70 Past Events at Pruis Hall, Ball State University

Charles Dickens's classic holiday tale, "A Christmas Carol," comes to the airwaves this weekend. Indiana Public Radio will present a live radio drama based on the story of Ebenezer Scrooge, Saturday, December 5 in Pruis Hall at Ball State University. Tickets are just $10 ($5 for students) and are available at Emens Box Office at 765-285-1539, or through TicketMaster.com. A cast of 20 will bring to life the voices of Bob Cratchit, Tiny Tim, Marley's Ghost, and of course the three spirits. Among the cast members will be Ball State University President Jo Ann Gora, Muncie Civic Theatre's Marty Grubbs, The Herald Bulletin's Rodney Richey, and IPR's own Stan Sollars. Other cast members include: Brandon Allmon, Megan Andrews, Mike Bloxham, Erin Bowden, Phil Bremen, Jon Conrad, Ross Delong, Gary Demaree, Rebecca Fiedler, Missy Hannah, Marty Grubbs, Marcus Jackman, Al Rent, Sara Rust, Kyle Sechrest and Todd Terrell. Benjamin Lancaster is producer/director; associate producer is Nancy Carlson. Completing the authentic radio-drama will be live, practical sound effects (not digitized or recorded), performed by sound designer Brian Boswell and Joe Misiewicz, a live orchestra performing original arrangements by Matthew Hooper and a choir. Attendees should arrive and be seated by 7:30pm for the 8pm live performance, and will be treated to a pre-program presentation by IPR's classical music director and Dickens' enthusiast, Steven Turpin. A short sound effects demonstration will also be presented. The "A Christmas Carol" live radio drama will be simulcast on Indiana Public Radio's five stations (92.1 FM Muncie, 89.5 FM Anderson, 90.9 FM Marion, 91.7 FM Portland and 91.1 FM Hagerstown/New Castle), as well as in the Ball State area of Second Life. WIPB Public Television (DT 49.1 or Comcast cable channel 2--check local listings) will televise the radio drama on Saturday, December 12 at 8pm and Thursday, December 24 at 5:30pm. IPR's 2008 radio drama re-enactment of the panic broadcast, "War of the Worlds," was honored recently with a Spectrum Award from the Indiana Broadcasters Association. The Spectrum Awards recognize broadcast excellence for outstanding achievement in broadcasting by Indiana radio and television stations. "A Christmas Carol" is sponsored by First Merchants Bank, with additional support from Ball State University's Department of Telecommunications and College of Communication, Information and Media. For more information, visit bsu.edu/ipr, or call Executive Producer, Marcus Jackman, at 765-285-5888.

Rev. Joseph Lowery, a legendary leader of the American civil rights movement as co-founder, with Martin Luther King Jr., of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), will speak on "Civil Rights, Now and Then" during Unity Week at Ball State Jan. 18-23.

Presented by the Multicultural Center and Office of Institutional Diversity, Lowery's scheduled address at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 19, in Pruis Hall, occurs on the eve of the one-year anniversary of his rousing benediction to close the inauguration ceremonies for President Barack Obama, the nation's first African-American chief executive. All Unity Week events, including Lowery's talk, are free and open to the public.

Now age 88, Lowery has been at the heart of the civil rights movement for more than half a century, since his work in the early 1950s with the Alabama Civic Affairs Association that initiated the drive for desegregation of public transportation and accommodations, ultimately leading to Rosa Parks' historic refusal to give up her seat to a white bus passenger in Montgomery, Ala., on Dec. 1, 1955. The resulting Montgomery bus boycott lasted for 381 days and thrust a then little-known Southern preacher named Martin Luther King Jr., who advanced the cause through his powerful oratory and personal courage, into the national spotlight.

Following the successful conclusion of the boycott - the U.S. Supreme Court having ruled that segregation in the provision of public services is unconstitutional - King and Lowery co-founded the SCLC in 1957. Shortly thereafter, Lowery figured in yet another landmark Supreme Court ruling, when he and three other SCLC staff members were sued for libel by the commissioners of Montgomery because their names appeared in an ad placed in The New York Times that aimed to raise money for a King defense fund. (King had been arrested on charges of perjury for allegedly swearing "falsely" to the accuracy of his 1956 and 1958 state tax returns in Alabama.)

