Fringe Festival celebrates seasoned, emerging local artists in Rochester area

Rochester’s East End was bustling more than usual as the fourth annual Fringe Festival attracted thousands of eager attendees. The Fringe—one of Rochester’s newest art festivals—focuses on bringing the spotlight to over 500 multi-disciplinary performances over the span of 10 days. From one-man plays to an all-female Celtic band to traditional visual arts displays, the Fringe is a delightful mix of visual and interactive art. It seemed as though all of Rochester’s finest professional and amateur artists had come out to show off their talent.

Outside of the Eastman Theater, artists live-painted while listening to music. These artists also talked with interested passersby. Meanwhile, University of Rochester art students decked out the inside of a Rochester Transportation Systems bus, turning it into an interactive gallery.

Events happened all day—from 9:30-12 a.m.—and at the center of it all is the Gibbs Street Main Stage. This stage is conveniently located in front of Java’s Café, where a rotating cast of performances were showcased throughout the day.

Snowbelt Morris—a group of traditional English dancers—performed near The Little Theater, another Fringe Festival hot spot. Accompanied by an old-school flute, these dancers wore leg-bells and waved handkerchiefs while dancing together in a square.

Down at The Little Theater—a five-minute walk from the Main Stage—was the Rochester Institute of Technology Photo House with a slew of short theatre productions and more musical performances. The Photo House exhibit featured photographs from various RIT students and gave its viewers complementary copies of RIT’s literary journal Signature.

Inside the Little Café, attendees sat at tables to eat and drink while singer-songwriter-keyboardist Joan Burch performed her original “Weird Songs.” Burch’s whimsical tunes attracted a large audience, filling every table in the café.

Back at the Main Stage, the crowd had grown significantly. The outside tables at Java’s were filled—as were the small tables and benches set up in front of the stage—and people had even brought their own folding chairs. I sat on the curb to watch Grey Light, an indie soft rock band.

It began to rain halfway through Grey Light’s set, but that didn’t bother festivalgoers. They simply pulled out their umbrellas and continued to nod their heads along to the music. The crowd even stayed for the next act, which was a women’s Celtic band called Triskele.

A far cry from Grey Light’s piano, drums and electric guitar combination, Triskele sang both traditional and contemporary Celtic music, performing in both English and Gaelic. I listened and watched from the comfort of Java’s front window as Triskele got adults and children alike dancing to their upbeat tunes.

Don’t worry if you fear you lost your chance to immerse yourself in Rochester’s art scene—the Fringe Festival continues until Saturday Sept. 26. You might even get a chance to see some of your classmates and friends from Geneseo performing for live audiences on Sept. 26.

Geneseo performances will include “Stories a La Mode” by Geneseo Creative Writing students, Geneseo String Band, Geneseo’s All A Cappella Hour, No Laugh Track Required, Geneseo Honors Recital, “Party Worth Crashing” and a musical written and directed by Geneseo students.

Don’t worry about emptying your wallet either—most of these performances are free or cost between $10–15. Fringe is a festival that’s not to be missed, especially by avid art and music fans.

War-centric staged reading explores Chilean Revolution

The Robert Sinclair Theater was the venue for Ariel Dorfman’s “Death and the Maiden” on Thursday Sept. 17. This was Geneseo’s first student-directed reading of the semester—directed by senior Isabella Dixon. Audience members got a poignant look on what effects the Chilean Revolution had on the citizens of Chile. Dorfman was born in Argentina in 1942, but moved to Chile with his wife in 1954. The play takes place in the time after the Chilean Revolution, which was instigated by Chief of the Chilean Army and General Augusto Pinochet. Before this was an unstoppable torrent of violence that allowed Pinochet to imprison, torture, rape and murder anyone that the army wanted to while the rest of the world turned a blind eye.

Junior Emily Bantelman acted as the narrator to help tell the story of Paulina Salas—played by senior Lea Pandoliano. Salas is a woman living in the aftermath of a military dictatorship in her country alongside her husband Gerardo Escobar, played by junior Brodie McPherson.

