With Its Own Surprises: Arabian Nights at King Theatre
Rich cultural and historical tales will unspool on stage this weekend in Milton's spring production, Arabian Nights. The script is playwright Mary Zimmerman’s adaption of the legendary collection of Persian stories, The Arabian Nights: The Book of 1,001 Nights.
“The focus of the tales is the strength of women,” says performing arts faculty member, Dar Anastas. “In a society where women had no official power, the stories show the ways in which they do have power.”
The stories, interwoven with dance and music, revolve around two main characters—Shahryar, the Persian king and Scheherezade, his new wife.
“The storytelling is really cinematic, so the challenge is to capture this sense and make the production flow from story to story,” says Dar.
Dar plans to extend the stage out into the seating area and surround the stage on three sides, bringing the audience members into the story. Four students are helping Dar design unique and fantastical sets and lighting. Moving elements will evolve with the action and the production promises surprise scenic moments.
Arabian Nights will fill King Theatre on Thursday, May 17, and Friday, May 18 at 7:30 p.m., and on Saturday, May 19 at 7 p.m.
watch promo video
Milton Presents A Streetcar Named Desire
Wigg Hall becomes a cramped apartment in working-class New Orleans for the spring 1212 Play production of Tennessee Williams’s A Streetcar Named Desire. Peter Parisi, chair of the performing arts department, is directing the play with the help of two student assistants, Emilie Tréhu (I) and Rick Dionne (IV).
Nine of the ten cast members appear for the first time on the Milton stage in this production. Shannon Reilly (I) plays Stella Kowalski and Clare Dingle (II) plays her sister, the fading southern belle, Blanche DuBois.
“Blanche is a fascinating character,” says Clare. “She is complicated and tragic. She is delicate, but she can also be so cruel to the people around her.”
Adam Basri (II) plays Stella’s husband, Stanley, whose character demands a physical presence on the stage; Adam is up to the task. Referring to the original stage and film versions with Marlon Brando as Stanley, Peter says, “I told Adam that I don’t want to see Brando’s Stanley, I want to see Adam’s Stanley. He has succeeded in finding new ways to portray the character, such as really showing the relationship between Stanley and Stella.”
Performances begin at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, May 3 and 4, and at 7 p.m. on Saturday, May 5.
Watch a clip of rehearsals
Mara-a-Pula Performs in King Theatre
The Mara-a-Pula (MAP) marimba band performed a free concert on Thursday night in King Theatre. Comprised of high school students from a private school in Gaborone, Botswana, the marimba band is touring the United States to raise scholarship funds for AIDS orphans who attend their school. The group's visit to Milton Academy is generously supported by the Melissa Dilworth Gold Fund.
Ian Torney ’82 Exhibits At the Horizon in the Nesto Gallery
Milton’s Nesto Gallery opens its doors on April 10 to At the Horizon: Recent Paintings—an exhibition by alumnus Ian Torney, Class of 1982.
“I have been a painter of the observed landscape for nearly two decades now, painting in oil on board or canvas,” says Mr. Torney in his artist statement. “I came into my practice initially as a plein air landscape painter, making small works not wholly beholden to but derived from what was seen on location, and in reaction to a myriad of external (and perhaps internal) circumstances… I strive to make even my small canvases possess an inherent monumentality.”
His recent series, At The Horizon, is an “exploration of the boundless implications of ambiguity, mystery and promise found where the earth meets the sky,” he says. “It is an exploration directed as much by where the paint leads as it is by what the subject inspires.”
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A Musical Tour Over March Break
The Chamber Orchestra and Chamber Singers bring their instruments and voices on tour in Germany and Poland—native country of composer Frédéric Chopin—this spring break.
After landing in Berlin, the group of 65—including students, parents and faculty members—will go to Poznań, Poland, to get settled before traveling to Warsaw, making a stop to visit Chopin’s hometown of Zelazowa Wola. After performing in Warsaw and taking in the local sights, the group will perform a concert in Wrocław. Songs on the tour’s repertoire include Mozart’s Overture to “The Impresario” and movements from Haydn’s Symphony #103. The singers will perform a range of pieces including Beethoven, Brahms and American Spiritual songs.
