The Daily Princetonian
Thursday October 22, 2015
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TEACHING CRAFT This week, Street spoke to three Lewis Center of the Arts professors in different disciplines. Professors Nell Painter, A.M. Homes and Martha Friedman discuss their experiences as artists and teachers at Princeton.
A.M. HOMES ANDIE AYALA Contributor
T
he creative writing courses taught by A.M. Homes, under the umbrella of the Lewis Center for the Arts, are essentially a formal space for sharing and refining the art of storytelling. Every week, students are required to send in manuscripts of their own works of fiction and bring in other
stories they would like to share with the class. Ultimately, Homes hopes that the class will “help people reconnect to their imagination” and learn that it’s “okay to take intellectual and creative risks.” Homes finds that Princeton students tend to be really good at following rules — after all, that’s how they were admitted here. However, as a result, these students are often risk-averse and fearful of the prospect of failure — which is a necessary component of creative writing.
Homes said she loves teaching this course because she gets students who have a variety of different interests, many of whom have been trained to think and to write based on empirical claims. She said that her philosophy as a professor is to help students understand that their future is not based on what they know, but on what they can imagine. In Homes’ words, her advanced fiction class isn’t about “becoming the next great novelist, although that’s great too.” Rather, she says, “it’s about becoming a person.” While some students who take the course end up coming back to Homes hoping to write a creative writing thesis, students often don’t take this class intending to pursue a writing career. In discussing one of the most memorable examples of this, Homes described a young woman who was a talented writer but was aiming for a profession in medicine rather than writing. “When I end up in an emergency room I want her there, because she had that unique combination of intellectual skill but also human compassion,” Homes said. “So I said to
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MARTHA FRIEDMAN ANGELA WANG Contributor
M
a rtha Friedman, lecturer in visual arts in the Lewis Center for the Arts, grew up in a family of scientists. “Literally, the way I thought about things seemed different from my nuclear family,” Friedman said, describing her upbringing. As paradoxical as it sounds, Friedman decided to become an artist in response to her family’s interests. Her father, a molecular geneticist, brought her to the lab and asked her to sort out fruit f lies. Her mother, a doctor, provided her access to images of anatomical slices. Because her mother and father taught her about what was going on inside bodies and about organic processes, her fundamental idea of the physical world was abstracted, and she developed a keen sense of a body’s movement from the inside and out. Her ability to abstract materials from their daily physical appearance proves beneficial to her as a sculptor. Friedman always wanted to be an artist. When she was 10, she went to an arts camp in Chicago intending
to focus on her oboe-playing. Instead of enjoying playing in the orchestra, she “loved making the double-reeds for the oboe.” One day, she saw a group of art kids in the camp hanging out outside. She smelled the paint coming out of the studios and realized that was where she needed to be. The next year, she went to the camp to take the sculpture class. “I make weird stuff, and people actually kind of took it seriously,” Friedman said. “And then you find people that think like you, too, and that felt really good.” She continued attending that camp until she was 18 and taught there for two summers. Now, she is a lecturer at
the University, co-teaching a class called “Body and Object, Making Art that is Both Sculpture and Dance”
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COURTESY OF PROJECTARTIST
NELL PAINTER
COURTESY OF WIKIPEDIA
JOY DARTEY Staff Writer
A
fter history professor emerita Nell Painter saw a New York Times cover depicting the Russian bombing of Grozny, the North Caucasus-located capital of Chechnya, she wondered why white Americans were called Caucasians. After spending a semester in Germany finding out, Painter wrote “The History of White People” in 2010, discussing how formerly nonwhite people were classified as white through their assimilation into American society. Painter is often referred to as a historian first and a painter second. Noting the sharp divide between art and history, she explained her interest in the two subject areas. “It’s scholarship versus art,” Painter said. “[In history], my aim is for the reader to understand what I’m thinking. I was making the meaning, not the reader. But in art, the viewer makes the meaning. The aim is not so much clarity, but interest.” Despite the differences between the two subject areas, Painter combined art and history in her two art history books. She continues to make art and believes that an artist does not need to wait for inspiration to strike in order to create, as long as there is interest and inclination. “I feel that as a professional, I need to make art whether I feel like it or not,” she explained. Painter first started teaching at the University in 1988 as a professor of history. She eventually took a 10-year break from teaching but was invited back to the University by Eddie Glaude GS ’97, head of the African American Studies department, to teach a course this fall. The interdisciplinary course is called AAS 347: Art School at Af-
rican American Studies: Process, Discourse, Infrastructure, in which Painter combines art making with art criticism and an examination of contemporary art, particularly the works of black artists. The course is fundamentally based on art concepts, but the art that students create is intertwined with African American history. “We are doing it from the point of view of black artists,” Painter explained. “What are the issues of interest to black artists?” Painter defines black artists as artists of African descent working in the United States. She believes that, in general, black artists tend to have a stronger interest in making social commentary through their art than non-black artists. “People of color generally have the same interest in commenting on society, as a critique. And in the art world that is a problem, because generally the art world just wants – you can call it art for art’s sake. So art that is problematic or that has a point of view is very often just brushed aside as illustration,” Painter said, explaining that “illustration” is considered lowbrow compared to “fine art,” which is highbrow. Painter currently has two students in her seminar and makes art with them on their studio days. Dallas Nan ’16 and Lorenzo Laing ’16 are both invested in creating political art. At the beginning of the semester, Painter asked Nan and Laing to bring in images that were of interest to them. The images then acted as the “program” for their artwork. Nan’s image concerns the gentrification of a slum in the Philippines and Laing’s is of a demonstration from Ferguson.
