Over the weekend, while many Lincoln citizens were bundled up in their coats and blankets, a good chunk of students from Nebraska Wesleyan University were out and about creating masterpieces around the campus. "I wanted to play in the snow to relive my childhood days," said sophomore Erin Paloucek.
The word flintlock, as defined by Merriam Webster Dictionary, means "a lock for a gun or pistol having a flint in the hammer for striking a spark to ignite the charge." At Nebraska Wesleyan, the Flintlock can also be defined as a collection of student writing and art published annually.
On Jan. 2 the Nebraska Wesleyan University Choir members were counting their winter break as finished and ready to get back to work. Immediately after the holidays, the choir returned to campus in order to rehearse and reunite for their annual winter tour, a tour that included performances in Nevada, Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, and of course Nebraska.
Spring Awakening, an eight time Tony award winning musical will be opening at Nebraska Wesleyan's own McDonald Theatre on February 9th. Set in 19th century Germany, this folk-infused rock musical follows its teenage characters as they discover the many natures of sexuality.
Alison Evert, a student at Nebraska Wesleyan, has been studying photography at the university for the last three years. Alison sat down with me to discuss the art of photography, influences, and her aspirations. Andrew Samson: What kind of photography do you most enjoy in terms of subject matter? Alison Evert: I don't know if it's a question of which one I enjoy most.
On the evening of Tuesday November 15, the talents of NWU students echoed through the café in the student center. Open mic night was put on by the Wesleyan Entertainment board where they offered refreshments and gift cards in exchange for students displaying their talents.
An incredible and outstanding event occurred on November 7th. The Nebraska Wesleyan University Choir members were selected to perform the highly challenging music of Mozart's Requiem Mass in D Minor with the Munich Symphony Orchestra. Senior and junior members of the choir began preparation for the performance and held Saturday afternoon rehearsals in order to be at their finest level of musicianship for the performance.
The Flintlock, the English Department's literary journal, is now accepting submissions for its yearly publication that will go to presses in the spring. The deadline for submissions for the winter term is December 9 and the spring deadline, which is the final deadline, is February 17.
On November 14 and 15, the Opera Workshop class showcased the work their accomplishments this semester with a performance entitled "Wild About Mozart" in O'Donnell Auditorium. Students in the class studied and performed several scenes from various operas written by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
During World War II, a young playwright named Arthur Miller was inspired by the story of a young woman who reported her father for fraud against the U.S. Military. Miller named the subsequent play All My Sons, which is centered on Joe Keller (played at NWU by Kirk Koczanowski), a father who knowingly sells defected, cracked cylinder heads for P-40 airplanes.
On Nov. 6th, at 3 p.m., the Nebraska Wesleyan University Women's Choir, Men's Glee Club and Touch of Class Jazz Choir gave their first concert of the year in O'Donnell Auditorium. The Women's Choir is an all-female ensemble directed by Dr. Janene Sheldon, while the Men's Glee Club, an all-male ensemble, is directed by Mr.
Tragedy has struck NWU's campus. Blood has been spilled due to a horrifying combination of betrayal and lust. A man who was once considered a hero became entangled in a relationship that went sour. His actions and the actions of his wife brought about a path of destruction that left nobody untouched, leaving several dead.
On Sunday, October 30th the Nebraska Wesleyan Music Department welcomed, as part of the Bravo Bösendorfer Piano Concert Series, pianist Ned Kirk. What is a Bösendorfer, you may be asking? The Bösendorfer is a very special type of piano, it has ninety-seven keys as opposed to the standard piano with eighty-eight keys, and it is 9 feet 6 inches, the only one of this size in the entire state of Nebraska.
Yes, we have this piano right here at Wesleyan. Each piece of the Bösendorfer was entirely hand made in Vienna, Austria; it is 85% spruce wood, which is known for the excellent sound resonating capabilities. This makes the piano sound more like a violin than an actual piano.
