Category: Events

Festival Playhouse to Present ‘In the Heights’

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The Festival Playhouse of Kalamazoo College will present “In the Heights,” its final production of the academic year, from May 11-14 at the Nelda K. Balch Playhouse, 129 Thompson St., in Kalamazoo. The musical, written by “Hamilton” creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, maintains the season’s theme, “Broadway Firsts: Stories of ‘Outsider’ Cultural Landmarks in American Theatre.”

In the Heights
The cast of “In The Heights” celebrates as they sing “Carnaval Del Barrio.”

The Broadway show premiered in 2008, exploring three days in the lives of several characters from the predominantly Latino neighborhood of Washington Heights in New York City. The score features hip-hop, Latin, salsa, merengue and soul music.

Bodega owner Usnavi is dating Vanessa, who works in a beauty salon. He dreams of opening a bar in his home country, the Dominican Republic. He soon realizes he sold a winning lottery ticket worth $96,000, prompting others in the neighborhood to discuss how Usnavi and Claudia, who raised Usnavi after the death of his parents, would spend the money.

Nina loves Benny, a shy, young African-American man who worked for Nina’s parents for years. Nina’s father opposes their relationship because he wants Nina to finish her education at Stanford University. She doesn’t want her father to bankrupt himself paying for her education, but her father is prepared to sell his car-service business for her sake.

The shows start at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, May 11-Saturday, May 13, and at 2 p.m. Sunday, May 14. Kalamazoo College students, faculty and staff are admitted free with their school ID. The general public may purchase tickets online or call the Playhouse box office at 269-337-7333 for more information. Reservations are encouraged.

For more information, visit the Festival Playhouse website.

 

Video: Career Summit Brings Execs, Thought Leaders to K

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Twelve top executives, entrepreneurs and thought leaders from high-tech, venture capitalism, and health care related fields came to Kalamazoo College on April 7 and 8 for the College’s inaugural Career Summit. They interacted with about 120 students, while challenging the students to find their calling.

The event included receptions, a dinner, breakout sessions and panel experiences. Some presenters were alumni and others were friends and business connections of alumni. They were:

  • Jeanne Blondia ’87: Vice president of finance and treasurer, Stryker Corp.;
  • Val Cole ’83: Retired senior executive, Apple Inc.; consultant and philanthropist;
  • Amy Courter ’83: National president, Women in Defense; chief operating officer, inerTRAIN;
  • Lindsey Haswell: Director of litigation, Uber Technologies;
  • Ed Hortelano ’83: Global vice president for research and development, Loparex;
  • Terri Kline ’80: President and chief executive officer, Health Alliance Plan of Michigan; executive vice president, Henry Ford Health System;
  • Om Malik: Partner, True Ventures; founder, Gigaom;
  • Michael McFall ’93: Co-president and chief executive officer, BIGGBY COFFEE;
  • Brad O’Neill ’93: Senior vice president of global sales and success, SurveyMonkey Inc.; creator, K to the Bay; serial entrepreneur and investor;
  • Hilmon Sorey: Co-founder and chief revenue officer, CareerSofia;
  • Elena Verna: Senior vice president of growth, SurveyMonkey Inc.; and
  • Jeff Wycoff: Co-founder and managing partner, Fort Point Capital Partners.

O’Neill was the visionary behind the two-day event. It served as yet another Kalamazoo College offering, building on an array of experiences targeting employment outcomes.

O’Neill also established K-Treks when, in 2014, he invited four students to San Francisco to learn first-hand about technology careers. Since then, K-Trek programs have grown and expanded to New York City and Chicago, providing students with hands-on, outside-the-classroom opportunities. As a result, the students learn to network and discover their prospective careers. The Career Summit was designed to provide similar experiences, except this time, the professionals came to the students.

Thompson Lecture to Screen PBS Documentary

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Kalamazoo College’s 2017 Thompson Lecture, presented by the Department of Religion, will screen the PBS documentary “An American Conscience: The Reinhold Niebuhr Story” at 7 p.m. Thursday, May 4. The presentation is free and open to the public at Dalton Theatre in the Light Fine Arts building.

Thompson Lecture Jeremy Sabella
Jeremy Sabella (middle), who was a visiting professor at K last fall, will participate in a public discussion about Reinhold Niebuhr on May 4 during the annual Thompson Lecture at Light Fine Arts. Sabella wrote the companion piece to the PBS documentary, “An American Conscience: The Reinhold Niebuhr Story.”

Niebuhr was the author of the “Serenity Prayer.” He rose from a small Midwest church pulpit to become the nation’s moral voice. Niebuhr’s writings provided guidance and inspiration for presidents, politicians, theologians and others. He first was a pacifist and socialist, but later served as a consultant to the State Department during the Cold War.

The documentary includes interviews with former President Jimmy Carter, Civil Rights leader Andrew Young, New York Times writer David Brooks, scholar Susannah Heschel, Union Theological Seminary Professor Emeritus Cornel West and many well-recognized historians and theologians.

