Category: Arts

Orchesis is Coming to Your Local Theater

By Jessica Slauson

Transcript Correspondent

Thirteen dancers, a faculty choreographer, a guest choreographer and five crews are preparing for next month’s performance of Orchesis.

The Orchesis concert will be performed in the Chappelear Drama Center on Nov. 15 at 8 p.m. and Nov. 16 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.

The performances are estimated to run 90 minutes.

“Orchesis is the annual faculty-directed dance concert that incorporates dance works made by students, faculty and professional choreographers,” said faculty choreographer Rashana Smith.

The choreographers in this performance include, guest Megan Bushway, Smith and student choreographers: Taylor Frasure ‘21, Miah Gruber ‘20, Maggie Welsh ‘21, Tess Meddings ‘22, Anne Raspe ‘22 and Ellie Bearss ‘22. Each choreographer has her own piece.

The themes of the pieces include: a musical score, going from day to night, school shootings, watered grass, physical contact without touching, stepping into unknown territory and uniformity and individuality, according to an OWU press release.

Some of the audience can expect to see at the performance are: Alex Dolph ‘23, Anne Raspe ‘22, Colleen Cornwell ‘22, Eleyna Stephani ‘21, Ellie Bearss ‘22, Jasmine Lew ‘22, Kayla Rush ‘23, Lizzy Nebel ‘23, Maggie Welsh ‘21, Miah Gruber ‘20, Miko Harper ‘21, Taylor Frasure ‘21 and Tess Meddings ‘22.

“Dancers and choreographers meet as a company each Monday 6 p.m. – 9 p.m. to have technique class and rehearsal together and to go over the administrative work of the company,” Smith said. “There are two hour rehearsals for each piece throughout the week. The only day that rehearsals are not happening are on Saturdays.”

In addition to the rehearsals, “we encourage people to go to the gym,” said dancer Eleyna Stephani. “We encourage people to just do workout cardio; to run; to do anything that keeps [their] body active because the more limber you will be and the better the dances will look.”

Some fears for this year’s performance include getting hurt and forgetting the routine. Stephani, who has bicep tendonitis in her right shoulder needs to be aware of what dance moves cause her pain.

“My fear is just making sure I know the choreography with all the other stuff I have going on, but once I get to performing, I’m not really scared, just excited,” said dancer Jasmine Lew.

Tickets for OWU students who have a valid student IDs are free. General admission tickets are $10. For senior citizens, OWU faculty and non-OWU students who have a valid student IDs, tickets will be $5.

Arts Castle plans for Halloween

By Sarah Bunch

Transcript Correspondent

As October nears its end, Halloween-themed events within walking distance of Ohio Wesleyan University are available for students.

Several events such as a haunted castle and a trick-or-treat farmers market are scheduled for this weekend in downtown Delaware.

The Arts Castle, located on Elizabeth Street, is hosting its second annual haunted castle event on Oct. 26 from 3-9 p.m. and Oct. 27, from 3-6 p.m.

“Essentially the entire downstairs is going to be used up in the event,” said Kati Henning, the manager of registration and administration at the Arts Castle.

“There’s going to be two mazes and a haunted laboratory and a haunted forest. So, as you walk through, the themes will change a little bit.”

As the main organizer of the event, Henning described her fascination with the haunted history of the Arts Castle, previous events and how staff was working to make the events more accessible to the public.

“We wanted everyone in the community to be able to afford to go through it, so we’re just asking for any donation that people are comfortable giving,” Henning said.

The lights will be turned on during the day for earlier tours, which are intended for younger kids or those who want to see the decorations. However, the lights will be turned off later in night. No strobe lights will be used, but there will be a fog machine in one of the rooms.

A Halloween-themed farmers market on Sandusky Street was held Saturday. It was the last farmers market of the season.

“I go because I like the homemade stuff, especially the food,” said Sara Cordle, an OWU sophomore education major. “I like buying fresh flowers and I like buying the honey because I know it’s all homemade. There’s no preservatives or anything in it.”

Other upcoming events around Delaware are listed on the Destination Delaware Calender, including events at local parks and businesses.

Wipeout on the Jaywalk

By Katie Cantrell

Transcript Correspondent 

kmcantre@owu.edu

Ohio Wesleyan Wipeout was…well, a Wipeout. Though attendance was low Friday students enjoyed competing on a couple inflatable challenges on the JayWalk. 

