(05/20/08 4:00am)
CNN senior political analyst Bill Schneider '66 advised the graduating Class of 2008 to be politically aware and involved during his keynote address at the University's 57th commencement ceremony last Sunday. 826 undergraduates, 614 masters degree recipients, 84 Ph.D. candidates and their families packed into the Gosman Sports and Convocation Center. Schneider's words made many laugh, simultaneously sending a serious message to the graduates with a gentle yet guiding tone: Be mindful of changes in consciousness and unify our divided country. Chair of the University Board of Trustees Malcolm Sherman introduced Schneider and four other recipients as they received their honorary degrees. Sherman referred to Schneider as the "Aristotle of American politics," citing an article in the Boston Globe. Schneider is a contributing editor to National Journal magazine and The Atlantic Monthly and is a regular contributor to several prestigious publications. A winner of the Brandeis Alumni Achievement Award and former visiting professor in 2002 teaching on America's electorate, Schneider shared his political expertise with the graduates and their families."Sit down, shut up and listen to us," Schneider said, referring to members of his class and others like them who were involved in politics in their undergraduate years. He remembered that during his own graduation, several graduates turned their backs to the speaker, a United Nations ambassador, to show their opposition to the Vietnam War. While this anecdote encouraged students to take an active role in politics, Schneider also admitted that his generation showed great enthusiasm for many issues, but at the same time, the country divided into irreconcilable political parties. "Our generation has seen impossible things happen, and your generation will too," Schneider said. He continued, saying "our generation left this country divided." For 40 years now there has been a divide between red conservative and blue liberal America, he said."Americans have had enough," which is why the country has been nominating presidential candidates who will end the divide, said Schneider. He emphasized this point quoting Sen. John McCain, "This endless paralyzed anchor must end. We belong to different parties, not different countries." Schneider also noted Sen. Barack Obama's status as "the great unifier."This year, Schneider said, voters are looking for the realization of President Bush's 2000 unfulfilled promise to be "a uniter, not a divider."Schneider left the graduates with a charge to tend to the state of America: "We broke it, you fix it." Schneider described his graduating class at Brandeis as the "cutting edge of the baby boom generation." He quipped about his generation's great innovation, which was also colored with arrogance. "We Baby Boomers knew everything. We did everything. We invented sex. . We invented drugs ... and we darn sure invented rock and roll," he said, alluding to this generation's own change in consciousness and awareness. "Here's something else we invented: politics." Schneider joked about President George W. Bush being part of his generation: "Oops, Our bad," he said. But he noted the changed nature of current politics: "Now look what we've got-a woman and an African American.""Politics has become exciting again, just like it was for us in the 60s," Schneider said. "The audience for politics, bless their hearts, keeps growing and growing." He attributed part of that growth to the graduates and their peers "clicking and texting and blogging away." Recalling his personal experiences growing up in the segregated South, Schneider discussed the indignation surrounding the enforcement of the Jim Crow laws and how Rosa Parks' courage brought the black community's outrage to public knowledge. "Consciousness changed," Schneider explained, tying his generation to the new concept of personal activism. Schneider cited other changes in consciousness including Prof. Anita Hill's (Heller) testimony at U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas' Senate confirmation hearings in 1991, as a result of which,"sexual harassment changed overnight from a joke to a crime."Continuing with his message about awareness, Schneider shared an anecdote about an Oxford graduate who asked the former British prime minister Benjamin Disraeli what he needed to know in order to enter public life. Disraeli replied that one must know oneself and one must know the times, Schneider recounted.On a similar note, Sherman, in his speech, urged the graduates to remain opinionated and skeptical using their "Brandeis lens." "Shout when you see that the emperor has no clothes," Sherman encouraged the graduates. University President Jehuda Reinharz, who apologized for having to leave the ceremony early in order to attend his own daughter's graduation, also spoke about defying norms. Reinharz gave a brief history of the creation of the University and said that "creating Brandeis was so out of the box." Five consultants advised the founders of the University against establishing Brandeis, he said. But building the institution, he said, was a grand and bold idea. Reinharz advised the graduates to follow in the footsteps of their alma mater's founders by taking intellectual chances.Reinharz presented honorary degrees to novelist and journalist James Carroll, Dr. Helene D. Gayle, president of the humanitarian organization CARE USA, past chairman of the Brandeis Board of Trustees Stephen Kay and mathematician and Prof. Karen K. Uhlenbeck '68. Anya Bergman and Shana D. Lebowitz contributed reporting.
(05/20/08 4:00am)
I think we can all be honest here and admit that campus television doesn't hold much appeal next to cable or satellite. Why suffer grainy, low-budget, poorly edited, awkwardly acted television with lazily written jokes? Why suffer alone on the edge when we, the Union of American Couch Stains, have demanded and received high-quality, eye-popping, flawless TV programming? We like our false realities seamless. When a coffee mug is mysteriously moved in the background or a joke cut off too early, we cringe at the thought that our beautiful blonde is actually just a so-so brunette. So why should we subject ourselves to the lo-fi comedy of Slice 'n Deis, now on its third episode? Well, probably because we're not going to see any jokes about Brandeis on cable TV any time soon, one episode of The Simpsons notwithstanding. In addition, supporting our campus media outlets will likely produce even higher-quality programming. Provided we get a few chuckles out of it, it's a win-win situation. Thus far, Slice 'n Deis has kept up its side of the bargain. The latest installation in a very slowly growing series, "The Finals Countdown" follows a pack of supposedly stereotypical Brandeis students, three boys and their token female friend with whom one of the boys is in love, as they tackle (Surprise, bitches!) the ever-challenging and torturous season of finals. The plot offers helpful hints for surviving the murderous season, such as heavy drinking, bribery and furious masturbation. It should be noted that neither the Justice nor the University endorse these methods of study. Also weaving their way into the finals shtick are some other sub-plots revolving around some of our more commonly shared Brandeis experiences. One character must shake off a subtly unstable, disturbingly hairy ex-hookup while his friends search in vain for a secret society meeting of attractive Brandeisians. Along the way, they also throw a few punches at our European compatriots, ripping some one-liners about their expensive cars, sexy accents and fantastic weed. So at this point in the synopsis, it's clear that we don't have the next Arrested Development on our hands. For all the charm of its Brandeis oriented comedy, Slice 'n Deis is still frustratingly amateurish on a few occasions. Forgivable financial constraints excuse the show's shoddy look, but good jokes shouldn't need a budget. Even on some of their sharper Brandeis jabs, it still feels like I've heard these jokes before at a lunch table in Usdan. This University is a unique one, and I'm sure these writers could find some fresh angles from which to poke fun at it. Still, for the uninitiated, Slice 'n Deis is an enjoyable comedy, and even for the jaded elders, there's still some excitement to be had from seeing their school on the small screen. The show's core cast, Larissa Liebmann '10, Alex Gaman '10, Ted Levin '10, Josh Reuss '10 and Gdaly Berlin '10, are growing more comfortable on camera and seem to be developing a good chemistry. With the summer months free to focus on stronger writing, Slice 'n Deis could make a real impact in the coming semester.
(05/20/08 4:00am)
It's little wonder that Measure for Measure is not one of the most commonly produced of Shakespeare's plays. With a plot centrally concerned with the legal repercussions of pre- and extramarital sex that resolves in a series of forced marriages, Measure for Measure does seem at least somewhat less accessible than the Bard's more canonical works. But this was not the case with Free Play Theater's recent rendition, which ran during the first weekend of May in a small lecture hall in the Women's Studies Research Center. Director Vicki Schairer '09 and her small cast and smaller crew offered an interpretation with a deep understanding of the play's complex questions of pride, duty and power, bringing to life a production rich in character, captivating in performance and, most of all, assured in message. The staging was simple, yet confidently executed. Each member of the six-person cast took on multiple roles, bringing to life at least twice as many characters. When not on stage, the actors sat motionless to the side, save for the subtle costume changes made to differentiate their various characters. The modern costumes indicated a reworked setting, but this decision seemed more for the sake of simplicity than any explicit dramatic purpose.While the venue was underwhelming and the sets strictly utilitarian, the production drew its success from the strength of its acting. Each actor in each of his multiple roles delivered his lines not as recitations, but endowed with a tangible understanding of the words that can only come from endless rehearsal and dedication. Freshman Ben Witte's turn as the duke who masquerades as a friar brought exactly the right tone to the crucial, plot-moving character. Despite some robe-related costuming difficulties, Witte imbued each of his scenes with a pointed intensity that reflected a genuine understanding of the character and plot. His scenes with the equally convincing Ernaest Paulin '09 were true highlights that displayed some of the finest acting I've yet witnessed on the Brandeis campus. Alex Martynov '08 effectively embodied the corrupt Angelo with a brooding presence and smarmy gaze that more than compensated for the goofy accent of his secondary character, Pompey. Female star Rachel Kurnos '08 also expertly related an Isabella caught in the horrible struggle between the death of her brother and her own virtue. The cast seamlessly ran through each act, accenting just the right scenes and hitting those punch-lines that are so often lost in amateur Shakespeare productions. The audience members moved as one to the edges of their seats when on-stage emotions ran high and fell back in laughter during the ripe portions of comic relief. But what was clearest from the performance was not simply the talent of the cast or even the vision of the director but rather the true sense of dedication and investment displayed by all involved. Schairer and company revealed a thorough understanding of the work in all its rich complexities that knew where its priorities lay. With minimal resources and the most basic of presentations, the production ultimately achieved that most fleeting of Shakespearian accomplishments by not only keeping the audience's attention, but keeping them engrossed and captivated the entire time.
