Page 23 - The Noise August 2017

ARTSBRIEFS: AUGUST2017
HENRY THE FIFTH AS A WOMAN
Northern Arizona University Department of Theatre is changing things up this summer: William Shakespeare’s Henry V will be per- formed with a woman king and the produc- tion will be set at a Sedona hotel.
NAU’s new summer production company, Crooked Figure Theatre, thought it was about time Shakespeare’s Henry V sported a female lead. “For one of the first times in the play’s production history, Henry is a powerful woman,” says Director Christina Dennehy. “Shakespeare’s plays are notoriously male dominated, and nowhere is that truer than in his medieval history plays. We’re about to change all of that.”
The play tells the story of King Henry V of Eng- land, focusing on events during the Hundred Years’ War. The young Henry has matured and embarks on a successful conquest of France.
Crooked Figure’s production features noted Flagstaff actor and NAU student Grace Novak as the female Henry. “Novak’s Henry is a pow- erful woman looking to justify to herself, to her soldiers, and to the world that she is a leader who will risk everything to claim what she knows to be hers,” says Ms. Dennehy, who is writing a book on Shakespeare and will research his work in London this summer at various
libraries and at The National Archives.
Kathleen McGeever, chair for NAU Department of Theatre, says students are getting
the chance to experience working in a semi-professional production and are putting their learned skills to the test in an “intense fashion.”
“With the re-gendering of the play, we are also providing students the opportunity to play roles they wouldn’t have the opportunity to play in a traditional production,” Ms. Mc- Geever says. “The research involved in the work is another opportunity for the students to participate in an academic, yet performance-oriented experience.”
NAU is bringing the Henry V production to the NAU Flagstaff campus on August 27. “Our challenge is to find a place outside a theatre for the production. Stay tuned,” Ms. McGeever says. Henry V will performed at 6PM on August 11, 12, 18 and 19, at El Portal Hotel, located at 95 Portal Lane in Sedona, with its magnificent courtyard and architecture as a backdrop to the timeless classic. As the story unfolds, the audience will move throughout the hotel. The production is free and open to the public. No reservations are needed; seating is first-come,
fessionals, and other experts about the impacts of uranium mining.
From 1944 to 1986, nearly 30 million tons of uranium ore were extracted from Navajo
lands. At the time, Navajo miners and residents were not informed of the health impacts of working in the mines, or of the impact on their lands. Many Navajo people have died of kidney failure and cancer from conditions linked to uranium contamination. Research from the CDC shows uranium in babies born now.
More than one thousand abandoned uranium mines are located on the Navajo reserva- tion in Northeastern Arizona, Utah and New Mexico. Hundreds are located within fifty miles of Flagstaff near and in Cameron, Arizona. The federal government recently agreed to com- mit over $1 billion to clean up 94 abandoned mines on the Navajo Nation. The estimated cost to clean up all abandoned mines is likely too large to calculate.
“Hope and Trauma in a Poisoned Land” is a partnership between the Cameron Chapter House of the Navajo Nation, the Flagstaff Arts Council, University of New Mexico Com- munity Environmental Health Program, and Northern Arizona University. This blockbust- er exhibition is funded in part through a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Project partners followed the established model for art exhibitions that began with “Fires of Change.” That exhibition also featured a week-long training for participating artists that covered forest and fire ecology, giving artists insight into the increase in size and frequency of wildfires in the American Southwest, with a focus on Northern Arizona. This process en- sures that participating artists are educated and informed about the complex issue of ura- nium mining before they created artwork for the exhibition.
“Hope and Trauma” will feature several educational events to be scheduled during the run of the exhibition. See the full schedule at FlagstaffArtsCouncil.org — Louis Friedrich
TALES OF JEROME
New paintings by local Cottonwood artist Jason S. Voss, runs July through September at Cartwheels Gallery, 909 North Main Street in old town Cottonwood.
Mr. Voss’ unique work is inspired by his knowledge of Jerome, where he has worked as a tour guide for two years. His paintings depict the mining town’s history, such as the burning of the famous Montana Hotel on Febru- ary 28th, 1915, under mysterious circumstances. And ‘the cribs’ neighborhood off Main Street, the infamous red light district, torched when the town wanted to clean up its rowdy reputation in 1913 after Arizona became a state.
Jerome’s fortune and high stakes gambling is explored through his depictions of mysterious women envisioning “Lady Fate.” The woman in red who wanders the hallways of the old Connor Hotel and Spirit Room, Tarot cards, the
Stars and Zodiac signs — all tied into Jerome’s copper mining history. Mr. Voss is also once
first-served. Parking is available at El Portal and in nearby lots.
— Diane Rechel
again illustrating the annual Jerome Ghost Walk art poster for October.
WEST OF THE RAVENS
“Our raven show is usually a very strong show,” says Carolyn Young, ma- tron of West of the Moon Gallery in Flag- staff. “It features many of Flagstaff and the surrounding region’s best artists. It’s nice because the artist can focus on one piece and not feel the pressure of prepar- ing an entire show.”
Pieces from Connie Townsend, Erica Fareio, Natalie Reed-Goehl, Sharon McGinnis and Victoria Altepeter, are among those featured at the new show. An Opening Reception is held during First Friday ArtWalk August 4th from 6-9PM at 14 North San Francisco Street in downtown Flagstaff. — H. McIrl
TIS’ FOR AUGUST
— S. O’Hara
HOPE + TRAUMA IN A POISONED LAND
Coconino Center for the Arts’ newest exhibition will explore the impact of uranium mining on Navajo lands and people, featuring work by more than two dozen artists, includ- ing Navajo and Native artists. The show opens with a Reception for Arts Council Members on Saturday, August 12, 6-8PM. It will be open to the public August 15 – October 28, 2017.
Through the participating artists, ”Hope + Trauma” will share stories and perspectives from Navajo people of their experiences due to radiation-related impacts to their bodies, their land, their water, their animals, and the natural materials and objects they use in their everyday lives. Artwork is based on a series of interactions, shared stories, and educational programs that took place in Cameron, Arizona, and in Flagstaff, in October 2016. Artists attended a four-day intensive education program which immersed them in the landscape where uranium mining and contamination has occurred on the Navajo Nation. They learned from Navajo community members, scientists, health care professionals, mental health pro-
In the Mezzanine Gallery: ”Clay + Wax
= Fresh New Art” by Mary Lou Wills and Patty Heibel runs through August 14. Then, on August 15, it opens to “Sparks and Splashes,” steel works by Joseph Rech and paintings by Elizabeth Bartlee through September 14.
In the Main Gallery, “Black and White with a Splash of Color 2017,” with works by Prescott area artists, runs through August 22. Then, Eclectic Works by Prescott area artists opens Au- gust 24 through September 19. Prescott’s 4th Friday Art Walk at ‘Tis: “It’s the night to come mingle with ‘Sparks and Splashes,” and the artists from the eclectic works exhibit.” Music, ap- petizers and libations will commence Friday, August 25 from 5-8PM. — O. Pippermint
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