"Bird Songs of the Mesozoic," "The Flying Karamazov Brothers" and "The Coney Island Circus Sideshow" are just a few of the more bizarre acts scheduled to appear at the Hopkins Center for the Performing Arts this term. The seemingly wacky sensibility behind these selections belongs to the new Director of Programming Norman Frisch.
Frisch has been on the job since January but the start of this term marks the debut of his choices for entertainment at the College. Yet Frisch is no purveyor of simplistic fare intended only to pack Spaulding Auditorium. His selections are intellectually subtle, reflecting a desire to expand the community's consciousness and stimulate critical thinking.
How do the Bearded Woman, the Tattooed Man and the Human Blockhead, who will perform Thursday night with "The Coney Island Circus Sideshow," stimulate critical thought?
"It has to do with the politics of gender and identity," Frisch explained. He cited Jennifer Miller, the Bearded Woman, as an example of what society considers freakish or ambiguous and explained how her performance is about coming to terms with her physical difference. Michael Wilson, the Tattooed Man, brings issues of self-mutilation, the spiritual significance of body art and the preoccupation with testing the body's limits to attention.
The new programming proves that thought-provoking entertainment is exciting entertainment --the kind to which students will flock.
"The sorts of things people were most interested in last year were off-center: Yothu Yindi, Diamanda Galas, Marga Gomez. They really gripped people's imaginations," Frisch said. "People are willing to extend themselves in ways they haven't. I mean, Australian aboriginal music? There's a tremendous curiosity out there."
While sating the desire for the outre, Frisch also delivers more familiar fare -- with a difference. An extended a cappella series begins this term with The Bobs, a west coast quartet who inject their doo-wop and rock music with racy cabaret.
"When I arrived in Hanover and saw what performances were selling out -- a cappella shows such as Spring Fling, musical theater such as "H.M.S. Pinafore" -- I realized that I needed to start with a vocabulary that people already have, to create a link between Hop programming and art forms that are popularly practiced and enjoyed on campus," Frisch said. By showcasing a cappella groups such as Sweet Honey in the Rock and The Flirtations later this year, Frisch plans to reveal the genre's potential to illuminate African American and gay issues.
Frisch's influence will also be felt in increased programming around events.
"There's almost no visiting performance groups I can think of who are simply flying in, performing and flying out the next morning," Frisch said. Instead, the artists will also speak with classes and give lectures and demonstrations, creating new resources for interested students.
Frisch's talents as an arts administrator were honed during his tenure as associate director of the Los Angeles Festival, a mammoth month-long arts festival that took place every three years. Frisch has found his new job demanding in a different way: instead of having three years to arrange a program, he has found himself planning and researching continuously to match pace with the Hopkins Center's year-round calendar. The metamorphosis of Center Theater into the Moore Theater, which will be celebrated with a gala week-long festival in November, keeps him working seven days a week.
Frisch enjoys working on a college campus precisely because of the intellectual curiousity that demands intriguing programming. His is an ideology firmly based on traditional notions of a liberal arts education.
"One of the things that interests me is lines that have been drawn separating one art form from another. The whole idea of popular versus high art or theater versus visual arts -- these are very flimsy constructions. My programming will hopefully draw lines between them. This seems to be a time and a campus where people are beginning to rethink those boundaries and pigeonholes. And university training in the arts is about making these connections."