Surround Yourself with Inspiration, Irreverence and Outrageous Delight
∫ Delight in Festival favorites such as the annual A Cappella Fest, Sidewalk Sam and the Guy Mendilow Band.
∫ Engage with masterworks of painting in the Rose Art Museum.
∫ Enjoy new plays, new music and new works of art by innovative Brandeis students.
∫ Rejoice in the brass-band mayhem of the What Cheer Brigade.
And, for the first time, the renowned Lydian String Quartet performs a free concert to conclude the Festival.
Ingrid Schorr, Festival Producer, Office of the Arts
Scott Edmiston, Director, Office of the Arts
The Leonard Bernstein Festival of the Creative Arts is sponsored by the Brandeis Office of the Arts and made possible by the generous support of Eric Green P ’07, Sue Nager ’55, and Jolie Schwab ’78 and David Hodes ’77, and Provost Marty Krauss. Additional support from the Brandeis Arts Council, the Poses Fund, the Theodore and Jane Norman Fund, the Center for German and European Studies at Brandeis University, Parsons Audio and the Computer Music Studio at Boston University.
Full Schedule of Events
JUMP TO: FRIDAY SATURDAY SUNDAY FOLKFEST
Thursday, April 28
Festival Opening:
Art Is Happening All Around
5:10-5:30 p.m.,
Shapiro Campus Center Atrium
Be surrounded by joy at this "happening" — an unpredictable, improvisational performance art event led by students in the Brandeis School of Creative Arts.
Acting Together on the World Stage
12-3 p.m., Shapiro Campus Center Multipurpose Room
An inspirational new documentary about theater artists around the globe whose artistry nurtures peace and social justice. Created by Cynthia Cohen, director of Peacebuilding and the Arts at Brandeis, and local filmmaker Allison Lund in partnership with Theater without Borders. A sampling of semester projects from students in Professor Cohen's Arts of Building Peace course follows the film screening.
Entering the Stream: Creativity and Timelessness
12:30 p.m.,
Women’s Studies Research Center
A panel of writers and artists from the Women’s Studies Research Center responds to the idea of “being in the flow.” Moderated by writer Rosie Rosenzweig.
Visual Thinking
4 p.m.,
Rose Art Museum
Discover new ways of seeing and thinking about art! Engage with Dabney Hailey, director of academic programs, in open conversations about two compelling and complex paintings: Andy Warhol’s Saturday Disaster and Still Life No. 25, by Tom Wesselmann.
Ghanaian Music and Dance
6 p.m.,
Shapiro Campus Center Atrium
Students in MUS 87, as the ensemble Fafali (“there is peace”), perform instrumental music and dance from the Ewe tradition of West Africa, led by master drummer Nani Agbeli with special guest artist Frederick Abban.
A reception with refreshments follows the performance. Sponsored by the Brandeis Music Department.
Brandeis Early Music Ensemble
Pomp & Circumstance: Music for Royal Occasions and Courtly Weddings
7 p.m.,
Berlin Chapel
The Brandeis Early Music Ensemble performs a celebratory concert of madrigals, dances and motets to mark the 25th anniversary of Early Music America. Sarah Mead, director.
A Cappella Fest
8 p.m.,
Sherman Function Hall, Hassenfeld Conference Center
Brandeis’s a cappella groups come together for one gleeful benefit concert. Hosted by Starving Artists and produced by Ellyn Getz ’13. Featuring Ba’Note, Company B, Jewish Fella A Cappella, Manginah, Proscenium, Rather Be Giraffes, Too Cheap for Instruments, Up the Octave, VoiceMale, and Voices of Soul.
Suggested donation of $3 supports music programming at the Waltham Teen Chill Zone.
Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead
By Bert V. Royal
Brandeis Theater Company
8 p.m.,
Spingold Theater Center
(preshow dance party, 7:15 p.m.)
An irreverent, affectionate satire of teen angst and anomie. America’s most-beloved comic strip kids are now in high school. CB’s dog is dead, his best friend Van is a quasi-intellectual pothead, and his once-sunny sister is a brooding Goth outsider. Augh! Not so good grief all around. Featuring Stephen Badras ’13, Jordan Brown ’12, Nicole Carlson ‘14, Meg Evans ’12, Dan Katz ’12, Rebecca Miller ’13, Robert St. Laurence ’11, and Leila Stricker ’13.