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The Daily Princetonian
Thursday October 22, 2015
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A.M. HOMES
NELL PAINTER
CONTINUED FROM S1 her, when you go to medical school, I want to write the recommendation letter for you.” As such, Homes said that she takes great care to tailor the material of the course to fit the interests of the students, asking them to bring in books that they would like to share with the rest of the class. In addition, she schedules office hours to talk about their writing, as well as to discuss how they are navigating life at Princeton. She described how each semester the class is very different, as she tries to find ways in which she can be most useful to the students. Homes explained that one unique feature of the Program in Creative Writing at the University is that, as opposed to other universities where professors are often transitioning in and out, at Princeton she’s really been able to spend time with the other faculty members. She noted that the department has some of the most renowned names in present-day literature and that this environment has helped her to develop and challenge herself as a writer.
Additionally, Homes explained that the shape that creative writing courses take varies depending on the professor and that professor’s writing style. Current professors in the department include Joyce Carol Oates, Jeffrey Eugenides and, as of this semester, Jhumpa Lahiri, author of “Interpreter of Maladies” and recent honoree of the National Humanities Medal. It’s somewhat normal to be consistently busy in the Orange Bubble, and A.M. Homes understands the nature of the business more than anyone. She explained how she recently interviewed author Salman Rushdie in front of a live audience, wrote a piece on musician Laurie Anderson the next day, worked on part of her upcoming novel, edited part of her new collection of short stories and taught both her introductory and advanced fiction classes, all in one week. For Homes, part of the excitement of being at a university like Princeton is that it’s an “intellectual sort of festival.”
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COURTESY OF AMAZON
Cover of Homes’ second most recent novel, “This Book Will Save Your Life” (2006). Her most recent is “May We Be Forgiven” (2012).
There have been several exhibitions of Friedman’s work. Her 2010 sculpture “Ladies CONTINUED FROM S1 Room” of two tongues made of silicon rubber is a piece from one of her most famous with Susan Marshall, direc- man said. exhibitions. Friedman’s inspitor of the dance program in For the class, the student’s ration sprang from a dinner the Lewis Center. Dance and first assignment was to comshe had in a Chinese restausculpture, normally associat- bine an object with a “motion” rant, when she ordered duck ed with motions and stillness, word. One student was asked tongues. While she was eatrespectively, are integrated in to combine “sand” with “spining, she couldn’t stop thinktheir class. ning,” and she came up with ing that “her tongue [was] “Contemporary dance can an innovative piece. Accordchewing on another tongue.” be very static — it can be a ing to Friedman, the student This idea of a tongue inperson sitting down and star- had four boxes, one without teracting with another tongue ing at the audience on stage; sand, and three others with motivated her work. To some, and contemporary art can be increasing amounts of sand. the massive tongues can come extremely performative and She stepped into the first box across as a bit sexual, a comabout time passing,” Fried- and turned with a headstand. parison Friedman shrugs off. “I do like to be provocative,” Friedman said. Next week, Friedman is installing her new exhibition, “Pore,” which will open Nov. 7 and run through January at the Locust Projects art gallery in Miami, Fla. Rubber is going to be a main material for the exhibition, and Silas Riener ’06, a dancer and choreographer, will dance at different points inside some of the sculptures. “The contemporary dance world and the contemporary visual arts world have these distinct crossovers,” Friedman said. She is using COURTESY OF HYPERALLERGIC.COM her own actions to “Ladies Room 2010” by Martha Friedman, a statue that portrays two tongues reaching for an olive. Friedman embrace their conexplained that she was inspired to create the piece while eating duck tongue at a Chinese restaurant. nection.
