The community is invited to explore the arts and how they relate to changes in society with a number of events offered by the Lacroute Arts Series at Linfield College.
The 2012-14 Series: The Arts and Social Change kicked off the fall season with a performance of B’aktun ’13 by Portland’s Miracle Theatre in September and will continue this year with a number of artistic events. Upcoming events include:
Artist in Residence: Rob Urbinati
• Oct. 22-25, February/March: New York playwright Rob Urbinati will be in residence Oct. 22-25, 2012, and for a week each in February and March. Through public lectures and class visits, he will continue to share insights with students, faculty, and community members about the process of guiding a play from idea to page to stage. Additional discussions and the play will explore the theatre’s contributions to social change.
• Wednesday, Oct. 24, 4 p.m., Ford Hall lobby: Urbinati will present an in-process reading of UMW, a world premiere theatrical production commissioned by the Linfield Lacroute Arts Series and the Linfield Theatre Program. This reading will assist the playwright as he completes his work. The audience and readers will have an opportunity to provide feedback for this developmental phase of the playwriting process.
• March 19-22, 7:30 p.m., Marshall Theatre: World premiere of UMW. A racist video posted by a student at a small, mostly white university brings hidden bigotry to the surface in the world premiere of this sharp, up-to-the- minute satire about stereotyping.
Artist in Residence: Crow’s Shadow Institute of the Arts
• April 2013: In 1992, James Lavadour and friends founded Crow’s Shadow Institute of the Arts on the Umatilla Indian Reservation. It is a nonprofit organization aimed at providing opportunities for Native Americans through artistic development. Just as art had changed and given new meaning to his own life, Lavadour wanted to create a place that would help others of American Indian heritage similarly realize the potential of art.
Artists in Residence: Teatro Milagro
• April 4-6, 2013: A residency will focus on diversity workshops that promote positive social change.
• April 5, 7:30 p.m., Marshall Theatre: “Frida, un Retablo,” an original play by Dañel Malán. These events are co-sponsored by Willakenzie Vineyards, the McMinnville Unitarian Church, and the Linfield Department of Theatre and Communication Arts.
Artists in Residence: Jazz Piano Trio
• Spring 2013: This residency will feature performances and a public discussion of the impact of jazz on social change.
Artist in Residence: Suzanne Opton
• Oct. 2013: Featuring an exhibit of photographs by Suzanne Opton, class visits and lectures. Opton, whose work lives on the edge between documentary and conceptual, is a self-taught photographer who studied philosophy. She often asks a simple performance from her subjects as a means of illustrating their circumstances. Opton’s photographs are included in the permanent collections of the Brooklyn Museum, Cleveland Museum, Fotomuseum Winterthur, Library of Congress, Musee de l’Eysee, Lausanne, Museum of Fine Arts Houston and Portland Art Museum.
Artist in Residence: Composer
• Spring 2014: Featuring open rehearsals and performance of an original work commissioned for the Linfield College Concert Choir.
The Lacroute Arts Series at Linfield College is made possible by the generosity of Ronni Lacroute, Linfield College trustee and arts benefactor. The series, sponsored by the Lacroute Arts Fund at Linfield College, is dedicated to helping the college present art events and activities for the campus and community. It provides programs featuring artists in the areas of music, art and visual culture, and theatre and communication arts.
The events are free and open to the public. For more information, call 503-883-2802 or go to www.linfield.edu/arts.
