Saint Mary’s students to stage ‘A Chorus Line’ March 27-30

The Department of Theatre and Dance, under the direction of Judy Myers, will stage the Pulitzer Prize-winning musical “A Chorus Line” March 27-30.

The show is set in an empty theatre, on a bare stage, during casting for a new Broadway musical. For 17 dancers, this audition is the chance of a lifetime. It’s what they’ve worked for every day of their lives. It’s the one opportunity to do what they’ve always dreamed — to have the chance to dance. The storyline delves into the personalities of the performers as they describe events that have shaped their lives and their decisions to become dancers.

The timeless classic about passion, despair and joy is the longest-running musical in Broadway history. Audiences will find themselves singing along to familiar favorites by Marvin Hamlisch and Edward Kleban like “One (Singular Sensation),” “What I Did for Love,” and “I Hope I Get It.”

“A Chorus Line,” is the musical for everyone who’s ever had a dream and put it all on the line — a powerful metaphor for all human aspiration.

Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. Fri., March 27; Saturday, March 28; and Monday, March 30; with a 3 p.m. showing on Sunday, March 29 — all at Page Theatre, in the Performance Center.

Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for students and seniors and are available at the Box Office, Ext. from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays or online at www.pagetheatre.org. Because of adult content, this play is suitable for mature audiences only.

Concert Band to feature diverse marches March 22

The Saint Mary’s Concert Band will present “The March Tradition” during its Sunday, March 22, performance, scheduled for 3 p.m. in Saint Cecilia Theatre, located at Cotter High School.
The concert — in celebration of national Music in Our Schools Month — will feature a number of diverse marches, under the direction of Dr. Janet Heukeshoven.

The program will include “March & Procession of Bacchus” by Delibes; Gustav Holst’s “Suite #2 in F Major”; Percy Grainger’s “Children’s March”; “American’s We” by Fillmore; Dvorak’s “Slavonic Dance”; “Poem” by Boerma; and a circus march by Brian Beck called “Technicolor Pachyderms.” Student soloist Jeremy Johnston, a senior percussion performance major, will present the “Creston Concertino for Marimba and Band.”

Tickets are $10, $5 for students and seniors and are available at the Box Office, Ext. 1715 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday or online at www.pagetheatre.org.

Cardinal athletes plan fundraiser for Guinn family

The Cardinal Athletic Council is inviting area youth in grades one through four to come and play their favorite sports with Cardinal athletes to raise money for Shaymus Guinn, age 8, who is battling bone cancer. Shaymus is the son of Tony Guinn, the former Cardinals women’s soccer coach and one of the founders of the Cardinal Athletic Council.

Shaymus is fighting Ewing’s disease, which is a cancer that can start in the bones or tissue. Shaymus and his family are at the University of Iowa cancer center where he is enduring chemo, platelet and blood transfusions, as well as countless other medical treatments. Throughout all of this Shaymus and his family continue to have hope.

The event will be held at Gostomski Fieldhouse from 1:30 to 4 p.m. Sunday, March 22; registration begins at 1 p.m. The cost of the event is $10 per person, and each child will receive a free T-shirt and goody bag. Proceeds from the event will go directly to the Guinn family to help pay for Shaymus’ fight against cancer.

Stations for baseball, softball, track & field, hockey, basketball, volleyball, tennis, and soccer will be set up, and Cardinal athletes from each of those sports will be in attendance. To register for the event, e-mail your child’s name and grade to Toni Winter at twinter@smumn.edu or Ext. 1579. There will be a waiver form at the registration table on the day of the event that must be filled out by a legal guardian in order for the child to participate. Cash or checks made out to Saint Mary’s University are accepted. If you have any other questions or are unable to attend the event but would like to make a donation, please contact Nicholle Hanson at nahans05@smumn.edu.

Annual benefit dance to help Geheren family

Saint Mary’s will present the ninth annual Taylor Richmond Benefit Dance from 8:30 p.m. to midnight on Saturday, March 28.

The beneficiaries of this year’s formal dance — open to the public — are 1990 SMU alumni Bill and Mia Geheren of Huntley, Ill., and their four children. Their three adopted children were born addicted to cocaine; one child is addicted to heroin and meth as well. Money from the benefit dance and silent auction will help the family purchase a handicapped accessible van.

This benefit dance has become an annual tradition since it was started by students in 2001 in honor of Taylor Richmond, son of Saint Mary’s Campus Ministry and Student Activities staff member Nikki Richmond. Taylor has a genetic terminal illness called Ataxia Telangiectasia (A-T) and the money from his benefit was used to fulfill Taylor's dream of going to Disneyworld. Each year this event benefits someone in the SMU community in need.

The dance, featuring music by the Johnny Holm Band, will be held in the Toner Student Center dining room. Ticket prices are $15 per person or $25 per couple.

To purchase tickets or receive more information, contact Jason Richter at Ext. 1648 or Katie LaPlant at Ext. 6936. Dance tickets will also be available at the door.

