“The Mousetrap” at IRT, Apr. 26-May 22, 2016

Indiana Repertory Theatre. AroundIndy.com staff photo, (c) 2013, all rights reserved.

By Carolyne Holcomb
Indiana Repertory Theatre

The Indiana Repertory Theatre (IRT) presents the world’s longest running stage play The Mousetrap by English crime novelist and playwright Agatha Christie from April 26 to May 22, 2016 on the OneAmerica Mainstage.

The Mousetrap is the story of Mollie and Giles Ralston, two newlyweds who have inherited a beautiful but high maintenance country manor. Against their better judgment, they decide to turn it into a hotel. After their visitors arrive, a blizzard traps them inside the home and where among them, a murderer stalks.

“This production magnetizes people. It welcomes mystery aficionados, has impeccable scenery and costumes and above all, incredible acting,” said Janet Allen, IRT executive artistic director and CEO. “When we produced The Mousetrap in the 80’s it was tremendous fun and we deserve to experience this treat all over again.”

Infusing the production with new life is IRT associate artistic director Courtney Sale, who says that directing The Mousetrap is exactly why she came to the IRT. “The Mousetrap is risk-taking artistry. I look at this production and realize what a great gift it is to be positioned in this way,” said Sale. “This play is fun, surprising, fulfilling and the artistic world is large and interesting enough that we can take a very different approach every time we produce something that has previously been on stage.”

While exploring how to recreate The Mousetrap, Sale –alongside the creative team—constantly pushed how grand the production could be in order to generate attention, connection and resentment. “The audience and characters must feel disoriented, so we created places for people stay, hide and crawl – even a window for a skier to reach from the outside,” said Sale. “Maximizing this pressure in a grandiose setting was our goal.”

The incredibly ornate “Downton Abbey-meets-Hogwarts” inspired set, designed by Butler University professor Rob Koharchick, features details that indicate something is awry. That uneasy feeling is reinforced through the production’s sound cues created by nationally accomplished composer, musician and sound designer David Dabbon.

“Dabbon has created evocative piano pieces specifically for the IRT that are both moving and suspenseful and will be an incredible accompaniment to the work we present on stage,” said Sale.

Celebrating outrageous characters and an intense sleuth, this award-winning play soon celebrates its 64th birthday, but hasn’t lost a beat with age. Part drawing room comedy and part murder mystery, The Mousetrap is a doubled-barreled whodunit full of twists and surprises.

DETAILS
WHAT: The Mousetrap, by Agatha Christie
WHERE: 140 W. Washington Street | OneAmerica Mainstage
WHEN: April 26 – May 22
TICKETS: $25 – 59
AGE: Recommended for audiences in 7th grade and older due to mild language
LEARN MORE: www.irtlive.com
VIEW THE PROGRAM

CAST & THE CREATIVE TEAM

RYAN ARTZBERGER | Giles Ralston
CASSANDRA BISSELL | Molly Ralston
JAN LUCAS | Mrs. Boyle
JÜRGEN HOOPER | Christopher Wren
JENNIFER JOHANSEN | Miss Casewell
ROBERT NEAL | Major Metcalf
CHARLES PASTERNAK | Det. Sgt. Trotter
HENRY WORONICZ | Mr. Paravicini
COURTNEY SALE | Director
ROB KOHARCHIK | Scenic Design
ALISON HERYER |Costume Design
MICHELLE HABECK | Lighting Design
TODD MACK REISCHMAN | Sound Design
DAVID DABBON | Composer

SPECIAL EVENTS
• Preview Performance – All tickets $25
4/26 at 7:30 PM
4/27 at 6:30 PM
4/28 at 7:30 PM
5/7 at 9 PM

• Opening Night Performance
4/29 at 7 PM
Join us for a post-show reception and champagne toast with the cast.

• Backstage Tour – after the performance
5/6 at 7:30 PM

• IRTea Talk | ASL/AD – Tea & cookies after the performance & discussion with IRT artists
5/8 at 2 PM

• Mother’s Day Brunch
5/8 at 12:30 PM
$60 includes a ticket to The Mousetrap and brunch before the performance. To book contact the ticket office at 317.635.5252. Limited availability.

• Post-Show Discussion with IRT artists
5/14 at 8 PM

• Happy Hour Series
5/17 at 5:30 PM
Complimentary drinks from Sun King Brewing and New Day Craft plus 1/2 priced bar drinks all night long!

• Dinner & Show at The Oceanaire
5/18 at 5 PM
To book contact the ticket office at 317.635.5252. Tickets $75 per person and include one ticket to The Mousetrap and a three-course, hand-selected dinner.

• Cookies & Coffee Matinee & Post-show discussion
5/19 at 2 PM
Join us for cookies from Vanilla Bean Bakery and coffee before and during intermission of The Mousetrap

CALENDAR
Tuesday, April 26 at 7:30 PM
Wednesday, April 27 at 6:30 PM
Thursday, April 28 at 7:30 PM
Friday, April 29 at 7:30 PM
Saturday, April 30 at 1 & 5 PM
Sunday, May 01 at 2 PM
Friday, May 06 at 7:30 PM
Saturday, May 07 at 5 & 9 PM
Sunday, May 08 at 2 PM
Thursday, May 12 at 7:30 PM
Friday, May 13 at 7:30 PM
Saturday, May 14 at 4 & 8 PM
Sunday, May 15 at 2 & 6 PM
Tuesday, May 17 at 6:30PM
Wednesday, May 18 at 7:30 PM
Thursday, May 19 at 2 & 7:30 PM
Friday, May 20 at 7:30 PM
Saturday, May 21 at 2 & 6 PM
Sunday, May 22 at 2 PM

May 2016 in Downtown Indianapolis

Indianapolis skyline. AroundIndy.com staff photo, (c) 2015, all rights reserved.