The Campus Programming Board had Wesleyan Wipeout running from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. It had a particular reason for choosing this time frame according to club member Catie A. Hyatt. 

“This is the time that people have to spend to like eat lunch and then have like a few minutes before class. So it’s kind of a fun little thing they can do,” she said.

The board rented two inflatables from one of the SuperGames warehouses located in Columbus. The inflatables at the Wesleyan Wipeout were the Leaps and Bounds- Big Red Balls and the Kapow obstacle course, both a part of SuperGames’ interactive play attractions. To comply with SuperGames protocols, students had to fill out a waiver before they could participate in the activities. 

Two of the students who participated in Wesleyan Wipeout said they preferred the Kapow obstacle course. According to OWU student Alex N. Mason, she preferred Kapow because “it had more movement.” 

Mason’s friend, freshman Sara Cordle, agreed. “It was more like a puzzle-like you had to duck not duck, you know.”

Student turnout was lower than expected at the beginning of the event, but two board members said this did not have much to do with the game itself, but more to do with the weather on Friday afternoon. It was sunny and hovering somewhere between 80 to 90 degrees outside. 

The Campus Programming Board is responsible for quite a few activities that Ohio Wesleyan promotes on campus for the students. 

“Last semester we put on Day on the Jay…and we brought in one of these I don’t wanna call them blow-ups, but blow-ups or inflatables I guess, and a lot of people liked it a lot,” said club member Qiukui Moutvic. “So we decided to base an event on something like that and then we just decided to call it Wesleyan Wipeout.” 

Last fall the club took a tour of the SuperGames warehouse during one of its retreats and had the chance to try out some of the inflatables. It was from this retreat that the idea for Wesleyan Wipeout was born. 

When asked if there might be more events like Wesleyan Wipeout in the future Moutvic said, “We have staple events every year, so events like these are more of just whatever comes out of our planning retreat.”

The students definitely would not mind more events like Wesleyan Wipeout said, Cordle. “I like the inflatable events that they have and all the games, like from Day on the Jay.”

Chicano artist speaks about art, walkouts and comics during his speech

By Grant Cayton

Transcript correspondent

ggcayton@owu.edu

From cowboys to cars, from paint to prints– nothing is off limits for this artist.

Carlos Fresquez, Chicano artist and associate professor of painting at the Metropolitan State University of Denver, came to Ohio Wesleyan University on April 2 and spoke with students about his artistic experiences. A exhibit of Fresquez’s paintings entitled “Desde Aqui, Desde Alli” was also presented in Beeghly Library. Fresquez’s lecture discussed various moments of his life that inspired his artwork, and how his art in turn affected his life.

An extremely important moment to Fresquez occurred on Sep. 16, 1969 when he participated in his first walkout at just 13 years of age, he said.

The students that participated in the walkout were protesting the treatment Chicanos faced from teachers and other authority figures. This walkout was one of the first times he saw others take pride in their heritage instead of being demeaned for it, Fresquez said.

“These teachers are not putting me down, someone brown like me is bringing me up,” Fresquez said.

The issue of connecting with his culture played a large part in Fresquez’s speech and went over well with the audience.

“He really connected with the audience when he said he was searching for his culture,” sophomore Hannah Hearn said.

Fresquez’s heritage played a large part in inspiring his art, but it was not the only influence; television shows such as Batman and the Munsters, street tags, murals, and punk album covers all played a part in shaping his style, he said.

Fresquez’s art is often vibrant, with bright colors that catch the eye. While some paintings depict a scene or event, many resemble collages with different images mixed together. Fresquez often borrows from outside sources that have meaning to him when creating his art. In his work “Angela”, the left side of the painting is dominated by recreations of a comic book, and the Frito Bandito character appears in the background.

Fresquez also puts his own spin on others’ works of art, as shown in his “Salon de los Ilegales” series, where he inserts a silhouette of a family running into landscape prints found in thrift stores. The image of the family was taken from a street sign Fresquez saw, warning motorists to watch for families running across the street. Fresquez has created several galleries and exhibits.