The tour ends where it began, in Berlin, where the students will perform two concerts before coming back to campus on March 17.
Claire Robertson ’13 Brings the NOH8 Campaign to Milton
Advanced Photography student Claire Robertson (II) turned her lens on fellow students to promote a message of tolerance and inclusion. Claire, a board member of the student group GASP (Gay and Straight People), says the independent project was inspired by the NOH8 Campaign, a photographic silent protest created by celebrity photographer Adam Bouska in response to the passage of Proposition 8 in California.
Claire put out a call for student volunteers via email and word-of-mouth. She was amazed when 26 students showed up in the Art and Media Center for the photo shoot.
“The experience reminded me that Milton is a community, and people will come out to help and support you. People I did not expect showed up,” says Claire.
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Visiting artists make music with students
The dramatic sounds of Baroque music filled the Kellner Performing Arts Center as two Melissa Gold Artists visited campus to spend time with students.
Peter Sykes (right), a well-known keyboard artist, demonstrated Baroque music on the clavichord. View video. He is an associate professor of music and chair of the historical performance department at Boston University. He has also served as director of music at First Church in Cambridge, Congregational, since 1985.
Martin Pearlman (left), music director of the Boston Baroque Ensemble, rehearsed the Haydn Symphony with Milton’s Chamber Orchestra as they prepare for their upcoming tour in Germany. View video.
“Marty is one of the country’s leading experts in music of the Classical and Baroque periods. Rehearsing with him is a great experience for our students,” says Don Dregalla, music department chair. Mr. Pearlman is a professor of music at the Boston University School of Music.
The Melissa Dilworth Gold ’61 Visiting Artist Fund commemorates Melissa’s life and interests by bringing nationally recognized artists to campus each year so that students may benefit from dynamic interaction with inspirational and accomplished professionals.
The Importance of Being Earnest This Winter
Milton actors serve up wit and hilarity as they present The Importance of Being Earnest: A Trivial Play for Serious People. Oscar Wilde’s play is an intellectual farce of two best friends leading double lives that intertwine in comedic ways in Victorian England.
Dar Anastas, performing arts faculty member and director of the winter production, says, "each student brings something unique to the stage, which adds to an already great piece of literature."
This season’s production of The Important of Being Earnest runs in Ruth King Theatre on Thursday, February 9, and Friday, February 10, at 7:30 p.m., and on Saturday, February 11, at 7 p.m. For tickets, contact Dar Anastas at dar_anastas@milton.edu.
View photos of the performance.
Three Milton Musicians Earning Accolades
Three students are hitting high notes with their recent musical accomplishments. Ilve Bayturk (III) earned first prize for her performance in the Concerto Competition at the South Shore Conservatory in January. Violinist Sydney Adedamola (III) and vocalist Alé Gianino (II) were selected to participate in the Massachusetts Music Educators Association All State Festival in March.
Ilve played Dmitri Shostakovich’s Concerto #2 First Movement Allegro during the competition. She is a seasoned competitor at the Conservatory, earning placements in her past five appearances, including last year’s Overall Winner award.
Both Ilve and Sydney play for Milton’s Chamber Orchestra under the direction of music department chair Don Dregalla. Sydney has been playing violin for 12 years, and this will be her first appearance at the All State Festival—a weekend-long event culminating in a final orchestral performance at Boston Symphony Hall. Students audition at district events to earn a spot.
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Letting Loose: Art by Wendy Seller
The Nesto Gallery welcomes a new exhibit this week. In Letting Loose: Digital Collages, Wendy Seller uses graphic design software to layer paintings with elements of existing imagery.
“Ms. Seller’s work is based on assembling fragments of historical art paintings and reconfiguring them,” says art faculty member and Nesto Gallery director, Anne Neely. “In discovering parts of paintings, she takes them out of their setting and creates new meaning for them in more contemporary ways.”
A professor at the Rhode Island School of Design, Ms. Seller has exhibited her work across the United States and overseas. She has also been published in Boston Globe Magazine and the New York Times.