By Amanda Dorman
Downtown Indy, Inc.

Wholesale District Beautification Day
Community members are coming together for a morning of partnership, productivity and fun as district employees participate in the ninth annual Wholesale District Beautification Day Monday, May 2. More than 200 volunteers will create a clean, pedestrian-friendly environment for the district’s sidewalks, store fronts and businesses. Tasks include sweeping the sidewalks and curbs, removing stickers, painting over graffiti and picking up litter.

100th Running HandleBar Hot Lap on Monument Circle
In the spirit of the 100th Running of the Indy 500, HandleBar, Downtown Indy, Inc. and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway are hosting the 100th Running HandleBar Hot Lap on Monument Circle Friday, May 6 at 11:30 a.m. Races include one-on-one laps around Monument Circle with pit stops and vehicle tweaks. The races will be structured into a 24-team single elimination bracket, narrowing down Indy’s best, culminating in a championship race between the top two teams. Businesses are invited to register a team (10 participants) online for $100/team.

Georgia Street comes to life with Downtown Indy, Inc.’s Summer Series
Downtown Indy, Inc. has again partnered with local fitness studios for Workout Wednesday – fun, all-levels group fitness sessions on the Boardwalk. Hip Hop on Georgia Street in partnership with the YMCA of Greater Indianapolis begins May 4 and reoccurs weekly from noon – 12:45 p.m. Each workout will begin with a local personality/celebrity for the warm-up. The celebrity will be announced each week via Twitter (@GeorgiaStIndy). A new addition to Workout Wednesday this year will be Sunrise Yoga on the Canal in partnership with Invoke Studio. Sunrise Yoga begins June 1 and takes place weekly on the Vermont Street Plaza from 6 – 6:45 a.m.

Happy Hour Thursdays return to the Boardwalk beginning May 5.
Georgia Street’s center block will turn into a work respite from 4:30 – 7:30 p.m. every Thursday. Listen to music from live DJs, relax with friends and order appetizers and drinks from the Boardwalk Bar staffed by the Omni Severin Bar. There’s no cover charge, but all attendees must be 21 and older.

Downtown workers can also enjoy ongoing Food Truck Fridays.
Eat lunch alfresco on the Georgia Street Boardwalk and enjoy the sights and sounds of Downtown during weekly from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.

May means 500 Festival events
Race fans are invited to Rock-IN-Roar 500 – a music festival and community celebration on Georgia Street that officially “drops the green flag” on Race Week in Indianapolis. On May 20 from 5 – 10:30 p.m., 500 local musicians, led by John Mellencamp keyboardist Troye Kinnett and IndyCar driver Will Power, join together to perform One Republic’s “Love Runs Out” in a musical tribute to the spirit of the 100th Indy 500. Attendees can witness SPECTACLE: Sights & Sounds of the Indy 500 on Georgia Street, featuring a unique light show with some of the most memorable radio calls from the past 100 years. Following this FREE Rock-IN-Roar 500, SPECTACLE will run at 9 p.m., 9:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. May 21 – 29.

The 40th OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini Marathon takes off Saturday, May 7 at 7:30 a.m. The course begins at the intersection of Washington and West streets, heads west to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and does a complete lap around the 2.5 mile track before heading back down New York Street. In addition to the Mini, kids ages 3 – 10 can participate in the non-competitive Chase 500 Festival Rookie Run May 14 at 10:30 a.m. After the Mini, head to Military Park for the FREE 500 Festival Post Race Party.

The 60th IPL 500 Festival Parade kicks off at noon May 28 at noon. About 300,000 spectators from around the country will line the streets of Indianapolis for one of the nation’s premier parades. The month-long roster of events culminates with the 100th running of the Indy 500 on May 29 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Original Farmers’ Market returns May 4
Downtown’s Original Farmers’ Market returns to Indianapolis City Market on May 4 and continues every Wednesday through October. The market is open from 9:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. on Market Street between Delaware and Alabama Streets. Market Street will be closed each Wednesday during this time.

Bring Mom Downtown on Mother’s Day
Downtown attractions and restaurants will make Mother’s Day extra special. Visit Mother’s Day Weekend at the Indianapolis Zoo May 7 and 8 and enjoy a Zoo-wide scavenger hunt, photo stations, free treats and more. Attend Mother’s Day at the IRT on May 8 and enjoy brunch at noon followed by a performance of The Mousetrap at 2 p.m. Georgia Reese’s is offering a special Mother’s Day brunch buffet all day from 10:30 a.m. – 9 p.m.

Hot happenings at Downtown attractions
Mini Golf that combines original art and playful competition is coming to the Indianapolis Museum of Art. The much anticipated Artist Designed Mini Golf opens to the public May 10. The course features 18 holes designed by local and regional artists and in honor of Indiana’s Bicentennial, each hole is inspired by Indiana history and landmarks. Tickets are FREE for IMA members and included in regular admission for non-members.

Easley Winery’s outdoor music series Groovin’ in the Garden kicks off on May 21 and runs through September. Enjoy daily wine specials and live music in a relaxing environment every Saturday from 2 – 5 p.m. This series is FREE.

