(12/10/13 5:00am)
Last Wednesday, Library and Technology Services finished installing an Ideum Pro Lab Touchscreen Table in the Farber Library Mezzanine. The "Big Brandeis Table," as it is called on the touch table's home screen, is a 55-inch touch-controlled surface running on a Windows 8 operating system. According to Director for Academic Support and User Services Joshua Wilson, Chief Information Officer and Vice Provost John Unsworth came up with the initial idea of installing the table, and it was ordered over the summer. The table arrived in October. "We've spent a significant amount of time just getting it ready," Wilson said in an interview with the Justice. "It's unlike anything else on campus, so we had to spend some time really understanding what it could do. We spent some time really thinking about what kind of content we wanted to put on there initially." According to Wilson, the table cost over $20,000, and was paid for using LTS capital funds from the University that were intended for the renovation of the Farber Mezzanine. "This is one of the higher-end ones. We wanted the most robust table we could get because we wanted the community to be able to use it without any fear of breaking it. It's meant to really stand up to all of our creativity," he said. Wilson said that such tables begin at as little as $5,000 and can be as expensive as $30,000. "It really depends upon the size, the quality, the display, the power of the computer inside," he said. According to Wilson, LTS will take care of the tablet in the same way that they take are of other equipment around campus. This includes necessary updates and replacements. "I think that part of doing something exciting is accepting some risk, so, as we all work with it and play with it and bang on it, there may be things that break," said Wilson. However, Wilson said that the table and all of its components are currently covered under a comprehensive two-year replacement warranty. Wilson said that the computer can recognize and accept multiple hands of touch input; therefore, more than one user can take advantage of the table at once. In addition, the table can run more than one application at a time, although the table is subject to the limits of Windows 8, according to Wilson. The table can also enter a split-screen mode, during which one application is open one side of the table and another application is open on the other. The current focus is geared toward data visualization, so there are several different data sets and different data visualization applications with which students can interact. In addition, Wilson said that the table can be used to navigate other applications, such as Twitter. Specifically, the table can be used for such purposes as playing multiplayer games, navigating through star maps, examining the interactions of molecules, playing simulations of several instruments-such as the piano, drum kit and guitar-and recording and sending those performances, viewing interactive statistics and more. Similar touch-screen tables are used in museums, according to Wilson. "We don't pretend in LTS that we have a great idea for what this is going to be. In some ways we wanted to put this out and let the community build it together with us, so we're hoping to partner with faculty and students to develop content and really all learn together about what this neat piece of cutting-edge technology can really do," Wilson said. According to Wilson, an early partnership was established with Prof. Tim Hickey (COSI). Hickey and some of his students will be developing academic games for the touch table. However, Wilson added that LTS is open to all ideas and potential collaborations with students and other members of the Brandeis community. When asked about the primary focus of the table, Wilson said that the purpose should be an academic tool that also allows for fun and creativity. "John Unsworth ... envisions Farber [Mezzanine] as the campus living room, so, the campus living room should have some fun stuff in it. On the other hand, there should be an academic purpose as well, so hopefully it can be some sort of a fun academic purpose that it's used for over time," Wilson said.
(11/26/13 5:00am)
The men's basketball team entered Saturday's game against Rhode Island College at a critical crossroad. The Judges staged a furious rally to edge University of Massachusetts Dartmouth by a 96-90 margin, and after that, recorded their second 100-point result over the Framingham State University Rams to improve to 3-0. However, Brandeis' hopes were dashed after a last-second layup, falling to RIC 73-72. RIC Senior guard Michael Palumbo was hit on a backdoor cut for a buzzer-beating, wide-open layup to propel the Anchormen to the win on Saturday. When asked what happened on that final play against RIC, g uard Ben Bartoldus '14 responded in a few words. "[It was] a series of unfortunate events," he said. In that game on Saturday, the Judges were sloppy from the start. They broke out to an early 11-7 lead, but Rhode Island College figured out the Judges' press and used this knowledge to fuel their run. By the end of the first half, Brandeis gave up on the press and the Anchormen found themselves with a 42-33 lead heading into the break. The second half proved to be much of the same for both teams. The squads traded baskets for the first 16 minutes of the half. The Judges kept getting to the free throw line and the Anchormen continued to dictate the pace of the game offensively. With 4:09 left, the Judges again resorted to the press. Bartoldus was fouled on a three-point attempt and made all three free throws. After a failed RIC possession, Bartoldus came down and hit a three-pointer. Brandeis' press then forced two turnovers, resulting in a layup by Bartoldus and two free throws from guard Gabe Moton '14 with just 3:03 left. The Judges managed to score 10 points in just over a minute. "I think it was just a matter of momentum," Bartoldus said. "The ball started coming our way and we took advantage of the opportunities." The Judges were down 71-70 with a minute left and without the ball. Great defense forced a shot-clock violation and the game suddenly seemed to be in the Judges' hands. The crowd was on its feet as Bartoldus drove down the lane on the next possession. His shot was blocked but he got his own rebound underneath the basket. As Bartoldus fell out of bounds, coach Brian Meehan called a timeout with 8.6 seconds left. Meehan drew up a perfect play. Guard Colby Smith '16 found forward Alex Stoyle '14 wide open from just inside the free throw line, and the jumper led to an eruption from the crowd as the Judges took a 72-71 lead with 6.8 seconds left. Unfortunately for the Judges, RIC came up with a great play of their own, resulting in the back-door layup by Palumbo. Bartoldus led the Judges with 19 points despite battling foul trouble in the first half. Moton added 16 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and four steals. Guard Robinson Vilmont '17 scored 13. Bartoldus attributed the Judges' great play thus far in the season to a new system and sound execution. "Our new offensive structure has enabled us to push the tempo, which I think has been key," he said. "Also, we have been looking for the extra pass as of late." On Thursday, though, the game was virtually over before it started. The Judges jumped out to an early 14-2 lead and never looked back. They took a 54-29 lead into halftime and kept the lead early in the second half, allowing Meehan to play the bench. Sharpshooting guard Derek Retos '14 led Brandeis with 17 points. Moton and Stoyle added 11, as all 15 players scored for the Judges-the second time they have managed that feat already this season. Tuesday's game against University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, though, was not as easy. The Corsairs led 30-16 with 7:22 to go in the first half. From there, Brandeis went on a tear with Moton leading the way. He scored 20 points from that 7:22 mark, including 15 in a row, leading to a 45-39 lead at the halftime break. With 13:55 left in the game, the Judges held their largest lead, leading the Corsairs by a 64-49 score. The Corsairs would not go down easily though. They cut the lead to four points twice, the last at 87-83 with 1:12 on the clock. Free throws by Moton, Retos, and Bartoldus allowed the Judges to keep the lead, and from there the Judges won 96-90 over the Corsairs. Moton scored a career-high 32 points while adding five rebounds and four assists. Bartoldus scored 17 points while Stoyle and Vilmont added 13 points for the Judges. Brandeis plays tonight at home against Lasell College before earning a week-long break. *
(11/19/13 5:00am)
The men's and women's swimming and diving teams, in their home opener on Saturday against Wesleyan University at Joseph M. Linsey Sports Center, fought valiantly against the Cardinals but were not able to garner enough points to steal a victory. The men picked up eight individual victories on the afternoon while the women gathered just one victory and a handful of second-place finishes on the afternoon. "It's a lot of fun [to swim at home]," said Max Fabian '15. "Home meets are fun because you've got people there watching and everyone stepped up and did really well." The women, who fell by a final score of 217-35, began the day on a high note with a win in the 1000-yard freestyle. Theresa Gaffney '16 touched the wall ahead of Wesleyan junior Margaret Daly to finish the race with a time of 12 minutes, 5.60 seconds to Daly's 12:21.18. Gaffney just missed the podium in her next event-the 200-yard freestyle-when her time of 2:15.35 registered just eight one-hundreth of a second behind Wesleyan freshman Amy Hood. Fabian said he was particularly impressed with the way Gaffney has grown into a leader for the women's team so far. "[Gaffney is] a really hard worker and a great teammate," he said. "She came a long way as a teammate and really is great to have on the team. She does a really great job leading this year." The women's team was also barely out-touched in the 50-yard freestyle, as Fallon Bushee '16 fell to Wesleyan freshman Serena Zalkowitz by 10 milliseconds. Bushee's time of 25.96 seconds was an improvement on her time during the prelims but was not enough to overcome Zalkowitz. Elsewhere, the Judges received strong performances from Fabian, Brian Luk '16 and Edan Zitelny '17 to hold their own against a team with twice as many swimmers. Although the men fell by a 132-105 margin, the Judges gained two wins from Fabian and three from both Luk and Zitelny. Fabian continued to dominate the 1000-yard freestyle, recording a final time of 10:06.84, both an improvement on the preliminary time by two seconds and almost 23 seconds faster than the second-place finish. Fabian also took home a first-place finish in the 500-yard freestyle with a time of 4:57.59, nearly five seconds ahead of the second-place finisher. Zitelny completed a strong day with wins in the 100-yard backstroke, 200-yard backstroke and 200-yard individual medley. He battled Wesleyan junior Stefan Brown in the 100-yard backstroke and finished with a commanding three-second victory over his Wesleyan opponent. Zitelny snuck past Wesleyan freshman Nathan Courville, finishing just 17 milliseconds before his counterpart. Zitelny once again edged an opponent in the 200-yard IM, securing a time of 2:06.84 that was just 21 milliseconds faster than Fabian's own finish. Zitelny impressed the veteran Fabian with his three wins for the day. "He's a great addition and he's happy to break out," said Fabian. "I'm excited to see what he can do." The Judges' eight individual wins were rounded out with three by Luk in the 200-yard, 50-yard and 100-yard events. Luk took home first in the 200-yard freestyle with a final time of 1:46.80, the 50-yard in 22.15, and finally, the 100-yard with a victory in 48.07 over Wesleyan senior captain Russell Madison. Both teams return to the pool this Saturday, traveling across Waltham to face their local rivals in a meet at Bentley University.