MARTHA FRIEDMAN
While doing it, she made crying noises because it was painful to do so. Then, stepping into the second box, she spun on her head again, except the crying noise decreased because the sand provided resistance. After she repeated the process for the third box, some laughter occurred. Then for the fourth box filled with sand, laughing replaced crying completely. The student created a piece that was highly creative and yet technical, Friedman said. “You don’t have to be good at things to take a class. That’s ridiculous. Just be interested,” Friedman said.
“They are both programmatic bodies of work,” Painter said. “So in that way, they are very much African American artists.” Painter explained that the course is its own reward for her students because they are able to work like artists. The subtitle of the course is “Process, Discourse, and Infrastructure”; making art is the process, reading art history, art criticism and engaging with the texts is the discourse, while visiting museums and galleries is the infrastructure. “Professor Painter’s expertise in not only art and art history, but also history, allows for vivid discussions during class and invaluable contextualization that allows one photograph or painting to become an inspired and impactful narrative,” Nan said, noting the benefits of the course’s interdisciplinary approach. Nan and Laing’s works are currently on display at 185 Nassau St. and will be COURTESY OF SIGNSJOURNAL.COM exhibited in Newark “Dedication” (2009), charcoal by Nell Painter. when the course ends. Painter noted that, starting that they have shown. out, she had no idea what kind “I am really enjoying being of art her students would cre- back at Princeton,” she said. ate, but that she is very excited “Mostly, I enjoy the high level about the level of investment of intellectual engagement.”
COURTESY OF AMAZON
“Sojourner Truth: A Life, A Symbol” (1997), a biography by Painter under her “Art Historian” name, Nell Irvin Painter.
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The Daily Princetonian
Thursday October 22, 2015
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UNFAMILIAR STREET Wanshou Lu, Beijing, China
Breakout: More than short-term community service
CATHERINE WANG
DANIELLE TAYLOR
Contributor
W
anshou Lu is a street filled with the elderly. Located in Beijing, a city that is the embodiment of rapid modernization, the street retains aspects of a relaxed lifestyle, with grandparents walking leisurely along the storefronts as they barter for fruits and vegetables in the morning. The street is prime real estate, less than 10 minutes by metro from Tiananmen Square, but what its elderly inhabitants most like to boast about is its name, since Wanshou Lu roughly translates to “longevity in life.” Wanshou Lu’s disproportionately large retired population is mostly a direct result of China’s Communist regime. Many of the elderly, including my grandparents, were sold these apartments at a largely reduced price thanks to residual benefits of the Communist regime’s economic plans in the mid-to-late 20th century. Over the course of four summer trips visiting my grandparents in Beijing, I have spent over four months of my life wandering this street. Each time I return, it always seems that I have changed far more than the street has, which is certainly not true for the rest of the city, which never seems to stop evolving. As Beijing continues to add skyscrapers to its urban grid, the iconic system of labyrinthine narrow streets, known as hutongs, are rapidly disappearing. On the right side of Wanshou Lu, however, there are entrances to hutongs that have not yet been torn down. When I look down from my grandparents’ apartment building, I can see people still living in the old houses,
hanging their wet laundry on wooden clothespins as the Central Radio and TV Tower looms in the distance. On the left side of the street, there are scattered new developments like hotels and apartment buildings, but none of Wanshou Lu’s inhabitants seem very interested in exploring new places. They are so used to their pace of life that the hustle and bustle of the surrounding city dies down on this street, bowing down to a stable, long-established routine. The mornings are reserved for grocery shopping and exercise. At around 4 p.m., a group of grandmas sits down on a set of threadbare couches at the corner of their apartment complex to chat for two hours, cooling themselves off with round bamboo fans. Every night there is an evening stroll. The only thing that interrupts this consistent pace is the rush of those who are passing through the street headed to work or school. A symphony of car horns interrupts the peaceful rustling of the leaves, and struggling 20-somethings rush down the sidewalks, eyes on their phones as they try to catch the subway. The break in rhythm reminds me that there is still a city out there beyond this street. Although Wanshou Lu is primarily a residential street, the surrounding area is heavily commercialized. Less than five minutes’ walking distance from my grandparents’ apartment are three shopping malls: one is ridiculously expensive, selling only imported goods and always empty. (Rumor has it that the mall was originally built for high-ranking officials with dirty money and expensive taste. However,
Staff Writer
