| Date |
Title |
Producer |
| 1/18/00 |
Zoo
Art: It Lurks Here, Too |
Tamar
Charney |
| |
Description
This spring, Grand Rapids will get its own version of the Chicago's
attention-grabbing "Cows on Parade," except the animals that will
be decorated by artists will be four- foot-tall rabbits -- Grand Rabbits
for Grand Rapids -- and they will be at the zoo. As Michigan Radio's
Tamar Charney reports, this high-profile project may call attention
to the art that lurks in many zoos. However, one Michigan zoo is doing
more with art than using it for decoration. The Detroit Zoo runs what
is called the Wildlife Interpretive Gallery. It is a gallery and museum
about the relationship between man and animal. Its goal is to teach
people about how pervasive animals are in our culture and psyche with
an eye toward showing the importance of conservation. Tamar Charney
takes listeners to the John Ball Zoo in Grand Rapids and the Detroit
Zoo for a look at the art that lurks at the zoo. Interviews
Brenda Stringer - executive director, John Ball Zoo
Ron Kagan - executive director, Detroit Zoological Institute
Gerry Craig - curator, Wildlife Interpretive Gallery, Detroit Zoo
Jane Ballentine - American Aquarium and Zoo Association |
| 1/24/00 |
Clements: Women in History |
Tamar
Charney |
| |
Description
The Clements Library at the University of Michigan contains original
American historical documents from the 16th through the mid-20th century
-- but there are still untold riches hidden in the archives waiting
to be discovered. Michigan Radio's Tracy Samilton has a look at the
Women in History Project at the Clements Library. Librarians are combing
the archive reading, cataloguing and making letters, diaries, drawings
and other first-person documents about women in history available
to the public. Interviews
John Dann - director, Clements Library
Rachel Onuf - director, Women in History Project, Clements Library
|
| 1/24/00 |
Orchid Pavilion: Rare Chinese Painting |
Tamar
Charney |
| |
Description
The common complaint many people have about abstract art is well known.
"I don't get it -- what does it mean?" But the "I don't get it" refrain
is also heard in response to Chinese painting. A brand new exhibition
called the "Orchid Pavillion Gathering" is hoping to change that.
As Michigan Radio's Tamar Charney reports, the University of Michigan
has put together an exhibit of its rarely displayed collection of
Chinese paintings, complete with explanations and translations geared
toward unlocking the mystery of the art form. Interviews
Marshall Wu - senior curator, Asian art, Univeristy of Michigan
Museum of Art |
| 1/31/00 |
Art Business: It Takes More Than Creating |
Tamar
Charney |
| |
Description
The real world life of the artist and the businessperson really aren't
that far apart. Michigan Radio's Tamar Charney took a look at the
business tasks artists spend a good 40 percent of their time doing.
She also stops in at a class at Grand Valley State University where
students are taught the marketing, packaging and networking skills
they'll need to make it in the art world. Interviews
Brett Budde - Dynamite Gallery Project, Grand Rapids
Jeri Hollister - sculptor, based in Ann Arbor
Shi Hora - art student, Grand Valley State University
Paul Wittenbraker - professor of art, Grand Valley State University
|
| 2/4/00 |
Garden Symphony: Inspired by MSU |
Gretchen
Millich |
| |
Description
Many symphonies have been written with specific themes in mind, such
as Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony that he called Recollections of Rural
Life. Now, a new symphony has been written about the gardens at Michigan
State University. Gretchen Millich talks with the composer and performers
of the new work. Interviews
Ellen Taaffe Zwilich - Pulitzer Prize winning composer
Dottie Withrow - patron who commissioned the symphony
Leon Gregorian - Michigan State University School of Music |
| 2/16/00 |
Take My Picture, Please: Cultural Snapshots |
Tamar
Charney |
| |
Description
At home, you probably have picture frames, albums and boxes stuffed
full of photographs of yourself and your loved ones. All of these
portraits and snapshots tell some sort of story about how you live
and what's important to you. As Michigan Radio's Tamar Charney reports,
a new exhibit at the Cranbrook Institute of Science is asking people
to take a look at what can and can't be learned about people and cultures
from a photograph. Interviews
Larry Hutchinson - curator of exhibits, Cranbrook Institute of Science
|
| 2/24/00 |
U.P. Life: Ski Jump - A Major Competition at a Historic Jump |
Tamar
Charney |
| |
Description
The most that many of us know about ski jumping is the now classic
agony of defeat footage from ABC's Wide World of Sports. But to really
get a feel for the sport, the Upper Penninsula is the place to go
in Michigan. Michigan Radio's Tamar Charney has a look at the competitions
held at the jump and the long heritage of ski jumping at Iron Mountain.