Indiana Historical Society’s Concerts on the Canal return on May 26 and take place every Thursday night from 6 – 8 p.m. through July 28. The 2016 Concerts on the Canal series features a spectacular lineup of entertainers including Shannon Forsell, Flying Toasters, Funk Quarter and The Bishops. Seating is FREE on the grassy hill across the Canal or reserve a table on the terrace for extra.

Cheer on your favorite teams
Catch one (or more) of the 16 Indianapolis Indians home games at Victory Field this month. Enjoy monthly promos including 2-for-1 Tuesdays, Thursday Craft Beer Night, Friday Fireworks and Kid’s Eat Free Sundays. On May 3, share your favorite game with your pup: Bark in the Park allows dogs and their owners a chance to enjoy the game from the right field lawn. There are two chances to catch the Indy Eleven at home: May 7 and May 21.

For more information, call 317-237-2222.

4th Annual Butler ArtsFest, Apr. 7-17, 2016

Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana.
AroundIndy.com staff photo, (c) 2015, all rights reserved.

By Marc Allan
Butler University

Acclaimed bel canto tenor Lawrence Brownlee, Grammy-winning jazz vocalist Kurt Elling, and popular Afro-Caribbean music group Tiempo Libre are among the highlights of the Butler ArtsFest 2016 lineup, April 7-17,2016 on the Butler University campus and beyond.

Drawn from the celebration of Indiana’s bicentennial, the theme of the fourth Butler ArtsFest is Time and Timeless. This year’s events will explore the many concepts of time: how music may emulate the pounding of a heartbeat; how a playwright can pause time through the use of a memory; how dancers work with and sometimes against rhythm.

Many of the performances also underscore timelessness—Butler Ballet performs Swan Lake, Butler Opera Theatre presents The Pirates of Penzance, and the Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra offers a combination of music and spoken word featuring great speeches by Gandhi, Eleanor Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and more.

“Time marks where we’ve been, tells us where we are, and charts where we’re going,” said Ronald Caltabiano, Dean of Butler’s Jordan College of the Arts. “We spend it, and we waste it. It can be suspended in a dream or even warped in a memory. But what exactly is it? This year’s ArtsFest will allow us to explore all the many concepts of time.”

Tickets and more information are at ButlerArtsFest.com. Tickets also are available in person at the Clowes Memorial Hall box office or by phone at 800-982-2787.

Butler ArtsFest 2016 is made possible in part, by grants from the Efroymson Family Fund and the Christel DeHaan Family Foundation.

The lineup for this year’s ArtsFest is:

THURSDAY, APRIL 7

7:00 PM Lawrence Brownlee with the Butler Symphony Orchestra
Howard L. Schrott Center for the Arts

Tickets: General $20-$30, Senior, $15-$20, Student $7.50
Hailed as one of “the world’s leading bel canto tenors,” Lawrence Brownlee—who made his Metropolitan Opera debut in 2014 in Bellini’s I Puritani—returns to Indiana where he came of age as a performer at Anderson University. With a voice “perfectly suited for early 19th-century operas,” Brownlee will perform as the King in Rossini’s La Donna Del Lago at the Met this year, as well as appear with the Opéra National de Paris, Wolf Trap, National Theatre Mannheim opera company, among others. The Butler Symphony Orchestra will accompany Brownlee for the first half of the program. For the second half of this special evening, the BSO’s program will include Ravel’s La Valse, Copland’s Quiet City, and more. Don’t miss this opening celebration that launches our 11-day festival!

FRIDAY, APRIL 8

7:30 PM Butler Opera Theatre: The Pirates of Penzance
Shortridge High School Auditorium

Tickets: General $15, Senior $10, Student $7.50
Butler Opera Theatre brings to life this timeless tale of love and adventure. Debuting in 1880, the Gilbert and Sullivan classic has been a favorite for more than a century. Audiences will be swept away by waves of laughter as this comic opera proves the staying power of delightful music and witty humor.

7:30 PM An Evening with Kurt Elling and special guest Pharez Whitted
Basile Theatre at the Historic Athenaeum

Tickets: General $20-$30, Senior, $15-$20, Student $7.50
Grammy winner Kurt Elling is among the world’s foremost jazz vocalists. Elling’s rich baritone spans four octaves and features both astonishing technical mastery and emotional depth. His repertoire includes original compositions and modern interpretations of standards, all of which are springboards for inspired improvisation, scatting, spoken word, and poetry. Elling will be joined by the Butler Jazz Ensemble for this special event at the historic Athenaeum. Indianapolis jazz great Pharez Whitted will kick off the evening with Butler Jazz Combos in a tribute to the history of Hoosier jazz.

11:00 PM From Chicago: Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind
Lilly Hall, Room 328

Tickets: General $15, Senior $10, Student $7.50
What happens when a troupe of actors attempts 30 plays in 60 minutes? Find out when The Neo-Futurists take the stage for their acclaimed performance of Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind. Promising an emotional and intellectual rollercoaster of ideas and images ridden at breakneck speed, the performance, which includes audience participation, will be a theatrical experience unlike any other.

SATURDAY, APRIL 9

10:00 AM Butler Percussion Ensemble and Butler Community Arts School Youth Percussion Concert
Howard L. Schrott Center for the Arts
Free

Perfect for families with little ones, this fun, interactive, and lively concert is a great opportunity to introduce kids to live performance. Children accompanied by adults will be welcomed on stage to see the instruments up close. This free family event will inspire smiles and perhaps a lifetime of appreciation for music.