(04/01/08 4:00am)
On a shelf next to Scott Feinberg's '08 desk sits a very, very heavy blue binder. Inside lies interview upon interview with a colorful spectrum of Hollywood personalities. They range from Oscar-winning dreadnaughts like George Clooney to an original Lollipop Guild munchkin from The Wizard of Oz. Its pages are a bible of sorts, the holy word of Hollywood's apostles. Contrary to your suspicions, Feinberg does not moonlight as a Hollywood mogul. Rather, his impressive list of star connections is the result of his work on his own blog, www.andthewinneris.blog.com, a site dedicated to coverage of the Oscars year-round. Not just another rumor-spreading pet project, "And The Winner Is." has been referenced in the New York and Los Angeles Times, New York Magazine and the New Republic, among others. Vanity Fair even called it "an awards authority;" quite an honor for someone who hasn't even received his bachelor's degree. Feinberg's interest in the Oscars and film in general was nurtured at an early age when his father, in traditional parental fashion, forced him to watch 1955 Best Picture winner Marty. Though Feinberg says he did not particularly enjoy the movie, it was an early influence. "It definitely piqued my interest," says Feinberg. His interest growing, Feinberg began tracking down classic after classic. "If you see Citizen Kane, The Godfather, Casablanca and Gone With The Wind over a long weekend, there's no way not to get hooked," he says. Soon his viewing habits moved away from the escapist and drew toward the analytical: "You start to see, recognize and appreciate the people who are making these movies. You start to recognize the actors. You start to wonder what happened to them. I wanted to learn about the people who make them possible." Thus the seeds of "And The Winner Is." were planted. Starting small with his project, Feinberg tracked down smaller, more obscure and accessible personalities, people he recalls as "character actors or just people who would actually list their numbers in their phone books." However these would prove to be useful connections. One good interview merits another, and soon they were passing Feinberg up the ladder, persuaded by his enthusiasm for spreading the history of film to a younger generation. Slowly, he began making more connections, reaching more modern stars. Today, his Facebook profile features photos of him with stars ranging from Paris Hilton to the cast of Superbad, to the last living silent film actress. Feinberg's first big break came when he secured the interviewing position on the first website to track the Oscar race, Ocarwatch.com. When the previous celebrity interviewer decided to leave, Feinberg applied for the job almost on a whim and ended up being brought on board. Eventually, impressed with Feinberg's enthusiasm for the Oscars, his boss encouraged him to strike out on his own and start his own site. Thus "And The Winner Is." was born. Now running his own independently operated site, Feinberg is free from the shackles of bosses and editors, but is also burdened by increased pressure and responsibility. "There's no track record other than what I create. So every interview is either an opportunity to help solidify or totally ruin your reputation," he says. As for the future, Feinberg, like most seniors, is uncertain. Yet he remains optimistic about the opportunities opening up in his field. "There's a lot of interest in what's created to be an Oscar race and in sites like this. They've increased exponentially over the last few years. I think the reason is that people see it as a horse race. Everyone has a favorite . Variety, for instance, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, The Hollywood Reporter, Newsweek and Vanity Fair, all have Oscar Blogs and that's all pretty much in the last year." The prospect of a published version of Feinberg's verbal exploits is also on the table. Beyond the actual interview itself, there are myriad unseen angles, dealings with press agents and celebrity searches. There is an art to the process; one that Feinberg feels merits more attention than he has given it. "Conducting these oral histories has been the impetus for conversations with many people beyond the actual subjects of the interviews . A lot of people have looked at what I've done and said it has value. There's the element of the historical records. It chronicles the histories of the movies and the people who've lived through it. So it's a very valuable record to some people," says Feinberg. As a calculated and intelligent voice in the field of Oscar prediction, Feinberg maintains an edge over his competition. With the Oscar race becoming more and more the focus of the film industry, the future for someone in Feinberg's position looks bright indeed.
(03/25/08 4:00am)
It's only taken the film industry five years to supply a formula for how to handle the war in Iraq: venerated directors (Brian De Palma, Paul Haggis) guide reliable talents (Robert Redford, Charlize Theron) through moving and intelligent narratives, which invariably garner critical applause and audience indifference.Stop-Loss, opening Friday, has a more complicated pedigree. The same year that its director, Kim Peirce, debuted to critical acclaim with Boys Don't Cry, stars Ryan Phillippe and Joseph Gordon-Levitt captured the affections of a less discriminating audience in fluffy, teen-targeted Cruel Intentions and 10 Things I Hate About You, respectively.That was 1999. While Peirce has not released a film since, Phillippe and Gordon-Levitt have spent the intervening time making inroads toward artistic credibility. Where extensive credentials have failed to attract audiences, the combination of three wild-card résumés may generate enough curiosity to end Hollywood's losing streak.Despite its political lightning rod of a title, Stop-Loss purports to take a personal look at the experience of soldiers returning from Iraq, or as Gordon-Levitt puts it, "the human beings that are in the midst of this, as opposed to the system and the money and the oil and all the other things that we hear about day after day."Gordon-Levitt and Phillippe conducted conference call interviews with student journalists from around the United States to promote their film.Phillippe, who appeared in the 2006 World War II film Flags of Our Fathers, says, "In terms of putting your life on the line ... or seeing your friends die in your arms and right next you, I think that's the absolute horror of war, and I don't think that that changes, no matter the theater or the place in history."Still, Stop-Loss and other films of its genre lack both the moral clarity inherent to World War II blockbusters and the hindsight that most Vietnam War films bore. Without these factors to generate appeal, the film's makers are relying on a strategy of neutrality that they hope at least won't keep people away."I think this film doesn't push anyone in any specific direction," says Phillippe. "It doesn't preach to you, but it is in my view kind of pro-military. ... I think it pays a respect to the men and women who serve."The film is also supposed to bring "a different take and a different edge, a younger point of view" toward the war in Iraq, according to Phillippe, 33. He asked interviewers to address him by his first name "because it makes me feel, like, old" otherwise. (Later, though, he mentioned, "I don't even own a pair of blue jeans.")There was an awkward moment in the interview when it became obvious that Phillippe has no idea what year the Vietnam War ended, mistakenly placing it somewhere in the 1960s. He seems pretty cut off from the film's subject matter as well. Phillippe says his familiarity with the stop-loss policy before making this movie came "just from watching Nightline. I'm kind of a news junkie.""I like the whole Texas thing," says Phillippe, a Delaware native. "I've never really done a character from that part of the world, and there is a whole mentality down there that I think is quite different and interesting."That's exactly the reaction Stop-Loss seems calculated to ignore by rejecting its predecessors' hyperpolitical treatment of the war. "The story of the blue states and the red states and the great divide in this country is made up," refutes Gordon-Levitt, borrowing some rhetoric from Barack Obama's 2004 speech at the Democratic National Convention. "The reason it is made up is because it divides us and because it allows those with the power to keep the power."On Friday we'll see if Stop-Loss can translate politically popular ideas into financial success or if Americans will preserve the distinction between ballot box and box office.
