by Cate Zenzen | Apr 6, 2018 | Arts and Entertainment, BREAKING NEWS, News Slider
The 55th annual Lipscomb University Singarama kicked off Thursday, April 5 with performances from three hard-working groups of students. Each night, a panel of 18 judges will focus on one aspect of each group’s performance and announce a winner for that category. This year’s theme is “It Takes Two” and the judging the first night was on “Theme”—which group had the best plot and successfully incorporated music into the storyline. The winner of Thursday’s performance was “Rise and Fall” directed by Taylor Sain. On taking home the first category, sophomore Jonathan Sottek said “it’s significant because it means that our story was significant to people.” “The way that we performed meant something as opposed to just being entertaining.” This year’s hosts are Berkeley Boglin, Madeline McPherson, Savanna Stewart, Hudson Parker, Luke Howard and Peytan Porter. This is McPherson’s second year hosting but, for her, no less special. “It’s been a really cool community to have and I’ve been coming to Singarama since I was little so it’s been a dream of mine to be a hostess,” she said. “It’s been so good to be singing with people who also love to do the same thing.” While the event is largely represented by social clubs, non-Greek Life friends are encouraged to join in on the fun. According to student body president Carson Panovec’s introduction video, this year has a record number of non-social club member participants. There are three more shows this weekend. Vocal quality is the award for Friday night. Saturday’s matinee will feature the award for best staging. Saturday night’s grand finale includes the award for “Sweepstakes” —...
by Ellen Butterfield | Apr 5, 2018 | Arts and Entertainment, News Slider
Lipscomb University theatre students are teaming up with the Nashville Repertory Theatre to perform Inherit the Wind — a work discussing creationism and evolution being taught in schools — at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center. Inherit the Wind is a fictional recreation of the 1925 Scopes “Monkey” Trial, in which Dayton, Tennessee, schoolteacher, John Scopes, is tried in court for teaching evolution, instead of creationism, in a classroom. Emily Meinerding, a senior acting major, plays Rachel Brown, the daughter of the minister and girlfriend to Bertram Cates, the fictional version of John Scopes. Meinerding says this play is particularly relevant to our society currently. “I think that there is a lot of polarizing situations in our culture as it is,” Meinerding said. “This play is one that encourages people to be open-minded, not to accept all, but to listen to all, to evaluate all, to read into things before you make decisions.” This production will run through Apr. 21 at the Andrew Johnson Theater. Tickets are available through the Tennessee Performing Arts Center’s website, starting at $25. Chapel Credit is available to students for attending April 6 with a talkback led by Dr. Randy Spivey. “Come in with an open mind whether you’re an evolutionist, or a creationist or somewhere in the middle,” Meinerding said. “Just be open to the idea that maybe things aren’t as cut and dried as you believe; things are more gray than we might realize.” Photo courtesy of Lipscomb...
by Parker Bell | Mar 31, 2018 | Arts and Entertainment, News Slider, Opinion
Stephen Spielberg is back again, just three months after the release of The Post. This time around, he’s having a lot more fun in the directing chair with Ready Player One. Ready Player One takes place in the near future of 2045 where most people are captivated with a virtual reality world called the “Oasis” that was created by a Bill Gates-type character named James Halliday (Mark Rylance). The story follows Wade Watts (Tye Sheridan), a very stereotypical teen who finds his escape in the video game world of the Oasis. He enters into a competition, engineered by Halliday, that sets him on a mission to find three keys that unlock the door to ownership and control of the Oasis. After earning the first key in an adrenaline-fueled race at the wheel of the DeLorean, Wade, also known by his in-game name Parzival, joins forces with his best friend Aech (Lena Waithe) and the famous Art3mis (Olivia Cooke) on his quest for the keys. Together, they travel back into the recorded memories of Halliday to search for clues, while fighting off the forces of the evil corporation IOI (Innovative Online Industries), helmed by CEO Nolan Sorrento (Ben Mendelsohn). Ready Player One is co-written by Ernest Cline, the author of the novel. And it’s easy to tell. In trying to stay loyal to the source material, Cline has crammed as much of the book as he can into the film. This makes for an exposition-heavy first fifteen minutes of the film that is filled to the brim with information about the world in an already lengthy two hour and 20...
