The Talon Vol. 3 Issue 1 - Spring 2008 - Coppin State University ...

Visual and Performing Arts Continue to FlourishMark Your Calendars!By Judith D. Willner, Ed.D.The Department of Visual and Performing Arts has launched an ambitiousprogram for the spring 2008 semester, highlighted by a student art exhibit, atheatre performance by the Arena Players, a theatre performance in memory ofDr. Martin Luther King Jr., a professional master class series presented by thegreat Woodie King, an art exhibit in memory of Dr. Luke A. Shaw and Prof.Cary Beth Cryor, concerts by Coppin’s jazz band and choir, and a comedy sureto end the year on a high note.The art and theatre seasons will open with a student art exhibit, runningfrom February 4 through March 31 and a performance of Bourbon at theBorder, produced by The Arena Players. From February 26 through March 2,our theatre and vocal music students will honoring the fortieth anniversary ofthe death of Dr. King, by performing The Peacemaker, by Arnold Pinnix. Thisbiographical cavalcade features the character of Dr. King as both protagonistand narrator, leading the audience on a journey that extends from his boyhoodthrough his last steps onto the balcony of the Lorraine Motel.Later in March, the great Woodie King, Jr., founder and producing directorof New York’s New Federal Theater, will spend a week in residence at Coppin,conducting workshops and master classes. King, celebrated as a director,acting teacher, and coach, counts among his students such highly respectedactors as Denzel Washington, Phylicia Rashad, Samuel L. Jackson, Debbie Allen,Morgan Freeman, and Esther Rolle.Following February’s student art exhibit, the Department will commemoratethe lives and work of former Coppin art professors Luke A. Shaw andCary Beth Cryor, who created the curriculum on which our current art programrests. “Dr. Luke A. Shaw and Professor Cary Beth Cryor: A Decade inRemembrance” will run from April 14 through May 19, featuring an exhibitof their paintings and photographs, along with programs and a panel discussionhonoring their lives and work.Our music students will also perform this spring. Following basketballseason, during which our band will support our teams and accompany ourstudent athletes to the MEAC tournament, the CSU Jazz Band Festival willfill the auditorium, as bands from other schools join our own jazz musicians,further exemplifying the growth of our instrumental music program. The vo-cal music program is also growing, and a vocal music concert is planned for theend of the semester.Coppin’s theatre students will close the year with a hilarious return engagementof Dance on Widow’s Row, featuring four bereaved widows who have (sofar) buried nine husbands and seek nothing more than male companionship,unless that companionship could lead to matrimony and the possibility offinancial gain.Join us for a thought-provoking, inspiring, entertaining semester of art,music, and theatre. Consult the calendar and newsletter on our website atwww.coppin.edu/finearts for details, or call the department office at 410-951-3366.Dr. Luke A. ShawProf. Cary Beth CryorProfessor Cary Beth Cryor:A D E C A D E I N R E M E M B R A N C EAPRIL 14 - MAY 19 in the JWJ Auditorium GalleryDr. Luke ShawCoppin State University Theatre Honors the40 th Anniversaryof Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Death withThe Peacemaker, by Arnold PinnixFebruary 26 ththroughMarch 2 nd , 2008For tickets call410.951.3366Coppin State UniversityOffice of University Relations2500 West North AvenueBaltimore, Maryland 21216First Class MailU.S. PostagePAIDBaltimore, MDPermit # 5049www.coppin.edu