(03/18/08 4:00am)
PLATTSBURGH, NY-After every practice this season, members of the men's basketball team ran six sprints, representing the number of NCAA tournament victories needed for a Division III championship. In the end, although their tournament run was the longest in school history, the Judges fell three victories and two rounds shy of that goal. No. 5 Brandeis fell to No. 3 Amherst College 65-55 in the Round of Eight last Saturday, one night after defeating host No. 7 State University in New York at Plattsburgh 74-63 in the Round of 16. A win over Amherst would have sent the Judges to Salem, VA for the Final Four, but instead, they finished the season 23-6."We were devastated after the game was over," forward Stephen Hill '08 said. "I don't want to say you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone-because we knew all along we had something special-but it kind of hit home how much I was going to miss playing with guys like Joey [Coppens '08], [John Saucier '08], Flo [Rexhepi '08], and Kwame [Graves-Fulgham '08]."Still, the team's 23 wins were a school record, and this season marked the first time in the program's history that the Judges advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament. They accomplished those feats without injured forward Steve DeLuca '08, a two-time all-University Athletic Association first-team selection, for all but two games this season."From this point forward, every [Brandeis] team is going to be measured to this team," coach Brian Meehan told reporters last Saturday. "Everyone is going to have to set the bar to [this team] and achieve beyond [them]."Brandeis held a 29-24 lead at the half against Amherst last Saturday, but did not score a single point over a 9 minute, 26 second stretch in the second half, combining for 13 missed shots, three missed free throws and six turnovers during that span. Meanwhile, Amherst went on a 17-0 run to take a 49-36 lead with 9:38 remaining.Amherst senior center Kevin Hopkins dunked the ball to give the Lord Jeffs the lead for good with 15:03 remaining, and junior forward Brandon Jones and Hopkins followed with dunks on Amherst's next two possessions to increase its lead to 42-36."It was like a wave-the first [dunk] sort of got us started in the second half. When the second one happened and then when the third one happened, all of a sudden our guys truly believed [we could win]," Amherst coach Dave Hixon told reporters last Saturday. Brandeis cut the deficit to 56-49 with 3:33 left on two free throws from Coppens, but was not able to inch any closer. The Judges hit just 22 of their 72 field goal attempts, including just five of their 23 three-pointers. Amherst's defense disrupted Brandeis' rhythm throughout the game, blocking 12 shots and altering several others.In the post-game press conference, Hixon suggested the Judges were tired after their hard-fought 74-63 win over Plattsburgh State in the Round of 16 the night before. Hill, however, disagreed."You're either ready to play or you're not, and you can't use something like being fatigued as an excuse," he said. "It was an opportunity against one of our top rivals to go to the Final Four. If your legs are a little tired, you've got to find a way to get up on adrenaline or something else."In last Friday's win over Plattsburgh State, guard Andre Roberson '10 scored 18 of his 20 points in the first half to lead Brandeis to a 39-30 halftime edge. But Brandeis had a similar second-half offensive struggle, allowing Plattsburgh State to tie the score at 56 with 4:46 remaining on senior forward Travis Gorham's layup.Brandeis answered on the next possession when guard Kevin Olson '09 stepped back and drained a three-pointer, giving the Judges a lead they wouldn't relinquish. "The whole game I was trying to look for an open shot. Finally I got a good look coming off a ball screen and went underneath it and just wanted to take [the shot] when it was open. Thankfully it went down for me," Olson told reporters after the game.Two possessions later, Coppens took a pass from Graves-Fulgham, faked and hit a three-pointer of his own from the right corner, increasing the lead to 64-58 and silencing the Plattsburgh State crowd. Meehan took a risk with 12:28 left in the second half, returning Graves-Fulgham to the game even though he had four fouls from trying to stop all-American senior guard Anthony Williams. The plan worked, and while Williams scored 28 points during the game, he was neutralized down the stretch when the Judges switched to a zone defense."[Roberson] was playing a lot of minutes, and we felt at that time we needed a senior on the floor to handle the ball. At that point we were just hoping [Graves-Fulgham] would go in and settle it down and he did exactly that and stayed away from picking up a fifth foul," Meehan told reporters last Friday.The loss to Amherst marked the end of the college careers of Coppens, Hill, Graves-Fulgham, Rexhepi and Saucier. DeLuca, the team's sixth senior, will return next season after applying for a medical redshirt. "[We were] saying good-bye to a group of seniors that helped to recreate our program. That would have happened whether we had won or lost-at some point we were going to play our last game with these guys. and that's an emotional time," Meehan said last Saturday.
(03/11/08 4:00am)
After leaping 5 feet 3 1/4 inches in the women's high jump competition at the University Athletic Association Championships at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, Bessie Bianco '08 tried to clear 5 feet 5 inches , which would have been a school record. She missed, but her last jump, equivalent to 1.61 meters, was good enough to give the men's and women's indoor track teams their only victory of the championship. "I was very excited, especially because it's my senior year, so I was really happy to perform so well," Bianco said. "I got closer than I ever had before to that [school record] height, so now beating the record or tying it is something that is tangible."Bianco's victory, however, was one of the few bright spots for either team last Friday and Saturday. The women's team finished in fifth place out of seven teams with 37 total points, two behind fourth-place Case Western Reserve University, while the men's team finished in last place with 14 points, 11 behind sixth-place New York University."I don't think we performed to our potential, but I think in a lot of cases we were just edged out by different competition really," Mike Stone '08 said. "I think we might have had too many meets or competitions, but I'm not really sure if you can put [our performance] on any one thing."The women's high jump turned out to be the Judges' best event, as Suzanne Bernier '10 complemented Bianco's first-place performance with a third-place finish, leaping 1.56 meters. Fellow jumper Ali Sax '09 returned for the first time since getting hit by a car on campus before February break, and took fourth place out of seven jumpers with a lead of 5.03 meters. Sax also competed in the triple jump, leaping 10.71 meters to get fifth place out of the seven jumpers in that competition in the finals."I was so proud of [Sax] and so happy that she came and did so well," Bianco said. "That was just so cool that she was dedicated to the team and she bounced back, and she hadn't even been working out for more than a month, so for her to come and place in an event was really an accomplishment."Captain Olivia Alford '08 was all set to add to the Judges' point total after qualifying easily for the 200- and 400-meter finals, but she woke up sick last Saturday and did not compete in the final round."It was kind of a tough decision, because that means that I didn't get the starting points for my team, so it's kind of too bad," Alford said.The men's team picked up 12 of its 14 points in relay events. The distance medley relay team of Stone, Ned Crowley '10, John Guilinger '08 and Dan Suher '08 finished second place in 10 minutes, 18.66 seconds, and the 4-by-400 relay team of Fjodor Melnikov '09, Aaron Udel '10, Geoffrey Fauchet '09 and Crowley came in fourth place in 3:31.09.The distance medley relay stayed in second place for most of the race before Suher relinquished the lead and then regained it in the race's final stage. Emory University sophomore Charlie Meade and University of Chicago rookie Harry Backlund passed Suher toward the end of the race, but Suher was able to pass them back at the last moment."My goal was to hang on to [first-place Carnegie Mellon University junior Brian Harvey] as long as I could," Suher said. "If I can get him, great, [but] if I couldn't, I just made sure that nobody else got me."The other two Judges' points came from Stone in the one-mile run, where he finished fifth in 4:24.04. The Judges' rookies showed glimpses of the future. Ben Bray '11 just missed qualifying for the finals in the 800 meters, finishing just under one second away from winning his heat. Paul Norton '11 continued his solid rookie year, finishing eighth in the 5,000 meters in 15:16.27. "I think a lot of [the rookies] made good showings," Stone said. "You're not going to make a huge impact your freshman year, but I think a lot of them are definitely ready to take the step next year or even in the spring.
(03/11/08 4:00am)
It's getting to be the time of year when many seniors are buried in the depths of the library, feverishly pounding out page after page of their senior thesis, fueled by caffeine and a thinly-veiled panic-but not Rachel Lehmann '08. At 3:15 p.m., Sunday afternoon, in Slosberg Recital Hall in front of an audience of 160 people, the lights went down, the band started to play and one way or another, Lehmann's years of work came to their conclusion. Guilty! A Musical Murder Mystery, the musical that Lehmann composed and co-wrote as her senior thesis, was out of her hands. Now its fate rested in the hands of nine very talented musicians and, of course, the waiting audience.For Lehmann, the performance was the culmination of a lifelong dream. "This is something I always wanted to do, ever since I knew what a musical was," she said in an interview before the show. After learning that Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice collaborated on Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat as a one-act musical in college, Lehmann wanted to follow in their footsteps. When Lehmann arrived at Brandeis, she wasted no time in pursuing her dream. She asked renowned composition professor David Rakowski (MUS) to be her advisor and spent a summer laying down the framework for her new musical, with "lifelong friend" Leah Edelman '08 helping with the book and lyrics.Inspired by Chicago and the movie Clue, Lehmann chose a whodunit plot involving a billionaire's murder: "A billionaire is poisoned, and four suspects are brought into the police station," his neglected wife, his impoverished brother, his sexy maid and his egotistical business partner. "At the beginning, they all look guilty, but the real murderer is revealed at the last second!" said Lehmann.For almost two years, Lehmann worked with Rakowski exhaustively, composing at an impressive pace. "I was writing around one song every two weeks, then four songs over the summer," ending up with 14 songs total.While Rakowski offered a guiding hand with the musical composition, Lehmann turned to another Brandeis professor, Pamela Wolfe (MUS), to bring a dramatic edge to the staging and performance. "She's giving me a more professional eye and helping the singers really bring the music to life," Lehmann said.All of these aspects came together at the preformance, when an enthusiastic audience had the opportunity to see Lehmann's work speak for itself. Guilty! is charming, sweet and funny, but could have benefited from an editor's hand-nearly all of the songs are at least one verse too long, and the lyrics often venture into triteness. Do we really need yet another ballad that includes the line "I looked inside myself to find the courage?" Or a cascade of clichés like "Illusions died!/ He lied! Pushed me aside! I cried?"Still, Lehmann and Edelman hit the mark on quite a few tunes. The standouts include the breezy, jazzy and very catchy "Just Something About Him," in which the billionaire's wife tells the story of how they fell in love, and "It's Hard to Say Goodbye," a graceful love song whose chorus has a moving folk-ballad simplicity.The cast and pit orchestra all performed with spirit and skill. Especially good were Matt Stern '08, whose flamboyant, delightfully self-absorbed businessman provided most of the show's laughs, and Elizabeth Abbate '10, who played the billionaire's widow with a refreshing mix of girlish charm and mature strength.Guilty! is a strong start for a beginning composer, and fortunately, Lehmann has no plans to stop here. Next year, Lehmann will enter a master's program in education for social studies, but will also follow in the footsteps of her mother, who is a lifelong part-time composer and "a wonderful role model." Lehmann said she intends to continue composing music "as a hobby" and possibly even expand Guilty! into a full-length show.
