MURFREESBORO — Three renowned artists are bringing their talents to the MTSU campus
in February as part of a 40th Anniversary Lecture Series celebrating the
accomplishments of creative people with disabilities.
· Guy Gilchrist, co-creator of "Muppet
Babies" and cartoonist for the classic comic strip "Nancy" since
1995, will discuss using the arts to address social issues in his Friday, Feb.
13, visit to MTSU's Keathley University Center Theater.
· Actor/author/teacher Estelle Condra will perform a
play and discuss creating live performances as an artist with a disability
during her Friday, Feb. 20, KUC Theater visit.
· Drummer Bob Stagner will share techniques for
helping young people with disabilities or terminal illnesses via percussion
during his Friday, Feb. 27, visit to the KUC Theater.
Each of the free
public lectures is set for 12:40 to 1:40 p.m. A searchable campus map of MTSU, complete with
parking details, is available at http://tinyurl.com/MTSUParking14-15.
The trio’s visits are presented by VSA
Tennessee, the state organization on arts and disability that was established in
2001 on the MTSU campus.
VSA, an international organization on arts and disabilities, is
observing its 40th anniversary in 2014-15. Founded in 1974 by Ambassador Jean
Kennedy Smith and formerly known as Very Special Arts, VSA merged with the John
F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in 2011 to expand its services.
Gilchrist, a
resident of Gallatin, Tennessee, took over the “Nancy” strip after the death of
creator Ernie Bushmiller and immediately put his own stamp on it by
incorporating the names of musical performers, athletic teams, universities and
special events into background items, T-shirts and the like. He even included
“MTSU Blue Raiders” on a T- shirt worn by the character “Aunt Fritzi” in
October 2013.
During his Feb. 13
MTSU visit, Gilchrist, whose work is part of a permanent collection at the
Smithsonian Institution, will lecture on cartooning and will teach each
audience member to create a cartoon. His credits also include drawing the “Jim
Henson’s Muppets” comic strip as well as cartoons for “Looney Tunes,” “Bugs
Bunny,” “Tom & Jerry,” “The Pink Panther” and “Fraggle Rock.”
You can watch a
video of Gilchrist’s “Using Your Gifts” inspirational talk at http://youtu.be/0G-pWoBBzkw.
Condra was among the
first artists VSA Tennessee brought to visit MTSU and has returned to campus
several times to share her work and lecture on the importance of the arts. A
native of South Africa who now lives in Tennessee, she worked internationally
in theater for many years until retinitis pigmentosa began taking her sight.
She then moved to
solo performances as an artist-in-residence for organizations throughout the
country, including the Nashville Institute for the Arts in conjunction with the
Lincoln Center Institute for the Arts. During her Feb. 20 MTSU visit, Condra
will present a 15-minute play, “The Luncheon,” and discuss her live performance
techniques.
You can watch an
excerpt of Condra’s performance in “Vibrations of Laughter” at http://youtu.be/6m0-O3FZL3c.
Stagner, a
Chattanooga native, has worked with artists ranging from Blueground Undergrass
to Derek Bailey to the Rev. Howard Finster. He and Dennis Palmer co-founded the
free improvisation duo the Shaking Ray Levis and the Shaking Ray Levi Society,
an arts education organization that supports emerging artists in performance,
art and film.
Stagner, who also
works with The Rhythmic Arts Project, founded by drummer Eddie Tuduri, to
present music workshops for people with physical and mental disabilities, will
use his Feb. 27 MTSU visit to discuss how percussion can help young people.
You can watch a
video of the Shaking Ray Levis performing with MTSU alumnus and fellow artist
Wayne White at http://youtu.be/QNx3LGZi3BY.
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