Again, the Supreme Court ultimately ruled in favor of Lowery and his colleagues and the case, New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, is now considered one of the court's key decisions supporting freedom of the press. It paved the way for continued media reporting, free of legal intimidation or harassment, of various civil rights campaigns throughout the South in the 1960s.

Among the most important of those campaigns were the Selma-to-Montgomery marches in the spring of 1965. Although there were three - only the third made it finally to Montgomery - the most famous remains the first, on "Bloody Sunday," March 7, when more than 600 civil rights supporters were attacked by state and local police with billy clubs and tear gas.

It was Lowery to whom King turned to carry the demands of the marchers to then-Alabama Gov. George Wallace, who had issued the orders that the demonstrators be beaten. In 1995, Wallace apologized to the civil rights crusader as Lowery led the 30th anniversary re-enactment of the iconic march that inspired passage of the Voting Rights Act.

In addition to his civil rights work, Lowery was a pastor in the United Methodist Church for 45 years, actively serving congregations in Mobile and Birmingham, Ala., as well as Atlanta, Ga., before finally retiring from the pulpit in 1997. A year later, he also stepped down from his post as president and chief executive officer of the SCLC - but not before being recognized by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) with its lifetime achievement award, which hailed him as the "dean of the civil rights movement."

Hardly idle in retirement, Lowery continues to press for social justice on many fronts, lately emerging as a forceful voice advocating for gay rights, criminal justice reform and the abolition of capital punishment by lethal injection. He has led peace delegations to the Middle East and Central America and even recorded a rap with artist Nate the Great to encourage African-Americans to vote.

Free for students!

Former senator and 2008 presidential candidate Mike Gravel will be coming to Muncie to discuss the National Initiative For Democracy and engage in an open discussion with the community on various topics. Doors open at Pruis Hall at 6pm, event begins at 6:30pm.

Afterward, come down to Doc's Music Hall to meet Mike and watch the Presidents' Day broadcast of FM Music Live.

As a senator, Mike Gravel gained national attention for his role in ending the draft and the Vietnam War, as well as for releasing the Pentagon Papers into public record.

Ball State AAF is presenting Art & Copy, a documentary about the creative side of advertising. We invite you all to come!

What: ART & Copy Documentary
Where: Pruis Hall, Ball State University, Muncie IN
When: February 16, 2010 @ 7:30pm
Price: $9

ART & COPY is a powerful new film about advertising and inspiration. Directed by Doug Pray (SURFWISE, SCRATCH, HYPE!), it reveals the work and wisdom of some of the most influential advertising creatives of our time -- people who've profoundly impacted our culture, yet are virtually unknown outside their industry. Exploding forth from advertising's "creative revolution" of the 1960s, these artists and writers all brought a surprisingly rebellious spirit to their work in a business more often associated with mediocrity or manipulation: George Lois, Mary Wells, Dan Wieden, Lee Clow, Hal Riney and others featured in ART & COPY were responsible for "Just Do It," "I Love NY," "Where's the Beef?," "Got Milk," "Think Different," and brilliant campaigns for everything from cars to presidents. They managed to grab the attention of millions and truly move them.

Art & Copy is sponsored by Ball State's American Advertising Federation student chapter. We are the first to bring this film to Indiana. All of the money we earn will help us pay for our competition expenses and help us print and produce our campaign book. This is our only fundraiser left, so please help us out! You will not only be helping out students that love advertising but you will also see an amazing film.
Tickets cost $9. Tickets are available in the Department of Journalism office (AJ300) or at Art Mart. You may also purchase tickets at the event. ART & COPY reveals the stories behind and the personal odysseys of some of the most influential advertising visionaries of our time and their campaigns.

For more info visit: http://www.artandcopyfilm.org

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=418924945231&ref=ts

How: Walk-ins are welcome or you can go directly to www.donorpoint.org code 7262 for appointment

Who: EVERYONE -- Ball State students AND employees plus friends and family

Why: You want to do a good deed for some unknown recipient.

