Break out the beads for Arti Gras

Molly Simac
Campus Compass

One hundred artists and crafts people will gather at Shopko Hall, Feb. 7 and 8 to be part of Green Bay’s Arti Gras, an annual eclectic fine arts festival.
Arti Gras offers patrons a chance to view and purchase art and crafts from all over the Midwest. These original works include basketry, ceramics, fiber art, glass, graphic art, jewelry, metal work, painting, paper art, photography, sculpture and woodwork.
Demonstrations at Arti Gras will also provide a closer look at artists and their work. People will have the opportunity to talk and ask questions while the artists work.
Mary Curran, one of the  demonstrator’s at Arti Gras, experiments with materials of all sorts, including fiber, paper, metal and more. Curran’s specialty is fiber art.
Another activity at Arti Gras is the newARTS’ art raffle. NewARTS, a non-profit, cultural organization dedicated to promoting the arts, encourages people to support the artists who are involved with the organization. The raffle features artwork ranging in price  from $25 to $500. Arti Gras and artists donate the art pieces, which are raffled separately with tickets sold at $1. This allows people to put as many tickets as they want toward a certain piece.
Raffle proceeds support newARTS and its many programs, which include scholarships for college and high school students, a regranting program, professional growth opportunities for artists, educational outreach programs and general support for newARTS.
Arti Gras also has many hands-on activities for children, who can try their hand at a variety of arts-and-crafts projects, such as face painting, mask making and bead stringing. Since the festival is in February, there’s a place for children to make Valentine cards.
Patrons at Arti-Gras can also enjoy America, Italian and Mexican cuisine. According to Tina Quigley, executive director for the event, gourmet sandwiches, homemade soups, funnel cakes and more will be available.
 Information booths and special exhibits, run by community organizations are also at Arti Gras. People can learn valuable information about the many organizations in the surrounding Green Bay area.
This includes the ARTgarage. Kim Pigeon-Metzner, the manager of the ARTgarage, said it has a booth that artists run. They get to show their work and get some attention.
Besides the artists, the main source of entertainment at Arti Gras is the performances. Entertainment includes jazz, blues, classical music and dance performances. The performances run throughout the day.
According to Quigley, on the first day, there are performances from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. On the second day, performances are from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Admission for the fine arts festival is $5 for adults. Children 12 and under are free.
Parking for the event is free at the Lambeau Field parking lot across the street from Shopko Hall.
For those interested in art, Arti Gras has it all—family activities, demonstrations, performances and lots of artwork.
This art festival can offer people a great opportunity to view and purchase the works of local and artists and crafts people.

The Meyer Theatre provides the Green Bay community with new performances in a classical theater setting. The seating allows a great view for everyone. Shows are reasonably priced for college students at UW-Green Bay.

Two theaters, two experiences

Samantha Cardarelle
Campus Compass
Commentary

Itzhak Perlman is the world’s most famous violinist. He has performed at the Weidner Center for the Performing Arts  at UW-Green Bay on several occasions.
Perlman apparently chose to come back so many times because of the Weidner’s acoustics.
Audience members also pick venues for a variety of reasons. In Green Bay, people have two great theaters to choose from—the Weidner and the Meyer Theatre.  
The Meyer Theatre, built in the 1930s during the era of classic movie palaces, was restored in 2002.
The Weidner Center was built decades later in 1993.
Students at UW-Green Bay are fortunate to have the opportunity to go to both.

Meyer Theatre

When you go to the Meyer, you step back in time. The building’s façade,  illuminated marquee, and the Spanish Renaissance décor inside may remind you of theaters in old movies.
As you enter the lobby, you’ll spot a grand, red-carpeted staircase with gold leaf columns and statues on either side. Inside the theater, rows of red velvet seats welcome patrons, and a fresco on the ceiling comes to life with its beautiful night sky and twinkling stars. Castle-like features and statues add to the theater’s fairy tale interior.
Located downtown on Washington Street, the Meyer Theatre is part of the city’s history. It has been home to countless community and national performances throughout its history. What started as the Fox Theater became the Meyer Theatre.
“I think it is very intimate,” said Matt Goebel, Meyer Theatre manager for the past six years. “It seats 1,011 people, but it’s not like larger theaters where you sit in the back and can’t see.”
He also said the theater makes people and performers feel comfortable while they are there.
Community performances include The Green Bay Symphony, local dance studios and the Allouez Village Band. The Smothers Brothers, the nationally famous and controversial comedy duo from the 1960s, played there this year. Popular performers and plays, such as John Pinette, Joe Nichols, Phil Vassar and Men Fake Foreplay, are scheduled for the lineup in early 2010. Tickets range between $20 and $35.
The historic Meyer showcases quality live performances. Experiencing a performance there is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. 