(11/19/13 5:00am)
This weekend, the Junventas New Music Ensemble and The People Movers dance troupe premiered Peter Van Zandt Lane's MFA '08, Ph.D. '13 ballet, HackPolitik, at the Boston University Dance Theater. This piece portrays the online relationships and actions of hackers from the 'hacktivist' group Anonymous. The story and its characters are based on real events, recounted in Parmy Olson's recent book-length expos?(c), We Are Anonymous. Lane and his collaborators capitalized on this story's latent potential for abstract representation, retelling the story of lives lived on the internet solely through music and dance.
(11/19/13 5:00am)
During college, the toughest challenges sometimes arise not in class, but in forming relationships, falling in love and redefining family-all symptoms of growing up. To explore the challenges young people face, Tympanium Euphorium presented EDGES to the Brandeis community this weekend in the Shapiro Campus Center Theater. While EDGES seemed well rehearsed and the actors shared a stellar dynamic, the musical execution of the production fell flat at times. At the Saturday night showing, even while the men's soccer first round NCAA tournament game was taking place on Gordon Field, the theater was absolutely brimming with people excited to see EDGES. The show deviated from the traditional musical format in that it was a song cycle written by Tony-nominated songwriters Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. Six undergraduate actors brought to life this hour-and-a-half long continuous musical show, which encompassed 13 songs and three short transitions. Each song focused on a snippet of the "growing up" story, like fights with siblings, helping friends out and overcoming trials in love. The cast, made up of Bethany Adam '15, Katie Jacobs '16, Makalani Mack '16, Jamie Semel '17, Eli Siegel '14 and Ray Trott '16, worked splendidly together. They kept time to the lively and continuous instrumental performance of Natsuko Yamagata '17, Brian Haungs '15 and Melanie Cytron '15, conducted by Emily Eng '14. Though the show transitioned between songs that the actors performed all together in smaller groups and as solo pieces, I thought that the best musical moments of the show came during the group performances. The individual vocal performances did not deliver the level of technical and sonic quality needed to carry a solo piece, but when the cast sang together, the focus shifted to the group's beautiful choral-style harmonies, which really added to the show. One of the funniest moments in the show-and a crowd favorite too, as it garnered a roaring wave of applause-was a song called "In Short," performed by Semel. The piece did not require immaculate vocals, and actually was made better by her erratic performance. Following a very cute piece about the first time a couple says, "I love you," performed by Trott and Jacobs, Semel quietly took the stage and began her song by pleasantly talking about a guy she had been interested in and cared for. Mid-sentence, she stalled and burst out into a hilarious rant, repeating "I just want you to f*cking die!" of her former love interest. Semel spent the rest of the song running around the stage, using bombastic and comically disarming body language to tell the audience the story of this love interest, how he wronged her and how she planned to exact her revenge. She was gasping, yelling and musing with total abandon, and put on a stellar and emotionally relatable performance. Another audience favorite was the song "Man of My Dreams," performed by Adam, Jacobs, Siegel and Mack. Adam raved to her friends, Jacobs and Siegel, about her perfect boyfriend, Mack. She danced around the stage with such joy and sang about how her boyfriend keeps her apartment clean, goes to Broadway shows with her and never tires of shopping together. The audience began cracking up as Jacobs and Siegel mouthed to each other "He's gay," while Adam twirled around the stage with innocent glee. I felt a bit uncomfortable as the songwriting employed the narrow, stereotypical idea of a gay man and even had the actors deliver a truncated line rhyming with "bag," implying that they were to have used a homophobic slur. However, the audience was still able to laugh at the upbeat, pleasantly comic feel of the rest of the song. Overall, I had a good time at EDGES and the end of the show found most of the audience on their feet giving the cast a standing ovation. The fantastic dynamic between the actors and the tremendous effort put forth by the instrumentalists and crew made for an enjoyable production, and a night full of laughs. -Editor's note: Melanie Cytron '15 is a Justice copy staff member.
(11/05/13 5:00am)
With next weekend's University Athletic Association Championships on the horizon, the volleyball team hoped to secure some momentum-boosting wins on their home court this past Saturday. A pair of tough losses to Connecticut College and Endicott College on Senior Day, by 3-2 and 3-0 margins respectively, overshadowed a 3-1 win at Lasell College earlier in the week, leaving the Judges with a 9-22 record heading into the UAA competition. "To be honest, even in the sets we lost, overall I thought our defensive effort was impressive," said head coach Michelle Kim, who was able to take a number of positive notes from the defeats. "We touched a lot of balls and kept them alive [when they looked like they were going out of play]. We wouldn't have won those points unless we were aggressive on defense. We had great hustle." Brandeis rallied to win the second set, 25-20, after dropping the first set by a 25-21 margin to the Camels. Despite taking a five-point lead at the beginning of the third set, the visitors took the third set with a 25-18 win, the match's largest margin of victory. Not to be outdone, the Judges responded with a fourth-set victory of their own, coming back to win 25-22, which seemingly paved the way for the hosts to win the final set. Though they set themselves up for a potential win, the Judges ultimately fell 15-12 in the tiebreaker, giving Conn. College the victory. Outside hitter Liz Hood '15 had a team-leading 21 kills. Outside hitter Si-Si Hensley '14 achieved a double-double-the 25th of her career-recording 14 kills and 11 digs. Setter Maggie Swenson '16 had an impressive 50 assists to tie her career best, while libero Elsie Bernaiche '15 had 26 digs, one shy of a season-best effort. In the match versus Endicott, the Gulls came out the quickest, taking the first set by a slender 25-21 margin to go 1-0 up in the match. That motivated the hosts to turn in a stronger effort in the second set, jumping out to a 17-6 lead. At that point, the Judges seemingly wrapped up the set. However, the tables would quickly be turned on the Judges. Endicott stormed back to steal a win, outscoring Brandeis 20-7 to take the set by two points, 26-24. The Gulls then downed the Judges 25-17 in the third set to s ecure the match victory. Hood led the Judges with 12 kills, Hensley led all players with 21 digs and Yael Einhorn '14 recorded a team-high 25 assists. Earlier in the week, the Judges broke a 21-21 first-set tie to win by a 25-23 margin. Even though Lasell jumped out to an early lead in the second set, Brandeis made sure to re-capture the edge, taking the second set by a decisive 25-17 margin. Lasell wasn't done though. The Lasers built a nine-point lead midway through the third set and ultimately took that round by a 25-22 score. Despite the spirited effort of its opponents, Brandeis closed out the match with a dominant 25-18 victory in the fourth set. Hood led the team with 13 kills. Libero Amaris Brown '16 converted a team-high 15 digs for the Judges while Einhorn collected a team-high 34 assists. The Judges will host their first game of the UAA Championships in Gosman Recreation and Convocation Center against Washington University in St. Louis on Friday at 12 p.m.
