Soccer squad splits wins against SEC foes
Nashville artist brings lively show to the Bijou
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INSIDE THE DAILY BEACON News Arts & Culture Opinion Sports
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
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Issue 34, Volume 124
English program brings Big Orange to Big Apple Bradi Musil Staff Writer New York, N.Y. Home of the historic Broadway district and numerous acclaimed playwrights, the Big Apple is undeniably the center of American drama. Next semester, students will have the opportunity to live among its inhabitants for 10 days, earning three credit hours in a unique, off-campus English 492/592 class titled “Drama in New York.” Created roughly 30 years ago by English professor Robert Stillman, Ph.D., English 492 remains a testament to the quality of American theater. “We had an ongoing program to Stratford and London, but it
seemed to me that if you want to see great theater in the world, you don’t have to cross the ocean to see terrific plays,” Stillman said. “New York ... (is) a good location to take students to get a firsthand experience and cost a lot less money.” Designed to provide visceral, first-hand exposure to professional theater, the class includes a week of tickets to various notable productions. This year, the schedule includes Samuel Beckett’s “Waiting for Godot,” Shakespeare’s “Macbeth” and “Twelfth Night,” “Matilda, The Musical,” Harold Pinter’s “No Man’s Land,” Tennessee Williams’ “The Glass
Menagerie,” and “Sleep No More,” an interactive retelling of “Macbeth.” The program will spend eight nights in New York City and students will see seven plays in total. ”The whole point of the class is to learn better about how plays work, how theater works and performance,” Stillman said. “It’s much more a productionbased educational experience than your traditional English text-
book-based educational experience.” Despite being categorized as a spring semester course, almost all coursework is finished before the spring semester even begins, Stillman said. There is no formal class meeting during the spring semester; however, students do complete a research paper analyzing one of the plays they had seen while in New York to be turned in later in the semester. Stillman suggests this class for any student wanting either a heavy or light spring semester. While in
New York, students typically meet in the morning to discuss the plays and are asked to keep a journal of their thoughts on the productions. When students are not attending a play or meeting for discussion, they are free to roam the streets of New York, enjoying the city that never sleeps. Royce Best, a second year graduate student studying English, took the class last spring, spending it immersed in culture. “I spent an entire day in the Metropolitan (Museum of Art), like seven hours straight, which was awesome for me because I love to look at art,” Best said. “One day I just decided to walk to Brooklyn. I walked all the way to the bottom of Manhattan and crossed the bridge all the way
down to Brooklyn … I was in a place where I could completely saturate myself in art and culture. It’s an amazing, nonstop experience. I was so exhausted when I got back.” During the class, students are often accompanied by Keith Taylor, a UT alumni holding a Ph.D. in Literature. A former student of Stillman, Taylor participated in the “Stratford, London and Drama in New York” English courses while in school. After having much success with his nonprofit organization Modest Needs in New York, Taylor began helping to fund the class, sponsoring two students’ trips each year and securing exceptional seating arrangements. “(Students) love ‘Drama in New York’ and they love Keith Taylor,” Stillman said. See THEATRE PROGRAM on Page 2
• Photo courtesy of Michael Marcucci
Vols bring ‘tougher breed’ into new season David Cobb Sports Editor Tennessee coach Cuonzo Martin is labeling his 2013-14 team as “a tougher breed,” and he opened the Vols’ media day on Monday by describing what just what that means. ”It’s the way you play all the time, regardless of the outcome, and it’s a brand,” Martin said. “I feel good about it.” The third-year UT coach believes his program is now appropriately able to embody that phrase as it strains for its first NCAA Tournament berth since Bruce Pearl’s tumultuous departure following the 201011 season. “You guys hear us talk about ‘a tougher breed’ now, and that’s something I think that has been a part of our program,” Martin said. “But now is probably the first time I’ve really revealed it as a coach because I feel like we’re built for it.” A cornerstone portion of that mentality is the weight training that UT strength and conditioning coach Nicodemus Christopher subjects the UT players to. Highly-touted freshman shooting guard Robert Hubbs is “15 or 16” pounds heavier with muscle now than when he arrived on campus on May 28. “I was expecting to put on a couple,” Hubbs said Monday, “but not that much in that short amount of time.” See MEDIA DAY on Page 6
European entertainers host dance conference Jenna Butz
Staff Writer Fiery, playful and harmonious. These are just a few of the adjectives used to describe European dancers Stephan and Bethan Freedman who will present a world dance workshop this Saturday and Sunday at the Knoxville Square Dance Center. Incorporating dance styles from all across the globe, the Freedmans’ mix music, meditation and emotions into their choreography to allow their students to connect with dance and music as a whole and as an art form. “Bethan loves Eastern music and rhythms and relishes dances with style and a touch of the exotic; I adore both Arabic and Israeli dances and especially like to offer them in tandem with a peace focus,” Stephan Freedman said. “We enjoy playing music and singing and creating an
informal atmosphere. “With easy familiar dances we often pick up instruments and incorporate other musicians and singers into a spontaneous band while others dance around us.” Victoria Knight, vice chairperson for the Cultural Attractions Committee, said she sees dance as a unique art experience within cultures connecting the Freedman’s unique choreography style with any world culture despite language barriers. “Most of the time performers want to get the audience involved, whether it’s through teaching them the dance moves or having them clap to keep up the rhythm,” Knight, a senior in microbiology, said. “There’s also just something about seeing people dance and express themselves which can move the audience in a way that music or art can’t.” The couple met during a 1985 summer solstice in London and created a strong
connection as more than just dance partners. “We were firm friends before passion kicked in,” Stephan Freedman said. “Bethan is a natural dancer whose training included contemporary and historic dance. It was a natural and swift progression for us to be working in partnership.” As their dance progressed after helping with a dance camp on the East Coast, fellow dancers invited them to California and Canada, eventually allowing them to perform in much of America, Europe and parts of South America and the Middle East. “The traveling crept up on us,” Stephan Freedman said. “It’s a remarkable adventure staying with hospitable people in all these places. But it was never exactly a plan or a decision ... more like being swept up by a tide.”
See VIVA DANCE on Page 3
• Photo Courtesy of World Dance
Stephan Freedman, left, and Bethan Freedman are two popular European world dancers that incorporate rhythms from across the globe.
Fair encourages connection between students, social issues Hannah Davis Contributor Calling all social leaders. This Wednesday, Oct. 9, the Social and Environmental Impact Fair will be held at the UC Ballroom from 2-5 p.m. Hosted by the Center for Leadership and Service and
Career Services, the fair will feature representatives from a variety of organizations seeking students committed to critical environmental and social issues. “We welcome anyone to stop by the fair to learn more about organizations near and far,” said Kate Kennedy, assistant director of the Center for Leadership
and Service. During this event, organizations will set up booths to speak with interested students about their respective areas of concern. Shawna Hembree, who works for the Center for Impact Careers, a department within Career Services, said the fair can lead to employment in a
number of rewarding fields. “The purpose of the event is to connect University of Tennessee students with nonprofits, government agencies, mission-driven-for-profits and campus organizations to discuss volunteer, internship, membership and career opportunities that impact our society’s most pressing problems,” Hembree
said. “This year’s fair will host approximately 50 organizations with diverse missions including environmental conversation, youth outreach, community and international development, social ventures and enterprises, civic engagement, education, clean energy and healthcare to name a few.” See IMPACT FAIR on Page 6