Interviews
Dale Ward, Kiwanis Ski Club |
| 3/9/00 |
Film
Kids: Young Filmmakers Project |
Tamar
Charney/Juliette Chiarella |
| |
Description
Every year since 1963, the Ann Arbor Film Festival has presented independent
and experimental 16 millimeter films from around the world. Included
in the festival this year are 24 films by Michigan teenagers. The
festival hired a filmmaker from California to travel around to schools
teaching 6th -12th graders in Detroit, Ann Arbor and Chelsea how to
make their own 16 millimeter films. The Young Filmmakers Project teaches
students the echnical skills of film-making along with some more fundamental
lessons about communicating ideas to an audience. Interviews
Alfonso Alvarez - filmmaker and Ann Arbor Film Festival artist-in-residence
Christina Hamilton - managing director, Ann Arbor Film Festival
Claire Mantel - student |
| 3/20/00 |
Mining
for History: Goin' Underground - Part 1 |
Tamar
Charney |
| |
Description
The two things Michigan is best known for are the automobile and the
Motown sound. But from the mid-1800s until World War II, Michigan
had a different claim to fame -- copper. It was found on the Keweenaw
Peninsula, the finger-like peninsula that sticks out of the northwest
side of the U.P. Michigan Radio's Tamar Charney has the first of a
three-part look at Michigan's copper industry and the legacy it left
behind. Interviews
Richard Gersch - professor of mining engineering, Michigan Technological
University
Larry Lankton - professor of history, Michigan Technological University
|
| 3/21/00 |
Mining
for History: Not Your Father's National Park - Part 2 |
Tamar
Charney |
| |
Description
From the mid-1800s to the mid-1900s, Michigan was famous for its copper
mining industry. In the late 1800s, mines on the Keweenaw Peninsula
produced 85 percent of United States copper. But when the bottom fell
out, the mines - and even whole towns - closed up shop. And nothing
more happened. Buildings weren't torn down; they were just abandoned.
A new National Park is now using these remains to tell the story of
Michigan's copper heritage. Michigan Radio's Tamar Charney reports.
Interviews
Frank Fiala - superintendent, Keweenaw National Historical Park
Ed Yarbourgh - executive director, Quincy Mine Hoist Association
|
| 3/22/00 |
Mining
for History: When K-Mart Met Calumet - Part 3 |
Tamar
Charney |
| |
Description
The Keweenaw National Historical Park on Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula
at the top of the U.P. is working to preserve the remnants and history
of Michigan's copper boom. But unlike Yellowstone, Grand Canyon and
many other National Parks, the Keweenaw National Historical Park is
not a piece of land set aside. Instead, it is park in the midst of
a living community, telling its stories about the past as modern life
continues forward. Michigan Radio's Tamar Charney has a look at how
historic preservation and modern development are getting along in
the final part of our look at Michigan's copper country. Interviews
Larry Lankton - professor of history, Michigan Technological University
Paul Lehto - supervisor, Calumet Township |
| 4/21/00 |
The Mining Team: Historic Competition |
Tamar
Charney |
| |
Description
The history of Michigan's mining industry can be seen in ruins and
old mines in the Upper Peninsula. But the heritage also shows up in
competitions. This weekend a group of Michigan Tech student athletes
are off to compete in an international competition that pays tribute
to mining. Michigan Radio's Tamar Charney explains. |
| 4/21/00 |
Tamales: Passing on the Tradition |
Tamar
Charney |
| |
Description
Every year, the Michigan State University Museum gives out a number
of cash awards to traditional artists and craftspeople. They use the
money to teach their skills and knowledge to an apprentice. Among
the winners this year is a Mexican-American woman in Lansing who is
passing along her talent for making tamales, a traditional Mexican
dish of spicy meat wrapped in cornmeal. Gretchen Millich has this
report. |
| 5/1/00 |
Bat Mine |
Tamar
Charney |
| |
Description
As warm weather moves in, so too do mosquitoes, black flies, and other
biting bugs. It may be hard to believe, but the bug situation would
be worse if it weren't for researchers lending a helping hand to their
natural predators. It's a project that takes advantage of Michigan's
old historic mines Michigan Radio's Tamar Charney reports.
|
| 5/15/00 |
Techno |
Tamar
Charney |
| |
Description
Throughout the summer, Hart Plaza in downtown Detroit is home to some
of the largest free music festivals in the country. There's country
music at the Downtown Hoedown; jazz at what up until this year has
been called the Montreux Detroit Jazz Festival; gospel; world music;
and more. This summer there's a new festival on the Hart Plaza line
up. It celebrates the music Detroit is famous for around the globe.
