Hachioji Kuruma Ningyo: Traditional Japanese puppet theatre
The Hachioji Kuruma Ningyo Company from Japan performed at UVic on May 2 to a capacity audience in Hickman 105. Kuruma ningyo is a rare form of puppetry in which the puppeteer sits on a small seat on rollers and manipulates a life-sized puppet to the accompaniment of a narrator, called a gidayu, and a musician playing a shamisen, a three-stringed instrument sounding rather like a banjo.
Staying contemporary
Feeling a lack of new art on campus since the closing of the Maltwood? Step outside the Ring and visit the Visual Arts Building, where the 2012 MFA Thesis Exhibition is on view for the next week. Featuring the work of seven emerging contemporary artists, all of whom are completing their Master of Fine Arts degrees in Visual Arts, this exhibit is always one of the most anticipated shows of the year.
Students learn and work with legendary man of the theatre
Imagine getting the chance to work with a legendary Shakespearean master? This was the opportunity offered to more than a dozen talented actors, designers and aspiring directors at the Department of Theatre when the illustrious playwright, director and critic Charles Marowitz came to UVic this spring to direct his reinterpreted version of Hamlet that will be performed at the Phoenix Theatre, running March 15–24.
Latest culture
Piano man(ipulator)While the lyric, “Play us a song, you’re the interactive computer-art piano manipulator,” may not strike the same sweet chord as Billy Joel’s original, it is an apt description of the current project by internationally celebrated sound sculptor Trimpin. In a collaborative venture involving graduate and undergraduate students from the School of Music and the combined Music and Computer Science degree program, for the past two months Trimpin’s team has been recomposing five “rescued” pianos into a complex MIDI-controlled art installation that promises a distinctly 21st-century sound. |
Sculpting soundOver the next three months, internationally celebrated composer, inventor and sound sculptor Trimpin will be collaborating with a UVic team of emerging sound engineers, musicians and visual artists on his latest project, titled (CanonX+4:33=100). With the team's assistance, Trimpin will transform a group of abandoned pianos into an array of visually dynamic and aurally stunning acoustic and electroacoustic sculptures and automatons, by way of celebrating the 2012 centennial of influential experimental composers John Cage and Conlon Nancarrow. |
Say it with danceNever underestimate the power of interdisciplinary chit-chat. When assistant theatre professor Conrad Alexandrowicz met famed poet and writing professor Lorna Crozier at the annual Faculty of Fine Arts retreat last year, he had no idea their discussion would soon translate into nearly $175,000 in grant funding. |
A very tuba ChristmasThe euphonious tones of dozens of massed low-brass instruments playing holiday favourites entranced the audience Dec. 3 in Market Square as UVic music prof Eugene Dowling led the Victoria Tuba Christmas Ensemble in its 33rd annual holiday fundraising concert. The event raises hundreds of dollars each year for the Times Colonist Christmas Fund to help those most in need in our community. |