(11/05/13 5:00am)
With next weekend's University Athletic Association Championships on the horizon, the volleyball team hoped to secure some momentum-boosting wins on their home court this past Saturday. A pair of tough losses to Connecticut College and Endicott College on Senior Day, by 3-2 and 3-0 margins respectively, overshadowed a 3-1 win at Lasell College earlier in the week, leaving the Judges with a 9-22 record heading into the UAA competition. "To be honest, even in the sets we lost, overall I thought our defensive effort was impressive," said head coach Michelle Kim, who was able to take a number of positive notes from the defeats. "We touched a lot of balls and kept them alive [when they looked like they were going out of play]. We wouldn't have won those points unless we were aggressive on defense. We had great hustle." Brandeis rallied to win the second set, 25-20, after dropping the first set by a 25-21 margin to the Camels. Despite taking a five-point lead at the beginning of the third set, the visitors took the third set with a 25-18 win, the match's largest margin of victory. Not to be outdone, the Judges responded with a fourth-set victory of their own, coming back to win 25-22, which seemingly paved the way for the hosts to win the final set. Though they set themselves up for a potential win, the Judges ultimately fell 15-12 in the tiebreaker, giving Conn. College the victory. Outside hitter Liz Hood '15 had a team-leading 21 kills. Outside hitter Si-Si Hensley '14 achieved a double-double-the 25th of her career-recording 14 kills and 11 digs. Setter Maggie Swenson '16 had an impressive 50 assists to tie her career best, while libero Elsie Bernaiche '15 had 26 digs, one shy of a season-best effort. In the match versus Endicott, the Gulls came out the quickest, taking the first set by a slender 25-21 margin to go 1-0 up in the match. That motivated the hosts to turn in a stronger effort in the second set, jumping out to a 17-6 lead. At that point, the Judges seemingly wrapped up the set. However, the tables would quickly be turned on the Judges. Endicott stormed back to steal a win, outscoring Brandeis 20-7 to take the set by two points, 26-24. The Gulls then downed the Judges 25-17 in the third set to s ecure the match victory. Hood led the Judges with 12 kills, Hensley led all players with 21 digs and Yael Einhorn '14 recorded a team-high 25 assists. Earlier in the week, the Judges broke a 21-21 first-set tie to win by a 25-23 margin. Even though Lasell jumped out to an early lead in the second set, Brandeis made sure to re-capture the edge, taking the second set by a decisive 25-17 margin. Lasell wasn't done though. The Lasers built a nine-point lead midway through the third set and ultimately took that round by a 25-22 score. Despite the spirited effort of its opponents, Brandeis closed out the match with a dominant 25-18 victory in the fourth set. Hood led the team with 13 kills. Libero Amaris Brown '16 converted a team-high 15 digs for the Judges while Einhorn collected a team-high 34 assists. The Judges will host their first game of the UAA Championships in Gosman Recreation and Convocation Center against Washington University in St. Louis on Friday at 12 p.m.
(11/05/13 5:00am)
While some coaches are cautious before the beginning of a new campaign, fencing coach William Shipman said that he had high hopes for the men's and women's teams this year at the New England Intercollegiate Fencing Conference Fall Invitational this past Saturday. "Our fencing squads will look to make headlines... we have a long and successful tradition that we try to keep going," he wrote in an email to the Justice. After sending 12 fencers to the final eight and accumulating five medals in the NEIFC on Saturday-better known as "The Big One" in fencing circles-the Judges have made their first headline. Saberist Adam Mandel '15, followed his All-American campaign-the first such honor for a Brandeis fencer since 2008-by picking up right where he left off, going undefeated in pool play. He topped saberist Jess Ochs-Willard '15 in the quarterfinals before defeating Brown University freshman Alex Palabrica and Sacred Heart University junior Tom Gerrity by respective 15-14 and 15-6 margins for the gold medal. The other saberist to earn a medal, Annabel Sharahy '17, turned heads in her collegiate debut, outscoring her first three opponents by a combined 30-7 margin. She knocked off Brown sophomore Lauren Altman in the final eight, but ultimately failed to hold her own in a close 15-13 loss to Brown senior Caitlin Taylor, the tournament's eventual champion. The foilists, though, stole the show this weekend, earning three medals at "The Big One." Julian Cardillo '14 and Caroline Mattos '16, the other two Brandeis fencers to make a statement last April at the NCAA Championships, continued to build upon their successes with silver and bronze medals, respectively, in pool play. Cardillo edged Boston College sophomore Hanmin Lee by a 15-13 score in the semifinals, before suffering a tight 15-10 defeat to Sacred Heart sophomore Andrew Holmes in the final. Mattos cruised through her first three rounds of play, only ceding more than 10 points once in triumphs over Middlebury College, Rhode Island College and Boston College. She even pulled off a stunning 15-10 upset over Dartmouth College senior Gabrielle Stern to advance to the semifinals. However, she ultimately ran into trouble against All-American junior Kathryn Hawrot from Brown, falling in a close match to earn the bronze. Foilist Noah Berman '15 also made his way to the semifinals before dropping a close match against Holmes. Foilist Vikki Nunley '14 allowed just two touches from opponents in the first two rounds of the tournament, and from there, secured a key 15-8 win over Boston College sophomore Grace Lisius. Dartmouth freshman Phoebe Liang stood in her way in the quarterfinals, escaping with a last-second win over Nunley and advancing into the next round. Coach Shipman later stated that he was impressed with the squads' overall performance in such a competitive field. "Overall, our fencers exceeded expectations," he said. "We knew we had people in the finals that had a chance to win and our first-year fencers did incredibly well." The impressive performances did not end there for the Judges. Several saberists ended up competing against one another in what proved to be an all-Brandeis affair. Ochs-Willard advanced to the quarterfinals, but at a cost, securing a 15-14 win over fellow saberist Ben Loft '15. Loft, before that match, had knocked out Eric Shen '16 in a 15-11 win. The ?(c)p?(c)e squads also featured a pair of successes. Ari Feingersch '16 won his first five matches, including a 15-14 win over a Massachusetts Institute of Technology foe. However, the Engineers were able to top Feingersch the second time around, resulting in a sixth-place finish for the sophomore. Kristin Ha '14 proved to be one of the biggest surprises in the field, knocking off the No. 7 and No. 10 seeds in the tournament to reach the quarterfinals. While Shipman certainly had a lot to be proud of after a successful first meet, he believes that there is room for tactical improvements moving forward. "As we prepare for our next meet, we want to have each fencer make his or her own individual improvements," he explained. "However, we also will look for tactical and technical improvements in our next few matches." Shipman has set his sights on topping Brown, MIT and Sacred Heart-three of the best squads in the region. "Brown and Sacred Heart particularly are very strong from top to bottom but I think we can pull off some key upsets and step up to the challenge," he said. The squads will have the opportunity to do just that at the Northeast Conference Meet at Brown University on Friday, Nov. 16. *
(11/05/13 5:00am)
While some coaches are cautious before the beginning of a new campaign, fencing coach William Shipman said that he had high hopes for the men's and women's teams this year at the New England Intercollegiate Fencing Conference Fall Invitational this past Saturday. "Our fencing squads will look to make headlines... we have a long and successful tradition that we try to keep going," he wrote in an email to the Justice. After sending 12 fencers to the final eight and accumulating five medals in the NEIFC on Saturday-better known as "The Big One" in fencing circles-the Judges have made their first headline. Saberist Adam Mandel '15, followed his All-American campaign-the first such honor for a Brandeis fencer since 2008-by picking up right where he left off, going undefeated in pool play. He topped saberist Jess Ochs-Willard '15 in the quarterfinals before defeating Brown University freshman Alex Palabrica and Sacred Heart University junior Tom Gerrity by respective 15-14 and 15-6 margins for the gold medal. The other saberist to earn a medal, Annabel Sharahy '17, turned heads in her collegiate debut, outscoring her first three opponents by a combined 30-7 margin. She knocked off Brown sophomore Lauren Altman in the final eight, but ultimately failed to hold her own in a close 15-13 loss to Brown senior Caitlin Taylor, the tournament's eventual champion. The foilists, though, stole the show this weekend, earning three medals at "The Big One." Julian Cardillo '14 and Caroline Mattos '16, the other two Brandeis fencers to make a statement last April at the NCAA Championships, continued to build upon their successes with silver and bronze medals, respectively, in pool play. Cardillo edged Boston College sophomore Hanmin Lee by a 15-13 score in the semifinals, before suffering a tight 15-10 defeat to Sacred Heart sophomore Andrew Holmes in the final. Mattos cruised through her first three rounds of play, only ceding more than 10 points once in triumphs over Middlebury College, Rhode Island College and Boston College. She even pulled off a stunning 15-10 upset over Dartmouth College senior Gabrielle Stern to advance to the semifinals. However, she ultimately ran into trouble against All-American junior Kathryn Hawrot from Brown, falling in a close match to earn the bronze. Foilist Noah Berman '15 also made his way to the semifinals before dropping a close match against Holmes. Foilist Vikki Nunley '14 allowed just two touches from opponents in the first two rounds of the tournament, and from there, secured a key 15-8 win over Boston College sophomore Grace Lisius. Dartmouth freshman Phoebe Liang stood in her way in the quarterfinals, escaping with a last-second win over Nunley and advancing into the next round. Coach Shipman later stated that he was impressed with the squads' overall performance in such a competitive field. "Overall, our fencers exceeded expectations," he said. "We knew we had people in the finals that had a chance to win and our first-year fencers did incredibly well." The impressive performances did not end there for the Judges. Several saberists ended up competing against one another in what proved to be an all-Brandeis affair. Ochs-Willard advanced to the quarterfinals, but at a cost, securing a 15-14 win over fellow saberist Ben Loft '15. Loft, before that match, had knocked out Eric Shen '16 in a 15-11 win. The ?