As Michigan Radio's Tamar Charney reports, worldwide Detroit is known
as the birthplace of techno. Interviews
Carl Craig - artistic director, Electronic Music Festival, and musician
Carol Marvin - executive director, Electronic Music Festival
|
| 6/2/00 |
Lost n Found Opera |
Tamar
Charney |
| |
Description
The history of art and music is littered with lost works -- paintings,
symphonies and works of literature that no one will ever see, hear
or read again. A 1940s opera by jazz and ragtime pianist James P.
Johnson and poet Langston Hughes was one of these lost works. As
Michigan Radio's Tamar Charney reports, the lost work has now been
found although it isn't quite in one piece yet.
Interviews
James Dapogny - professor of music |
| 6/4/00 |
Genius |
Tamar
Charney/Amy Clark |
| |
Description
The MacArthur Foundation announced its so-called "Genius Grants."
One of the recipients is a professor at the University of Michigan.
As Michigan Radio's Tamar Charney reports, Susan Alcock is a professor
of classics and archeology who is studying ancient Greece without
digging.
Interviews
Susan Alcock - professor of archeology and classics, University
of Michigan |
| 6/7/00 |
Operation Religion |
Tamar
Charney/Amy Clark |
| |
Description
Musicians, comedians, athletes, clergy members and volunteers will
be paying a call on prisons across the state. It's called Operation
Starting Line, and it is an evangelical program that will visit
every prison in the United States during the next five years. As
Michigan Radio's Tamar Charney reports, Michigan is the second state
to get the program.
Interviews
Thomas C. Pratt - president of Prison Fellowship Ministries
Randall Wilson - legal director of Iowa Civil Liberties Union
Matt Davis - spokesperson for Michigan Department of Corrections
|
| 6/21/00 |
Hi Tech Teaching |
Tamar
Charney/Amy Clark |
| |
Description
In recent years there's been a big push to get computers into schools
and classrooms. This past weekend education experts met at the University
of Michigan to talk about how those computers should actually be
used to transmit knowledge once they find their way to the classroom.
Michigan Radio's Tamar Charney reports.
Interviews
Linda Roberts - director of educational technology, U.S. Department
of Education
Barry Fishman - professor of learning technology, University of
Michigan
Juanita Clay Chambers - associate superintendent, Educational Services,
Detroit Public Schools
Nora Sabelli - senior program director, The National Science Foundation |
| 6/23/00 |
Ancestors' Clothesline |
Frida
Waara |
| |
Description
We all have traditions for celebrating our heritage, but one woman
in the Upper Peninsula is helping people celebrate their heritage
by putting ancestors on the line ... a clothesline, to be specific.
As reporter Frida Waara explains, clotheslines festooned with photographs,
letters and other mementos are being strung to celebrate many Michigan
residents' Finnish heritage.
Interviews
Mary Wright - installation artist
Beth Linna - Marquette resident Hans Linna - 13-year-old Marquette
resident |
| 7/3/00 |
Mailboat: Ties to Shorelife |
Tamar
Charney |
| |
Description
For many of us, postcards and letters are still a way we keep in
touch with friends and family when we're on vacation or traveling.
But if you are constantly in transit -- if your job is, for instance,
on a Great Lakes freighter -- how do you get your letters, your
magazines or even your bills? You're not near a mail box. You're
stuck day and night aboard your ship. Michigan Radio's Tamar Charney
has the answer in an audio postcard from the Detroit River.
Interviews
• Sam Buchanan - captain, J.W. Wescott II
• Jim Hogan - vice president and great-great-grandson of founder
of J.W. Wescott Co. |
| 7/3/00 |
Suess: Green Eggs and Grand Rapids |
Matt
Shafer Powell |
| |
Description
The Grand Rapids Children's Museum has come alive in a tribute to
one of the world's most famous doctors -- Doctor Seuss. Michigan
Radio's Matt Shafer Powell reports.
