Arts & Lifestyle
Of Interest ...
Governor clears NCSA change
On Aug. 8, Gov. Mike Easlcy signed into law the
bill that changes " North Carolina School of the Arts"
to "The University of North Carolina School of the
Arts.
The name change was sent to ^tjie governor for his
signature in July, after it won approval by the N.C.
General Assembly. On July 9, the bill (Senate Bill
2015) passed in the House by the overwhelming mar
gin of 115 to 1. The bill had already passed unani
mously in the Senate, on June 24.
"litis is a great and historic moment for our
School," said North Carolina School of the Arts
Chancellor John Mauceri, who recently celebrated his
second anniversary at the School. "While the School's
leadership had unanimously supported (and indeed,
suggested) the name, the U is the tip of the iceberg.
The University of North Carolina School of the
Arts is the first state-supported, residential school of
its kind in the nation. Established as the North
Carolina School of the Arts by the N.C. General
Assembly in 1963, UNCSA opened in Winston-Salem
("The City of the Arts") in 1965 and became part of
the University of North Carolina system in 1972.
"It is emblematic, in every sense, of a larger and,
for us, deeply important shift in the attitude <Jf our uni
versity and state leaders toward the School of the
Arts," Chancellor Mauceri continued.
Folks tuning in to WXII
During the July ratings period, WXII 12 became
the highest rated midsize NBC affiliate in the nation.
The station has frequently ranked near the top in the
category, but last month it reached the top.
"This is a big achievement for the entire WXII 12
team and a great stepping stone as we enter into what
could be one of the most watched Olympic games in
recent history," said WXII 12 General Manager Hank
Price.
The station announced that in local ratings race, it
is continuing to grow. Viewership was up for the 6
a.m. and 6 p.m. newscasts, while the 5 p.m. newscast
is the Triad leader for the time period. The station's
weekend morning news' ratings have 'grown 29 per
cent from July 2007.
Contest will earn winner
opera tickets and much more
l Visit 'Winston-Salem win be promoting a contest
that will earn a lucky winner a weekend for two will
include accommodations, tickets to opening night of
"The Light in the Piazza" and gala tickets, admission
to the Sloan exhibit at the Reynolda House Museum
of American Art, admission to an Italian car show at
the museum and dining certificates for local Winston
Salem restaurants.
The sweepstakes is a promotions for "The Light in
the Piazza," a Tony-winning opera that will be staged
at the Stevens Center on Oct. 10, 12 and 14. The opera
is set in 1953 and centers around Margaret Johnson,
and her daughter Clara, the family of a tobacco exec
utive in Winston-Salem. Clara and Margaret leave
their native Winston-Salem for a trip to the Italian
countryside and shortly after arriving, Clara .sparks an
immediate romance with a local Italian. The opera
will charm its audience into a memorable evening
filled with romance.
To enter to win "The Light in the Piazza" sweep
stakes, go to www.visitwinstonsalem.com through
Sept. 15. Winners will be announced Sept. 26.
A&T Lunch and Literature
o'
Back by popular demand, North Carolina
Agricultural and Technical State University will host
its Lunch and Literature,
Wednesday, Aug. 27 at 12:30
p.m. at FX). Bluford Library
-seminar room, 256-258.
By request, this year's
selection will be a non-fiction
work entitled, "The Tipping
Point: How Little Things Can
Make a Big Difference" by
Malcolm Gladwell,
On The New York Times
Giadwtii bestsellers list for over 150
weeks, Gladwell puts an inter
esting twist on the simple
notions of cause and effect. He explores the question:
fads and epidemics, what do they have in common?
And the potentially massive implications of small
scale social events.
Attendees should bring their brown bag lunch and
enjoy an afternoon of lively discussion. Also, check
out the Lunch and Literature BLOG at
http://lunchandliterature.blogspot.com/ . For addition
al information, call 336-285-4180.
Reefer Madness audtitioqs
The Winston-Salem Theatre Alliance will hold
auditions for the campy, cult classic, "Reefer
Madness: The Musical." at its scene shop, 1011
Northwest Blvd., on Saturday, Aug. 23 from 10 a.m. -
Noon.
Those trying out for parts are asked to bring a pre
pared song; a accompanist will be provided.
Auditionees will learn a short movement combina
tion. Rehearsals will begin Monday, Aug. 25.
Performances are October 17-19, 23-26, and 30
and Nov. 2. Call 336- 274-0350 for more information.
"Reefer Madness: The Musical" wil be directed by
Jamie Lawson, with dusic Direction by Travis Horton
and choreography r by Mary Barnhardt, Sarah
Barnhardt, Emily Snow, and Jamie Lawson. Roles are
available for seven men and eigbt women.
"Reefer Madness: The Musical," is inspired by
the 1936 movie of the same title.
1
Photo by Jaeson Pin
Sydney Davis stands on the picturesque Salem campus.
Expanded role for Davis
Salem English department will add A&T graduate
CHRONICLE STAFF REPORT
Sydney Davis will be spending time in front of a
Salem College classroom this fall.
The city native has joined the school's English
Department. Salem College Dean Ann McElaney
Johnson announced Davis' expanded duties at the
school last week.
Davis joined the Salem staff last year when she
was hired as director of the campus writing center.
