I love college. It can be stressful, and ridiculously busy, and hard. You're halfway between being an adult and a teenager, and sometimes you don't know which one you'd rather be. But on some rare occasions, you get the opportunity to feel like a five year old. I got that opportunity on Monday afternoon, when I went to see Perry Ground, a Turtle Clan member of the Onodaga Nation of the Haudenosauee (Iroquois) Confederacy and a storyteller.

Ground told us that for Native Americans, storytelling was extremely important. For hundreds of years, most Native Americans didn't have a written language, so they relied on storytellers to pass important messages on to the next generation. Stories passed on values and beliefs and entertained tribes during long winters where there was little to do but sit and listen.

Ground talked about two of the most important stories that the Haudenosauee people have passed down. One of them is their creation story - the story of how Sky Woman fell through a hole in the sky dome onto the back of a giant turtle; Great Turtle Island, or the world. The other was the Peacemaker story, about how Native Americans joined nations together to form a union.

Having filled us in on the importance of storytelling and some of the important stories from his heritage, Ground set out to make us feel like kids again. He left the room and returned a few minutes later in a traditional headress, setting the mood for the two stories he would tell next. The first was about Rabbit and Owl, sometimes called "the rabbit has long ears" or "the owl has big eyes." The second was the tale of how Turtle is the "fastest animal in the forest."

Both stories were highly entertaining and were warmly told by Ground. He gave all of the animals different voices, and wasn't afraid to jump up and down and stomp across the room as he told us the tales. By the end of the hour, I felt like five year old, and it was AWESOME.

To learn more about the Haudenosauee culture and celebrate Native American Celebration month, come hear Freida and Ada Jacques speak on Dec. 1st. Freida will give a talk titled "Three Lessons Offered Towards Peace" in Textor 102 at 7pm. Her mother Ada will speak about her career as an Onondaga potter in the Ithaca Falls Room in Egbert/Phillips Campus Center from 4:00-5:15pm.

Ithaca College senior Aaron Terkel stood over his creation. Countless hours of monkey-wrenching and accidentally-inhaled spray paint had finally yielded the most beautiful fusion of school spirit and practical transport that could be imagined. He had created...

...the Bomber Bike!

Perhaps the only photograph of The Bomber Bike in existence.

Finished just in time for the Cortaca Jug game, the bike represented much more than one student's handicraft. Painted in the deepest of blues and most shimmering golds, the BB was a beacon of hope in the quickly descending fog that was SUNY Cortland's presence.

On the morning of the game, bolstered by a breakfast of pancakes and IPA, Terkel rode up the hill amongst loving calls of "BOMBER BIKE!" shouted from cars and pedestrians alike. Fastening his bike to a small tree, Terkel joined his friends and classmates in the crowded stadium to urge his favorite team on to their rightful victory.

But, mischief was afoot. Perhaps the Cortland team had brought something more sinister than poor sportsmanship with them that day, or maybe local miscreants lacked school spirit -- whatever the case, it seems that one individual had been poisoned by evil.

Thrilled with the success of his team, Terkel left the Cortaca Jug game hoping for an evening of Ithaca Beer, fried things, and riding the Bomber Bike triumphantly all over the South Hill. However, a terrible wrench had been thrown into his bucolic plans:

The Bomber Bike had been stolen.

This symbol of school spirit and goodness had been snatched away mere feet from the entrance of the Cortaca Jug game. Blinded by a haze of depravity, the perpetrator had snapped the tree that the bike was attached to in order to steal it away. Breaking our trees, stealing our bikes... what more do they want from us?

And so, the Bomber Bike is MIA. The spirit of our school, hauled away by agents of evil.

If you see the Bomber Bike (it's pretty recognizable), or have any information that could lead to it's return home, please contact Aaron Terkel aterkel1@ithaca.edu.

Let's all do our best to make sure the Bomber Bike lives to see another Cortaca.

Sometimes IC strikes me as a quirky juxtaposition of sights. Take, for instance, the brief walk I went on this weekend. I only ventured to the athletic quads and back, and I wasn't out for more than an hour. But I ran into the oddest juxtaposition of people and things.

Take, for instance, the totally hilarious flock of birds I saw. These birds flew over the athletic quad in a huge circle, over and over again. I'm sure there was something scientific behind their behavior, but it struck me as funny. Plus, they were pretty.