(02/12/08 5:00am)
With the men's basketball team on its way to a win over Carnegie Mellon University last Sunday, forward Stephen Hill '08 found himself alone underneath the basket with nine seconds remaining, much like he did at the end of the Judges' win over top-ranked Amherst College Dec. 8. In that game, Hill opted for the simple layup, but this time, he took a lob pass from guard Kwame Graves-Fulgham '08 and emphatically dunked it, clinching a crucial 2-0 weekend for the Judges that put them back in the race for a conference title. "I told [Graves-Fulgham], 'I got to get a dunk before the year is over; you got to look for me'," Hill said last Sunday. "[Graves-Fulgham] looked me in the eyes because my man was in front of me and so I just ran and I actually didn't see him throw it. I looked up and the ball was over my head; I just caught it and I didn't really have time to think because he threw it so fast." The highlight-reel play was the exclamation point in the Judges' weekend sweep, as they narrowly edged No. 6 University of Rochester 68-64 last Friday before holding on for an 84-81 win over Carnegie Mellon last Sunday. They are now tied for second-place in the University Athletic Association with the University of Chicago at 8-3 in the UAA, just one game behind first-place Washington University in St. Louis. Brandeis, now 18-4 overall, will play both Chicago and Wash U on the road next weekend. "[The victories were] huge. It put us right back at the top of the league again," guard Joe Coppens '08 said. "We're going to Wash U [Friday] for a tie for first place, it's a huge game and [this weekend] put us in a position we wanted to be in all year."Much like their Feb. 8 overtime win over Emory University, the Judges needed to rally to defeat Carnegie Mellon. The Tartans went on an 18-5 run in the first half, turning a 22-19 Brandeis advantage into a 37-27 lead with five minutes, 35 seconds remaining. After the Judges cut the deficit to 43-40 by halftime, the Tartans built a 55-47 lead early in the second half, but Brandeis again battled back with a 13-5 run to briefly reclaimed a 60-59 lead with 9:28 left. Carnegie Mellon had a 70-69 lead with 5:01 remaining, but it would be their last advantage. Like so many times this season, the Judges came up big down the stretch, taking the lead for good on the next possession when Hill hit a mid-range jumper, and despite two three-pointers from Carnegie Mellon senior forward Greg Gonzalez in the last eight seconds of play, Brandeis held on for the narrow victory. They are now 7-2 in games decided by less than five points and overtime this season."I thought we were sluggish in the first half, but I thought in the second half our energy and our defense picked up quite a bit," coach Brian Meehan said.With 12:58 left in the game, Coppens became the 26th member of the men's basketball program's 1,000-point club when he sank two free throws. He finished with a game-high 23 points and now sits in 24th place on the all-time list with 1,007 career points."It feels good. It's something I can hold onto for a while after my career is over," Coppens said. "Coming into the weekend I knew I was close [but] I don't know my point total during the game, so I heard it [announced] over the loud speaker and that's when I realized it."After Coppens hit his second free-throw attempt, five members of the baseball team, standing in the front row of "The Jury" student section, removed their shirts and combined to form "1,000!" across their stomachs. Their backs spelled out "JOEY #5," in reference to Coppens' jersey number.The win over Carnegie Mellon followed a key 68-64 win over No. 6 Rochester. When the two teams last played Jan. 20, they were ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the D3hoops.com poll, respectively, and the Yellowjackets came away with a 74-68 win. Like they did in the teams' first game, Rochester mystified the Judges with a zone defense that turned a 23-10 deficit into a 28-27 halftime advantage. In the second half, the two teams went back-and forth, with seven lead changes and four ties, but the Judges took the lead for good with 2:45 left to play when guard Andre Roberson '10 fed guard Kevin Olson '09, who drove for a layup to give the Judges a 61-59 advantage. Roberson added a jumper on Brandeis' next possession, and the Yellowjackets got no closer than three points the rest of the way. Olson led the way with 20 points, scoring eight straight for the Judges from 9:18 to 7:58 in the second half. Each of Olson's scores during the run erased a tie or a deficit. "I definitely felt a rhythm; I had a lot of opportunities to score. We really felt like we attacked [Rochester's] wing players. I had a good first half against them at their place; I just wanted to be aggressive the whole game," Olson said.One key to the victory was free-throw shooting. The Judges hit 13 of their 17 foul shots, while Rochester was just 12 of 23 from the stripe, highlighted by senior forward Uche Ndubizu's 2 for 9 performance."Down the stretch, hitting the free throws were key. It helps us out a lot because we were able to do what we wanted to do on defense-being aggressive, and put their big guys on the foul line," assistant coach Eric McKoy said.Rochester head coach Mike Neer also said the Judges eventually figured out the zone defense, thanks to Graves-Fulgham, who had eight assists, and Roberson, who gave the Yellowjackets problems despite hitting just two of his 10 field goals."Brandeis has active guards and their two point guards, Graves-Fulgham and Roberson, are quicker than what we have. We need to negate some of their quickness," Neer said. "We don't play a lot of zone and we were forced to play more zone than we wanted to and eventually Brandeis found some holes in it."The Judges have won six games in a row, but their biggest test comes this weekend when they hit the road looking to avenge their home losses to Chicago Jan. 25 and Wash U Jan. 27. They will play Wash U Friday at 8 p.m. and Chicago Sunday at noon, and the importance of this weekend was not lost on Meehan."It's a huge weekend for us," he said. "Our aspirations are to get in the tournament and host games. If we want to do that we have to take care of business.
(02/12/08 5:00am)
The Brandeis Chinese Cultural Connection presented the Lunar New Year 2008 celebration in the Carl J. Shapiro Theater last Saturday to usher in this Year of the Rat. What better way to do so than with a two-hour dance, musical and theatrical showcase of Brandeis students and off-campus Chinese cultural groups? The performance began with a pop dance routine that had a sufficient amount of attitude and glimpses of hip edginess that were distinguishable despite the fact that there were too many dancers on the stage. Many of them did not seem as if they were feeling the music, but some did, and those were the ones who were able to add a hard-edged realism and professionalism to the performance.But this instance did not represent the theme of the entire show. The word that best represents the mood and spirit of the show is "cute." A skit was performed shortly after the dance number that was meant to elucidate the origins of the Chinese zodiac for the audience members who were culturally deprived. Thirteen students lined the stage, each adorned in simple costumes representing each animal of the Chinese Zodiac. Each introduced himself in a manner that resembled the nature of his animal. "I'm the tiger," said one girl in a tiger suit worn underneath a white T-shirt, which displayed the Chinese representation of tiger: "I'm sympathetic, courageous and powerful. Raaawwr!""I'm a monkey," said one boy wearing monkey ears as he ate a banana. "I'm clever, skillful and inventive!"I think you get the point. The problem within the context of the skit was that there were 13 animals, and the new zodiac system that the Jade Emperor wished to instate included only 12. In order to weed out one of the animals, the emperor held a race to his palace. The last one to cross the finish line would be excluded from the zodiac. The cat, who tried to hatch a plan that would involve tricking the rat and ox into helping it cross the finish line first, did not end up finishing at all. In fact, his plan backfired, as the rat and ox left him to drown in the river, a sight that was recreated with a blue sheet that two people shook violently as the cat went underneath and sporadically bobbed up and down to represent his flailing, desperate attempts to save himself. Now, every year represents one of the remaining 12 animals, and each animal's year recurs every 12 years. I chose to outline this part of the performance in particular detail because it represents the spirit and history of the Chinese New Year celebration. The story of the Zodiac should be remembered at a time like this. There were other performances during the night that define "cute" in my mind. Around 10 children between the ages of about nine and 12 hurried onstage holding Chinese yo-yos. They were the Greater Boston Chinese Cultural Association Yo-Yo Group (GBCCAYYG for short), and after waiting an agonizing three minutes for the audio person to return to the troubling world of reality and play the correct song, the children snapped to attention and, like methodical gears on a grandfather clock, began to spin, flip, whiz and whip their yo-yos to the rhythm of the music. Each took turns showcasing their own unique yo-yo stunts in 30-second intervals, maneuvering the hourglass-shaped bell between their legs, around their neck and torso and through the air. The audience seemed distressed throughout this segment of the performance, as many people let out winces and quick, anticipatory inhales as if expecting one of the youngsters to lose focus, drop the yo-yos and throw the whole clockwork out of whack. The focus of these young Asian kids, however, was unwavering and there were no visible mistakes. Their demonstration was impressive and perhaps the best act of the performance.Other acts included the rock band Super Going, which also fell victim to absurd audio mistakes. The microphones were not working, but the singer's voice was so true and her confidence so charmingly overwhelming that you could still hear her voice slightly, though it would have been sensational if it were properly amplified. The audio supervisor was completely unprepared for the show. The music that accompanied the dancers and singers was much too soft as well. I attribute any pitch problems that the singers had to their inability to hear the accompanying music. Thanks a lot, sound guy. However, there were more notable elements in this special Chinese New Year presentation. For instance, the costumes were dazzling. One act featured a two-person dragon costume that did not have to be maneuvered all that skillfully in order for it to appear alive. It seemed that the costume itself did most of the work in the way that its strikingly sequined scales wavered brilliantly and loosely with the slightest encouragement. The giant eyes of the great beast were particularly interesting as the lids blinked intermittently. If nothing else, the dragon was realistic enough to make small children in the audience cry as it ventured down the aisles.The show ended with a weak erhu performance in which students attempted to recreate popular songs on this atavistic, two-stringed lute instrument. "Moon River" didn't exactly translate well. The show's finale, however, was a fashion show in which couples pranced down the stage in silk dress as they were met with intensely excited vocal approval from their friends in the audience. The goal was to appear sexy and to drum up a good innuendo-inspired pose, which most accomplished to the delight of their friends in the audience. The garments consisted of solid blue, silver, green, gold and black colors that provided a backdrop for a sprawling floral pattern. Most wore sleevelessdresses but some girls wore backless tops with jeans. The Lunar New Year celebration wasn't finished when the show ended. Afte the show, there was a Chinese-themed marketplace in the Shapiro Campus Center Atrium that consisted of a large jewelry booth and Chinese buffet. The clock striking midnight legitimized the New Year's entrance. The Year of the Pig is now over. This year is a whole different animal altogether. It is time to pay homage to the rat and give all people born in the Year of the Rat the respect for which they are so long overdue. For if you are a rat you are noted for your charm and attraction to the opposite sex. You are also a hard worker and extremely ambitious. For those born in the following years, congratulations, you are a rat; enjoy 2008: 1912, 1924, 1936, 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984, 1996.