Jeremy Sabella and Gary Dorrien will lead a discussion after the documentary screening. Sabella is the author of the companion book to the film. Dorrien was a film participant and is the Reinhold Niebuhr Professor of Social Ethics at Union Theological Seminary at Columbia University.

A gift from the sons and daughters-in-law of Paul Lamont and Ruth Peel Thompson established the Paul Lamont Thompson Memorial Lecture. A committee of alumni and friends of Kalamazoo College worked diligently to build the fund with gifts from the many students whose lives were enriched by Thompson’s leadership.

Thompson was president of Kalamazoo College from 1938 to 1949. He founded the Annual Fund at K, helping ensure the College’s financial integrity. The campus added several facilities during his tenure including Harmon Hall, Stowe Tennis Stadium, Angell Field and Welles Dining Hall. He also served as president of the Association of Church-Related Colleges. Thompson was known as an excellent speaker whose wit, wisdom and gentle, patient manner helped nurture generations of K students.

 

3 Music Groups Offer Concerts This Week

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Three must-see concerts are scheduled for this week at Kalamazoo College.Percussion Ensemble Concert Concerts

K’s Jazz Band features contemporary and classic jazz arrangements to provide the students participating and the audience an enjoyable experience. Attend this concert from 8 to 9 p.m. Friday at the Dalton Theatre in the Light Fine Arts Building.

The Kalamazoo Philharmonia brings together students, faculty, and amateur and professional musicians. The group won the 2014 American Prize Vytautas Marijosius Memorial Award for Orchestral Programming and has produced several CDs. It also has appeared on “CBS Sunday Morning,” and collaborated with the Bach Festival Chorus, as well as many renowned soloists. The Philharmonia concert will be from 8 to 10 p.m. Saturday at the Dalton Theatre in the Light Fine Arts Building.

The College Singers and Women’s Ensemble will perform from 3 to 4 p.m. Sunday at Stetson Chapel, featuring a diverse array of songs with performers who enjoy advanced and challenging music with an emphasis on working together as an ensemble.

The concerts are free to attend and the public is welcome. For more information on these concerts, contact Susan Lawrence at 269-337-7070 or Susan.Lawrence@kzoo.edu.

K Plans Career Summit for April 7 and 8

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A select group of K alumni who are leaders in their fields will join Silicon Valley executives and venture capitalists for Kalamazoo College’s Career Summit 2017 — two days of practical preparation for Life after K.

K Career Summit
Kalamazoo College alumnus Brad O’Neill (center), a serial entrepreneur and investor, will lead K’s Career Summit on April 7 and 8.

Through interactive break-out sessions, themed panel discussions, and networking opportunities, students of all majors will gain priceless information about what to do (and what not to do) to position themselves for success in a fast-changing and unpredictable global job market.

Led by Brad O’Neill, creator of K to the Bay and a serial entrepreneur and investor, this exclusive opportunity to connect with industry leaders takes place on the Kalamazoo College campus so as many students as possible may participate.

The scheduled speakers are:

  • Jeanne Blondia ’87: Vice president of finance and treasurer, Stryker Corp.;
  • Jonathan Carr: Director of finance, SurveyMonkey Inc.
  • Priyanka Carr: Vice president of strategy and operations, SurveyMonkey Inc.
  • Val Cole ’83: Retired senior executive, Apple Inc.; consultant and philanthropist;
  • Amy Courter ’83: National president, Women in Defense; chief operating officer, inerTRAIN;
  • Lindsey Haswell: Director of litigation, Uber Technologies;
  • Ed Hortelano ’83: Global vice president for research and development, Loparex;
  • Terri Kline ’80: President and chief executive officer, Health Alliance Plan of Michigan; executive vice president, Henry Ford Health System;
  • Om Malik: Partner, True Ventures; founder, Gigaom;
  • Michael McFall ’93: Co-president and chief executive officer, Biggby Coffee;
  • Brad O’Neill ’93: Senior vice president of global sales and success, SurveyMonkey Inc.; creator, K to the Bay; serial entrepreneur and investor;
  • Hilmon Sorey: Co-founder and chief revenue officer, CareerSofia;
  • Elena Verna: Senior vice president of growth, SurveyMonkey Inc.; and
  • Jeff Wycoff: Co-founder and managing partner, Fort Point Capital Partners.

For more information, visit the Career Summit schedule of events.

Festival Playhouse to Present ‘A Raisin in the Sun’

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The Nelda K. Balch Festival Playhouse will present the Pulitzer Prize winning drama “A Raisin in the Sun” by Lorraine Hansberry from Feb. 23-26 at the Playhouse, 129 Thompson St., in Kalamazoo. Karen Berthel will direct the show in keeping with the season’s theme, “Broadway Firsts: Stories of ‘Outsider’ Cultural Landmarks in American Theatre.”

