Newspaper Page Text
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Wednesday, August 23, 2006
NEWS IN A
HIJIIHY
Chapin to
perform at
Townsend
The Townsend
Center for the Performing
Arts at the University
of West Georgia kicks
off its 18th season
with an unprecedented
nine productions and a
September show featuring
three-time Grammy award
winner Tom Chapin.
Box office season
ticket sales begin this
week for three or more
productions “Tom Chapin
and Friends,” scheduled
Sept. 14, is a one-time
performance and is
expected to sell out.
The New York Times
calls Chapin “one of the
great personalities in
contemporary folk music.”
He is a prolific
songwriter and performer
with 17 albums and CDs
released in his career.
He has performed on
Broadway and television
and has hosted “National
Geographic Explorer.”
Chapin is a gifted
singer who performs with
friends Jon Cobert on piano
and Michael Mark on bass,
concertina and marimba.
The 2006-07 season,
with nine shows and stars
like Chapin, signals a
renaissance in the arts
at UWG, said Robert
Jennings, director of the
Townsend Center.
“The arts are
experiencing a revival on
campus,” said Jennings.
“The shows are high
quality and top notch
and are almost double in
number from last season.”
Group debuts on campus
By Larry Peel
Staff Writer
larry@ioncinema.com
In conjunction with
the University of West
Georgia’s planned new
Film minor program, a
new student group has
been formed for students
who have an interest in
film industry.
University of West
Georgia’s Film Society has
formed to promote film
production, screenwriting,
technical aspects and
film analysis among its
members and the student
body as a whole.
The group obtained the
necessary approval from
the university last spring
and has begun planning
the events for 2006-2007.
Headed up by Society
President Lauren Lovvom
with faculty advisor
Dr. Barbara Brickman,
the group hopes to hold
screenings once a month of
either mainstream motion
pictures, independent or
student films.
The group is not
designed for “film geeks”
alone, but instead hopes to
offer options that will appeal
to virtually anyone.
Lovvom said “I’m
hoping we can inspire
interest in a wide variety
of people, ranging from
those who wish to study
film seriously to those who
just want to enjoy a free
film. This really is a club
Other productions
include “Dances of Congo
Square” and the return
of “The Not So Scary
Fairy Tales” in October; a
“Lazer Vaudeville Holiday
Show” in December and
a dramatic one-man show
by Barry Scott performing
as Dr. Martin Luther King,
Jr. in “Ain’t Got Long to
Stay Here.”
“Dances on Congo
Square” is a performance
of color, music and
movement in a stunning
showcase of Caribbean
and African culture.
Stilt dancers perform
at breathtaking heights and
soar high above the stage.
Mardi Gras Indians from
New Orleans bring a unique
cultural phenomenon
with their enormous and
dazzling costumes.
“Not So Scary
Fairytales” features a “Not
So Scary Haunted House
for Children” with a live
theatre of mazes filled
with childhood literary
characters. Briar Rabbit,
Three Billy Goats Gruff,
Hansel and Gretel and even
the Mad Hatter will make
youngsters squeal with
delight.
The holiday season at
Townsend Center is not to
be missed w hen the “Lazer
Vaudeville Holiday Show”
and the seventh annual
“Rudolph to the Rescue
Toy Drive” come to the
university.
High-tech lazer
animation and the
traditional art of vaudeville
create a thrilling and
unforgettable family
holiday event.
Black light illusion,
out-of-this-world juggling,
neon cowboys showing
off their lassoing skills and
a visit from Santa Claus
make this production an
for people who just like
movies.”
The Film Society
hopes to garner student
interest by allowing
members to program all the
organizations screenings
and events.
The Film Society
Programming Committee
meets through brief
sessions and internet
correspondence to choose
the films that will be
showcased for the group
and the campus as a whole.
The committee has chosen
“Memento” as their first
screening, to take place
in September, though
the specific location and
date have not yet been
approved by the SAC.
In addition to the
regular screening sessions,
the Society plans to form
subgroups that will meet
to discuss specialized
divisions in the art of
motion pictures such as
screenwriting, set design
and any others which
student interest lead to.
They also hope to
enlist professionals from
the field to speak at both
open group and subgroup
meetings to help students
explore and understand
the processes behind the
movies.
One of the more
ambitious projects the
Society hopes to pursue
is the possibility of a
regional film festival on
campus for spring 2007.
evening to remember.
To celebrate the
memory of Martin
Luther King, Jr., actor
and motivational speaker
Barry Scott will perform a
tribute, “Ain’t Got Long to
Stay Here" in January.
Scott, writer, historian
and an authority on the life
of King, delivers a King
portrayal that is uncanny.
Scott has performed
in numerous film and
television roles and will
bring the audience into
another time as they
witness the this portrayal
of the preacher and
peacemaker.
