Arts
& Humanities
Prize-winning
comedy opens FRT season,
by James A. Panowski
Let’s do the Time Warp...again, by Bobby
Glenn Brown
Crystal Theatre to host fiddling group, Betty
Premo
Second Sunday dances begin in October, by
Dean Premo
Reading conference offers expert speakers,
by Greg Peterson
UPRA conference award-winning presenters,
by Greg Peterson
Prize-winning
comedy opens FRT season
The Forest Roberts Theatre unveils its 2007-08 “Drop Everything”
season with Mary Chase’s Pulitzer Prize winning comedy, “Harvey.”
This famous American comedy runs at 7:30 p.m. from October 3 through
6, with a special matinee at 1:00 p.m. on the 6th.
Harvey revolves around Elwood P. Dowd, a good natured, mild mannered
eccentric known in all the cafeterias and saloons in his small town.
Elwood, played by Kalkaska sophomore Benjamen Filipowicz, is polite
and cheerful and always friendly toward any strangers he might encounter.
Elwood has just one problematic character trait: his special friend
is an invisible, six-foot-tall rabbit, named Harvey.
Elwood’s friend is so special that Elwood wants to share him
with everyone… much to the humiliation and frustration of his
socially conscious sister, Veta Louise Simmons, played by Michigamme
senior Kelley Ross. Veta is anxious to provide the best opportunities
for her social climbing daughter, Myrtle Mae, played by Gwinn junior
Emily Strazzinski. However, there is no room in this plan
for Elwood’s friend…a “pooka” named Harvey.
The situation calls for drastic action, but Veta’s plan to
commit Elwood to a sanitarium backfires when she admits that after
years of living with this problem she is actually beginning to see
Harvey herself. A comedy of errors ensues while the doctors at the
sanitarium endeavor to identify and incarcerate the right lunatic.
The behavior of prominent psychologist William Chumley, played
by local talent Marty Martello, and his staff raise the age-old
question of who is more dangerous to society: the easy-going dreamer
with a vivid imagination, or the people who want him to conform
to the accepted version of reality.
The staff at Chumley’s Rest includes: the strong-arm attendant
Wilson played by Yale sophomore Jerry D. Tudor Jr. who takes a fancy
to Myrtle Mae; Dr. Lyman Sanderson, Chumley’s hormonally-charged partner
played by Stevens Point (Wisconsin) junior Travis Moscinski; and
the perky and efficient Nurse Kelly, played by Kincheloe freshman
Emily Couling.
But don’t underestimate Harvey’s persuasive personality
and amazing power to put everything into perspective. By the time
the curtain falls, all is well and audiences will leave the theatre
with a smile on their faces as they look for white rabbits leaning
against lamp-posts.
The supporting cast of Elwood’s acquaintances includes: Shelby
Township freshman Joe Gehart as Judge Omar Gaffney; Manton senior
Courteney Bostick in the dual roles of Betty Chumley and Ethel Chauvenet;
and Vestaburg sophomore Cameron Witbeck as E.J. Lofgren.
Harvey is guest directed by Keli Truckey, with a scenic design by
Victor G. Holliday and a lighting design by Kimberly Hegmegee.
Tickets are on sale and can be purchased at the FRT box office weekdays
from noon to 5:00 p.m., at TCF Bank in the University Center, or
at the Superior Dome. Credit card reservations can be made by calling
227-1032 or visiting www.nmu.edu/tickets
Beginning October 1, telephone reservations can be made by calling
227-2082. Tickets prices are $10 for the general public and
$7 for NMU students.
—James A. Panowski
Let’s do the
Time Warp...again
It is that time of year once again. The Peninsula Arts Appreciation
Council is gearing up for the seventh annual Rocky Horror Show at
the Vista Theatre in Negaunee. Iron Street once again will transform
into a crazy walkway for several hundred fans who dress up and take
part in what has become a cult classic and Upper Peninsula favorite
for young and old. This year includes some returning audience favorites,
new faces, Northern college students and an NMU professor.
