ARTS
It’s safe to say the Maplewood Barn Theatre Company isn’t a typical theater group. Among other things, actors have to worry about the rumblings of traffic and helicopters, sounds from neighboring cows and goats and the possibility that a mosquito might fly into their mouths at the end of a soliloquy.
May 08, 2008
Maplewood Barn celebrates 35 years
It’s safe to say the Maplewood Barn Theatre Company isn’t a typical theater group. Among other things, actors have to worry about the rumblings of traffic and helicopters, sounds from neighboring cows and goats and the possibility that a mosquito might fly into their mouths at the end of a soliloquy.
Finding her passion and claiming it, too
(Web Exclusive) Ann Bise turned to Nancy DeClue when she was diagnosed with cancer at age 49. For Bise and her family, time was precious. Bise wasn’t requesting medical help. She needed DeClue, an oncology nurse turned professional artist, to translate her vision onto a canvas.
May 01, 2008
(Web Exclusive) Usually you’re not allowed to touch art, let alone take it home for free. Bob Hartzell breaks museum rules. He doesn’t want to alienate the art from viewers; he wants the art to become a part of the community.
Contestants boogie for a cause
Gliding under the chandeliers and across the spacious practice room at Twilight Dance Studio, Ashley Mayer guides Frank Sovich. Sovich, co-owner of Marathon Office Interiors, is one of 10 Dancing with Missouri Stars contestants. As Mayer observes her student, she patiently articulates every movement while watching the dance in the mirror-covered wall. “Quick, quick, slow, slow,” she says in a flowing sequence of spins, dips and footwork. Every step mastered brings the students a step closer to their final performance as they salsa their way to this year’s competition.
Reflections from the contestants
(Web Exclusive) Dancing with Missouri Stars contestants know more now than they ever thought they would about ballroom dancing. With the fundraiser approaching, they’ve discussed everything from costumes to contestant perks. Read their thoughts on the experience.
April 24, 2008
Columbia's stages lack LGBT roles
Is theater a true reflection of the nature of human beings? In Columbia’s theater companies, there seems to be an element of human life that is missing from the stage. For the LGBT community, few plays performed explore issues pertaining to its members’ own lives and few roles exist for actors who want to play roles showcasing the life of a gay man or a lesbian.
April 17, 2008
Tips to add an artsy edge to houses on the market
It’s springtime. College students are migrating out of Columbia, hopeful homeowners are emerging from hibernation, and “For Sale” signs are popping up in yards quicker than daffodils.
Orr Street Studio resident brightens up a room
(Web Exclusive) Jane Mudd’s Orr Street studio is filled with expressionistic canvases that disregard obvious color choices. Rivers aren’t just painted blue; the waters flow with sapphire hues, tinges of Kelly green and scarlet red. Bridges have thick maroon outlines and flowers are never just one color. Mudd, a Fulton artist and professor at William Woods University, brings her canvases to life with rich colors.
April 10, 2008
Timeless and simple sustainable living
For many, leaving the office at 5 p.m. doesn’t necessarily mean leaving work altogether. For the go-getters of America’s working class, separation between dwelling and working space is an evaporating concept. But designer Rocio Romero is taking major, and stylish, strides toward reversing this drift and giving today’s customized homes a much-needed detox.
Q&A with prefab homeowner Ethan Whitehill
(Web Exclusive) Ethan Whitehill’s vacation home is not only modern and artistic but also simple and sustainable. Missouri designer Rocio Romero inspired Whitehill’s eco-chic vacation home. The best part about it? Romero’s kits and designs are suitable for any location, Whitehill promises.
Two MU students bring eco-chic living to Columbia
Two MU students have created the ultimate résumé-building project — their own business. Jack Short and Daniel Lyons are the CEO and president, respectively, of Factory Green. Their online business, launching in late April, offers stylish eco-friendly products. They aren’t shy about their goal. They’re hoping to bring in the green by helping others go green.
April 03, 2008
Local artist creates keepsakes with house portraits
Marilyn Love doesn’t need a hardhat and a tool belt to build a house — just paper and pens.
Vox goes to the guru to learn how to get a good pain in the abs
(Web Exclusive) Belly dancing is intense. Not everyone can whirl her body in ways that make onlookers blush. The hip jolts, belly rolls and shimmies that fill classes at Moon Belly Dance Studio are more than a little intimidating. Is belly dancing a worthwhile workout or another fitness fad that will disappoint us? We sent Vox reporter Bridget Mullen to find out how her hips would fare in a belly dancing session.
March 27, 2008
Columbia exhibits equine art
Here, behind the barn, there is a showdown: 5-year-old Betsey versus a pony. Even with her back to us, it’s clear this little girl has a mission. Whatever it takes, she will hoist the saddle, which is nearly her size, onto the back of a reluctant horse.
March 20, 2008
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(Web Exclusive) Last August, Charles Willis, Shawna Kelty and Ross Taylor brought to life a new type of theater in Columbia. They had discussed the possibility of producing plays that were different from the usual family-oriented productions. Over whiskeys at the Heidelberg, the three decided they didn’t want to bring just one play to Columbia; they wanted to build a community of actors that would continue to push the limits of Columbia’s idea of what a play is. Willis, Kelty and Taylor were determined to introduce Columbia to contemporary theater’s love of harsh reality, despair and sex. They were going to bring the drama. “We tend to like things a little darker in life,” Taylor says.
(Web Exclusive) “Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life,” Pablo Picasso once proclaimed. Picasso wasn’t the only one who came up with a response that doesn’t definitively answer the age-old question of what art is. Philosophers dating as far back as Plato and Aristotle have theorized about what concrete rules classify this abstract subject. Defining art has become a more local topic, as the MU Theatre Department presents French playwright Yasmina Reza’s play, Art.
March 13, 2008
Gray area: watercolor that encapsulates extraordinary moments
(Web Exclusive) Kate Gray’s watercolor painting Dancing With Light depicts her overwhelming experience as a first-time dance student in the fall of 2007.
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March 06, 2008
Adding personality to everyday objects
Flashy fashion is all around us — rappers and their bling, pricy wheels, jewels for cell phones and designer shades — but belongings don’t have to be out-of-reach to be the envy of the block. Vox looks at ways to turn average items into drool-worthy commodities.