The play begins with Roberto Miranda—played by senior Dennis Caughlin—accompanying Salas’ husband home after helping him with a flat tire. He later returns and eventually spends the night at the married couples’ home, which causes Paulina’s internal conflicts to be brought to the surface. The rest of the performance followed Salas trying to resolve her own inner torment, a result of the torture she endured for 15 years while in captivity due to the dictatorship.

This play depicts how Chile was rebuilt back into a democracy, but how most problems have yet to be resolved. This theme is especially prevalent for people like Salas, who remain scarred by the torture she endured for over a decade.

For the cast—as well as the audience—the most difficult part of this play seemed to be the sensitive and traumatic subjects that were brought to light. A question and answer portion after the show allowed the audience to get some feedback from the actors, particularly as to how they were able to portray such complex subjects.

Pandoliano admitted that Salas was the toughest character for her to play, considering the unbelievably traumatic experience that she had been through. Caughlin—who played the Salas’ suspected abuser—explained how difficult it was to play the different layers of the character who was never formally declared Salas’ tormentor.

After the reading, an audience member asked how rehearsals went, considering the difficulty of the content and rerunning it over and over again. Dixon stated, “[It was hard] getting everyone to wrap their heads around what happened to [Salas] and thousands of others in this play and in the Chilean Revolution.”

This question provoked the follow-up question of why Dixon chose this sensitive play to direct for the fall semester. While reading “Death and the Maiden,” she said that she cried during the entire play because it had moved her so much, which influenced her to use it as a staged reading.

It was no surprise that the performance received a roaring applause both after the performance and after the talkback portion. All of the actors gave moving performances, portraying raw emotion and the multi-dimensionality of their characters. Bantelman flawlessly narrated the specified stage directions as chosen by Dixon.

“Death and the Maiden” was a fantastic and passionate performance and production throughout, evoking deep emotions for all.

Artist utilizes spray paint for charity

The MacVittie College Union’s Kinetic Gallery is currently hosting “Spray Matters” by Joe Kubek. In its slogan, the exhibition promises “an eclectic collection of spray paint art”—and it does not disappoint. The gallery is lined with Kubek’s pieces, all simply framed in black. The pictures range in a myriad of different vibrant colors and subjects. Most predominantly, his pieces seem to depict different themes of nature juxtaposed with cityscapes.

Interestingly enough, almost every one of Kubek’s pieces seem to contain a sun or moon in the background—both acting as perfectly circular shapes that stand out amongst the various layers of commotion he paints. The circles appear to be created by a sort of stencil—a common technique used by spray paint artists.

Another reoccurring symbol is roosters, as there are two rooster paintings in the collection. One that caught my attention was an eerie green rooster painted with what looks like finger strokes for the feathers. The other rooster was gentler-looking, painted in an iridescent blue.

Kubek’s success of combining textures on the canvas is clear throughout his artwork. In one painting, he is able to combine the flat strokes of a finger in smudged paint alongside the harsh lines of direct untouched spray.

Another one of his works that caught my eye was his outer space piece. Kubek beautifully placed the celestial bodies of various planets against a deep black background with subtle sparkles. His distinct technique was applying a glossy sheen to each of his pieces, which gave each of his works a lustrous finish.

Kubek’s nature landscape pictures were particularly intriguing to me. The colors in the natural imagery jumped off of the walls. There seemed to be much more personality woven into them. It’s hard to believe that Kubek does not have professional artistic training.

What made Kubek stand out even more was his background. Before he began spray painting, Kubek worked as a stand-up comedian. In addition, he owned a whitewater rafting business and dabbled in advertising. Shortly after picking up the can, however, Kubek realized that spray painting was not only something that brought him pleasure, but also it was great for fundraising.

Kubek doesn’t just make art for fun—he has a cause. In the summer of 2009, his wife Lisa was diagnosed with a rare neurological disease that took away her ability away to talk, walk and use her hands. Portions of his art’s proceeds are donated to the Spastic Paraplegia Foundation to help those fighting the deleterious disease.