Directed by Summer L. Williams. Adult themes and language abound.
Join the pre-show dance party at 7:15 p.m.!Tickets are $18-20. Contact Brandeis Tickets at 781-736-3400 or order online. Also Thursday and Friday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.
In the Name Of
8 p.m.,
Mandel Center for Humanities, Room G10
A new play by Renana Gal ’12, based on her own experience as a 19-year-old conscientious objector in Israel.
Maya must convince a military court of her reasons for not supporting Israel’s security war and the military occupation of the Palestine territories.
Produced by the Free Play Theatre Cooperative and featuring Noam Shuster ’11, Melissa Howard ’12, Dotan Horowitz ’12, Aidan Horowitz ’12, Emily Rubin-Falcone ’13 and Anthony Rios ’11. Ages 16 and older.
Friday, April 29
Art Happenings
All day, campuswide
Encounter outrageous interludes of performance art on your way to class.
Period. The End?
6 p.m.,
Spingold Theater Center, Merrick Theater
Do you enjoy talking about sex? Advertising? Want to learn more about how advertising for pharmaceuticals shapes the decisions we make?
Lexi Kriss '11 has transformed her senior HSSP research on the effects of pharmaceutical direct-to-consumer advertising into sexy monologues! Featuring Abigail Clarke '12 , Rachel Copel '11, Kate Davis '14, Maya Grant '13, Kerry Herman '11, Abi, Katznelson '11, Linda Li '13, Natasha Quidwai '14, Janel Rabbani '11, Julie Stein '11 and Marisa Turesky '13. Sound design: Kiril Lozinskiy '11; lighting/ tech: Nati Peleg '13.
For more information, email akriss@brandeis.edu. Also performed on Saturday at 6 p.m.
Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead
By Bert V. Royal
Brandeis Theater Company
8 p.m., Spingold Theater Center
(preshow dance party, 7:15 p.m.)
An irreverent, affectionate satire of teen angst and anomie. America’s most-beloved comic strip kids are now in high school. CB’s dog is dead, his best friend Van is a quasi-intellectual pothead, and his once-sunny sister is a brooding Goth outsider. Augh! Not so good grief all around. Featuring Stephen Badras ’13, Jordan Brown ’12, Nicole Carlson ‘14, Meg Evans ’12, Dan Katz ’12, Rebecca Miller ’13, Robert St. Laurence ’11, and Leila Stricker ’13. Directed by Summer L. Williams. Adult themes and language abound.
Join the pre-show dance party at 7:15 p.m.!
For this special Festival of the Arts-sponsored performance, go to Brandeis Tickets in the Shapiro Campus Center and mention "Festival" to receive a free ticket (limit two per person, Friday performance only).
In the Name Of
8 p.m.,
Mandel Center for Humanities, Room G10
A new play by Renana Gal ’12, based on her own experience as a 19-year-old conscientious objector in Israel. Maya must convince a military court of her reasons for not supporting Israel’s security war and the military occupation of the Palestine territories. Produced by the Free Play Theatre Cooperative and featuring Noam Shuster ’11, Melissa Howard ’12, Dotan Horowitz ’12, Aidan Horowitz ’12, Emily Rubin-Falcone ’13 and Anthony Rios ’11. Ages 16 and older.
Boris’ Kitchen: Cooking Up Trouble
8 p.m.,
Carl J. Shapiro Theater
Saturday, April 30
Musical innovation is all around.
BEAMS Electronic Music Marathon
Noon-midnight,
Slosberg Music Center
Twelve hours of innovative and experimental new electronic music by an international roster of musicians and composers. Performers include , including Mari Kimura, Michael Lowenstern, Shanna Gutierrez, Krista Reisner, Geoffrey Burleson, The Phoenix Ensemble, Phillip Staudlin, Talea Ensemble and Joshua Gordon (Lydian String Quartet).
Works by: Luigi Nono, Mario Davidovsky, Steve Reich, Jonathan Harvey, Tristan Murail, Philippe Manoury, Kaija Saariaho, Michele Van der Aa, Joshua Fineberg, Eric Chasalow, Hans Tutschku, Thomas Kessler, James Dashow, Jacob Ter Veldhuis, John Mallia, Butch Rovan, Dennis Miller and others.
