--I Big, green ogre... Screenwriter Joe Stillman will answer questions after a free screening of "Shrek." Michigan Theater. 7 p.m. michigandaily.com /arts Uitdf~b uJai1 ARTS TUESDAY NOVEMBER 13, 2001 5 Bell plans to wow audience at Hill Comedian Clinton will take on Ark By Jim Schiff Daily Fine/Performing Arts Editor Joshua Bell is no stranger to a chal- lenge, and a challenge he has certainly had to face over the past week. After German violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter cancelled the remainder of her North American Joshua tour, Bell was Bell asked to take her place on the Hill Hill Auditorium Auditorium Tonight at 8 p.m. stage. Tonight, Bell and the I in such venues as Carnegie Hall. Now 33, Bell has performed with some of the world's leading orchestras and recorded an impressive 25 albums. In addition to his heavy touring, Bell has also undertaken a number of side projects that have garnered him consid- erable praise. He kicked off the 2001- 02 season with a performance in Central Park which was recorded for a PBS "Great Performance" television special. Also this year, Bell composed his own cadenzas for a recording of Leonard Bernstein's "West Side Story" suite. Early next year, he will team up with two orchestras which have been recently featured in Ann Arbor: The Berlin Philharmonic and the Camerata Salzburg. A particularly ambitious project of Bell's includes his recording of the soundtrack to "The Red Violin." Com- posed by John Corigliano, the music won the Academy Award for Best Score in 2000. The film follows the journey of a superbly crafted red violin around the globe from Vienna to Oxford, to Shanghai and Montreal. Given the international scope of the film, Bell's music not only reflects "The Four Seasons." Trondhe im Soloists will wow the audience with a program featur- ing Vivaldi's Courtesyo Classical music has never looked so good as Joshua Bell visits Hill Auditorium. native musical styles of each location, but also the changes in violin repertoire over time. Additionally, Bell was also given the roles of violin coach, body double and cameo actor for the movie. The film's director, Frangois Girard, claims that Bell "gave us the most sen- sitive and intelligent playing you could imagine - a dream." Similarly enthusiastic about Bell are the Trondheim Soloists, a Norwegian ensemble of 18 musicians who will be joining him on stage. Specializing in performing the works of Norwegian composers, the Soloists also pride themselves on their numerous record- ings of "The Four Seasons." Bjarne Fiskum, the group's founder and artistic director, is particularly fond of this piece. "I think Vivaldi is very good for the public," he said. "His playing is very modern -- it's very robust and exciting." In their short history, the Soloists have embarked on dozens of interna- tional tours and recorded a number of critically-acclaimed albums, including the works of Grieg and Shostakovich. Fiskum begins teaching his students at the age of 14 and works with them over a period of about eight years. While most of the members of Trondheim are professional musicians, some are still students, ranging from age 20 to 30. Tonight's program, in addition to "The Four Seasons," includes Grieg's "Two Nordic Melodies," Bjorklund's "Sarek" and Kilar's "Orawa." Bell, a native of Bloomington, Ind., has spent most of his life taming the violin. His talent was evident early on: By age 12, he was already studying under legendary violinist Josef Gin- gold. He made his orchestral debut with Riccardo Muti and the Philadelphia Orchestra and soon after he was playing By Elizabeth Manasse Daily Arts Writer Kate Clinton is one of America's brightest political comedians. She will perform Sunday at the Ark in Ann Arbor as part of her 20th Anniversary Tour. The performance will be a retro- spective of the 20 years she has been performing as a comedian includ- ing illuminating perspectives on Kate politics, femi- Clinton nism and life as a gay American. The Ark Clinton's com- Sunday at 7:30 p.m. edy is not tradi- tional stand-up with a joke and punch line, which she refers to as "a :. very male kind of humor." Her style is more narrative, developed and reflective of life. "I've never been part of the mainstream," said Clinton:"It's been both a blessing and a curse, but a wonderful place to find humor." Most of Clinton's work has a political edge - from views on the daily news to modern family rela- tionships. One of Clinton's favorite topics is feminism, which she sarcastically describes as the "radical notion that women are people." Her performances often address women's roles in sports, government, church and family. She claims that