Caine College celebrates artistic talents
Next week, the Caine College of the Arts will hold its second annual Arts Week, which includes events to celebrate the artistic talents of USU students.
According to its website, Arts Week began after the Caine College was formed in 2010. This year, Arts Week will reprise some of its most popular events from last year, as well as add new events.
“We’re excited to carry on the traditions,” said Denise Albiston, director of marketing and public relations for the Caine College of the Arts. “We’re excited for the new events and for the increase in student involvement this year.”
Though Arts Week is funded and organized by the college, it celebrates the creativity and artistry of all USU students regardless of their major. Albiston said the week was designed to appeal to a wide spectrum of students, and it includes dozens of performances, displays and festivities that unite students under the common banner of appreciation and celebration of the arts.
“Arts Week is a celebration of the vital role that the arts play in our lives every day,” said Craig Jessop, dean of the Caine College of the Arts. “The arts are such a part of us that most of us aren’t even conscious of them. Most people wake up and go to sleep with some form of arts and fill their days with them.”
Organizing an event that covers a broad spectrum of fields can be a challenge, which is why Jessop and a staff of more than 50 organizers and hundreds of performers have been working on this year’s program since last year’s Arts Week.
“The College of Art is such a huge, varied undertaking,” Albiston said. “There are so many disciplines and so much variation within those disciplines.”
The week kicks off with a networking dinner, at which USU alumni who have built successful careers in the arts will dine with USU students.
“We want to show them how versatile a degree in the arts can be,” Albiston said.
This year’s guests will be Nathan Fischer and Forrest Lesch-Middleton, both alumni of the arts and design program. Jessop and Mary Jacobson, student senator for the college, will host the event.
“Arts Week is also about networking and connections with the role models in our alumni base who have gone on to very successful careers,” Jessop said. “We want to show the students that there can be a paycheck in the arts.”
That same night features a sing-a-long screening of “The Sound of Music.” Students receive $1 off the $3 fee if they dress in costume from the film, according to the college website.
The celebration will continue Wednesday with “Raising Caine,” a musical performance showcasing the talents of faculty, staff and students of the university. Due to the success of last year’s show, an additional performance has been added to this year’s schedule, Albiston said. The performances will be at both 6 and 8 p.m. in the Kent Concert Hall.
“It’s a combination of sublime and ridiculous,” Jessop said. “There will be some outrageous and funny pieces and some very transportive and ethereal.”
The same night will also feature “Fire and Ice,” which, according to Jessop, will feature the unveiling of an ice statue in the courtyard of the Chase Fine Arts Center created by Ryoichi Suzuki, a professor in the art and design program, and one of his students.
Thursday night, the Caine College will host the first official “USU’s Got Talent,” in the Morgan Theatre. Albiston said the event is open to all students across campus to show off their unique talents. Performers will be judged by both students and a panel of judges, which includes local artist Kalai. The winner will have the chance to perform again the following evening.
The week’s events will culminate with a grand gala Friday evening, which will be held in the Kent Concert Hall. The gala will highlight the talents of music, art and theatre students, as well as recognize outstanding seniors in each department and faculty considered instrumental in the founding of the college.
“We use it to give thanks to everyone who has been so supportive of the college, from alumni to faculty to donors,” Albiston said.
The gala will also feature a performance by Christiane Noll, a Broadway singer best known for originating the role of Emma in the musical “Jekyll and Hyde.”
“She’s an outstanding talent,” said James Bankhead, coordinator of the event and head of the music department. “When you’re looking for someone to do a show like this, you want a great entertainer who understands a broad spectrum of music that will be presented at the show. And that is Christiane Noll.”
Bankhead said the gala will feature a variety of performances that will appeal to students from all ma
jors.
“There will be everything from bagpipes to Broadway,” he said. “And we have everything from a full orchestra to a large chorus to electric guitars.”
Arts Week will not just feature scheduled performances, it will also showcase the talents of students in less-traditional venues. According to the college’s website, a student art sale will be held Tuesday through Thursday in the TSC Ballroom, and traveling musicians will roam campus throughout the week, performing as students walk to class.
Albiston also said that in conjunction with the Lyric Theatre, Arts Week will also include a special dinner-and-a-show event called Prix Fixe. For $15, students, faculty and the community can enjoy dinner at the Bluebird restaurant in downtown Logan and then watch the play “Greater Tuna,” a comedy about life in a small town in Texas. The play stars W. Lee Daily and Stefan Espinoza, who each play a variety of roles.
Students unable to attend Arts Week events can still get a taste of the diverse offerings of the Caine College of the Arts when students perform at the USU basketball halftime show on Jan. 26.
Jessop said he encourages students to attend at least one event, even if they are not affiliated with the college.
“The event was designed by (students), for (students),” he said.
Both Jessop and Bankhead agreed, the universal appeal of Arts Week its events have been designed with the tastes of a wide variety of students in mind.
“The arts speak closer to the quality of life than almost any other issue,” Jessop said. “It’s what we turn to when we need a lift or some comfort or refuge. Arts Week is a celebration of our shared cultural heritage. It’s a time to celebrate and honor excellence, but it’s also a time to have some fun and let our hair down.”
Bankhead agreed with Jessop when he said, “The week is about an expression of universal human emotion. That’s what the arts are all about.”
– m.van911@aggiemail.usu.edu