According to his website, he has contributed to the Nelson Centre Museum of Fine Art, the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, and many more. He has also received over thirty honors and awards, according to the website. To Fresquez, the artistic process is inherently personal.

“Art should be a reflection of society and our experiences. I think an artist should respond to what’s important to them,” he said during an interview before the lecture.

Fresquez was also asked about his advice for aspiring artists.

“Fear no art. Don’t think about doing it, just do it,” he said.

Death and Deceased take center stage at OWU play

By Azmeh Talha

aatalha@owu.edu

Staff reporter

Ohio Wesleyan University’s (OWU) department of theatre and dance put on a senior project production that was far more technical compared to productions in the past.

The show A Mother’s Love was written by senior Daniel Brothers and directed by senior Jack Douglas Riter. It highlighted the importance of relationships and how to deal with the loss of a loved one.

The performances took place on March 22 and March 23 in the Studio Theatre located in the Chappelear Drama Center. Performances were 40 minutes long.

The two main characters of the play were the deceased and death.

The role of the deceased was played by senior Beverly King. Her role was of a deceased mother with a daughter, Audrey played by freshman Isabel Johnson to be taken care of by her Aunt, Margo, played by junior Sara Gielink.

The show was not purely based on the emotions people feel, but also souls in a parallel universe.

While watching over her daughter, only a few minutes passed on the other side, years had passed by on Earth. Audrey, who was just a little girl had grown into a nurse within 12 minutes.

Freshman Maxwell Haupt played the character of death. who had feelings of his own as well. Every time someone died, death would appear to send them to the other side. While doing so, he would come across Audrey. The two would have brief conversations every time death would come to help the deceased cross over to the other side.

Over time, the two characters developed feelings for one another. By the end of the performance, Audrey’s time on Earth came to an end. Her and death crossed over to the other side together and King’s character, the deceased became the new death.

Riter described the set as brilliant.

Junior Josh Martin was the scenic and lighting designer for the show. Martin was interested in exploring how the audience would experience the two worlds.

“Using lights and the set I devised a viewport inspired originally by the Vitruvian man that much like artistic and mathematic depiction of the mysterious proportions of the human body, sought to allow the audience to experience the world of the play,” Martin said.  

A Mother’s Love was challenging compared to other shows, Riter said.

“We had teams for publicity, lights, set, tech, makeup, sound,” Riter said, “I’d say on a technical side of things this was a far more extensive senior project production than is usually done here.”

Brothers described his script to be loosely about love, death, loss and a solution for individuals can move on. He wrote the script from a personal perspective. When he was younger, Brothers had trouble coming to terms with people dying and wrote this as a way to help people think about people in their lives dying.

“Death happens, it’s something that’s okay and natural and confusing and hard as well,” Brothers said.

The Central Ohio Symphony’s 40th Anniversary

The Central Ohio Symphony performed in Gray Chapel in front of a packed house for their holiday concert. Under Music Director Jaime Morales-Matos, the symphony brought seasonal spirit as they played “Welcome Home”, “Nutcracker”, “Christmas Festival” and many more. The symphony is currently in their 40th Anniversary season, and will perform next during the new year, in March and April.

Ohio Wesleyan senior makes history with theater production

By Maddie Matos, Arts & Entertainment Editor

The weekend of Oct. 4 brought colonization and modern times together at Ohio Wesleyan University’s production of Cloud 9.

The show was directed by senior Ares Harper, making it the first show to be directed by a student in over 45 years.

Cloud 9 is divided into two acts that correlate with one another. The first act focuses on a British family in colonial Africa circa 1880. The family dynamic plays a key role in the plot of the show. Various characters are forced to suppress their sexual desires and orientations due to the social structures of the times they live in. This allowed the audience to draw obvious parallels between sexual oppression and colonialism.

“The show brought up a lot of serious questions… and social commentary,” sophomore Hannah Carpenter said.

The cast of seven students were asked to play 18 different roles in the show. Each character in the first act had a correlating character in the second act. Some characters switched their gender in the show as well, adding a unique aspect to the show.

The second act was set in modern-day London. This act was more lighthearted, allowing the audience to laugh while still understanding the themes of the show

“It was a good way to interweave humor with an important subject matter without it being convoluted or overdone,” sophomore Claire Yetzer said.

The audience received the show well, with standing ovations at the end of the program. Some actors got high praise as well for their roles in the show.