If you want to check out Kubek’s fascinating artwork and support his cause, the Kinetic Gallery is open Monday-Thursday until Oct. 16.

Karnath: Upcoming Nickelodeon channel to feature cherished 90s classics

Before Netflix, Hulu and other streaming websites became popular, most of us 90s kids were entertained by classic Nickelodeon  shows. The network announced that a new channel, The Splat, will exclusively feature beloved 90s programs beginning this October. They have not specified which shows will actually air, however, keeping some hoping and guessing which of their favorites will make a comeback.

Like many others, I grew up watching Nickelodeon shows. I stayed glued to Ashley’s freak-outs on the “Ask Ashley” segment of “All That,” karma always catching up to Angelica on “Rugrats” and a family’s action-packed adventures on “The Wild Thornberrys.”

Today, Nickelodeon shows seem a lot different than what we used to watch. When I sit with a younger cousin to watch television, I can’t tolerate more than a couple minutes of programming. In my opinion, the quality has plummeted with overuse of tacky sound effects and overdramatic child actors.

Perhaps my critical view is because I’m looking at these shows through the lens of a college student instead of a little kid free of any pressing obligations. On the other hand, Nickelodeon seems to portray a more diverse—although limited in every aspect—cast of characters than in the 90s.

As a communication major, I constantly learn how the media have a profound influence on how people learn social behavior starting from a young age. Overall, ‘90s shows portrayed comical situations with quirky characters and never stepped outside the box of social norms. Yes, there were characters from different religious and ethnic backgrounds, but these were rarely the central points of any show.

“Rugrats” comes to mind with episodes centered on Jewish traditions, but the show has been criticized for stereotyping. Some may argue that TV in itself is a mindless and passive activity. So, why does the content really matter? Since most kids learn through what they observe, it seems necessary to present people from different backgrounds while instilling tolerance for all people.

Despite the lack of progressiveness, the older shows were entertaining and led many of us to reminisce about episodes and characters from our childhoods. It’s difficult to completely criticize the content of these shows because they were an integral part of my growing up. I can’t deny that I will probably procrastinate by turning on Nickelodeon to watch some of my favorites and laugh just as hard as I did when I was little.

Nickelodeon’s decision to make this new channel comes at a time when the Internet is rapidly replacing television. It almost seems like a desperate move to increase viewership when people gravitate toward online streaming. I wonder if the network has had trouble making shows that produce the same level of viewership as shows in the 90s. Bringing back these shows might be a way to combat this.

Young kids today probably won’t appreciate these old shows as much as we did, but it will be an opportunity for us to travel back in time when responsibilities were minimal and original shows were plentiful.

Ringwald delivers lively jazz covers in Wadsworth

The Geneseo community flocked to Wadsworth Auditorium on Saturday Sept. 19 to attend “An Evening with Molly Ringwald.” Hosted by Limelight and Accents, Ringwald was accompanied by her band: drummer Clayton Cameron, bassist Trevor Ware and pianist Peter Smith. Ringwald is acclaimed for her leading roles in 1980s cult films Sixteen Candles and The Breakfast Club—both directed by John Hughes—and Pretty in Pink, which was written by Hughes. Nevertheless, Ringwald wasn’t there to speak on behalf of her acting career—she was there to sing.

She did not let the crowd forget her intentions for touring, as she is currently promoting her debut jazz album Except Sometimes. Except Sometimes is a cover album with most of the songs taken from the “Great American Songbook”—a canon of 20th century popular songs from the 1920s to the 1960s.

Ringwald took the stage in a shimmery gold dress and slick black heels, enchanting the crowd by beginning the night with the song “My Man.”

Though it was clear that Ringwald was stiff in the beginning, she found her groove and loosened up as the show progressed. During her performance of Johnny Mercer’s “I Thought About You,” she did a dashing side swoosh. She cited a personal connection to the song as a tribute to her children.

Her vocal performance was adequate. One of the highlights of the night, however, was the Great Depression-era classic “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?” in which she showcased her strong belts and vibrato.

