The fall 2014 arts events season at Arizona State University’s West campus, with the theme “Pushing the Edge,” will feature classical and electronic music concerts, plays, nationally known authors, and visual art installations. The wide variety of artistic events reflects the rich artistic and cultural life on the West Valley campus, anchored by the interdisciplinary arts and performance (IAP) program in the New College of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences.
“We have planned a diverse selection of events and activities to entertain and enlighten ASU students, faculty and staff as well as members of our surrounding communities,” said Jeff Kennedy, an IAP faculty member in New College who worked with colleagues Marianne Kim and Charles St. Clair to plan the fall season.
Details about the season may be found online at https://campus.asu.edu/west/events, or by calling the Arts Information line at 602-543-ARTS (2787). For events with an admission fee, tickets may be purchased at www.brownpapertickets.com.
The fall event schedule on the campus, at 4701 W. Thunderbird Road, includes:
Theater: “By the Way, Meet Vera Stark”
- 7:30 p.m. Sept. 12, 13, 18, 19 and 20; 3 p.m. Sept 14.
- University Center Building, Second Stage West
- Tickets: $10 general, $7 seniors, $5 students, faculty and staff
This new comedy from Pulitzer Prize–winning playwright Lynn Nottage draws upon the screwball films of the 1930s to take a funny and irreverent look at racial stereotypes in Hollywood. The play takes a 70-year journey through the life of Vera Stark, a headstrong African-American maid and budding actress, and her tangled relationship with her boss, a white Hollywood starlet desperately grasping to hold on to her career. Circumstances collide and both women land roles in the same Southern epic movie, with the story behind the camera leaving Vera with a surprising and controversial legacy. “By the Way, Meet Vera Stark” is directed by New College’s Charles St. Clair in a co-production with iTheatre Collaborative.
Theater: “La Razón Blindada (or Reason Obscured)”
- 7:30 p.m. Sept. 26 and 27; 3 p.m. Sept 28
- University Center Building, Second Stage West
- Tickets: $10 general, $7 seniors, $5 students, faculty & staff
This play by Aristides Vargas is based on a mix of “El Quijote,” the classic novel by Cervantes, Kafka’s “The Truth about Sancho Panza” and testimonies by Chicho Vargas and other political prisoners held during Argentina's dictatorship. Oppressed by physical and emotional abuse, two prisoners find solace in meeting every Sunday at dusk to tell the story of Don Quixote and Sancho Panza. This production won the 2011 LA Weekly Production of the Year as presented by guest artists 24th Street Theatre, also winners of the 2012 TCG Peter Zeisler Award for Innovation in the American Theatre. The play will be performed in Spanish with supertitle translation.
Public art: Calle 16 Mural Project
- Annual mural painting project: Throughout the day, Sept. 30 to Oct. 2
- Sands Classroom Building Courtyard
- No admission charge ($2 per hour for visitor parking)
Hugo Medina returns to lead the West campus community in painting a new and unique mural designed by the renowned team from the Calle 16 Mural Project, whose work has become a part of the artistic fabric of the City of Phoenix. Plan to visit during the afternoons and watch the process or pick up a paint brush and participate in the work yourself. The project is part of the Hispanic Heritage Month celebration at ASU’s West campus.