When I managed to tear myself away from the birds, I discovered that there were kids with Nerf Guns running around the quad.

This phenomenon stems from a game called Humans vs. Zombies. It's played by students on the IC campus and, apparently, by students on college campuses across the country. It's widespread enough on the IC campus that it deserves its own blog post, so I won't spoil it now. But suffice to say lots of people are into it.

Chillin' on the steps to the quad, I glanced to my right and was struck by how gorgeous the construction for the Athletics and Events Center s.

Someone pointed out to me recently that this tower looks suspiciously like the tower in the Season 5 finale of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I must admit (proudly!) that I am Buffy fan, and this person is right. I can't find a decent photo of that tower for you, but trust me, they're quite similar.

In the space of about half an hour I ran into some weird and cool birds, some kids playing a game involving zombies, and the tower from Buffy. I love this school.

With on-campus events winding down and putting some stuffing in the oven for when their in-laws visit, there's still plenty of mischeif to get up to all around our fair city.

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Tuesday, November 17th

• Reggae Tuesday at Castaways - Ithaca's a sucker for Reggae, and Reggae Tuesday's got the best. This week, Riddimwise. 8pm

Wednesday, November 18th

• Vegetarian Thanksgiving Teach In - Sponsored by ICES, come find out why Tofurkey isn't a thing of terror.  7-9pm, Williams 225
• Chamber Orchestra - Conducted by IC's Jefferey Meyer. 8:15 pm in Ford Hall

Thursday, November 19th

• IC Standup's Pilgrim Jam! - Come to The Pub from 7:30 - 9 pm for a turkey-day centric show of stand-up and sketches.
• The Meat Puppets - It's the Meat Puppets! At Castaways! Come see the seminal scuzz-rockers who inspired Nirvana, Pavement,  Dinosaur Jr, and more. 8pm.
• Amanda Palmer at the State Theater - Palmer, half of the cabaret-punk duo Dresden Dolls, brings her equally amazing live show to the state. Doors at 7pm.

Friday, November 20th

• Alzheimers 101 Family Caregiving Workshop - Concerned about a relative with Alzheimers or a related disorder? The Office For The Aging & the Alzheimers Assosication come together to offer this invaluable workshop. 12 p.m. - 1:30 p.m. at 615 Willow Avenue
• Mike Doughty - After selling out Castaways last fall, Soul Coughing's frontman is back for another dose of the Ith. 8pm.
• May 2010 Application for Graduation Due 

Saturday, November 21st

• Sufferjets End-Season party - We here at Rattle love the Sufferjets, simply because they are everything that is awesome about Ithaca. The roller-girl's end-of-season party promises to be a ra-ra-rager. 9pm at Castaways
  
• Thanksgiving! Turkey! (Tofurkey!)

IC has so much theater on campus that I rarely venture off campus to find productions, despite nearby theaters like the Hangar and the Kitchen. This weekend, though, I ventured over to Cornell to check out the Melodramatics Theatre Company production of I Love You Because, a modern musical update of Jane Austen's Pride of Prejudice.

Melodramatics (affectionately called Melo by... various people) is run by students both at Cornell and at IC as well as members of the Ithaca community. This was the first Melo production I've had the opportunity to see, and I was pretty pleased with it.

Right off the bat, I'll say that I Love You Because isn't my favorite musical. In fact, it doesn't even make the top 20 list. This is probably because I'm a lit nerd as well as theater geek, and I can't see enough parallels between this show and Pride and Prejudice to justify its advertisement as an "update" of the novel. That said, I'm always down for a musical, and thankfully I was able to put aside my skepticism and just enjoy the show.

I Love You Because featured performances from several IC students as well as several Cornell kids and even one Ithaca high school student. My favorite characterizations came from IC students Emily Putnam ('12) and Samantha Matthews ('11), who played lead characters Marcy Fitzwilliams and Diana Bingley. What can I say? I might be biased, but those girls can sing like nobody's business. I was also impressed with two Cornell students -- ensemble member Lauren Bamford and Timothy Dyster, who played Samantha's character's love interest Jeff Bennett.

Fortunately for me, Melo's production was enjoyable enough that I was able to forget my lit nerd skepticism about I Love You Because. This reminds me: I should get off campus more often!

