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Steppenwolf Theatre Director David Hawkanson ’69 Discusses Challenges Facing Arts Organizations

David Hawkanson, executive director of Chicago’s award-winning Steppenwolf Theatre, discusses the challenges facing arts organizations and his efforts to strengthen the arts in urban communities Monday, April 19 at 4:30 p.m. in the Warch Campus Center.

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David Hawkanson

A 1969 graduate of Lawrence, Hawkanson presents “The Business of the Arts: How a Non-profit Arts Organization Navigates the Business and Government Sectors.” The event is free and open to the public.

Hawkanson has spent more than 35 years in arts management, including the past seven as executive director at Steppenwolf Theatre. In 2008, Steppenwolf’s production “August Osage County” won four Tony Awards, including Best Play.

Prior to joining Steppenwolf Theatre, Hawkanson spent six years as managing director of Minneapolis’ Guthrie Theater. His distinguished career includes positions as managing director at the Hartford Stage Company, which received a special Tony Award for outstanding achievement in regional theatre during his tenure and managerial posts with the Arizona Theater Company and San Francisco’s American Conservatory Theater.

Hawkanson also has served as artistic advisor to the Kennedy Center Fund for New American Plays, a program committee member for the National Arts Stabilization Fund and a panelist and advisor to both the Ford Foundation’s Working Capital Fund and the Minneapolis Foundation’s Working Capital Reserve Fund. He is a former senior staff member at the National Endowment for the Arts and a former chairman and panelist for the theatre program of the NEA.

New Student Musical “Hope/Who’s Waldo” Premieres in Cloak Theatre

Lawrence University Musical Production, in conjunction with the Lawrence Theatre Arts department, presents “Hope/Who’s Waldo,” two one-act musicals presented within a single show.

The musical will be performed Friday, April 16 at 8 p.m. and Saturday April 17 at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. in Lawrence’s Cloak Theatre in the Music-Drama Center, 420 E. College Ave., Appleton. Tickets, at $10 for adults and $5 for senior citizens and students, are available at the Lawrence Box Office, 920-832-6749.

The new work written by senior Nikko Benson with stage direction by junior Andi Rudd, explores opposite ends of the musical theatre spectrum.

“Hope,” the first half of the show, follows the struggles of a group of refugees as they attempt to escape a genocidal government. Removed from any specific historical or cultural context, the story explores the darkness of the human experience, calling into question the purpose of hope itself.

“Who’s Waldo,” is a contrastingly lighthearted story about the title character. An amnesiac, Waldo embarks on a journey of self-discovery as he travels the world of classic literature, meeting other characters along the way.

As the second half of the musical, “Who’s Waldo” raises the question of comedy’s role and placement in a production. The story wants the audience to wonder whether comedy exists to help us forget tragedy or to give us the hope we need in order to face it.

Garth Neustadter Shares National Young Composer Award

For someone who is not a composition major, Lawrence University senior Garth Neustadter keeps drawing attention for his scoring talents.

Neustadter added to a growing list of honors by being named one of 37 national winners of the 2010 ASCAP Foundation Morton Gould Young Composer Awards.

Established in 1979, the program grants cash prizes to young concert music composers up to 30 years of age whose works are selected through a juried national competition.   This year’s competition attracted 730 submissions.

Neustadter submitted a 15-minute composition written for full orchestra and choir based on a Spanish text entitled “Oh llama de amor viva.”

“It’s an incredible honor to be recognized with this award,” said Neustadter, a violin and voice performance major from Manitowoc.  “In addition to the score, the judges were particularly impressed with the recording, which featured members of the Lawrence Symphony Orchestra and Concert Choir.  That serves as a testament to the high level of music-making going on in the Lawrence community.”

Neustadter and the other winning composers will be recognized at the annual ASCAP Concert Music Awards at The Times Center in New York on May 27.