Interviews
• Theresa Thome - executive director, Public Museum of Grand
Rapids
• Diane Sevald - teacher, McFall Elementary
• Bill Rich - principal, McFall Elementary
• Sharon Green - parent
• Darren Hosmer - parent
• Various children at exhibit |
| 7/7/00 |
Arta Fundi: A Fundraising Sculpture |
Tamar
Charney/Amy Clark |
| |
Description
For years, one of the biggest challenges facing the arts has been
money. Arts organizations are constantly fundraising, and artists
are constantly trying to figure out how to make ends meet. One artist
has decided to turn over fundraising duties to his art. As Michigan
Radio's Tamar Charney explains, Detroit area artist Jim Pallas dreamed
up the idea of a cajoling fundraising computerized sculpture named
Arta Fundi.
Interviews
• Jim Pallas - artist |
| 7/7/00 |
Rural Arts: A Forum |
Tamar
Charney |
| |
Description
Leaders of arts and cultural organizations from Midwestern rural
communities got together during July on Michigan's Keweenaw Peninsula.
As Michigan Radio's Tamar Charney reports, they discussed rural
arts issues.
Interviews
• Bill Ivey - chairman, National Endowment for the Arts
• Cynthia Cote - director of Community Arts Center, Hancock
• Carol Thompson - program director, Michigan Association of
Community Arts Agencies |
| 7/21/00 |
Dr. Beaumont: Weird History |
Michelle
Corum |
| |
Description
For many people in the state, the name Beaumont brings to mind the
story of Dr. William Beaumont a frontier military doctor whose medical
experiments are memorable. In fact, it is probably one of the oddest
tales of Mackinac history. Now, Mackinac State Historic Parks hopes
that a revamped exhibit helps the public "digest" the story better.
Michelle Corum of Interlochen Public Radio reports from Mackinac
Island.
Interviews
• Stephanie Kaskey - interpreter, Mackinac State Historic Park
• Phil Porter - curator, Mackinac State Historic Park Various
exhibit visitors |
| 7/17/00 |
Condom Man: A Creative Approach |
Mike
Perini |
| |
Description
We hear a lot about HIV and AIDS. But in spite of the large amount
of information, people are still getting infected. An outreach group
in Ypsilanti has been using a fresh and creative approach to try
to educate people about AIDS prevention. Michigan Radio's Mike Perini
explains a play inspired a comic strip superhero named Condom Man
to come to the rescue.
Interviews
• Dan Burns - outreach worker, HARC
• Gregory Button - professor, University of Michigan School
of Public Health |
| 7/24/00 |
State of the State's Libraries 1: Card Catalogues to Coffee Shops |
Tamar
Charney |
| |
Description
The last decade has been a difficult one for libraries. They've
struggled to computerize and keep pace with changing demands. And
many of Michigan's largest libraries have had to reinvent themselves
- changing both the way they are managed and the way they are funded.
Michigan Radio's Tamar Charney begins the first of a three-part
look at the state of the state's libraries.
Interviews
• Sarah Stewart - writer
• Brian Stoutenberg - director, Troy Public Library
• Tom Genson - president, Michigan Library Association |
| 7/25/00 |
State of the State's Libraries 2: End of the School Library |
Tamar
Charney |
| |
Description
Over the past decade, libraries have been changing. Card catalogues
have made way for computers. And many reference books aren't books
anymore -- they're software. People still go to libraries for books;
however, they also go to the library to use the internet and computerized
research tools. But many of Michigan's larger libraries have had
to reinvent their management and finances as well as their collections.
Michigan Radio's Tamar Charney has the second of our three-part
look at the state of the state's libraries.
Interviews
• Martha Ferriby - director, Muskegon's Hackley Public Library
• Cynthia Faulhaber - attorney, Miller Canfield and Paddock
• Gloria Coles - director, Flint Public Library |
| 7/26/00 |
State of the State's Libraries 3: Struggling in an Age of Wealth |
Tamar
Charney |
| |
Description
Over the last decade or so, libraries across the state have been
struggling to computerize, keep pace with changing demands, and
repair aging buildings. And school finance reform meant many of
Michigan's large school libraries had to reinvent themselves ...
changing both the way they are managed and the way they are funded.
In the final part of our look at the state of the states libraries,
Michigan Radio's Tamar Charney reports that the state of a library
all comes down to one thing...money.
Interviews
• Tom Genson - president, Michigan Library Association
• Cynthia Faulhaber - attorney, Miller Canfield and Paddock
• Saul Amdursky - director, Kalamazoo Public Library
• Joan Durrance - professor, University of Michigan School
of Information |
| 8/11/00 |
Wild Yards: Native Plant Design |
Tamar
Charney |
| |
Description
A national conference held this year in Michigan is trying to plant
the idea that everybody's yard doesn't have to be a lawn with formal
garden beds full of exotic species. Michigan Radio's Tamar Charney
has a look at a different type of garden aesthetic.