I Love You Because plays November 19-21 at 8pm. Tickets are available online.

If the only way you learn things about me is through this blog, then you probably won't know a crucial fact about me: I am semi-short. OK, so 5'3" is actually fairly average for a girl, but I have always felt short. Perhaps its because my best friend and my boyfriend are all 6 feet tall or taller. (Yeah, let's blame them.) Anyway, I've always wanted to be just a little bit taller than I am. This week, thanks to Eurydice rehearsals, I got to be a LOT taller. Yes, that's right, I walked on stilts. All by myself. I am quite proud! Also, I was more than 7 feet tall. Win, Eurydice rehearsals! This is reason #2,563 why I love working on this show.

It's also reason #2,563 why I admire actors. The two actors we have been stilt rehearsing with went up on the stilts for the first time two or three weeks ago, and can't have been walking on them for more than five of six rehearsals since then. Despite that, they're already pro stilt walkers. At last night's rehearsal, they were actually dancing on stilts. It's a little ridiculous, and totally cool.

There are a lot of totally cool things happening in Eurydice rehearsals, these days. We finished blocking the show last week, and since then we have been running it and tightening it up. Our awesome director, Wendy Dann, has been working with the actors on specific moments in the show, fine-tuning character choices and changing blocking just a bit in order to help the actors deal with our set, which is currently in the process of being built. The design departments (costumes, props, sound, lighting, scenic, etc.) are finishing up their side of things, all in preparation for the craziness that is tech week. Starting Monday, the chaos begins! It's going to be intense.

On the stage management side of things, my team is revving up our work effort and attempting to catch up on sleep before the big week starts. For my stage manager (Stephanie Jayko '11, who turns 20 next week - Happy Birthday in advance, Steph!), this means getting cue sheets from our sound and lighting designers (Professors Don Tindall and Steve TenEyck) and meetings galore. For the assistant stage managers (myself and Lindsay Ricketts, '11), this means helping Steph out and fine-tuning our own paperwork, all in preparation for next week.

Our designers and technicians are already hard at work in our performance space (the Clark Theatre), setting stuff up and getting ready for our first rehearsal in the space, which (:gasp:) happens Monday! I'm pysched to see everything come together, and I know you are too. I'll keep you updated!

Oh dear!

Because of a case of acute sciatica that has left him hospitalized in extreme pain, the Dan Deacon concert date this  Sunday 11/15 in Emerson Suites is being rescheduled.

Dan is currently receiving treatment, and is doing very well, but unsurprisingly isn't in any condition to play a concert.

All online ticket purchases will be honored on the rescheduled date (sometime in the beginning of the spring semester). Don't despair!

Forgot to pick up your tickets? Got a paper you have to write instead? Couldn't find a ride? Could find a ride but couldn't afford almost 3 bucks a gallon for gas? Found the ride AND the three bucks AND finished the paper early, only to discover the game is here and NOT in Cortland, and you could have easily found a ticket if only you'd tried?

Don't be so sad if you can't attend this year's Cortaca Jug game! There's much happening here in town that can satisfy your need for fun, shouting, and camaraderie. Here are 7 things to do with yourself, because lists of 10 are everywhere, and tend to make one listless after a while (hey hey, hee hee, ho ho).

1. See a show! With Dan Deacon (or not -- he canceled), Ani Difranco, and great shows all around the Commons, there's no reason to stay inside and mope about not being in a crowded awesome noisy place this weekend.
2. Go home, mooch your mom's cooking. If anyone says this is a lame alternative then they either haven't been eating the dining hall food long enough, or their mom isn't that good of a cook (sorry).
3. Stage your own football game. Play for rewards much more epic than a jug. You'll think of something. Please keep it legal.
4. Play a South Hill-wide game of Capture The Flag. Choose two friends' houses as bases. To make things lively, be creative with your choice of flags. Consider using a large ham, or perhaps a small classmate.
5. Take the bus to New York City. Discounted student bus rates, and even the busiest city block in Manhattan will be completely, mercifully devoid of people painted red and white and screaming at you about Cortland, yeah, wooo, arrgggh, blerrggch, mehhh...
6. See one of the great plays going on right here in Ithaca. Along with some amazing theater, you'll escape the weekend without a single fight song or monosyllabic chant stuck in your head (unless you see the Simpsons' production of A Streetcar Named Desire).
7. Play a game of Calvinball.