The Bösendorfer sound is usually described as dark or rich sound compared to other pianos. This characteristic tonal quality in part derives from the inclusion of nine additional bass notes below bottom A. Moreover, the bass notes of the Bösendorfer, including the extra bass keys, are very powerful, adding volume in demanding musical literature.
The terminology and explanation behind the instrument can be confusing, but if one thing about this concert was for certain, it was the high-skilled level of playing Ned Kirk performed. By far the most impressive piece, which utilized the extra lower notes to their fullest capabilities, was the "Winnsboro Cotton Mill Blues," by Frederic Rzewski. The use of the lower notes creates the sound of a cotton mill roaring to life in the Deep South and adds a deep and dark sense of depression and longing to its sound as a song. As a pianist, Ned Kirk has a long list of high admirable country tours throughout the world, big names and several large music festivals on his resume. Wesleyan, through the Bravo Bösendorfer Piano Concert Series, was honored to host such a fine musician to demonstrate the bass power of the Bösendorfer and its extra boom.
The NWU Theatre Department is performing the show Enron from Oct. 20-30. The show is about the "collapse" of the company in the 1990's and the trials that occurred in the mid-2000's. The play provides the story of the company, without the complexities of financial mumbo-jumbo, which may confuse most audience members who are not business or pre-law students.
On November 14 and 15 at 7:30 p.m, students of Nebraska Wesleyan University will be performing a series of scenes that will feature some of Mozart's greatest operatic work in O'Donnell Auditorium. The theme for this year's opera scenes production is "Wild About Mozart," featuring other musical numbers by Giuseppi Verdi, Kurt Weill, and Carlisle Floyd.
Richie Lawson is a 19-year-old first year with a love of country music. In his time away from Nebraska Wesleyan, Richie, a vocal performance major, travels around the country as a touring country musician. Andrew Samson: What type of music do you play? Richie Lawson: I play country professionally, but I love all types of music and I perform in all different kinds of projects in all different types of genres.
As an insider's secret, I will disclose that Danae is known to get her groove on… in the bay window of her suite room. Incase you happen to take a stroll past White hall, you may want to take a look up to third floor; room number will remain anonymous for privacy purposes.
On Wednesday, October 5th, Nebraska Wesleyan welcomed three East Asian writers as part of the Visiting Writers Series. These writers shared excerpts of their work with students and selected faculty before participating in a question and answer session.
Fall is in the air. The leaves are turning colors, there's a cool breeze and fall break is fast approaching. With October well underway and Halloween looming ever closer, there are a myriad of outdoor activities that will keep you entertained all month long.
With a bag of popcorn in hand and a blanket in tow, Kim Goosen settled down to watch the movie in Taylor Commons. On Wednesday night, October 5, WEB sponsored their second Screen on the Green movie. Kim appreciated the event, as it provided a much-needed study break.
In the hallways of Old Main, you may see Dr. Scott Stanfield walking to class or in his office, which is covered with books. If you see Dr. Stanfield outside of Old Main, you may have the chance to catch him playing at a venue in Lincoln or sometimes practicing on Nebraska Wesleyan's campus with fellow faculty members.
While driving through Lincoln on a late night munchies run a group of us stumbled onto Red Mango. Red Mango specializes in frozen yogurt and toppings. There is only one in Lincoln, NE on 210 North 14th Street, open Monday through Sunday. Red Mango serves an all-natural nonfat frozen yogurt, an excellent chose for anyone to choose.
Lion King 3D Wins at Box Office
Can you feel the love tonight? Many did so when The Lion King reappeared in theaters on Friday, September 16th. While showing for two weeks, Disney hoped to recreate the magic that once was almost two decades ago. The story is still the same, little Simba running away after his father's death, only to return years later and reclaim the kingdom.
For the last twenty-some years, Butch Walker has consistently put out records demonstrating that he is a force to be reckoned with in the musical world. Armed with witty lyrics and fantastic instrumentation, Walker gives us "The Spade," released on August 30th.
