Mike Corso recreates the past

Nice article in Sunday's Wyoming Tribune-Eagle about Mike Corso, our colleague in the Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources. By day, Mike manages all of our web sites and is building the WAC's new Online Artists Image Registry. In his free time, he dons the guises of Doc Holliday, Bat Masterson or Wyoming Territorial Governor John A. Campbell. Mike will play the part of Gov. Campbell today from 1-4 p.m. at the Wyoming History celebration at the Historic Governor's Mansion in Cheyenne. Read the article: Becoming part of the past - Wyoming Tribune Eagle Online

NASAA guidebook shows ways to engage adolescents in the arts

From NASAA (National Assembly of State Arts Agencies) Notes:

Meaningful engagement in arts education can have a life-changing impact on teens. An initiative and guidebook from the National Guild for Community Arts Education, Engaging Adolescents: Building Youth Participation in the Arts outlines a holistic approach that integrates arts learning with principles of youth development. It is designed to help staff and faculty develop new programs and services for teens or to rethink and strengthen programs they already offer.

UW's "A... My Name is Alice" is "a boodle of laughs"

The University of Wyoming's 2011 Snowy Range Summer Theatre season closes with "A ... My Name Is Alice," a bright and lively musical revue that presents a funny, bawdy and insightful kaleidoscope of contemporary women.

Directed by Leigh Selting, "A ... My Name Is Alice" runs at 7:30 nightly July 12-16 inside the Fine Arts Center studio theatre. Tickets cost $10 for adults, $8 for senior citizens (60 and older) and $5 for students. For tickets, call (307) 766-6666 or go online at www.uwyo.edu/finearts .

Called "a boodle of laughs" (The New York Post) and "delightful" and "so sophisticated" (The New York Times), "A ... My Name Is Alice" is filled with life's ups, downs and in-betweens from a modern woman's perspective.

The five-woman cast takes on multiple roles to explore the many facets of contemporary women's lives through scenes, monologues and songs. They explore the horrors of parent/teacher conferences, the delights of a male strip club and the tragedy of losing a parent. The music ranges from 1960s doo-wop and wistful pop ballads to soul-filled rhythm and blues.

Originally produced by the Women's Project at the American Place Theatre in New York, "A...My Name Is Alice" played a long duration at the Village Gate Off Broadway and won the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Musical Revue.

The revue was created by veteran directors Joan Micklin Silver and Julianne Boyd and involved a variety of comedy writers, lyricists and composers who contributed to the songs and sketches.

Photo: Amber McNew, Rebecca Diamond, Caryn Flanagan, Francesca Mintowt-Czyz and Jackie Darnell rehearse a scene from the University of Wyoming Department of Theatre and Dance production  "A ... My Name Is Alice," showing nightly at 7:30 July 12-16 inside the Fine Arts Center studio theatre. (UW Photo)   

Jenni Calder speaks on "The Scots of Wyoming in Cheyenne" on July 10

Jenni Calder, author of Frontier Scots, speaks on “The Scots of Wyoming in Cheyenne,” on Sunday, July 10, 2-4 p.m., at Barnes & Noble in Cheyenne.

Jenni Calder was Head of Publications for the National Museum of Scotland, and is currently President of Scottish PEN. Listing herself as a “Poet, writer,” for the Scottish Book Trust, she can be more fully appreciated as the author of: There Has to be a Lone Ranger: The Myth and Reality of the American Wild West; Scots in the USA; Robert Louis Stevenson: A Life Study; The Enterprising Scot (ed.); Chronicles of Conscience; the poem cycle Smoke, considering the Holocaust; and the autobiography Not Nebuchadnezzar, which treats her complex identities as the Scottish, American, and Jewish child of a famous family.

Cory McDaniel and Vicki Windle open "Music & Poetry Series" July 18 in Casper

ARTCORE opens its summer "Music & Poetry Series" on Monday, July 18, at downtown Casper's Metro Coffee with singer/songwriter Cory McDaniel and writer Vicki Windle. Showtime is 7:30 p.m. Get your tickets at http://www.artcorewy.com/tickets.php

Good reviews for "The Magdalene" as it opens Off Broadway

Lindsie Van Winkle (left) plays The Magdalene and Shad Olsen is Yeshua in "The Magdalene"

The Casper Star-Tribune today wrapped up its five-part series by Margaret Matray called "Making It," which follows Casper College theatre professor Jim Olm in his quest to produce his show "The Magdalene" Off Broadway. Wyomingarts hates to ruin the suspense, but the show did open and has received favorable reviews. Its continued run into September depends on ticket sales, so if you're heading to Broadway to see blockbusters such as "Spider Man" and "Book of Mormon," take the four-block walk to the Theatre of St. Clements at West 46th Street and see "The Magdalene." 

The CST series dug deep into the amount of dedication and work it takes to put on a play. Very instructional for any aspiring playwright or actor or director. 

Renowned landscape architect Walter Hood discusses "Art in Public Places" July 26 in Jackson

Renowned landscape architect Walter Hood, designer of the National Museum of Wildlife Art ’s under-construction sculpture trail, will discuss “Art in Public Places” at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, July 26 at the museum in Jackson. The event is free and open to the public. Known for his innovative and people-friendly designs of such high-profile public spaces as the grounds for the De Young Museum in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, Hood will share insight into his philosophy about creating multitasking public spaces that are both respectful of the land and rooted in their communities.