UpDate - Vol. 12, No. 7, Page 4
October 15, 1992
Up and coming
Professor's musical scheduled for production in two cities
The Peacock Room: Three Versions of a Kiss, a play with music and
lyrics by Joyce Hill Stoner, chairperson of art conservation, will be
performed this fall at the Wilmington Music School and next summer at
the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Mass.
Using a blend of fact and possibility, the musical tells the
story of James McNeill Whistler's painting of the famous Peacock Room,
a dining room originally in the home of Frances and Frederick Leyland
of London. The play takes place in 1876-77 and depicts Whistler's
relationships with the Leylands, who divorced two years after the
dining room was completed-a rare occurrence in Victorian times.
The book for The Peacock Room was written by Drury Pifer,
award-winning playwright, who has had over 24 plays professionally
produced. Stoner, who has had 13 musicals produced, was the senior
conservation consultant for a three-year restoration treatment of the
actual Peacock Room, now at the Freer Gallery of Art in Washington,
D.C. The room will be re-opened to the public next May.
Whistler originally called the room "Harmony in Blue and Gold."
That also is the name of a pen and ink drawing, which is on display in
the Clark Institute. Clark representatives said they booked the play
because of its "synthesis of the visual and performing arts." The
Clark performance will take place in June.
The Wilmington Music School performances are scheduled for Oct.
30-31 and Nov. 1, 6 and 7. Evening performances begin at 8. Matinees
are scheduled at 2 p.m., Sunday, Nov. l, and Saturday, Nov. 7.
Tickets, at $12 for students and senior citizens and $15 for others,
are on sale at Tickettown, telephone 656-9797.
The Peacock Room is produced by First Stage, a Delaware-based
organization dedicated to originating, developing and producing new
theatre. It was originally produced with support from the Delaware
State Arts Council.
Forum on parenting, grandparenting set
Calling all moms, dads, grandmothers and grandfathers.
A panel discussion about the art of parenting and grandparenting,
sponsored by the University of Delaware Women's Club, will be held at
7:30 p.m., Monday, Oct. 26, in 004 of Kirkbride Hall. The meeting is
free and open to the public.
Four panelists who have expertise in areas related to raising
children and interacting with grandchildren will speak. A
question-and-answer period will follow.
Monica S. Davis, a school family counselor, member of a child
study team and facilitator of parenting classes, will speak on
"Discipline Alternatives." Davis has served as a psychiatric social
worker, coordinator of special service programs and as liaison for
community agencies, the school, the child and family.
Robert A. Kasey Jr., who worked for the Du Pont Co. for 35 years,
is the founder and president of Creative Grandparenting Inc. His topic
will be "How Creative Grandparenting can be a Significant Factor in
Making the World a Better Place."
Robin Palkovitz, professor of individual and family studies, has
been carrying out research in "fathering" and the transition to
parenthood, from childbirth preparation and attendance, to
intergenerational relations. His topic will be "Effects of Parenting
on Adult Development."
Frederick B. Tuttle, assistant superintendent for instruction in
the Christina School District, has been a teacher in public and
private schools, and, as a college faculty member, has designed
programs and curricula and directed gifted children. His presentation
will be on "The Interaction between Schools and Parents."
For more information, contact Midge Vinson at (215) 667-4715 or
Ragda Nashed at 738-6907.
Playwright to talk on Jewish comediennes
Playwright Sarah Blacher Cohen will discuss "The Unkosher
Comediennes" at 5:30 p.m., today, in 005 of Kirkbride Hall.
Cohen, professor of Jewish-American literature at the State
University of New York at Albany, has a new play opening next month in
Philadelphia. Entitled Sophie, Totie & Belle, the play has been
described as a "bawdy comedy" about three Jewish stand-up comics,
Sophie Tucker, Totie Fields and Belle Barth. These women will be the
focus of her Oct. 15 talk.
Sponsored by the University's Jewish Studies Program, Department
of English and Honors Program, the event is free and open to the
public.
For more information, contact Sara Horowitz, assistant professor
of English at the University, telephone 831-6731 or 831-2457.
Parents Day features tours, entertainment
Parents of University students will have a chance to sample
campus life and check out the new Bob Carpenter Center as the
University holds Parents Day on Saturday, Nov. 7. Lectures,
entertainment, exhibitions and sporting events will be part of the
full day of activities.
Registration will begin at 9 a.m. at the Bob Carpenter Center,
where guests will be welcomed by members of the Parents Association
Board, deans, administrators and student life personnel. Remarks by
University President David P. Roselle at 10 a.m. will be followed by a
pre-game performance by the University of Delaware Marching Band,
University cheerleaders and the Precision Dance Team.
From 10-11:30 a.m., parents will have the choice of attending
several different events, such as an informal discussion on student
life at the University, an overview of the current employment market
and what this may mean for students at the University, a demonstration
of cheese making and a presentation about graduate study at the
University and opportunities for graduate and professional study at
other institutions.
A pre-football game luncheon is planned from 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. at
the Delaware Field House.
The Fightin' Blue Hens will take on the University of Connecticut
at 1 p.m. in Delaware Stadium.
For those who are not football fans, the annual Department of Art
faculty exhibition will be on view from noon-5 p.m. in the University
Gallery in Old College. From 1:30-4 p.m., a guided tour of the
University's permanent collection of minerals, gems, carved stones and
rare specimens will be held in Penny Hall.
The Center for Black Culture will hold an open house from 4-7
p.m. The center is located at 192 South College Ave. Included will be
a presentation on the black organizations on campus.
A hot buffet dinner will be served from 5-7 p.m. in the Perkins
Student Center.
At 7:30 p.m., a Song Fest in Newark Hall will bring together all
the U.D. vocal ensembles for presentation of their most popular
selections. Featured will be the Gospel Ensemble, the Golden Blues,
the Deltones, the D Sharps and the Hen Harmonics.
Tickets may be purchased at the Department of Music until Nov. 5.
Seating is limited.
Information is available from 9 a.m.-4 p.m., Mondays through
Fridays. For ticket information, call 831-2257; for general Parents
Day information, call 831-2707; and for Song Fest inquiries, call
831-2577.
Did Columbus start Atlantic slave trade?
The degree to which Christopher Columbus' encounter with the
Americas started the trans-Atlantic slave trade is the topic of the
final lecture in the University's series on "The Consequences of 1492:
A New World Perspective."
Franklin Knight, professor of history at Johns Hopkins
University, will deliver the talk at 7 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 20, in 120
of Clayton Hall.
Knight's lecture, "Christopher Columbus: Looking Forward or
Looking Back? The Challenges of a Quincentenary Commemoration," is
free and open to the public.
"A lot of people have said that (Columbus) was responsible for
starting the trans-Atlantic slave trade because he tried to bring back
the Indians as slaves," Knight said. "That is not technically correct.
He brought back some Indians, but he didn't deliberately say they were
slaves. He used the term 'useful servants.'
"It is possible that he contemplated selling them, but mostly he
showed them as exotics to the magistrates who had sponsored the
expedition, and he was able to say they were convertible to
Christianity."
Knight has authored and edited numerous books and articles on
slavery, slave societies and the history of the Caribbean. His
published works include Atlantic Port Cities: Economy, Culture and
Society in the Atlantic World, which he co-edited. He is currently
serving as volume editor for Slave Societies of the Caribbean, to be
published by UNESCO.
The lecture series is sponsored by the University's Department of
History and is partially funded by the Delaware Humanities Forum,
which receives its major funding from the National Endowment for the
Humanities.