For a complete schedule, visit the marathon website. Curated by Eric Chasalow and produced in conjunction with the Boston Cyberarts Festival. Funded through the generosity of the Brandeis Arts Council, the Poses Fund, the Theodore and Jane Norman Fund, and the Center for German and European Studies at Brandeis University, with additional support from Parsons Audio and the Computer Music Studio at Boston University.
Jamfest Cancelled
2-5 p.m.,
Great Lawn
Bring your guitar, ukulele, drums or voice and jam out. Sponsored by the Brandeis Justice League.
Period. The End?
6 p.m.,
Spingold Theater Center, Merrick Theater
Do you enjoy talking about sex? Advertising? Want to learn more about how advertising for pharmaceuticals shapes the decisions we make?
Lexi Kriss '11 has transformed her senior HSSP research on the effects of pharmaceutical direct-to-consumer advertising into sexy monologues! Featuring Abigail Clarke '12 , Rachel Copel '11, Kate Davis '14, Maya Grant '13, Kerry Herman '11, Abi, Katznelson '11, Linda Li '13, Natasha Quidwai '14, Janel Rabbani '11, Julie Stein '11 and Marisa Turesky '13. Sound design: Kiril Lozinskiy '11; lighting/ tech: Nati Peleg '13.
For more information, email akriss@brandeis.edu. Also performed on Friday at 6 p.m.
Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead
By Bert V. Royal
Brandeis Theater Company
8 p.m.,
Spingold Theater Center
(preshow dance party, 7:15 p.m.)
An irreverent, affectionate satire of teen angst and anomie. America’s most-beloved comic strip kids are now in high school. CB’s dog is dead, his best friend Van is a quasi-intellectual pothead, and his once-sunny sister is a brooding Goth outsider. Augh! Not so good grief all around. Featuring Stephen Badras ’13, Jordan Brown ’12, Nicole Carlson ’14, Meg Evans ’12, Dan Katz ’12, Rebecca Miller ’13, Robert St. Laurence ’11, and Leila Stricker ’13. Directed by Summer L. Williams. Adult themes and language abound.
Join the preshow dance party at 7:15 p.m.!
Tickets are $18-20. Contact Brandeis Tickets at 781-736-3400 or order online. Also Thursday and Friday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.
Boris’ Kitchen: Cooking Up Trouble
8 p.m.,
Carl J. Shapiro Theater
What’s cooking? Brandeis’s irreverent sketch-comedy troupe will have your belly aching with laughter from its biting parodies of campus life, pop culture, and the news. Tickets: $3/$5, available at the door. (Also on Friday at 8 p.m.)
In the Name Of
8 p.m.,
Mandel Center for Humanities, room G10
A new play by Renana Gal ’12, based on her own experience as a 19-year-old conscientious objector in Israel.
Maya must convince a military court of her reasons for not supporting Israel’s security war and the military occupation of the Palestine territories.
Produced by the Free Play Theatre Cooperative and featuring Noam Shuster ’11, Melissa Howard ’12, Dotan Horowitz ’12, Aidan Horowitz ’12, Emily Rubin-Falcone ’13 and Anthony Rios ’11. Ages 16 and older.
False Advertising
10 p.m.,
Chums
The student comedy group False Advertising performs long-form and musical improv in the Chums coffeehouse. For more information, check out the group's Facebook page or email ajsalinger@gmail.com.
Sunday, May 1 — Family and Community Day
Events run continuously from 1 to 5 p.m. at the Rose Art Museum, Shapiro Campus Center, Bernstein-Marcus Plaza and the Great Lawn. All events are free and open to the public. No tickets are necessary except for "Dog Sees God."
In celebration of Leonard Bernstein’s lifelong commitment to engaging young people in the arts, Brandeis sponsors an afternoon of free performances, family and children’s events, and art exhibitions and demonstrations. Family events are designated by *
Schedule by Venue
Shapiro Campus Center Theater
Through their colorful songs and stories, the Guy Mendilow Band transports listeners on a global adventure. The quintet’s playful blend of rhythm and harmony flavored with virtuosic musicianship is nothing short of spellbinding.