Jon Everson, the director of this year’s production, is no
stranger to the Vista stage or Rocky Horror and is proud to have
this show as his debut as a director.
“I have been in several productions in the area and have played
several roles in Rocky Horror,” he said. “Last year, I
was the narrator. I have a strong connection to the show and want
to put my special spin on it, especially the sexy ’40s theme.
I am glad PAAC is giving me this opportunity.”
Everson said that nobody can deny the success of the first five
years of Rocky Horror at the Vista Theater and the audience support
and reaction to a well-known, charismatic, talented Frank-N-Furter.
“We all wait for the time he returns, but this year is extra
special and everything will be new, from the set to the costumes,”
he said. “Trust me audiences will be surprised and I hope pleased
with the outcome.”
This year’s cast includes some familiar faces and many new
ones. Brian Elliott is returning as Riff Raff; Marty Martello, previously
Eddie and Dr. Scott, is in yet another role this year as the narrator.
Last year’s Frank, Andy Poe, will play Dr. Scott this year.
Brian Sundberg (previous Eddie), Cara Manor, Alania O’Brian
and Gemma Martello all return as Transylvanians, but the show would
not be complete without returning Transylvanian Emily Martello,
the only cast member to be cast in all seven productions.
“It is just not October and Halloween without Rocky Horror,”
Martello said. “It is extra special because my dad and sister
are cast again too. We have a blast, and the audience is fun to
react off of. Who would have thought this could happen in Negaunee?
Go Yoopers!”
Last but not least, Seth Johnson returns this year as Frank. Johnson
previously played a Transylvanian and the character of Brad.
“It is a dream come true and I am very pumped,” Johnson
said. “To be included with Poe, and of course Brown in the
main role is, well, awesome.”
Get out your best costume and join the fun in Negaunee.
“Audience participation is expected and welcome,” according
to Al Keefer executive director of PAAC. “Community involvement
is key. Not only in ticket sales but really dressing up, speaking
the audience lines and throwing props. It took awhile, but our audiences
are finally responding and throwing props. It really has been fun
over the years watching them get better at doing that. The audience
is the missing character in the musical. There is always a new challenge
every night.”
While props are encouraged, there is absolutely no water or lighters
allowed, nor flash photography or other audio video equipment. Items
to bring are as follows: newspaper, rice, rubber gloves, party hats
and party favors, playing cards, hot dogs, toast, toilet paper and
a flashlight—and not necessarily in that order. Prop bags will
be on sale before the show.
Costumes are encouraged, and should reflect the theme of Rocky Horror
or the 1940s. There will be a costume contest and participants will
be chosen from audience members wearing costumes that reflect the
theme.
Get your tickets in advance. The Rocky Horror runs at 7:30 p.m.
from October 18 through 20 and October 25 through 27, with midnight
performances both weeks on Saturday. Doors open at 7:00 p.m. Tickets
for all ages are $12.
Tickets are available, first come first served, at the Vista door
nightly, and at the following EZ Ticket Outlets: Forest Roberts
Theatre, TCF Bank, the Vista Theater Thrift Shop and the Superior
Dome. This show contains adult language and sexual content. Not
appropriate for children younger than thirteen. No one younger than
thirteen will be admitted without an adult.
For details, call the Vista office at 475-7188 or visit www.vistatheater.org
—Bobby Glenn Brown
Crystal Theatre
to host fiddling group
As part of an extension of this year’s Harvest Festival in
Crystal Falls there will be a very special concert at the Crystal
Theatre at 2:00 p.m. on October by the group JPP.
JPP—Järvelän pikkupelimannit (“Little Folk Musicians
of Järvelä”)—formed in 1982 in the fiddling
capital of Finland (and perhaps the world), Kaustinen. Born from
the fiddling tradition of the Järvelä family, in Järvelä
village in Kaustinen, JPP’s musical roots go back to the nineteenth
century.
