by Kelsey Durnin | Feb 21, 2011 | News Slider
Three months after its opening, Ragtime and its cast are still receiving recognition. New director, Mike Fernandez, has revamped the drama department since his arrival. The theater department has grown from only three majors, four years ago, to over thirty current majors. This growth led to what senior American studies major from Memphis, Matt Raich, feels is safe to say “Lipscomb’s best and biggest production ever.” Seth Jones, a senior and vocal music education major from Rhodesdale, Md., says he is excited to see Lipscomb adding to its music-related programs. “After all, in Music City we should at least seek to be musically excellent,” Jones said. Ragtime featured a very large and diverse cast. Because of their exceptional performances, several actors and the entire production were nominated for various competitions. Tyler Ashley, a sophomore and musical theatre major from Nashville, and Caleb Pritchett, a junior and double acting and directing major from Franklin, Tenn., were both nominated for what Pritchett refers to as the “Heisman of college theater,” the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship. As a part of this nomination, over 200 nominees competed in Tampa, Fla. Pritchett was also nominated for Best Actor in a Musical (Non-Professional) by Broadway World and came in third in the voting. “As an actor, when you can make someone feel a strong emotion, it makes you feel good and affirms that what you’re doing on stage has a purpose and the audience is actually getting something out of it,” Pritchett said. Raich and fellow Ragtime actor Luciano Vignola have also been recognized for their performances and will be attending the Southeastern Theatre Conference...
by Kelsey Durnin | Feb 11, 2011 | News Slider
[Update] As of Friday, Feb. 11 at 10:40 a.m. CST, fomer president Hosni Mubarak, who had been Egypt’s president for more than 30 years, has resigned. Reports of the thousands of protesters shouting “Egypt is free!” are flooding news media and social networking sites. After 18 days of demonstrations and years of the Mubarak reign, protesters’ cries have been heard and answered. The White House has reported that President Obama will make a statement this afternoon. [Original story] With death tolls exceeding 300, conflict in Egypt continues and spreads beyond Cairo. For the past 18 days, revolt has shaken Egypt as demonstrators gather in Tahrir Square to protest the injustices they have endured throughout President Hosni Mubarak’s thirty year administration. In response to citizen’s hostility, the government has issued a curfew requiring everyone to be in their homes by 7:00 p.m. (recently changed to 8:00 p.m.) and to exit their homes no earlier than 6:00 a.m. The use of social networking to rally protestors also caused the government to disable internet access and text messaging services. Protests have also led to many injuries and the 10-day disappearance of Google executive, Wael Ghonim, who actively protested Egypt’s government via social networks such as Twitter. Egyptian vice president, Omar Suleiman, managed Ghonim’s release from their security services. However, according to the Wall Street Journal, the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights estimates over 1,200 people have been detained since the beginning of the protests. For the past thirty years, Mubarak has subdued citizens of Egypt and imposed on their rights by instating a military emergency law after former president Anwar El Sadat’s...
