The Marquee

Hey guys!

My name is Emily Semmelman and I am completely thrilled to be writing my first entry as the newest marketing intern for Wisconsin Union Theater. I finally get to be in a position where my job is to dealing with two things I am passionate about: fine arts and marketing (and no, I am not embarrassed to be really into marketing).

As a junior hailing from a boring Illinois suburb, I am really excited to finally be living in city that is so rich with culture. And, speaking of culture (good transition, eh?), my blog entries will continue the tradition set by Union Theater veterans, Lauren and Sarah. I’m here to bring you the latest on the goings-on at the Union Theater. It’s going to be a great season and I’ll be with you all along the way! Feel free to comment if you have any questions, concerns, or just general miscellaneous chit chat… I’d love to hear from you!

Until next time, this is Emily Semmelman… (enter snazzy exit phrase here).

Any day that begins with learning how to say, “This is my new purple elephant” in Serbo-Croatian is, in my view at least, destined for success (Ovo je moj nov ljubocast slon, for those curious). Friday’s installment of the Madison World Music Festival lived up to my expectations in full.

Shortly after leaving my introductory Serbo-Croatian language class, I found myself in a van full of Vietnamese people (plus Linda our fearless translator, and Heather our MWMF coordinator) speaking French. We were on our way to Falk Elementary, where Huong Thanh and her band would perform for an all-school assembly. The kids had been prepped for the assembly and had learned a song in Vietnamese (a version of Frere Jacques). As they sang, Huong Thanh’s face lit up, she had learned this song as a kid. She then taught them corresponding hand motions and everyone sang together. (Turns out Frere Jacques in Vietnamese is about a butterfly, rather than a sleeping guy…who knew?) As a final act, Ms. Thanh performed a celebratory sword dance, which elicited a collective 350-kid gasp. While I was a bit chagrined to realize that it was swords, rather than songs that inspired the look of cultural appreciation it was at that moment I knew we’d had a successful visit.

Once back in the Union Theater green room, the excitement continued. Tuvan Throat singers roamed backstage making what can best be described as gurgling noises, the Dragon Knights were in mid makeup and the community showcase stage was going full-tilt with The UW World Percussion Ensemble (who appealed greatly to this former tap dancer as an extremely satisfying loud noise).

As the night progressed, I was asked to dance, and subsequently spun around in the back of the theater by some random festival go-er to the Latin rhythms of Puerto Plata, (perks of the job, I suppose), was called by Roberto Rodriguez himself to alert me to his impending arrival in Madison (I’m pretty excited that I’m on his contact list with the likes of Paul Simon or Rufus Wainwright), and escorted Estrella Acosta back to her hotel room (she thoroughly enjoyed the Rathskeller). I finished the evening listening to the mellow sounds of Haale floating into the green room, quite frankly too tired to go stand to watch her. Epic day.

- Courtney

Hi, I’m Courtney, this year’s WUD Theater Committee Director. You might better know me as the phatom of the opera-esque voice that introduced most of last year’s concert series events, or perhaps as one of the student-types standing in the theater lobby asking you to join our acclaimed e-newsletter. In either case, its a pleasure to be able to say more to you than standard lines, such as “good evening and welcome!” or “join our e-newsletter!”

That said, this year WUD Theater Committee would like to join Esty’s intern in blogging efforts. We figured the more the merrier, and since we’re the group that helps to plan and promote the theater season, we’d have something noteworthy to say as well.Between ‘Rah and I, we’re pretty excited about Andrew Bird tonight, but before we really get going with that… we figured we ought to do some more World Music Festival Recap

…from the committee point of view…

until Andrew Bird takes the legendary Wisconsin Union Theater stage. Just had to let you know, in case you didn’t.

In other news, thanks to everyone who came out to the Madison World Music Festival. It may have been cold, but that didn’t stop most people from coming to the Terrace and getting their groove on. If you missed the festival, check out the footage from the Big Ten network (scroll down on the page):

 http://www.bigtennetwork.com/shows/fridaynighttailgate.asp

 One of my favorites was the Dragon Knights. Not only entertaining, but the performers were super friendly backstage. The NY Gypsy All-Stars were memorable for me as well. I’m sure everyone you talk to has a different favorite moment. Hopefully the rest of the committee will come on and share theirs.

So what’s next? Andrew Bird obviously. Anoushka Shankar comes October 5th followed by Edgar Meyer and Mike Marshall on the 10th (another show I’m ridiculously excited for). Bass and mandolin? I’m in Heaven. If you haven’t heard either of these guys visit their websites:

www.edgarmeyer.com

www.mikemarshall.net

That’s all for now. More to come. Thanks for reading!

~’Rah

P.S. 31 hours, 17 minutes, 3.56 seconds. Be there! Call 262.2201 or stop by the box office!!! There are a few tickets left!

First off, many apologies for the lack of blogging over the summer months; however, now that school is in session we’ll be blogging in full force.

 I hope everyone had a relaxing and enjoyable summer. We’ve been hard at work getting ready for the 2007-2008 season and integrating our new ticket system into the box office.

 Now on to the important news! We all know the first week of school is hectic, but by week two you’re getting back into the groove. And if you want to groove, there’s no better place to be than right on our own Terrace for the Madison World Music Festival!!! From September 13-15 artists from AROUND THE WORLD will perform everything from throat singing to authentic gyspy music. Best of all the event is ABSOLUTELY FREE!!!! Yes, that’s right, FREE!!! Come to the Terrace with some friends, grab a pitcher or two, and get ready to dance the night away. Even if you think world music is not your thing, give it a try. You have nothing to lose!

And, without further ado, I must mention the upcoming Andrew Bird concert. It’s on September 20th and features Dosh as the opening act. If you don’t know who Andrew Bird is, I’ll forgive you, but if you do and don’t come to his show, then really, there’s something wrong with you. I know you’re thinking, “But I’m poor. I have class. None of my friends are going. (insert other sad excuse here).” However, before you try any of these excuses, I will refute all of them.

“But I’m poor”   The average college student spends $466 on alcohol a year. This costs $21 or $26 and is calorie free. You may even burn calories once you start dancing in the aisles.

 ”I have class” It’s at 8 o’clock at night. Maybe you have class that night and if so, okay, you win. However, if you have class early the next morning, come on, it’s only the second week of school: optimal time for having one last fun night out on the town before the hard work begins.

“None of my friends are going.” Be an individual. Make new friends. Start a trend. Say you were there before Andrew Bird became a household name!

So there. I will see all of you at the show then!!!

p.s. JOIN THE THEATER COMMITEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WE EAT COOKIES AND MILK!!!!!!!!!!!!! WE GET TO MEET ARTISTS!!!! EMAIL Courtney at byelich@wisc.edu