Their initial spark came from the local and national folk music
boom in the ’80s, particularly the phenomenal national success
of Kaustinen fiddler/composer Konsta Jylhä, and their distinctive
skills at composing and arranging emerged immediately, forming the
basis for their style, appeal and future career.
JPP members have experience and training in musical genres outside
folk music like classical and jazz, therefore expanding the scope
of their music far wider than ordinary fiddle groups. In effect,
JPP has created a style all their own, one that is impossible to
categorize easily, and one which continuously surprises.
JPP has toured and performed on every continent and has a collection
of nine albums to their credit. Their latest studio album, Artology,
exhibits the brilliant composing and arranging skills of chief writer
Arto Järvelä while simultaneously sending the listener
on an exciting melodic journey through the heart of Ostrobothnian
fiddle country and JPP’s own imagination, featuring plenty
of unexpected twists and turns.
As part of their tour, JPP is hosting a fiddle workshop for musicians
of all ages and skill levels from 1:30 to 4:00 p.m. on October 6
at the Finlandia University Finnish American Heritage Center in
Hancock.
Advance registration is required, and the cost is $15 per person.
The workshop fee also gets participants into the evening concert
at Calumet Theatre, as well as the concert the following day at
2:00 p.m. at the Crystal Theatre. To sign up, call 487-7505 or e-mail
autumn.hall@finlandia.edu
Tickets for the concert are $10 and are available at Central Arts
and Gifts in Iron River and Ben Franklin in Crystal Falls. In Kingsford,
you can get tickets at Northern Michigan Bank and Trust. Tickets
are available at the door or by calling 822-7889.
A tour bus from Marquette Country Tours will take passengers from
Ishpeming, Negaunee and Marquette to the Crystal Theatre concert.
Cost is $40 per person, which includes tour guide services, deluxe
motor coach transportation and tickets to the performance.
The bus will leave from the Westwood Mall in Marquette at 1:00 p.m.
and return at 6:30 p.m. It will depart from the Negaunee Border
Grill parking lot at 1:20 p.m. and return there at 6:10 p.m., and
depart from the Ishpeming Jubilee parking lot at 1:30 p.m. and return
at 6:00 p.m. The reservation deadline is October 1; for details,
call Fred Huffman at 226-6167.
For details, visit www.thejpp.fi
—Betty Premo
Second Sunday
dances begin in October
The Second Sunday Folk Dance series is starting its twenty-second
year. Set in the beautifully renovated dance hall at Fortune Lake
Camp, the event has the reputation of being one of the Midwest’s
most popular venues for folk music and dance. The Second Sunday
Folk Dance presents some of the best musicians in the country in
an intimate setting.
The Fortune Lake Lutheran Camp is located two miles west of Crystal
Falls on US-2. Turn south on Bible Camp Road and drive for less
than a quarter mile. Turn right on Fortune Lake Camp Road and drive
just a short distance.
The Second Sunday Folk Dance series, held on the Second Sunday of
each month, October through April, is the largest, longest running
event of its kind. Activities begin at 4:00 p.m. Central Time with
a concert by White Water and guests, followed by dancing in many
forms.
A light meal and soft drinks are served at each dance. The entertainment
lasts until 7:00 p.m. Admission for those older than fifteen is
$7 and children younger than fifteen are admitted free.
For details, call 822-7889 or visit www.white-water-associates.com/
second.htm
Special musical guests for the October 14 event include White Water,
Laurel Premo, and Duo Borealis—Evan and Laurel Premo, Mary
Bonhag and Bob Lester are on autumn break from the University of
Michigan, so they agreed to come up and kick off the Second Sunday
season with some of their wonderful music. Mary and Evan’s
collaboration as Duo Borealis combines voice and double bass.
This duo’s diverse program and warm stage presence entertains,
embraces and charms the audience.
