Accents06-16-05

Second City to perform on campus Feb. 1

The Missouri Southern State University’s Campus Activities Board (CAB) will present a performance by the Second City comedy troupe at 7 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 1 in Taylor Performing Arts Center at MSSU.

The legendary comedy troupe that launched the careers of a countless number of the comedy world’s greatest stars will be performing their classic sketch and improvisational comedy in a show entitled "Truth, Justice or The American Way."

Second City has launched the careers of thousands of comic performers in its 45-year history, including current comic sensations Steve Carell, Stephen Colbert, Tina Fey and Rachel Dratch.

Other comic legends associated with Second City included Mike Myers, Chris Farley, Bill Murray, Catherine O’Hara, John Belushi, Gilda Radner, John Candy, Dan Aykroyd, Martin Short, George Wendt, Fred Willard, Alan Arkin and more.

“Truth, Justice or The American Way” features the next generation of comic greats performing a diverse array of sketches and songs, as well as off the cuff improvisation that can provide completely unexpected comic brilliance. From the battle of the sexes to the battles at the voting booth, Second City provides a hilarious and insightful look into contemporary American culture.

The performance by Second City is free to students, faculty, staff and general public.

Today's Brown Bag

Betsy Griffin, Academic Affairs, reminds faculty/staff about the Brown Bag lunch for today, Friday, Jan. 26. Kexi Liu, Music, will speak on the Suzuki Academy's Trip to China. Presentation includes performances by some of the Suzuki students.

The Brown Bag will be held from 12:10 - 12:50 p.m. in the Keystone Room on the 3rd floor of the BSC. Pick up your free lunch at the mini-buffet outside the room. Lunch is provided courtesy of Academic Affairs and Sodexho.

All faculty/staff are welcome to attend.

Noises Off continues through Saturday night

(L to R) Michael Runion, Kyle Maloney, Sarah Jones and Shannon Martinous

What goes on behind the scenes during a theatrical production? You’ll find out during Southern Theatre's presentation of Michael Frayn’s Noises Off through Jan. 27 at Taylor Performing Arts Center.

Ben Horine directs this wild ride into life in the theatre. If you think things are crazy onstage, wait till you see what happens backstage. In a review of Noises Off, the New York Post said, " [It is] the funniest farce ever written . . . . Never before has side-splitting taken on a meaning dangerously close to the non-metaphorically medical."

Curtain time is 7:30 p.m. Tickets may be reserved in person in the lobby of Taylor Auditorium or by calling the box office at 625-3190 between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.

No refunds or exchanges will be given. Ticket prices are as follows: Admission is free to students, faculty and staff. Tickets cost $3 for adults in the community and $1 for senior citizens and high school students.

The play is rated “M” for mature audiences. A complete list of cast and crew is available at www.mssu.edu/news/noisesoff07.htm.

Requests for accommodations related to a disability for theatre productions need to be made to Terri Spencer, Theatre, at (417) 625-9393 at least 72 hours before the program.

Art Faculty, others to exhibit

The work of MSSU art faculty, retired art faculty, and others who have taught classes will be on display in the MSSU Spiva Art Gallery through Feb. 2.

There will be a time to talk to the art faculty from 4 -5:30 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 30 in the Gallery. Light refreshments will be served. Students and the general public are also welcome.

Offerings on exhibit include everything from ceramics to painting and photography to drawing.

The Spiva Art Gallery's hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. For further information contact V. A. Christensen, Art Gallery Coordinator, at ext. 9631.

The Social Science Department at MSSU will host Dr. Edward J. Perkins at 7 p.m., Friday, Feb. 2 in Webster Hall Auditorium at Missouri Southern State University.

The appearance by Dr. Perkins is the result of a Teaching American History Grant awarded to the Carthage R-IX School District which is working in partnership with MSSU.

Dr. Perkins enjoyed a long and distinguished diplomatic career. After holding a number of posts in the U.S. military and Foreign Service he was appointed Ambassador to Liberia in 1985. He then served as Ambassador to the Republic of South Africa from 1986-89.

In 1992 he was appointed as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and U.S. Representative in the UN Security Council, where he served from 1992-1993. Dr. Perkins served as Ambassador to Australia from 1993-1996.

