Dozens of students stood in a hallway in the Center for Dramatic Art on Tuesday evening, waiting for their chance to audition for one of three productions UNC's Lab! Theatre will be presenting this year. The audition process can be an intimidating one, but it is in some ways even more difficult for those sitting on the other side of the table.
Making good music is one thing. Getting people to come listen to it is an endeavor in and of itself. Representatives from Chapel Hill music venues such as Nightlight and The Cave, as well as members of local bands, will be at Local 506 tonight for a forum designed to educate musicians about booking shows and networking. "Booking the Triangle and Beyond" is the first of what will be quarterly forums titled "Secondhand Freespace," a reference to a song by famous Chapel Hill band Archers of Loaf.
It's 8:30 p.m. on Friday, and junior Ben Greene is at the N.C. Hillel house, stuttering as he attempts to - incorrectly - explain the finer points of Shabbat, the Jewish observance of the Sabbath, to his friends. "Because God rested on the seventh day, we, um, work extra hard so that we can build idols and stuff," Greene explains. Greene and his friends are members of Chapel Hill Players, or Chips, UNC's student improv comedy group. They're rehearsing for a show at Hillel fraught with exclamations of "Oy gevalt!" and references to matzo bread.
There's a well-known warning about what happens when people make assumptions. With her new exhibit at Duke University's Nasher Museum of Art, Senior Curator Sarah Schroth may have just proved that sentiment true. Schroth has organized what is being hailed as one of the most groundbreaking art exhibitions in recent memory. "El Greco to Velazquez: Art During the Reign of Philip III," which opens at the Nasher today, examines how what was long considered a dead period in Spanish art, the late 16th and early 17th centuries, wasn't so dead after all.
To local painter Gayle Stott Lowry, a glimpse inside an old house is like a glimpse into someone's psyche. Her latest exhibition, which opened Tuesday at Tyndall Galleries in University Mall, is her way of explaining that phenomenon. "I see it as a metaphor for our psychological interior," Lowry said. "In a way it's a protected space. There are parts we're comfortable in, parts of ourself we're comfortable with, but also parts of it we disavow and seal off."
In recent months, a contingent of local artists have lamented what they see as the bleeding out of the area's artistic talent. Some envisioned Chapel Hill's destiny as "the new Seattle" in the early- and mid-90s. Around that time, bands like Nirvana, Alice in Chains and Soundgarden saw skyrocketing popularity, defining the "Seattle sound." Whether Chapel Hill failed to reach that goal - and whether the goal ever really existed or had relevance - are both debatable.
Originally housed in a modest location in the Student Union, what is now the Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black History and Culture was created in 1988.
UNC's music department isn't one of the largest in the U.S., but throughout its history, it has produced alumni varying from actor Andy Griffith to 2002 graduate Brendan James, who released his debut full-length album this summer. But while the department isn't renowned for its size, some students say they appreciate the greater personal opportunities they get as members of a smaller program.
If you go see a show at Dirty South Improv Comedy Theater, you'll hear a lot of jokes. But as far as its comedy classes are concerned, there's more to learning the art of improv than memorizing one-liners. Entering its fourth year of existence under the leadership of executive director Zach Ward, DSI has formed its own philosophy about both entertaining local audiences and educating them on the finer points of improv comedy.
Last year UNC was one of eight U.S. universities to receive a grant designed to bring provocative discussion dealing with a topic of social significance - the death penalty, in UNC's case - to campuses across the nation. Because of high participation, UNC performance groups plan to collaborate on another project this year despite the expiration of the external funding, the Creative Campus Innovations Grant from the Association of Performing Arts Presenters. This year's theme is "The Gender Project."