the mall opened only a few years before President Xi Jinping took office and cracked down on the illegal activities of corrupt officials.) The other two malls are relatively affordable and filled with young people buying clothes, tech and accessories. Most importantly to me, at Wanshou Lu there is food at every possible hour of the day. Starting at 6 a.m., the street breakfast vendors open up shop wherever is convenient on the streets, usually next to the grocery store or on a side alley, and the smell of steaming hot cups of soybean milk, pork buns and scallion pancakes wafts through the air. The food is served at a breakneck pace, with vendors shoving food into one customer’s impatient hands while taking the order of the next customer. At lunch, a restaurant called Lao Zhang Jia is f looded with nearby workers taking their standard two-hour lunch break. You can find every dish imaginable there: fresh fish stew, spicy noodles, dumplings, duck and absolutely nothing is sub-standard (I say this with confidence, having tried at least half of the menu.) At night, fruit stands pop up, and the perfectly ripe summer peaches are the first to sell out. Living on this street for a month this past summer was a peek into the life after retirement, shopping and eating to my heart’s content. Slowing down the pace of my life to this street’s rhythm was relaxing, but like the nearby workers and struggling twentysomethings, I was just passing through. The bustling world was always waiting for me to come back to it.
A
lthough commu- dozen students on each trip. All Center website, this semester, a nity service is trips are student-proposed, stu- trip titled “Where do we go from often associated with dent-led and student-approved here?: Community Organizing direct volunteer- by the board. Any student can in the Wake of Crisis” is going based service, Breakout Princ- propose a trip to lead. Trips are to Ferguson, Mo., while another eton is a Pace Center for Civic chosen to offer a wide variety of trip called “Contested ResourcEngagement program offering topics; location and prior leader- es: Nonferrous Mining in Minan alternative break that allows ship experience can also play a nesota’s Iron Range” is traveling students to engage in issues role in which trips are selected. to northeast Minnesota. through service learning, a hy“We also think a lot about “The reason that they’re gobrid of community service and the way in which the trips are ing to these specific places is learning from policy stakehold- framed in their proposals,” Sex- because their topic needs to be ers. Breakout owes its name to ton said. He added that Breakout explored in that place,” Rauch the fact that the trips occur dur- trips are approved if the lead- said. ing fall and spring break. The ers demonstrate humility and a The trip to Ferguson would service learning aspect comes realistic idea of what their trip not work in another area closer in when students learn about will be like. to Princeton, so the location is domestic social issues. Rather Sexton and Rauch co-led a necessary to the topic of the trip, than completing a service proj- Breakout trip their freshman Sexton added. ect during the week, students spring, focusing on the intersec“In the past, there were fewmeet policymakers, community tions between socioeconomic er Breakout trips in total, so a organizations and those directly status and HIV in New York City. larger portion of the trips were affected by the focus issue of the The pair met with a multitude going far away,” Sexton said. “I specific trip. of public health organizations also think that part of the reason “Breakout has a service com- as well as organizations that why there’s a lot of trips that stay ponent,” Breakout Student Ex- specifically served those living in the northeastern part of the ecutive Board co-chair Nick Sex- with HIV. Sexton explained that country is also a philosophical ton ’17 said, “but that’s not the they met with diverse organi- decision.” crux of what a Breakout trip is.” zations so that they were not Sexton went on to explain According to Sexton, al- only meeting with policymak- how part of Breakout’s philosothough students on a Breakout ers, but also staying attached to phy is to learn about issues in trip will participate in at least the community directly affected which Princeton students may one activity involving direct by the policies, which gave them be able to effect positive change. service, the program focuses a more balanced view about the “Being students in this area, more on meeting with a variety way the issue was playing out. we probably have a larger obof stakeholders to give students The Breakout trips are mostly ligation to do something in a comprehensive view of a given concentrated in the Northeast Trenton, than say, another urissue. region of the United States — ban area with similar issues in “It’s a service learning trip,” for instance, New York, Phila- another part of the country.” said Ada Rauch ’17, the other co- delphia and the local Trenton Sexton said. “We are uniquely chair of the Breakout Student area — but there are trips that positioned as Princeton stuExecutive Board. “It’s not to go travel to the far reaches of the dents to tackle the roots of somewhere, carry out a project, country. According to the Pace those issues.” and then be done. It’s to go somewhere and learn about it and then come back to campus, bringing your experience back in a way that you can share it, but also use it.” Sexton added that part of Breakout’s model is the belief that greater change can be brought about if students gain a deeper understanding of an issue by looking at systemic structural problems. According to Rauch, there is an average of five Breakout trips per COURTESY OF BREAKOUT VEGAS semester, with around a Photo from the Breakout trip that studied education in Las Vegas last spring.