(c)p?(c)e squads also featured a pair of successes. Ari Feingersch '16 won his first five matches, including a 15-14 win over a Massachusetts Institute of Technology foe. However, the Engineers were able to top Feingersch the second time around, resulting in a sixth-place finish for the sophomore. Kristin Ha '14 proved to be one of the biggest surprises in the field, knocking off the No. 7 and No. 10 seeds in the tournament to reach the quarterfinals. While Shipman certainly had a lot to be proud of after a successful first meet, he believes that there is room for tactical improvements moving forward. "As we prepare for our next meet, we want to have each fencer make his or her own individual improvements," he explained. "However, we also will look for tactical and technical improvements in our next few matches." Shipman has set his sights on topping Brown, MIT and Sacred Heart-three of the best squads in the region. "Brown and Sacred Heart particularly are very strong from top to bottom but I think we can pull off some key upsets and step up to the challenge," he said. The squads will have the opportunity to do just that at the Northeast Conference Meet at Brown University on Friday, Nov. 16. *
(10/22/13 4:00am)
This week, JustArts sat down with Brian Dorfman '16 and Phill Skokos '15, who directed the Brandeis Theater Ensemble's production of 1959 Pink Thunderbird this weekend. JustArts: Would you guys tell us a bit about your time with Brandeis Ensemble Theater and how you first got involved? Phill Skokos: We really wanted to put a show on-at first it was Harvey, written by Mary Chase. But then we decided to go a bit unorthodox, and we found this play called Lone Star / Laundry & Bourbon. Lone Star I found in a used book sale and it was cool because it was a really funny play, and no one really knew it, but it had an edge to it. Lone Star is about three Texans who, after the Vietnam war, they go to a bar, they have some fun, they cruise a bit. Brian Dorfman: In our minds, or at least my mind, it's all about how everyone in west Texas was affected by Vietnam in the post-war era. We wanted specifically for this [show] to not have the main stage, and BET loves to accommodate, because they love putting on side shows. Phill Skokos: It was fortunate that we found BET to support this production, and I think BET is really happy for the show. JA: Can you talk a bit more about how 1959 Pink Thunderbird was selected to be performed? You said you found it in a used book? PS: That's more or less how I collect a lot of plays. I'm not a Theater major... but I've been doing theater for the past 16 years. It's like doing a career in theater, except not being paid. So I like to update my knowledge with plays. BD: Over the summer, we proposed to BET this side show proposal-we kept a minimum budget, we kept it all very simple, very standard. We wanted three male actors, three female actors. And we got accepted, and it was a really cool moment. JA: What challenges have you encountered in bringing the play to the stage? PS: We had to go through three actors, more or less, because they had a lot of conflicts during the rehearsal process. And eventually we found our main Cletus. We were really happy to have Steven Kline '14. BD: After we found our perfect cast, one of the biggest challenges we ran into was making certain lines-the jokes within them-really come out. I think one of the biggest challenges was on the Ray Charles line, where they have a small call back to it [later in the show]. PS: And then there are things that keep coming up in both acts. Like, again with Cletus, his inexperience with women, and Roy, with his 1959 Thunderbird-there are a lot of motifs that get carried back and forth through the play. BD: And a lot of how we overcame it came from the actors, honestly. They really gave us the-"well what if I just do this?" Like Page Smith '17, playing Hattie, when she covered her eyes [to act out] Ray Charles, and it helped a lot. JA: Do you guys have a favorite moment in the play? BD: I love all of it, I hate to say it. PS: [In Lone Star] when Cletus comes in and talks to Ray and he's like "Guys, I messed up. I kind of broke the Thunderbird." That was really fun to keep rehearsing because there's so much urgency within that scene, and urgency really makes a play keep going. And as for Laundry & Bourbon, the parts when Amy Lee comes on, because Amy Lee is such a character. - Rachel Hughes
(10/22/13 4:00am)
Last Tuesday night, Richard Newman, the head of scientific research at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, gave a fascinating lecture titled "Science in the Art Museum" as part of the Art of Science lectures, a series sponsored by Brandeis' Women in Science Initiative. At first glance, the topic of the lecture seems a little strange-art museums are usually not thought of in the realm of the sciences. However, Newman explained that the science of preservation, conservation, determining authenticity and studying the deterioration of art is extremely crucial to learning about and maintaining artwork. It is so important that many scientists, including Newman, have devoted their lives to this field of study. Newman began by talking about the history of the scientific study of art and about the place of the MFA in that history. In the United States, the first labs in museums appeared in the late 1920s. The MFA was only the second museum in the United States to have a science lab, and, according to Newman, in the 1960s, its lab was known as one of the best in the world. Newman moved on to discuss the difficulties that labs in museums are facing today. One major problem today is that lab equipment is extremely expensive, averaging $100,000 per piece, making it very difficult for museums, especially smaller ones, to fund a lab. Even the MFA, a relatively large museum, cannot afford the most cutting-edge equipment. Part of the reason for this is the cost but also there are only two scientists in the museum laboratory who use and take care of the equipment-they are, as Newman said, "a cottage industry." Museums have found ways of remedying the issues of costs and personnel demand by creating a system of collaboration. Larger museums, including the MFA, offer their services in analyzing artwork for free to smaller museums and universities who cannot afford the equipment. Newman mentioned that the MFA recently did some work with Prof. Andrew Koh (CLAS) and hopes to work more with Brandeis professors as well as students in the future. He also described how museums in Europe have remedied the problem of finances by designing mobile labs: facilities that can be moved from museum to museum. Northwestern University, in conjunction with the Art Institute of Chicago, is currently starting to develop a similarly styled laboratory. In the second half of the lecture, Newman talked about knowledge that we have acquired about art by way of science. More specifically, he talked about two pieces in the MFA that have raised some questions of authenticity. One such piece was an ivory and gold statue of a snake goddess that was thought to be ancient Minoan. Newman and his colleague conducted some tests on the piece per the request of a curator. The lab, he said, could not effectively perform carbon dating tests on the piece as it was covered in wax. Instead, they had to test the gold for the presence of other metals, and discovered high amounts of copper in it-too high compared to other samples from that time period and place of origin. The lab concluded that it is very unlikely that the statue was Minoan. It has been suggested that the archeologist who claimed to have discovered it and his team may have manufactured the statue. This cannot be proven, but the statue is no longer on display. Newman ended his lecture with some comments on the lack of information that museums provide to the public about the scientific findings regarding the artwork, including information about authenticity. This is because, as Newman said, "[museums] like to minimize words on labels" so that they are more accessible to the public. With so few words, there just isn't enough room for scientific information. In addition, museums do not like to admit when they are uncertain about the authenticity of the artwork. So next time you visit an art museum, be sure to think more carefully about how we know what we know about the pieces on display.