Noon – 11:00 PM Riverrun: A Streamlines Experience with Big Tent
Lilly Hall, Studio 310
Free

StreamLines is an interactive, place-based project that merges the sciences and the arts to advance the community’s understanding and appreciation of Indianapolis’ waterways. Choreographed by Cynthia Pratt and performed by 100 dancers from the Jordan College of Arts, Riverrun is a dance that brings to life scientific concepts and concerns about human intervention of our waterways. Riverrun has been recreated as a film installation using footage from the original performance in September 2015 and formatted for viewing in Big Tent, a 360-degree, immersive and mobile performance venue. Created as an inclusive experience, audiences will walk away with an appreciation for our waterways and a sense of ownership for their future well-being.

Noon JCA Composers Orchestra Workshop
Lilly Hall, Room 112
Free

A workshop for musicians and educators on exploring alternative notation in an ensemble. All ages are welcome. Bring your instrument!

3:00 PM ASLSP (As SLow aS Possible)
Lilly Hall, Room 40
Free

Created as a commission for Butler ArtsFest 2015 and 2016, ASLSP (As SLow aS Possible) is an interpretation of John Cage’s work electronically orchestrated by Jordan College of the Arts faculty member Frank Felice. Written in 1985, the work was originally meant to be performed over a duration of approximately 20 minutes. Now, performances can stretch anywhere from a few hours to several hundred years. This performance is 3 hours and 6 minutes.

5:30 PM Indiana Bicentennial Governor’s Arts Awards
Howard L. Schrott Center for the Arts
Tickets: Public $20, Student $10

Join Governor Mike Pence and the Indiana Arts Commission in celebrating Hoosiers who’ve made their mark in the arts! This one-night celebration will feature performances by several of the award’s recipients, including a special tribute to Jazz legend Wes Montgomery by ButlerBallet. In addition to honoring the Indiana Arts Commission’s 50th anniversary, this year’s Governor’s Arts Awards is a signature project of the State of Indiana’s Bicentennial Commission. Ticket purchases (less processing fees) are a donation to the Indiana Cultural Trust.

7:30 PM Butler Opera Theatre: The Pirates of Penzance
Shortridge High School Auditorium

8:00 PM Clowes Presents: Cameron Carpenter Featuring the International Touring Organ
Clowes Memorial Hall
Tickets: General $20-$30, Senior $15-$25

Often controversial and always spectacular, the Grammy-nominated, virtuoso composer-performer Cameron Carpenter tours with an instrument of his own creation, the International Touring Organ, which allows him to play his own version of classical music for the masses. His sound is lauded by media around the world. NPR recently stated of Carpenter: “It’s all here: pure imagination, presiding over a magical instrument with uncommon mastery.”

11:00 PM From Chicago: Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind
Lilly Hall, Room 328

SUNDAY, APRIL 10

11:00 AM – 7:00 PM Riverrun: A Streamlines Experience with Big Tent
Lilly Hall, Studio 310

9:00 AM Eric Satie’s Vexations
Irwin Library
Free

Erik Satie’s Vexations was composed in 1893 and consists of a short musical phrase with instructions to repeat it 840 times. The result is hypnotizing, enthralling, and time-warping. Butler students and faculty perform this epic work in Irwin Library over the course of approximately eighteen hours. You are welcome to come and go as you wish throughout the day.

12:30 PM The Nature of Time (Lecture)
Eidson-Duckwall Recital Hall
Free

Presenter: Mark Kesling, Founder and CEO of the daVinci Pursuit, Presente
Questions about the nature of time and our understanding of our physical reality are ancient and relevant in light of today’s scientific discoveries. What is time? How are space and time related? Are there other universes than the one we can see? Is it possible to travel back in time? Attendees are asked to bring an open mind as well as questions about time to this informative and interactive lecture.

MARK KESLING

Mark Kesling has been a pioneering educator and designer in the fields of museum design and education for more than 30 years. As the founder and CEO of the daVinci Pursuit, Kesling continues to provide leadership through the design of a “museum without walls,” He possesses a unique set of skills, combining art with science in ways that engage learners of all ages. He works with neighborhood, city, institutional, artistic, and educational partners to create art/science installations in neighborhoods throughout Indianapolis.

1:30 PM A Tour Through Time: A Perspective from Chemistry and Physics (Lecture)
Eidson-Duckwall Recital Hall
Free

Presenters:
Gonzalo Ordonez, Associate Professor of Physics, Butler University

Todd Hopkins, Associate Professor of Chemistry, Butler University
Have you ever wished you could change the past, slow down aging, or travel across the universe through a wormhole? Science says that all of this is possible. In this lecture, Prof. Ordonez and Hopkins will lead the audience on a tour through some of the more interesting aspects of time from the perspective of physics and chemistry.

Gonzalo Ordonez was born in Quito, Ecuador, and has been teaching at Butler University since 2005. He is an associate professor and is currently the department head of the Physics and Astronomy Department. He earned his Ph.D. at the University of Texas at Austin in 1997 studying with the late physicist Ilya Prigogine. As a member of Prigogine’s group, he worked on mathematical models of quantum open systems, with the ultimate goal of understanding the problem of time and irreversibility in physics. His most recent work on this theme is entitled “Time-reversal symmetric resolution of unity without background integrals in open quantum systems”, co-authored by N. Hatano and G. Ordonez in 2014. Dr. Ordonez also works on applications of quantum mechanics to nano-scale electronic elements such as quantum dots and carbon nanotubes, together with Butler University students.