This year for homecoming the theatre production South Pacific was supposed to be on the main stage for all the students, families, and alumni to enjoy, but as ever, problems came up. South Pacific was not available and to replace it, the theatre department chose Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
The cold weather is approaching as we noticed a couple of weeks ago. The wintery weather limits the activities we can do outside, but that is not always the case. On campus and in Lincoln there are plenty of activities to do when the cold weather strikes.
Gamma Rays, directed by Derek Jeck, had four performances this past weekend at Nebraska Wesleyan University. The play written by Paul Zindel in 1964, centers on the inner lives of a very dysfunctional family: a single mother, Beatrice, her two daughters, Ruth and Tillie, as well as the old lady they are care taking, Nanny.
As soon as finals were finished and everyone was packing up their dorm rooms, only a select few were left behind, the Nebraska Wesleyan University choir members. The choir spent nearly two weeks traveling to Tartu and Tallinn, Estonia and then continued on to Sweden.
Many theatre majors here put their heart and soul into their work everyday. They barely sleep, stay up later than most, aren't frequently seen at campus activities and work really hard with little "me" time. James Hesse, a junior theatre major, is a much busier student than many other students here at NWU.
Dan Hays comes to Nebraska Wesleyan with enthusiasm and a packed resume as a new member of the Theatre Faculty. Having known and worked with Jack Parkhurst for the last thirty years, Hays feels that NWU is " the right time and the right place" for him now.
To open the 2011-2012 theatre season, Nebraska Wesleyan chose a high energy; toe-tapping musical delight, 42nd Street. The curtain opens to the hot jazz, provided by the pit of musical instrumentalist, and stops only so the audience can see the cast's lower body as they pound out this completely synchronized tap number to wow the audience into submission for the show.
This year at Nebraska Wesleyan University the Music Department welcomed new faculty member, John Spilker. Spilker comes to Nebraska Wesleyan from Brigham Young where, in his undergraduate studies, a class in music appreciation and art history got him into music.
Throughout Tim Kasher's career, the lead singer of Cursive has been fairly consistent with the music that he puts out. From Happy Hollow to Mama, I'm Swollen, there are always subtle surprises, but it seems that Kasher has found a winning equation for his music and stuck with it.
This past week, the Theatre Department was busy giving performance of "Charlotte's Web" to multiple visiting schools. The story is close to many of our hearts and has been quite a challenge for the Theatre Department and the costumers in charge of bringing E.
10. Three-ring binders. Invented in 1886 by Friedrich Soennecken, this contraption has kept desks and papers better organized for decades. The hole punch was also invented that year. 9. Gingerbread houses. This edible structure was first introduced in the famous Grimm's tale Hänsel and Gretel.
It seems the Nebraska Wesleyan University theatre department is well known in the U.S. At NWU, one can get B.F.A. in acting, theatre design and technology, directing, musical theatre and theatre studies as well as a B.A. in theatre arts and theatre arts education.
This article is part of the Reveille's April Fool's edition. It is just another one of those hot summer days here on the Plains, with a staggering 98 Fahrenheit and that humidity that is well-known to the flat plains, and sweating and dying from the heat of your full-arm length and floor-length dress.
This article is part of the Reveille's April Fool's edition. Everyone probably remembers the amazing Tat Ratte, from last year's Extreme Rat Challenge. Students were amazed by his auto tune rapping. As to be expected, producers far and wide soon found out about this talented rat through YouTube videos.
This article is part of the Reveille's April Fool's edition. Will Shades of Blue soon be seeing shades of green? Wesleyan's Barbershop Quartet, Shades of Blue, was extremely busy over spring break recording their first CD with Saddle Creek Records. After the immense success and rapid speed of word between Lincoln and Omaha about the talent contained within this quartet, Saddle Creek Records contacted Shades of Blue, and the ensemble spent four days of their spring break laying tracks.
From the beginning, it's difficult to determine exactly what "Exit Through the Gift Shop" is about. And this is a confusion likely to transcend throughout the film and quite possibly after the final credits have rolled. At its surface, "Exit" seems to be a documentary about the life of street artists and their art.