(02/05/08 5:00am)
You might not associate sports with the common conception of "pop culture" (celebrity gossip and such), but the truth is that no culture is more popular in our big, beautiful United States of America than the great game of football. Superbowl XLII, held Sunday at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., had the numbers to prove this sentiment. With a frightening 97 million viewers, the 42nd Super Bowl landed a comfortable spot as the second-most-viewed television event in history, following the final episode of the TV series M*A*S*H, "Goodbye, Farewell and Amen," which drew 106 million people when it aired in 1983.That said, it's not easy being a New York Giants fan (like I became sometime during the fourth quarter) here in Massachusetts, where the near-perfect-season Patriots are held in such high regard. Giants fans who had not already secluded themselves for the game's duration found themselves quietly edging out of the room to avoid physical confrontation.Undefeated until Sunday, the Patriots' were about to complete the first perfect NFL season since the 1972 Miami Dolphins until Eli Manning and the Giants snatched it away in the final quarter. With the Patriots defeat imminent, their fans sat comatose, staring at their televisions like soldiers who have just seen their whole platoon immolated before their eyes. Well aware of the unpredictability of extreme grief, Boston police lined the streets of the city in full riot gear and sporting some adorable but ill-tempered canines (though I'm sure they were prepared to contain an equally violent celebration). Yet in many ways, the Super Bowl, though it may divide two teams and their fans, is a great tool of cultural unification. For weeks to come, a third of our country will be united in common interest, conversation and cultural reference, a rarity in this vastly diverse nation. Even those of us who couldn't really care less about national sports get to put on their hometown colors and descend into some good old-fashioned, beer-swilling, sectarian fun. Here's to football.
(02/05/08 5:00am)
Down by a point with 1 minute, 58 seconds remaining in last Sunday's game at Emory University, captain and guard Jamie Capra '08 found herself in her familiar spot at the free throw line-where she had made all nine of her shots thus far in the game- attempting to put Brandeis ahead following one of the strangest sequences one will ever see."That was a big point in the game," Capra said. "Luckily, today I felt really good at the foul line and I was very productive from there."Once again, Capra came through, adding two more points to reach her total of 25 and putting the women's basketball team ahead for good. The 70-66 win marked the fourth straight University Athletic Association victory for the Judges, who also edged Case Western Reserve University 67-65 in overtime last Friday. Brandeis boosted its record to 14-4 overall and 5-2 in UAA play, tying them with Washington University in St. Louis, whom they beat 66-48 at home Jan. 27, for second place in the conference. "It was definitely a huge weekend for us," Capra said. "If you look at what's going on around the league, by winning, we put ourselves in a great position."In a game in which the Eagles shot a higher percentage than the Judges from the field, the difference was the Judges' performance at the foul line. Brandeis made 18 of their 21 of their free throws, while the Eagles connected on only 16 of 25 shots from the stripe.The Judges built themselves a nine-point lead with 13:30 remaining in the first half when reserve guard Carmela Breslin '10 took advantage of a fast break by hitting a three-pointer, capping a 15-6 run that included a combined 12 points from forward Cassidy Dadaos '09 and Capra."They were really [concentrating] on [Capra] and on [center Lauren Orlando '09] a lot in the post, so I ended up getting some pretty open shots, which was big," Dadaos said. Emory countered with a 22-15 run of its own to cut the Judges' lead to 35-33 at halftime. Sophomore forward Whitney Martin kept Emory in the game with 12 points off the bench in the first half. "The first half, we didn't play very well, so to go into halftime with the lead was kind of a gift," Dadaos said.The Judges' two leading scorers ensured they would allow the team to start the second half strongly. Orlando scored eight points in less than three minutes to open up the half, and Capra followed with nine points in just over two minutes to give Brandeis a 52-41 lead, their greatest advantage of the game, with 13:32 left.But Emory rallied again, and with 4:39 remaining, junior guard Kate Corkle hit a pair of free throws to tie the score at 61-61. Forty-four seconds later, senior center Kristen Brown connected on a three-pointer to give the Eagles their first lead after the break.After each team missed two shots, sophomore point guard LeShonda Lillard fouled Capra, who made the ensuing free throws to put the Judges within one point. In fighting for a rebound on the second free throw in case it missed, however, Capra saw Corkle trying desperately to block her from getting the ball, so she created contact, drawing a second foul that allowed her to go back to the line in a position to regain the lead without any time elapsing."I noticed that [Corkle] was trying to box me out, so I thought that I would give a little fall the second time to try to draw another foul, [and] it worked," Capra said.Guard Jessica Chapin '10 sealed the game when she stole the ball from Lillard with 18 seconds remaining and the Eagles down by one point. "They needed a three at that point," Chapin said. "Luckily, she threw it right to me, so it wasn't very difficult." Chapin converted both her free throws to stretch the Judges' lead to three with just 16 seconds left, and Brown missed one last three-pointer with seven seconds remaining. "For [Chapin] to get a steal and not even allow a shot was big," Dadaos said.The Judges also won an overtime thriller last Friday at Case Western. Capra led Brandeis with 19 points and Dadaos had her first double-double of her career with 12 points and a team-high 10 rebounds. In the end, however, it was reserve forward Amanda Wells '09 who hit the game-winning layup with five seconds left in overtime. This weekend the Judges face Emory and Case Western again, this time at home, at 6 p.m. Friday and 2 p.m. Sunday, respectively.
(01/15/08 5:00am)
Ridgewood Festival 1974: Groups of bell-bottom and peace sign-clad students gather on the grass outside of Ridgewood Dorm. Some eagerly discuss the latest campus poetry workshop, others groove to the beat of totally far-out rock. Reflecting with nostalgia on events like "Ridgewood Festival," Brandeis alumni who roamed the hallways of Ridgewood more than three decades ago expressed fond memories of days spent hanging out in a dorm all the way at the campus' edge. After Ridgewood's five buildings crumbled underneath University bulldozers last summer, all that remained were the memories of wild times and indelible experience. "It was the coolest place to be on campus," remembers Jim Daniels '74, who lived in Ridgewood his first-year, sophomore and junior years. "It breaks my heart that they're tearing it down."Cliff Cohn '73 still recalls some of the distinct personalities that lived with him in Ridgewood. Once party-hard, thrill-seeking teenagers, many of the names he mentioned are now distinguished professionals, including Hollywood producer Marshall Herskovitz, whose works include Blood Diamond and The Last Samurai; Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor Eddie Farhi; and head of the Anti-Defamation League David Friedman."Ridgewood was so diverse," he says.Cohn's laugh grows louder, even more youthful-sounding as he begins to describe some of the pranks that his rowdy Ridgewood crowd pulled."We had a guy who was a genius on telephones," he says. "He had figured out a way for us to use the pay phone in the hall to make free calls all over the world."Sounding as excited as if the scene were right now unfolding before his eyes, Cohn remembers, "One of our friends called the Vatican-he wanted to talk to the Pope!"When Cohn returned to Brandeis years after his graduation, he was delighted to find record of the fun times he enjoyed in Ridgewood."My freshman roommate and I had a dartboard on our door," he explains. "It created a circle where the dartboard was and all around it were the holes. When we came back for our 25th reunion, the holes were still there!"Remnants of destruction-also known as archaeological evidence of generations past-were not the only casualties of the Ridgewood demolition. Daniels remembers looking forward every year to "Ridgewood Festival," an annual event that featured live music outside of the dorms, and no longer exists.The enthusiasm of three decades past still lingering in his voice, Daniels describes, "Bands would come and we'd party all night." Thirty years ago Ridgewood was an all-male dorm, and was populated by students of all ages, unlike the University's current method of separating student housing by class year.Always one of the most desirable places to live, Ridgewood differed from other dorms because of its size and location. Prior to the creation of Ridgewood suites that held 100 students in the early 90s, Ridgewood initially contained single and double rooms that housed 240 students, according to An Architectural Celebration of Brandeis University's 50th Anniversary, by Prof. Gerald S. Bernstein.Each of Ridgewood's five buildings comprised two floors that held approximately 25 people each. It was therefore very easy to get to know all your Ridgewood neighbors, says Steve Schmidt '74, who lived in Ridgewood his first year at Brandeis.For Daniels, Ridgewood's small size provided him with a unique sense of community and belonging."It was like a big family," he says. "You knew everyone. It was like a subset of the Brandeis community."Located on the outskirts of campus, Ridgewood simultaneously offered students the benefits of on-campus housing and a certain sense of distance from the daily hustle and bustle of campus life."I liked the way we were at the edge of campus," Schmidt says. "We were a freer bunch."Ridgewood's proximity to the commuter rail made it easy for students to hop on the commuter rail and head into Boston or Cambridge. "I liked to go into the city a lot" to visit friends at other colleges in the Boston area, says Donald Stewart '76, who lived in Ridgewood his first, sophomore and junior years.Cohn says that Ridgewood attracted a unique, fun-loving crowd. "All the people wanting to be a little bit separated from Brandeis," he said.The upbeat social scene that characterized Ridgewood remained unchanged through last year. Eugene Vortsman '08, who lived in Ridgewood last year, says his suite was always the place to go for uninhibited fun."The entire living room would be packed with people, everyone jumping and dancing on the couch, sweaty," he says.Vortsman says there was always someone to hang out with in his suite. "Any time of night or day, you could yell out the world 'Smash!' and