(10/07/13 4:00am)
There's no need to forage outside of Waltham for your weekly dose of art, as Brandeis' Women's Studies Research Center brings stunningly simple, yet beautifully composed, photographs by Vivian Maier to the Waltham community. The exhibition, entitled Vivian Maier: A Woman's Lens, showcases poignant black and white street photography of Chicago and New York from the 1950s and '60s. Working as a nanny in New York during the '50s, Maier purchased a Rolleiflex, the camera that would soon become integral to her iconic style. The German camera was one of the most cutting-edge cameras of the time and enabled Maier to capture the intimacies of street style-from the tender embraces and touches of couples to the precocious children whose stances already revealed the fully formed individual within. Maier's body of work consists of more than 150,000 black-and-white photographs that had been hiding from the public in storage lockers until John Maloof, Chicago real estate agent and local historian, found the negatives. This exhibit is the first one in the Greater Boston area of the photographer whose life story and talent is still largely undiscovered. And though Maier's work has only just recently, in the last four or five years, been introduced to the public eye, her work has already been compared to the likes of Lisette Model, Henri Cartier-Bresson and Andre Kert??sz. The exhibition consists of fewer than 50 black and white photographs whose subjects are not just people but the very street itself. Through Maier's gentle hand and discerning eye, the audience can see how humans and individuals not only interact, but also how they are changed by the landscape of the street. In an untitled photograph, one man humorously dozes off with his face cupped in the palm of his hand inside a street-side newspaper stand, which is covered in faces; a snippet of Audrey Hepburn and other images of 1954 America can be discerned among the publications. Because of Maier's experience as a nanny in New York City, children are a huge component of the exhibition. However, these are not the prim and proper, sweet images of children worthy of a family's holiday cards. Instead, children are captured in instances of pure, unadulterated emotion. They are in touch with the rollercoaster ride of their feelings as tears stream down their faces, which are scrunched with anguish. But in contrast to these images, Maier was also fond of capturing the children whose aura and unique magnetism radiated from the tilt of their head, the crossing of their arms and the intensity of their gaze. The most endearing aspect of the exhibition are the six photographs displayed together, which showcase such beautifully simple and unassuming moments of tender love. In one untitled image, a close up reveals a man and a woman standing side-by-side, their hands ever-so-gently clasped. Maier has angled and cropped the photograph so the eye of the artist is drawn to the hands of the couple, as we are unable to see the full length of the bodies. Two of the images, both untitled, capture scenes of train travel and they highlight the intimacies of love as a man and a woman morph their bodies together, and as an elderly woman rests her head on the shoulder of her husband. The show is also sprinkled with Maier's unobtrusive self-portraits. Simply posing before the glass windows of store shops or the found mirrors on the street, Maier is unpretentious, yet equally mysterious, as she rarely smiles in her photographs. She presents herself as a pleasant, but perhaps lonely individual whose decisive eye captured the everyday moments of a time that was conditional on the events of 1950s America. Standing before the exhibition, one is forced to consider not only how the street changes and alters our very existence, but also asks how a woman's eye presents a story that may have been left unrecorded. The exhibition will run until Dec. 18 at the Women's Studies Research Center.
(09/30/13 4:00am)
For Katy Dowling '15, vice-president of the Brandeis crew team, the sport is a family affair. The first annual Alumni Regatta on Saturday presented an opportunity for first-year novices to watch the proverbial "family" unite in memorable fashion. "This provided a valuable opportunity for novice [first-year] rowers to really see how rowing can affect you for the rest of your lives and gave them an opportunity to see their first race," Dowling wrote. In total, 22 alumni returned to compete in the day-long event, and it was as if they never left. "This gave alumni who haven't had a chance to row for many years to get back on the water with people they spent five (sometimes six) days a week with," she said. Dowling she said primarily recruited members of the Class of 2008 to row in the regatta, but there were a few special guests at the ceremony. These guests included Laura Hand '11, a member of Community Rower Inc., a non-profit rowing club located on the Charles River in Boston; novice coach Jeremy Asch '12; and Mei Ling Caldera '11. The novices had been particularly impressed by the appearance of Caldera, who is an educational expert on coxing and well-known among the professional community. "The novice coxswains were very excited to meet Mei Ling, as they had heard about her and read her book," Dowling stated. "They were a bit star-struck to meet her, and their enthusiasm was obvious." Steve Simons '88, a member of the first rowing class at Brandeis, attended the event. For Dowling, it could not have been more fitting that he had the opportunity to see his namesake boat, "The First Class," race. The novices also came to witness these rowers in action, and they certainly witnessed an exciting race. Five teams competed in the one-kilometer race, and while the competitors were close, one boat managed to edge out the rest for first place. Brett Wu '08, Dan Boldyrev '09, Ben Pernick '09, Jeremy Gottlieb '10 and Brontte Hwang '15, who coxed, crossed the finish line in three minutes, 55 seconds to earn top honors. Greg Ryan '12, Jeremy Asch '12, Justin Lambert '12 and Jorge Ascencio '12, with Caldera bringing up the rear as coxswain, took second. Andy Hyde '12, Avital DeSharon '12, Bill Ennis '12, Alex Barnett '11 and Megan Carden '15 as coxswain, rounded out the top three teams. Yet, the biggest surprise of the day for novices and alumni alike may have been at the post-race barbeque in the Napoli Room. University President Frederick Lawrence arrived to note his pride in the crew team's accomplishments and also encouraged novices to partake in this storied tradition. According to Dowling, he discussed how "rowing is a sport that pits a person against both time and gravity ... this is a sport about bettering ourselves, and competing against ourselves."