Nebraska Wesleyan University closed another production this week after its two-week run. This one, "Listen to Me," stands out among the many shows performed by the NWU Theatre. The play was written by Gertrude Stein, and thus part of the Celebrating Women's Writing Series.
Let's face facts, at this point, Radiohead is musically-infallible. Unless the legendary British alternative/electro rock troupe decides to venture into unpromising genre territories, such as ragtime-hip/hop or protopunk-bluegrass-polka, they can do no wrong.
"I'm excited to be at the premier college in the city named after the Great Emancipator and when I called him the Great Emancipator, most of the programming board didn't know who I was talking about," T.J. Miller joked before taking the stage in O'Donnell Auditorium at Nebraska Wesleyan on March 4.
On March 7 Wesleyan and the Shades of Blue Barbershop Quartet will be joining forces with Doane College's barbershop group in hosting a barbershop festival in O'Donnell Auditorium and the First Methodist Church. After the immense success of the Shades of Blue singing valentines in association with the Lincoln Continentals, also a barbershop group here in Lincoln, the music department has decided to host this event in which high school barbershop quartets and ensembles will arrive for a day of sharing barbershop music that each ensemble will have received in advance.
So there's this band that you may not have heard of, but is definitely worth checking out. Their name is "Alli and I." I first heard of them from a good friend of mine and found out that I had actually worked with Andrew Stanley, the lead singer and guitarist, at one of my previous jobs.
Last week, senior theatre art major Ashlyn Eggebrecht got the chance to direct a piece written by her grandfather for her Directing III course. Eggrebrecht's gives her grandfather credit for planting in her a love of theatre. "The Princess in the Clouds" was Eggebrecht's second directing experience, and she is seen regularly on the stages of Wesleyan.
In response to a lack of listenable album releases the past couple of weeks (Sorry – I would sooner climb Mount Everest on a tapir than give Patrick Stump or Lenny Kravitz the time of day.), this music review installment will focus exclusively on two albums that fall into the most consistently captivating music genre: jazz.
This weekend and next, the Nebraska Wesleyan Theatre opens "Listen to Me," an avant-garde piece by Gertrude Stein. The show features a non-linear plot about Sweet William (played by James Hesse, sophomore) and his Lillian (Natalie Micale, first year).
Dr. Sara Dietzman has been organizing the film festivals since they started five years ago. Dr. Dietzman said, "This year's movies had an unintentional war theme amongst most of the movies." Students who went to a few of the films agreed. The only movie that seemed to have nothing to do with war was "Los abrazos rotos.
For a film whose plot revolves around a married couple trying to cope with their lives after their four-year-old boy was struck and killed by a car, "Rabbit Hole" is surprisingly bright and upbeat. This is largely due to the fact that the events in the film take place eight months after the child's death; thus, the audience is spared the raw, emotional heartbreak that would accompany such a tragedy.
The Stephen Sondheim musical "Company" is set to open tonight, Thursday, Feb. 24 in the Enid Miller Theatre. "Company" is a concept musical that hit Broadway in 1970. The story focuses in on Bobby, a bachelor in New York City, who is celebrating his 35 birthday with his friends: five married couples and three ex-girlfriends.
Billions of children have grown up hearing fantastical stories about romance, knights, evil witches, and good winning over evil. Well, friends, we have been deceived! You may be surprised or saddened to learn some of your most beloved bedtime stories did not end as happily as you might think.
New band alert! Their name is "Alliance of the Overseas." I first learned of them from Sarah Perez, the group's lead singer and bassist. After talking for a while, she agreed that the band would love to be interviewed. We were unable to meet in person, but I didn't let that stop us.
Whether your team was in the game or not, whether it was Fergie's voice or the microphone at halftime, whether Christina Aguilera... well enough said, we can all agree that every year the commercials are a major factor in whether or not we have fun watching the Super Bowl.
