Set Change: Theater Department Explores New Virtual Performance Mediums
(05/21/21 6:05am)
This article is featured in the 2021 Spring special issue.
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This article is featured in the 2021 Spring special issue.
Katherine Forbes Riley ‘96, a computational linguist and author, graduated from Dartmouth with a degree in linguistics with a concentration in pre-med. She went on to receive her doctorate in computational linguistics from the University of Pennsylvania in 2003. In June 2019, Forbes Riley published her debut novel, “The Bobcat.” Some of her other creative works, including her short fiction work “Speaks My Language,” have appeared in the Wigleaf 2018 Top 50 list, among other literary magazines. For her creative writing, she has received the Inkslinger’s Award for Creative Excellence, an award presented by Buffalo Almanack to the best short story and art piece in each issue of the publication.
Until recently, Annie Clark’s — who goes by the stage name St. Vincent — most personal album was “Marry Me,” her debut album, which came out in 2007. Since then, she’s leaned more and more into her St. Vincent persona. Even songs that explored her personal struggles, like “Marrow” or “Strange Mercy,” feel detached from the real Annie Clark, distorted through the filter of St. Vincent. For a long time, this strategy worked well, as much of her best work can be found on albums like “Actor,” “Strange Mercy'' and “St. Vincent.” However, the culmination of this style was 2017’s “Masseduction,” a deeply impersonal album that felt sanitized and cold, both lyrically and musically. However, St. Vincent reverses course with her most recent album “Daddy’s Home,” that features much more personal lyrics.
Since last spring, when businesses across the country were forced to move their operations online, arts organizations have had to adapt to the new virtual world. While virtualization has proven difficult for many of these organizations, it has also come with a silver lining for the industry. As a result of the transition, new opportunities have emerged for a technologically savvy generation of artists. Dartmouth students seeking experience in the arts world, whether during an off term or through the College, have been a part of ushering the arts into a digital format.
MSG is making its revival. Formally known as monosodium glutamate, MSG is an additive, like salt or sugar, that is used as a food seasoning. Famous chefs like J. Kenji López-Alt and David Chang praise MSG for its unique umami flavor and encourage home cooks to try it. Samrit Nosrat, author of the bestselling cookbook “Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat,” claims that MSG is the “best $2 you can spend at the grocery store,” and I couldn’t agree more.
If every genre but romantic comedy suddenly disappeared from the face of the earth, absolutely nothing about my media consumption would change. I scan book reviews waiting for a hint of romance in the narrative. My streaming service recommendation algorithms have given up on selling me anything without at least a secondary plot of romance. I am indiscriminate as to whom, where or how fictional characters profess their love for each other — I only insist that they do. I love indie rom-coms about people falling in love while wearing overalls and studying at liberal arts colleges. I love blockbuster movies starring celebs with shiny teeth and perfect hair. I love love, period.
In a virtual talk on May 5, Hood Museum of Art director John Stomberg hosted a conversation with sculptor Ursula von Rydingsvard that spotlighted her piece, “Wide Babelki Bowl,” a sculpture that is part of Dartmouth’s public art collection.
The popular reality television series “RuPaul’s Drag Race” is a rare staple in both queer and mainstream culture, appealing to a wide range of audiences through its blend of drama, comedy, heartwarming moments and true artistic talent. Following season 12, a fan favorite, audiences had high hopes for season 13. Ultimately, however, the latest installment was unable to live up to its potential. Despite the talent of the drag queen contestants, the stylistic and structural production of this season was notably lackluster.
In his four years in Hanover, singer-songwriter Matt Haughey ’21 of Madison, New Jersey has been an active contributor to Dartmouth's music and performing arts scene. Since his freshman year, he has been a member of the Dartmouth Cords — one of three all-male a cappella groups on campus — as well as the Dog Day Players improv group. More recently, Haughey has made his emergence onto the national stage: In the last two years, he has released five singles that have garnered over a million streams on Spotify.