ASK THE SEXPERT This week, we discuss circumcised vs. uncircumcised. Dear Sexpert, Recently, a lot of my friends have been talking about which is better, a circumcised or uncircumcised penis. I want this settled. What are the real differences and do they matter? CATHERINE WANG :: CONTRIBUTOR
View from an apartment on Wanshou Lou. The contrast between the traditional apartments on the bottom and the modern structures above is illustrative of the street’s singularity from the rest of Beijing.
— Uncut and Unclear Dear Uncut, Let’s clear up what may be unclear: The difference between a circumcised penis and an uncircumcised penis is that an uncircumcised penis still has its foreskin, while a circumcised penis has had its foreskin, a flap of skin surrounding the tip of the penis, surgically removed. Other than that, any differences are very minor and do not affect sexual functioning. All babies born with penises are born with a foreskin. A circumcision is a procedure performed by a doctor or a religious official in which the foreskin is removed from the penis. While the surgical procedure of removing the foreskin is usually performed on infants, there are some adults who choose to undergo this operation for religious, cosmetic or medical reasons. The circumcised penis is more common in the United States, but in some other countries, uncircumcised penises are the norm.
Neither the circumcised penis nor the uncircumcised penis is “better” than the other. Either way, the penis functions the same when erect, the difference being that the circumcised penis has the tip of the penis, or the glans, permanently exposed while the glans of the uncircumcised penis is only uncovered when the penis is erect. Circumcised or uncircumcised, the sexual pleasure of the owner or the partner is not affected. That being said, for some uncircumcised penises, the foreskin may have to be pulled back to put on an external condom. Additionally, when the penis not erect, the foreskin may have to be pulled back while urinating. Pulling the foreskin back is definitely recommended when washing an uncircumcised penis because of the possible presence of smegma, the natural lubricant which allows the foreskin to move. If too much smegma builds up, it could prevent the foreskin from moving up and down the glans and cause a distinctive odor. However, it is also important to remember to rinse away all soap from underneath the foreskin and dry the area well, because any soap or water left over could cause irritation. There is some evidence that circumcision slightly lowers risk of some sexually transmitted infections. Because the glans of the uncircumcised
penis spends most of its time being covered by the foreskin, it has slightly thinner skin than the skin of a circumcised glans. This could cause some heightened sensitivity to abrasions, which leads to a higher risk of sexually transmitted infections being able to enter the body. Additionally, viruses, such as HPV (linked to cervical and penile cancer) and HIV, are transferred by contact of mucous membranes with infected sexual fluids. Removing the foreskin decreases the chance of transmission by shrinking the surface area of mucosal skin. That said, behavioral factors, like wearing a condom and getting tested for STIs before having sex, are more effective at reducing risk of STIs than circumcision. If you’d like to further discuss circumcised and uncircumcised penises with a clinician, you can always schedule an appointment with Sexual Health and Wellness at University Health Services.
— The Sexpert Interested in Sexual Health? The Sexpert is always looking for members of the community to join the team of sexual health educators who, along with fact-checking from University health professionals, help write these columns. Email sexpert@dailyprincetonian.com for more information and questions about sexual health. Don’t be shy!
