What's happening at Penn State? Here's a look at some of the cultural events taking place at the University this weekend and next week:
Performances
"The Wolves" — March 29 and 31, Penn State Downtown Theatre Center, State College. A 2017 Pulitzer Prize finalist, this play offers a thoughtful and eloquent fly-on-the-wall look at a girls' high school soccer team as they go through their warm-ups on the indoor soccer field.
"The Laramie Project" — March 30 and 31, Penn State Downtown Theatre Center, State College. Based on a series of interviews, this play chronicles life in the town of Laramie, Wyoming, in the year following the infamous murder of Matthew Shepard in 1998.
Star of Broadway musical "Rent" to perform with students — 8 p.m., March 29, Studio Theatre, Penn State Behrend. Wilson Jermaine Heredia, the actor who portrayed Angel in the original Broadway performance of “Rent,” will perform a special concert with students at Penn State Erie.
Richard Fracker recital — 12:10 p.m., March 29, Eisenhower Chapel, University Park campus. Michigan State University Voice Professor Richard Fracker will perform a guest recital as part of the weekly Bach's Lunch series. Free.
"Kiss of the Spider Woman" — April 3-7, Penn State Downtown Theatre Center, State College. Based on the Academy Award-nominated film of the same name, Penn State Center Stage presents this captivating tale of fantasy, imprisonment and fear.
Events
"Storying through Movement: Walking, Sensing, and Making Places" — 3:30 p.m., March 29, 16 Borland Building, University Park campus. In this workshop led by professor Kimberly Powell at the Arts and Research Design Incubator, participants will learn more about the research project "StoryWalks" and how walking relates to storytelling and community identity.
"A Night of Chocolate: An Interdisciplinary Panel Discussion of Chocolate from Gene to Bean to Bar" — 6 p.m., March 29, Foster Auditorium, Paterno Library, University Park campus. Learn more about chocolate and the cocoa supply chain from leading experts. Free, but registration required.
Edible Book Festival — 1-2 p.m., April 2, 103 Paterno Library, University Park campus. You can either bake a cake based on a book or reading theme, or attend the event to help vote on the best submission. Free, but participants must register by April 2.
A Night in Espana With a Flamenco Flair — April 3, Cafe Laura, Mateer Building, University Park campus. Students in HM 430 Advanced Food Production and Service Management prepare a series of themed dinners throughout the semester to be served in the student-run Cafe Laura restaurant. Reservations required.
Choir tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. — April 4, Eisenhower Auditorium, University Park campus. Four choirs from communities and schools in central Pennsylvania will join Penn State's Essence of Joy and Glee Club at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 4, in Eisenhower Auditorium to perform a tribute to Martin Luther King Jr.
"The Godfather: Revenge is a dish best served here..." — April 4, Cafe Laura, Mateer Building, University Park campus. Students in HM 430 Advanced Food Production and Service Management prepare a series of themed dinners throughout the semester to be served in the student-run Cafe Laura restaurant. Reservations required.
Comfort & Style: A modern journey down the Mississippi — April 5, Cafe Laura, Mateer Building, University Park campus. Students in HM 430 Advanced Food Production and Service Management prepare a series of themed dinners throughout the semester to be served in the student-run Cafe Laura restaurant. Reservations required.
Lectures
“Art, Environmental Activism, and Moral Repair: A (Not-So-) Modest Proposal for Our Times” — 4:30 p.m., March 29, Lipton Auditorium, Palmer Museum of Art, University Park campus. Pamela Longobardi, distinguished professor of art at Georgia State University, will present a lecture co-sponsored by the Rock Ethics Institute; the Department of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies; the Sustainability Institute; the Department of Art History; and the Friends of the Palmer Museum of Art. Free.
“On the Use and Abuse of the Humanities for Life: Protection or Connection in the Age of Cynical Unreason” — 4 p.m., March 29, Alumni Lounge, Nittany Lion Inn, University Park campus. Michael Roth, president of Wesleyan University, will speak at the inaugural event of the Penn State Humanities Institute. Free.