(09/24/13 4:00am)
On Sunday night, more than 150 students starred in the 24-Hour Musical, possibly the most hyped-up and talked-about theater event of the year. A musical produced within the span of 24 hours is an annual Brandeis tradition. Every year, the musical to be performed is kept secret until the 24-hour rehearsal period starts. This year, the musical that was released to the Brandeis community-and to the actors at 8 p.m. the night before the show-was Beauty and the Beast: Tale as Old as Torah to be directed by Jason Dick '14, Melanie Pollock '14 and Katie Doody '14. As one might expect, the 24-Hour Musical productions are not exactly polished. The performances are understandably full of comedic mishaps due to the short span of time the actors have to prepare. However, the fact that the musicals are rough around the edges is what makes the 24-Hour Musical all the more enjoyable. The audience is encouraged to laugh right along with the actors. Even though the show was not perfect; it was amazing that such a coherent performance was accomplished in 24 hours. In Sunday night's performance, the actors made their characters come to life. It was also hard to imagine musical numbers could be prepared in such a short amount of time, but nevertheless, the actors put on numerous lively and extravagant numbers, many of which looked as though they had been prepared for months. The show started off with some technical difficulties. In the first two scenes, the microphones were not working, but halfway through the third scene, to everyone's relief, the problem was fixed and the actors became audible. Quickly and effectively fixing fumbles proved to be a theme throughout the night. There were entrances missed, lines lost and on-stage collisions, but the actors recovered from all these mishaps beautifully. Actors would improvise lines, wait out awkward silences in order to get back on track or help each other out with cues. At one point, Margot Grubert '17, playing Belle, sang a line three times to get back on cue. The crowd clapped loudly as she once again became in sync with the music. One of the highlights of the night-and there were many-was in the opening scene when the narrator and rabbi, Jason Kasman '16, told the backstory to the musical: the tale of how a young prince turned into a beast. In the scene, the young prince, Ricky Rosen '14, refuses an unattractive woman in a cloak who subsequently puts a spell on him to transform the man into a beast. Once the woman completed the spell, she pulled off her cloak only to reveal the actor: Senior Vice President for Students and Enrollment Andrew Flagel. The crowd went wild. Some of my favorite musical numbers were "Be Our Guest," which included nearly the whole cast, "Gaston" sung by Gaston, played by Levi Squier '14, Lefou and the villagers, and "Beauty and the Beast" sung by Mrs. Potts, played by Miriam Goldman '15. "Be Our Guest" was one of the largest musical numbers and was amazingly executed. The choreography, which included high kicks, was almost in sync, an amazing feat considering there must have been more than 70 people on stage, all in large and bulky costumes. "Gaston" was near-perfect and Bethany Adam '15, playing Lefou, Gaston's extremely awkward and subservient sidekick, barely used her script once during her sizeable solo. In "Beauty and the Beast," Goldman beautifully sang a heartwarming, melodic refrain as Belle and the Beast shared an intimate moment at dinner. The Jewish spin on the annual musical is a Brandeis tradition; last year's performance was The Little Mermaideleh and the year before, The Wedding Tzinger. This year, the theme of Jewish culture was definitely not overlooked; throughout the show, there were copious references to both the culture and tradition. Lumier?(c), played by Chris D'Agostino '17, was represented in the shape of a menorah instead of the conventional candelabra. Belle makes her father a kippah and at one point, Cogsworth, played by Ian Carroll '15 suggests that Belle's rations for the night should be some water and a little challah. I have to give my most sincere compliments to all the actors. They accomplished a seemingly impossible task-a play in a day. I sometimes forgot that these actors had slept little in the last day because they were so animated and involved in their roles. After the finale, "Be Our Guest," a number which included the whole cast, the audience gave a standing ovation.
(09/23/13 4:00am)
This summer, from June 20 through Wednesday, Sept. 25, the Kniznick Gallery of the Women's Studies Research Center is hosting Suzanne Hodes' collection of pieces entitled Family Matters: Three Generations of Women. The collection on display in the gallery is only a small portion of Hodes' life's work. Hodes is originally from New York City, though she has lived in the Boston area for many years. Both metropolitan regions have left their mark in some of the small details of her paintings and char- coal work. The backgrounds of the pieces in Family Matters provide an abstract urban setting-apartments and small spaces. Sometimes the image could represent an actual memory of a place, but some backgrounds are vague, swirling around the primary characters to create feeling rather than fact. Contrary to her past styles, Hodes' current exhibition at Brandeis is far more intimate. The artist is well-versed in social and political commentary as shown by her previous works depicting topics such as environmental catastrophe of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill and the 9/11 tragedy. Family Matters takes up most of the floor and ranges from charcoal pieces to bright paintings. Every piece is tender and truthful in its depiction of the women in her family. One painting in particular, "Memory of Mother in Her Apartment at Dusk," displays a layered deep purple skyline beyond a window. The artist's mother stands to the side of the frame next to a work table, as if waiting for her daughter to finish capturing the scene. The viewer is brought into the small world created by the pot of flowers and the lamp on the table, but the city world outside that enclosed space is just as important. One world cannot be appreciated without the presence of the other; the world outside holds infinite possibilities because there is the small, safe place to land. Each of the women in Hodes' work is shown in what the viewer must assume is their natural state. Hodes captures their expressions before they alter them to a more socially acceptable state. One of the more striking pieces, "Metamorphosis," a charcoal and pastel work, is also the only nude. The rest of her work involves bundled-up figures, with bodily shapes obscured by many layers and robes. In "Metamorphosis," however, the middle-aged subject sits directly facing the viewer with hands folded, mouth neutral, in an attitude of complete acceptance of femininity without pretense. When Hodes' pieces include motherly figures fully clothed, however, the result is somehow more intimate. Each moment captured is relatable for every per- son with a mother or a grandmother. For the series of works entitled "My Mother Three Times," the viewer peers through three doorways into a small apartment kitchen. The mother figure bends over the stove and the counter, unaware of any other living thing. This is not a depiction of the ultimate maternal moment in the kitchen; it is a true moment of a woman in her private life. The viewer is a voyeur; the woman does not look up or perform for others. One of Hodes' brightest paintings, "Mother in Her Orange Robe," is a perfect moment in time. Unlike her other pieces, the subject, "Mother," is almost smiling. Her hand grips the edge of a counter and seems to walk toward the viewer. There is a suggestion of possibility of motion in her other hand, resting actively by her side in the painting. Hodes creates warmth in this work not just in the color palette of the orange robe but in the feeling inevitable in the viewer that they will be welcomed into this woman's world. Part of Hodes' feminism in her work is that she does not shy away from wrinkles or imperfections in the women. There is more strength in slight vulnerability than in smooth skin. Her paintings and charcoal drawings are like magnifying glasses that the viewer uses to peer into a delicate moment. However, even more beauty exists if the viewer makes a mental connection between Hodes' family, and the viewer's own memories of maternal figures.
(09/23/13 4:00am)
The Brandeis University men's and women's cross-country teams got their respective seasons off to strong starts at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Shriners' Invitational on Saturday. Without captain Ed Colvin '14, who usually sets the pace for the men's team, the Judges still finished sixth out of 28 teams at the competition. Jarret Harrigan '15 and Quinton Hoey '17 who finished 21st and 22nd, respectively, paced the Judges. Both comeptitors averaged just under five minutes, 20 seconds per mile and impressed coach John Evans. "We're a young team, with three first-years, and it'll be a transition year for them. They all came together pretty well," he said. In addition to the men's success in their races, the women-much to the delight of Evans-took second out of 29 competing teams in the five-kilometer run. The Judges took three of the top six overall times, five of the top 25 times, and an individual win from co-captain Amelia Lundkvist '14, who covered the five-kilometer course in 18 minutes, 15 seconds. The variety of strong results led the Judges to a second-place finish behind Rowan University, which won the meet with 45 points, which was six better than Brandeis' tally of 51 points. Lundkvist was not the only strong performer for the women's squad, though. Maddie Dolins '17 had an impressive day, edging co-captain Victoria Sanford '14 for a sixth-place finish in 18:39, giving the Judges three runners in the top 10 overall places. "The women ran really well," said Evans. "It was a big step up from previous years and I was really pleased." In addition to the three runners in the top 10, the Judges snuck one more into the top 20, which was rounded out with Kelsey Whitaker '16, who finished in 19:25. "Amelia ran incredible and Dolins stepped in. [Those two and Sanford] give us a really great top three," remarked Evans. Putting four runners in the top 20 is certainly a notable achievement, but the Judges were lucky to have runners finishing right outside those places. First-year Ashley Piccirillo-Horan '17 just missed the top 20 while rounding out the Judges' scoring on the day, finishing in 23rd, a mere two seconds behind Whitaker at 19:25. Additionally, Maggie Hensel '15, whose finish in 20:45 placed her in the top 100, provided depth for the squad. The men were also successful in their pursuit of having quality performances in the team's five leading runners. Behind Harrigan and Hoey, they received impressive performances from Michael Rosenbach '15 and Matt Doran '17. Rosenbach averaged five minutes, 26 seconds per mile to finish the eight-kilometer race in 27 minutes even, good for 33rd place. Doran's pace of five minutes, 30 seconds per mile saw him finish in 41st place at 27 minutes, 11 seconds. Scoring for the men's team-which was made more challenging by the fact that they were one of only three schools to bring the minimum five competitors to the competition-was rounded out by newcomer Daniel Leon '17, who finished 108th out of 210 racers, covering the distance in 29:03, which was an average of five minutes, 49 seconds per mile. Although the Judges finished just outside the top five as a team, the showing was impressive considering the small number of competitors they featured. With these early-season successes, the men's and women's cross-country teams have reason to be confident about their future performances. As a result, Evans looks at these performances as a metaphorical stepping stone to something bigger and better. "It was a promising start," he said. "We will move on to the next race [on Oct. 5], and we're going to hopefully be in the mix at the end of the season." Both teams will have opportunities to prove themselves when they each travel to Keene, N.H. for the Keene State College Invitational on Oct. 5. A week after that, on Oct. 12, they will find themselves competing against the best teams from all division in the region at the Open New England Championships to be held at Franklin Park in Boston.
