performing arts
September 12, 2018
Umble Celebrates 40th
The Goshen College theater department will celebrate the 40th anniversary of the John S. Umble Center this year with a lineup of shows written by female playwrights. The 2018-2019 theater season will consist of four shows: a peace play in October, the fall mainstage in November, a mainstage musical in March and a set of one acts in April. The first play in the series will be “History Lesson” by Frankie Little Hardin. The play is set on a stormy day at an Audubon museum in Kentucky. The show is the winner of the 2018 Peace Play Contest. “[Hardin] is...
September 11, 2018
Parables, GC’s worship ensemble, “searches” for meaning
Every year, a group of Goshen College students forms the small worship ensemble Parables — an auditioned musical group which tells biblical stories and themes through song, testimony and theatrical skits. The 2018-2019 Parables group is made up of sophomores Lisa Rosado, Emmy Rupp, Stephen Lowe, Bek Zehr, Kailey Rice, and Josiah Phiri, and juniors Elijah Lora and Abigail Greaser. They work alongside Marcia Yost, director of arts at GC, who helps coordinate events and schedules for the Parables group. This year’s theme, “I am Searching…,” is conveyed through a program of music and skits which presents questions and ideas...
April 5, 2018
Goshen Monologues to be presented
Forty-two women and non-binary Goshen College students are gearing up for the fourth annual presentation of Goshen Monologues on this coming Saturday, April 7. The Goshen Monologues present the stories of women and non-binary members of the GC campus. They are comedic, intense, joyful and tragic snapshots of what it is like to live life in their shoes. Earlier this year, 46 anonymous submissions were made to the Monologues committee consisting of six GC students. After the stories were collected, the committee watched 42 auditions during a casting call which was open to all female and non-binary members of the...
March 29, 2018
‘Broadside’ publication hosts open mic
The Goshen College English Department hosted an Open Mic Night on Wednesday, March 21, to announce the winners of last fall's Broadside poetry/prose competition. The event also served to showcase the creativity of GC writers in an open mic session which followed the award announcements. "Broadside" publishes short prose and poetry by student, faculty, and visiting writers which can fit on single sheets of paper with writing on one side. They are hand signed by the author and distributed to a subscription list, then archived in the GC English department. Last fall, GC's "Broadside" publication committee collected about 20 prose...
March 22, 2018
International Coffeehouse to celebrate students
Goshen College’s annual International Student Club (ISC) Coffeehouse will be this Saturday, March 24. As is tradition, the Coffeehouse will begin with a meal prepared by ISC members as well as additional volunteers. The meal will be prepared over the course of three days and will feature over 10 different dishes from various countries representing the nationalities of Goshen College students. The meal will take place at 5:15 p.m. in the College Mennonite Church Fellowship Hall. The College Mennonite Church community is a large part of what will make feeding over 400 people possible this Saturday. According to Skip Barnett,...
March 15, 2018
“Pirates of Penzance” to open this weekend
Umble Center will soon be host to the exhilarating and humorous show, “Pirates of Penzance.” Written by W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan, “Pirates of Penzance” is a comic opera in two acts. The show originally premiered in 1879 and since has become one of Gilbert and Sullivan’s most frequently performed operas, alongside “The Mikado” and “H.M.S. Pinafore.” “The works of Gilbert and Sullivan have been a significant influence on musical theater as we know it today,” said Anna Kurtz Kuk, director of “Pirates” and assistant professor of theater. “Pirates of Penzance” follows the story of Frederic, a young lad whose...
February 8, 2018
Community men comes together for choir festival
LAURA MILLER Staff Writer lymiller@goshen.edu On the evening of Friday, Feb. 2, the Goshen College Men’s Chorus joined with local ensemble The Open Fifths and men’s choirs from Goshen High School and Bethany Christian Schools for a concert in Sauder Concert Hall. This was the second annual rendition of the Men’s Choir Festival. Each ensemble performed individually, and as part of the joint group of all four choirs. According to Scott Hochstetler, a music professor who directs the GC Men’s Chorus, the joint choirs spent about three hours together on the day of the concert. Their afternoon included campus...