This year's Manton Foundation Annual Orozco Lecture on The Epic of American Civilization murals, painted by José Clemente Orozco on the walls of Baker Library, was delivered by Ithaca College art history professor Jennifer Jolly. The talk, which took place this past Thursday over Zoom, examined the 1930s work of artist David Alfaro Siqueiros — a key figure alongside Orozco in popularizing Mexican mural art in the United States.
While living somewhere as remote as Hanover has its pros and cons, there’s one thing for certain: you’ll never want for mushrooms. Whether you are vegetarian or not, mushroom risotto has a rich umami flavor that meat simply cannot beat. The mushrooms give this dish depth, and the creaminess from the starchy rice and fatty cheese creates a luscious sauce that surrounds each grain of rice. I will say, this dish is a labor of love; it requires standing at the stove for a good half hour, constantly stirring and ladling in hot broth. However, the end result is a dish that is simultaneously decadent and impressive. It’s perfect for when you need some comfort food or when friends come over.
In the beginning of this year’s award season, many awards shows had trouble adapting to the virtual setting necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic. After watching the trials and tribulations of the Grammys and the Golden Globes, the Academy Awards executed their show quite well in comparison: The part-in-person, part-virtual show progressed without any major technical difficulties. For the third straight year, there was no host; instead, the Academy rotated awards presenters. Even with the success of the format, though, the ceremony had only 10.4 million viewers, making it the least-watched Oscars since the Academy started recording views in 1974.
Earl Simmons, better known by his stage name DMX, clawed his way from the streets of Yonkers to hip-hop fame with his guttural voice and signature barking adlibs. He commanded an emotional rawness that few rappers in the early bling era of hip-hop could channel. However, Simmons struggled with his demons — battling drug addiction throughout his career. Following complications from a drug overdose, he died on April 9, at the age of 50.
Every year, ten of the most promising voices in literature receive the Whiting Award, a prize that Vanity Fair has dubbed the “crystal ball of the literature world” for its tendency to go to up-and-coming writers early in their careers. Past winners have gone on to receive other prestigious awards including the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award. On April 14, English and creative writing professor Joshua Bennett won the award for his work in both poetry and nonfiction.
Students often demean Dartmouth Dining Services for its quality, but DDS is undeniably convenient and reliable. However, the pandemic has increased the number of students living off campus while restricting DDS to students in dorms. No longer can off-campus students, like myself, walk to the dining hall after a long day of classes. We are out in the real world to fend — and cook — for ourselves.
Over the past few years, Netflix has capitalized on people’s fascination with the macabre. From the 2015 hit “Making a Murderer” to “Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes,” “The Ripper” and then this year’s “Crime Scene: The Vanishing at the Cecil Hotel,” recent Netflix originals have focused on a darker side of human nature. On April 2, this trend continued with “The Serpent.”
Whenever I walk into a party, I can’t help but ask myself how each person is experiencing the party themselves — the couple in the back curled into an embrace, the gaggle of girls infused by music, their hair a silky blur; a half-drunk group with hands raised as a pong ball sinks into stinky froth. In the colored lights and thrumming bass of a party, it’s practically impossible to see anyone clearly — to see the world through the eyes of those disguised by makeup and alcohol and fake smiles.
From April 5-11, the Hopkins Center for the Arts welcomed 54 artists, activists, students, alumni and scholars to participate in a virtual symposium that explored the timely issue of police violence, chiefly against people of color.
Lexi Warden ’21’s final curtain call at Dartmouth will not be on a physical stage, where she usually makes her appearances, but broadcast over the radio. For the past two years, Warden has been working with theater professor Monica White Ndounou on her thesis project, a radio adaptation of Eisa Davis’s 2007 Pulitzer finalist play “Bulrusher.”
Last week, the Hood Museum of Art hosted recent graduate Kensington Cochran ’20 for its second talk in the “Virtual Space for Dialogue” series. At the talk, Cochran presented a collection she curated as the Hood’s Conroy Intern last year that explores the intersection between art and trauma.
