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(11/17/06 5:00am)
Carrboro's Open Eye Cafe will pay tribute Saturday to those who have dedicated their lives to an often overlooked art form - coffee making.
Open Eye will host a free screening of the documentary "In Search of the Perfect Cup" at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.
The film takes an inside look at the world of baristas and coffee shop owners, and highlights their passion for coffee and the process of creating a top-notch drink.
The documentary was directed by David Colagiovanni, who spent five months interviewing baristas, coffee buyers and coffee shop owners from around North Carolina.
"People who are baristas or coffee shop owners are very social people, and they want to tell you their story," Colagiovanni said.
"Coffee is their life, and it's not like they get to talk to their customers everyday about how wonderful they think coffee is."
Colagiovanni, who received his masters of fine arts from UNC in 2005, works primarily as a visual artist and says coffee plays an important role in his life.
"Coffee is a huge part of my creative process," he said. "I'll always have a cup when I'm sitting at home working on a sketch."
The documentary also features footage from the 2005 Southeast Regional Barista Competition, held in Chapel Hill.
The competition consisted of 22 baristas from the Southeast, who had 15 minutes to make four espressos, four cappuccinos and four signature drinks.
The baristas then were rated on their abilities after presenting their concoctions to a panel of technical and sensory judges.
Elizabeth Justus, a barista at Open Eye, has participated in the competition and said the pressure of the contest resembles working at the cafe on a busy Saturday morning.
"The stress is similar to dealing with long lines of customers who all want their drinks made a particular way," Justus said.
"I've been waiting for someone to create a documentary about the competition because there's so much more that goes on beyond the competitive level."
Scott Conary, owner of Carrboro's Open Eye Cafe, is interviewed by Colagiovanni in the film and has been a technical and taste judge for the regional, national and world barista competitions.
"What Colagiovanni saw in these baristas was their passion and excitement," Conary said.
"He was able to take the competition a step further and presents it on a very personal level."
Conary said he thinks the term "barista" is used too loosely in the United States.
He describes coffee making as a combination of art and science.
"In Italy, where the term originated, it's used as much more of an honor, and that's what the contest tries to replicate."
Conary said that he is expecting a fairly large turnout at tomorrow's screening and that hopes it will attract both coffee drinkers and nondrinkers alike.
"I don't want people to feel like this screening is only for people who care about coffee," he said.
If the showing is a success, Conary said Open Eye will show the film a second or third time.
"It's such a struggle to get everyday people interested in the coffee culture, but I think this film will be able to engage them."
Contact the Arts Editor at artsdesk@unc.edu.
(10/27/06 4:00am)
This weekend students won't have to venture to Broadway to discover that life is a "Cabaret."
Pauper Players' latest production of the famed musical will make its debut at Historic Playmakers Theatre tonight. The show kicks off at 8 p.m. and runs until Wednesday, but will not show Tuesday.
Tickets are $7 for students and $12 for the general public.
Lori Mannette, the play's director, said the upcoming musical features the largest set and budget of any Pauper Players production.
"Cabaret" is set in 1929 Berlin, a year when the Nazis were beginning their ascent to power in Germany.
The musical features a young American, Clifford Bradshaw, a writer who, shortly after arriving in Germany, is introduced to the world of Berlin's Kit Kat Club and the alluring singer Sally Bowles.
Bradshaw and Bowles soon become involved in a complicated love affair, an experience that is further challenged by the political conflicts of the time.
"Bradshaw represents the more grounded character in the chaotic story line," said Sean Casserly, the UNC sophomore who plays Bradshaw.
Junior Haley Swindal, who plays Bowles, said her character struggles throughout the musical while trying to find a balance between her love for Bradshaw and her love of performing at the Kit Kat Club.
"Sally is a troubled woman who comes from a damaged past," Swindal said.
"Getting to know her was a journey that I had to throw myself into - I was able to develop a connection to Sally."
Swindal said she spent a lot of time trying to get inside of her character's head.
"I needed to be able to understand why Sally acts the way that she does."
Mannette, who has directed three other plays at UNC, said that "Cabaret" strongly highlights her growth as a director, and that the production is expecting near sell-out shows.
"The musical will allow people to get a view of Germany that is often forgotten," Mannette said. "Most of the focus is always on Germany in the post-Nazi era."
"Cabaret" made its debut on Broadway in 1966, winning several Tony Awards. A revival of the musical in 1998 ended up being the third longest-running revival in Broadway history.
Its 1972 film version, directed by dance legend Bob Fosse, earned lead actress Liza Minnelli an Oscar for Best Actress.
"The performance is actually very dark," Mannette said. "The ending will make the audience feel like they just witnessed the end of the world."
Bradshaw and Bowles' love affair is only one element of the musical, which also deals with issues such as anti-Semitism and abortion.
"The audience is going to be completely surprised by the depth of the script," said Mannette, who feels that many people have misconceptions about "Cabaret."
"It's not just about a flighty girl in a club," she said.
"The performance deals with a very tumultuous historic era."
Contact the Arts Editor at artsdesk@unc.edu.
(10/13/06 4:00am)
Beginning Sunday, visitors of the N.C. Museum of Art will be able to experience the coastal sunsets and picturesque villages created by iconic Impressionist artist Claude Monet.
"Monet in Normandy," the first comprehensive Monet exhibit ever to be shown in the South, will makes its debut Oct. 15.
The collection will feature 50 works spanning Monet's life, ranging from his earliest works to those completed weeks before his death.
"Any museum in the world would love to have this exhibit," said Museum Director Larry Wheeler.
But only three U.S. venues will host the collection, and Raleigh is the only East Coast location. The museum landed the exhibit because it was the impetus behind bringing together the Normandy collection.
"We're using Monet as a signature that will promote tourism in the area," said Wheeler, who expects the exhibit to receive thousands of visitors before its end on Jan. 14.
"We're already attracting attention from New York and all the other big media outlets."
The exhibit was first shown at the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, and will make a stop in Cleveland this spring.
David Steel, the museum's curator of European art, said the exhibition is important because Monet, he said, is one of the most beloved artists.
"Impressionism is the most loved school of art, and Monet collections tend to be the most popular."
What makes this exhibit different from others featuring Monet is that it's the first to focus on Normandy, the French province where Monet completed hundreds of paintings, including his most famous works.
In addition to being the place that inspired Monet's series of waterlilies and haystacks, Normandy was also where Monet created the idea of "en plein air," or painting outdoors. The method allowed Monet to portray vividly the interactions between sunlight and color.
"When you look at these paintings up close, then step back six feet, the picture completely changes," Steel said.
Accumulating the paintings took more than six years. The works are loaned from private and public collections around the world, despite the fact that many of the paintings usually don't travel, Steel said.
"If someone told me 10 years ago we'd have this exhibit, I never would have believed it," he said.
Throughout the duration of the exhibit, the Raleigh Visitors Bureau will partner with the museum to sponsor French-themed activities at hotels, restaurants and other tourist-oriented sites.
"People can view the exhibit as an individual experience," Wheeler said. "But we wanted this to be about community."
The N.C. Museum of Art offers free admission to its permanent collection, but tickets for the Monet exhibit cost $15 for general admission and $12 for students.
"People think, 'Oh, I know Monet - I've seen his work on a calendar or a postcard,'" Steel said. "But you can't possibly say you know Monet until you see his pictures face to face."
Contact the Arts Editor at artsdesk@unc.edu.