Play becomes a community effort
Sharon Andrews and her colleagues in the theatre and dance department would like to make the University Theatre the community’s theatre. Andrews, who is directing the "The Grapes of Wrath” on the Mainstage Theatre, has included undergraduates, graduate students and faculty and staff in the production and related events.
The Come to the Table Piedmont Conference on Feb. 18-19 is one of three regional conferences to discuss hunger relief in North Carolina. The event brings together churches, nonprofits, local farmers and campus groups to generate creative ideas for how best to get food to those in need.
If you visited the Mainstage Theatre during one of the many rehearsals for Grapes of Wrath, you would have found senior Suzanne Spicer with her big book — making sure lighting cues, prop usage, costume changes and the entrances and exits of all the performers have been meticulously noted for every act and scene.
The School of Law team won the South Super Regional Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition in Houston, Texas. The team now heads to Washington, D.C., for the international round. The Jessup Competition is the largest appellate moot court competition in the world; 500 law schools from more than 80 countries participate every year.
Indra K. Nooyi, chairman and chief executive officer of PepsiCo, will deliver the 2011 commencement address on May 16. “When she visited campus two years ago, Indra wowed students with her insight and energy,” said President Nathan O. Hatch.
Monica Petrescu, who graduated from Wake Forest in May, is the first Wake Forest student or graduate to be awarded a Gates Cambridge Scholarship for graduate study at the University of Cambridge, England.
Reynolds Professor of American Studies Maya Angelou received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama at the White House on Tuesday. Angelou, a world-renowned poet, author, actress and civil rights activist, joined the Wake Forest faculty in 1982.
Props are often vital to a play’s storyline — such as the upcoming “Grapes of Wrath" — but no one ever really thinks about them until the gun doesn’t fire at the right time. “We tend to not pay much attention to props until they’re not working,” said Associate Professor and Chair of Theatre JK Curry, who has edited a recent book on props.
Students, faculty and alumni will be honored during the annual Founders’ Day Convocation, celebrating Wake Forest’s founding, on Feb. 17. The program will feature seniors Catherine Berenato, Ashley Gedraitis and Ava Petrash, who will present their senior orations.
Oscar-nominated director Jason Reitman (“Thank You for Smoking,” “Juno,” “Up in the Air”) will discuss filmmaking and his career at the fourth annual Reynolda Film Festival.