Todd Hopkins is an Associate Professor of Chemistry at Butler University. He has been at Butler since 2003. He received his Ph.D. in Chemistry from the University of Virginia. He did postdoctoral training at Los Alamos National Laboratory, and also taught at the Honor’s College of Florida Atlantic University. Dr. Hopkins research involves developing chiral light emitting materials with the help of Butler students.

3:00 PM ButlerBallet: Now You See Us…
Howard L. Schrott Center for the Arts
Tickets: General $25, Senior $20, Student $7.50

Dance is often considered the most ephemeral of all the art forms. In celebration of this evanescence, the ButlerBallet presents an evening of new creations:Anamnesis by Canadian choreographer Lesley Telford; an as of yet untitled work by David Ingram, Butler grad and artistic associate with Ft. Wayne Ballet, set to the music of Indiana jazz guitarist Wes Montgomery; and a look into the future with the presentation of outstanding student choreography. This is your only chance to see the future as it is happening.

3:00 PM Butler Opera Theatre: The Pirates of Penzance
Shortridge High School Auditorium

7:00 PM From Chicago: Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind
Lilly Hall, Room 328

MONDAY, APRIL 11

7:00 PM Mahler’s The Song of the Earth
Eidson-Duckwall Recital Hall
Tickets: General $20, Senior $15, Student $7.50

Considered by some to be Mahler’s greatest work, The Song of the Earth (Das Lied von der Erde) comprises six songs that address living, dying, the seasons of life, and eternity. Jordan College of the Arts faculty member and tenor Thomas Studebaker will be joined by acclaimed soprano Jane Dutton for this intimate evening of song.

TUESDAY, APRIL 12

6:00 PM Wayne C. Wentzel Distinguished Lecture: The Flow of Notes and the “Flow” of Consciousness (Lecture)
Eidson-Duckwall Recital Hall
Free

Presenter: James Parakilas, James L. Moody, Jr. Professor of Performing Arts at Bates College

What is flow? Recent studies have made a connection between a perceived flow in the coordination of musical sounds and a shared feeling of psychic flow, a special state of “deep concentration.” This presentation will address the relationship that may exist between these two distant flows as well as attempt to guide performers to musical flow in order to draw listeners into a state of psychological flow.

James Parakilas is the James L. Moody, Jr. Professor of Performing Arts at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine, where he teaches courses in musicology, music theory, and performance. His musicological studies include the books Ballads without Words: Chopin and the Tradition of the Instrumental Ballade (Amadeus, 1992), Piano Roles: 300 Years of Life with the Piano (Yale, 2000), and The Story of Opera (Norton, 2012). His current research involves examining the relationship of historic Western concepts of the nature of music (including rhythm) to the current reshaping of those concepts by studies in psychology, neuroscience, and other sciences.

7:00 PM Eroica Trio
Howard L. Schrott Center for the Arts
Tickets: General $25, Senior $20, Student $7.50

One of the most sought after trios in the world, the Grammy-nominated Eroica Trio enraptures audiences with flawless technical virtuosity, irresistible enthusiasm, and sensual elegance. For its Butler ArtsFest performance, the trio will be joined by the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra’s Cathryn Gross for Messiaen’s Quartet for the End of Time. The chamber music piece was composed and performed for the first time in a Nazi prisoner of war camp in 1941. Grounded in the circumstances of its genesis, the transcendent work possesses an uplifting quality that instills hope and peace. Additional works on the evening’s program include music by Bach and Piazzolla.

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 13

7:00 PM Time(less) An Evening of Visual Art
Howard L. Schrott Center for the Arts
Free

An evening with contemporary visual artists featured in the Schrott Center for the Arts’s exhibition, Time(less): Conversations Outside the Impact of Time with Stefan Petranek, Michael Rea, and Gary Wahl. Gallery tour at 7:00 PM. Individual presentations followed by Q&A.

Butler ArtsFest presents Time(less): Conversations Outside the Impact of Time, an exhibition of contemporary artworks featuring the work of Michael Rea, Stefan Petranek, and Gary Wahl. Each artist presents responses to time embedded intensely in the present, while simultaneously dealing with the vastness of time by exploring our experience with the landscape, the body, and genetics; setting up conversations that exist within ourselves and outside the impact of time.

Stefan Petranek

At its core, Petranek’s studio practice explores nature through the lens of contemporary culture, especially in response to technological and scientific advances. While science provides a deeper understanding of the natural world, the application of science-based technologies often draws conflict by allowing us to see ourselves as separate, if not above, nature. Petranek’s work points out these boundary lines with the intent of cobbling together a personal and possibly more holistic view of nature in the face of modernity. Influenced by his formal training as a biologist, his projects usually take the form of structured, serialized trials and draw conclusions through experimentation and repetitive observation.

Michael Rea

Rea has conflated the notions of working hard and playing hard for over a decade with his bombastic wooden sculptures. Replicated and reinvented moments of cinematic horror, science fiction, comedy and drama intermingle with memory to form bizarre personal narratives. Over the years, each uncanny conglomeration of familiar objects and themes has both thrilled and confounded audiences. The delight in the experience of Mike Rea’s vision is the balance between a feeling of understanding that is quickly replaced by new, surprising discoveries. Whether as conventional sculptures standing alone, or as props in interactive installations and performances, these often-massive objects reflect a culture of humor, violence, vulgarity, and sensitivity.