Laurel Premo has been writing many new tunes for instruments like
frailing banjo, cittern and bodhran. She will join with Lester for
some authentic bluegrass banjo sounds.
Other guests this year include:
• November 11—Kitty Donohoe, an award-winning songwriter
with three critically acclaimed albums to her credit.
• December 9—The Augustine Family will headline the
December event, along with stage time to feature local young artists.
• January 13—Bryan Bowers is a master autoharp player
and traditional songster and has been a major presence on the North
American folk music scene since the mid-1960s.
• February 10—Bill Staines has traveled back and
forth across North America for more than thirty-five years, singing
his songs and delighting audiences at festivals, folk song societies,
colleges, concerts, clubs and coffeehouses.
• March 9—Finn Hall is a group of musicians from
Minneapolis dedicated to preserving the feel and sounds of dances
at the Finn Halls found in most Finnish-American communities in
the late 1800s into the 1950s.
• April 13—Steve Gillette and Cindy Mangsen return
to the Second Sunday stage. Steve Gillette is considered one of
the finest singer-songwriters. His songs have been sung by dozens
of major artists. Together, they have appeared on National Public
Radio, Mountain Stage, Simply Folk and many North American Folk
Festivals.
—Dean Premo
Reading conference offers expert
speakers
Peabody and Emmy award-winning children’s illustrator Marc
Brown is among eleven important authors giving presentations at
this month’s reading conference in Marquette.
Brown is the keynote speaker for the 2007 Upper Peninsula Reading
Association (UPRA) Conference dinner on October 11 at Northern Michigan
University.
The famous Hingham (Massachusetts) author and illustrator just received
another Emmy Award for Outstanding Children’s Animated Program
for his popular book and television show Arthur, an aardvark based
on his grandmother’s bedtime stories.
Arthur has sold fifty million copies and is watched by children
in sixty countries. Arthur books and TV series have won numerous
awards including the New York Times Bestseller list, several Emmys
and The George Foster Peabody Award for excellence in broadcasting.
The two-day conference will include more than thirty presenters
on a wide range of literacy topics.
The other authors giving presentations at the conference are Sara
Holbrook, Lester Laminack, Jane Kurtz, Lisa Wheeler, Wendy Halperin,
John Mooy, Martin Brennan, and Upper Peninsula authors Jan Sabin,
Ragene Henry and Jackie Winkowski.
More than 700 U.P. educators and others are expected to attend the
2007 conference held every other year by the UPRA. On October 12,
Laminack is the featured speaker after a continental breakfast,
followed by author presentations and lunch with the authors.
On October 13, the Upper Peninsula Writing Project is hosting a
writing marathon, as participants write while traveling through
Marquette and Alger counties and stop at inspirational locations.
The writing marathon cost is $20 per person.
“This conference has exciting educators making presentations,
including from our sister organization the Michigan Reading Association,”
said Sandy Bonsall, UPRA cochairperson.
The conference includes educators from Northern Michigan University
and local schools with expertise in areas of language arts.
“It’s put on by teachers and we know what we want,”
said Keri Bath, UPRA cochairperson. “Teachers keep up with
newest things.”
The UPRA works closely with U.P. children’s writers and illustrators.
For example, the conference has several U.P. writers, and Marquette
illustrator Diana Magnuson created this year’s conference poster.
A mother of two teen daughters, Bath said the U.P. has numerous
dedicated teachers who spend a lot of their own time and money making
reading and writing interesting for students.
“Reading is a foundation for everything else,” said Bath,
who has been a second grade teacher at Lakeview Elementary School
in Negaunee for eleven years. “Students can’t do social
studies or anything else unless they can read. Literacy is very
important.”
Bonsall said the cost of the conference is kept at $30 so it’s
affordable for school districts to send their teachers.
“Area schools support the conference by using the day for professional
development and paying the registration fee for their teachers to
attend,” Bonsall said. “Superintendents have been supportive
of the conference.”
