McPherson College Theatre will welcome all USD418 elementary schools to campus when it presents “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever,” Nov. 15-18 in Brown Auditorium. However, the public will have an opportunity to enjoy this unique production on November 11, 12, and 13 at 7:30 p.m. in Mingenback Theatre.

When it’s time for the school Nativity play, the messiest kids decide to participate in what becomes the most memorable school play ever. This unique retelling of the Nativity features multimedia and puppetry mixed with live performing and audience participation. McPherson College first produced the play 30 years ago and it remains a holiday favorite for all ages. This is the 17^th year that McPherson College has collaborated with USD418 to provide a live theatrical experience for elementary students.

“The last time we produced a piece for USD418, it was a brand new theatre piece, and it was our last event before the disruption caused by the pandemic,” Jd Bowman, professor of theatre, said. “Now, we are looking forward to offering this tried and true, classic children’s book come to life. I am ready to share live theatre with our community once again.”

Cast members include Susanne Cunningham, Eli Jordan, Ellery McMurry, Sierra Portenier, Jean McKinney-Chance, Hannah Simmons, Cody Medlock, Sierra Grow, and Shannon Russell. The show is co-directed by Sarah Asher and Bowman.

The theatre is currently offering individual performance and season ticket options by emailing [email protected] or calling 620-242-0444. For more information on the shows, dates, or to purchase tickets online, visit https://www.mcpherson.edu/programs/theatre/season/. This performance does not offer dinner for season-ticket holders and masks will be required for this indoor performance.

A paper and mixed media sculpture is one of several artworks on exhibit in the McPherson College Art Pop 2021 juried art show.

McPherson College is exhibiting the artwork of students from 9 area high schools who have entered the college’s annual high school art competition. The exhibition, Art Pop 2021, is on display now in Friendship Hall until November 12.

The entries are selected by high school art teachers who submitted four to six pieces that represent the best artwork of their students from the current and past semesters. Awards and scholarships will be presented during a closing reception on November 12 from 5-7 p.m.

“I think many people will be surprised by the variety of media and the high quality of craftsmanship displayed by these students,” Michaela Groeblacher, associate professor of art and gallery director at McPherson College, said. “We invite everybody to see the exhibit and celebrate these young, promising artists.”

Student artwork from the following high schools is on display: Goessel, Hesston, Hutchinson, Inman, Little River, McPherson, Moundridge, Smoky Valley, and Uniontown.

The gallery exhibition is on display during regular business hours, Monday through Friday in Friendship Hall at McPherson College.

McPherson Theatre returns to the stage with its first live theatrical performance in more than a year on October 1 when it presents the Kansas premiere of “Puffs or Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic.” The season-opening performance will run on October 1-2 at 7:30 p.m. in Brown Auditorium.

“Puffs” is a comic spoof on the Harry Potter stories told by members of the Hufflepuff house. It is the story about everyone else and what they did while the wizarding world hung in the balance between good and evil; its lesson is not everyone can be a hero, but they can still live their own best lives. The performance is part of the McPherson College Homecoming weekend of events.

“Puffs was postponed during last year’s season due to the pandemic,” Jd. Bowman, professor of theatre, said. “We’re so excited to be offering it for Homecoming this season. It’s a delightfully fun show whether people know the Harry Potter series or not.”

The theatre is currently offering individual performance and season ticket options by emailing [email protected] or calling 620-242-0444. For more information on the shows, dates, or to purchase tickets online, visit www.mcpherson.edu/programs/theatre/season. The dinner for season-ticket holders is not offered for this performance and masks will be required for this indoor performance

Birger Sandzen Memorial Gallery collection

A variety of paintings and one drawing on loan from the Birger Sandzen Memorial Gallery in Lindsborg are currently on display in the McPherson College gallery at Friendship Hall.

The exhibition featuring artwork from the permanent collection of the Sandzen Gallery will be on display through April 25, 2021. Friendship Hall is open to the public on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Gallery visitors are required to comply with the MC health and safety protocols that require wearing a facemask on campus.

“All of us were affected by the pandemic; visual artists stopped exhibiting because art galleries did not offer opportunities for live exhibitions,” Michaela Valli Groeblacher, gallery director, said. “We are just beginning to schedule new exhibitions again, albeit somewhat gingerly.”