FREE: mini-wellness test, snacks, plus numerous coupons from local businesses

*Drink lots of fluid prior to donating

Sponsors: National Society for Collegiate Scholars ~ BSU Pre-Health Professional Club ~ BSU Staff Council

Donors are also welcome to go to the Indiana Blood Center in the Northwest Plaza Shopping Center
Tue - Thur 10am-7pm; Fri 10am-4pm & Sat 8am-noon

How: Walk-ins are welcome or you can go directly to www.donorpoint.org code 7262 for appointment

Who: EVERYONE -- Ball State students AND employees plus friends and family

Why: You want to do a good deed for some unknown recipient.

FREE: mini-wellness test, snacks, plus numerous coupons from local businesses

*Drink lots of fluid prior to donating

Sponsors: National Society for Collegiate Scholars ~ BSU Pre-Health Professional Club ~ BSU Staff Council

Donors are also welcome to go to the Indiana Blood Center in the Northwest Plaza Shopping Center
Tue - Thur 10am-7pm; Fri 10am-4pm & Sat 8am-noon

Emens Auditorium proudly presents jazz pianist/composer Hiromi this Thursday at Pruis Hall. The concert begins at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are still available and are just $5 for BSU students. BSU faculty/staff buy one adult in advance for $17, get a second free. Don't miss your opportunity to see the artist the New Yorker calls, "DAZZLING!"

Mentored by giants like Oscar Peterson, Ahmad Jamal and Chick Corea, Hiromi's roots are in jazz but her music explores a world of new ideas by blurring the boundaries of pop, rock, classical, avant-garde and other genres.

Born in Shizuoka, Japan, in 1979, Hiromi discovered jazz when she took up the piano at age six. Within a year, she was a student of the Yamaha School of Music, whose progressive approach to musical training allowed the young student to tap into her emotions while mastering the technical aspects of writing and performing. At age 14, she went to Czechoslovakia and played with the Czech Philharmonic. Three years later, Corea invited her to perform with him. In 1999, Hiromi came to the United States to study at the Berklee College of Music in Boston.

Hiromi established her reputation when her 2003 Telarc debut, "Another Mind" - co-produced by Ahmad Jamal - won the Recording Industry Association of Japan's (RIAJ) Jazz Album of the Year Award. Her subsequent releases all won her critical-acclaim and industry recognition.

Part of the personal connection she has established over the years is the result of making music without labels or restrictions. As a matter of principle, she'll continue to follow whatever moves her - be it a place, a person, an idea or whatever else - and leave the definitions to others. "I don't want to put a name on my music," she says. "Other people can put a name on what I do. It's just the union of what I've been listening to and what I've been learning. It has some elements of classical music, it has some rock, it has some jazz, but I don't want to give it a name."

For more information, visit Hiromi's site or check out Hiromi on YouTube.

General Admission tickets: Adult $17 in advance/$22 at the door; $5 youth & BSU students. BSU faculty/staff buy one adult, get a second free.

For more information visit the Emens event page or call the ticket office at (765) 285-1539.

Led by Grammy-winning banjoist Alison Brown, the Alison Brown Quartet offers up an astonishingly original instrumental sound that blends bluegrass, jazz, Latin and Celtic music and takes the banjo far from its stereotyped hillbilly roots. Alison has garnered extensive critical acclaim for her music including features on NPR’s All Things Considered and in the New York Times and Billboard Magazine among many others. General Admission: $17 ADV/$22 DOOR adult, $5 youth & BSU students.

On October 6th of 1998 Matthew Shepard, a gay college student, was beaten and left to die tied to a fence in the outskirts of Laramie, Wyoming. He died 6 days later. His torture and murder became a historical moment in America that highlighted many of the fault lines in our culture. Five weeks later, Moisés Kaufman and fellow members of the Tectonic Theater Project went to Laramie, and over the course of the next year, conducted more than 200 interviews with people of the town. From these interviews they wrote the play The Laramie Project, a chronicle of the life of the town of Laramie in the year after the murder. The Laramie Project (2002) is a film adaptation of Kaufman's play, in which the thoughts and opinions of Laramie residents from all points of the political spectrum are presented alongside re-enacted excerpts from the trials of the two men who attacked Matthew Shepard.

