The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

4B - Thursday, January 14, 2010
COL LAGE
From Page 3B
more than one piece, addressing
songs that need special ampli-
fication or instrumentation and
organizing stage lighting.
Some of the dance pieces are
performed to recorded music,
keeping the tech workers on
their toes as the concert moves
rapidly between recordings and
live music. There will also be
some shortened plays, including
Shakespeare's "Macbeth," which
will be confined to small sections
of the stage, creating yet more
technical challenges.
Last week Skadsem met with
the lighting and sound crews,
which have the difficult task of
maintaining seamless transi-
tions from piece to piece.
"We tend to have the perfor-
mances flow from side to side
and across the stage and some-
times from within the audience,
so the lighting intricacies are
pretty complicated," Skadsem
explained.
Of course, the performers
must also be aware of their sur-
roundings in order to achieve a
seamless transition from piece
to piece. Though each group
rehearses its own pieces indi-
vidually, they do not get to
practice their transitions until
a dress rehearsal the day before
the concert.
"To practice this, each group
must know . exactly where the
group before them ends so they

can be ready right when they
need to begin," McGirr said.
"Rehearsing Collage is almost
like getting ready for a huge
audition, because the pieces are
played with no breaks between
them. You have to do a lot of
mental preparation before even
singing or playing the first note
to get focused and calm," said
School of Music, Theatre &
Dance senior and vocal soloist
Mary Martin.
Despite the challenges, all
those involved in the concert will
be more than ready on Saturday
night after about two months of
rehearsal.
"It's always kind of a surprise
how it turns out, because after
you resolve all the logistical and
personnel issues related to who's
performing, you end up with an
order, and to see how the transi-
tions flow is always a really excit-
ing time," said Skadsem.
Skadsem compared complet-
ing the concert to placingthe last
piece in a collage and finally see-
ing how everything ties together.
The performers clearly share
this passion and are incredibly
proud of what they're creating.
"I have participated in the
concert every year and can say
that they are among the most
unique and exciting concerts I
have been a part of," said School
of Music, Theatre & Dance junior
and string instrumentalist Mad-
eline Huberth.
"The amount of diversity and
talent in this concert makes me
very proud to be a Michigan stu-
dent."

MICHKNIT
From Page 2B
of arts activities.
"We provide free yarn, and
needles are only $2," Modrowski
said. "It's our first meeting of the
year and it's definitely the most
popular one."
At Kids Fair, the club gathers at
Crisler Arena to teach elementary
school kids how to knit.
"We started out trying to teach
them how to finger knit, which is
kind of like looping a long piece of
yarn around your hands," Fogarty
laughed, "but they were running
around like crazy ... we just ended
up making theis yarn bracelets."
The club's members are very
close. The three presidents all
share an apartment together and
have been good friends since
freshman year.
"We all lived in the same hall in
Bursley. When we decided to start
a club, we just wanted somewhere
to hang out and meet new people,"
Fogarty said. "It's very relaxed. I
remember when we first wrote
our club description it was like
literally, knit, hang out, eat and
that's it."
While the participants are pri-
marily female, men do come in
from time to time.
"Usually around the holi-
days they come in asking 'Will
you teach me how to knit?' "
Brougham said.
"We mostly get boys who want
to make something for their sig-
nificant other, which is cute - a

very cheap, easy, but heartfelt
gift to make your girlfriend," she
added.
That's just how McMacken got
started.
"I had just started dating my
girlfriend, abroke highschool stu-
dent," he said. "I decided I wanted
to make her something because
that would be more interesting
than just buying something. So I
ended up making her a really long,
nice scarf.
"And six years later, she mar-
ried me, so it ended up working
out," he added.
MichKnit started with only
10 members, but in these three
years the club has grown to more
than 100 people, 30 of whom
are active. Active members are
defined as those who regularly go
to the monthly meetings.
"I hope it'll get bigger. People
think it's weird and old-lady-
ish, but it's so cool - something
you can do in your free time,"
Brougham said. "You can pick up
your needles and just go."
"And you get more winter gear
in a winter state," McMacken
added. "Really, it's not a bad
deal."
Toward the end of the meet-
ing, McMacken finishes teach-
ing a girl how to knit. It's her
first meeting and the first time
she has ever picked up a pair of
needles. Staring at the misshapen
inch of orange and black wool she
has just knitted, she smiles with
pride as she leaves the industri-
ous little room.
"You can come back anytime,"
McMacken calls after her.

0

Most MichKnit members start with scarves, then work up to more ambitious projects.

4

I

4

4

4