February 8, 2018
Campus celebrates Black History Month with poet Ashlee Haze
Poet Ashlee Haze graced Goshen College with her presence this week in an event organized by both Campus Activity Council (CAC) and Black Student Union (BSU). The event took place at 10 p.m. on a chilly Saturday evening in the Umble Center auditorium. The night of poetry kicked off with an introduction of Haze from BSU leaders juniors Alhassan Barrie and Alia Byrd. Then Haze walked on stage to much applause from the people in the audience. Haze started off her set by giving a little information about herself and a statement about how she usually conducts her shows. “I...
October 5, 2017
Kick-Off features variety of acts
The Goshen College student population flooded into Sauder Concert Hall Saturday night to see for themselves if “Goshen’s Got Talent.” With 15 acts involving more than 30 people, this statement was an appropriate theme for Kick-Off 2017. This essential part of Goshen College culture was emceed by senior Kevin Florentin and junior Alia Byrd. These two, along with the other members of the Campus Activities Council (CAC), did the planning for the event, beginning even before the school year started. “From the theme to every decoration detail, to the acts themselves and every transition in between, CAC along with ITS...
September 14, 2017
Hamilton subject of convo
Goshen College students were in “the room where it happens” on Wednesday as the campus recognized Constitution Day with a Hamilton-themed convocation. Hamilton: An American Musical, is a musical with music, lyrics and book by Lin-Manuel Miranda inspired by the biography Alexander Hamilton, by historian Ron Chernow. The show debuted in 2015 and has been gaining popularity and garnering praise, awards and fans ever since. The convocation was facilitated by Jan Bender Shetler, professor of history, and organized by the History department as a whole, as part of a federal requirement that requires any institution that receives federal funding to...
March 23, 2017
ISC Coffeehouse encourages unity
Over 100 students came together at the International Student Coffeehouse to serve a meal and perform a show for the Goshen community on Saturday. The International Student Coffeehouse is an annual event that showcases food and talents from all over the world. The evening, hosted by the International Student Club, was led by Dona Park, Chrystopher Echavarria, both seniors, Achieng Agutu, Phil Chan, Hitesh Sharma, all juniors, and Sara Azzuni, a sophomore, alongside adviser, Skip Barnett. The event began with a dinner representing 13 different countries through food and drink. Dishes included cuñapes from Bolivia, masqati from Iran, pozole from...
March 9, 2017
When music is like breathing
“Everyone circle around the room,” instructed Debra Detwiler Brubaker to her Women’s World Music Choir, not impressed with their tired, mid-semester sound. The choir members pushed their chairs into the center of the spacious room. “Get into a low squat. Lower! Good.” “Now, we’re going to sing from our ovaries.” The choir sunk down into a low squat, with their hands almost touching the ground. Uncomfortable giggles circled the room, but Detwiler Brubaker stayed serious. “Now, sing,” she said, “You have the power to create. You are the beginning of the next generation. Open up and sing with this power...
March 9, 2017
Goshen Monologues to continue storytelling
In the dim light of the College Church-Chapel, the crowd’s volume drops from a low murmur to silence. A figure stands in the middle of the stage, surrounded by scarves and tapestries lovingly draped to cover the back wall. The figure breathes deeply and pauses, summoning the strength of the women who came before. In that moment, she becomes the story. The first performance of the Goshen Monologues occurred in the spring of 2014. Earlier that school year, Lauren Treiber, a senior back then, sent out a call for stories from women and non-binary folks in the GC community. After...
February 9, 2017
South African choral group to perform in Sauder
Many people will likely recognize Ladysmith Black Mambazo from their prominent role on Paul Simon’s Grammy-winning album Graceland, but their accomplishments are much broader than a single cameo. The group boasts over 50 albums in addition to 14 Grammy nominations and three Grammy awards. Ladysmith Black Mambazo was founded in the early 1960s by a man named Joseph Shabalala, a factory worker from Ladysmith, South Africa. The group sings in the isicathamiya tradition of a cappella music and began when black mine workers in South Africa sang together as a way to recuperate after six days of grueling labor underground....
February 2, 2017
Eigsti looks back on life’s work
For Karl Eigsti, a visit to Goshen College is a chance to look at all of his work from over the years. It’s also an opportunity to connect with people. Eigsti spent over 50 years as a set designer in theater and was involved in 20 Broadway shows, as well as Off-Broadway shows. This week, Eigsti is on campus, speaking in various classes about his work throughout his career. The Hershberger Gallery is featuring Eigsti’s design concepts from Jan. 22 to Feb. 26. People are invited to browse through his designs, but the gallery is featuring work that Eigsti himself...