someone would say 'I'm in,'" he says, referring to the video game Smash Bros.Alumni remember the quirky architecture that set Ridgewood apart from other buildings on campus and gave it a more secluded feel than other dorms. "It was kind of cool," Stewart reflects. "All the rooms had back doors, like private entrances."In fact, Ridgewood's construction and location entirely ignore the Saarinen Master Plan designed by Eero Saarinen in 1950. "The decision to take down Ridgewood was a difficult one," Vice President for Capital Projects Dan Feldman wrote in an e-mail to the Justice. The decision was part of a plan the University developed in 1999 to improve undergraduate housing and to provide on-campus housing to 90 percent of undergraduates, Feldman said. Feldman said the University would not be able to renovate Ridgewood and maintain the apartment-style housing that students prefer. It could also not renovate the dorm in accordance with environmental standards. "The old Ridgewood Quad Buildings were highly inefficient from an energy-use standpoint," Feldman wrote. "The new Ridgewood Residence Halls, on the other hand, have been designed with environmental responsibility as a fundamental."The University aims to replace Ridgewood and Ziv Commons with three new buildings by December 2008. The buildings will house 184 students in apartments with single bedrooms, kitchens and livings rooms, according to the Office of Capital Projects. One of the buildings will hold the South Campus Commons, a 3,200-square-foot multipurpose space for campus programs and events and a kitchen for large group meals.Tom Hier of Biddison Hier is in charge of programming for the new Ridgewood residence halls. In 1999, Hier helped the University create its plan for undergraduate housing. William Rawn Associates architectural firm designed the new buildings.The construction project also includes the creation of an admissions quad; a south campus quad in between the three new Ridgewood Residence Hall buildings and the Village; and an open space surrounded by Ridgewood Building B and the north and west buildings of Ziv Quad. The University also plans to build a landscape connection from Shapiro Admissions Center to the Theater Lot, facilitating travel in the south residential area for people with mobility challenges.As the sounds of energetic crowds and lively parties are replaced by the discordant melody of drills and jackhammers, generations of alumni still remember living in Ridgewood as the most exciting part of their Brandeis experience. Vortsman expressed doubt that future students could like living in any building as much as he enjoyed living in Ridgewood."I have good memories of that place," he said. "It was what college should be like.
(12/04/07 5:00am)
Saul Williams is a man with his thumb in a lot of pies. Perhaps the most famous slam poet on the scene, the venerable Williams has also served as rapper, singer, writer, actor and on at least a few occasions, preacher. Most recently, he has taken up the cause of Digital Rights Management-free music with the release of The Inevitable Rise and Liberation of Niggy Tardust. Following the now oft-referenced In Rainbows release model, Williams has opted to distribute the new album via his Web site (niggytardust.com) with optional payment. Even if you're not familiar with Williams' work, his name might sound familiar for another reason. Come Jan. 19, Williams will perform in Spingold as part of VOCAL 2008, a spoken word concert to raise funds for afterschool programs in Waltham. The event will include an array of other world-class slam poets such as Carlos Andrés Gómez and Buddy Wakefield, but as the date draws near, Williams is sure to cause the most buzz. As event organizer Jason Simon-Bierenbaum '11 put it, Williams is "that poet who people think of when they think of spoken word, always innovating and doing something new, constantly breathing life into the art." Not unlike the new album, the concert will be free to students with a suggested donation. If the event proves similar to Williams' album, we can all expect an amazing spoken word concert next semester, as Niggy Tardust is a truly innovative, provocative and roundly listenable work of sonic art. The album was produced by Trent Reznor, who seems to become a more respectable elder statesman of music with every project he undertakes. The appeal of the album comes from the near flawless blend of slam-influenced hip-hop beats and lyrics, combined with Reznor's digitalized rock edge. Williams has described the project as a love child between himself and Reznor. His synthesis of styles provides a unique approach to the world of sample-based music-making. The sampling is heavy yet tasteful and usually has an editorial purpose. The third track, "Tr(n)igger," is largely taken from Public Enemy's "Welcome to the Terrordome," and the fourth track is a cover of U2's "Sunday Bloody Sunday" with some much-needed additions. In both cases, the common ethical issues presented by sampling are washed away by the crucial re-contextualization of both songs in the broader scheme of the album as a whole. "Sunday Bloody Sunday" comes off less as a cover as it does a creative, extended quotation. Plus, as much as I hate U2, I could never resist the infectiousness of that song, so I am more than glad that someone was able to make a better version of it. As the title may suggest, Niggy Tardust is artistically and lyrically occupied with condemnation of racial epitaphs. This is also obviously a reference to David Bowie's Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, a concept album that tells the vague story of a Martian who comes to Earth to liberate humans from banality. Yet it also relates to Bowie as more than just a clever play on words, as Williams presents a story of an individual coming forth to liberate a people. The album makes further allusion to the golden age of George Clinton's Parliament and Funkadelic periods, with mention of the afro-futurism of The Mothership Connection and their Starchild persona, concepts all intertwined with African-American liberation and identity, the main thrust of the release, and indeed Saul's entire body of work.Now, if you'll allow me a small tangent for a moment, I would just like to say that if you've read this far in the article there's no reason you shouldn't at least download the free copy of Niggy Tardust and form your own opinion. If you like what you hear, you can go back and pay the suggested five dollars; if not, nothing lost. If you're like me, and you find yourself listening to the work multiple times, then there's no reason not to at least donate a little. And that is the brilliance of DRM-free music.
(11/20/07 5:00am)
Hamlet, unquestionably one of William Shakespeare's greatest masterpieces, is an intimidating piece for any theater group to attempt. Clocking in at well over two hours even with the most common abridgements, its daunting scale of complex emotions is harrowing indeed. Because of this, I approached Hold Thy Peace's rendition of Hamlet both hopeful and apprehensive. Ultimately, however, while the actors were capable of unleashing powerful waves of anguish and pain that left the audience stunned, my enjoyment of the overall production was marred by stylistic and technical decisions that sucked the emotional impact away.The performances were fantastic across the board. Frances Kimpel '10 stood out as a fiery and intense Hamlet. Her expressions, contortions and dramatic pauses supplemented onstage action with an internal monologue of torment. She effortlessly brought to light the deep philosophical nuances of Shakespeare's text. In her capable hands, Hamlet's strained deliberation seemed real. Of particular poignancy was the scene during which Hamlet watches as his murderous uncle, Claudius (Jared Hite '10), prays for absolution from his sins, and Hamlet contemplates whether he should take revenge at that moment. Both Hite and Kimpel filled this scene with fantastic longing for salvation and redemption. In her notes inside the playbill, director Phoebe Roberts '09 emphasized that she views the tale as one in which "at the center of the maelstrom are our two clashing foes." This metaphor properly mirrors the emotions felt by both and fulfills her vision.Other standout performances include Shira Straus' '11 maniacal and energetic take on the tragic lover Ophelia. At first, she portrays the character with such sincere sweetness that when she crashes over the edge into suicidal despair, it feels like a true transformation. Additionally, The fact that the actresses playing Ophelia and Gertrude (Amy Klesert '09) both had fiery red hair fueled interesting symbolism in a play often analyzed as having Oedipal undertones.However, the failures of this production are also glaring. Hold Thy Peace must be commended for its attempt to lend modern meaning to the show by linking the psychological breakdowns and ruminations of the characters to the contemporary goth-punk world of angst. However, when a play that Roberts describes as "so nuanced, so complex and blessed with that Shakespearean timelessness" is paired with the banal world of gothic angst, both are cheapened.Speaking with friends after the show, I heard the costume design described as if "Hot Topic threw up on Hamlet," and I have to concur with this assessment. The problem arises during the intersection between a commercial culture ultimately shaped by a sense of unified alienation and the depth of expression inherent in the words of the Bard. There is true mismatch here. Identifying Hamlet's timeless ruminations on suicide and the nature of one's legacy with a cheap culture that is devoid of meaning is degrading to the play. What is further upsetting is the use of generic nü-metal music such as Staind and Marilyn Manson between scene changes. While emotionally these songs do fit the angsty and brooding feel of the show, they ultimately distract and distance the viewer from the material at hand. One only needs to compare the brilliant ruminations of Hamlet in his famous soliloquy, "Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune or to take arms against a sea of troubles, and by opposing end them. To die, to sleep-" to the emotionless and limpid groaning of Staind's lead singer Aaron Lewis when he bemoans "The consequences that I've rendered, I've gone and fucked things up again. Why must I feel this way/Just make this go away. Just one more peaceful day." It is clear that this insipid music can only ruin the mood and kill any true catharsis. This may seem like a minor gripe, but with the number of scene changes that Hamlet has, this was a constant thorn in the side of my enjoyment, and some of these songs were actually repeated several times, furthering my annoyance. Overall, the production of Hamlet presented a strange and perhaps profound question to the viewer. Is it worthwhile "to grunt and sweat under a weary" exhibition of all that is wrong in '90s goth culture in order to have, as the Bard says, "The heartache, and the thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to"?