To make a donation, send checks — payable to the Taylor Richmond Benefit Dance — to Katie LaPlant, Box 1471.

In combination with the dance, a silent auction will be held on campus from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. March 26-27. A variety of homemade goods, gift baskets and specialty items will be on display in the game room.

‘Famous Dave’s’ founder to speak at SMU April 27

The Kabara Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies is hosting David W. Anderson, founder of the Famous Dave’s BBQ franchise, on Monday, April 27, in Page Theatre. Anderson will speak on “Me, Inc. — The Spirit of Entrepreneurship.” The event is free and open to the public. Mark the date on your calendars and watch for more information.

Relay For Life is March 20

The second annual SMU Relay for Life is Friday, March 20. Register at www.relayforlife.org/smu. Thanks for all you do to help fight back against cancer! SMU has a goal of 20 teams and 200 participants.

For more information, contact Marissa (mjkadl06@smumn.edu) or Alison (amhill07@smumn.edu).

SMU, WSU choirs to present ‘The Spirit of Venice’ March 21

The choirs of Saint Mary’s and Winona State will present an evening of Renaissance and early Baroque music in “The Spirit of Venice” on Saturday, March 21.

The choirs, under the direction of Dr. Patrick O’Shea and Dr. Harry Mechell, will perform, beginning at 7:30 p.m. at Chapel of Saint Mary of the Angels, located at the Saint Teresa campus.
The concert will feature the works of G. Gabrieli, Schuetz, Monteverdi, Hassler, Charpentier, Vivaldi and Pergolesi — composers who have all lived or studied in Venice.

Tickets are $10, $5 for students and seniors and are available at the SMU Box Office, Ext. 1715, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday or online at www.pagetheatre.org. Free student rush tickets are available 20 minutes before the performance with either a Saint Mary’s or WSU student ID.

Alumni and friends arts event scheduled for March 28

The SMU Department of Theatre and Dance, the Friends of the School of the Arts, and the the Alumni Association will host an alumni and friends event on Saturday, March 28, featuring a performance of “A Chorus Line.” Faculty and staff are invited and welcome to attend this gathering.

From 2 to 3:30 p.m., a panel of theater majors will meet with current theatre students in the President’s Room, Toner Student Center.

At 5 p.m. a social hour and dinner will be offered in the Toner Student Center lounge, and “A Chorus Line” begins at 7:30 p.m. in Page Theatre. At 9:30 p.m., a dessert reception — with cash bar — will be held in the Presidents Room.

The cost is $35 for the dinner, performance and reception or $15 for the performance and reception.

To register for this event, contact the alumni office at Ext. 1499 or register online at www.smumn.edu/sitepages/pid819.php.

SGPP hosting next ‘Let’s Do Lunch’ on March 20

The last ‘Let’s Do Lunch’ fundraiser of the school year is scheduled for Friday, March 20, in the Common Room. Hosting this event, “Tantalizing Treats with No Meat,” is the Schools of Graduate and Professional Programs. The Volunteer Committee will provide deserts and water. New this time: in our continuing effort to go green, everyone is invited to bring their own cup for water. Proceeds from this event will be given to our Nairobi campus.

SMU spellers earn fourth consecutive title

The Saint Mary’s team of Paul Nienaber, Physics, and Chris Stromberg and Paul Weiner, Mathematics and Sciences, competed in the Winona ORC Corporate Spelling Bee. SMU emerged victorious in a field of nine teams. Words spelled correctly by the team included septendecimal, literati, plumbeous, and pugilist. Words that others stumbled on included quorum, cinephile, vanadium, mistigris, and ecclesiastical. This marks the fourth year in a row that SMU has captured the spelling title.

SMU exhibit features digital photography, paintings

“Old Media, New Ways and New Media, Old Ways” — featuring the work of two Chinese-American artists — will be on display through March 20 at the Lillian Davis Hogan Galleries.

Jing Zhou, Monmouth University in West Long Branch, N.J., is displaying digital photography and Ming Zhou, University of Missouri, Columbia, is displaying paintings.

The Lillian Davis Hogan Galleries are free and open to the public and are open daily between 9 a.m. and 8 p.m. For more information, call Ext. 1652.

Common Threads Clothing Drive is March 20-22

On March 20-22 the Peace and Justice Club will be having a clothing drive/sale for the SMU community and the Winona community.

Flanagans and Friends to perform on St. Patrick’s Day

“Flanagans and Friends” will perform at Jefferson’s from 6 to 9 p.m. on St. Patrick’s Day Tuesday, March 17. Several members of the Flanagan Irish Dancers will be on hand to display a variety of step and figure dances and to encourage people to participate in several ceili dances.

Tim Flanagan, Pat Costello and Kate Flanagan will play and sing many of the well-known standards, as well as other less familiar Irish tunes. Other community members will also be on hand to share their musical talents. Come join the “hooley” — it will be a great way to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day.

March is Campus Energy Challenge Month

During the month of March, the Saint Mary’s community is invited to examine its energy consumption and work together to reduce the amount of energy. In the coming weeks, look for more information via e-mail and all over campus about ways you can reduce energy and some activities promoting energy-saving .