The play follows the Youngers, a poor African-American family living on the South Side of Chicago in the 1950s. Lena, the family’s matriarch, receives an insurance check when her husband dies. Lena wants to use the money to buy a house. However, her son, Walter, would rather quit his job as a chauffeur and invest the money in a liquor store. The family’s tragedy is that everyone fails to see how achieving their individual dreams might cost others theirs.

Hansberry’s “A Raisin in the Sun” was the first play written by a black woman to be produced on Broadway, and was the first with a black director. The New York Drama Critics’ Circle named it the best play of 1959. Kalamazoo College students Quincy Crosby ’17, Tricia LaCaze ’18, Shown Powell ’18 and Donovan Williams ’20 are among the actors featured.

The shows start at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 23-25 and 2 p.m. Feb. 26. Kalamazoo College students, faculty and staff are admitted free with their school ID. The general public may call the Playhouse box office at 269-337-7333 for tickets. Reservations are encouraged.

For more information, visit the Festival Playhouse website at kzoo.edu/festivalplayhouse.

Raisin in the Sun at Nelda K. Balch Festival Playhouse
Patricia Lacaze and Donovan Williams rehearse for the Nelda K. Balch production of “A Raisin in the Sun.” The show will run from Feb. 23-26.
Raisin in the Sun at Nelda K. Balch Playhouse
Quincy Crosby rehearses for “A Raisin in the Sun,” which will run from Feb. 23-26 at the Nelda K. Balch Festival Playhouse at Kalamazoo College.
Patricia Lacaze and Shown Powell rehearse for the Nelda K. Balch production of "A Raisin in the Sun." The show will run from Feb. 23-27.
Patricia Lacaze and Shown Powell rehearse for the Nelda K. Balch production of “A Raisin in the Sun.” The show will run from Feb. 23-26.

Kalamazoo College Presents Senior Performance Series

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Kalamazoo College will continue a tradition of supporting student-written and -directed plays in the Senior Performance Series from Feb. 9-12 at the Nelda K. Balch Festival Playhouse’s Dungeon Theatre, 139 Thompson St., Kalamazoo.

Festival Playhouse Hosts Senior Performance Series
Kalamazoo College will present its Senior Performance Series from Feb. 9-12, 2017.

Shows will take place at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 9-11 and 2 p.m. Feb. 12. This year’s plays are:

  • “Stuck in Neutral,” written by Kyle Lampar and directed by Thaddeus Buttrey. A young man tries to put a traumatic experience behind him during his first day as an Uber driver;
  • “Piss & Vinegar,” written by Camille Wood and directed by Clapton Marquis. Four teenagers seek the truth behind a sinister scandal during their suburban summer vacation;
  • “Gruesome Playground Injuries,” written by Rajiv Joseph and directed by Aidan Ives-Johnson. Two “scar-crossed lovers” are intertwined through their internal and external injuries;
  • “101 Humiliating Stories,” co-produced by Madison Donoho and Emma Franzel. Two women journey through embarrassment and laughter in this comedy about success, and the
    ever-inspiring Sigourney Weaver.

Please note all Senior Performance Series plays contain mature subject matter and language. Tickets for the general public are $5. K students are admitted free.

For reservations, call 269-337-7333. Find more information about the Festival Playhouse at reason.kzoo.edu/festivalplayhouse.

Kalamazoo College in the Ghostlight

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Ed Menta teaches a directing class
Ed Menta (right) teaches a directing class

Festival Playhouse of Kalamazoo College will participate in the national Ghostlight Project on January 19, 2017. The event will unite more than 500 theatres, ensembles and companies, and high school and university theatre programs in a pledge to stand for and protect the values of inclusion, participation, and compassion for everyone–regardless of race, class, religion, country of origin, immigration status, (dis) ability, gender identity, or sexual orientation.

On that day before the U.S. presidential inauguration, “we invite the public to gather outside the Nelda K. Balch Playhouse no later than 5:25 p.m.,” said Ed Menta, the James A.B. Stone Professor of Theatre at K. “We will enter the theatre together and then turn on our lights (a cell phone or flashlight) in solidarity, tolerance and ritual connection to theatres cross the United States. We are especially proud that class of 1983 alumna Lisa Kron is one of the developers of the event at the national level.”

Festival Playhouse will participate with other members of Theatre Kalamazoo, the consortium of theaters in Kalamazoo County. According to Ed, the symbolism is inspired by the theatrical tradition of keeping illuminated a “ghost light” in a darkened theatre. “We create light for the challenging times ahead,” he said.

“Theatre is never apolitical,” he added. “And throughout history–from Greek tragedy to the WPA’s Federal Theatre Project to the Market Theatre in Johannesburg, South Africa–plays and performances have helped create conditions for political and social change.”

The Nelda K. Balch Playhouse is located on the campus of Kalamazoo College, on the corner of Academy and Thompson Streets, near the parking lot between the Light Fine Arts building and the Dow Science Center.