(09/02/13 4:00am)
While most of the city was sweltering throughout this weekend, flocking from one air-conditioned building to the next, many Bostonians took a break from the late summer heat to enjoy the Boston Arts Festival. Cleverly subtitled ?Shts, a play on the distinctly Bostonian intonation of the word "arts," the festival acknowledged and elaborated upon many of the regionalisms unique to Boston. Spanning Saturday and Sunday, the festival filled up Christopher Columbus Waterfront Park with joyful families and friends, young and old alike, all eager to experience the art-performances, visual and interactive pieces-that the city has to give. This weekend program sponsored by the city of Boston was indeed (as the festival program promised) a "celebration of the visual and performing arts," but it also captured an experiential aspect of art. As I approached the waterfront from the Faneuil Hall shopping district, I could tell that I was entering a space that was made to stand out from the rest of the city. The art projects and presentations that were on display in the booths of artisan vendors were nestled between sizable interactive art pieces and outdoor installations, and as I approached the water, I saw festival goers flock together on the green in front of a large outdoor stage setup. Out of 54 visual and craft artist vendors, 15 musical performances, five temporary public art installations, eight interactive art programs and a firework show presented over the weekend, I must say that my favorite part of the festival was the tactile art-larger pieces that could be touched, played with and even changed by the viewer-the innovative installations, especially. As I approached the docks, I passed an idyllic, conceptual installation piece: Michele Auer's "String Theory." The piece was composed of a spider web system of cables, suspended more than 10 feet above the ground between three wooden, tree trunk-like supports, from which hung a cloud-like cluster of yellow string. The densely-packed strings varied in length so that in the middle of the piece, they hung down lowest to the ground and hung increasingly and uniformly higher toward the outside of the piece. "String Theory" stood out from the greenery of the park, and its canary yellow string wisps blew through the wind, tugged by the hands of toddlers, children and babies carried by their parents. Auer's piece embodied the beauty of interactive art: the more a viewer can relate to and experience a piece, the more dynamic the piece's meaning becomes. And it doesn't have to be an intellectually charged, introspective interaction. Rather, sometimes the most lasting impressions made by art are the simplest-ask any of those kids what their favorite part of the day was, and I'll bet that even after seeing all the performers, sculptures, crafts and murals, they would still say, "pulling on the yellow strings." Continuing my walk through the park, I neared the stage-a bare-bones metal construction that would remind Brandeisians of our school's annual Springfest concert-and moved into a crowd largely composed of adults. Indie music duo Dwight & Nicole, fronted by recording artists Dwight Ritcher and Nicole Nelson, were onstage, transitioning from one set to the next. As I moved into earshot, Nelson started speaking fondly of Boston, where she moved into her first apartment alone as a young adult. "So about your room... there aren't any windows," she repeated the words of her first landlord to the crowd. "But now the view's pretty good. It's awesome to be back in Boston," she said sweetly. The two then started into a passionate, plucky song that reflected their blues influence, and the crowd mellowed into a state of contentment. Against a background of the setting sun and lapping water, the experience was enchanting. The most tactile and fun part of the festival, for me, was probably the last piece that I saw as I was leaving. At the edge of the park, two fence-like structures were set up on the last few feet of green. The plywood "fences" were covered with drying paint-splattered, smeared, stroked, stippled and dabbed. This visitor-created piece, the least-planned-out and most informal of the whole shebang, so simply communicated the festival's message: art is something that can be created and experienced by everyone, that is accessible to everyone. Watching the festival goers gain such genuine enjoyment and excitement from each work of art was one of the most worthwhile ways to spend a day. *
(08/26/13 4:00am)
As most Brandeisians are eagerly moving back into their dorms and leisurely reacquainting themselves with campus, those students who are active in our theater community are already getting back to work, preparing for this fall's theater season. The Undergraduate Theater Collective has a very impressive lineup this fall for both students to take part in and for audiences to enjoy. With a total of eight shows already planned to grace the stages of campus theaters this semester, the Justice asked for a backstage look at the UTC's upcoming plans. For those who are unfamiliar with the group, the UTC encompasses five theater clubs: Brandeis Ensemble Theater, Boris' Kitchen, Brandeis Players, Hillel Theater Group and Tympanium Euphorium. Each of these clubs has at least one show in the works for this semester, in addition to the collaborative 24-Hour Musical, which will be sponsored by both Tympanium Euphorium and Hillel Theater Group. UTC Coordinator Alyssa Bickoff '15 was eager to share with JustArts her excitement for "such a full and diverse season this semester. Our current lineup of shows is: the 24-Hour Musical, 1959 Pink Thunderbird: Laundry and Bourbon / Lone Star, Boeing-Boeing, Almost, Maine, Edges, Children's Hour, BK's Big Show, and [BET's] Quickies." Bickoff also divulged that some of Brandeis' other performance groups outside of the UTC umbrella have dynamic shows in the works, echoing the cooperative attitude that is so affectionately engrained into our theater community. "We are also excited that Hold Thy Peace is producing Hamlet and Free Play is producing two shows, including Kennedy's Children and Stuff Happens," she said. Each of Brandeis' theater groups absolutely shines individually, and this semester is no exception to the way that the unique energy of each club translates to very distinct, very passionate performances. Take Brandeis Players, a group dedicated to representing the non-musical aspect of theater. Like any member of the theater community, Players' President Dave Benger '14 wrote fondly of his club in an email to the Justice. "Players was my first Brandeis theater home," he says, going on to express his excitement for their upcoming production of Boeing-Boeing: "I think Boeing-Boeing really speaks to our core mission, which is just producing solid quality straight plays that entertain and/or challenge the audience in some way." Boeing, Boeing is an uproarious, scandalous production about a bachelor who is simultaneously engaged to three stewardesses, and when he can't keep his lies straight, the play picks up hilarious momentum. "It is one of the few comedies gracing the Brandeis stages this season," Benger adds. A club that is more focused on experimental and student-created performances, Brandeis Ensemble Theater, also has big plans in the works. BET co-coordinator Erica Haas '14 echoed the enthusiastic sentiments of Bickoff and Benger, saying: "I am really excited for the fall season. I am so thrilled to be working as co-coordinator along with Melanie Pollock '14 this year ... BET is bringing three productions to the student body this semester. Our first production of the season will be a side project, 1959 Pink Thunderbird: Laundry and Bourbon / Lone Star, directed by Phil Skokos '15, which will run [in] October. BET's mainstage production, Almost, Maine, which will be directed by Bethany Greenbaum '16, will occur two weeks later. Finally, BET will end the fall season with Quickies, BET's Annual One-Act Festival in December." The club will be hard at work, it seems, throughout the semester to continue their high-energy performing legacy. First up this season will be the 24-Hour Musical, which is a dependable and beloved favorite, especially since it is the first opportunity for first-years to dive into the college theater scene. Tymp and HTG band together for this performance, conveniently named for its ludicrous preparation time-only 24 hours, and 24 hours straight, mind you. The musical is always a joyful way to kick off the season, so keep your eye out for ticket sales in mid-September. With such a jam-packed lineup of incredible shows, you won't want to miss a single one.