The Daily Princetonian
Thursday October 22, 2015
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‘THE SEAGULL’ AT PRINCETON, TOP TEN 10 YEARS APART Spices for STREET’S
DAILY PRINCETONIAN STAFF Interviewed by
JUSTIN GOLDBERG
O
n Friday evening, when Anna Aronson ’16 and Cameron Platt ’16 utter their first lines as Nina Zarechnaya and Irina Arkadina in Anton Chekhov’s “The Seagull”, they will be following in the footsteps of two other Princeton women who performed the play for their senior thesis project — 10 years ago. In that production, Nikki Muller ’05 (of “The Ivy League Hustle (I Went to Princeton, Bitch!)” fame) played Nina, and Emma Worth ’05 played Arkadina. “The Seagull,” widely considered the first of Chekhov’s four greatest plays, follows Nina, Arkadina, Arkadina’s lover Boris Trigorin and Arkadina’s son Konstantin Tréplev as they become entangled in and disentangled from each other’s lives. Arkadina, an aging actress, arrives on the play’s country estate setting for a vacation with Trigorin, who is a famous writer. Tréplev, a playwright, is putting on a play starring Nina, and conf licts arise as mother and son, writer and playwright, and seasoned diva and young novice clash. Justin Goldberg ’02, Web & Multimedia Strategist for the Lewis Center for the Arts, reached out to Muller and Worth and asked them to ref lect on their experience with the play in 2005. Muller, who first encountered “The Seagull” in her freshman-year scene study class, recalled that she was initially unimpressed with the play and its billing as a comedy. “I could hardly sleep, I was so upset,” she said in an email. “I even
wrote about it in broken German for my daily GER 102 writing homework. (‘Komödie? Quatsch!’)” That changed as soon as the class read the play out loud. Muller not only found the play funny and timeless but also became “wholly absorbed” with Nina, whom she played in that scene study class — so much so that “Nina” is part of Muller’s email address now. When it came time to propose a senior thesis project, Muller was determined to bring the play to a larger campus audience. She convinced Worth to sign onto the project, and though in playing their respective parts as the ingénue Nina and the more mature Arkadina they broke with the types of parts they usually played, both were excited by that challenge. In an email interview with Goldberg, Aronson and Platt noted that, they, too, had cast themselves against type in choosing to play Nina and Arkadina, respectively. “I’m often cast in character roles,” Aronson said. “Nina is a unique challenge for me because she’s a foil to the characters I typically play. She’s earnest, optimistic and unabashedly ambitious.” For Platt, who often plays the ingénue, the role of the aging Arkadina was also a departure from the roles she’s accustomed to: “I’m used to playing the vulnerable, the innocent and the unsure, all of which exist in Arkadina — but only under a carefully groomed and guarded exterior,” she said.
Ultimately, channeling their characters was a matter of finding commonalities with them — as it often is. “I do relate to [Arkadina] and to those uglier aspects of human nature,” Platt said. “They’re in all of us, and it hurts to let them surface … In embodying Arkadina, I’ve sought to work out the connections between those darker impulses and the beautiful elements of her character.” “[The play is] frighteningly relevant to our lives today,” Aronson added. “The play transcends its era because it’s so much more about the human condition than it is about circumstance.” What Muller identified with, in 2005, was Nina’s approach to acting. Muller drew on her experiences finding solace in art after her father passed away to better understand Nina, “a young woman, fighting for her sanity by clinging to her nascent identity as an artist.” “Of course now I can relate to Nina’s struggle as a ‘working actress’ far more than I’d care to admit,” Muller added. “[Nina’s] words resonate with me now more than ever — ‘what matters for a writer or an actor is learning how to endure, how to bear your cross and have faith.’ ” After graduating, Muller studied at Harvard’s American Repertory Theater and is now a Los Angeles-based actor and COURTESY OF LEWIS CENTER OF THE ARTS comedian. Worth, too, noted that the Top: Anna Aronson ’16 as Nina Zarechnaya; part she played 10 years ago bottom: Cameron Platt ’16 as Irina Arkadina. continues to resonate in her life. “As I await the birth of in rehearsal and translating it into my own (first) child — any day now! performance,” Platt said. “We hope — I am reconsidering that Arkadina that our production won’t draw a feels more devoted and bound to her fine line between the dark and the son than her superficial exaspera- light forces of this play. They’re ention and impatience betray,” she said tangled.” in an email. “The Seagull,” directed by lecturer Aronson and Platt look forward to in theater Mark Nelson ’77, will show performing the play in front of an at the Matthews Acting Studio at 185 audience for the first time on Friday. Nassau Street on Oct. 23 and 28-30 at “We’re taking the joy that we feel 8 p.m., and Oct. 24 at 3 p.m.
