The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Wednesday, October 15, 2014 -- 3A
The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Wednesday, October15, 2014 - 3A
Kerrytown festival
to celebrate bass
'U' students to take on
storied 'Cabaret' play
Edgefest to feature
16 acts, four days of
eclectic music
By CAROLYN DARR
Daily Arts Writer
An internationally renowned
festival will begin in Kerrytown
this week on Wednesday. Cele-
brating its 18th
year, Edgefest Edgefest
is a four-day
event at the October 15 to18
Kerrytown Kerrytown
Concert House Concert House
with other
individual
concerts held in venues around
Ann Arbor.
Edgefest was originally the
brainchild of jazz music lover
Dave Lynch, who served as
the fest's first artistic director.
Over the years, he brought some
of his favorite musicians from
the downtown New York music
scene to the Concert House to
showcase their cutting-edge
pieces. In its first year, the festi-
val was a just one day with only
a few performers and almost
RALLY
From Page 1A
Longtime Senator Carl Levin
(D) is also vacating his seat. U.S.
Rep. Gary Peters, the Democratic
nominee to succeed Levin, will
face Terri Lynn Land, former
Michigan Secretary of State and
Republican nominee for the Sen-
ate seat, in November. If Land
wins, she would be the first
Republican to represent Michi-
gan in the U.S. Senate since 2000.
Despite the two Democrats
representing Michigan in the
U.S. Senate, .Republicans domi-,
nate"N sr te, politics. Attorney
General Bill Schuette (R), whose
seat is being challenged by Mark
Totten, has fought high-profile
battles against same-sex mar-
riage and affirmative action.
Michigan Republicans have a
majority in the State Senate and
House.
The speakers emphasized the
need to vote by criticizing Repub-
lican policies that they say have
hurt the middle class, minorities,
women and the elderly.
"If we don't elect leaders like
Gary and Mark, we know exactly
what will happen," Obama said.
"We can't pretend like we don't
know. We will have more people
interfering in women's private
decisions about our health care.
We will see more opposition to
immigration reform, to raising
the minimum wage for hard-
working folks right here in this
state."
Many speeches culminated in
chants like "When we vote, we
win." The energized crowd was
apt to get on their feet and clap,
WEATHER
From Page 1A
tee's initial report, "It is the pol-
icy of the University to remain
open and not to 'close' because
of the critical services that are
required to preserve both human
and animal lives, maintain the
physical infrastructure and to
continue all operational services
critical to students, faculty, staff,
patients and to the public."
Each school and college will
compose an individual continu-
ity of operations plan to identify
operations and specific employ-
ees that are still required to
report to campus during severe
weather conditions. This list of
critical members is due to DPSS
Emergency Management Office
at the end of November.
In tasking the executive
director of DPSS with making
final reduction recommenda-
tions, Thomas said the commit-
no outside sponsorship. After
ten years, it had expanded to an
event that spanned four days,
and this year boasts over six-
teen different acts.
After a decade of featuring a
variety of music, the curators of
Edgefest decided to incorporate
themes to better select the piec-
es to be showcased. After much
deliberation, this year's theme
- Bass - was chosen. Deanna
Relyea, founder of the Kerry-
town Concert House, and Lynne
Aspenes, Executive Director,
hand picked some of the acts
to go with the bass theme, but
many artists volunteered to play
at such a prestigious event.
"Well, it's very organic in a
way, because (the artists) know
us," Relyea said. "Edgefest
quickly became a beacon for
these musicians in the Midwest
and they would use us on their
tours."
One of those artists, William
Parker, is doing a workshop for
kids at Scarlet Middle School.
These young musicians, along
with many of the artists playing
Edgefest, will join together for a
parade on Saturday at noon. They
will march together through the
streets of Kerrytown, showcas-
ing their musical talent.
Along with a vast number of
great bassists, including Mark
Helias who will be playing solo
as well as in a duo with Mark
Dresser as the Marks Brothers,
students from the University will
be featured at Edgefest. On Sat-
urday at St. Andrew's Episcopal
Church, the UM Creative Arts
Orchestra, directed by Mark
Kirschenman, will join forces
with all Edgefest artists to create
a concert of works for multiple
basses. This will be a take off of
the "Deep Listening" routines
recently undertaken by Dresser
at bass conventions. These rou-
tines involve using the internet
to hook up to bass players around
the world and create a huge
group collaborative piece. In the
same vein, the "Body of Basses"
at St. Andrew's will incorpo-
rate the same innovative group
dynamics to create improvised
pieces.
"It's truly a festival of music
on the edge with artists who are
continually striving to movie
their disciplines into new ter-
ritories," Aspenes said. "Music,
at the edge."
SMTD to bring
Broadway showto
Mendelssohn Theatre
By REBECCA GODWIN
Daily Arts Writer
"Wilkommen, bienvenue, wel-
come / Im Cabaret, au Cabaret, to
Cabaret."