Meet fascinating instruments like the munnharpa (jaw harp) and Peruvian cajon (box drum).
“The glory of what Mendilow does is finding a common ground among different cultures.” – Jewish Advocate.
Every song tells a story in the second annual Folk Stage, featuring some of New England’s best singer/songwriters. Produced by Chaya Bender ’11 and Ariana Hajmiragha ’12 with the a cappella group Too Cheap for Instruments and hosted by Geoff Bartley.
Jolly Beggars
2:30-2:45 p.m.
Listen to reels, jigs, pennywhistles and spoons.
Hear the best of Celtic traditional music from a band with a following all over New England.
Danielle Miraglia
2:50-3:15 p.m.
Danielle Miraglia has a raw, powerful, bluesy voice, a sharp wit and an eclectic array of subjects from deeply personal to socially relevant.
"It won't be long before the rest of the country takes notice." — Performing Songwriter
Ryan Fitzsimmons
3:20-3:40 p.m.
“Part storyteller, part poet, part melodicist, Fitzsimmons’ best tunes recall the work of folk icons like John Gorka and Suzanne Vega.” –Providence Phoenix
Bender Unplugged
3:45-4:10 p.m.
Bender, from Atlantic City, generates heat from their deep respect for the heartfelt folk-rock of the 1960s and 70s, along with a jazz and classical foundation.
Jim’s Big Ego
4:15-5:00 p.m.
Folky political consciousness with catchy hip-hop beats and a pop-inflected sense of humor.
Jim's Big Ego compares itself to such major players as the Great Wall of China, The Grand Canyon, Antarctica, and other things you can see from space.
Rose Art Museum
Brandeis Dance Collective
1-1:20 p.m.
Audaciously original modern dance by alumni, faculty, and students from across the country. Susan Dibble, director; Katharine Braun-Levine ’04 and Susanna Katsman ’98, managing directors.
Undergraduate Composers Concert
1:30-1:50 p.m.
World premieres of new compositions by Bradley Kuhn-McKearin '12 and Jared Field '11.
Words and Music by Keith Munslow*
2-2:20 p.m.
Young and old alike will find delight at with Keith Munslow’s unique mix of funny and original songs and stories, tongue-twisting poems and oddball characters. Visit Keith at Kids' Place Live on Sirius Radio!
Me(ee)ting on the Dance Floor
2:30-2:50 p.m.
Celeste Radosovich MA '11 employs salsa dancing to explore the tension encountered by salsa musicians between their own dynamic identity and the identity projected onto them by others.
Outside the Rose Art Museum
Len Cabral *
3:30-3:50 p.m.
An exuberant spinner of African, Cape Verdean and Caribbean folktales, Len Cabral performs around the world and has been honored with the National Storytelling Network 2001 Circle of Excellence Oracle Award.
Playback Theater
4-4:50 p.m.
Audience members offer stories from their lives and experience them enacted on the spot by Brandeis actors Paul Vancea '14, Jermaine Hamilton '13, Will Chalmus '07, Sheila Donio, Eileen Kell and Amanda Brown '08.
Outside the Rose
Bronze Pour
3-3:20 p.m.
Metals artist Jon Koppel '95 demonstrates the dramatic 5,000-year-old process of casting molten bronze.
Great Lawn and Bernstein-Marcus Plaza
VoiceMale
1-1:20 p.m.
Catch them fresh from their 2011 national tour! VoiceMale’s passionate, intricate a cappella arrangements have won them honors from WERS All A Cappella Live and the Contemporary A Cappella Society, among others.
"Adam Levine ’11, Chase Hiller ’12, Jason Sugarman ’13, Ben Udo ’14, Dan Schreiber ’14, Schuyler Brass ’14, Eli Siegel ’14.
Brandeis Swingers
1:30-1:50 p.m.
Jump, jive and hop-we dare you to sit still. Sarah Goliger '12 and Maayan Bar-Yam '12, choreographers.
What Cheer? Brigade
2-2:45 p.m.
The outrageous 19-piece brass band encircles the Brandeis campus with musical mayhem and an explosion of good cheer influenced by Bollywood, the Balkans, New Orleans, Samba and hip-hop.