Like chapters in a great novel, the UPRA works closely with numerous
related groups to ensure a long-term coordinated approach to teaching
U.P. children to read and write.
The groups include the Marquette-Alger Reading Council (MARC), Northern
Michigan University, Upper Peninsula Writing Project, Marquette-Alger
Young Author Program, Peter White Public Library, Snowbound Books
and the Marquette Alger Regional Service Agency.
The UPRA and its sister organizations are able to coordinate activities
and strategies because they have shared memberships.
“We all communicate with each other,” Bath said. “A
lot of same people are on same boards. It’s all interconnected.”
Founded in 1973, the UPRA was created as the northern answer to
the Michigan Reading Association annual conference in Grand Rapids.
Not all U.P. teachers could afford the cost or time to drive to
Grand Rapids, said Judy Ashby, a retired teacher and UPRA publicity
chairwoman.
The conference is organized by educators, for educators, ensuring
it is meaningful for teachers, Ashby said.
She said many U.P. teachers live on modest salaries and often spend
their own money to help children learn to read.
“The U.P. is known for being an area that’s very rich
for children’s literacy with conferences that bring authors
and other people in to speak,” said Bonsall, who has served
on the MARC board and the Marquette-Alger Young Author Program steering
committee and has been a consultant for the Upper Peninsula Writing
Project.
The UPRA helps promote the annual Marquette-Alger Young Authors
conference, involving 3,000 kindergarten through fifth grade students
who write their own book for the May event at NMU, which includes
presentations by well-known authors.
“Most young authors programs around the country are for gifted
and talented students but up here every child can attend,”
said Bonsall, who received the Excellence in Education Professional
Development Award.
Parents should begin teaching their children about books when they
are babies, Bath said.
“The worry of teachers is we need help from parents,”
said Bath, who has served on the MARC board and codirected Young
Authors. “It’s important for parents to realize just how
important reading is and start having their children become familiar
with books when they are babies.”
There is more awareness of what kids need help with to learn to
read, and more awareness of the need for children to be reading
books at their level, said Bonsall, an educator for more than thirty
years and a third grade teacher at Lakeview Elementary School in
Negaunee.
“There are many more techniques to teach and lots of ways to
assess children’s reading abilities than thirty years ago,”
Bonsall said. “We need to continue to make reading a lifelong
endeavor—not just at the elementary school level.”
In fact, Bonsall said the next conference in 2009 may include a
focus on the needs of high school students because high school teachers
are beginning to ask what they can do to help older students in
their ongoing education in reading and writing skills.
Former Whitman Elementary School second grade teacher Sue Szczepanski,
Michigan’s 1996-97 Teacher of the Year, said the UPRA made
a difference in her career as a classroom teacher.
“[The UPRA] opened doors to professional development that would
not have been available to me without traveling great distances,”
said Szczepanski, who is now an instructor in the NMU school of
education. “The caliber of speakers at the conference is top-notch
and comparable to any state reading conference across the country.”
She said UPRA conferences would often challenge her thinking and
change her direction when working with students, bringing best practices
and the latest research in reading instruction into my classroom.
“We have a great thing going in the Upper Peninsula and it
is just as good as any state conference if not more personable due
to the smaller size and intimacy of our ‘home grown’ professional
development,” Szczepanski said. “We are truly lucky to
have a dedicated group of teachers who continue to give thousands
of hours to the cause of promoting the best in reading instruction
practices.”
Visit www.upreadingassociation.org for details.
