Student Production in search of “True West”

February 18, 2002

WHAT: Student Production in the Herberger College of Fine Arts at ASU presents “True West,” one of the seminal works of American playwright Sam Shepard. A play of brotherly love, jealousy and hatred, “True West” is directed by graduate student Michael Saar and features actors Shawn Murphy and J-T Hallet.

Student Production is a student driven organization within the department of Theatre that is dedicated to bringing student work to life on stage. Download Full Image

WHEN: February 24–26, 2002, at 7:30 p.m.

WHERE: The Student Laboratory Theatre at the Prism, 851 E. Tyler Street in the Ritter Building on the ASU campus (northwest corner of Terrace and Rural, just south of University Drive).

TICKETS: $3 available at the door only.

INFORMATION, TICKETS: 480-727-7877

Having earned renown several times over in the theater world, Sam Shepard’s work is known largely for it observations of human nature, with particular attention to the search for self-identity.

“True West” tells the story of Austin, a straight-laced screenwriter whose life is shattered when his estranged brother, Lee, shows up. The forced encounter leads both brothers to slowly lose themselves: Lee angles himself into the legitimate movie business, while Austin takes his brother’s life of crime by the reins.

Director Michael Saar is no stranger to Shepard’s style of psychologically complex stagecraft. Previous projects Saar has directed, such as Harold Pinter’s “Dumb Waiter,” John Guare’s “The Loveliest Afternoon of the Year,” and Samuel Beckett’s “Come and Go,” all deal with similar issues of duality in identity and the breakdown of human communication. “True West is a project that I’ve been wanting to do for a while,” explains Saar. “It’s the natural progression in my career as a director.”

“True West” is the second entry in a diverse Student Production season, including the student-written “Endless Deep and Closer Still” by AJ Morales on April 14-16, 2002, and Christopher Marlowe’s “The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus” on April 28-30, 2002.

Media Contact:
Megan Krause
480-965-8795
megan.krause@asu.edu

Critters enliven classical turned wood exhibition

February 19, 2002

What: Learning to Squeak, an MFA thesis exhibition featuring sculptural works created in turned wood. The artist enhances his classical turned wood bowls with animals and insects made of turned wood, and/or cast bronze.

Where: Harry Wood Gallery, Art Building, ASU Main, Tempe. (900 Forest Mall on the west side of campus near the intersection of Forest and Tyler Malls.) Download Full Image

Who: Joey Gottbrath, a graduate student at the School of Art in the Herberger College of Fine Arts at ASU.

When: March 4-8.
Opening Reception: 7-9 p.m., March 6.

Hours: Monday-Thursday: 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.; Friday: 9 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Cost: Always Free

About the Exhibition: Joey Gottbrath, a graduate student at ASU’s Herberger College School of Art, presents sculptural works in wood in his thesis exhibition. Mice, bees, humming birds, ants and even dung beetles hold pride of place in or on Gottbrath’s beautiful turned wood bowls.

The unique collection that forms the exhibition, Learning to Squeak, grew out of Gottbrath’s time spent at Colorado’s Anderson Ranch Arts Center last summer, where he worked with many big name wood turners.

Gottbrath says that his title, Learning to Squeak, is a play on the fact that he is finding his artistic voice through his unique wood creations featuring critters on or in his beautiful bowls. The small insects, animals and birds are created, in most cases, by fitting together multiple pieces of turned wood to create the complete critter. Occasionally, Gottbrath uses his foundry skills to create cast bronze legs, or in the case of the cicadas, the entire insect.

“As my turning got better, my confidence in making sculpture also increased. They’ve always gone hand in hand for me,” Gottbrath says.

“Because I’m a classically trained artist, I wasn’t satisfied with just vessel making. I wanted to add context and a deeper meaning to these bowls, so I added the sculptural element. It’s a very personal thing. I didn’t think I was expressing enough with the bowl. I need to create a more literal and direct dialogue, and that comes from the creation of these objects,” he says.

The public is invited to meet the artist at an opening reception on March 6 at 7 p.m.

About the Images:
Three Blind Rats (detail) by Joey Gottbrath. 2002. 16” x 16” x 8” each.
Dung Beetles by Joey Gottbrath. 2002. 6” x 6” x 6” each.
Jack and the Pumpkin Problem by Joey Gottbrath. 2002. 18” x 3’ x 3’.

The Harry Wood Gallery is one of three galleries on the ASU Tempe campus operated by students, staff and faculty of ASU’s School of Art in The Katherine K. Herberger College of Fine Arts. The Harry Wood Gallery features solo thesis exhibitions and group shows by graduate students pursuing master of fine arts (MFA) degrees and group shows by undergraduate students.

Media Contact:
Jennifer Pringle
480-965-8795
jennifer.pringle@asu.edu