SLIPPERY ROCK, Penn. — What would it be like to enjoy the performing arts on a Snapchat timetable but actually see it right before your eyes? Well, it’s time to put away your phone and bring your short attention span to Slippery Rock University as the Dance, Theatre and Art Departments present “60×60 2018.”

The multimedia concert, consisting of 60 one-minute pieces, will be performed at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m., Sept. 27, at the McKay Education Building Dance Studio.

Organizers identified the following student from your area as participating in the project as a choreographer, painter and/or playwright:

Tabitha Mariello, a junior dual major in English writing and modern languages and cultures from Biddeford.

“I like to tell people to come and ride the wave of the show,” said Victoria Homschek, a senior dual major in dance and theatre from Aliquippa. “There are going to be some pieces that are funny, or sad, or you have no idea what’s going on, but that’s all the fun of it, just seeing all of our creative minds put together.”

The Dance Department has hosted the 60×60 concert for the last nine years, but new this year is a collaboration with theatre and art. More than 50 students from the departments will work with one another, some on multiple performances, like Homschek who is contributing to five pieces.

Andy Hasenpflug, instructor of dance, introduced 60×60 to SRU based on a concept created by Vox Novus, a group that provides the music mix for the show with 60 different clips. The dance performances are abstract and often based on the mood of the music. For example, one of Homschek’s pieces has a lot of jumps and buoyant movement while another student’s piece will be based on the sounds of wind chimes.

“There’s going to be something that you like or something that you don’t like, but if you don’t like something, that’s OK, because it’s over in 60 seconds,” Hasenpflug said. “It functions on the short-attention span theater level that we live in, so it’s not like going to a movie or a play where there’s a plot to follow.”

SRU’s Theatre Department is contributing with non-dialogue scenes. For example, Homschek is working with a student from the Playwriting class, Jenna Moses, an English writing major from South Park, on a 60-second scene where a man and woman sort through old toys like a ballerina doll and teddy bear set to a music-box tune. Art students will “perform” a live demonstration with a projector screen positioned above a canvas for the audience to see.

“It’s a really interesting format that works really well and they do a good job putting it together,” Hasenpflug added.

Slippery Rock University, founded in 1889, is a member of Pennsylvania’s State System of Higher Education. The University is shaped by its normal school heritage and characterized by its commitment to intellectual development, leadership and civic responsibility. SRU provides students with a comprehensive learning experience that intentionally combines academic instruction with enhanced educational and learning opportunities that will help them succeed in their lives, professional careers and be engaged citizens.

Today, SRU is a four-year, public, coeducational, comprehensive university offering a broad array of undergraduate and select graduate programs to more than 8,800 students. The University has earned full institutional accreditation through the Middle State Commission on Higher Learning and discipline specific accreditations.

Located in the rolling hills of western Pennsylvania, the 660-acre campus is less than an hour north of Pittsburgh, one hour south of Erie, and 45 minutes east of Youngstown, Ohio. Two major highways, I-79 and I-80, intersect with seven miles of the University, conveniently linking it to the entire Commonwealth and its contiguous regions.

Copy the Story Link

Comments are not available on this story.