Athens, Ga. – In addition to its more than 50 previously scheduled events, the Spotlight on the Arts festival at the University of Georgia will include a series of “impromptu” events organized by students involved in the arts.
The impromptu events, which are free and open to the public, will take place across campus and feature performances by musicians, theater groups and dance ensembles, as well as interactive art and games. Kristyl Dawn Tift, who is pursuing a doctoral degree in theatre and film studies in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, coordinated the schedule of more than 20 impromptu events.
“One of the main goals of Spotlight on the Arts is to help our students appreciate and enjoy the arts, and these impromptu events ensure that the festival will reach a broad and diverse audience,” said UGA Vice Provost Libby Morris, who has worked with campus groups to organize the festival. “The fact that students took the initiative to organize these impromptu events is itself a testament to the tremendous creativity and energy on this campus.”
The schedule of impromptu events is below, and more information is available at www.arts.uga.edu, www.facebook.com/UGA_Arts and www.twitter.com/UGA_Arts.
Sunday, Nov. 4
2-4 p.m., Open Ballet Class with the UGA Ballet Ensemble, Dance building, studio 274
Monday, Nov. 5
10:10-11 a.m., Open Folk Dance Class, Tate Student Center Grand Hall
12:45-1:15 p.m., Justice Agents, social activism/community-based theatre group that encourages problem solving through action, Tate Student Center Plaza breezeway
2:15-3:15 p.m., Kinetic Video Wall, interactive art installation by Tifany Lee, master of fine arts student in dramatic media production, Fine Arts Building, room 255A
4-4:30 p.m., Prelude Dance Company, contemporary/modern dance, Tate Student Center Plaza Stage
4:45-5:15 p.m., Commedianti Georgiani, a troupe that explores the art of physical humor in performance through Italian improvisational comedy traditions, Fine Arts Building porch area
4:45-5:15 p.m., Improv Athens, improvisational theatre group, Tate Student Plaza Stage
7-8 p.m., 10-minute play readings presented by Athens Playwrights Workshop, Fine Arts Building, room 201
All day through Friday, Nov. 9: Interactive Clue Game, based on the Clue board game-find clues around campus and solve the crime, iPhone and ARIS application required, campus wide
Tuesday, Nov. 6
11:45 a.m.-12:05 p.m., Skipperdees, twin sisters Emily and Catherine Backus draw on influences from a variety of folk acts, Tate Student Center Plaza Stage
12:10-12:20 p.m., Impromptu Dance Performance, Tate Student Center Plaza stage
12:30-1:20 p.m., Open Ballroom Class-Waltz and Swing, Memorial Hall Ballroom
12:45-1:15 p.m., Next Act, musical theatre group, Tate Student Center Plaza breezeway—EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELED
4-6 p.m., Workshop/Reading of Kristyl Tift’s full-length play, soul/the jazz singer’s face is black and blue; a love story that requires themes of jazz, motion, culture and pain for its telling, Fine Arts Building, room 310
7-10 p.m., WUOG DJ set: Alec Livaditis, a selection of experimental music, Snelling Dining Hall
Wednesday, Nov. 7
11:15a.m.-12:05 p.m., Open Hip-Hop/Jazz Class, Dance Building, New Dance Theatre
12:45-1:15 p.m., Creole Storytelling Event, Latin American/Caribbean Theatre class, Fine Arts Building porch area
3-3:30 p.m., Site-Specific Dance Improvisation, Georgia Museum of Art
3:45-4:15 p.m., Talk and Design Showcase with Tiffany Jordan, costume designer for The Darker Face of the Earth, Fine Arts Building
4:45-5:15 p.m., Crescendo Performance Ensemble, theatrical choral group that integrates movement, music and dance, Tate Student Center Plaza and Stage—CANCELED
5-8 p.m., WUOG DJ Set: Akeeme Martin, a selection of hip-hop music, Snelling Dining Hall
Thursday, Nov. 8
4:45-5:15 p.m., Skipperdees, twin sisters Emily and Catherine Backus draw on influences from a variety of folk acts, Tate Student Center breezeway
5:15-5:45 p.m., Black Theatrical Ensemble, an all-inclusive group that highlights the works of African-American playwrights, Tate Student Center Plaza Stage
6-9 p.m., Open Studios at the Art School, art demonstrations and viewing of student work in fabrics, photography, printmaking, drawing and painting, South Wing, Lamar Dodd School of Art
Friday, Nov. 9
Last day of interactive Clue Game developed by Caity Johnson, a graduate student in Ideas for Creative Exploration, iPhone with ARIS application (free download) required, campus wide
1-1:30 p.m., Prelude Dance Company, contemporary/modern dance, Tate Student Center Plaza Stage
4-4:30 p.m. Contact Improv, a movement form that centers on physical improvisation and natural impulse, Miller Learning Center, first floor rotunda
About Spotlight on the Arts
The UGA Arts Council, which includes several campus units, will host a nine-day Spotlight on the Arts festival from Nov. 3-11. Events include concerts, theater and dance performances, art exhibitions, poetry readings, author panels and book signings, lectures and discussions on the arts.
Highlights of the festival include:
• The opening of a Jack Davis exhibition at the Georgia Museum of Art
• Concerts by the Atlanta Symphony and the UGA Symphony at the Performing Arts Center
• A University Theatre production of Rita Dove’s play The Darker Face of the Earth
• Performances by the Blue Man Group and Béla Fleck and the Marcus Roberts Trio
• A reading and lecture by U.S. Poet Laureate and UGA alum Natasha Trethewey