Groeblacher said she is thankful to the Sandzen Gallery and its director, Ron Michael, for offering to loan the artwork from its collection for this show.

A gallery exhibit at McPherson College titled, “Who Does She Think She Is?” brings together women artists, poets, and writers from across Kansas to celebrate women and commemorate the 100^th anniversary of the passage of the 19^th Amendment, guaranteeing and protecting women’s constitutional right to vote.

The exhibition features works from both young and old, traditional and contemporary. The works cover a wide range of media including, drawing, painting, graphic design, sculpture, assemblage, textiles, jewelry, photography, ceramics, and more. Poems and writings by women writers from the college also accompany the artwork.

“I was inspired by this year’s celebration of 100 years of women’s suffrage and by the under-representation of women in the arts,” Gallery Director Michaela Valli Groeblacher said. “The genesis of this show is rather organic and spontaneous. I invited women from all over Kansas to exhibit their art, poetry, and prose, focusing on works that many might not have seen before.”

Women artists have been marginalized for centuries, according to Groeblacher. The exhibition cites information from the National Museum of Women in the Arts that says until the 1970s it was nearly impossible to find information about women artists referenced in art history books. Women artists still face obstacles and disparities today and are persistently underrepresented in museum collections and exhibitions.

The exhibition is open now through April 18 in Friendship Hall on the college campus. It is open to the public during regular business hours, Monday through Friday. An artists’ reception will be held on April 18 from 5-7 p.m.

Artists in the exhibition include:

Becky Hyberger – Bennington
Debbie Wagner – Bennington
Roberta Eichenberg – Emporia
Linda Ganstrom – Hays
Julie Unruh – Lin
Lee Becker – Lindsborg
Maleta Forsberg – Lindsborg
Tara Killingsworth – Lindsborg
Phyllis Liljegren-Newson – Lindsborg
Michaela Valli Groeblacher – Lindsborg
Briana Zimmerling – Lindsborg
Geraldine Craig – Manhattan
Dee Erway-Sherwood – McPherson
Jen Pollard – McPherson
Angela Muller – Russell
Ruth Amortize – Salina
Connie Burket – Salina
Karla Prickett – Salina
Sandy Wedel – Salina
Carol Long – St. John
Barbara Waterman-Peters – Topeka
Kelsey Gosset Dennis – Wichita
Marilyn Grisham – Wichita

Tucked away under layers of dust in a forgotten corner of an old maintenance building on the McPherson College campus an interesting object was recently uncovered. Although the discovery appeared to expose a long-lost piece of American history, it turned out to be another page in the narrative of Kansas City-based artist Randy Regier’s latest creation.

Regier, a sculptor, designs pieces that play with fact and fiction. The centerpiece of his multi-media exhibition, which is currently on display in Friendship Hall at McPherson College, is a 1960’s styled, fictional civil defense emergency warning scooter. At first glance, the scooter and its story seem very plausible. However, as viewers examine the piece closer they will uncover fiction mixed with the facts. For example, the seat of the scooter is actually a stadium chair mounted on an old overhead projector, the fenders are taken from a 1950s Plymouth, and the headlight is really a plastic champagne flute.

From the early 1940s through the late 1970s, the United States government made various efforts through offices of civil defense to educate and warn citizens about the threat of attack from hostile nations. The artist draws from this history for period-correct details such as the color and logo designs that were used by the civil defense. Regier said everybody who sees the exhibit has a right to interpret what it is for themselves.

“Many artists see it as their social responsibility to make people aware, think and critically analyze–contrary to most mass media” said Michaela Valli-Groeblacher, professor of art and gallery director. “This exhibit deals with the use of propaganda, fact, fiction, lies, and truth. It connects rather recent history with today.”

Also on display is the art of William Counter. Counter is a regional artist whose studio is located on a family farm outside of Chapman, Kansas. The group of paintings on display is a reprise from shows over the past three years, the subject derived mainly from mass media publications. Counter’s paintings explore the often contradictory messaging that occurs between news and advertising. The majority of the source material is vintage, and selected because of its relevance to current affairs.

The unique exhibit spans several academic disciplines, including history, English, communication, philosophy, psychology, sociology, auto restoration, and art and design, and will have appeal to a wide audience. The exhibit will be on display through October 13 and can be viewed during regular business hours. A closing reception for the artists is being planned.