Danielle Douglas ’17 offers her selection of events and activities to do this weekend. Get information daily on upcoming events at the University Events Calendar at www.rochester.edu/calendar.
#1: Get a glimpse of a ‘social-anxious youth culture’
That Poor Girl and How He Killed Her, a production of the International Theatre Program, opens Thursday, March 2, and runs through March 11. The dark contemporary play, written by Jen Silverman, chronicles the mystery of the disappearance of Alyssa Long, a beautiful, wealthy teenager who goes missing after catching the attention of a newcomer to the town. “The story keeps sneaking up on you, subverting expectations again and again. It’s a send-up of the most vain, self-indulgent, social-anxious aspects of youth culture today, and yet at the same time, it has a wealth of credible, sympathetic characters that an audience will hopefully come to identify with and care about,” says New York City-based guest director Knud Adams. The shows begin at 7 p.m. There is a matinee at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 5. Tickets cost $8 for University students; $12 for alumni, faculty, staff, and seniors; and $15 for the general public. They can be purchased up to an hour before the show at the door, online at rochester.edu/theatre, or by calling (585) 275-4088.
#2: Taste local wine and beer at College Town
Indulge in the tastes of local beverages with the “Wine and Beer Walk” event at College Town on Saturday, March 4. Discover and sample Finger Lakes wine and Rochester brewed beers with many local participating companies, including Swiftwater Brewing, Fairport Brewing Company, Zugibe Vineyards, OSB Ciderworks, Lost Borough Brewing, Naked Dove Brewing Company, and Zugibe Vineyard. The tour, from 4 to 6 p.m., will begin at the “Wine & Beer Headquarters”—normally known as the College Town Management Office at 1331 Mt. Hope Avenue. Wander through the stores, bars, and restaurants of the retail center. All proceeds from the event will be donated to the Ronald McDonald House of Rochester to support the families of critically ill or injured children. Tickets purchased online in advance are $10 each or two for $18, or $15 each on the day of the event. Read more.
#3: Celebrate 100 years of women’s suffrage in New York state at Eastman
Marking the start to Women’s History Month and as a part of a year-long celebration of the centennial of women’s suffrage in New York state, the Eastman School of Music and the Susan B. Anthony Center for Women’s Leadership will come together for a special concert titled “Women’s Voices” on Sunday, March 5. The concert will premiere and showcase music composed and performed by women, including newly composed works by Lori Laitman, currently in-residence at Eastman, and Jennifer Mitchell. The program will feature the Eastman Women’s Chorus, students and faculty members from Eastman including pianists Tony Caramia and Sylvie Beaudette, mezzo soprano Kathryn Cowdrick, soprano Teresa Ringholtz, and violinist Rebeca Boyd. Texts and photographs from the suffragist era will alternate with the musical selections. The concert begins at 3 p.m., at Kilbourn Hall at the Eastman School. Tickets are free with a University ID and $10 for the general public.
#4: Explore how media become art with Making History
In a time when journalism and social media can alter the way the we understand society, experience a blip back in time with Making History, an exhibit by Robert Rauschenberg at the Memorial Art Gallery. The exhibit is on on view through April 30. Rauschenberg, whose 1970s work anticipated the pop art movement, first responded to the rise in mass-media culture of the 1950s and 1960s by making mass media his artistic medium. By creating a series of collages using newspaper and magazine clippings along with television snapshots that reference the Vietnam War, Richard Nixon, consumerism, and other influential political ideas, Rauschenberg was able to draw attention to social, political, and the financial anxieties of the moment. The exhibit showcases eight screenprints from the museum’s permanent collection. Read more.
#5: See musicians perform at Strong Auditorium
The Department of Music will present two performances on the River Campus, featuring talented student musicians this weekend. On Saturday, March 4 at 8 p.m., the Chamber Orchestra will present a repertoire of Beethoven, including his famous Symphony No. 8 in F Major and Piano Concerto 2 in B-flat Minor. They will also feature piano soloist Yuhe Wang, the winner of the University’s 2016 Concerto Competition. On Sunday, March 5, a collaborative concert between the Music Department’s Wind Symphony, Brass Choir, and Jazz Ensemble will bring the sounds of classical and jazz music to life at 7 p.m. All concerts are free and open to the public. Read More.