"Public Good Provision and Local Administration in Francophone Africa" — 1 p.m., April 2, 217 Willard Building, University Park campus. Margaret "Molly" Ariotti, doctoral candidate in political science, will present her research. Free.
Distinguished Speaker Series: W. Kamau Bell — 8 p.m., April 3, Alumni Hall, HUB-Robeson Center, University Park campus. W. Kamau Bell, comedian and host of the CNN docu-series "United Shades of America," will discuss his career, his experience with a variety of American subcultures, and social change. Tickets required.
“The Case of Qayrawān: A Jewish Community in Muslim North Africa in the Making of the New Jewish ‘Bookshelf’” — 5 p.m., April 3, Alumni Lounge, Nittany Lion Inn, University Park campus. Menachem Ben-Sasson, chancellor of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Professor of The History of the Jewish People, will discuss the Jewish intellectual life that flourished beginning towards the end of the seventh century in the city of Qayrawān, which quickly became a commercial, religious and intellectual hub of the Mediterranean region after it was built.
"Habitats: In the Studio and Beyond" — 6 p.m., April 4, Stuckeman Jury Space, Stuckeman Building, University Park campus. Architect Elaine Molinar, managing partner with Snøhetta and one of the architects behind the winning Alexandria Library competition entry, will discuss the idea of habitats as it relates to art and architecture. Free.
“Educational leadership for population health" — 6:30 p.m. April 5, Ballroom ABC, Nittany Lion Inn, University Park campus. Dr. David Nash, a board-certified internist who is internationally recognized for his work in public accountability for outcomes, physician leadership development and quality-of-care improvement, will present the 21st Annual Stanley P. Mayers Endowed Lecture. Free.
“Risky Business: The Driving Factors of Creative Idea Development" — 12:30 p.m., April 5, Downsborough Community Room, Schlow Library, University Park campus. Scarlett Miller, associate professor of engineering design and industrial engineering at Penn State, will discuss the factors that contribute to the filtering of creative ideas during the design process and the role of risk-taking. Free.
Exhibits
"FaceAge" — 10 a.m., March 30, Penn State Wilkes-Barre. Andrew Belser, 2017-18 Penn State Laureate, will bring his award-winning “FaceAge” exhibition, a multimedia video installation created from cross-generational conversations, to Penn State Wilkes-Barre. RSVP requested.
"Pop at the Palmer" — Jan. 9-May 13, Palmer Museum of Art, University Park campus. Prints from the museum's permanent collection by Pop Art notables such as Roy Lichtenstein, James Rosenquist, Andy Warhol and Claes Oldenburg. Free.
"Dox Thrash, Black Life and the Carborundum Mezzotint" — Jan. 16-May 20, Palmer Museum of Art, University Park campus. The exhibit features Philadelphia-based artist Dox Thrash, who pioneered a new approach to printmaking known as the carborundum process in the late 1930s. Free.
"What Big Eyes You Have! Looking at the Wolf in Fairy Tales" — Jan. 16-May 13, Eberly Family Special Collections Library exhibition room, 104 Paterno Library, University Park campus. The exhibit takes a close look at historical depictions of the wolf in well-known and lesser-known fairy tales. Free.
"Home: Contemporary Indigenous Artists Responding" — Feb. 26-Aug. 21, Walter and Dori Goldstein Music and Media Center, Pattee Library, University Park campus. A dozen indigenous artists feature their works in printmaking. Free.
"Plastic Entanglements" — Feb. 13-June 17, Palmer Museum of Art, University Park campus. Sixty works explore the complex story of plastic. Free.
"Depth of Field" — March 8-Aug. 14, Diversity Studies Room, Pattee Library, University Park campus. The exhibit offers an unfiltered look at war photography and assesses its impact on audiences. Free.
"Keith Lemley: A Theory of Everything" — Oct. 26, 2017-Sept. 30, 2018, Woskob Family Gallery, 146 S. Allen St., State College. Penn State alumnus and artist Keith Lemley will craft a new work that combines maple and neon and unify them through geometry and form. Free.