Gary Wahl

Gary Wahl’s recent work has examined issues of land-use in the rural Midwest, economic recession, and the housing bubble as viewed through children’s playhouses, developments, and organic house-forms. The Time(less) exhibition includes Wahl’s series Winter Blind. Taken during the onset of winter in Wahl’s home, the frost shadows of the Winter Blind series evoke the traditions of Chinese literati landscape painting. While compositionally beautiful, these images have deeper meaning highlighting the thin veil of security a home provides from the increasingly harsh elements.

7:00 PM Butler Theatre: Portal 1812
Lilly Hall Studio Theatre 168
Tickets: General $15, Senior $10, Student $7.50

Portal 1812 is an original ensemble performance work integrating movement, text, projected image, and sound. Told from multiple perspectives and through various means, the piece interweaves stories and portraits of time. Portal 1812 was conceived and directed by New York-based, multidisciplinary guest artist Darla Villani. Over the course of the spring 2016 semester, students from across the Jordan College of the Arts worked collaboratively with Villani in the creation of this brand-new work.

9:00 PM As Time Goes By: A Discussion of Relativity and Religion (Lecture)
Holcomb Observatory and Planetarium
Free

Presenters: James F. McGrath, Clarence L. Goodwin Chair in New Testament Language and Literature, Butler University
Brian Murphy, Department of Physics and Astronomy and Director of Holcomb Observatory and Planetarium, Butler University

What is the nature of time?”; “How do we understand the beginning and end of the cosmos and creation?”; and “What are the implications for our own place in the universe and our meaning-making as humanity begins to further understand and manipulate time?” Science and theology must respond to time. Both have made considerable efforts to describe time, react to time’s consequences, and articulate that which is not yet understood about time. The Center for Faith and Vocation brings together two academic voices, a professor of physics and a professor of religion, to help shed light on these questions. We hope audience members will find overlaps in their own interests, their own questions, and their own respect for that which we investigate, that which we take on faith, and that which is unknown altogether.

James F. McGrath

Dr. James F. McGrath is Clarence L. Goodwin Chair in New Testament Language and Literature at Butler University. In addition to his work in Biblical studies, Dr. McGrath also writes and speaks about the intersection of religion and theology on the one hand, and science fact and science fiction on the other. He is the editor ofReligion and Science Fiction (Pickwick Publications, 2011) and co-editor of Time and Relative Dimensions in Faith: Religion and Doctor Who (Darton, Longman, and Todd, 2013), and author of a forthcoming companion to theology and science fiction.

Brian Murphy

Brian Murphy served as Chair of the Department of Physics and Astronomy for nearly eight years and has also served as Director of Holcomb Observatory and Planetarium for all of his 23 years at Butler. In his role as director of the observatory he has given nearly 500 television and radio interviews on the subjects of physics and astronomy including such notables as the BBC, National Geographic, and NPR. During his time at Butler he has received numerous awards including the Butler University Distinguished Faculty Award for Research and Scholarship, the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences Award for Research and Scholarship, the Natural Sciences Outstanding Faculty Member, and a Student Government Association Apple Award for outstanding teaching. Besides his passion for working with his research students he has taught a wide variety of courses in his department in addition to numerous core courses.

THURSDAY, APRIL 14

6:30 PM Desmond Tutu Center Presents: Dancing in Jaffa (Film)
Eidson-Duckwall Recital Hall
Free

“When you touch someone with respect, something changes.” Our beliefs, intolerance and misunderstandings, often nurtured over generations, underlie many of the world’s problems. In our own country and community, welcoming the stranger, living in harmony and respect with others of different racial, religious, and cultural backgrounds are front-of-mind issues. Our hearts break with each act of violence rooted in prejudice, stereotyping and intolerance. It is harder to hate someone or what they stand for when a personal connection is made—when we see that the “other” is a person with the same loves, cares and feelings as us. But how often do we expect others to do this and leave us safe with our “beliefs?” What if we each touched someone with respect? How much change might there be? How much would the paradigm shift?

This documentary follows Pierre Dulaine, an internationally renowned ballroom dancer, as he fulfills a life-long dream when he takes his program, Dancing Classrooms, back to his city of birth, Jaffa. Over a ten-week period, Pierre teaches 10-year-old Jewish and Palestinian Israeli children to dance and compete together. Dancing in Jaffa explores the complex stories of three different children who are forced to confront issues of identity, segregation and racial prejudice as they dance with their enemy. The classroom becomes a microcosm of the Middle East’s struggle to work together harmoniously while still caught in the politics of the region and race. With the guidance of Pierre, the children learn to dance together and trust one another. Dancing In Jaffa offers an up-close-and-personal perspective of how the future might unfold if the art of movement and dance could triumph over the politics of history and geography.

7:00 PM Los Angeles Percussion Quartet
Howard L. Schrott Center for the Arts
Tickets: General $25, Senior $20, Student $7.50

Atmospheric and captivating, the Grammy-nominated Los Angeles Percussion Quartet (LAPQ) has forged a distinct identity as a world-class contemporary chamber music ensemble. The enticing rhythm of their performances underscores the ongoing beat of time while the complex textures of the compositions mesmerize, seemingly pausing the moment. Jordan College of the Arts faculty member Jon Crabiel joins LAPQ for an evening that strikes at the heart of the festival’s theme,Time and Timeless.