Between seeing Children of Eden and kicking it at the Wildfire Lounge (great soup by the way, ate there last night), senior Mike Grippi finds time to pronounce the word "Cortaca" in the most casually epic way.

It's that time of year on the Ithaca College campus -- the time when the number of theatre productions happening on campus start to overwhelm. Many a production has been in rehearsals for months now, and now that it's November and nearing the end of the semester (ok, that might be wishful thinking), production after production is opening and closing and wowing audiences. This weekend's student theatre offering was IC Triple Threat Theatre's Into the Woods.

I have a special fondness for Triple Threat. The organization, which puts on one musical a semester (and sometimes two!), was the first one I joined on campus, and I'm still a member of its board. While I'm not involved in any TTT productions this semester, I am always delighted to attend one and see how hard they've been working. And trust me, the Into the Woods cast and crew worked hard.

Into the Woods is one of my favorite shows, mostly because its music and lyrics are written by my absolute favorite composer/lyricist, Stephen Sondheim. This fact means, of course, that Into the Woods is not an easy show to do. The music is complicated (Sondheim is a fan of chaos and dissonance, and his music reflects that), the lyrics are clever and fast, and there are several storylines going on at once, although that's mostly thanks to James Lapine's book. Triple Threat's production, which was directed by Matt Timmons '11 and musical directed by Louis Hatzipetrakos '11, did an admirable job coping with those challenges.

The cast made me laugh, the music made me want to sing along (but not out loud), and the set painting (primarily by cast member Kristen Mixter '12) made me want to  go for a walk in the woods. My favorite moments in the show included senior Joe Roksandic's portrayal of the Cow, junior Katie Meister's Little Red, and freshman Nick Shuhan's Baker. Of course, I can't forget the Mysterious Man, played by Eric Hagreen '12, or the lovely voice of Rapunzel's Prince, played by Jordan Harris '13.

My fun fact about the show? Our College president, Tom Rochon, recorded the voice of the Giant. Schweet!

I'm going to start off this entry with the poster for this show, because it's simply too cool not to mention.

Just by looking at this poster, you can get a good idea of what awaits you at Dan Deacon's live performances. Marching into venues carrying a staff topped with a glowing neon skull, he has a well-earned reputation for putting on some of the best dance shows in the nation. Especially in the past couple years Dan Deacon has wrought a unique musical path, leaving a trail of neon duct tape, ecstatic youtube clips, and salivating bloggers in his wake.

Starting off his musical career playing tuba in Langhorne Slim's band, Deacon really came into his own with the recent releases Spiderman Of The Rings and Bromst. These LPs are a hell of a lot of fun, and have defined electro music for a generation, but it's definitely the live shows that make Dan Deacon who he is. Considering the high levels of absurdity often present at his concerts, here's what you can expect to see in an easy-to-digest list form.

1. First and foremost, no stage. He sets up his soundtable in the audience. Always.
2. Stylishly nerdy spectacles.
3. Singalongs! Don't worry if you don't know the words, he provides lyric sheets.
4. Jumping, Shouting, slight moshing, human tunnels,
5. Organized Dance-Offs
6. Unorganized Dance-offs
7. More neon than Cyndi Lauper circa 1986 could fit on a pair of leggings
8. Deacon's own invented concert games
9. Mass hysteria
10. Bass

If you like what you see, pick up some (cheap! $10!) tickets here to ensure your presence in the delightful madness.

Tuesday, November 10th

• Annual Veterans Day Celebration - The 7th Annual Veterans Day Celebration with music and keynote speaker. Open to the IC campus community and greater Ithaca Community 12pm - 1pm in Whalen Center for Music
• Stand Up Competition - SAB brings great comedians from all over the nation, and now a chance to find the best one in our own midst! 8pm - 10pm in IC Square

Wednesday, November 11th

• Lyle Lovett and his Large Band - If I had a boat, I'd go out on the ocean and sail to wherever Lyle Lovett is playing. One of my favorite artists from Austin, Tx. 7:30 pm at the State Theater
• Lecture by Heather Laurel: Ani DiFranco, Musician and Activist - If the upcoming Ani Difranco tour date isn't enough for you, this lecture will provide more Ani than many people can shake a stick at. 6pm in Iger Lecture Hall
• Children of Eden - It's been getting rave reviews, (Check out Lucy's writeup for an insider perspective) so check out this unique old-testament inspired musical for yourself! 8pm in Dillingham

