Theatre Arts Associate Professor Artemis Preeshl has just returned from a summer conducting research and masterclasses in Indonesia, Malaysia and Australia through Loyola’s Marquette Faculty Fellowship Program. The program provides funding to support two months of full-time work on scholarly or creative projects during the summer. Preeshl directed and performed in a commedia dell’arte scenario of “The Parade” (Act III, Scene VII) from Shakespeare’s “All's Well That Ends Well,” on June 13, at the first Balinese Fringe Festival in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia. She taught a week of masterclasses in acting and directing as a visiting professor at the Universiti Technology Mara in Shah Alam, Malaysia and conducted three days of commedia dell’arte masterclasses with six different theater companies hosted by the Universiti Technology. In July and August, Preeshl participated in six weeks of mask training with internationally known theater director Per Brahe and Shakespearean text workshops with Aole T. Miller. During this time, she also studied Balinese dance and chanting with two Balinese companies. She studied Legong, a classical non-dramatic Balinese dance form performed before the royal court, with legendary performer Raka, who was made famous by the 1953 Columbia Artists Management world tour; the Balinese warrior dances of Baris with the famous Kebiar dancers Ida Bagus Mandala and Oka Dalam Mandala; Kacak a cappella chanting with internationally renowned mask maker and dancer Ida Bagus Anom; and Gambuh, traditional Balinese court dramatic dances with the company of I Ketut Kantor. During the courses, Preeshl participated in group performances of Kacak once and Legong twice in costume at the Peliatan Theater in Ubud, and at Purnati Center for the Arts in Batuan, Bali, Indonesia. Preeshl also conducted a masterclass focusing on the application of commedia dell’arte to Shakespeare’s “All's Well That Ends Well” with the Queensland Shakespeare Ensemble in Brisbane, Australia.

Posted on September 22, 2008

Dr. Anthony Decuir, professor of music therapy and associate dean of the college of music and fine arts, has accepted the appointment to the position of interim dean of the College of Music and Fine Arts at Loyola University New Orleans. Decuir is an active member of the American Music Therapy Association, and has served that organization in many capacities, including as president. He has authored articles in a number of prestigious journals including Perceptual and Motor Skills, The Arts in Psychotherapy and Journal of Music Therapy and has also lectured throughout the United States and abroad in the field of music therapy. Decuir has been the associate dean of the College of Music since 1990 and served as interim dean in 1996-1997. He has been a part of Loyola’s College of Music faculty since 1974.

Posted on August 8, 2008

Jim Gabour, professor of video technology at Loyola University New Orleans, has had much global success with his new book of essays titled, “Undercurrent-life after Katrina.” The essays, written in the months following Hurricane Katrina, consist of a series of reports and reflections on how Gabour’s, his family, his neighbors, friends and fellow citizens were coping with the hurricane’s aftermath and reconstructing their homes. Gabour’s descriptive tales can be found in the fourth edition of the openDemocracy Quarterly. International websites are promoting the book including those in Norway, Italy, Denmark, Japan, South Africa and Australia. For more information, click here.

Posted on August 8, 2008

Assistant professor of visual arts, Barbara Brainard, will have her work displayed in several locations over the next few months. “Drive-bys,” a solo exhibition by assistant professor of visual arts, Barbara Brainard, will be on display at the Eichold Gallery at Spring Hill College in Mobile, Ala., from October 10-November 7. Brainard is currently exhibiting her work at “A Tribute to Cole Pratt”, at the New Orleans Museum of Art, June 30 - September 21 and “40 Days and 40 Nights” at the Louisiana State Archives, August 9 - September 2008.

Posted on August 8, 2008