Weidner Center for the Performing Arts

The Weidner’s prime location on the campus is a plus for UWGB students, Student rush tickets are another major plus. Some performers or productions set aside a number of student rush tickets. An hour before show time, UWGB students can buy these discounted tickets. Students must bring their student identification card.
The Weidner Center for the Performing Arts has been cited as one of the best theaters in the nation. Broadway performances, comedians, popular singers and UWGB students have graced the Weidner stage.
Performers, such as Jeff Foxworthy, Hootie and the Blowfish, Johnny Cash and John Denver, all performed at the Weidner.
Popular performances of “Rent,” “Stomp” and “The Phantom of the Opera” have also played at the Weidner. The UWGB theatre and music programs also perform at the Weidner, displaying their talented students.  
Shows to look forward to in the new  year include UWGB Music’s Jazz Fest, “Charlotte’s Web,” “Four Score and Seven Years Ago” and “Til Death Do Us Part: Late Nite Catechism 3.”  
“For a performer, the acoustics and state-of-the-art theatrical equipment, ample backstage space, first-class dressing rooms and knowledgeable staff give the Weidner Center a welcoming atmosphere,” said  Kasha  Huntowski, the Weidner’s director of events.
 Huntowski also mentioned that the Weidner’s elaborate art collection is a drawing card.
“The Weidner Center is fortunate to have one of the few Chihuly’s in the state. It’s one of the most extravagant art pieces showcased in a performing arts center in the country.”
With a high-tech, high-quality sound system, the incredible size of its theater and the great performances that come to its stage, a  Weidner Center experience is unforgettable.

Check out the performance schedules  of both theaters at www.meyertheatre.org and www.uwgb.edu/weidner.

From comedy to music, the Weidner Center for the Performing Arts provides students with endless entertainment choices. There isn’t a bad seat in the place, and sometimes acts offer UWGB students discounted rush tickets.

Not your average garage

Molly Simac
Campus Compass

Walking around, admiring art while watching artists at work is what you can expect when visiting Green Bay’s ARTgarage at 1400 Cedar St. It’s hard to miss the ARTgarage or its unique stylized glass facade.
Inside this community art gallery artists have set up in-house studios and people from the community can come view the artists’ work.
The ARTgarage also holds classes, workshops and events for young and old alike.
The dream started with two UW-Green Bay art majors who didn’t want to lose their art studio experience after they graduated. In 2006, the ARTgarage opened in a 4,000-square-feet space. While it didn’t open as a not-for-profit, Cedar Center Arts, a not-for-profit organization, now owns it.
The ARTgarage relies on volunteers and donations to stay up and running.
Abstract painter Heather Peterman is one of those volunteers.
“I volunteer my time to gallery sit,” Peterman said. “When I’m here watching the gallery, I just sit, do my artwork and help people.”
Talented local artists have also found places to make their art at the garage. Seven studio spaces are available to rent. The artists help each other by offering inspiration, advice and opinions.
The artists are also often available to talk gallery patrons while they are looking at the art in the garage.  
In the gallery section, the work of more than 20 artists can be displayed.
“We try to get in a wide variety of art,”  said Kim Pigeon-Metzner, the ARTgarage manager. “We try to get photography, watercolors, oils, acrylics and sculptures—whatever we can fill the gallery space with.”
While the gallery’s main focus is displaying the local artists’ work. The artists, who sell their art work here, are also happy to have a venue where they can share their work with the community.
Members of the community also contribute to the success of the ARTgarage in a variety of ways.
Christine Style, an associate professor of arts and visual design at UW-Green Bay, is on the board of Cedar Center Art. She also directs the ARTgarage’s Summer Art Workshops for Kids & Teens, which runs for two weeks in August.
“I became involved with the ARTgarage when it decided to become a not-for-profit organization,” Style said. “I started the  workshops three years ago, and that’s been successful.”
Workshops are the only way the ARTgarage tries to connect with the Green Bay community.
“We try to do a lot of community events,” Pigeon-Metzner said.
ARTgarage members participates in Art Street in August, Arti Gras in February and fundraisers.
It also hosts First Saturday Performances each month. According to Pigeon-Metzner, First Saturdays’ performances have ranged from music to belly dancing to square dancing to poetry.
Upcoming events include Corner Sands, a group that combines folk and rock music with an acoustic guitar. It will be performing on Jan. 2 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. in the gallery. On Feb. 6 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.,
Jos ‘n Roz, a duo that performs ballads, blues, contemporary and folk tunes, will perform.
The ARTgarage is open Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Thursday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
The ARTgarage has lots to offer. People can take in the gallery or watch studio artists at work. The focus of the ARTgarage is to display the art of local artists and share them with the community.