Thursday, November 12th

• Welcome To The Party - A screening of the movie Welcome To The Party followed by an open discussion on rape and sexual assault. 7pm in Textor 103
• Andreas Kapsalis Trio - Come to Castaways at 9:30pm to experince "The perfect alliance of eight-fingered guitar virtuosity, and outstanding meloding themes"

Friday, November 13th

• Ani Difranco - A folkie in punk's clothing? A punkie in folk's clothing? Let's just call her great. 8pm at the State Theater
• IC Video Game Expo - From Madden 10 to Rock Band 2, come get your game on with food and prizes abound! 5pm in Emerson suites.
• Friday Night Magic - Sponsored by the Magic club, be sure to rehearse your "Ooh"s and "Ahh"s. 6:30 pm in the Cayuga Lake Room of Campus Center
• Children of Eden - It's been getting rave reviews, (Check out Lucy's writeup for an insider perspective) so check out this unique old-testament inspired musical for yourself! 8pm in Dillingham

Saturday, November 14th

• Anime Marathon - Carefully advertised to "only the loyal and strong minded", 24 hours of anime is no small feat. If you've got the cojones to take on this beautiful beast, I have nothing but respect for you. Starting 8am in Williams 323
• Children of Eden - It's been getting rave reviews, (Check out Lucy's writeup for an insider perspective) so check out this unique old-testament inspired musical for yourself! 8pm in Dillingham

Sunday, November 15th

• Dan Deacon - The electro-master is set to melt Emerson Suites at 7pm. Hey! Remember that bad**s TOBACCO show last week? If you liked that, you'll love this. And if you thought that scene was slightly frightful, prepare to be downright scared (in a good way!)
• Anime Marathon - It's still happening! concludes at 8am, if you care to get up and join for breakfast time. Williams 323

Oh, Darling! Senior Mike Sokol plans to beat the Hard Day's Night of the weekend with All Together Now, a doc on the Cirque De Soleil/Beatles production Love. If you'd like to as well, catch it at 4:30 pm in Park Aud on Friday!

Perhaps lured up from their paninis in The Pub by the thumping dance beats, fans and curious onlookers alike crowded the 2nd floor of Campus Center yesteday for a special performance by DJ TOBACCO, of the band Black Moth Super Rainbow. Lightsticks and spinning-flashing-things abound, the scene was kind of uneblievable. It was like someone had taken a Saturday-night mini rave, and transferred it (minus that one annoying girl who's always on ludes or something) into the maple-leaf carpeted expanse of Emerson Suites. All in all, it was totally awesome.

The night started off with DJ Dieselectro, warming the crowd up into a respectably-buzzing hive. The Glittermonks followed, an Ithaca DJ 4 piece who were definitely one of the highlights of the night. Stringing together everything from Stevie Nicks to Phoenix into a continuous ebb and flow of pounding bass and electronic flourishes, the definitely knew how to work a crowd. The entire audience quickly transitioned from the "pleased wiggle" dance style to the much more delightful "awesome party flail". High point for me had to be the working in of a brand new (6-hour old!) Yeasayer track. Who are these people?

The energy only escalated when TOBACCO took the stage. Playing tracks from his amazing solo debut album F****d Up Friends, TOBACCO's music was reminiscent of a rapid heartbeat amplified a million times, heard through a filter of auditory LSD. The event's freely distributed glowsticks (amazing idea, SAB!) and spastic strobes went perfectly with Tobacco's pounding beat and eerily hilarious video projections. Though he only played for 45 minutes, it was like 45 minutes in the coolest dance club you could ever imagine.

Ithaca College likes to talk about its new buildings. I've heard a lot of fuss about the Athletics & Event Center, which is currently being built, and this time last year I heard a lot of talk about the Peggy Ryan Williams Center, which opened in March of 2009. Since then, though, I haven't heard much about the new building. My theory is that most students don't go over there since it mainly houses administrative offices and its on the far side of campus, right across from Dillingham. It's worth a visit, though, because it is totally beautiful and the views are some of the most fabulous on campus.

