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  • Art Now Visiting Artist Sheryl Oring: I WISH TO SAY

    Free and Open to the Public

     Performance
    11:30am-1:30pm, Rebecca Stafford Student Center

    Artist’s Talk 4:30pm,
    Club Dining Room

    After typing more than 2,500 postcards to the President from dozens of campuses and other locations around the country, Sheryl Oring’s I WISH TO SAY is coming to Monmouth to engage students in discussions about politics and social change.
    Oring sets up a pop-up public office on campus–complete with a manual typewriter–and invites students to dictate postcards to the next President.

    Sheryl Oring’s work examines social issues through projects that incorporate old and new media to tell stories, examine public opinion and foster open exchange. Oring’s work has been shown at Bryant Park in New York City; the Berlin Wall Memorial; the Jewish Museum Berlin; the 01SJ Biennial in San Jose, CA; the San Diego Museum of Art; as well as in major festivals such as Encuentro in São Paulo, Brazil, the Art Prospect Festival in St. Petersburg, Russia, and Art in Odd Places in New York City. She recently completed a large-scale public art installation at the San Diego International Airport and currently works as an Assistant Professor of Art at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Oring is the recipient of grants from Franklin Furnace and Creative Capital. Her forthcoming book Activating Democracy: The I Wish to Say Project is due out in Fall 2016 from Intellect Books/University of Chicago Press.

  • Another Night of Acapella Harmony: Doo Wop Explosion II

    Our celebration of doo wop acappella harmony at the Pollak Theatre is back by popular demand. Born on the street corners of urban America, rhythm & blues and doo wop singing reached its peak in the 1950’s, but still has a strong following today.  While doo wop singing began as an African American art form, by the late 1950’s it was enjoyed by singers of all races.  Doo wop harmony in its purist form is acappella (without instruments or musical tracks). 

    We’ve again assembled some of the top acappella doo wop vocal groups from NYC to Washington DC.  Headlining the concert will be R&B and Doo Wop favorites, Pookie Hudson’s Spaniels along with Vito & the Salutations.   The Spaniels are known for the 1956 million seller, “Goodnight Sweetheart Goodnight,” a song that defined the whole doo wop era.  The current group backed lead singer Pookie Hudson before his passing in 2006 and continues the Spaniels’ tradition of superb doo wop harmony.  Originating on the streets of Brooklyn, Vito & the Salutations scored regional hits in the early 1960’s with their recordings of “Gloria,” “Unchained Melody” and “Your Way”.  Rick Anthony has been handling most of the group’s leads for the past 15 years, as the original Vito is no longer with them.  The group also contains long time member, Shelly Buchansky, who sang on “Unchained Melody” and many of their other hits.  While both Pookie Hudson’s Spaniels and Vito & the Salutations almost always sing with bands, we’ve persuaded both to do this concert acappella, harking back to their early days singing on the street corners. Returning from our last acappella concert are two of the groups that excel every time they perform.  The Philadelphia acappella group Quiet Storm remains one of the areas’ top vocal groups.  Re-MemberThen did a fabulous job last time, on their own set and backing Larry Chance.  New to the concert this year are A Perfect Blend and the Copians.  A Perfect Blend is a great acappella group from Philadelphia who have been singing since 1990, and had previously won the talent contest on the nationally syndicated “Showtime At The Apollo” TV show.  The Copians  are made up of former members of other standout Philly acappella groups.  Enjoy another night of Doo Wop Acappella Harmony.

    [This line up is subject to change]

    A “Meet & Greet” Reception will be held prior to the concert for those holding Golden Seat Tickets.

  • Jody Joseph “4 Common Threads; One Heartstring”

    Tickets on sale July 1

    September 9 & 10
    First act at 7:15pm. Main event at 8pm | Lauren K. Woods Theatre

    A rare,
    intimate performance by Jody Joseph celebrating the styles of Stevie Nicks, Janis Joplin, Carly Simon, and Bette Midler, with a featured performance as Jody herself. This show is up front and personal, riveting, witty and real. The ensemble will be comprised of 9 local talented musicians.

    A portion of the proceeds will be donated to Jody’s”Heartstrings” program.
    (Please note this is a rental event and gift certificates and ticket vouchers are not valid on this event)

  • TUESDAY NIGHT RECORD CLUB: NIRVANA’S Nevermind

    It’s just like book club but with albums! With new advances in technology, the way we consume music through our devices, apps and on demand streaming services like Pandora, Spotify and iTunes is making the idea of the “album” as an art form extinct. Get together with other music enthusiasts on Tuesday nights in Woods Theatre to discuss some of the greatest records of all-time! Listen to the album beforehand and then come prepared to discuss…there will be special guest moderators and panelists at each event! This discussion will feature NIRVANA’S Nevermind. This event is free but registration is required.