“I liked Edward in both the first and second half… he seemed honest and genuine,” Yetzer said.

Edward was played by freshman Jasmine Lew in the first act and sophomore Logan Kovach in the second act. The character is a gay man who must suppress his sexuality in the first half, and then in the second half come to terms with what he identifies as.

“It was interesting to see him in both the Victorian era and the modern era,” Carpenter said.

Each character had to grapple with their needs and desires to better themselves. The connection to the show was strong among the audience, with both Yetzer and Carpenter feeling the show offered insight into the need for self-enlightenment.

 

Two Eras Collide at One Historic OWU Performance

By Maddie Matos A&E Editor

The weekend of Oct. 4 brought colonization and modern times into one show at Ohio Wesleyan University’s production of Cloud 9.

The show was directed by senior Ares Harper, making it the first show to be directed by a student in over 45 years.

Cloud 9 is divided into two acts that correlate with one another. The first act focuses on a British family in colonial Africa circa 1880. The family dynamic plays a key role in the plot of the show. Various characters are forced to suppress their sexual desires and orientations due to the social structures of the times they live in. This allowed the audience to draw obvious parallels between sexual oppression and colonialism.

“The show brought up a lot of serious questions… and social commentary,” sophomore Hannah Carpenter said.

The cast of seven students were asked to play 18 different roles in the show. Each character in the first act had a correlating character in the second act. Some characters switched their gender in the show as well, adding a unique aspect to the show.

The second act was set in modern day London. This act was more lighthearted, allowing the audience to laugh while still understanding the themes of the show.

“It was a good way to interweave humor with an important subject matter without it being convoluted or overdone,” sophomore Claire Yetzer said.

The audience received the show well, with standing ovations at the end of the program. Some actors got high praise as well for their roles in the show.

“I liked Edward in both the first and second half… he seemed honest and genuine,” Yetzer said.

Edward was played by freshman Jasmine Lew in the first act and sophomore Logan Kovach in the second act. The character is a gay man who must suppress his sexuality in the first half, and then in the second half come to terms with what he actually identifies as.

“It was interesting to see him in both the Victorian era and the modern era,” Carpenter said.

Each character had to grapple with their needs and desires to better themselves. The connection to the show was strong among the audience, with both Yetzer and Carpenter feeling the show offered insight into the need for self enlightenment.

New Exhibition Breaks Boundaries with Photography

  By Hailey de la Vara, Transcript Reporter

Photography floods the walls of the Ross Art Museum, presenting a new exhibit that displays a tension between accuracy and uncertainty within a picture.

“Double Take: Precision & Ambiguity in the Photograph” provides viewers with an abstract experience by going against the traditional sense of a photograph.  The exhibit began on Oct. 18 and will be on display until Dec. 13.

Photographs have always been known to give a sense of reality to viewers, but the techniques displayed by the photographers show a contrasting objective.

The basis of the photos implicates a scene or a subject.  Most are constructed or framed to resemble something else. There are other techniques that the photographers use such as manipulating light and shutter effects which lead to complicating the viewer’s sense of reality.

For example, “Double Take” exhibits Harold Edgerton’s “Bullet Through Apple,” in which a bullet pierces an apple and creates a surrealistic scene that is more “real” than what a viewer would see without a camera.

The photographs range in dates from early 20th century to early 21st century, with a common historical theme.

Although the exhibit has only been open for two days, there has already been positive feedback.  Aimee Duckworth, a sophomore at OWU, voiced her experience after viewing “Double Take”.

“I really liked the pictures at the Ross because they represent that things in life are more than about what meets the eye,” Duckworth said. “It also made me think about how things in the world can be perceived differently for any individual and I find that very intriguing.”

Tammy Wallace, assistant director of the Ross, explained her excitement for the exhibit and why it was chosen to be displayed.

“The exhibit is faculty curated by Jeffrey Nilan, who is a professor of photography here at OWU.  There was a collaboration between the photography department and English department to interact both departments and show viewers both sides of the spectrum,” Wallace said.

Furthermore, the museum label states how Nilan grouped the images by formal properties, encouraging viewers to discover the elements that connect the groups.  The exhibit provides a challenge to consider the sense of artistry that was crucial to the capture of these photos.