9:00 PM Butler Theatre: Portal 1812
Lilly Hall Studio Theatre 168

FRIDAY, APRIL 15

6:00 PM You’re Invited to the Party! Post-Studio Art and the Role of the Viewer/Participant (Lecture)
Eidson-Duckwall Recital Hall
Free

Presenter: Gautam Rao, Associate Professor of Art

In the past, the ‘active’ time for an artwork was in the studio, while it was being created. Now that ‘active’ time is outside the studio, in the gallery or on the street. What was once timeless has now become the present. From Jackson Pollock to Jeppe Hein, this talk will explore a paradigm shift that has changed the role of the viewer to that of the participant.

Gautam Rao

Gautam Rao is an artist and Associate Professor of Art at Butler University. He earned his MFA from the University of Pennsylvania in 2002 and his BFA from Boston University in 1999. He has served on the Board of the Indianapolis Museum of Contemporary Art and was a Founding Board Member of Herron High School in Indianapolis. His artwork is widely exhibited both nationally and internationally. Distinctions include a Susan Coslett Cromwell Traveling Fellowship, and awards from the Marie Walsh Sharpe Foundation and the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts.

7:30 PM Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra: Peacemakers
Howard L. Schrott Center for the Arts
Tickets: General $30, Students $12

This innovative work highlights speeches and contributions of the famous peacemakers of our time: Mahatma Gandhi, Eleanor Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Robert F. Kennedy, Anwar Sadat, Yitzak Rabin, Nelson Mandela, and Jimmy Carter. This multi-disciplinary evening includes several local arts organizations, as well as guest artists Kathryn Krasovec, Rob Dixon, and Dan Tepfer, 2007 Cole Porter Fellow in Jazz of the American Pianists Association. In this comprehensive work, ICO Composer-in-Residence James Aikman honors these peacemakers in music, media, and performance. Their inspiring ideas live on.

8:00 PM ButlerBallet: Swan Lake
Clowes Memorial Hall
Tickets: General $24.50-$31.50, Seniors & Students $20-$26

A timeless story of the power of pure love, this romantic and tragic story of the magical beauty of the swans, the maleficent evil of a sorcerer, and the eternal struggle between the forces of light and dark is undoubtedly the most popular of all classical ballets. Come revel in Tchaikovsky’s eloquent score performed by the ButlerBalletOrchestra under the direction of Richard Auldon Clark, and delight in the splendor of the ButlerBallet’s presentation of this unparalleled classic.

10:00 PM Butler Theatre: Portal 1812
Lilly Hall Studio Theatre 168

SATURDAY, APRIL 16

10:00 AM Butler Community Arts School Youth Dance Performance
Lilly Hall, Studio 310
Free

Young dancers join Butler dance majors in this high-energy concert of dances from Disney movies. Featured children represent BCAS community outreach classes at Martin Luther King Center and Tindley Genesis charter school.

11:00 AM Butler Community Arts School Youth Strings Concert with The Metropolitan Youth Orchestra
Howard L. Schrott Center for the Arts
Free

For the third year, BCAS and Butler ArtsFest have commissioned a new work for this youth performance. This year’s composer, Emily Yoo, is an undergraduate composition major in the School of Music. Her piece, Sunken Bridge, reflects the unsettled end of the Korean War, also called the Forgotten War. The title of the piece comes from a photo from 1950 when the Chinese troops advanced into Pyongyang. The photo depicts North Korean refugees climbing and crawling onto a wrecked bridge over the Taedong River as they escape south. Today, the two nations’ peace is still unclear—the war’s time has been at pause since 1953. The two governments have grown apart, with ups and downs, for the last 65 years. The people of two nations have grown apart, more and more each year. Now the two nations’ peoples live fundamentally different lives. The time has passed, but the sunken bridge between the two has not been reconstructed.

The Metropolitan Youth Orchestra is a transformative program of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra’s Learning Community that uses music instruction to engage children in activities that discourage at-risk behaviors and keep them committed to staying in school. MYO’s music-making experience can build a positive, supportive community that brings children and adults together to work side by side, set goals, create trust, and build confidence that will enable students to be successful in school and beyond. MYO is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year. Founder and artistic director Betty Perry was recently recognized by Jordan College of the Arts with a 2016 Legacy Award.

Butler Children’s Orchestra and Butler Youth Orchestra are programs of the Butler Community Arts School. Founding conductor Shannon Crow is an alumna of Jordan College of the Arts. BCAS provides high-quality arts instruction at an affordable price. Private lessons, group classes, and summer camps are held on campus as well as at 15 community partner sites. Instruction is provided by trained Butler students, “Teaching Fellows.” Learn more about BCAS at www.butler.edu/bcas.

2:00 PM Butler Theatre: Portal 1812
Lilly Hall Studio Theatre 168

2:00 PM Indianapolis Opera Preview: Happy Birthday, Wanda June
Basile Opera Center
Tickets: General $20, Students $7.50

Happy Birthday, Wanda June began life as a play by Kurt Vonnegut in October 1971 at New York’s Theater de Lys. The play was Vonnegut’s first attempt at stage work. Written to protest the Vietnam War in 1970, the play blends the sacred and the profane to produce an off-the-wall and deeply, strangely funny satire. Join us for a preview performance of this stunning new opera, based on the work of Kurt Vonnegut, produced by Indianapolis Opera, and composed by Jordan College of the Arts faculty member Richard Auldon Clark. The opera will have its world debut in fall 2016.