Interviews
• Bob Grese - director, University of Michigan Arboretum, and
professor of landscape architecture
• Trish Beckjord - president, Ann Arbor Chapter - Wild Ones
• Brett Rappaport - national president, Wild Ones |
| 8/11/00 |
Steppin' In It |
Gretchen
Millich |
| |
Description
The National Folk Festival features performing artists from all
over the country and a few from Michigan. A Lansing-area band called
"Steppin' In It" isn't officially in the folk festival, but they
will be taking their music to the streets this weekend to make sure
festival-goers hear their sound. Gretchen Millich reports.
Interviews
• Dominic Suita - "Steppin' In It" bass player
• Josh Davis - "Steppin' In It" lead singer |
| 8/11/00 |
Los Bandits: Tex-Mex, Michigan-Style |
Gretchen
Millich |
| |
Description
Los Bandits is a band from Kalamazoo that plays Tex-Mex music, Michigan-style.
Band members Renee Meave and Guillermo Martinez both came to Michigan
as migrant workers. Many of their songs deal with the plight of
migrant farm workers.
Interviews
• Renee Meave - Los Bandits
• Guillermo Martinez - Los Bandits |
| 8/25/00 |
Jazz for Thought |
Tamar
Charney |
| |
Description
From time to time, many musicians are invited to perform in school
auditoriums for kids. Often the performances are more than concerts;
they are a chance for a little music education. But one Michigan
band is teaching about more than just music.
Interviews
• Jeff Haas - pianist
• Student - Thurgood Marshall Elementary School |
| 8/25/00 |
Tall Ships |
Matt
Shafer Powell |
| |
Description
A flotilla of six historic "tall ships" have paid a visit to South
Haven. Matt Shafer Powell has a look at the romance and appeal of
the sea, ship and sail.
Interviews
• Barbara Kreuzer - executive director, South Haven's Michigan
Maritime Museum
• Capt. Daniel Moreland - skipper of the Picton Castle
• Larry King - director, Greater South Haven Chamber of Commerce |
| 9/8/00 |
Plants and Sculpture: A New Museum? |
Tamar
Charney |
| |
Description
If you want to see plants, you go to a garden, and if you want to
see sculpture, you go to a museum. The Frederick Meijer Gardens
in Grand Rapids has been known as the place to see plants in Michigan.
It's home to the largest indoor conservatory in the state. Now the
Meijer Gardens also wants to become the place to go to see sculpture.
Michigan Radio's Tamar Charney reports.
Interviews
• Joseph Becherer - Ssculpture curator, Frederik Meijer Gardens
• Frederik Meijer - patron and namesake, Frederik Meijer Gardens
• Erika Doss - professor, University of Colorado-Boulder, and
National Museum of Art Fellow |
| 9/8/00 |
One Room: U.P. Life 2000 |
Frida
Waara |
| |
Description
While some students return to overcrowded classrooms numbering 30
students or more, reporter Frida Waara found a place in the Upper
Peninsula where the public school is a one-room schoolhouse with
seven students and one teacher. It's a public school maintained
by a community committed to educating its own kids instead of putting
them on a bus to the closest big school - an hour and 45 minutes
away. A look at modern education in an old-fashioned setting.
Interviews
• Diane Trudgeon - K-6 teacher, Copper Harbor Public School
• Medora Stevens - 2nd grader, Copper Harbor Public School
• Joey Jedlicka - 6th grader, Copper Harbor Public School |
| 9/14/00 |
Videoculture: Video Art |
Tamar
Charney |
| |
Description
Video technology has brought us television news, MTV, wedding videos
and even reality TV. It has also spawned art. This month, an exhibition
at 11institutions in the metro-Detroit and Windsor area is surveying
three decades of video art and video culture. Michigan Radio's Tamar
Charney reports.
Interviews
• Irene Hoffman - curator of exhibitions, Cranbrook Museum
of Art
• Jermey Rigsby - program coordinator, Artcite & House of Toast
• Chris Doyle - artist |
| 9/28/00 |
Lighthouse: Future of the Past |
Tamar
Charney |
| |
Description
Lighthouses used to be the road signs of the transportation system
back when goods and people were moved by waterways instead of highways.
But as the Industrial Age gave way to the Information Age, the importance
of lighthouses has dimmed. Now the U.S. Coast Guard has to figure
out a way to preserve the structures it no longer needs. Michigan
Radio's Tamar Charney reports.
