Before the Curtain: Arts on Campus Week 2
Friday, Sept. 15
Use the fields below to perform an advanced search of The Dartmouth's archives. This will return articles, images, and multimedia relevant to your query.
1000 items found for your search. If no results were found please broaden your search.
Friday, Sept. 15
Reneé Rapp’s new album “Snow Angel,” released Aug. 18, marks yet another Broadway artist moving into the pop genre. While this phenomenon may seem like a recent trend, with the notable examples of Sutton Foster, Ben Platt and Olivia Rodrigo, the intersection between Broadway and pop has been common throughout music history. Pop artists often perform on Broadway, and musical theater performers frequently produce albums and become touring artists.
“I finally quit smokin’ cigarettes” is how Oklahoma singer-songwriter Zach Bryan begins “Jake’s Piano – Long Island” — the ninth track of his self-titled fourth album. When I first listened to “Zach Bryan,” this lyric struck me as strange. After all, the album’s cover features a lone Bryan smoking a cigarette over a black background. In retrospect, I can’t help but admire this apparent contrast. It summarizes the rare quality that makes “Zach Bryan” a special record: its author’s unabashed vulnerability.
In addition to the numerous student bands, student DJs make sure that music is always pumping throughout campus. DJ culture on campus draws on the efforts of individual DJs, collectives and clubs introducing students to DJing. Disc jockeys on campus said the College’s music scene depends on the craft of student performers and their individual styles. Student DJ Spencer Watson ’25, whose DJ name is Spence, said that the DJ community on campus is stylistically diverse.
This article is featured in the 2023 Freshman special issue.
This article is featured in the 2023 Freshman special issue.
Orange was the color of the evening on July 31. The warm, golden sun lowered over the Fore River at Thompson’s Point in Portland, Maine. Shortly after, the nearly tangerine-colored full moon rose in the sky, which headliner Maggie Rogers pointed out to the crowd. Matching the celestial bodies, Rogers emerged on stage wearing an orange leotard and a sheer wrap-skirt.
I went to see The Chicks so I could sing “Wide Open Spaces” at the top of my lungs. I wanted to jump up and down to Martie Maguire’s fiddle and let Natalie Maines’s voice wash over me. But, instead, I was confronted by music as a language of resistance.
The Fairlee Drive-in Theater has been a staple of the arts and culture scene in the Upper Valley since its opening in 1950. Started by a Florida-based contractor looking for summer employment, the business model soon adjusted to include a motel in 1960 — meant to accommodate travelers looking for lodging along the newly built I-91 interstate, according to current owner Peter Trapp.
In the third song off Dominic Fike’s newest album, “Sunburn,” he sings, “If it’s not a puzzle, it must be nonsense.” Ironically enough, those lyrics do a pretty good job at summing up my thoughts on the artist’s sophomore endeavor.
I hit the concert jackpot this summer. For relatively low prices, I had the privilege to attend three concerts this past month — Hans Williams, The Backseat Lovers and Noah Kahan. Although all three bands create music that toes the line between alternative, indie and pop, their concerts each felt strikingly different. Each concert created a unique atmosphere that left me awestruck and listening to their albums in a repetitive loop. Ultimately, my heart melted most for the two hometown performances — both Williams and Kahan are Vermont natives.
As Wednesday, Friday and Saturday evenings roll around each week, students consult their bin, bag or drawer stuffed with flair — “brightly colored” and/or “random, wacky clothing,” according to Sam Frohlich ’25. They dig through piles of sparkly skirts, jerseys, random hats or silly t-shirts in search of something to match a party’s theme — or perhaps just “to make you look a little weird,” Kalyn Dawes ’25 said.
“Life in plastic, it’s fantastic!”
I went into the dual premiere of “Barbie” and “Oppenheimer” (coined “Barbenheimer”), cautiously optimistic. Since the advent of streaming services, Hollywood has grown disgustingly commercial, with films existing as a product first and an artistic mode second. “Where is the soul?” one might ask, upon watching “Don’t Worry Darling” or “Don’t Look Up.” I worried Barbenheimer would be the same gig — theatrical blockbusters compensating for a lack of depth with aesthetics. When the integrity of a film rests solely on its cast and production budget, the story usually suffers.
When summer term rolls around, there may be fewer students on campus, but that does not mean it’s any quieter than before — especially when the sounds of student bands spill out onto a moonlit Webster Avenue. Within the first few weeks of the term, some students have already formed new bands that span a variety of genres, while previously established bands continue to practice and play on campus.
Where the White River pours into the Connecticut, in the valley between the Green and White Mountains, local artists Jakob Breitbach and Tommy Crawford came together for the second year to host the Riverfolk festival variety show. Held in the Courtyard Theater at Northern Stage in White River Junction, Vermont on July 17, the night featured local artists such as Breitbach and his wife, Jes Raymond, in a duo called Beecharmer. Other performers included two Dartmouth students comprising the band Ramblers & Co and traveling artists, including Guy Davis and the House Band. Presented by Here In The Valley, a music collective by Breitbach described on their website as a “home for live acoustic music and arts in the Upper Valley,” the show sold out both their 5:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. performances.
In Woodstock, Vermont, just a few turns off of Central Street and down a quiet gravel road, Charlet and Peter Davenport ring in their 35th annual Sculpturefest. Charlet Davenport says she initially founded the year-round exhibition in an effort to raise money for outdoor art — inspired by her visits to outdoor galleries like Socrates Sculpture Park in Queens, New York.
THEA 65, ‘Summer Theater Lab’ — a course offered only in the summer by the theater department — exposes students to experiential theater through student, alumni and professional original works. The course is divided into three projects: VoxLab, Frost award-winning, student-written plays and the New York Theater Workshop.
I haven’t missed a daily dip all summer; it’s become the perfect tradition. With the sweltering heat and a room that is barely air conditioned, I’ve found it necessary to cool off with a nice plunge into the Connecticut River.
Towards the end of week one, students from all areas of campus with varying degrees of experience flocked to dance, improv and a cappella auditions. Whether to revisit a long lost talent, try something completely new or meet different people, summer performance groups are a highly anticipated part of sophomore summer, according to students.