Sponsored by the Multicultural Center

Wicked grooves, sublime lead singing, great harmonies, sparkling original songs, and a deep repertoire that spans 200 years of American music. That's Rani Arbo & daisy mayhem, four people who share an irresistible chemistry on stage. Don't miss your chance to see them live at Pruis Hall this Thursday, November 11 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are just $17 (in advance) and $5 for youth & BSU students. BSU faculty/staff buy one adult, get one free.

Rani Arbo & daisy mayhem is an unusually gleeful string band that celebrates both tradition and improvisation and that stumps the categorizers. (Are they an agnostic gospel band? A homeopathic bluegrass band? Are they crazy?).

The Boston Globe described it as "neo old-timey with cosmopolitan splashes of contemporary pop and jazz." It's an exuberant mix of musical idioms, held together by superb musicianship, impeccable taste, and the band's charismatic vocals. A stage show dips into country blues, vintage swing, modern songwriter fare, and Appalachian fiddle tunes and songs. It's a bracing fusion: listen to Arbo deliver Bessie Jones' version of "O Death" accompanied by fat, bluesy guitar solos and a groove that owes allegiance to the Meters, and you'll see. This is a band that picks up what's lying around "from tin cans to traditional music" and creates something new.

Click here to listen to tracks from their Big Old Life CD or here to visit the event page.

General Admission: $17 (advance)/$22 (door); $5 youth (18 & under) & BSU students. BSU faculty/staff buy one adult, get a second free.

For information call 285-1539.

Angels in America, Part Two: Perestroika

Free Public Reading

Pruis Hall

Saturday, January 15th at 7:30PM

Come join the cast of this past fall's production of
Angels in America, Part One: Millennium Approaches
to finish Tony Kushner's epic two part play series.

Sponsored by the Department of Theatre and Dance
and Alpha Psi Omega.

More than forty years, The Vanguard Jazz Orchestra began as the Thad Jones-Mel Lewis Orchestra and has performed continuously ever since. Emens is proud to present the Vanguard Jazz Orchestra, winner of the 2009 Grammy Award for Best Large Jazz Ensemble this Saturday night at Pruis Hall. Show starts at 8 p.m.

In 1966 cornetist, composer, arranger, Thad Jones and drummer Mel Lewis founded a band in New York. Having settled in New York after leaving their respective touring jobs with Basie and Kenton, Thad and Mel along with many of their colleagues needed an outlet for their creative energies and relief from the tedium of the studio work. With a handful of arrangements they approached legendary club owner Max Gordon and were booked at the Village Vanguard for 3 Mondays in February. Three weeks have become a permanent gig spanning over four decades. With few member changes, this 16-piece group still maintains its original precepts of creativity and experimentation are nurtured and encouraged.

This will be one of the greatest jazz events to grace the stage at Pruis Hall. This is your chance to hear one of New York's finest institutions deliver their big band sound with spot-on accuracy live in Muncie!

Click here to visit the Vanguard Press page to listen to clips and view video of the group.

Vanguard Jazz Orchestra - Saturday, January 22

Pruis Hall - 8 pm

General Admission Tickets are just $20 in advance ($25 at the door). BSU faculty/staff are just $15. BSU students and youth (18 & under are $5).

Call the Emens ticket office for more information, (765) 285-1539.

In conjunction with its 2010-2011 focus on disability, the Freshman Connections Program, with assistance from the College of Art and the Department of Art, is bringing sculptor Michael Naranjo to campus on February 8 and 9. An exhibition of his bronze sculptures will open on Tuesday, January 11 in the Atrium Gallery.

The artist will speak of his experiences in Pruis Hall on February 8 at 7:00 pm. The public is invited to an artist's reception in the Atrium Gallery following the talk in Pruis Hall.

Michael Naranjo was permanently blinded at the age of 22 in Vietnam by a grenade explosion. Naranjo is the son of Santa Clara Pueblo potter, Rose Naranjo. Raised in northern New Mexico, he had planned a career as an artist before his army tour. Despite the loss of his sight and damage to his right hand, he did not give up this goal. A twenty-five minute PBS documentary will be looped in the adjacent room of the Atrium Gallery so visitors can learn more. The works will also be accompanied by information plates in Braille. The artist uses his mind's eye and his sense of touch to create works of extraordinary beauty and feeling. Viewers are invited to touch the sculptures as well. Naranjo was also named Disabled Veteran of the Year in 1999.