(11/13/07 5:00am)
The Brandeis Theater Company strikes again for their second show in the 2007 to 2008 season with Alexander Dumas' Three Musketeers, performed by the Double Edge Theater Ensemble in Laurie Theater last weekend. Dumas' novel, adapted for the stage by Stacy Klein and Matthew Glassman is the adventurous tale of sworn alliances, revenge and true love, all proven to govern the impulses and rationality of mankind.The plot is a quite convoluted one, despite being a greatly shortened adaptation, and begins with an introduction to the mighty musketeers, a group of highly skilled, specially trained swordsmen, sworn to risk life and limb for the protection of their beloved king of England. They soon cross paths with the young and pugnacious D'Artagnan, who manages to anger each musketeer until they are driven to challenge him to three separate duels. Their vendettas are thwarted, however, when guards from Cardinal Richelieu's regiment engage the fighters and force them to showcase their fighting skills. The musketeers, thoroughly impressed by D'Artagnan's abilities, entreat him to join their cause. Soon the four must embark on a quest to recover the queen's diamonds, which she foolishly gave away to her lover, the Duke of Buckingham. The diamonds are desperately needed for the ball that the conniving cardinal arranged for the specific purpose of embarrassing the diamondless queen. What ensues is an expedition rife with deception, betrayal and revenge in which, with a furious clanging of swords, the foursome battle for justice in the name of the king. You know the script-it's invigorating on paper. The quality variance of this play depends upon its execution.The actors who played the musketeers did a respectable job. They didn't tend to lay on an outrageously thick air of nobility that might manifest itself in the form of megaphonelike vocal projection and overly conscientious syllabic articulation. Other, minor characters fell victim to this hyperbolic theatrical style, but that was not the musketeers' problem. The four men-all Theater Arts students-Robert Serrell (GRAD) '08, Anthony Stockard (GRAD) '08, Brian Weaver (GRAD) '08 and Matthew Crider (GRAD) '08-were largely believable and retained a sense of authenticity. If anything, they did not project and articulate enough, as most of their words could not be accurately comprehended. Stockard (Porthos) was the only musketeer who upheld a perfect balance of volume and articulation and was almost always fully intelligible. Weaver (Aramis), though not quite up to par in this department, had an eccentrically cavalier style that actually increased the believability of his volatile character. However, other shortcomings among the musketeers existed in their swordfighting, which looked too contrived and choreographed. Up, down, up, down, swished their swords in a predictably repetitive manner, as their foes automatically ducked and lunged accordingly, adding a sense of triviality to the play's action sequences. Other than that and the unavoidably trite-sounding "All for one and one for all" proclamation at the end, the four protagonists performed commendable acting jobs.Even so, the most astounding actor in the performance was undoubtedly Carlos Uriona (GRAD) who played the scheming Richelieu. Malevolently floating across the stage in his blood-red robes, Uriona encapsulated the sinister cardinal, speaking with a Spanish accent that gave his evil utterances a gritty sense of authenticity. The same went for his swooning intonation, which caressingly hypnotized listeners. It was a job well-done for this theatrical veteran, no doubt the play's MVP.But what was most impressive about the Brandeis Theater Company's adaptation, was the innovative set design and layout. The performance reversed audience members' conception of the conventional theater-viewing experience, as they were ushered into the center of the stage to watch the action unfurl around the perimeter of the room. Soon after, the curtains rolled up and the entire play moved from the original theater to an adjacent one. The audience moved with the performance and, as they crossed the between-stage threshold, actors welcomed us into the inn in which the next scene took place. Now the performers were utilizing two stages, which, as creative as this idea was, posed aural and visual problems relating to bodily obstructions and the distance of the actors with respect to the audience. Because most of the audience members had to stand while viewing, there was a good chance that the back of someone's head might obstruct the view. Additionally, as mentioned above, the musketeers did not project enough to be heard from the far stage, so much of the dialogue, and therefore the plot, was lost. The audience was able to catch a break when they were ushered into seats for the last 20 minutes of the performance. It was then that viewers could fully appreciate the play as a dazzling spectacle. The costumes were acutely detailed, especially those made for the female characters, who donned sparkling dresses and ornate feathered masks. There was a costume moment in the play that escaped the realm of logic but knocked your eyes out anyway, when suddenly a 30-foot tall sparkling white gown with an actress perched on top made an appearance, slowly making its away around the stage and eerily towering over the events taking place below. This type of spectacle was commonplace in the performance, as acrobats, entirely independent of the plot, tumbled frequently and climbed ribbons flowing down from the ceiling. BTC's adaptation of The Three Musketeers was a refreshing demonstration of out-of-the-box theater. It possessed an imagination that aroused intrigue and titillated the senses. However, it was clear that certain sacrifices, such as those pertaining to audience comprehension, had to be made in order to execute their creative vision fully. Overall though, it was an entertaining spectacle that called to question the basic banal conventions of the theater-going experience.
(11/13/07 5:00am)
Although none of the Judges' cross country runners qualified for the NCAA championships, many can say they ended the year running faster than at any other point in the season.Brandeis got personal-best performances from several runners at the New England Division III championships last Saturday. The men's team finished in ninth place out of 47 teams, while the women's team finished 18th out of 47 squads."The finish was a bit disappointing, but I think it was a pretty good day," Tim Condon '08 said. "A lot of our guys [set personal records], so it was a nice way to finish off the season."Amherst College won the meet, edging Williams College by a single point.Despite the strong performances, no Brandeis runner qualified for the NCAA championships. Mekonen Gendebo '11, fresh off clinching the University Athletic Association Rookie of the Year award Oct. 27, came closest, but a 21st-place time of 25 minutes, 20 seconds missed the mark by a mere seven seconds. "[Gendebo] ran awesome," coach John Evans said. "Being the second freshman to finish is a great achievement."Though he failed to qualify for Nationals, Gendebo still put forth his best effort of the season. His time was 22 seconds faster than it was at the UAA Championships, and it marked the third straight time that Gendebo ran faster than he did in the previous meet. For his efforts, Gendebo was named an all-New England performer. Condon, in his final college race, finished second on the team and 44th overall with a time of 25:45. It was easily Condon's fastest time of the season, but the second team all-UAA performer last year never got into a rhythm this season after a knee injury kept him out for the entire offseason and the first half of the year."[Condon] didn't start training until August, so you're talking about nine months where he wasn't running," Evans said. "Missing nine months is a long time, and if you miss that much time, you aren't going to be at the level that you want to be."Matt Jennings '09 finished third on the team and 50th overall with a time of 25:49, while Mike Stone '09 and Paul Norton '11 rounded out the Judges' scoring with 64th- and 81st-place overall finishes, respectively.On the women's side, Ally Connolly '09 had a strong end to the season, finishing with a personal-best time of 23:37. Connolly said she didn't think she did anything too differently in this race, but admitted she had to push herself toward the end of the race."I felt like I had earned the right to run well because I had trained so hard over the summer and done a lot of workouts this year," she said. "I was thinking a lot about that during the race, especially when I was getting tired."Marie Lemay '11 and Hannah Lindholm '11 closed their rookie campaigns with 105th- and 117th-place overall finishes, respectfully, while captain Katy Agule '09 and Emily Terrin '08 finished in 126th and 136th place, respectively.Young players fueled the efforts of both teams throughout the season. The men's squad had high hopes, but injuries to Condon and John Guilinger '08, as well as the preseason transfer of Brian McDonald '10 robbed the team of three of its most experienced runners. Still, the emergence of Gendebo provided a silver lining to the season, while Jennings, Stone, Norton and a host of other rookies are all set to return."We just relied on too many freshmen this year," Evans said. "It's hard to say whether it was a good season or a bad season; it was just a strange season."The women's team relied on several young players all season, and they developed throughout the year, finishing with strong times towards the end. Terrin is the only key runner set to graduate this spring, as Connolly, Lemay, Lindholm and Agule will all return a year more experienced."For us, being a really young team, we ended on a positive note with many of us having personal records," Agule said. "Next year, we're going to improve drastically, especially with our freshmen being done with their first college season."Evans said that while this fall was not one of the team's most successful ones, the rookie runners, particularly Gendebo, Norton, Lindholm and Lemay, provide the program with a lot of promise for the future."All the freshmen have shown they are going to be really good in the next few years," Evans said. "The program is on the upswing.
