Jess Thom

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Uganda performance mixes music, dance

By Jess Thom | April 23

Carolina Performing Arts' presentation of "Spirit of Uganda" today will use dance and music to promote awareness about Uganda's ongoing civil war and the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The performance is part of a tour presented by Empower African Children, a nonprofit organization focused on assisting the 2.4 million Ugandan orphans displaced by AIDS, war and poverty. "The dance they perform is all authentic," said Alexis Hefley, who founded the group in 2006. "Everything we represent is very real, and it shows the different areas of east African culture and the richness of dance."

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Play examines N.C. death penalty

By Jess Thom | March 27

The complicated issue of the death penalty in North Carolina will be presented in theatrical form through the play "Still.Life," which opens today in Swain Hall. The play is presented by activist theater group The Justice Theater Project, and uses interviews from people throughout N.C. who have been impacted by the death penalty. These include family members and victims, as well as attorneys, prison guards and people who are on death row. "We want to use performances as a catalyst for conversation," said Reed Colver, project manager for the UNC Death Penalty Project.

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Noted author to give reading

By Jess Thom | February 26

Alice McDermott, author of several New York Times best-sellers and recipient of the 1998 National Book Award, will give a public reading at 7:30 p.m. today in Hill Hall auditorium as UNC's 2008 Morgan Writer-in-Residence. McDermott will also participate in a weeklong series of events involving readings and classroom workshops. "She is an excellent writer and very admired by the faculty here," said Susan Irons, the English department's director of special programs.

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Eighth annual improv festival begins today

By Jess Thom | February 19

CORRECTIONS: Tuesday's pg. 3 story "Eighth annual improv festival begins today" contained multiple reporting errors. Horatio Sanz did not perform at last year's festival as he had emergency surgery, and comic Louis CK performed in his place. John Reitz's title is director of Chips.

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Improv Comedy Jam gives everyone a stage

By Jess Thom | January 31

Dirty South Improv doesn't care today if you've never done improvisation comedy. In fact, the less experience you have, the better. At 8 p.m. DSI will kick off its second Improv Comedy Jam, an open event that brings improvisation artists from across the state to Carrboro, and also allows anyone who shows up the chance to try their hand at sporadic sketch routines. The Jam was hosted for the first time in 2006, and this year it will precede DSI's Improv Festival, which begins Feb. 19 and is the largest of its kind in the country.

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Installations use interaction

By Jess Thom | January 18

When visitors enter the Studio Six Theater in Swain Hall, they will see a dozen wedding dresses hanging from the ceiling but no actors. This weekend's performance of "Suspension/Belief" is an installation piece without actors, and instead of sitting down and watching the show, audiences will participate in the interactive production. "Suspension/Belief" is co-produced by UNC's Wordshed Productions and Untimely Productions.

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27 local film shorts to play

By Jess Thom | November 16

Audience members will get a little bit of everything at the Carrboro Film Festival. The event, which debuted last year, will feature comedies and dramas, documentaries and music videos. "It's almost like a variety show," said Nic Beery, chairman of the festival. "You'll be touched by a documentary about Doctors Without Borders and then you'll get to watch a light comedy." Twenty-seven films will be shown, nearly all of which were created by local filmmakers.

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Show gives voice to victims

By Jess Thom | October 15

Although "Sometimes I Cry" is a one-woman show, the play attempts to relay the stories of many women suffering from AIDS through the single voice of actress Sheryl Lee Ralph. Tonight, Ralph will show the many faces of AIDS in "Sometimes I Cry," a play the actress wrote and directed, which is based on true stories about women living with the disease. Marie Monroe, performing arts chairwoman for Carolina Union Activities Board, said although Ralph is not HIV positive, the actress has been personally affected by AIDS.

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Duke looks to pump up arts

By Jess Thom | September 24

Duke is hoping that the introduction of the part-time position of vice provost for the arts will get both students and community members more involved with the arts. Scott Lindroth, who took the job on July 1, is the first to fill this position. But in addition to his new job, Lindroth will continue his other role at Duke as a music professor. The vice provost for the arts aims to make arts a more noticeable part of Duke's campus. It also strives to raise awareness about the arts in the surrounding community.

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PlayMakers opener will examine wartime issues

By Jess Thom | September 12

This season PlayMakers Repertory Company doesn't just want audiences to be engaged during a performance, but it wants to keep their attention afterward, too. The company's first offering, "When the Bulbul Stopped Singing," aims to present plays that deal with world issues and then follow them with post-performance discussion as part of a new series titled PRC2. "It's a way to explore a situation that's in a newsreel and then put a human face to that part of the story," said PlayMakers' Producing Artistic Director Joseph Haj.