Spring Dance Festival

Students in the Program in Dance will perform works by internationally recognized choreographers Karole Armitage, Zvi Gotheiner, and Mark Morris, and two new works by Raja Kelly and Laura Peterson created with dance students. Princeton alumnus Silas Riener '06, a former member of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, returns to campus to stage a special MinEvent for Princeton, a curated compilation of Cunningham choreography with new music created and performed by PLOrk (Princeton Laptop Orchestra) in the Department of Music. Performances begin tonight, February 22 at 8:00 p.m. and continue on Saturday, February 23 at 2:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., and Sunday, February 24 at 1:00 p.m. in the Berlind Theatre at McCarter Theatre Center. Tickets are $15 reserved seating; $10 students and seniors. View the trailer here.

Photo by Bentley Drezner

Conversation with Pulitzer Prize-winning Poets

U.S. Poet Laureate Natasha Trethewey and Princeton's Tracy K. Smith, Assistant Professor in Creative Writing, will hold a public conversation at 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, February 28, in the Chancellor Green Rotunda. A book signing and reception will follow the conversation. This event, co-sponsored by the Lewis Center and the Center for African American Studies, is free and open to the public.

not me you but it is me too
A Senior Thesis exhibition by Polly Korbel

The Spring season of Visual Arts senior thesis exhibitions kicks off with a number of performance artworks created by senior certificate student Polly Korbel. She will hold several separate performances over the duration of her exhibition, which runs from February 28 through March 8. On February 28 at 7:00 p.m. she will present Nailed; March 3 at 1:00 p.m., Sledgehammer; March 6 at 5:00 p.m., Wrap; and March 8 at 12:30 p.m., Come. Korbel will be present in the gallery throughout the duration of her show. The opening reception will be held on Thursday, February 28 from 7-9:00 p.m. in the Lucas Gallery at 185 Nassau Street. Gallery hours are Monday-Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The exhibition is free and open to the public.

Conversation with Award-winning Playwright Amy Herzog

Amy Herzog, award-winning playwright of 4,000 Miles, After the Revolution and Belleville will discuss her career, focusing on her training, her process, and the cultural and historical aspects of her work. She will also address her most recent play, The Great God Pan, which mixes inquiry into American history with issues of family cohesion, memory, and the future. Herzog is the recipient of both the Whiting Writers Award and the Helen Merrill Award, and her family history-inspired drama 4,000 Miles won the 2012 Obie Award for Best New American Play. The conversation will begin at 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, March 5 in 106 McCormick Hall. This event, co-sponsored by the Lewis Center, the Program in Gender and Sexuality Studies and the Department of History, is free and open to the public.

Photo by Zack DeZon

In the Next Room, or the vibrator play:
March 8-9 and 13-15, 2013

The Lewis Center for the Arts Program in Theater will present a senior thesis production of Sarah Ruhl's 2009 play, In the Next Room, or the vibrator play, set in the late Victorian era at the dawn of the electrical age when a new medical device was invented to treat female "hysteria." Performances will be held on March 8, 9, 13, 14 and 15 at 8:00 p.m. at the Berlind Theatre at McCarter Theatre Center. A talk-back with Jill Dolan, Professor of English and Theater in the Lewis Center and Director of the Program in Gender and Sexuality Studies, will be held immediately following the performance on Wednesday, March 13. The production is directed by senior theater student Sarah Hedgecock and features senior theater student Taylor Mallory in the lead role of Catherine Givings. Tickets are $15 general admission; $10 for students and seniors. NOTE: In the Next Room, or the vibrator play, deals with mature themes of sexuality and may not be suitable for everyone.

Woman and Scarecrow:
March 8-9 and 13-15, 2013

The Lewis Center for the Arts Program in Theater will present a senior thesis production of Irish playwright Marina Carr's 2006 drama, Woman and Scarecrow, which mixes bitter humor and brutal honesty while probing a dying woman's attitudes to life and death. The production is directed by the Director of the Program in Theater, Tim Vasen, and features senior theater certificate students Carolyn Vasko in the role of Woman and CC Kellogg as Scarecrow. Performances will be held on March 8, 9, 13, 14, and 15 at 8:00 p.m. at the Marie and Edward Matthews '53 Acting Studio at 185 Nassau Street. Tickets are $12 general admission; $10 for students and seniors.

Fintan O'Toole to present Robert Fagles Memorial Lecture on "Three Irish Heresies": March 8, 2013

Irish theater critic, scholar and Leonard L. Milberg '53 Visiting Lecturer in Irish Letters Fintan O'Toole will present the 2013 Robert Fagles Memorial Lecture on Friday, March 8. In the lecture entitled "Three Irish Heresies," O'Toole will discuss how the true legacy of Irish Catholic thought lies in three profound ideas, each of which was declared a heresy by the official Church. The lecture, part of a series presented by Princeton University's Fund for Irish Studies, will begin at 4:30 p.m. in the James M. Stewart '32 Theater at 185 Nassau Street. The event is free and open to the public.

Princeton Poetry Festival: March 15-16, 2013

Princeton's biennial Poetry Festival is back! This year's Festival features an international line-up of poets including Gabeba Baderoon (South Africa), Bei Dao (China), Stephen Dunn (U.S.), Sheriff Ghale (Ghana), Jorie Graham (U.S.), Lizzie Hutton '95 (U.S.), Amit Majmudar (U.S.), Bejan Matur (Turkey), Don Paterson (Scotland), Gary Whitehead (U.S.), Xi Chuan (China), and Monica Youn '93 (U.S.). The New Jersey State Finals of the national Poetry Out Loud program will kick-off the Festival at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, March 15, followed by a gala opening reading at 2:00 p.m. The second day of the festival will begin with a reading at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, March 16. Tickets are $15 per day; $25 for a two-day festival pass; $10 per day for students. The New Jersey State Finals of Poetry Out Loud is free, however advance tickets are required and can be reserved through University Ticketing. Visit the Lewis Center website for further details.

Musical Theater Improv Troupe Baby Wants Candy: March 26-27, 2013

The Lewis Center for the Arts' Performance Central series will present the musical theater improvisational troupe Baby Wants Candy, whom the New York Times describes as a "Critics' Pick! Truly Amazing!" Each performance is its own opening and closing night, and by design every show is completely unique. The cast begins by asking the audience for a suggestion of a musical title that has never been performed before. Accompanied by a piano, the first title that the group hears becomes the title and theme for that evening's show. It's a roller coaster ride of off-the-cuff choreographed dance numbers, rhyming verses, and witty jaw-dropping comedy. The performances will take place on Tuesday, March 26 and Wednesday, March 27 at 8:00 p.m. in the Berlind Theatre at McCarter Theatre Center. Tickets are $15 reserved seating; $10 students and seniors.

The Lewis Center for the Arts encompasses Princeton University's academic programs in creative writing, dance, theater, and visual arts, as well as the interdisciplinary Princeton Atelier. The Center represents a major initiative of President Shirley M. Tilghman to fully embrace the arts as an essential part of the educational experience for all who study and teach at Princeton. Over 100 diverse public performances, exhibitions, readings, and lectures are offered each year, most of them free. For more information about the Lewis Center for the Arts visit princeton.edu/arts.