I went in last week to drop off some paperwork and ended up hanging around, taking in the various cool things about the new building. Check it out.

First of all, the building itself is beautiful...

& the view of the bridge from the fountains is gorgeous. Look at all that blue!

The bridge is actually one of my favorite parts of the building, mostly because its pretty, but also because it connects it with my favorite building on campus - Dillingham!

But we haven't even gone inside the building! When you first walked in you are greeted with our college crest; sunshine courtesy of Ithaca, New York.

Not to mention this view:

I could look at that all day! If you're wandering around the building, don't forget to go upstairs and turn right - there's a little nook with chairs in it that has one of the best views of campus I've found so far.

I know I didn't catch all the beauty available in the Peggy Ryan Williams Center, so if you don't get over there enough, make a trip and see it for yourself. You won't be sorry!

The theatre department is buzzing with activity this week. Children of Eden previews tonight and opens Thursday, and Eurydice rehearsals are speeding along more quickly than anyone (or at least I) expected. Sarah Ruhl's play has three acts, or "Movements," and in two weeks of rehearsal our director has blocked two of them. I'm so impressed!

I'm also reminded as this show goes along what a collaborative process theatre is. Eurydice is a challenging show because it has some odd and fascinating elements in its script. One of my favorite stage directions, for instance, is "He throws her into the sky." It's up to the design team to meet challenges like these, and its always super interesting and fun to see what they come up with. In the IC theatre department, design teams consists of both adults (mostly professors) and theatre students. They work with the director to design the set, lights, props, costumes, etc. Eurydice's design team is my favorite of any I've worked with so far, not only because they're uber-creative and thoughtful, but because as stage managers we ask a lot of them, and they've been really great about getting us what we need. In the last week, "what we need" has mostly been rehearsal props and costumes. We started out with a good supply, but things continue to pop up as blocking progresses. We've had to ask for things like "vertical elements to represent the string room" (yes, there actually is a room made out of string) and they've been prompt and attentive to our needs, all while they're in the midst of their real jobs, which are to prepare for the actual performances. 

Speaking of the performances, I hope you're all planning on coming, if only because the other interesting thing about the last week's rehearsals is that we started working with stilts. I won't give it away and tell you who is wearing them or why (read the play and ponder), but I will tell you that they're freaking COOL. Also, I think I mentioned in my last post that we have actors playing stones. The idea is intriguing, but the reality is even cooler. The actors have been working with the director and with dance professor Lindsay Gilmour to figure out how to move like stones, and while ideas continue to evolve over the course of the process, it just keeps getting more interesting.

On a personal note, my stage manager (Stephanie Jayko '11) was at an audition last night, so my other assistant stage manager (Lindsay Ricketts '11) and I ran rehearsal for the first half until Stephanie arrived. I was reminded how fun (and nerve-wracking) it is to be in charge of running rehearsals. I haven't run a rehearsal since I finished doing Thoroughly Modern Millie with IC Triple Threat Theatre last semester, and I've never run a mainstage rehearsal. It was great, if a little crazy keeping track of so many props, costumes, set changes, sound, breaks and timing, etc. At a normal rehearsal the stage manager and the assistant stage managers divide those things between themselves, so there are three of us in charge of all those elements. I've never really noticed before, but that's a lot for two people to handle. It reminded me that I'm lucky to be part of a stage management team. Way to go, teamwork!

Next up, the Third Movement, and who knows what else! Keep your eyes peeled for an update next week about the progress of the Eurydice cast and crew.

Tuesday, November 3rd

• Arianna Huffington - Come see the founder and editor of the Huffington Post give a special presentation in Emerson Suites at 7:30 pm
• Children of Eden Preview - A preview of the unique play inspired by the Bible's book of Genesis 8pm - 10pm in Dillingham Center

Wednesday, November 4th

• International Photo Exhibition - Sponsored by the International Club, an exhibition of beautiful photos from locations all over the world. 9am - 4pm in the North Foyer of Phillips Hall
• Spanish Club Movie Night - This week: Valentin, the Argentine story of a young boy. Free pizza as well!
• DJ Tobacco - With the facebook event boasting "CRAZY LIGHTS! FREE GLOW STICKS! LOTS OF DANCING!" how could you not go? Headlined by Tobacco from Black Moth Super Rainbow with an opening set by Ithaca DJs Glittermonks. 7pm in Emerson Suites.
• Dar Williams at Castaways - Come see the singer-songwriter so incredible that Joan Baez herself took her under her wing. Doors @ 8pm, $20

