Theatre Archives - Southwestern Illinois College

SWIC to stage The Laramie Project Nov. 5-7

Experience the captivating play, “The Laramie Project,” presented by Southwestern Illinois College Division of Arts and Sciences, as it reveals the reaction to the 1998 murder of gay college student Matthew Shepard in Laramie, Wyoming.

Co-directed by SWIC Communication Arts Professors Emily Kelly-Padden and Julie Willis, the 2000 play by Moisés Kaufman and the members of Tectonic Theater Project, focuses on the community reaction to the violent crime. The production will run Friday, Nov. 5 and Saturday, Nov. 6 at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, Nov. 7 at 2 p.m. in the SWIC Belleville Main Complex Theatre, 2500 Carlyle Ave.

“The Laramie Project” centers around a hate crime that attracted worldwide attention, bringing sexual discrimination and violence to the forefront of public discussion. “The play shocks, challenges, and moves all who watch it as it reveals the lowest depths of hatred and greatest heights of compassion that lies within all human beings in any seemingly average community,” as stated on brownpapertickets.com.

Tickets are $5 with a student ID, $10 for general admission and can be purchased at the door, cash-only.

The play deals with themes of an adult nature and is intended for mature audiences.

Funding and resources provided by the SWIC Division of Arts and Sciences, the SWIC Foundation and the Matthew Shepard Foundation.

For more information, call Kelly-Padden at 618-235-2700, ext. 5419.

SWIC to celebrate art, film and music in Winter/Spring 2020

Experience an American Sign Language performance, view a film, gaze upon original art, enjoy a jazz music festival and listen to Southwestern Illinois College’s own Blue Storm Radio on TuneIn this winter and spring.

The college’s arts series, called the Southwestern Illinois Creative Arts Syndicate, features a variety of events ranging from an art exhibition opening for Angel Brame and Joe Page on Jan. 16, the SWIC Jazz Festival featuring guest percussionist Bill Molenhof on Feb. 22, to a filmmaker spotlight from experimental filmmaker Zlatko Cosic.

“There is something for everyone whether you’re into chamber music, love art or want to view a variety of short films by new and emerging filmmakers,” said Paula Haniszewski, Schmidt Art Center interim curator. “We want our students and the community to enjoy the arts right here in the Metro East.”

The winter/spring 2020 SWICARTS calendar is below. For details on individual events, visit swic.edu or facebook.com/swicarts.  

ART 
For exhibition information, visit swic.edu/theschmidt.

Jan. 16 – Exhibition Opening Reception: Angel Brame and Joe Page,
4-7 pm., The Schmidt

March 19 – Exhibition Opening Reception: High School Student Art Show & Congressional Art Competition, 6-8 p.m., The Schmidt

April 23 – Exhibition Opening Reception: SWIC Student Art & Design Show,
6-8 p.m., The Schmidt

July 9 – Exhibition Opening Reception: Senior Art Competition – Life Experienced, 4-7 p.m., The Schmidt

FILM 
April 3 – Annual SWIC Student Film Screening, 7 p.m., Liberal Arts Theatre

MUSIC
For concert information, visit swic.edu/music-calendar.

Jan. 28 – St. Louis Symphony: College Connections, 12 p.m., The Schmidt

Jan. 30 – Chamber Music Recital featuring U.S. Air Force Band of Mid-America, 7 p.m., The Schmidt

Feb. 9 – Faculty Recital: An Afternoon at The Opera featuring Ed Jacobs, Diana Umali and guest trumpeter Robert Souza, 3 p.m., The Schmidt

Feb. 16 – Sunday Brunch Jazz Soiree (Tickets will be on sale in College Activities), 11 a.m., The Schmidt

Feb. 22 – SWIC Jazz Festival featuring guest percussionist Bill Molenhof,
All Day, Main Complex Theatre

March 18 – SWIC Student Recital, 3 p.m., The Schmidt

March 29 – SWIC student choral ensembles and faculty instrumental soloists performance: Explore the Sound VI, 7 p.m., St. Paul United Church of Christ, 115 W. B St., Belleville

April 1 – SWIC Student Recital, 3 p.m., The Schmidt

April. 15 – SWIC Student Recital, 3 p.m., MC Theatre

May 3 – SWIC Concert Band: Yearning to Breathe Free, 3 p.m., St.Paul UCC, Belleville

May 4 – SWIC Jazz Band, 7 p.m., Main Complex Theatre

May 5 – SWIC Concert Choir & Chamber Singers: Our Little Infinity , 7 p.m.,
Union United Methodist Church, 721 E. Main St., Belleville

May 6 – SWIC Honors Student Recital, 3 p.m., The Schmidt

May 7 ­– SWIC Student Recital, 7 p.m., The Schmidt

MASS COMMUNICATION

April 18 – College Radio Day, All Day, LA 1342, Listen on Blue Storm Radio on TuneIn

May 13 – High School Equivalency Graduation broadcast on Blue Storm Radio, 6-9 p.m., Listen on Blue Storm Radio on TuneIn

May 14 – Commencement Ceremonies, 6-9 p.m., Listen on Blue Storm Radio on TuneIn

SPEAKER SERIES & LITERARY EVENTS 

March 25: Operatic Empathy – Puccini’s “Tosca” with Associate Professor of Music Ed Jacobs, 3 p.m., The Schmidt

April 29:­ Student American Sign Language Performance: Song Interpretations, 3 p.m., The Schmidt

THEATRE 

April 3-4 – Spring Theatre Production: “The Laramie Project” authors Moises Kaufman and the Members of the Tectonic Theater Project, 7:30 p.m., Main Complex Theatre

April 5 – Spring Theatre Production: “The Laramie Project” authors Moises Kaufman and the Members of the Tectonic Theater Project, 2 p.m., Main Complex Theatre

SWIC Arts & Humanities to present One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

Experience the indelible story of a mental hospital and its inhabitants, in the play “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” by Dale Wasserman.

Directed by SWIC Assistant Professor of Speech and Theatre Julie Willis and based on the 1962 novel by Ken Kesey, this iconic, pop-culture story will not be one to miss.

The performances will run Friday, Nov. 15 and Saturday, Nov. 16 at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, Nov. 17 at 2 p.m. in the SWIC Belleville Campus Theatre, 2500 Carlyle Ave.

“One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” centers around a criminal who gets transferred for evaluation from a prison to a mental institution. He assumes a psychiatric ward will be a less restrictive environment; however, the mental asylum is run with an iron fist. Inevitably, a war ensues between the rebellious criminal and the inflexible mental institution’s administration, which affects all the ward’s patients.

Tickets are $5 with a student ID, $10 for general admission and can be purchased at the door, cash-only.

The play deals with themes of an adult nature and is intended for mature audiences.

For more information call Willis at 618-235-2700, ext. 4975. For more information on events offered by SWICarts, visit swic.edu or facebook.com/swicarts