—Greg Peterson
UPRA conference award-winning
presenters
• Marco Brown—See story on Page 40. www.marcbrownstudios.com
• Sara Holbrook—The Bay Village (Ohio) performance
poet with Michigan roots has authored six children’s books
and has published professional texts for teachers. Holbrook’s
latest title is Outspoken! How to Improve Writing and Speaking Skills
Through Poetry Performance. Holbrook’s two twenty-something
daughters, Katie and Kelly, illustrated their mother’s poems
when they were young. Holbrook writes about how to teach children
poetry and how to make it come alive through poetry performance.
www.saraholbrook.com
• Lester Laminack—This Asheville (North Carolina)
children’s writer and school consultant has authored numerous
academic books including, Learning with Zachary and four children’s
books; his upcoming book is I Need A Snow Day. Laminack’s other
children’s books are: The Sunsets of Miss Olivia Wiggins, Trevor’s
Wiggly-Wobbly Tooth, Saturdays and Teacakes and Jake’s 100th
Day of School. Laminack has numerous language arts books with some
focusing on using read aloud as a teaching strategy, and has published
professional texts for teachers. www.lesterlaminack.com
• Lisa Wheeler: A Michigan resident since her teens who
lives near Detroit and has U.P. ties, she is a prolific author who
has written dozens of children’s books. Her latest titles are
Sixteen Cows, Avalanche Annie and Dino-Hockey. Wheeler’s other
books include: Farmer Dale’s Red Pickup Truck, One Dark Night,
Porcupining: A Prickly Love Story, Sailor Moo: Cow At Sea, Turk
And Runt and Wool Gathering: A Sheep Family Reunion. www.lisawheelerbooks.com
• Wendy Halperin & John Mooy—This husband and
wife team from South Haven call themselves “The Storyteller
and the Illustrator.” The couple give school writing and drawing
workshops for children. Mooy is a storyteller, sculptor, songwriter
and author of Once Upon a Mail Route. Halperin has illustrated author
Cynthia Rylant’s series and dozens of children’s books
including: Hunting the White Cow, Let’s Go Home, Soft House,
Some Good News, The Visit and her latest illustration is Thank You
World. www.wendyhalperin.com
• Martin Brennan—This father of three from Howell
lives in his hometown where he was raised with seven sisters in
a drafty farmhouse by creative parents. Brennan coauthored the popular
children’s book, I Saw It In The Garden. His new children’s
book is Three Lessons for Astair the Bear. www.martinbrennan.net
• Jan Sabin—A second grade teacher at Sandy Knoll
Elementary School in Marquette, Sabin is an Upper Peninsula author,
poet and photographer whose works include The Shuttle Hop, The Dogsled
Race and The Tulip Garden. Sabin’s photo essay book entitled
Riding the Runners commemorated the fifteenth U.P. 200 Sled Dog
Race by chronicling the mushers and dog teams in the first thirteen
races. Sabin’s children’s literacy efforts have been recognized
by several organizations including the 2006 MARC Celebrate Literacy
Award and the Michigan Reading Association that describes her as
“a person who lives a life of literacy.”
• Jackie Winkowski—This Gwinn-area children’s
author has written several books about a topic she loves: sled dogs.
Winkowski wrote two books about the trials, tribulations and adventures
of a high spirited and good-natured Alaskan Husky named Miki: Miki’s
Challenge and the sequel Miki’s Race. Growing up in Keweenaw
Bay and a Baraga High School graduate, Winkowski’s love affair
with sled dogs began after watching the U.P. 200 Sled Dog Race.
Winkowski and her musher husband Jim opened Snowy Plains Kennel
on the Sands Plains where they are eager to give children and others
a skijoring experience pulled by one of their twenty-seven beloved
sled dogs. www.dogsledrides.com/michigan.php
• Ragene Henry—This Gwinn fifth grade teacher leads
a double life, teaching by day, but by night and in the summers,
writing and codirecting the Upper Peninsula Writing Project. Henry
said her goal is to make history come alive for kids; she has written
many children’s books about the history of the U.P.: The Time
of the Shining Rocks, An Enduring Christmas (Marquette, Michigan,
1850), In The Time of the Copper Moon and The Barefoot Boys of Fayette.
www.ragenehenry.com
