March 3, 2004

Festival of the Arts
features world class talent

• California outsider art is in at CSUS
• CSUS ensemble previews Carnegie performance
• Filmmaker Trinh Minh-ha to present Night Passage
• Campus goes Crazy for Gershwin
• Women talk art in new lecture series
• Stories come to life Between The Lines
• Schedule of events

The 12th annual Festival of the Arts at California State University, Sacramento, March 23 to April 3, will feature visionary art, stirring music and excellence on stage and screen.

Opening this year's festival will be a presentation by CSUS president Alexander Gonzalez. His talk, "The Role of the Arts in a Democratic Society," at 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, March 23 in the University Union's Hinde Auditorium, will be a timely discussion of the value of the arts in creating well-rounded citizens. A reception in the University Union's Forest Suite will follow.

President Gonzalez' lecture launches what has become a leading regional arts extravaganza that attracts thousands to the CSUS campus. Parking on campus is free in student, faculty and staff spaces an hour before, during and after all festival events. All events are free unless otherwise indicated.

The visual arts play a role of particular importance in the festival this year. Works by forward-thinking California artists, many of whom were stalked by tragedy and whose artistic talent went undiscovered for years, will be on display beginning March 26 in the University's Library Gallery. Titled "The Eyes Have It," the show features works by nearly 20 visionary "outsiders" in the art field including Jim Bauer, A.G. Rizzoli, Jon Serl and Donald Walker.

Filmmaker Trinh Minh-ha will screen her film Night Passage, a spiritual tale of a young woman's journey from death back to life told through the metaphor of a trip on a night train. The discussion and showing will start at 7 p.m., March 27, in the University Union Hinde Auditorium. A reception with Trinh will follow.

Pioneering graphic designer April Greiman will speak at 7 p.m., April 1 in the University Union Hinde Auditorium, and a show of her work will run through April 2 in the Design Gallery in Mariposa Hall 5000. Greiman was an early user of computers for graphic design, applying techniques she developed to produce radical imagery blending science, symbol and myth. Her clients include AOL Time Warner, Amgen, Esprit, Sears and the U.S. Postal Service.

From 1 to 5 p.m., March 27, in Mendocino Hall 1003, CSUS will present "Vision-Re-Vision," an art history symposium. "What I l Learned About Art History from Frida Kahlo," by San Francisco State University professor Whitney Chadwick, will be the keynote address. Talks by several other experts, including "Art History Now: Reckoning with the World" by CSUS professor Elaine O'Brien, will also be given.

Performances set for the festival are a showcase of University talent. Dance, theatre, music and poetry will grace the stage.

CSUS professor Dale Scholl and her Dale Scholl Dance/Art company will present Between The Lines, an all-original dance performance based on contemporary short stories and novels. Festival performances are at 8 p.m., March 25 to 27 in Solano Hall 1010. The show's five pieces were inspired by the stories of author and illustrator Edward Gorey, best known for creating the opening animation for the PBS series Mystery!, Arthur S. Golden's novel Memoirs of a Geisha and Tom Robbins' book Skinny Legs and All. Tickets are $18 general, $16 for students and seniors, $15 for CSUS students and $8 for children 12 and younger.

Crazy for You, a modern treatment of the George and Ira Gershwin musical Girl Crazy, will be staged for the festival at 8 p.m. on weekdays and Saturdays, 2 p.m. on Sundays, from March 25 to 28 in the University Theatre. The show boasts 20 Gershwin tunes including "Bidin' My Time," "Embraceable You," "I Got Rhythm," "But Not for Me," "Someone to Watch Over Me," and "Naughty Baby." Tickets are $18 general, $11 for students and seniors.

Olga Broumas, a native of Greece and poet in residence at Brandeis University, will read from her work at 7 p.m., March 29, in the University Union Hinde Auditorium. Poets Lorna de Cervantes and Eugene Redmond will kickoff the annual Flor y Canto poetry festival sponsored by the Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission with a reading that is also part of the Festival of the Arts at 5 p.m., April 1 in the University Union Ballroom. The Flor y Canto festival will continue at CSUS on April 2 with a poetry reading by Simon Ortiz at 3 p.m. in the University Library Lobby.

The University's music department also will be well represented in the festival. The music offerings start with a percussion recital by CSUS professor Dan Kennedy at 8 p.m., March 24 in Capistrano Hall 151. CSUS professor and clarinetist Deborah Pittman will also present a recital at 8 p.m., March 1 in Capistrano Hall 151. Tickets for each recital are $8 general, $5 for students and seniors. The CSUS Symphonic Wind Ensemble will perform works by Schwantner, Tchaikovsky, Grantham and Whitacre at 7:30 p.m., March 29 in the Music Recital Hall in Capistrano Hall. The concert a preview of the group’s April 13 Carnegie Hall concert at The New York Wind Band Festival. Tickets are $8 general, $5 for students and seniors.

Other performances include a free concert by the Liberace Woodwind Quintet at 4 p.m., March 25 in Capistrano Hall 151 and a performance by the CSUS Jazz Ensemble with guest saxophonist Bob Mintzer at 8 p.m., March 25 in the Music Recital Hall in Capistrano Hall. Tickets are $10 general, $8 for students and seniors.

A complete schedule of events can be found here. For ticketed festival events, contact the CSUS Ticket Office at (916) 278-4323 or see Tickets.com. For more information about the festival, contact the CSUS School of the Arts at (916) 278-ARTS. Media assistance is available from public affairs at (916) 278-6156.

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