Newspapers / Elon University Student Newspaper / Sept. 19, 2012, edition 1 / Page 18
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Arts & Entertainment Wednesday, September 19, 2012 • page 18 A map with students Faculty members reveal how cultural events calendar 1 1 1_ >1 1 Casey Brown Senior Reporter T he cultural calendar. It’s never a surprise when it shows up in students’ campus boxes, a tangible reminder of a new semester in bloom. It is a map that guides students through four months’ worth of speakers, musical artists and theatrical per formances. Many quickly glance to find the big things — the com mencement speaker, the fall musi cal — before discarding it in a desk drawer. It is only found again at the last minute, when students are scrambling to fulfill a cultural events requirement for class. This pattern is familiar to many Elon University students, happen ing twice a year when a new calen dar arrives with a slew of events in which to partake. But within those excerpts on various performers is a chance to expand one’s hori zons and experience something in a way that cannot be recre ated. At least, that is the hope of the depart ments involved the calendar- faculty who work to create the cal endar each year, it is already May 2013. They are constantly looking ahead toward the next calendar year, and they will have every show, speaker and performer lined up for the 2013-2014 academic year by the upcoming Winter Term at the lat est. Within the Lyceum commit tee, which plans the cultural events calendar, each department has one spokesperson to maintain a balance. For the Department of Perform ing Arts, that person is depart- ^ ment chair Fred Rubeck, ^ who describes his position as one of scheduling, bud get requests and production plan- * ning. For Rubeck, a schedule for the performing arts works on a four- year plan, rather than one year at a time. “We work in four- year cycles,” he said. “Students should have different kinds of per formances from different time periods. For ex ample, students should experience Shakespeare twice.” Rubeck said he keeps an eye on his students, making sure they have the most diverse and fulfilling perform ing arts careers dur ing their time at , Elon. But he isn’t the only faculty member on the committee with students’ experiences on his mind. Jeff Clark, execu tive director of cultural and special programs, said he also thinks of the students as he plans speaker series and FILE PHOTO BY BRIAN ALLENBY FILE PHOTO BY MEHISSA BLITZ Members of the Elon Dance Company perform “Revealed in Flight Between Earth and Sky” during Fused Moves in May 2012. events and looks for fresh entertain ment to bring to campus. During the summer, he attends performing arts conventions, developing a list of 60 events that he presents before members of the Lyceum committee, who cut the number down to ap proximately 10 acts. “We try to get artists who would be willing to do master classes oi workshops for students,” Clark said. “Also, we take advantage of block booking. We work with other schools in the state to get high- quality acts for a reduced price.” But student input also means a lot to the planning process. This year’s fall commencement speaker, Maya Angelou, was the most popu lar name with students when it came to who should speak on campus, ac cording to Clark. And for him, it’s not about having a theme for the year. It’s about variety and high quality. Matt Buckmaster, chair of the Department of Music, said he does believe in bringing in artists who can work one-on-one with arts stu dents, but he also encourages stu dents from outside the artistic com munity to take advantage of what Elon brings to campus. “A big consideration for me is how beneficial the artist will be for students,” Buckmaster said. “These artists are internationally renowned and students can see them for free.” Buckmaster said the Department of Music brings in about 80 acts in a given year, and he likes how he can use these events as a means of ex tending beyond the campus. Because music events are free to the entire community, Buckmaster reaches out to retirees and Burlington residents to come see the shows, forming a bond between Elon’s campus and surrounding community. Rubeck, Clark, Buckmaster and their respective committees work in tandem to create the calendar, which is ultimately a balance be tween the three departments. Tlie major obstacle they face is how to share the busy facilities — Yea ger Recital Hall, McCrary Theatre, McKinnon Hall and Whitley Audi torium, among others. Coordinating an event in one of these spaces goes beyond just hosting it. There needs to be time and space for production and rehearsal as well. For Rubeck, production is a heavily weighted consideration. “It takes months of planning for a production,” Rubeck said. “We have only one staff of designers do ing all the shows. We have to have enough shop time. It’s a very elabo rate process.” Buckmaster said while the per forming arts do require significant amounts of time to prepare for their shows, the Department of Music “fills in the gaps,” bringing in guest artists almost every week. The de partments bounce off each other, with some departments stepping in on the weeks that others need time off. “It’s like a house of cards,” Ru beck said. “If something is off, we need to rebuild.” i
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