Interviews
• David Gilroy - owner, David's Harborside
• Eric Hoerneman - Aids to Navigation, U.S. Coast Guard
• Chuck Clark - Benzie County administrator
• Dick Moehl - Great Lake Lighthouse Keepers Association |
| 9/28/00 |
Archaeology: Digging for Roads |
Matt
Shafer Powell |
| |
Description
Before bulldozers move a single mound of dirt, various groups are
consulted, and their arguments are taken into consideration when
the state decides to build a road. As a result, a highway construction
crew contains much more than equipment operators. There are attorneys,
horticulturists and zoologists. Michigan Radio's Matt Shafer Powell
has the story on another profession you may not expect to see at
a highway construction site.
Interviews
• Dave Ruggers - archaeologist, Michigan Department of Transportation
• Dean Anderson - archaeologist, State of Michigan
• Sharon Detz - Grand River Band of Ottawas |
| 10/2/00 |
Great Lake Erie: Art of the Lake |
Tamar
Charney |
| |
Description
For years, artists have been drawn to the beauty of the Great Lakes.
The number of artist colonies in the region is proof of this. But
it isn't just the wild beauty of Lake Superior or the northern parts
of Lakes Huron and Michigan that inspire the arts. Even industrial
Lake Erie is a source of inspiration as an exhibit on view in Detroit
illustrates. "Great Lake Erie: Imagining an Inland Sea"
includes contemporary and experimental art work by artists from
Buffalo, NY; Cleveland; metro Detroit, and Windsor, Canada. Michigan
Radio's Tamar Charney reports.
Interviews
• Michael Lodersted - artist and professor, Kent State University
• William Busta - curator, "Great Lake Erie: Imagining
an Inland Sea"
• Maria Louisa Belmonte - director, Detroit Artist Market |
| 10/5/00 |
Farewell Symphony: Book About the Composition |
Gretchen
Millich |
| |
Description
Parents and teachers now have a new tool for introducing children
to classical music. With a new book called "The Farewell Symphony,"
children can read about why a famous piece of music was written,
then listen to the music on a compact disc. Gretchen Millich has
the story.
Interviews
• Anna Celenza - professor of musicology, Michigan State University
|
| 10/13/00 |
Church Play: Discussing Homosexuality |
Matt
Shafer Powell |
| |
Description
In December of 1995, the school board at Byron Center High School
near Grand Rapids tried to fire its music teacher because he was
gay. Six months later, the teacher ö Gerry Crane -- resigned under
intense pressure from the school and the community. The following
winter, he died of a heart attack at the age of 32. It was a story
that received national media attention and opened a hotly contested
debate within this traditionally conservative community. Because
many of Crane's most outspoken critics came from religious circles,
it also polarized many of the region's clergy. Four years later,
it's a debate that still simmers. Michigan Radio's Matt Shafer Powell
has more on how a group of local ministers is turning to the theatre
to keep the discussion going.
Interviews
• Michael Smolinski - playwright
• Sara Campbell - minister, East Congregational Church of Grand
Rapids
• John Cooper - professor, Calvin Theological Seminary, Grand
Rapids |
| 10/13/00 |
Godot: The Wait for Theater Ends |
Joan
Siefert Rose |
| |
Description
Samuel Beckett's play "Waiting for Godot" marked a significant departure
for theater when it premiered nearly 50 years ago. Its non-linear
script, skeptical point of view and jarring conclusion continue
to make it a compelling drama today. This weekend, members of the
Gate Theater Dublin perform "Waiting for Godot" and a lesser-known
work of Beckett at the University of Michigan. As Michigan Radio's
Joan Siefert Rose reports, the performance is the first in a series
of theater performances aimed at bring Ann Arbor back to the theater
scene.
Interviews
• Michael Kondjiolka - director of programming, University
Musical Society |
| 10/16/00 |
Mail: Daphne and Apollo: A Poem's Musical Setting |
Tamar
Charney/Amy Clark |
| |
Description
A new musical work had its world premiere in Ann Arbor. The work
pulls together the talents of musicians, singers, a composer and
a poet. As Michigan Radio's Tamar Charney reports, composer Enid
Sutherland set a poem by Alice Fulton to music.
Interviews
• Alice Fulton - poet
• Enid Sutherland - musician and composer |
| 10/23/00 |
Arthur Miller: Part 1 - Brooklyn to Broadway |
Tamar
Charney/Chris Felcyn |
| |
Description
Arthur Miller's famed theatrical works, from "Death of a Salesman"
to "View from a Bridge" to "The Crucible," have
explored political events, personal identity and the fraying of
America's social consciousness. His work has been credited with
reinventing and defining American theater in the 20th century. "Death
of a Salesman" was widely praised for its innovative structure
and the way Miller wove past, present, and fantasy in a dramatic
work; American theater was never again the same. Over the years,
Arthur Miller and the University of Michigan have been intertwined.
