Author: Liam Otten

Since the late 1980s, Los Angeles-based painter Thaddeus Strode has created wild, vibrantly colored mash-ups in which California surf and skateboard culture collide with Zen philosophy, rock music, literature, film, comic books and other popular motifs, all mixing freely with the artist’s own inventions. Beginning Feb. 8, the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum will present […]

Jane Maienschein, Ph.D., the Regents’ Professor and Chair of the Program for Science and Society at Arizona State University, will speak on “From Transplantation to Translation: Why History Matters in Stem Cell Research” at 4 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 5, in Rebstock Hall, Room 322. Maienschein is the first of six speakers appearing this spring as […]

Chris HartmanMasks are a key part of *commedia dell’arte* costumes. Commedia dell’arte was among the most popular entertainments of 16th and 17th-century Italy and France, yet its slapstick humor, quirky costumes and use of improvisation have continued to influence performers from Vaudeville and Cirque du Soleil to television’s “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” This month, the Kingsbury Ensemble and Project Improv * St. Louis will join forces to present a new translation of The Old Man’s Folly, a classic commedia dell’arte work, in Washington University’s Umrath Hall.

Erin BelieuAcclaimed poet Erin Belieu will read from her work at 8 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 24, for the Writing Program in Arts & Sciences. Belieu is the author of three collectionss: Infanta (1995), One Above & One Below (2000) and, most recently, Black Box (2006).

Courtesy photoJanet KauffmanAuthor, environmentalist and multimedia artist Janet Kauffman will read from her work at 8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 7, for the Writing Program in Arts & Sciences. Kauffman, who lives on a farm in Hudson, MI, is the author of the forthcoming book Trespassing: Dirt Stories & Field Notes, which combines stories and nonfiction pieces to illustrate the impact of modern factory farms—confined animal feeding operations, or CAFOs — on her rural community.

Joseph Roach, former chair of Washington University’s Performing Arts Department (PAD) in Arts & Sciences, will present the 2008 Helen Clanton Morrin Lecture at 4 p.m. Monday, Jan. 28. Roach, now the Charles C. and Dorathea S. Dilley Professor of Theater and English at Yale University, studies the history and theory of theater and dramatic literature and has been a major force in developing the field of performance studies.

Jane Hammond, detail from *Fallen,* 2004-ongoing.War and disaster have profoundly shaped the opening years of the 21st century. In the United States and abroad, acts of violence and terrorism have resulted in large-scale destruction and displacement affecting the lives of millions. This spring, the Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum at Washington University in St. Louis will present On the Margins, an exhibition exploring the impact of war and disaster through the work of a diverse range of contemporary artists.

David Kilper/WUSTL Photo Services*The Trestle at Pope Lick Creek*The 7:10 train rattles through a small rural town battered by the Great Depression. Two teenagers play a dangerous game of “chicken,” racing the 153-ton engine across a narrow railroad bridge. Welcome to The Trestle at Pope Lick Creek, a poignant and erotically charged coming-of-age tale by playwright Naomi Wallace, winner of a 1999 MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, or “genius grant.” In January the Performing Arts Department in Arts & Sciences will present The Trestle at Pope Lick Creek in the A.E. Hotchner Studio Theatre.

Courtesy photoJohn HeardPoliticians versus journalists, the public’s right to know versus the government’s desire for secrecy. Just in time for election season, L.A. Theatre Works — the nation’s foremost radio theater company — will present a rare live performance of Top Secret: The Battle for the Pentagon Papers as part of the Edison Theatre OVATIONS! Series at Washington University. The all-star cast is led by award-winning actor John Heard as Washington Post editor Ben Bradlee.

Photo by Oscar BalducciPablo ZieglerThe marriage between jazz and tango was virtually unheard of 30 years ago — until pianist Pablo Ziegler burst onto the music scene, seamlessly combining the sultry tango rhythms with the energetic spontaneity of jazz. This month the Pablo Ziegler Quintet for New Tango — joined by special guest Claudia Acuña — will present a special one-night-only concert as part of the Edison Theatre OVATIONS! Series at Washington University.