The time is
the early 1930s,
just before the
rise of the Nazi
party. The place
is the sordid,
yet intriguing,
Kit Kat Club
located in Wei-
mar Berlin. And
the show is, of
course, "Caba-
ret."
Cabaret
October 16 to 19
Thursday at
7:30 p.m., Friday
& Saturday at
8 p.m., Sunday
at 2 p.m.
Lydia Mendelssohn
Theatre
$10-28
or cheer during speeches. Many
of Obama's statements were
affirmed by audience members
who cried "That's right!" or "Yes,
we can."
Lifelong Detroit resident
Wendy Yuille said the Demo-
cratic candidates this election
resonate with her. Yuille was
unemployed last year and said
her benefits were compromised
by gridlock in Congress.
"There's no one advocating
for people, the day to day people,
the people who are just trying to
work 40 hours a week, do an hon-
est day's work for an honest day
pay," Yuille said. "Who speasfor
us?"
Croswell resident Gloria
Finnegan drove two hours to
Detroit for the event with her
husband. A retired teacher from
the Dearborn school district,
Finnegan said she supports
Democratic candidates who
fight for pay equity, minimum
wage and legalized abortion.
Senator Debbie Stabenow,
who is not up for reelection, was
one speaker who emphasized
the equalizing nature of elec-
tions.
"Republicans are hoping they
can buy the election with their
billionaire buddies but the great
thing about our country is that it
doesn't matter how much money
you have inyour pocket whenyou
get to the polls," Stabenow said.
"Everyone gets one vote."
Speakers also touched on the
Affordable Care Act, recovering
U.S. automotive industry, pay
equity and pensions for retired
persons.
Obama discussed the chal-
lenging economic climate at the
"Cabaret" opened on Broad-
way in 1966 and was an overnight
success. Over the years it went
through many various revivals
and even spawned a movie in 1972
starring Liza Minnelli ("Arrested
Development "). The production
won a Tony Award for Best Reviv-
al in 1998 thanks in part to the
incredible cast, which was led by
thetalentedAlan Cumming("The
Good Wife"), who brought the
show back to Broadway in early
2014. And now, the latest group to
take on the musical is the Univer-
sity's School of Music, Theatre &
Dance.
The main plot of "Cabaret"
revolves around two couples. Cliff
Bradshaw, an American, trying
to write his novel, travels to Ber-
lin, where he stumbles upon Sally
Bowles, a British singer at the
Kit Kat Club; the two instantly
hit it off. They soon begin living
together in a boardinghouse run
by Fraulein Schneider, who soon
falls in love with one of her other
tenants, Herr Schultz, an elderly
Jewish fruit-shop owner. The
remainder of the musical shows
how each couple navigates the
rapidly changing and increasingly
dangerous political climate as the
Nazi party slowly gains control.
The audience is led through the
show by the unnamed Emcee of
the club, a comic, dark and some-
times rather sexual character.
"The Emcee and the. Kit Kat
Boys and Girls are really acting
as a Greek chorus throughout the
show and are motivating a lot of
the action," said Joe Locarro, the
show's director and a visiting pro-
fessor at the University. "They do
interact with the characters in the
scenes fromtime to time so Ithink,
that it really brings it all together
in the way that the Emcee is con-
trolling the entire evening."
One of the major themes
throughout the show is sexual
identity, as Berlin was known for
being rather accepting of all forms
of sexuality during this time peri-
od. The amount of overt sexuality
present inthe production, though,
depends solely on the director,
with the 1998 revival as well as
the 2014 restaging of said revival
being much more sexual than
earlier productions. For SMTD's
interpretation, Locarro felt there
was no need to be blatantly sexual.
"I felt that it doesn't really help
the story personally," Locarro
said. "It still has all the bump and
grind, but not as much groping."
Because so much of the show
takes place within the Kit Kat
Club, several structural changes
were made to the stage to enhance
the atmosphere for the audience
within the theatre.
"I wanted to make this produc-
tion as environmentally relevant
as possible. I wanted to transform
the theatre as much as we could,"
Locarro said. "So we built the
stage over the orchestra pit and
tried to create avery intimate set-
ting as it would be in a club."
But the stage was not the only
thing added to the production to
make the theatre feel more like a
real cabaret. Several historically
accurate cabaret songs will be
performed on stage as audience
members take their seats.
"We wanted Catherine Walker
(Adams), the musical director, to
do a pre-show, so we've actually
added six characters to the show
that aren't normally there, and
then those characters are singers
and patrons of the club," Locarro
explained. "What happens is
they start off on stage when the
audience is coming in about 15
minutes before the show starts
and they are singing a number of
period pieces and period songs in
German, French and English, and
we wanted to give the feeling that
we're in a club."
While the show has numer-
ous songs that are fun and catchy,
Locarro believes the show's over-
all message will be what sticks
with the audience the most, espe-
cially today in a world rife with
political and social discrimina-
tion.
