians who wish to partici
pate in an environment that will challenge and devel
op their musical abilities.
Students in grades 4-12 may audition. Students
should be prepared to play one scale demonstrating
their widest range and a 3 - 5 minute prepared solo
piece. Students will also be asked to sight-read an
orchestral excerpt. The audition fee is $20 per family,
due on the day of the audition.
Students must schedule an audition time in
advance by calling the Winston-Salem Symphony at
336.725.1035, ext. 246.
Hobbit for
Hillary
o
Photo by Todd Luck
Actor Sean Astin chats with
Sweet Potatoes co-owner
Vivian Joiner last week inside
the Trade Street eatery. Astin,
best known for his role as
Hobbit Sam Gamgee in the
"Lord of the Rings" films, was
grabbing a bite to eat on his
way to Greensboro. He was
wrapping up four days of cam
paigning in North Carolina for
Democratic presidential hope
ful Hillary Clinton, who will
face Sen. Barack Obama in the
state's May 6 primary.
Film produced by
local couple honored
CHRONICLE STAFF REPORT
A film produced by a Winston
Salem couple for the North
Carolina Center for the
Advancement of Teaching has gar
nered a prestigious award.
The documentary, "Teachirtg
the Holocaust" has claimed three
silver Telly Awards. The film
focuses on the center's efforts to
promote and raise awareness of its
Holocaust education program
ming.
NCCAT was created by the
state legislature in 1985 to
advance the art and profession of
teaching in North Carolina. The
center's main focus is a year
round series of five-day residen
tial seminars for pre-kindergarten
through twelfth-grade teachers
that embrace the arts, humanities,
sciences, technology, health and
fitness.
The Telly Awards are a widely
known and highly respected
national and international compe
tition receiving more than 14,000
entries annually from all 50 states
and many foreign countries. The
awards honor outstanding local,
regional and cable TV commer
cials and programs, as well as the
finest video and film productions.
The film was directed by Deni
Mclntyre with cinematography by
Will Mclntyre. The couple run
Winston-Salem's Will & Deni
Films (which produced the docu
Filmmaker! photographers Will and Deni Mclntyre.
mentary) and Mclntyre
Photography. Marshall Crutcher of
San Francisco provided original
music for the "Teaching the
Holocaust."
? NCCAT's Holocaust education
programming provides N.C. pub
lic school teachers with the critical
tools and knowledge to teach the
challenging lessons* of the
Holocaust to students. Seminars
allow teachers to engage directly
with Holocaust survivors and
authoritative scholars to gain a
deeper understanding of events.
An annual gathering of Holocaust
educators allows teachers to
reconnect with colleagues and
maintain a high level of commit
ment and excellence to teaching
this important subject.
The center's "Becoming
Witnesses" seminar participants
will travel to Germany and Poland
in August to study Holocaust sites
firsthand.
Powerful tale hits Triad Stage
Photo by NyghtFalcon Photography
Actresses Soara-Joye Rots, from lop, Cassandra Lowe
Williams and Bria Walker.
CHRONICLE STAFF REPORT
A production of "From ?the Mississippi
Delta" debuted last week at Greensboro's Triad
Stage.
The play is based on the inspirational mem
oir of Dr. Endesha Ida Mae Holland, a Civil
Rights activist and Pulitzer Prize-nominated
playwright who rose from the depths of poverty
in the heart of the segregated South.
Three actresses - Soara-Joye Ross, Bria
Walker and Cassandra Lowe Williams - play all
the characters in the play, be they black or
white, young or old, male or female. North
Carolina A&T State University adjunct profes
sor Donna Baldwin-Bradby helms the produc
tion as director.
The creative team includes scenic designer
Andrew Layton, costume designer Gregory J.
Horton, lighting designer Stuart Nelson and
sound designer Ryan J. Gastelum. The vocal
coach is the Reverend George Pass II and the
stage manager is Catherine Hagner.
The show opened April 27 and will run
through May 18. Single ticket prices range from
$10 to $42, depending on the day of the week
and seat location desired.
All performances are ^t Triad Stage at The
Pyrle Theater, located at 232 South Elm Street
in historic ""downtown Greensboro (between
Market and Washington Streets).
Several special promotions-are planned. On
Sunday (May 4) and Tuesday (May 6) there will
be "Pay- What- You-Can" performances at 7:30
p.m. There will be a wine tasting tomorrow
(May 2) prior to the evening's 8 p.m. perform
ance. Also on May 2, poet Josephus III will
present The Poetry Caf 6, a post-shoW event in
Triad Stage's new Cabaret space following the 8
See Play on All
AATPbolo
Latoya Hopkins
A&T student
wins CNN
competition
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
Judges representing the
National Association of Black
Journalists and CNN have
selected North Carolina
Agricultural and Technical
State University student
Latoya Hopkins^as a winner in
a competition among students
at HBCUs. It's part of a CNN
documentary to be aired in
July about being black in
America.
Hopkins is a junior major
ing in journalism. She was
among nine journalism stu
dents at A&T who submitted
multimedia slideshows and
TV packages to CNN's
iReport Web site, as part of
the cable news network's
Black in America Series,
which will air July 23 and 24
on CNN.
A&T students participated
in the project, along with
seven other HBCUs as part of
CNN's HBCU tour/contest,
designed to promote the
upcoming documentary.
Producers at CNN felt four
of the A&T pieces were so
good that they "-were linked
directly from the main CNN
Web' site throughout the day
on Tuesday.
Hopkin's story about the
impact of the faltering econo
my on a black-owned business
in Greensboro, received more
than 4,000 "hits" from across
the country. In addition to it
airing on CNN^s main Web
site , portions of the story were
broadcast.
Hopkins will get a digital
video camera so she can do
stories related to the docu
mentary, and compete in the
next round of the competition
against 1he other seven win
ners from the other HBCU
schools. If she wins the grand
prize, Hopkins and a guest ,
will attend the Essence Music
Festival in New Orleans dur
ing the July 4th weekend
The runner up at A&T is
Kelii Uitenham, a junior
majoring in journalism. >
View Latoya Hopkins's
report at this address:
http://www.ireport.com/docs/
DOC -9208