by Charissa Ricker | Mar 21, 2018 | Arts and Entertainment, News Slider
Lipscomb’s neighbor school Belmont University announced in early February its acquisition of the O’More College of Design, currently located in Franklin, Tennessee. The expansion will commence in fall 2018 and will add three new design majors to Belmont’s undergraduate program. The competition between Lipscomb and Belmont is deeply rooted, and this acquisition has the potential to spark major changes on Lipscomb’s campus. The almost-50-years-old O’More College will be shutting the doors to its Franklin school, and students will have the choice to commute to Belmont’s campus. Belmont’s Editorial and News Content Director April Hefner gave an official statement regarding the transition. “Belmont is proud to welcome new programs in interior design, fashion design and fashion merchandising when O’More joins our campus this fall,” Hefner said. “Our design communications major will also see an expansion with the influx of O’More graphic design students.” O’More was founded with interior design roots and has a fully accredited interior design program while Lipscomb has a minor interior design program that is not popular among students. However, the other design majors Belmont is collecting have yet to be accredited, leaving Lipscomb and its fully-accredited fashion program a major step ahead. Kathy Bates, the chair of the fashion and design department at Lipscomb, taught a few adjunct classes at the O’More College of Fashion and Design several years ago and shared how she thinks Lipscomb will stand next to Belmont’s addition. “We have been the only one in Nashville that’s a fully accredited university that has a fully accredited fashion program,” Bates said. “I feel like we have pretty good ground to stand on.” Despite...
by Anna Rogers | Mar 15, 2018 | Arts and Entertainment, News Slider
Lipscomb will host its 55th Singarama in Collins Alumni Auditorium on April 5, 6 and 7. This year’s theme is “It Takes Two.” The musical production will feature both individual and collective musical performances from hosts Berkley Boglin, Luke Howard, Madeline McPherson, Hudson Parker, Peytan Porter and Savannah Stewart. “I’m excited to see the shows,” Parker said, adding that rehearsing with the other hosts and hostesses is “a blast.” Vince Law, a Singarama director, is most looking forward to the first performance, when everything comes together. “Aaron and Laurie Sain are looking to push the production to the next level,” Law said. “They’re definitely holding the writers to a higher standard.” Law’s show’s theme is “Name and Address,” which features social clubs Alpha Zeta, Gamma Lambda, Phi Sigma and Sigma Iota Delta. “Fun and Games” is the theme of another show, which will be performed by social clubs Delta Omega, Delta Sigma, Delta Nu, Sigma Omega Sigma and Tau Phi. “Rise and Fall” is the final show, featuring Kappa Chi, Phi Nu, Pi Delta and Theta Psi. Lipscomb holds a nostalgic place in its heart for Singarama. Every year, students, alumni, friends and family members pack Collins Alumni Auditorium to witness the production. For some students, like Law, the performance is special because it’s his senior year. For others, like Parker, the show is sentimental because it’s an important piece of his family’s past. Not only was his brother, Grant, a host in last year’s performance, but his father, Blake Parker, was also a host during his junior and senior years nearly 30 years ago. “I literally wouldn’t be alive if it weren’t for Singarama,”...
by Cavin Jacobson | Mar 12, 2018 | Arts and Entertainment, News Slider, Opinion
In 1962, Madeleine L’Engle was told that her complex children’s book, “A Wrinkle in Time” would be a huge flop. Publishers told her that children couldn’t grasp the intricate science presented in the story, and they were averse to the idea of a female preteen being the lead of a sci-fi adventure. They felt that young boys– the main market for science fiction– wouldn’t be interested in a story about a girl. Luckily, the small publishing company Farrar, Straus & Giroux took a risk on “A Wrinkle in Time.” The novel was a massive hit, which is why, 56 years later, Disney gave a budget of $103 million to director Ava DuVernay to adapt the now-beloved book into a cinematic adventure. In DuVernay’s adaption, Meg Murry (Storm Reid) is a shy, rebellious high schooler whose father went missing three years prior. Her younger brother, Charles Wallace Murry (Deric McCabe) is a child prodigy who was adopted by the family right before the disappearance of their father. After a bad day at school where Meg was sent to the Principal’s office for lashing out against a bully, her family is visited by an eccentrically-dressed woman named Mrs. Whatsit (Reese Witherspoon). The next day, while Meg is walking the dog with Charles Wallace, they run into Calvin O’keefe (Levi Miller) a popular kid at school who, with no explanation other than, “I feel like I should be here,” decides to go with Meg and Charles Wallace as they explore an abandoned house. The house ends up being the home to Mrs. Who (Mindy Kaling). Later on, while relaxing in Meg’s backyard,...