The award is named in honor of Morton Gould, a Pulitzer Prize-winning composer who served as president of ASCAP and the ASCAP Foundation from 1986-1994.  An eminent and versatile American composer, Gould was a child prodigy whose first composition was published when he was only six years old.  To honor Gould’s lifelong commitment to encouraging young creators, the annual ASCAP Foundation Young Composer program was dedicated to his memory following his death in 1996.

This is just the latest triumph for Neustadter.  In 2007, he earned first-prize honors (second place behind the grand prize winner) in the Young Film Composers Competition sponsored by Turner Classic Movies.  In 2008, he was commissioned by TCM to write an original score for a restored version of the 1923 silent film “The White Sister.”  He also earned four Downbeat Awards, including two for composition, while in high school.

He is currently writing a score for a documentary on the life of John Muir for Emmy Award-winning filmmaker and 1972 Lawrence graduate Catherine Tatge.  The film is scheduled to air on the National Public Television series “American Masters” in April 2011.

“Garth never ceases to amaze us with his stunning array of accomplishments,” said Fred Sturm, Neustadter’s faculty composition mentor and honors project advisor.  “The national recognition he’s garnered with the awards he has won as a composer sometimes veils the fact that Garth is an equally talented violinist, saxophonist and singer. And despite all of the accolades he has earned, he remains a respectful, humble and solidly grounded individual. We’re enormously proud of him.”

Neustadter will share in a $45,000 prize fund with the other Gould winners and receive music notation and production software from Sibelius Music, the competition’s sponsor.

Lawrence Hosting Five Events During Third Annual Fox Cities Book Festival

Lawrence University, co-sponsor of the annual Fox Cities Book Festival, will host five events during the third annual celebration that runs Sunday, April 11 through Sunday, April 18. More than 60 presentations by 48 authors, including two Lawrence faculty members, are planned throughout the Fox Cities during the eight-day festival.

David McGlynn, assistant professor of English at Lawrence and author of the 2008 short story collection “The End of the Straight and Narrow,” will participate in the panel presentation “How to Get Published” Saturday, April 17 at 1 p.m. in the Appleton Public Library.

Helen Boyd, lecturer in gender studies at Lawrence, discusses her two books, “My Husband Betty” and “She’s Not the Man I Married,” Monday, April 12 at 7:30 p.m. at Harmony Cafe in downtown Appleton.

Award-winning writer Jane Hamilton, author of “The Book of Ruth,” which won the PEN/Hemingway Award for First Fiction and “A Map of the World,” a New York Times Notable Book of the Year, presents “The Journey from ‘Domestic Fiction’ to Comedy” Friday, April 16 at 8 p.m. in Stansbury Theatre.

Other book festival events being held on campus include:
• “Aama’s Journey” by Broughton Coburn, Tuesday, April 13 at 7 p.m. in the Warch Campus Center cinema.

• “Principles of Reading, Principles of Writing,” by Bishop Robert Morneau of the Green Bay diocese, Friday, April 16 at 6 p.m. in Stansbury Theatre.

•. “Logomaniacs,” a theatric performance by students from the Renaissance School of the Arts, Saturday, April 17 at 12:30 p.m. in the Warch Campus Center cinema.

• “The Story of Edgar Sawtelle” by Wisconsin native David Wroblewski, Saturday, April 17 at 5 p.m. in the Lawrence Memorial Chapel.

All of the above events are free and open to the public.

Former U.S. Ambassador, International Banking Expert Discusses World Economy at Lawrence University

Former U.S. Ambassador to India and U.S. Treasury official David Mulford discusses the state of the world economy Tuesday, April 13 in an address at Lawrence University.

Mulford will examine the ongoing economic and financial crisis in the major industrial countries and its lingering effect on the global economy at 1:30 p.m. in the Warch Campus Center cinema. The event is free and open to the public.

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David Mulford

A 1959 graduate of Lawrence, Mulford was appointed Ambassador to India in 2004 by President Bush and served until February 2009. He joined the U.S. State Department after spending 11 years as chairman international of the London-based banking firm Credit Suisse First Boston, where he directed worldwide, large-scale privatization business and other corporate and government advisory assignments.