(11/13/07 5:00am)
The Brandeis International Business School will take part in a pilot run for a business- and technology-oriented video game next semester as one facet of its new partnership with the IBM Corporation, which was announced at a daylong event cohosted by IBS and IBM last Tuesday. IBS will participate in IBM's Academic Initiative program, which is geared toward providing universities with cutting-edge technology to be used toward teaching curricula and research, according to IBM's Web site. IBM is the world's largest computer company and largest information technology employer. At the event, IBM presented its new video game, Innov8, which is designed to help University students and young professionals develop a combination of business and information technology skills, according to IBM's Web site. The game simulates business projects and allows players to participate in situations mimicking real experiences. Brandeis is one of 25 universities participating in the game's pilot program, which will be tested in the IBS course "Technology Strategy" next semester, taught by Prof. Preeta Banerjee (IBS)."The key point of the day and of the relationship with IBM is to help students master skills to succeed in the global marketplace," said Matthew Parillo, senior associate director of communications at IBS.In the morning session of the event, IBM representatives described the new relationship between IBM and IBS and presented Innov8. The afternoon session was a roundtable discussion titled "Competing in the Global Economy," moderated by Prof. Catherine Mann (ECON). "This is a new relationship, and we are hoping for it to grow over the years ahead," said David Lapp, marketing manager of the IBM Software Group.Parillo said IBS is one of the first business schools in the world to pilot Innov8 in the classroom. "A serious game is a training tool," said Parillo, adding that the goal of IBS and its use of Innov8 in the classroom is to "[give] students this combination of business and information technology skills so that they can land these coveted jobs." According to Lapp, the company is now making Innov8 widely available to schools in its Academic Initiative program. IBM will then ask universities in the pilot program for feedback to incorporate into the game's upcoming enhancements. Banerjee said she worked with IBS Dean Bruce Magid, Parillo and IBM to incorporate the game into the classroom. She explained that the game will be helpful in teaching students how to deal with real-world business situations. "It provides a case so you can actually see the tradeoffs and complexity of a business situation," she said. "You get to reflect real time also as you're playing the game." According to Banerjee, Innov8 has been installed on several computers in IBS, and 25 members of her BUS10a class have tried out an early version of the game and given it positive feedback. "The opportunity came for piloting this game, and I thought it was a very good opportunity in the sense that it was able to give students some practical experience without putting their jobs on the line," Banerjee said. Lapp and Parillo felt that the event was very successful, both in presenting Innov8 and in strengthening the relationship between IBS and IBM. Lapp said that the presentation served to "[expose] people to what IBM is about as a business." Innov8, as an innovative new teaching tool, "is a good representative of what a career at IBM might be about," because "IBM is really a company that is built on innovation," Lapp said. Sean Fullerton '10, who attended the roundtable event in the afternoon session, said he learned a lot about the skills needed for information technology jobs. "Apparently there's a huge demand, and there will be in the future for IT-type jobs," said Fullerton, who added that the presentation illustrated the need in the workplace for people with broad IT skills and in-depth knowledge in a specific area.
(11/06/07 5:00am)
A Washington, D.C., insider under former President Richard Nixon during the Watergate scandal, John W. Dean said last Tuesday at Brandeis that the current Bush Administration's underhanded practices have been even more egregious.Dean, President Nixon's legal counsel during Watergate, expressed his worries about the state of investigative reporting and the secrecy of the Bush administration during the inaugural address for the Gerald and Elaine Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism at the Faculty Club.Dean, whose Senate testimony played a vital role in exposing the president's role in the scandal, also addressed this issue in his 2004 book Worse than Watergate. His last three books, however, have focused on Bush's tenure, including his latest work, Broken Government, which was published in 2007.Last January, Elaine and Gerald Schuster donated $5 million to the Institute, which grew out of the Women's Studies Research Center in Sept. 2004 and employs both students and professional reporters. It is the first independent investigative institute based at a university, and Dean praised its existence, calling it "cutting edge.""I can only hope [the Institute is] being replicated around the country," he said.In his lecture, called "Holding power accountable," Dean discussed the state of investigative reporting-or lack thereof-and reminisced about his time in Washington in the early '70s during Watergate."Thank you Mr. President, I assume you're not taping tonight?" Dean asked when he entered the stage after University President Jehuda Reinharz's introduction, alluding to his taped conversations with Nixon. "That's a question I started asking presidents lately," he joked.While the press gave presidents before Watergate "the benefit of the doubt," that was no longer the case afterwards, Dean said. This attitude persisted during the presidencies of Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan, often resulting in what Dean called "over-investigation," and reached its peak during Bill Clinton's term with the coverage of the Monica Lewinsky affair.While Dean described the reporting of the Watergate scandal as "the birth of investigative journalism," he said the real power of the?Washington Post's coverage lay in its decision to keep the story on the front page, not in the content of the reporting itself. "They didn't write one story that gave us the concern that they knew what was going on," he said. "The Washington Post enterprise deserved a Pulitzer, but they really didn't crack the story at all." Keeping the story on the front page annoyed the president's press office and made it an important news item. "That's the press' role," Dean said.His criticism of the current administration became evident immediately, although he covered it up with humor when talking about Bush's visit to Southern California last week in wake of the wildfires. "I am just happy he didn't dress up as a fireman, saying 'Mission accomplished,'" he said.Dean said the current situation is "probably much worse" than Watergate. During Watergate, "nobody died. Nobody was tortured. We're playing in a whole different league today." Dean decided to write about what he thought the media was neglecting. "Nobody is holding Republicans accountable for their actions," he said. He said the lack of transparency in the executive office today is particularly troubling. "This administration has been more effective than any predecessors at stiff -arming the press," he said. Bush's appointment of conservative justices to the Supreme Court is another of Dean's worries. There are currently four "fundamentalist" justices and adding one more, he said, could dramatically change legislation in this country. Dean said this should be an issue in the 2008 presidential race. Dean also worked as an investment banker since his departure from Washington. He now lives in California and has taught at the University of Southern California for seven years. After the address, Dean signed copies of his books and shook hands with audience members. "It's great that students showed up in the numbers that they did," he said after his speech.
(10/30/07 4:00am)
The men's swimming and diving team had defeated Keene State College every year since 2002 by an average of a 30 points per win, but that streak of dominance came to an end Saturday. The Owls finally snapped their losing streak against the Judges, toppling the men's team 170-128, and also defeated the women's team 162-138. With the loss, both Brandeis teams dropped to 0-2 this season.On the men's side, Keene State sent out a new lineup that included 14 rookies out of 21 total swimmers. Brandeis coach James Zotz said it was difficult to create a lineup against opposing swimmers of which he had no prior knowledge. "If I had results on them, [then] I could've gotten a better sense of what their potential was and create our lineup according to that," Zotz said.Both Brandeis teams lost many close races, but it was the men's team that suffered the most. Brandeis missed a first-place finish in 12 of the 16 events but lost seven of those 12 by less than one second. Since the difference between a first-place finish and second-place finish is five points for individual events and seven points for relays, the Judges paid for their small margins of defeat.James Liu '10 attributed the difference to what he described as minor tactical aspects."I think we have to work on our starts and turns a little bit more; they weren't as good as they could've been," he said. "We just need to spend more time on those things in practice."After winning all three of his individual races in an Oct. 17 loss to Boston College, Liu was again impressive in his individual performances, but he fell victim to close finishes like many of his teammates. He finished first in the 200-yard freestyle with a time of one minute, 50.3 seconds, but was second in the 50-yard freestyle, just 16 hundredths of a second behind Keene State sophomore Cody Larrimore's time of 22.16 seconds. Liu's second-place finish meant he came out with only four points instead of the nine he would have received for finishing first. Larrimore also got the best of Liu in the 100-yard freestyle, edging him by only four-tenths of a second to again take nine first-place points over Liu's four.In diving, the Owls' men's team had three divers competing, while the Judges don't even have a regular diver on their team. Swimmer Alex Cemaj '10 stepped in to prevent Keene State from getting too many free points and still managed to avoid finishing last in either diving event, but despite staying late to practice Friday, it was a difficult adjustment for him. "I was only going to do one event at first, but we figured if we were down by the second event I would compete again, but I hadn't practiced those dives [for a second event]," Cemaj said.Zotz said the team has failed in its attempts to find divers so far."We do have a diving team, just not any divers," he said. "We've begged and borrowed and are looking for anything," Zotz added. "We just haven't been able to attract or find any males who are willing to dive."On the women's side, Charlotte Rea '08 led the Judges with first-place finishes in both of the one-meter diving events.In addition to Rea, Zotz said swimmer Hollis Viray '10 had a career day, as she finished with three first-place finishes and some of her personal best times. She won the 200-yard freestyle and 200-yard breaststroke events with times of 2:02.71 and 2:34.41, respectively, and also won the 200-yard individual medley event, pulling ahead early in the butterfly and backstroke portion of the race."We had about four or five different people with lifetime best performances, and at this time in the year that's just extraordinary," Zotz said. "Normally that's something that takes place at the end of the season."While the women's team did show signs of individual success, it still struggled as a whole. Brandeis only had first-place finishes in seven of the 16 events, and only had five events in which they earned more combined points than Keene State. The two teams resume action with three consecutive home matches in the next week and a half. The stretch starts Nov. 3 with the Alumni Meet at 3 p.m., and continues Nov. 8 against Babson College at 6:30 p.m before closing with Bentley?College?Nov. 13 at 6:30 p.m.