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Based on the novels by Charlaine Harris, HBO's series True Blood started off strong, as an exciting blend of fantasy and politics set in a small Louisiana town. The promising series began in the summer of 2007, but quickly disappointed as the seasons progressed, sucking itself dry of intellect, and becoming simply drama and sex-obsessed, too much like other sensationalist vampire television shows. The politics of how humans and vampires could live together in a civilized manner-paralleling similar issues in the gay and racial minority communities-were left by the wayside in favor of more fantastical storylines, clouding the show's potential. This summer, True Blood celebrated its sixth season on HBO, a season that, once again, did not live up to its potential. Throughout the show, Bill's (Stephen Moyer) character has seen significant change, beginning as a brooding and sweet local vamp, and then transforming into an arrogant, intolerant vampire king. Moyer's ability as an actor to play both sides of the coin is something to be appreciated. His character effortlessly changes from being loved to being despised, and in season six, viewers see him regress into a version of his old self. Possessed by the vampire god Lilith (Jessica Clark), Bill is made to do her bidding. At the end of season five, Bill rose to the height of his conceit when he drank Lilith's holy blood. Moving into season six, a still impossible Bill realizes that he has taken his power too far, and finally, struggles to do the right thing. Meanwhile, Governor Burrell (Arliss Howard) declares war on all vampires. He takes over the TruBlood factories in Louisiana, poisoning the drinks with "Hep-V," and creates test and torture facilities for vampires. This storyline could have truly turned the show around for the better; it brings back the political edge the show lost sight of. However, it falls short: Governor Burrell is too comical and irrational to be an authentic leader and is unable to swing the show back on track. The season finale, called "Radioactive," (named for Imagine Dragons' hit song, which plays during the credits) aired on August 18. Though one of the season's better episodes, it still failed to grab the audience with the same gripping suspense seen in the first season. The possessed Bill loses all of his godly powers and returns to a normal, slightly dazed state of mind after freeing the vampires from their prison. He feels a great deal of remorse for how horrible he has been to Sookie (Anna Paquin) and when Lilith leaves Bill, he says, "It came at a price." He has a far away look in his eye and we get a glimpse of that altruistic hero who was present in the first few seasons when he was Vampire Bill of Bon Temps. And, with that side of Bill, inevitably comes his love for Sookie. The introduction of werewolves into the show led to an unfortunate number of additional magical creatures. But there was one positive aspect, Alcide (Joe Manganiello). Alcide was the good, safe guy Sookie needed in her life. He was a big hulking pile of good-natured, raw man. Though Sookie was preoccupied most of the time, she and Alcide had tense and erotic chemistry. Jumping ahead six months, we find them in a committed relationship, a relationship that now seems "normal" and boring. Another interesting twist, Sam (Sam Trammell), a shifter, has been elected mayor of Bon Temps, a highly unlikely scenario as most of the humans are living in fear of anything that is not human. Not only is Sam mayor, but he asks that the humans to enter into an agreement with local vampires to ensure everyone's protection from the growing group of Hep-V infected vampires. In exchange for protection, the healthy vampire will be able to feed on humans. Humans are protected and vampires are fed. Everyone wins. All those who agree to enter into this agreement gather together for a barbecue complete with grilled alligator so the vampires and humans can mingle to find their match. At the barbecue Tara (Rutina Wesley) is approached by her mother Lettie Mae Daniels (Adina Porter). The two go to a secluded area where Lettie begs Tara to let her make up for all of those years of neglect. "Let me nourish my baby girl," she says. After intensely staring at her mother, Tara kneels down and violently and erotically feeds on her mother. Tara's relationship with her alcoholic, abusive mother was one of the very real issues that set True Blood apart from most other television shows in the fantasy genre. This scene is the kind of quality we saw in season one. It portrays an overflow of raw emotion that is not ruined with cheesy dialogue, rather spoken through action, which was a key component of True Blood's initial success. But the moment does not last long. Sookie and Alcide are just leaving the barbecue when Bill shows up and offers Sookie his protection. Old tension between Bill and Alcide immediately begins to bubble, but their macho growling is cut short when they both smell something. A group of infected vampires emerges through the trees, thirsty for blood. The season ends with the prospect of a vampire-zombie apocalypse as Imagine Dragons' "Radioactive" plays over credits. AMC's The Walking Dead meets The CW's Vampire Diaries? The war between humans and vampires is set aside and they now have a common enemy as True Blood gears up for its seventh season, making it HBO's longest running show yet. *
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Washington, D.C. is a city steeped in history and, for many, a fitting symbol for the American Dream. Just ask anyone who happens to stare up at the Lincoln Memorial, pass beyond the White House gates or walk through the hallowed halls of the Capitol. As an intern in D.C. this past summer, I'm tempted to agree with that statement. However, in This Town, written by New York Times correspondent Mark Leibovich, the story of D.C. unfolds in a much different manner. Leibovich sets the stage with a lavish depiction of the June 2008 'funeral' of Tim Russert, the late host of Meet the Press. However, the reader arrives at an immediate impression that this is really not a memorial service for one of America's esteemed journalists. The 2,000 'mourners' instead desperately vie to shine on the 'red carpet,' strengthen their political networks and gain an entrance into this vaunted "town." Washington, D.C., then, is not that beacon on a hill-for Leibovich, it's nothing more than a brand. He proceeds to deconstruct the shining portrait of the nation's capital throughout the first Obama administration, exposing its actors as a representation of the city's apparent corruption, graft and sullied integrity. Leibovich's biting satire and gripping narrative propelled me into an unfamiliar setting, one in which D.C. is nothing more than a marketplace of connections and job peddlers. Yet, even after my summer in Washington, I continued to turn the pages, fascinated by this particular insider account from the White House, Congress and the bustle of Pennsylvania Avenue. Leibovich structures his book as a series of character profiles, analyzing the 'movers and shakers' of Washington. However, these analyses are incredibly insightful and incisive, offering intimate portrayals of each political actor's ambitions and motivations. Andrea Mitchell, according to Leibovich, is more than just a well-respected reporter for NBC News. As wife of former Federal Reserve Chair Alan Greenspan, she must balance inevitable conflicts of interest and demanding social obligations. There is also Bob Barnett, the self-proclaimed "super-lawyer" of Washington, D.C. While he may be a master in the craft of securing multi-million dollar book deals for Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin, Leibovich reveals that his true desire is to be perceived as a serious political aficionado and a "Washington wise man." This series of intense psychological profiles occurs throughout the book, inviting the reader into a world that, for most, seems like utter fantasy. Who would have imagined that Mike Allen's Playbook for Politico-nothing more than a composition of important birthdays, events and gatherings for D.C. VIP's-had such influence on a powerful collection of Americans? Tammy Haddad, former producer of Larry King Live, totes around a "Tam Cam" to ambush Washington notables, and rather than get sued for defamation, gets paid handsomely for her services by Time and the Washington Post. This version of D.C. is hard to swallow for most, but ultimately, it's what makes Leibovich's book both entertaining and eye-opening. The accounts are authentic and the characters are genuine, offering the ordinary American an unparalleled glimpse into how the nation's capital operates. Leibovich uses President Obama as a prime example at the conclusion of the book. As an ardent opponent of the Washington establishment in his 2008 presidential campaign, the president desired for his administration to be perceived as morally pure and apolitical. Yet, for change to occur, he had to concede at times to the corporate and lobbying "villains" of the city. It's just how politics work-as Leibovich states, "they know they're playing a game and they don't pretend otherwise." In fact, this warped sense of honesty is what makes other characters such as Kurt Bardella, power-hungry press aide to Representative Darrell Issa, and homeless child-turned-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid so endearing. They are flawed and vulnerable-just like ordinary Americans. Leibovich inherently understands and illuminates that point for his audience. It is important, though, to not entirely validate Leibovich's narrative. His worldview seemed somewhat fictionalized and his profiles verged at times on the edge of fantasy. However, it was a thrilling and engaging read-particularly as an aspiring politico. It also offered a lesson that especially resonated with me following my own experience in Washington. This Town is just as much a symbol of America as Monument Row. The greatest politicians are also human with base desires and ambitions-just like us.