For a film over tens years in the making, "Blue Valentine" is remarkably simple in form. Despite its complete lack of digitally-created universes or the CGI characters one might expect from such a lengthy movie-making process, director and co-writer Derek Cianfrance's "Valentine" packs a heavy punch wrought with despair and raw emotion that emanates from the standout duo of Michelle Williams and Ryan Gosling.
NWU theatre students and faculty are hard at work again this time on the play "Dead Man's Cell Phone," a 2008 comedy written by Sarah Ruhl and directed by Wesleyan's Joan Korte. The play centers around an abandoned ringing cell phone in a cafe. The plot begins when the main character Jean, played by Jenna Mark, answers the phone only to find out that it belongs to a dead man, played by Steve Labedz.
"Never Let Me Go," a film adapted from a book by Kazuo Ishiguro with the same title, plies at the heart. It searches the darker caverns of humanity, confronting audiences with ethical questions we struggle to answer. The muted existence that director Mark Romanek creates cements the tragic story of three young friends destined to meet an unhappy end.
Critics and audiences have lauded "The Fighter," David O. Russell's biopic about boxer "Irish" Mickey Ward, since its release in December. It deserves every bit of praise that it has been getting. With fantastic performances from everyone in the cast and wonderfully realistic shots of Lowell, Mass.
"Winter's Bone," currently a nominee for Best Picture at the upcoming Academy Awards, is really too narrow in it's focus and too reserved in its execution to stand much of a chance at taking home the biggest award of the night. However, these are not weaknesses of the film; "Winter's Bone" tells a small story of poverty-stricken, rural America in an appropriately understated way.
On Feb. 10, Wesleyan will be welcoming several students to its campus for the annual Wesleyan Honors Festival. Wesleyan welcomes students for its Honors Choir, Orchestra and Jazz ensembles as part of the concert series. Many of the high school students will be housed by hometown friends who (upon graduation) came here for school.
In "Black Swan," Darren Aronofsky combines stalker-like camera work, chilling digital effects and an all-too believable Natalie Portman in the lead role of ballerina Nina Sayers to create two full hours of ceaseless horror and eroticism that, in its essence, reveals the devastating effects of inner duality.
The quality of music produced by the Nebraska Wesleyan University Choir may often be the subject of focus, but for others another dimension is prized. Sophomore Kurt Beckman describes what it may be, "I felt that the sense of the 'choir family' was much stronger this year which made it easier to get along and have more fun.
Students in the Rogers Fine Arts Building have recently been bombarded by a group of four men singing at random. What could be the cause of this madness? The answer is simple. Wesleyan's first premier barbershop quartet is in full swing for the season of love, also known as Valentine's Day.
A Movie of "True Grit" and Talent All-Around What do you get when you take two iconic directors and add a star-studded cast consisting of Matt Damon, Josh Brolin, and Jeff Bridges and sprinkle in a very talented 14-year-old named Hailee Steinfeld? Hopefully, it will be a couple of fist-fulls of Academy Awards.
Leaving home, moving or having people moving far from you can put a ton of strain on any relationship. Perhaps you started college and left behind your best friend. Maybe you try to keep in touch with family that lives in Vermont. Maybe that totally awesome significant other of yours joined the Navy and was stationed off on the coast somewhere.
Claire Meyer had me from the moment she advertised, "In case you missed my Summer of '02 come see me suffer from morbidly psychotic episodes of schizophrenia in a swimsuit tonight at Psycho Beach Party!" I promptly accepted the Facebook event invitation and awaited what I suspected would be a light conclusion to the first week of classes.
Following up 2009's sensational rock-opera, The Hazards of Love, the Decemberists pack a countrified punch into their sixth musical effort; TKID is a rock-solid, audio-jubilee as charming as it is completely unexpected. Despite a recent history of banging-out venerably orchestrated psychedelic folk-rock concept albums (The Crane Wife, Hazards), the Decemberists adopt a new approach, trading in the lyrically-implicit story progressions and extensive exercises in musical proficiency for bucolic serenity (The album in its entirety was recorded in a barn.