On August 31, 1996, Dr. Perkins retired with the rank of Career Minister in the United States Foreign Service.
He is currently William J. Crowe Chair in Geopolitics and Executive Director of the International Programs Center at the University of Oklahoma.

For more information contact Steven Wagner, Social Science Department at ext. 9587 or visit www.mssu.edu/news/perkins07.htm.

College Goal Sunday, a program designed to assist college-bound high schools students in the completion and filing of important student financial aid documents, will return for a fourth year to the Show-Me State.

Kathy Feith, Financial Aid, says the program will take place in workshop format from 2 to 4 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 11 at Cornell Auditorium in Plaster Hall at Missouri Southern State University.

The workshops also will be held primarily on college campuses located throughout the state and will be staffed by financial aid experts from a variety of institutions. There is no charge to participate.

The workshop focuses on assisting students and families is the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or FAFSA. It is required by most educational institutions to determine eligibility for a wide range of grants, loans and scholarships.

The website, located at www.collegegoalmissouri.com contains basic information about college financial aid and provides information regarding specific program locations, a list of items needed for the event and driving directions.

The next edition of Newsmakers is literally "for the birds” -- as well as environmentalists, bird watchers and others who may live in or plan a visit to the Joplin area.

Robin McAlester and Chris Pistole, Development Directors of the Audubon Nature Center in Joplin’s Wildcat Park, will talk about the development and start-up of the center with Newsmakers host, Judy Stiles,

Construction has started on the Audubon building, and plans are being developed for programming. The building is expected to be completed in the summer. The guests will discuss the variety of programs and features.

The program will air on the following stations at the following times and dates:

* SITV (Southern Instructional Television), 8 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 4
* KGCS: 5:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 5 and Wednesday, Feb. 7
* KOAM: 5:30 a.m., Saturday, Feb. 10
* KOZJ: 12:30 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 11

Newsmakers is produced by KGCS-TV as a service of the Department of Communication at Missouri Southern State University. KGCS airs on Joplin/Webb City cable channel 7, UHF channel 57, and Mediacom channel 77

The Fifteenth Annual Langston Hughes Celebration will take place at 7 p.m., Friday Feb. 16 in Webster Hall Auditorium at MSSU.

Hughes, born in Joplin in 1902, was a prolific writer and key figure in the "Harlem Renaissance" movement of the 1920s - 30s. He died in New York City in 1967.

The featured speaker for the event will be writer and past Langston Hughes Prize recipient Dr. R. Baxter Miller. He will speak on "`I Heard Ma Rainey': Inspiration in Langston Hughes."

Dr. Miller was honored as one of only nine Senior Lilly Teaching Fellows at the University of Georgia in 1994-95. He has been a United Negro College Fund Distinguished Scholar at Xavier University in New Orleans and Mellon Visiting Professor at the University of San Francisco.

He is editor and contributor of The Critical Methods of African Americans: 1865-1988, a book currently being revised for publication by the Committee for Research Activities of the Modern Language Association. The editor of The Short Stories,” Collected Works of Langston Hughes 15, he has written the critical biography in the Historical Guide of Langston Hughes.

Executive editor of The Langston Hughes Review, he is a past president of the Langston Hughes Society and founder of the Division of Black American Literature and Culture in the Modern Language Association.

The Celebration will feature poetry and music. Others scheduled to take part include Gloria Payne, Teacher Education, Michael Rodgers, English, Mark Lloyd, Admissions, as Master of Ceremonies, and student Auriel Brown Doris Walters, English, spearheads the annual effort.

Faculty/staff Health Fair 2007

The MSSU Wellness Office will provide health screenings for all MSSU employees, retirees and spouses from 8 a.m. to 12 noon, Wednesday & Thursday, Feb. 7-8 in the Connor Ballroom of Billingsly Student Center.

For best results, food and drink, except water, should be avoided for 8 hours prior to testing. For glucose testing only, avoid food and drink, except water, 4 hours prior.

Drink plenty of water and please take any routine medications.

The following lab work will be available and may be purchased at the fair. Check, VISA, Master Card, or Discover will be accepted (no cash).