"Oddlyenough Iwas driving to
rehearsal and I drove by a number
of people holdingthese large signs
saying 'Boycott Israel' and things
like that, and they were doing
this right in front of a synagogue
and to see that in this day and age
was shocking," Locarro said. "So
I think the story that this musi-
cal tells is very important and the
sad reality is that history tends
to repeat itself, so we need to
keep reminding ourselves of the
importance of things like this."
time of her husband's inaugura-
tion in 2009 and highlighted that
unemployment across the nation
has fallen from about 10 percent
in Oct. 2009 to 5.9 percent in Sep-
tember.
"So, Michigan, while we still
have plenty of work to do, we
have truly made so much of that
change we were talking about,"
Obama said.
Education and its loss of
funding in recent years were
discussed; however, higher edu-
cation was not specifically pro-
moted by most of the speakers or
Obama.
The first lady also discussed
the need to ensure America is a
safe and supportive environment
for children. She mentioned chil-
dren she has met who must face
trying home lives and dangerous
neighborhoods while attempting
to succeed.
"These kids have every rea-
son to give up, but they are so
hungry to succeed," Obama said.
"They are so desperate to lift
themselves up. What we have
to remember is that they are the
reason we are here today. That's
why I'm here, I don't know about
you, but I'm here for those kids
who never give up. And we can't
give up on our kids."
Michigan has recently hosted
other famous faces looking to
promote their party. Former
Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Rom-
ney visited Livonia last week to
campaign for Michigan politi-
cians. Former Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton is set to visit
Michigan next week and rumors
abound that President Barack
Obama himself will stop in the
state before the Nov. 4 election.
SYMPOSIUM
From Page1A
profitable way."
Jeffrey Robinson, assistant
director at Rutgers University's
Center for Urban Entrepreneur-
ship and Economic Develop-
ment, delivered the keynote
speech at the event. He spoke
about the work CUEED has done
in its efforts to revitalize New-
ark, N.J., along with other urban
communities in the state.
Robinson's address was struc-
tured around the three main les-
sons about how to be a successful
entrepreneur in an urban environ-
ment that he learned from being a
part of CUEED: finding collabora-
tors and partners, being ready to
pivotandknowingyouraudiences.
The event also included four
different panels: Urban Entre-
preneurship Case Studies, Com-
munity Engagement Methods,
Student-Led Entrepreneurship
and Facilitating Urban Entrepre-
neurship.
Nick Tobier, an associate
professor in the School of Art
& Design, also spoke about the
courses that he offers at the Uni-
versity and the projects that he
oversees such as Detroit Com-
munity Apparel, a joint initiative
involving University students
and Detroit high school students.
Tobier's goal is to engage
youth in revitalizing Detroit
communities.
"I am concerned deeply that if
our best and brightest students
see their communities as places
to get out of and education as
separate from the community,
those students will perpetually
go to the center," Tobier said.
"We then perpetually disadvan-
tage those places that need our
brightest the most."
Jill Ford, special counselor
to Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan
for entrepreneurial initiatives,
Tom Frank, executive director
for the University's Center for
Entrepreneurship and Thomas
Zurbuchen, associate dean for
Entrepreneurial Programs, also
spoke at the symposium.
A variety of business ventures
inDetroitsuch asLoveland Tech-
nologies, GradeCheck, Fresh
Corner Cafe, Uber in Detroit,
Thrift on the Avenue, TechTown
Detroit and The Social Grooming
Companydiscussedtheirworkin
the panels.
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tee wanted to centeralize the
decision to best promote the
community's safety.
Under the updated policy,
leaders at UM-Flint and UM-
Dearborn will continue to have
discretion to make their own
service reduction decisions dur-
ing weather emergencies.
A few weeks before the Uni-
versity's 2014 "cold day," some
students criticized the admin-
istration for allowing classes to
resume after Winter Break, even
amid sub-zero temperatures and
delayed flights.
At a meeting of the Universi-
ty's Senate Advisory Committee
on University Affairs the next
week, University Provost Mar-
tha Pollack said the University
did not have a substantial plan
in place to close the University if
necessary.
"By the time it became
clear that we were facing an
extraordinary weather event,
we realized that we didn't have
appropriate mechanisms to close
the University even if we wanted
to," she said. "Closing a universi-
ty is more like closing a city than
closing a building. You can't just
close; there is a hospital, there is
a police force, there are students
on campus who need to be fed."
As a result, the University's
executive vice presidents called
for a faculty and staff commit-
tee to review the University's
plans to reduce operations in an
emergency weather situation.
The committee consisted of 24
faculty and staff members from a
variety of units and completed a
report of final recommendations
in April.
"We've done work on clarity,
we are working on our continu-
ity of operations plans, we want
to focus on our effectiveness
going forward should we have
another severe weather event,"
Thomas said.
Daily Staff Reporter Allana
Akhtar contributed to this report.
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