Since leaving his ambassador’s post, Mulford has returned to Credit Suisse in London as vice chairman of the bank’s international division.

Prior to his ambassadorial appointment, Mulford served in public service as a senior international economic policy official in the U.S. Treasury Department under Secretaries Donald Regan, James Baker and Nicholas Brady.

His financial experience also includes eight years as managing director and head of international finance at the Boston-based investment bank White, Weld & Co., Inc. In 1974, he was named senior investment advisor to the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency (SAMA), where he oversaw the management and development of investment programs of Saudi oil revenues until 1983.

His work in both the public and private sectors has been recognized with numerous awards and honors, including the Legion d’Honneur presented by the president of France, the Alexander Hamilton Award, the highest honor bestowed by the Secretary of the Treasury in recognition of extraordinary service and benefit to the Treasury Department and the nation, the Order of May for Merit from the president of Argentina and The Officer’s Cross of the Medal of Merit presented by the president of Poland.

After earning his bachelor’s degree in economics from Lawrence, Mulford earned a master’s degree in political science from Boston University and a Ph.D. from Oxford University. Lawrence recognized him with an honorary Doctor of Laws degree in 1984. A football and basketball standout as an undergraduate, Mulford also was inducted into Lawrence’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 2000.

Artist Berel Lutsky Discusses Image and Language in Visiting Artist Series Lecture

Artist Berel Lutsky explores the interplay between image and language in his artwork Tuesday, April 13 at 4:30 p.m. in the Wriston Art Center auditorium in a Lawrence University 2009-2010 Visiting Artist Series address. The event is free and open to the public.

The presentation will examine the often misplaced trust people place in appearances and well-crafted explanations. The vast amount of both visual and verbal information bombarding  people today often causes them to ignore the sources and manipulations of image and word. Focusing on the blurred line between fact and fiction, Lutsky’s artwork examines the consequences of ignoring the complexities of the truths that drive the world.

Lutsky, an associate professor of art at UW-Manitowoc, works primarily with paper, specializing in commercial and fine art printmaking, drawing and photography. He recently spent a month-long residency in Israel at the Jerusalem Print Workshop. His artwork has been exhibited publicly in the U.S., Israel and Japan and also can be found in private collections in China, Belgium and Germany.  One of his pieces was selected last summer for the Wisconsin Visual Artist’s Biennial, a state-wide fine arts competition open to all visual artists in the state.

Visiting Poet Rebecca Wolff Conducts Q & A, Reading

Poet Rebecca Wolff reads from her latest collection, “The King,” Thursday, April 15 at 8 p.m. in the Kohler Gallery of Lawrence University’s Wriston Art Center. A reception and book signing follows.

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Rebecca Wolff

Prior to her reading, Wolff will conduct a question-and-answer session at 4:30 p.m. in Main Hall 104. Both events are free and open to the public.

“The King,” which includes short poems that challenge the traditional views of motherhood, is Wolff’s third collection of poetry. Her first, “Manderley,” published in 2001, was selected for the National Poetry Series, while her second, 2004’s “Figment,” received the Barnard Women Poets Prize, which is awarded every other year for an exceptional second collection of poems written by an American woman who has already published one book of poetry.

In 1998, Wolff, along with a small group of editors, founded Fence magazine, a biannual journal of poetry, fiction, art and criticism. The same organization launched Fence Books in 2001 to publish poetry, fiction, critical texts and anthologies.

Wolff’s appearance is supported by the Mia Paul Poetry Fund.

Asthma Research Earns Michael Schreiber Invitation to 2010 Posters on the Hill Conference

Lawrence University senior Michael Schreiber has been selected to present his research on the mechanisms of common cold-induced asthma exacerbations Tuesday, April 13 at the 14th annual Posters on the Hill event at the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C.

Schreiber, a biochemistry and English major from West Allis, was one of only 80 undergraduate students from colleges and universities around the country chosen to share his research. Sponsored by the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR), the Posters on the Hill conference showcases the value of undergraduate research and strives to ensure future federal funding for new research.