Film showings of the 45th Annual International Film Festival will continue this spring semester on Tuesday evenings at 7 p.m. at Cornell Auditorium in Plaster Hall. No admission is charged. Harrison Kash, who oversees the effort, says this semester's offerings include the following:

Tuesday, Feb. 20
Love (Szerelem) (Hungary, 1971)
The filmmaker Karoly Makk created this skillful blend of politics and drama. It is the story of a political prisoner’s sick mother, played by the famed Lili Darvis, and his wife, played by Mari Torocsik, both of whom await his return from jail.

Tuesday, March 6
The Battle of the Rails (La Bataille du Rail) (France, 1945)
Directed by Rene Clement, this remarkable and courageous film was completed during the final months of World War II under extremely dangerous conditions. Using a cast of non-professionals, Clement followed railway workers who resisted the Nazis on many fronts.

Tuesday, March 20
Distant Journey (Daleka cesta) (Czechoslovakia, 1949)
Banned for decades, this rediscovered classic is one of the first films to deal with the Holocaust. It follows the struggles of Dr. Hannah Kaufmann and her family from the time of the Nazi Occupation of Prague to her experiences in the transit camp of Theresienstadt (modern Terezin).

Tuesday, April 3
Conflagration (Enjo) (Japan, 1958)
This stark drama, based on a true story, is about a student with a tumultuous background who tries to become a monk at a cherished temple. His innocence does not prepare him for the pervasive corruption he finds there and, in a desperate act, he makes a plea for fiery purity.

Elisha (Bonnot) Thornhill, graphic arts specialist with the department's Division of Geology and Land Survey (DGLS), has been named Missouri Department of Natural Resources' January 2007 Employee of the Month.

Thornhill is being honored for consolidating and updating the division's Ed Clark Museum of Missouri Geology in Rolla. Thornhill graduated in 2000 from Missouri Southern State University (MSSU) with a B.A. in Graphic Communication and was a standout member of the MSSU softball team.

FACULTY/STAFF

Carla Huntington, Marketing/Management, has had the article "Re-evaluating segmentation practices and public policy in classical performing arts marketing-a macro approach" accepted for publication in the Spring 2007 volume of The Journal of Arts Management, Law, and Society. Huntington's research involves the marketing, consumption and public policy of performing arts.

The article examines existing classical performing arts market segmentation practices in the United States, and suggests that future growth of their audiences may rest upon defining them more broadly. Marketing theory, research, and practice may need to be specifically developed to meet the needs of both the classical performing arts industries and their future audiences.

The Journal is an authoritative resource for the field of performing, visual, and media arts in particular as well as cultural affairs. A wide range of articles representing diverse disciplinary viewpoints are included. For further information, visit www.heldref.org/.

Kexi Liu, Suzuki Violin Academy, says Academy student Alan Liu was selected to the violin section of the All-State Orchestra following an intense audition. He will join the orchestra from Jan. 24 - 27 at Tan-Tar-A and perform with the orchestra on Saturday, Jan. 27 at the Missouri Music Educators Association Conference.

An essay by Art Saltzman, English, "Destiny as a Sentence by Henry James," which originally appeared in Drunken Boat, was made a Best of the Web selection by Web del Sol.

Joaquin Rodriguez Suro, Foreign Languages, translated a number of Lawrence County legal documents into Spanish. The documents will be used in disaster-relief activities.

CLASSIFIED

For Sale: Golf bag travel case. (Black hard shell travel case for golf clubs and bag). New condition. $40. Call Dave at (417) 529-0463.

For Rent : A week of timeshare near Orlando, Fla. The 7- night week starts Saturday, June 23. Property is a two bedroom, two bath unit that sleeps eight (8). Price: $750. If interested e-mail tipton-j@mssu.edu or see John Tipton Wednesday and Thursday evenings or 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Saturdays at Spiva Library.

For Sale: SWR Workingman 400 watt Bass amp and 4" x10" speaker cabinet. Excellent condition. $600 OBO. Call 499-4153.

For Sale: 2005 Honda Rebel Motorcycle. Price: $2,500. Has a 250 cc engine, only 800 miles. Black with a custom smoke windshield. Contact Paul or Sheira at 781-7645.