1 3 5 7 9
your Latte
Pumpkin
2 4 6 8 10
Squash
Generic Gourd
Scary
Sporty
Baby Ginger
Posh
2012 Olympics Reunion
Sugar; and everything nice
CAMPUS PICKS MUSIC Princeton University Orchestra October 2015 Concerts RICHARDSON AUDITORIUM Friday and Saturday, 7:30 p.m.
It’s that time of year for your autumnal dose of orchestral ear candy. Join Princeton University Orchestra this weekend for their annual October Concerts, this time featuring a percussion quartet and orchestra piece by David Lang, a clarinet concerto by Copland featuring 2015 Concerto Competition winner Paul Chang ’16 as well as Schumann’s Symphony No. 2 in C Major. Lang’s piece, “man made,” will feature resident artists So Percussion, a Brooklyn-based four-piece percussion group described by the New York Times as “brilliant.” This concert is ticketed and open to the public.
COMEDY Fuzzy Dice presents “Upright Citizens Brigade Touring Company” MCCOSH 50 Friday, 10 p.m.
Do you like “Saturday Night Live”? What about “Parks and Rec”? (These are rhetorical questions; if your answer is not “yes,” we recommend that you remedy this immediately.) If so, join Fuzzy Dice this Friday as they host Upright Citizens Brigade Touring Company, from the improv and sketch comedy group founded by Amy Poehler. Quoting Fuzzy Dice quoting The Onion, “Catch the next generation of comedy superstars before they all sell out to [lousy] sitcoms and VH1 list shows.” Don’t miss out on the chance to see the future makers of funnies.the likes of Haydn, Beethoven and Ravel. If you come early enough, you can enjoy a pre-concert talk hosted by professor Scott Burnham at 7 p.m. COURTESY OF FRANK WOJCIECHOWSKI
COURTESY OF LEWIS CENTER OF THE ARTS
Nikki Muller ’05 and Emma Worth ’05 as Nina and Irina in the 2005 production of ‘The Seagull,’ directed by Nancy Gabor and performed at the Berlind Theatre.
This year’s production of ‘The Seagull,’ directed by faculty member Mark Nelson ’77. will be performed at the Matthews Acting Studio this and next weekend.
HEADLINERS AND HEADSHAKERS articles you didn’t read this week DAILY PRINCETONIAN STAFF
13 incidences of hand, foot and mouth dis ease diagnosed on campus; Meningitis B sup posedly overcome, the medieval plague begins an ew Neither News nor Notes: Princeton ranked best college town of 2015, according to company no one has ever heard of
Most students comfortable with new rifle policy; calls for Red Ryder carbine-action BB gun this Christmas
NJ TRANSIT BEGINS #RUD EZONE CAMPAIGN; ALL RUDE PASSENGERS RE QUIRED TO SELFSEGREGATE FROM GENE RAL POPULATION
AvalonBay construction halted due to on-site contamination; Hand, foot and mouth disease unearthed ry; Local radio station WPRB celebrates 75th anniversa 0 quietly playing hipster music for old people since 194
EVENT Princeton Caribbean Connection presents “Flavors of the Caribbean” FIELDS CENTER Friday, 6:30 p.m.
Curry chicken. Patties. Jerk chicken. Hold up, think about this again — curry chicken. You know that this is better than whatever else you were planning to (read: forced to by the University) eat on Friday night. Join Princeton Caribbean Connection in the Fields Center for their annual food tasting of some hot, hot island cuisine. If their fabulous event last spring, “Taste of Carnival,” was any indication, this is where you’ll want to be on Friday evening. Vegetarian options will also be available.
BOOKS Joyce Carol Oates, “The Lost Landscape: A Writer’s Coming of Age” LABYRINTH BOOKS Tuesday, 6 p.m.
Real talk: we all come to Princeton to see “the famous people.” Even now, you can still hear appalled freshmen crying, “Wait, you mean Toni Morrison doesn’t teach here anymore?” Well, here’s your chance to meet creative writing professor Joyce Carol Oates, winner of the National Book Award, the National Humanities Medal and five-time Pulitzer Prize finalist. Oates will be discussing her latest book, “The Lost Landscape: A Writer’s Coming of Age,” a memoir on her upbringing in rural New York and the life leading up to her illustrious career.