Thursday, November 5th

• Faculty Chamber Music: Ithaca Wind Quintet - Wendy Herbener Mehne, flute; Paige Morgan, oboe; Michael Galvan, clarinet; Lee Goodhew Romm, bassoon; Alex Shuhan, horn. 8:15pm in Hockett Recital Hall
• Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad at Castaways - An Ithaca Reggae staple. doors at 8pm, tix $10
• Into The Woods - IC Triple Threat Theater presents this classic tale of witches being right and giants being good and Prince Charming being a bit of a dolt. Wait, what? 7pm in Whalen's Presser Hall.
• Children of Eden opening night - A unique play inspired by the Bible's book of Genesis. 8pm - 10pm in Dillingham Center

Friday, November 6th

• All Together Now with filmmaker Q&A - a doc on the making of the Beatles and Cirque du Soleil collaboration project “Love,” featuring a Q&A with the filmmakers. 4:30 p.m., Park Auditorium
• One World Concert - Sponsored by the International club, join for a night filled with fun filled with international delights! 7pm in Emerson Suites
• Into The Woods - IC Triple Threat Theater presents this classic tale of witches being right and giants being good and Prince Charming being a bit of a dolt. Wait, what? 7pm in Whalen's Presser Hall.
• Children of Eden - A unique play inspired by the Bible's book of Genesis. 8pm - 10pm in Dillingham Center

Saturday, November 7th

• Ithaca Game Jam - The Ithaca College Game Developers Club will be hosting a 24 hour video game design competition. Whether experienced or not, you can group up with strangers and learn/build a functional videogame! 2pm in Williams 218 and 219
• Glenn Miller Orchestra at the State Theater - Bring back big band in style with this jazzy group! Doors at 8pm, tix $26.50
• Children of Eden - A unique play inspired by the Bible's book of Genesis. 8pm - 10pm in Dillingham Center
  
• Into The Woods - IC Triple Threat Theater presents this classic tale of witches being right and giants being good and Prince Charming being a bit of a dolt. Wait, what? 7pm in Whalen's Presser Hall.

Sunday, November 8th

• Club Swim Meet vs Suny Albany - Come support our club swim team on their home turf! 9am in the Hill Center
• Children of Eden - A unique play inspired by the Bible's book of Genesis. 8pm - 10pm in Dillingham Center
• Into The Woods - IC Triple Threat Theater presents this classic tale of witches being right and giants being good and Prince Charming being a bit of a dolt. Wait, what? 7pm in Whalen's Presser Hall.

It's that time of year again! This year's main stage musical is about to open on the IC campus, and everyone's buzzing about it. Children of Eden, the Stephen Schwartz musical directed by Lee Byron, chair of the theatre arts department, previews Tuesday and opens Thursday at 8:00 p.m. "Despite never having played on Broadway," the Musical Theatre International website reports, Children of Eden is a popular show and "consistently ranks among MTI's top 20 most frequently licensed titles." I can see why.

I was lucky enough to catch one of this production's last tech rehearsals this weekend, and I was thoroughly impressed with the scope of it. Eden is a big show, and it's more technically complicated than any I've seen on the IC campus so far. The story is simple enough -- it's based on stories from the Bible -- but the technical aspects are as far from that as a college campus can get. There's a turntable, an arc, glowing apples, smoke and illusion, giraffes and elephants (not REAL ones, but they're pretty cool), and more.

The production itself showcases some of the impressive musical talent in the IC theatre arts department. My favorite performances from the technical rehearsal I saw included those of Bruce Landry '12 as Japheth, Lysie Shutrump '10 as Yonah, and Jessica Bennett '11 as Mama Noah. The show is also superbly lighted by Christine Goldman '10, and choreographed by Mary Corsaro, associate professor of theatre arts.

Even if you're not a Bible story fan, this production is worth a ticket. Snakes dance, and "God" sings, and there's a turntable. And glowing apples. I can't stress that enough.