“This is a great opportunity to highlight the excellent research we do at Lawrence and the wonderful sponsors of that research, including the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, the McNair Foundation and of course Lawrence itself,” said David Hall, associate professor of chemistry and Schreiber’s academic advisor. “Michael’s research is built upon insights garnered by previous Lawrence student researchers over the past eight years. Continued funding at all levels will ensure many more undergraduates will have top quality research experiences.”

Student presenters for the Posters on the Hill conference are selected on the basis of a submitted abstract of their research conducted in any of CUR’s divisions: biology, chemistry, arts and humanities, social sciences, psychology, mathematics/computer sciences, physics/astronomy and geosciences.

Schreiber’s research, in the chemistry division, investigates the function of compounds called G-proteins, which function as molecular switches in certain cells of the immune system. They play a role in turning on the inflammatory response to cold virus in the lungs. The poster is based upon a submitted article to the journal Innate Immunity co-authored by Schreiber, Bryce Schuler, a 2009 Lawrence graduate and Hall.

While in Washington, Schreiber will participate in a reception in which each of the submitted posters will be displayed for members of Congress, federal funding agencies and other area foundations.

Three Lawrence University Students Write Winning Analysis in International Modeling Competition

A 10-page report analyzing the effects that the accumulation of plastic debris has on the Pacific Ocean earned three Lawrence University students “Outstanding Winner” honors in a recently completed international interdisciplinary modeling contest.

Lu Yu, a junior from Guangzhou, China, sophomore Fangzhou Qiu from Shanghai, China, and Jian Gong, a sophomore from Chengdu, China, co-authored one of four reports that was designated as an outstanding winner from among 356 entries in the 12th annual Interdisciplinary Contest in Modeling (ICM) conducted by the Consortium for Mathematics and Its Applications (COMAP).

Lawrence was one of only two U.S. colleges designated an outstanding winner among the four. Foreign teams, primarily from China, Indonesia and Malaysia, accounted for 333 of the competition’s 356 entries.

Working in teams of three, students had five days to research, analyze, model and communicate a solution to the problem. In their report, the Lawrence team modeled the environmental impact of plastic debris in the ocean and how this impact varies with time, particle size and other factors.

“Their report was a tour de force drawn from multiple disciplines — mathematics, physical oceanography and chemistry among them,” said Stefan Debbert, assistant professor of chemistry, who served as the faculty advisor for the project. “It gave concrete advice as to how we can better protect our oceans.”

The analysis written by Yu, Qiu and Gong will be published later this year in The UMAP Journal, along with commentaries from the problem author and contest judges.

Joining Lawrence as the contest’s four outstanding winners were Carroll College in Helena, Mont., and China’s Jiaotong and Dianzi universities.

Based in Bedford, Mass., COMAP is a non-profit organization focused on improving mathematics education for students of all ages. Since 1980, it has created learning environments where mathematics is used to investigate and model real world issues.

LU Student Musicians Featured in Sunday WPR Broadcast

Three Lawrence University student musicians — pianists Marshall Cuffe and David Keep and saxophonist Sumner Truax — will be featured performers April 11 at 12:30 p.m. in the annual Neale-Silva Young Artist’s Winners’ Recital.

The recital, performed in the Wisconsin Union Theater in Madison, will be broadcast live statewide on the Classical Music Network of Wisconsin Public Radio and can be heard locally on WPNE, 89.3 FM.

Cuffe, Keep and Truax were named three of the five winners at the 2010 Neale-Silva Young Artist’s Competition conducted last month.

For Sunday’s recital, Cuffe will perform Bach’s “Chromatic Fantasy in D minor” and “Fantasy on Themes from ‘The Wizard of Oz’” by William Hirtz. Keep will play three movements from Alberto Ginastera’s “Sonata No. 1.” Truax will perform “Buku” by Jacob Ter Veldhuis and “Tableaux de ProvenceI” by Paule Maurice.