UMKC’s weekly arts, sports and culture roundup
Each week, the University of Missouri-Kansas City offers an array of on-campus activities. It’s nothing new. UMKC has a long legacy of hosting countless culturally enriching events. These activities are part of what give UMKC a vibrant campus life, and make UMKC an arts and culture powerhouse. The influence of UMKC-based and UMKC-trained alumni extends well beyond the campus’ edge, so their activities are listed here as well.
Featured Event:
What: Culture Night 2015
The University of Missouri-Kansas City International Student Ambassadors invite the campus and community to Culture Night 2015. Culture Night is a free evening of international fashion, cuisine, music and dance.
Where: Student Union, 5100 Cherry St., Kansas City, Mo.
When: Friday, March 13, 5:30 – 8:30 p.m.
It’s free.
March 11-17
What: Guest Authors
Geoffrey Brock and Padma Viswanathan will visit UMKC as part of the Master of Fine Arts reading series. Brock, a poet, and author Viswanathan will read from their works.
Where: Miller Nichols Library iX Theater, 800 East 51st St., Kansas City, Mo.
When: Thursday, March 12, 7 p.m.
It’s free. Sponsored by UMKC’s MFA Program in Creative Writing.
What: The Blindman, or How to See a World Exhibition
Author and MIT Professor Caroline Jones will examine the art motif of the “blind guide” at the world’s fairs, major international shows and biennials from the modern to the contemporary period.
When: Thursday, March 12, 6 p.m.
Where: Nelson Atkins Museum of Art, 4525 Oak St., Kansas City, Mo.
It’s free, but tickets are required through the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art.
What: Musica Nova
Musica Nova performs contemporary works. It is directed by Zhou Long and features guest artists Donald Crockett, composer, and Meredith Treaster, viola. They will perform KERN: Fantasy BACH for Trombone Trio, MACBRIDE: Portrait for Oboe and English Horn, WEN-CHUNG: Echoes from the Gorge for Percussion Ensemble, MACBRIDE: XII for Soprano solo, CROCKETT: to airy thinness beat for Viola solo and Ensemble.
When: Thursday, March 12, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Grant Recital Hall, 5227 Holmes St., Kansas City, Mo.
It’s free.
What: The Epic Project
This is an exciting collaboration between UMKC Theatre and UMKC Conservatory IMP Ensemble. The Epic Project is in the second year of a three-year devising process. Inspired by the study of mythology by Joseph Campbell, as well as theatre devisers such as Ariane Mnouchkine, Jacques Lecoq, Peter Brook and Complicite, the ensemble explores contemporary and classic tales, weaving an EPIC story of our time.
When: Now through March 15
Where: James C. Olson Center for Performing Arts, Studio 116, 4949 Cherry St., Kansas City, Mo.
It’s free, but tickets are required because seating is limited. Call 816-235-2782.
What: Visiting Designer Lecture: Teri Rogers, entrepreneur and owner, Hint Studios
Teri Rogers is the owner and CEO of Hint, formerly T2 Studios, a nationally-recognized digital design and production center located in the heart of the Crossroads Arts District of Kansas City, Missouri. Rogers is the driving force behind Hint’s myriad of creative services, providing inspiration and insight to her team of world class digital storytellers.
When: Monday, March 16, 4 p.m.
Where: Fine Arts Building Room 106, 5015 Holmes St., Kansas City, Mo.
It’s free.
What: Student Recitals & Lectures
UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance doctoral recital with Patricia Higdon, piano, and David Dimmit, euphonium. They will perform SZENTPÁLI: Concerto for Tuba, SCOTT: And Everything is Still…, SCHUMANN, arr. Cooley: Fantasiestücke, Op. 73, BAADSVIK: “On a Little Cloud” and “Cat Affairs” from Three Trios for Tuba, Euphonium, and Piano.
When: Monday, March 16, 5 p.m.
Where: Grant Recital Hall, 5227 Holmes St., Kansas City, Mo.
It’s free.
What: Composers’ Guild
Composition students of all degree levels present new works. KING-SMITH: Soundtrack of an Open Road, DENMARK: Brave New World, HIMMELBERG: Shock, HILL: Polarity, WINTER: Boozin’ Tunes, MA: Yu Lin Ling.
When: Tuesday, March 17, 7:30 p.m.
Where: Grant Recital Hall, 5227 Holmes St., Kansas City, Mo.
It’s free.
What: Little Women
This is the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory of Music and Dance Spring Opera. It is guest directed by Fenlon Lamb and guest conducted by Ward Holmquist. Little Women is based on the Louise May Alcott book about growing up in New England after the American Civil War.
Where: UMKC White Recital Hall, James C Olson Center for Performing Arts, 4949 Cherry St., Kansas City, Mo.
When: March 17-20, 7:30 p.m.
For tickets, contact the Central Box Office.
What: Women Playing Hamlet
A National New Play Network Rolling World Premiere by William Missouri Downs and directed by Cynthia Levin. Endearingly awkward Jessica has just been cast as Hamlet and she’s freaking out. Armed with a snappy PowerPoint, a Hamlet handbag and text messages from Patrick Stewart, she dodges the slings and arrows of outrageous characters played by an all-female cast. It’s time for her to woman up or sell out when faced with the greatest role ever written.
Where: Unicorn Theatre, 3828 Main St., Kansas City, Mo.
When: Now through March 29
For tickets and show times, visit the Women Playing Hamlet website.
What: Angels in America
Angels in America is written by Tony Kushner and directed by David Cromer. The Kansas City Repertory Theatre production is a world-class revival of a modern classic. The most honored play in a generation, winner of the Tony Award for Best Play and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Angels in America melds love, hate, religion and politics into a uniquely American epic. Sensitively reimagined, Angels in America changed the landscape of American theatre. This production is appropriate for ages 17 and up. It contains adult language, sexual content and nudity.
Where: Copaken Stage, 1 H&R Block Way, Kansas City, Mo.
When: Now through March 29
For ticket prices, show times and information, visit the KC Repertory Theatre website.
What: The Muñeca Project: An Exhibition by David Ford
For the last 35 years, David Ford has pursued an interest in Guatemalan culture. He first traveled there in the 1980s, during its civil war, as an observer for Amnesty International bearing witness to the potential violence in the region. In 2009, while visiting the lakeside market town of Panajachel, an object caught Ford’s eye—a muñeca, or doll. Vendors use these plastic doll busts with braided hair to demonstrate the various styles of hair wraps marketed to tourists. The Muñeca Project incorporates econometrics into drawings, paintings and installations ultimately confronting issues of classical political economy and post-colonial theory.
Where: UMKC Gallery of Art, Fine Arts Building, 5015 Holmes St., Kansas City, Mo.
When: Now through April 3.
It’s free. For information, visit the UMKC Gallery of Fine Arts website.
What: The New Theatre Restaurant presents, “Forever Plaid”
This internationally acclaimed musical revue tells the story of four young, eager, male singers who in 1950 meet their demise in a bus crash on the way to their first big concert. Every evening they return from Heaven to posthumously fulfill their dreams, to perform the concert that never was.
Where: The New Theatre Restaurant, 9299 Foster St., Overland Park, Kan.
When: Now through May 3
UMKC Connection: Co-owners Dennis Hennessy and Richard Carrothers are both UMKC graduates and both were presented with honorary doctorates by the UMKC College of Arts and Sciences in 2012. For tickets and show times, visit the website.