She will continue to lead the center - which provides
tutors, workshops and other services for Salem stu
dents - when she begins teaching.
Davis comes well prepared for her new duties.
She earned a bachelor's degree in political science
and a master's in English and African-American lit
erature from N.C. A&T State University. She taught
English composition, humanities, African-American
literature and film and culture at her alma mater from
2004 until she arrived at Salem last year. Davis has
also lectured on argument-based research at Guilford
Technical Community College.
A member of the National Council of Teachers of
English and the National Student Affairs
Administrators in Higher Education, Davis is cur
rently pursuing her doctorate in educational leader
ship and cultural studies from UNC - Greensboro.
She is slated to graduate in 2010.
WSYAI
members to
take part in
OpenMic
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
Members of the Winston
Salem Youth Arts Institute
(WSYAI) will perform origi
nal works at the Winston
Salem Writers' Open Mic
Night on Tuesday, Aug. 19 at
7 p.m. at Billy Bob's Silver
Diner, 1650 Hanes Mall Blvd.
Open Mic Night gives area
writers the opportunity to read
their
work
before a
live
a u d i ?
ence.
The
goal of
WS YA,
CO
founded
k y Freeman
Nathan
Ross Freeman, is to develop
young authors who publish,
stage and film their experi
ences. Freeman, a Winston
Salem Writers member, is a
director and script writer who
teaches playwriting and act
ing. WYSAI brings profes
sional artists together with
youth seeking franchise and
non-violence in an at-risk and
violent world.
The appearance of WSYAI
writers at Open Mic has gen
erated a lot of interest within
Winston-Salem Writers main
ly because it will help broad
en the base of its participants
and encourage writing from
young authors.
The WSYAI group will
perform under the direction of
Freeman, Caesar Weston and
Lynn Rhoades.
Winston-Salem Writers,
founded in 2005, is one of the
fastest growing writer organi
zations in North Carolina.
Admission is free to Open
Mic Night.
Those interested in the
event, can call 336-354-6190
or email
info@waswriters.org.
Vixen, Grammy winner
will be at Charlotte festival
CHRONICLE STAFF REPORT ?
The? list of authorities and celebrities slated to be on hand for the upcom
ing Charlotte Literary Festival keeps on growing and growing.
The annual festival will take place Sept. 6 at
the Charlotte Convention Center. The event reg
ularly attracts thousands of fans. That number
may grow this year as a result of the growing
guest list.
Susan L. Taylor of Essence magazine will be
there. Taylor is also an author, business-owner
and motivational speaker.
Charlotte resident Omar Tyree - whose best
sellers include "Flyy Girl," "Boss Lady," "A Do
Right Man" and his latest, "The Last Street
Novel" - has also been confirmed.
Taylor, Tyree and all of the featured festival
guests will lead discussions and hold book sign
ings.
Karrine Steffans Known as both famous and infamous,
Karrine Steffans, a former music video actress
who penned a popular book about her sexual liasions with some of
Hollywood's biggest starts, will attend the festival. Since her memoir.
See Festival on All
Something Fishy
Photo by David Joy I Winston- Salem Theatre Alliance
Gray Smith and Tim Swift (left) are ready to bring laughter
to local audiences again. The pair will star in "Greater
Tuna" at SECCA Aug. 15 - 17 and Aug. 21 - 24. The com
edy is a prequel to last year's Winston-Salem Theatre
Alliance hit, "Tuna Christmas." The comedy focuses on a
typical day at Tuna, Texas radio station, OKKK. Tickets are
$14 for adults and $12 for seniors/ students, and group rates
are available. Reserve tickets by calling 336-768-5655.
Exhibit allows visitors to step into AIDS tragedy
CHRONICLE STAFF REPORT
Greensboro's Westover
Church is gearing up to host a
unique educational exhibit
designed to show visitors the
devastation of the AIDS pandem
ic as experienced by the children.
From Sept. 4 - 8, the church
will be home to "World Vision
Experience: AIDS - Step Into
Africa," a multimedia, interactive
exhibit that illustrates AIDS'
ugliness.
World Vision, a Christian
relief and development organiza
tion, first launched the exhibit in
2005. Since then, it has been
staged around the nation and
beyond. A protoype of the show
was featured at the 2006 Global
AIDS Conference in Toronto and
World vision image
One of the rooms in the "Step Into Africa" exhibit.
in New York's Grand Central ter
minal.
Exhibit visitors actually walk
through a 2,340 square foot repli
ca of an African village and expe
rience the effects of the AIDS
pandemic in a real way. Visitors
are given a headset to listen to a
personal audio track relating the
story of one of four real children.
To date, more than 105,000
people have visited the exhibit.
The Greensboro stop is part of an
80-city national tour, which is
expected to draw 200,000.
The exhibit is free and open to
the public. It will be available at
Westover Church from 1 - 7 p.m.
on Sept. 4; 10 a.m. - 8 p.m. on
Sept, 5; 1 1 a.m. - 6 p.m. on Sept.
6; 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. on Sept. 7; and
10 a.m. - 8 p.m. on the final day,
Monday, Sept. 8. Westover
Church is located at 505 Muirs
Chapel Road in Greensboro.
For more information, call
336-299-7374.