To welcome the artist and her work, Milton will host an opening reception on Tuesday, February 7, in the Nesto Gallery from 5:30 to 7 p.m. The Gallery is located on the lower level of the Art and Media Center. The exhibit will run through March 6.
Visit wendyseller.com to learn more about the artist.
Isabel Chun ’14 Illustrates a New Children’s Book
Isabel Chun (III) has illustrated her first, published children’s book. Her childhood love of painting ultimately led her to this project. Isabel’s vivid and colorful illustrations appear in The Kwik Adventures of Baxter Brave and Tommy the Salami, the story of a young boy who sets off with his dog from the high-rise buildings of Hong Kong for an around-the-world adventure. Traversing four chapters—The Desert, The Ocean, The Jungle and The Mountains—the duo encounter storms, beautiful landscapes, and a variety of animals that help them along the way.
“My favorite chapter to work on was The Jungle, but my favorite illustration is the starry sky that appears in the desert chapter,” says Isabel.
The book contains nearly 100 illustrations, each artfully created by Isabel’s hand. Each illustration was formed in two parts: an ink drawing, which provided the outline, and a watercolor element that filled in the color and texture. Isabel scanned both portions into a computer and merged the two in Photoshop, creating vibrant images that reflect a child’s sense of whimsy.
“The part I most enjoyed was combining the watercolor and ink and seeing the result. The most challenging part of the process was learning how to tell a story through art. This was my first experience with this challenge, and I had to figure out what perspectives would appeal to children.”
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Milton's Jazz Combo Performs at International Conference
The Jazz Education Network (JEN) has invited Milton Academy’s Advanced Jazz Combo to perform at this year’s JEN Conference on Friday, January 6 and Saturday, January 7. Milton’s musicians will travel to Louisville, Kentucky, to attend the two-day conference and play alongside some of the best school combos from around the world.
“The Jazz Combo will present a musical tribute to JEN's first legends of jazz education—Jamey Aebersold, David Baker, Jerry Coker and Dan Haerle—by performing their compositions,” says jazz faculty member Bob Sinicrope. “The students will also attend many clinics and performances during their time at the conference.”
The expected attendance at the conference is 3,000 people from all corners of the globe. The Jazz Education Network’s mission is to “build the jazz arts community by advancing education, promoting performance, and developing new audiences.”
Nesto Gallery Alive with the Kinetic Sculptures of Anne Lilly
Sculptor Anne Lilly uses carefully engineered motion to shift and manipulate our perception of time and space. Constructing precise and interactive sculptures, which move in fluid and mesmeric ways, she elicits connections between external physical space and the viewer’s private, psychological domain.
“Each piece utilizes the direct touch of the viewer to impart energy and initiate movement,” Ms. Lilly describes. “I fabricate the work in stainless steel. Stainless is a cold, hard, impersonal material, and I like pressing these qualities against the warm and sensuous response of the work.”
Anne Lilly has created public artworks for the City of Boston, and in 2010 she was nominated for the Foster Prize of Boston’s Institute of Contemporary Art. Her work was included in the 2007 DeCordova Annual Exhibition and is held in corporate and private collections internationally.
Cate McQuaid of the Boston Globe writes, “Anne Lilly’s captivating stainless steel sculptures…are so intricately engineered they appear to do magic. Tall rods rising from cylinders planted on gears rush toward each other, bowing, then fall away in one fluid motion. Rotating grills look like they’ll collide, then they miraculously pass. The movement of each sparely designed piece is full of grace and surprise.”
Ms. Lilly’s Nesto Gallery exhibit, Nimbus: Recent Sculptures, opened on December 6 and continues through January 20.
Class IV Presents: The Haunting of Will Shakespeare
The Class IV Play, a long-standing performing arts tradition at Milton, is an all-inclusive and beloved class project. Faculty member Pam McArdle directs this year’s production, The Haunting of Will Shakespeare—a fanciful take on how a young Shakespeare became a playwright.
"This play offers a blend of light-hearted comedy along with a touch of Shakespeare," says Ms. McArdle. "It is age-appropriate for Class IV students, yet sophisticated and funny enough to challenge the actors."
View photos of the performance.
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