Roving performance begins on the Great Lawn.
Dreams
3-3:20 p.m.
The Brandeis Juggling Club reimagines the four elements – earth, air, fire, and water. Michelle Faits ’10, Simona Dalin ’11, Noah Fields ’12, Phil Lessans ’11, Lee Marmor ’10, Rachel Weiss ’10. Bernstein-Marcus Plaza.
Brandeis Belly Dance Ensemble
3-3:20 p.m.
Traditional Egyptian and Turkish belly dancing. Shapiro Campus Center.
Hoop Workshop
3:30-4 p.m.
A hula hoop workshop for all ages, led by the Boston Hoop Troop. Learn some fancy new tricks or just get into the groove. Hoops provided.
Top Score
3:30-3:50 p.m.
This film and stage-loving student-run wind ensemble performs music by Michael Jackson, the Beatles, and a medley from the musical "Wicked." Featuring Ben Hornstein ’11, Jessie Field ’13, Daniel Noar ’13, Rachel Goldenberg ’13, Jessica Hutcheson ’11 and Rebecca Sanders ’13. Great Lawn.
Boston Hoop Troop
4-4:30 p.m.
The Boston Hoop Troop puts on a high-stepping, mesmerizing show that includes each of them spinning two – no, three! – hoops at once.
These ladies give creative “flow” a whole new meaning. Bernstein-Marcus Plaza.
Rhythms of the Middle East
4:30-4:50
Shapiro Campus Center Atrium
B’Yachad performs traditional and modern choreography to Israeli songs. Featuring Micky Waks ’13, Jennie Berger ’12, Camille Dolfen ’12, Leslie Golden ’13, Missy Mandell ’13 and Randi Zegman ’12.
Other Campus Locations
Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead
By Bert V. Royal
Brandeis Theater Company
2 p.m.,
Spingold Theater Center
An irreverent, affectionate satire of teen angst and anomie. America’s most-beloved comic strip kids are now in high school. CB’s dog is dead, his best friend Van is a quasi-intellectual pothead, and his once-sunny sister is a brooding Goth outsider. Augh! Not so good grief all around. Featuring Stephen Badras ’13, Jordan Brown ’12, Nicole Carlson ‘14, Meg Evans ’12, Dan Katz ’12, Rebecca Miller ’13, Robert St. Laurence ’11, and Leila Stricker ’13.
Directed by Summer L. Williams. Adult themes and language abound.
Tickets are $18-20. Contact Brandeis Tickets at 781-736-3400 or order online. Also Thursday and Friday at 8 p.m. and Saturday at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Festival Finale: Lydian String Quartet
8 p.m.,
Slosberg Music Center
The Lydian String Quartet, in residence at Brandeis, has inspired worldwide critical acclaim and a devoted New England audience.
In this special Festival of the Arts concert, they perform Haydn's Quartet in E flat major, Op. 33, No. 2; Mohammad Fairouz's Lamentation and Satire; Vincent Persichetti's Piano Quintet (with Geoffrey Burleson, piano).
Daniel Stepner, violin; Judith Eissenberg, violin; Mary Ruth Ray, viola; Joshua Gordon, cell0.
Screening: Sweet Escape
8 p.m.,
Mandel Center for Humanities, G3 auditorium
A modern fairytale, told in 10 film genres, about a girl’s escape from her evil mother. (20 min.)
Written and directed by Max Price ’11. Hanna Wellish ’12, director of photography; Celia Cataldo ’13, production assistant.
Featuring Zoey Hart ’13, Levi Rion MFA '11, and Robin Rapoport. Ages 16 and older.
In the Name Of
8 p.m.,
Mandel Center for Humanities, Room G10
A new play by Renana Gal ’12, based on her own experience as a 19-year-old conscientious objector in Israel.
Maya must convince a military court of her reasons for not supporting Israel’s security war and the military occupation of the Palestine territories.
Produced by the Free Play Theatre Cooperative and featuring Noam Shuster ’11, Melissa Howard ’12, Dotan Horowitz ’12, Aidan Horowitz ’12, Emily Rubin-Falcone ’13 and Anthony Rios ’11. Ages 16 and older.