Ringwald requested the lights to be dimmed as she sat down to sing Billie Holiday’s “Don’t Explain,” a dark song about betrayal. Ringwald noted that even though Holiday didn’t write many songs, the few that she did write were powerful and still very relevant today.

Picking up the pace after the somber “Don’t Explain,” Ringwald took her heels off to perform Fats Waller’s “Mean to Me.” She then went right into a short performance of “J’Attendrai”—a 1930s French song whose title translates to “I Will Wait.”

Toward the end of the show, Ringwald deviated from jazz and sang contemporary songs that aren’t found in the “Great American Songbook.” She entertained the crowd with her performance of Rufus Wainwright’s “Vibrate,” with the lyrics, “I try to dance Britney Spears/My phone’s on vibrate for you/God knows what all these new drugs do.”

While Ringwald was the beacon of the show, her band shined through as well; each member had a solo in the show. There was an impressive bass solo in “I’ll Take Romance,” a booming drum solo in “On The Street Where You Live” and various piano solos throughout the night.

The final song of the show was one of the most anticipated. Reverting back to The Breakfast Club days, Ringwald performed the Simple Minds classic “Don’t You (Forget About Me).”

It was an enjoyable sight to see the show incorporate musical diversity, unexpectedly veering to genres other than jazz. While the demographic of the audience was predominantly middle-aged and elderly, there were various teenagers and young adults present.

Ringwald and her band stimulated the crowd, drawing whistles, cheers and even a standing ovation at the conclusion of the show. Ringwald blew a goodbye kiss to the crowd and thanked the audience for attending. Ringwald even joked that she didn’t expect anyone to come, but that was certainly not the case given her stature as an actress—and now a musician.

Breakfast Club spurs high school nostalgia

College students look back on high school with a plethora of emotions. Whether high school was a period to be reminisced with fondness or resentment, there is some solace in the fact that it is—and most definitely can stay—in the past. But for Geneseo students, these adolescent memories were revived on Friday Sept. 18 during Kino’s showing of The Breakfast Club. Kino provides popular movie showings for free to Geneseo students and The Breakfast Club did not disappoint. This cult classic—directed by John Hughes—has been met throughout the years with great acclaim. Entertainment Weekly ranked The Breakfast Club first on its list of “The 50 Best High School Movies” in 2006—despite the fact that the movie premiered in 1985. This is only one of many accolades for the film. The Breakfast Club was a colossal success for Hughes; the movie was and still is enjoyable today because it’s relatable to students everywhere—even 30 years after its release.

Kino specifically showed The Breakfast Club on Friday Sept. 18 as a nod to Molly Ringwald, who played ‘princess’ Claire Standish in the film. Ringwald was in Geneseo to perform cover songs from her debut jazz album Except Sometimes on Saturday Sept. 19—but the day before, it was her acting that students came together to appreciate.

Claire was one of five main characters stuck in a library for Saturday detention, each character representing their own respective high school stereotypes. In addition to Claire, Geneseo students can relate to basket case Allison Reynolds, nerd Brian Johnson, jock Andrew ‘Andy’ Clarke and criminal John Bender.

“The one I could relate to the most is some sort of combination of Andy and Brian,” Kino coordinator sophomore Francesco Bruno said.

Junior Elise Johnson echoed the same sentiment after viewing the movie. “I’d want to say Bender—because he’s Bender—but it’d be Andy and Brian,” she said. “I’m more of a blend of a few of them.”

The irony of the situation was alive in the room—college students watched the five high school characters interacting in a high school library while the college students were watching the movie in a college classroom. The spell was broken only when an audience member would laugh—students would have to remember it was Newton Hall they were in and not their past high schools.

“I think the movie deals a lot with having to deal with being put into a box when people start thinking of you under a specific title,” Bruno said. “Like for a few years, I was a jock and I started doing other things and it was a weird breaking point, [like in the movie].”

Kino will be showing another engaging high school coming-of-age-story. The Perks of Being a Wallflower on Oct. 3 at 8:30 p.m.