On Jan. 5, all the members of the Nebraska Wesleyan Choir set out on their winter migration to warmer climates. At least that was the case this year, when Dr. William Wyman (director of the choir) scheduled the tour to mainline in Texas. The choir tour included stops in Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri and Texas, but concluded back at the choir's home, our very own O'Donnell Auditorium.
Pete Lee's charismatic personality is what distinguishes his stand-up act from other comedians. His performance this past Friday, Jan. 21 proved that he was not only funny, but he could be charming in front of a live audience. His use of sarcasm and wit kept audience members laughing from the beginning until the end of the show.
"The Social Network" is getting all kinds of hype from the Golden Globes and lots of Oscar expectations. But I'd like to point you in the direction of a smaller but equally formidable film "The King's Speech." A treat for history buffs, communication majors and film nerds alike, the movie is based on actual historical events during World War II.
2011 would have been the 8th year Nebraska Wesleyan held its annual step show. This traditional event is sponsored by MOSAIC and the Multicultural Office and usually takes place sometime in November. This year, however, due to a lack of participation from nearby high schools and colleges, the step show will not be held.
Plunderphonics is a beautiful, relatively new music art form. The term derives from the 1980's, in the advent of technology allowing for the digital sampling of alreadyexisting audio recordings; the hipster translation: mash-up. Mash-up can be catastrophically dangerous in the wrong hands – it can be excessively glitchy, hopelessly ostentatious, and obnoxiously plagiaristic.
In 1993, Brandon Teena was raped and murdered in Falls City, Nebraska. Six years later, his tragic story was turned into a movie, "Boys Don't Cry." On Nov. 18, Plains Pride shared the movie with students on campus as part of the national Transgender Day of Awareness.
The Nebraska Wesleyan University theatre department completed their run of Paula Vogel's play "How I Learned to Drive" in NWU's Miller Theater stunning audiences with controversial subject matter. Student actors tackled the concepts of incest, pedophilia and sexual abuse in the hour and 40 minute production.
These days, hip-hop can seldom be described as "refreshing" or "original" since most mainstream hip-hop proves to be nothing more than an uninspired marketed opportunity; New Orleanian rapper Curren$y, however is a novel exception, dishing out polished beats and intoxicatingly clever rhymes on Pilot Talk, the rapper's third album.
English Professor Uses “Reefer Madness” to Teach Classes
The first theatre production of the year, "Reefer Madness," was a jump start on this season of shows. This tongue-in-cheek knockoff of the 1936 movie, "Tell Your Children," was not only filled with hilarity and great songs but also took the audience along for a downward spiraling ride involving drugs, sex and violence.
Proud Professor Chosen to Sing National Anthem for Cubs
Balancing music, work, family and home life is a breeze for Dawn Pawlewski Krogh, music instructor at Nebraska Wesleyan University. She explains in her undergraduate years at Simpson College, she did not get the proper amount of sleep, "about three hours a night," she states.
Indie duo straight outta the Sunshine State has serious plans. Earlier this month, Nebraska Wesleyan University kicked off the new semester with Fall Fest – festivities that included a delicious picnic, the great outdoors and the lovely traditional foam dance.
“Iphigenia” next play to be put on by Wesleyan Theater Department
The play "Iphigenia, is a tale of promise and sacrifice. Written by Edna O'Brien it is based on ancient Greek mythology and begins with the titular character's father, Agamemnon, on his way to battle in Troy. Artemis calms the winds to slow his ship, and he appeases her with the promise of sacrificing his daughter.
Worst Fast Food Meals
Ah, college – the world of late nights, coffee binges, study parties, and fast food. Many students worldwide would probably be twigs if it weren't for the "invention" of fast food. The convenience cannot be beaten, but there sure are a lot of healthier alternatives to the fattening greasy goodness that is a quarter-pounder with cheese or curly fries.
is a member of the 