Miller attended the university, receiving two Hopwood awards for
his writing. In honor of the "Arthur Miller International Symposium"
at U-M, Michigan Radio's Tamar Charney presents a three-part look
at Miller.
Interviews
• Enoch Brater - professor of English and theater, University
of Michigan
• Christopher Bigsby - professor of American studies and director
of the Arthur Miller Center at the University of East Anglia in
Norwich, England
• Mel Gussow - cultural writer, the New York Times
• Arthur Miller - playwright |
| 10/24/00 |
Arthur Miller: Part 2 - Attention Must Be Paid |
Tamar
Charney/Chris Felcyn |
| |
Description
Arthur Miller was born in New York, but he found his calling as
a playwright while he was a student in Ann Arbor. The University
of Michigan is hosting the Arthur Miller International Symposium,
"Arthur Miller's America: Theater and Culture in a Century
of Change." Michigan Radio's Tamar Charney has the second of
a three-part look at Miller's life, work and his contribution to
American theater. In this part of the series, we look at "Death
of a Salesman" and the influence of the McCarthy era on Miller's
life and art.
Interviews
• Enoch Brater - professor of English and theater, University
of Michigan
• Christopher Bigsby - professor of American studies and director
of the Arthur Miller Center at the University of East Anglia, Norwich,
England
• Mel Gussow - cultural writer, the New York Times
• Arthur Miller - playwright
• Studs Terkel - historian and author |
| 10/25/00 |
Arthur Miller: Part 3 - A Living Legacy |
Tamar
Charney/Chris Felcyn |
| |
Description
Michigan is celebrating Arthur Miller. Miller probably best known
for penning "Death of a Salesman." But he's also an essayist, a
social activist and a graduate of the University of Michigan. He's
the recipient of the 2000 Governor's Award for International Achievement
in Arts and Culture. In the final part of our three-part series
about Arthur Miller, Tamar Charney takes a look at his modern works
and his legacy.
Interviews
• Enoch Brater - professor of English and theater, University
of Michigan
• Christopher Bigsby - professor of American studies and director
of the Arthur Miller Center at the University of East Anglia, Norwich,
England
• Mel Gussow - cultural writer, the New York Times
• Studs Terkel - historian and author
• William Bolcom - professor of music and composition,
University of Michigan and composer for "View from the Bridge" |
| 10/31/00 |
Kempf Ghosts |
Amy
Clark/Tamar Charney |
| |
Description
People from many cultures have long believed in ghosts. And according
to a recent survey, the number of Americans who believe in ghosts
has tripled over the past two decades. Here in Michigan, just about
every lighthouse, old ship and Victorian building has a ghost story.
Even Ann Arbor's Kempf House has its own ghostly lore. Michigan
Radio's Tamar Charney has the story.
Interviews
• Carol Mull - Kempf House Board of Directors member
• Wayne Waltripp - former Kempf House Board of Directors member
• Cindy Ferenbacher and Theresa Darling - custodians
• Douglas Hofstadter - professor of cognitive science, Indiana
University |
| 11/2/00 |
Art Tax: A Funding Model |
Tamar
Charney |
|
Description
A number of large cities across the country now have a regional
tax that funds cultural institutions such as museums, symphonies
and theaters. Denver, Saint Louis and Chicago have this sort of
arts tax. Now this type of plan is on the Nov. 7 ballot in the Detroit
area. Michigan Radio's Tamar Charney reports.
Interviews
• Steven Hamp - president, Henry Ford Museum & Greenfield Village
• Bill McMaster - state chairman of Tax Payers United |
| 11/10/00 |
Fitzgerald Commemoration: Holding Our Own |
Frida
Waara |
|
Description
Twenty-five years ago today (Nov. 10), the Edmund Fitzgerald sank
in a gale-force storm on the eastern end of Lake Superior. Twenty-nine
men went down with the freighter and to this day no one really knows
why. Commemorative events will be held throughout the region including
the performance of a new play called "Holding Our Own," written
by Northern Michigan University professor Shelly Russell. Reporter
Frida Waara attended a rehearsal in Marquette.