Other productions
at the Townsend Center
include Dan Kamin’s
hilarious physical comedy
performances, “Tales of
the Ashanti,” a life-size
puppet show and a piano
concert by Andreas Klein.
Tickets can be ordered
by phone at (678) 839-
4722 or at the Townsend
Center box office, 10 a m.
through 4 p.m., Monday
through Friday.
Individual tickets
are $lO for adults, $7 for
seniors, $3 for children
and $3 for UWG students.
Tickets for “The Not
So Scary Fairytales" are
half price at $5 for adults
and $3 for children.
Discounted group
pricing for groups of 12 or
more are available.
Subscription tickets
for three or more shows
are offered at discounted
prices, also.
Subscribers receive
tickets discounted by
20 percent and superior
seating.
For more information,
call the Townsend
Center (678) 839-4722
or go to http://www.
townsendcenter.org.
The festival would
highlight student produced/
directed films from the
entire University System
of Georgia as well as
invitations to independent
local, regional and national
filmmakers seeking to
promote their wares.
When asked about
student films from the
area. Dr. Brickman said
that while the University
of West Georgia does
not currently have a film
production program,
there are many students
on campus who either
are currently involved in
micro-budget filmmaking
or would be interested in
doing so if given the proper
structure to pursue it.
Brickman hopes that
the Film Society can be
utilized to bring together
the interdisciplinary
aspects of the industry so
that students from the Mass
Communications, Theatre,
English departments and
perhaps other departments
on campus can gather
together to merge their
specific expertise together
to create art.
The Society also
hopes that it can be useful
as a resource to students in
all departments who seek
to utilize their skills in the
entertainment industry.
Students interested
in the UWG Film
Society can get
information by writing to
uwgfilms@westga.edu.
University to focus on
improved customer service
By Larry 1.. Feel
Staff Writer
Uirry@ioncinema.com
Governor Sonny Purdue has called
upon all state offices and departments to
become more service oriented than ever
before.
In an email statement to The West
Georgian, the Governor stated that he
wanted the state of Georgia to run more
like a business, “Fiscally sound and
customer oriented. The citizens of Georgia
are our customers and customers should
always leave with a pleasant memory of
their experience.”
University System of Georgia
Chancellor Erroll B. Davis, Jr. is
responding by asking all of the 38,000
faculty and staff employed by Georgia’s
35 public colleges and universities
to provide faster, friendlier and more
efficient service to the more than 253.500
USG students they service.
The University of West Georgia has
answered the call in the launching of anew
Customer Service Initiative for its student
enrollment services that will improve
advisement and registration procedures
on campus.
Dr. Don Rice, chair of the
department of psychology and assistant
vice president for academic affairs, has
been asked to head the UWG customer
service plan. He stated in a press release
that his primary goal is to focus on
improving retention, persistence, and
graduation of students.
“The governor’s overall initiative is
to make state services friendlier, faster
and easier”, said Rice, “West Georgia
is part of an Enrollment Services Focus
Group and we have chosen to concentrate
on improving various aspects of student
enrollment.”
The new customer service plan will
Want to Advertise
in
The West Georgian?
Contact Stephanie
Smith at (678) 839-4783
Like to draw?
The West Georgian is looking for student
drawn cartoons and comics. If you got the
talent we want to print your work.
Submissions should be sent in grayscale as
jpeg or tiff files to uwgpaper@westga.edu.
The West Georgian will pay students who have
their work printed.
a lie Ulest tfmirijiau
involve easing the stress students generally
find in the advisement, registration and
fee payment processes.
The initiative also involves the
creation of an official email address for
advisement and registration information.
Even before the initiative became
mandated by the USG, one West Georgia
department had already begun their own
customer service program.
The Financial Aid office gathered last
November to discuss the needs of their
department in meeting the expectations of
students in setting up their financial aid.
Zina Coley was appointed
Administrative Coordinator for the
Customer Service Team in the Financial
Aid office. Coley states that her team’s
goals are to “educate and inform students
well, treat each student as if this is their
first time to our office.”
Coley believes that through these
goalstheteam should meet theirobjectives,
which are to make “publications more
student friendly, and to notify and educate
students, parents and other departments...
via posters, the myuwg portal, emails and
the the department’s website."
She also hopes that by having a team
specially dedicated to servicing the need
of the recipients of the financial aid, that
other staffers in the office can spend
more time actively processing the forms
and packets necessary to speed up the
student’s receipt of the aid requested.
Dr. Thomas J. Hynes, acting president
at the University of West Georgia, was
quoted in a recent press release about the
overall UWG customer service initiative
as saying, “Obviously, improvements
directly benefit our current and future
students by making their interactions with
UWG more pleasant, less stressful and
more likely to effectively connect students
with the academic services and programs
they need.”