men enjoy her perspectives on feminism because they realize "what's good for women is usually good for them too ... they just need to be reminded sometimes," she said. Clinton spent eight years as a high school English teacher before pursuing comedy. She feels that teaching was a challenging profession and great prepa- ration for her new career. "Teaching gave me the discipline to see a task through to the end," she said. Clinton always felt that she owed it to herself to give comedy a try, but never gave it a shot until a friend secretly booked her at a club in 1981. From there, the tran- sition was gradual, but rewarding. "My former students are so proud of me," she said. Besides performing, Clinton is also an accomplished writer. Clinton's first book, "Don't Get Me Started," was published .in 1998, and she is currently working on her second book, "Kate Clinton: Collected Speeches I Never Gave." In addition, she writes monthly columns for The Progressive and The Advocate in which she makes comical and philosophical comments about the state of our nation and those who have put us in such a state. She has also writ- ten pieces for The New York Times and served as a writer on the "Rosie O'Donnell Show" during its rollout period in 1996. In 1993, Clinton's "Out Is In," debuted in L.A. to rave reviews and then moved to New York where it enjoyed a three-month run off-Broad- way. Throughout 1996, Clinton's show, "All Het Up," toured cities across the country and in 1999, "Correct Me If I'm Right," premiered off-Broadway. In 2000, Clinton opened her tour of "Y2K3.comedy" at The Public Theater in New York. This winter, Clinton will take part in "The Vagina Monologues" at the Westside Theatre in New York. Filmmaker Catherine Gund is cur- rently filming a retrospective of Clin- ton's first 20 years with a preview of what is to come in the next two decades. Civic's 'Dream ,A I " By Robyn Melamed Daily Arts Editor It's 1930 in New York, and there is love in the air. As a matter A Midsummer Night's Dream Ann Arbor Civic Theatre November 15-18 of fact, there is a whole lot of love. But with this love, comes quite a conflict. This weekend, get ready for the Ann Arbor Civic Theatre's version of the oldest, sassiest love triangle around, "A Mid- summer Night's Dream." n The story goes a little something like this: Oberon and Titania are in a scuffle: Titania has a young Indian boy, and Oberon wants him. Meanwhile, Hermia and Lysander are in love, but are forbidden to marry. Hermia r-takes swing must marry another man, Demetrius, or she will be killed. In desperation, Hermia and Lysander escape into the woods. Although Shakespeare set his stage in Athens, the Ann Arbor Civic theatre's stage becomes Central Park in the middle of New York City. The characters are dressed in 1930s style, and the lovers are swingkids. A few of the characters have thick accents, adding more of the New York flavor into the mix. Besides these additions, the audience also gets to experience Native American art and dance. In Central Park, there are many dreamy, mystical scenes in which Oberon and Titania's friends wear Indian masks and perform Indian dances. The play takes a comical turn when Demetrius, who loves Hermia, and Helena, who loves Demetrius, follow Hermia and Lysander into the woods. Throughout the play, Helena makes her- self one of the major laughable characters. She is era approach completely over the top with her love for Demetrius; she begs for his affection, and con- fesses that the meaner he is to her, the more she will love and obsess over him. Another highlight of the show is the player, Bottom. During rehearsal for the play within a play, Bottom wants to be given several roles. He is such a ham that he completely takes the lime- light when he is onstage. This version of "A Midsummer Night's Dream" takes the theme of nature and meshes it with the theme of love. Because of this, the audi- ence feels taken in by the beautiful and innocent side of love. The mix of the characters, the comedy tech- niques and the New York swing era setting make the Civic Theatre's production a hilarious, magi- cal experience. Yet after it is all over, go ahead and ask your- self: Was this all just a dream? Courtesy of Jonas PR Kate Clinton yuks it up at The Ark. *1 LSA Brandon Baier Baba Akin Aina Jigar Astik Ryan Machasic Steve MacGuidwin Engineering Ruben Duran Matt Franczak Ethan Smith LSA-SG Jenny Ireland Weisen Li Josh Atkinson Josh LaVigne Ryan Salamone MICHIGAN PARTY Business Ryan Ford Jay Mai - More Student Group Funding - No More Meaningless MSA Resolutions Scott Bonato Scott Foley Rackham Konstantinos Ghirtis Holli Frey Voting begins tonight at midnight! Music