Interviews
• Shelly Russell - playwright, "Holding Our Own," and professor,
Northern Michigan University |
| 11/20/00 |
The Planetarium: Turning on Stars and Minds |
Tamar
Charney |
| Description
Educators use all kinds of tools and tricks to help students learn
subjects ranging from art to science. These days, the computer is
the educational technology tool of the moment. One Michigan school
system recently spent over $40,000 to bring back a piece of educational
technology that was cutting edge in the 1960s. Michigan Radio's
Tamar Charney has a look at how the Grand Haven Area School Planetarium
will be used to teach everything from astronomy to music to poetry.
Interviews
• Paul Grienke - planetarium director, White Pines Middle School
• Mike Shelton - assistant principal, White Pines Middle School
|
| 11/22/00 |
Picnic Table: A Historic Landmark? |
Tamar
Charney |
|
Description
Michigan may be best known for producing cars, corn flakes and copper.
But as you hit the highways this holiday season, no matter where
you travel, you'll most likely chance upon a convenience dreamed
up by a west Michigan man back in the 1920s. Michigan Radio's Tamar
Charney has a look at the man behind a small chapter of Michigan
history - the invention of the roadside picnic table.
Interviews
• Colin Williams - son of Allan Williams, a county engineer
and creator of the "First Roadside Table" |
| 11/27/00 |
Punch's Progress |
Tamar
Charney |
|
Description
These days, we think of puppets as children's entertainment, but
they weren't always. They're actually one of the early forms of
popular entertainment dating back to ancient times. They were also
used by many cultures across the globe for rituals and ceremonies.
This month, an exhibit at the Detroit Institute of Arts takes a
look at the history of puppets in America. Afterwards, the exhibit
will be traveling to museums in Port Huron, Jackson and Kalamazoo.
Michigan Radio's Tamar Charney reports.
Interviews
• Larry Bransky - curator, Paul McFarlin Puppetry Collection,
Detroit Institute of Arts.
• Sgt. Mike Stone - Punch & Judy puppeteer, Brighton Beach,
England |
| 12/11/00 |
X-Ray Mummy: Under the Wraps |
Tamar
Charney |
|
Description
A new exhibit at the Kelsey Museum of Archeology in Ann Arbor takes
a look at the role of animals in the ancient world. Artifacts like
Egyptian mummified animals, Roman bowls and Greek coins tell stories
about how animals were used by ancient civilizations. They were
food, symbols of power and, of course, pets. It's a pretty straight-forward
exhibit put together by a class of University of Michigan students.
But one part of the exhibit led a U-M archeologist on an unusual
mission. Michigan Radio's Tamar Charney reports.
Interviews
• Sue Alcock - professor of Classics and archeology, University
of Michigan |
| 12/19/00 |
Sister City: A Tale of Two Cities |
Tamar
Charney |
Description
There's a good chance you've seen the signs. You've probably seen
one as you drive into the city you live in. It's that sign that lists
your city's sister city or sister cities. But if you don't have much
of an idea about what that sign means, you're probably not alone.
As Michigan Radio's Tamar Charney reports, a photographer and a museum
have teamed up to shed a little light on one sister city relationship.
Interviews
• Teresa Hernandez - professor of photojournalism, Central
Michigan University
• Tim Honey - executive director, Sister Cities International
• Ann Kiewel - president, Holland Museum |
| 12/22/00 |
A Michigan Monk: Looking East from Michigan |
Gretchen
Millich |
| Description
These days, many Americans are looking for spiritual fulfillment
in a number of non-traditional ways. Eastern religions are becoming
more popular, especially Buddism. In the 1960s, there was only one
Buddist temple in the United States. Now there are hundreds. A number
of Buddist centers have opened recently in Michigan communities
ranging from Detroit to Holland, including a monastery near Lansing,
run by a Buddist monk who was born in Michigan. We have a profile
from Gretchen Millich.
Interviews
• Ajahn Khemasanto - Buddist monk at Wat DhammmaSala Monestary,
Lansing |
| 12/22/00 |
Lure of the Figure: Mark Rothko's Road to Rectangles |
Tamar
Charney |
|
Description
The artist Mark Rothko is best known for painting stacked rectangles
of color - a big block of one color with another block of color
above it and maybe even a third one above that. These signature
paintings earned Rothko a place as one of the great abstract expressionist
painters. Abstract expressionists use color and shape "not
people and places" to express meaning. A new exhibit put together
by the University of Michigan Museum of Art shows how Rothko progressed
from painting people to his famed rectangles. Michigan Radio's Tamar
Charney reports.
Interviews
• Annette Dixon - curator of Western art, University of Michigan
Museum of Art
• Christopher Rothko - son of Mark Rothko |