6:00 PM Butler Theatre: Portal 1812
Lilly Hall Studio Theatre 168

7:30 PM Tiempo Libre
Howard L. Schrott Center for the Arts
Tickets: General $20-$30, Senior, $15-$20, Student $7.50

Three-time Grammy-nominated Afro-Caribbean music group Tiempo Libre is one of the hottest Latin bands today. Equally at home in concert halls, jazz clubs, festival stages and dance venues, Tiempo Libre is celebrated for its sophisticated music featuring an exhilarating mix of jazz harmonies, contemporary sonorities and seductive Latin rhythms. Join Butler ArtsFest for an unforgettable night as the stage of the Schrott Center heats up with irresistible tropical beats that’ll make you want to get up and dance.

8:00 PM ButlerBallet: Swan Lake
Clowes Memorial Hall

SUNDAY, APRIL 17

2:00 PM ButlerBallet: Swan Lake
Clowes Memorial Hall

4:00 PM Butler Theatre: Portal 1812
Lilly Hall Studio Theatre 168

6:00 PM Debussy and Mallarmé Break Step (Lecture)
Lilly Hall, Room 120
Free

Presenters: James R. Briscoe, Professor of Musicology
Anna Briscoe, Professor of Music
Natalie Farrell, Senior, BA Music and French

Claude Debussy re-invents the rhythmic language of each composition. In that way he links immediately with his Symbolist and Modernist poet-mentor Stéphane Mallarmé. Almost magically, their speech-color rhythms, despite a break with conventional patterns, remain compelling to a notable degree.
In the speech-rhythmic language of two Mallarmé poems Debussy sets, “Apparition” and “Soupir,” one sees the twin dispositions of the Symbolists in both early and late songs interlocked through the application of contemporary linguistic theory. Mallarmé set the pace for free, evocative language-rhythm evoking further ruptures of convention in T.S. Eliot, in “The Waste Land” as a masterpiece of the Modernist movement, and Marcel Proust, within “In Search of Time Lost.” The Symbolist poet breaks historic step at every turn with Romantic, 19th-century rhymed poetry, advancing the theory and practice of language as music and psychic evocation.

Inspired by Mallarmé’s language-music, which he based on the natural emphases and asymmetric rhythms of the French language, Debussy sought ongoing, self-generative formings–per Boulez and his concept of rhythmic and structural formant. The paired discussion of Farrell and Briscoe, first presenting the poet and then the musician, considers certain possibilities of rhythmic tension and release that Debussy and Mallarmé derive from language. That rupture with historic musical rhythm and with linguistic formation initiates the Modernist paradigm in the two Mallarmé poems and Debussy’s interacting treatment. Too, the music talk will examine the Modernist Debussy’s Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun, musically evoking an ode by Mallarmé. Anna Briscoe will conclude by performing “Apparition’ and “Soupir” with a singer to be identified, along with the piano preludes “Des pas sur la neige” (Footsteps in the Snow) and “Voiles” (Veils or else Sails, purposefully vague).

7:00 PM Deadline for Choral Peacebuilding
Howard L. Schrott Center for the Arts
Tickets: General $25, Senior $20, Student $7.50

The time is NOW! Dialogue through choral singing provides a new antidote for addressing our societal divisions and fears. Join guest artist Ysaÿe Barnwell (formerly of Sweet Honey in the Rock) as she leads a call to peacemaking through song. Witness an unforgettable collaboration as Butler choirs (led by Butler choral conductor John Perkins), Nassim Al Saba Choir (United Arab Emirates), São Vicente a Capella (Brazil), and local high school choirs join together for this global choral event.

Midwestern Roots Genealogy Conference, July 15-16, 2016

By Rachel Hill Ponko
Indiana Historical Society

Early registration starts next week for a premier genealogy event that only comes around every two years.

Starting Monday, April 4, 2016, anyone who wants to learn more about their family history and genealogy can sign up for the Indiana Historical Society’s (IHS) Midwestern Roots 2016: Family History and Genealogy Conference.

Midwestern Roots 2016 will take place July 15-16, 2016 at the Indianapolis Marriott East, 7202 East 21st Street, Indianapolis, Indiana.

This year’s event will feature more than 30 sessions by nationally known speakers such as Cece Moore, The Genetic Genealogist, from Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates Jr. and Genealogy Roadshow.

Conference sessions are open to everyone, from the beginning enthusiast to the seasoned professional. Most will cover topics such as using ever-changing and emerging technology and sources online. Other sessions will cover DNA, methodology, using traditional sources and legal genealogy.

Registration cost is $169 ($145 for IHS members, $75 for students) for the basic two-day workshop (including lunches) and $110 ($95 for IHS members, $45 for students) for single day registration (including lunch) for those who sign up between April 4 and June 30.

The Friday evening banquet and presentation is $50 (no conference registration required). In addition, a number of pre-conference activities will be offered Thursday, July 14, for a fee. Activities include a workshop for people who work or volunteer in genealogy collections, hands-on computer labs, writing sessions and an evening program.

Early registration will be available online at www.indianahistory.org by clicking on the “Our Services” tab, then “Family History.” Participants can stay up-to-date on the latest news by following @indianahistory on Twitter, as well as ‪#‎yourstory‬.

Take Part in IHS’s Other Genealogy Programs

Genealogists who are ready to get started can join IHS for a free afternoon program on Saturday, May 21. From 1 to 3 p.m., Growing Little Leaves: Fashionable Genealogy will focus on the history of fashion and how it can help unlock the secrets of family trees. The family-friendly program will take place at the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana History Center, located at 450 W. Ohio St. in downtown Indianapolis.

Growing Little Leaves: Fashionable Genealogy is free, but registration is encouraged. Participants can sign up for the program, or Midwestern Roots 2016, by calling (317) 232-1882 or by visiting IHS online atwww.indianahistory.org.