Sponsored by Disabled Students in Action & Freshmen Connections.

March is Disability Awareness Month in Indiana. This year's theme is "Cultivate Inclusion."

An extraordinarily gifted jazz vocalist whose sincere and romantic interpretations of exceptional songs has made her a favorite in both the jazz and cabaret worlds, Jane Monheit has garnered numerous accolades in the past decade. Her first album, “Never Never Land,” was voted top debut recording by the Jazz Journalist’s Association and stayed on the Billboard Jazz chart for over a year.

General Admission:

$20 ADV/$25 DOOR adult

$5 youth

$5 ADV/$10 DOOR Ball State students

With the permission of Sir Ian McKellen, James DeVita, an accomplished actor in the American Theater for more than 25 years, has adapted his one-man show, “Acting Shakespeare,” an amalgam of personal reminiscences, theatrical lore and selections from Shakespeare. In addition to his many accomplishments in the theater, Mr. DeVita is also an award-winning author and playwright.

Tickets are $17 in advance, $22 at the door.  Ball
State Student tickets are $5 in advance.  BSU Faculty and Staff may buy
one and receive a second free of charge.

Tickets are available at the Emens Box office M-F 9am to 6pm, Ticketmaster.com and all Ticketmaster
outlets.   

The Pruis box office will open two hours prior to the
performance.

Juno nominees and winners of the 2010 Canadian Folk Music Award for Vocal Group of the Year, Amanda Walther and Sheila Carabine of Dala write and sing in harmony best described as angelic.  These two best friends met in their high school music class in 2002; they have since released five albums and toured extensively across North America. Darlings of the Canadian music scene, Dala are now poised to bring their fresh brand of acoustic pop music to the world.

Drawing upon influences like The Beatles, Joni Mitchell, Neil Young and Bob Dylan, Dala write songs that are both catchy and insightful. Amanda's ethereal soprano voice blends seamlessly with Sheila's velvety alto, creating the lush harmonies that have become their trademark.

"There's nothing pretentious about Dala's music; it's stripped
down and laid bare. That's not to say it is without polish - far from it.  Sheila Carabine and Amanda Walther have worked hard to exploit every facet of their extraordinary musical blend, and it would be just as at home in a 1960s coffeehouse as it is now on the contemporary concert stage".  - Andrew Craig, Host of CBC "Canada Live"

The sheer joy with which they perform is infectious, turning first-time listeners into instant fans.  Dala are equally entertaining between songs, telling funny and down to earth stories that make every show unique.  Dala have opened for artists such as Tom Cochrane, Stuart McLean of the CBC's Vinyl Café, Richie Havens and Arlo Guthrie. No strangers to the festival scene, they have also performed at The New Orleans Jazz Festival, The Edmonton Folk Festival, California's Strawberry Festival and Mariposa. In 2009, they were the only Canadian act invited to play at the 50th Anniversary of the Newport Folk Festival.

"Dala can sing! What beautiful flights of melody and harmony,
reminiscent of the Everly Brothers, the Louvin Brothers, Emmylou Harris and associates; though Dala can trade a melody line and leave one wondering who is taking the lead and simply leave one behind when the harmonies kick in." - Peterborough Examiner

Tickets: $17 in advance, $22 at the door.  Faculty & Staff may buy one and get one free (limit 1).  BSU students and youth $5 in advance, $10 at the door.

Tickets available now at the Emens Box office and Ticketmaster.com  
Emens Box office hours M-F 9:00am to 6:00pm

The box office at Pruis Hall will be open two hours prior to the
performance.

For more information, phone  765 285-1539.

Artist Website: http://www.dalagirls.com/

Film screening and discussion with the film’s director and Miss Wheelchair Michigan 2009.  Event sponsored by Disabled Student Development and the Multicultural Center.

10:00 am-12:00 pm: “Raqs and Roll” Beledi Workshop with Ruby Jazayre

1:30 pm-3:30 pm: “Body Electric Meltdown” Drum Solo Workshop with Ruby Jazayre

7:30 pm (doors open at 7 pm): Evening Hafla with various belly dance performers