    Panelists for this event include:
    Aaron Furgason, Chair, Monmouth University’s Department of Communication
    Rich Robinson, Program Director/ On-air Personality 90.5 The Night;
    Kim Zide Davis, Manager for the band Pantera  and the estate of “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott.

  • TUESDAY NIGHT RECORD CLUB: BOB DYLAN’S Blonde On Blonde

    It’s just like book club but with albums! With new advances in technology, the way we consume music through our devices, apps and on demand streaming services like Pandora, Spotify and iTunes is making the idea of the “album” as an art form extinct. Get together with other music enthusiasts on Tuesday nights to discuss some of the greatest records of all-time! Listen to the album beforehand and then come prepared to discuss…there will be special guest moderators and panelists at each event!

    This discussion will feature BOB DYLAN’S Blonde On Blonde. This event is free but registration is required. Please note this event has moved to Pollak Theatre!

  • TUESDAY NIGHT RECORD CLUB: Blondie’s Parallel Lines

    It’s just like book club but with albums! With new advances in technology, the way we consume music through our devices, apps and on demand streaming services like Pandora, Spotify and iTunes is making the idea of the “album” as an art form extinct. Get together with other music enthusiasts on Tuesday nights in Woods Theatre to discuss some of the greatest records of all-time! Listen to the album beforehand and then come prepared to discuss…there will be special guest moderators and panelists at each event!

    This discussion will feature Blondie’s Parallel Lines. This event is free but registration is required. 

  • TUESDAY NIGHT RECORD CLUB: BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN’S Nebraska

    It’s just like book club but with albums! With new advances in technology, the way we consume music through our devices, apps and on demand streaming services like Pandora, Spotify and iTunes is making the idea of the “album” as an art form extinct. Get together with other music enthusiasts on Tuesday nights in Woods Theatre to discuss some of the greatest records of all-time! Listen to the album beforehand and then come prepared to discuss…there will be special guest moderators and panelists at each event!

    This discussion will feature BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN’S Nebraska. This event is free but registration is required.

  • BLACK MARIA FILM FESTIVAL

    The Black Maria Film Festival was founded in 1981 as a tribute to Thomas Edison’s development of the motion picture at his laboratory, dubbed the “Black Maria” film studio, the first in the world, in West Orange, NJ. Now in its 36th year, the festival attracts and showcases the work of independent filmmakers internationally. The festival is a project of the Thomas A. Edison Media Arts Consortium, an independent non-profit organization in residence at New Jersey City University’s Department of Media Arts. Unlike other major film festivals, the Black Maria Festival is not presented in only one location. Instead, the winning films are presented at universities, museums, libraries and cultural centers across the country all year.

  • Jerry Zolten: We Were What We Laughed At! An American Cultural History through the Art of Stand-Up Comedy

    Jerry Zolten, educator, author, musician, roots music historian and producer, also counts among his credits a stint as a stand-up comic. He will give a presentation on the history of stand up comedy that is richly illustrated with rare video performance clips. The talk will explore comedy as it relates to issues including ethnic stereotyping, freedom of speech, social injustice, and race and gender disparity.

    Motivated by his love of comedy and the power of the best comedians to shake up thinking on a range of significant social issues, Zolten dug into the history of American stand-up and over the years interviewed and published profiles of luminaries including Carl Reiner, Steve Allen, Dick Gregory, George Carlin, and Woody Allen, to name a few.

    His collaborations on roots music projects with noted satirists Robert Crumb and Harvey Pekar have led to guest appearances on public radio’s American Routes and as a featured speaker at Nashville’s Country Music Hall of Fame.

    He is the author of Great God A’Mighty! The Dixie Hummingbirds: Celebrating the Rise of Soul Gospel Music (Oxford University Press), co-editor of Bruce Springsteen, Cultural Studies, and the Runaway American Dream (Ashgate), and contributor to The Cambridge Companion to the Beatles (Cambridge University Press).

    Zolten contributed to two 2015 Grammy-Winning projects, The Rise and Fall of Paramount Records, Volumes 1 & 2 (Revenant/Third Man) and The Fairfield Four’s Still Rockin’ My Soul!.

    His most recent work includes an article on the centennial of the iconic Martin Dreadnought Guitar for the C.F. Martin Guitar Company’s Martin Journal of the Acoustic Guitar along with a featured on-screen appearance in the documentary film “The Ballad of the Dreadnought” produced by C.F. Martin & Co.

  • Now What? Assessing the 2016 Election and What it Means for the Future