Gaslight on stage this weekend

Gaslight music show performances will be this Friday and Saturday, March 13-14. For more information, contact Kaitlin Depuydt, kadepu05@smumn.edu.

SMU in the news

Here are recent mentions of SMU “making the news” — in the Winona area and beyond.

• An article titled, “It’s all relative” appeared in the March 8 edition of the Winona Daily News and detailed the Page Series’ “Einstein Alive!” performance.

• The Daily News ran an article titled, “Students to rally against state grant cuts” on March 5.

Heukeshoven interview airs in Rochester Sunday

The popular cable series “Festival of Music” moves to a new venue and form when Swing Inc. entertains the patrons at the Canadian Honker with many jazz standards. A. Eric Heukeshoven, Music Department, answers questions from series founder/producer Jerry Barnhart. The show airs at 8 p.m. Sunday (March 15) on Rochester Charter Cable channel 10.

Jazz notes

Dr. John Paulson (Music Department) and Miles Johnston Quartet will perform 8 p.m. Saturday, March 14, at the Oak Center General Store in Oak Center, Minn., just outside of Lake City. The John Paulson Trio performs 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Friday, March 20, at Michael’s Restaurant in Rochester.

A. Eric Heukeshoven, Music Department, will be featured on piano with Minnesota Music Hall of Fame member Les Fields from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. today, March 13, at Michaels Restaurant in Rochester. Fields, who is best known for leading the Turkey River All-Stars for more than 40 years, was inducted in the Hall of Fame in 2005.

May is next Knowledge Acknowledged speaker

Monta May, Communication and Marketing, will share her passion for creating art that is bound up in the mystery of antiquity — the ancient artifacts, techniques, motifs, and imagery that allow us brief glimpses into the lives of our common ancestral pasts — on March 24 at the library. Her artwork reflects a fascination with things from the past.

Employee changes

Leaving:

• Jerrie Seibert, March 31, director of Campus Safety

May to display mosaic at Winona Arts Center

Monta May, Communication and Marketing, will display a glass tile mosaic titled “Flock” at the Winona Arts Center Members Exhibition March 6 through April 29. A reception will be held 5:30 to 7 p.m. today, March 13. Gallery hours are Wednesdays from 4 to 7 p.m. and Fridays from 3 to 6 p.m. For more information about May’s work, go to www.854w5th.com.

Nationally recognized poster comes from new program

Beth Seebach (Psychology) and Cherie Smischney (2008 alumna) will be presenting a poster on “Body Image” at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association in Toronto. This is research from the Body Image Collaborative Research lab. The Collaborative Research labs were started in Fall of 2007 in the Psychology Department to allow students to gain research skills by working collaboratively with faculty members and other students in designing and conducting research. Current labs are exploring Body Image and Exercise; Alcohol Use in College Students; Parenting Style and Alcohol Use; and Aggression.

Hendrickson Institute hosts John Howard April 21

The Hendrickson Institute for Ethical Leadership will host the 2009 Forum on Leadership on Tuesday, April 21. John Howard, former Prime Minister of Australia, will speak about “Leadership in a Global Economy,” and the Hendrickson Institute Medal for Ethical Leadership will be awarded to Charles M. Denny.

As the Prime Minister of Australia from March 1996 until December 2007, the Honorable John Winston Howard served a distinctively Western role in the Asian-Pacific Rim. Mr. Howard approached his responsibilities from a global viewpoint, providing economic vision and security strategies that raised Australia's profile and impact around the world as well as improving economic stability at home.

During Howard’s tenure:
• Ten of the 12 annual budgets produced by the Howard government were in surplus and $96 billion of federal government debt was repaid.
• Economic growth averaged 3.6 percent per annum and the unemployment rate sank to a 33-year low of 4.3 percent.
• Extensive trade expansion with the nations of Asia created new markets, particularly the development of the relationship with China, which is now Australia’s largest export market.

Howard will discuss the role of world leaders in a new century, addressing the growing concerns of globalization and global economics, the environment, and threats to international security. He will explain in what ways, and to what degrees, China, India and the Pacific Rim may participate. Finally, he will respond to questions submitted by Forum participants.

Denny will be honored for his years of ethical leadership as chairman and CEO of ADC Telecommunications Inc; his commitment to equity and justice. (For example, by providing jobs through Project for Pride in Living Industries); and his decades of volunteer work in the nonprofit sector. He is also recognized for his legacy of written ethical guidelines for corporations, from the Minnesota Principles to his research and writing as a recipient of the Louis W. Hill Jr. Fellowship.

Registration begins at 3 p.m., the forum runs from 3:30 to 5 p.m., and a reception will follow at the Nicollet Island Pavilion, 40 Power St., in Minneapolis.

Tickets are $50 for the public, with a special student rate of $10, and a faculty and alumni rate of $40. For more information, contact Barb Hall at bhall@smumn.edu or (612) 238-4517. More details can be found online at hendricksonforum.smumn.edu.