Artist Risë Mezo is hard at work creating a portrait in the space she rents at Green Bay’s ARTgarage. Mezo is always looking for people to pose for her paintings.

Broadway in your backyard

Samantha Cardarelle
Campus Compass

The lights go down. Conversation and laughter turn to silence. The curtains rise, and a burst of applause shatters the silence as the performance begins. Adrenalin surges as the actors and actresses rush the stage and take theatergoers to a fantasy world for the next few hours.
For 25 years, Broadway Across America has spread the magic of New York’s most loved Broadway shows and live productions from coast to coast. This year fifty-one musicals will be performed in 32 U.S. cities, including Appleton.
The Fox Cities Performing Arts Center will mount seven popular musicals. They include the following.
“In the Heights” won a Tony Award for the best musical in 2008. Its author, Lin-Manuel Miranda, began writing the play when he was a sophomore in college. For three days, the musical follows the lives of characters living in a New York Dominican-American neighborhood called Washington Heights, which is on the brink of transition. Its lively score includes hip hop, salsa and merengue.
More than 30 million people have gone to “Mamma Mia” since it opened in 1999. It’s a story about a mother, Donna, and her daughter, Sophie, who live on a Greek island. The problem is she has no idea who her father is. Sophie discovers three men who could be her father, so she invites all three of them to the island for her wedding. Without telling her mother about the men, she puts her mother in a tangle of previous boyfriends.
All the songs are based on ABBA’s most famous pop songs. One of the musical’s composers, Benny Andersson, was a member of the famous Swedish band. He has been asked to write the lyrics to the “Mama Mia” sequel, but says he will not write the sequel’s score.
“Cats” is a long-running Andrew Lloyd Weber musical about cats and how they survive. Although there is not much of a plot, the story takes place in a junkyard where various cats have gathered for the annual Jellicle Ball. At this ball, a cat is chosen to be reborn. However, Deuteronomy, the eldest and the wisest cat, has been kidnapped. The cats must find him and bring him back before the cat can be chosen. This is a great musical for people of all ages who want to enjoy the magic of Broadway.
“Little House on the Prairie” is based on the classic American books from 70 years ago. The show revolves around the triumphs and defeats of living in the pioneer age, establishing values this country has been built on.
Broadway has made the movie “Legally Blonde” into a musical about the ditzy, yet smart Elle Woods. It is about staying true to yourself and proving that no matter who you are, you can do whatever you set your heart on.
“Fiddler on the Roof” is about a milkman who lives by tradition. The journeys of his five daughters carry the story by exploring love, forgiveness, devotion and other life values. This musical has won the hearts of many people because of the humor and strength represented in the plot.
Finally, “The Wizard of Oz” is based on the 1939 film. The story of Dorothy, Toto and her magical ruby slippers is a classic loved by generations of children and adults. The musical brings to life the film, again capturing the hearts of all who fell in love with it when they first saw the movie.
For more information and to find about performance dates and times, go to broadwayacrossamerica.com or foxcitiespac.com.