The COFAC Dean's Blog

Bill Kincaid, Professor of Acting, recently directed Shakespeare’s THE TEMPEST at Eastern Illinois University.  Kincaid, enjoying a year long sabbatical, also presented workshops and lectures on Shakespeare’s works and on acting while at EIU.   This spring Kincaid’s sabbatical takes him to Germany.  We wish you well, Bill!

DC Wright has been busy. In August, he helped organize and was an instructor for Dueling Arts International’s Stage Combat Teachers Symposium held at WIU. The symposium hosted two students from Japan, one from Sweden, one from Canada, and the rest from all over the USA, including a student from Alaska and one from Hawaii. The workshop is designed to cultivate and improve students’ teaching ability in the stage combat art form. It was a tremendous success.

The week before the semester started, DC was off to Anchorage, Alaska, to teach a week long DAI beginning-level certification course in Stage Combat.

Jumping right back into the school year, DC began directing the first Main Stage production of the Theatre Departments season, Time of My Life by Alan Ayckbourn. Before that play went up, DC helped remount Little Shop of Horrors, which he directed for WIU’s Summer Music Theatre in July. So September was full of two plays, and coordinating the violence for Unrehearsed Shakespeare performances at Bard in the Barn. Now DC is ready for a nap.

Matt Warnock spent the week of September 13th in residence in Tucson, Arizona. During his time in Tucson Matt performed at the Old Pueblo Sunday Jazz Artists Series. He gave three clinics to the guitar and big band students at University High School, as well as numerous private lessons to local high-school jazz students. Matt has been invited back in April 2010 to perform with the University High School jazz band as their featured guest artist for the 2009-2010 school year.

Figge Art Museum hosted the first College Night during the weekly Thursdays at the Figge event on October 1st. Museum Studies graduate assistant, Carrie Borchert, helped plan this successful event, which included students and their professors from several area colleges and universities including Augustana College, Black Hawk Community College, Monmouth College, Knox College, Scott County Community College, St. Ambrose University, University of Iowa, and WIU. While enjoying refreshments and music, students participated in drawing activities and a gallery talk given by Walker Art Center curator Siri Engberg in the current special exhibition Paper Trail: A Decade of Acquisitions from the Walker Art Center. Engberg was surprised by the large crowd, but enthusiastically embraced the opportunity to talk about the contemporary artists featured in the show.

The Figge Art Museum staff spearheaded a collaborative effort among area colleges and universities with artist and art history committees. The next collaborative collegiate event is the 2nd Annual College Invitational exhibition opening on October 31.

Walker Art Center Curator Siri Engberg talks about
the exhibition she curated Paper Trail …

Museum studies students mingle with students
from other area colleges and universities.

Keith Holz (Associate Professor, Department of Art) attended the 15th World Congress of Jewish Studies, Hebrew University, Jerusalem, from August 1 to August 6, 2009, to chair the session Jewish Art from the Eighteenth to the Beginning of the Twentieth Centuries. During the session Visual Judaism: On the Methodology of Object History, Holz presented his research paper “Jewish collectors of modern art in Breslau, 1914-1940.”

Bruce Walters received a second Iowa Arts Council grant of $1500 for the Halloween Flight exhibition. The grant was for digital printing and framing. Don’t miss the reception opening of Bruce’s show Halloween Flight. Tuesday, October 27, 6:00 to 8:00, University Art Gallery.  Congrats to all performers and to Bruce on a great exhibition.

Congratulations to Alexandra Palkovic who was awarded the 2009-2010 Maughan and Dorothy McMurdie Musical Theatre Scholarship. She received the award at the conclusion of the BFA Musical Theatre Showcase concert on October 11. Alex performed “The Man that Got Away”from A Star is Born and “It’s Never That Easy/I’ve Been Here Before” from Closer Than Ever with Anna Zerwer.

FIRE LILY, an independent feature film in which WIU theatre alumni Andrew Kopas (MFA 08) and Colin R. Wasmund (MFA 09) both play major roles, won top honors at the American Artist Film Festival.  It was nominated for several awards, and took the awards for Best Feature Film, Best Cinematography and Best Actress.  Although he did not win, Wasmund was among the nominees for Best Actor.

Congrats to them for their efforts and participation in this project!

Two photos by Thomas C. Jackson will be in the Artists Talk on Art Exhibition at Jim Kemper Fine Art in New York City from September 24th to September 30th.   Congrats to Thomas -  and If anyone is in NYC, stop by and see his work!!

Thomas also has two ink brush drawings selected for national juried shows.  He has a drawing at the 18th National Juried Show at the ARt Center in New Milford, New Jersey.  He also has a drawing at the Meadows Gallery Center in Denton, Texas in an exhibition organized by the Visual Arts Society of Texas.

Congrats to Tom!

Broadcast Music Inc.  has promoted Jeremy Smith to senior director of financial, operational analysis and licensing.  In his new role, Smith will oversee the forecasting and budget process of BMI’s licensing department.  Smith was promoted to director of research, analysis and licensing in July of 2005 after joining BMI in 1994 as a title researcher in the operations department.  He holds an MBA from Phoenix University and a BA from Western!  Congrats to Jeremy.