The McPherson College theatre department will present the haunting classic “Gaslight” on March 4-5 at 7:30 p.m. in Brown Auditorium.

Eighty-five years ago, this classic stage production made an impact on London theatergoers and is where the modern term “gaslighting” originated. Themes center on perspective and how it can be contorted to make one question the world around them. Welcome to the Manningham home in 19^th century London. Jack, a young charismatic man helps to care for his wife, Bella, but a visitor from Scotland Yard arrives with questions. As questions become more intense, a shadow of doubt grows between Bella and her husband.

“Last year my students studied this text and it was neat to see their genuine excitement for this classic play,” Jen Pollard, theatre professor, said. “Many students did not realize the modern term gaslighting comes from this text.”

McPherson College presented this production during the 1988-89 theatre season.

A full British tea will be served for season ticket holders on Saturday, March 5 beginning at 6:20 p.m. For more information or reservations, visit https://www.mcpherson.edu/programs/theatre/season/. Masks are required for theatre audience members.

Cast members include Hannah Simmons as Bella; Eli Jordan as Jack; Jailynn Hammel as Elizabeth; Bailey Hulce as Nancy; Kenzie Jansonius as Detective Rough; with additional support from Bryce Martin, Evan McGoldrick, and Valick Sorter.

Crew members include Sarah Asher, stage manager; Jean McKenney-Chance, lights; Danny Salinas IV, set; Lindy Reynolds, props; Toby Leffew, sound; Bailey Hulce and Ellery McMurray, costumes; Kenzie Jansonius, hair and makeup; Jen Pollard, set and costume design, technical director; Jd. Bowman, director.

McPherson College Theatre Department will produce a one-night-only theatre experience, “White Rabbit/Red Rabbit,” by Nassim Soleimanpour featuring Jd. Bowman, professor of theatre at the college, on Friday, January 28 in Mingenback Theatre at 7:30 p.m.

Experience theatre that the New York Times described as “playful, enigmatic and haunting.” This one-of-a-kind performance literally asks the actor to sign away the right to see the script ahead of time, seeing it for the first time when it is read on opening night in front of a live audience, according to Bowman.

Unable to leave Iran, playwright Soleimanpour ‘tours’ the world through the text of his unique theatre experience that requires no director and no rehearsal. An actor receives a script in a sealed envelope for the first time on stage on opening night. What follows is a unique journey for the actor and the audience that is a once-in-a-lifetime event.

“When I mentioned to my colleague that I’d like to perform again, I didn’t really mean I’d be ready to perform a one-man show where I can’t read the script ahead of time,” Bowman said. “But that’s what fits our season the best, so here we are! And yes, this makes me freak out a little, but I’m ready for the challenge.”

The production will be a Kansas premiere.

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. Masks are required and seating is limited.

One of the country’s premier chamber music ensembles, the American Brass Quintet, will perform at McPherson College as part of the Fern Lingenfelter Artists Series on February 7 at 7:30 p.m. in Brown Auditorium. Admission is free.

Hailed by Newsweek as “the high priests of brass,” the American Brass Quintet is internationally recognized as one of the era’s premier chamber music ensembles. “The most distinguished” of brass quintets (American Record Guide), the group has earned its stellar reputation through its celebrated performances, genre-defining commissioned works, and ongoing commitment to the education of generations of musicians. Committed to the development of brass chamber music through higher education, the American Brass Quintet has served as Ensemble-in-Residence at The Juilliard School since 1987 and at the Aspen Music Festival since 1970.

Since its founding in 1960, the American Brass Quintet has performed on five continents, made nearly 60 recordings, and premiered more than 150 contemporary works for brass.

Admission to the Lingenfelter concert is free thanks to a generous commitment to McPherson College honoring Fern Lingenfelter. Her son, Steve Clark, chairman of Clark Investment Group of Wichita, established the fund that supports two annual music performance events with special emphasis on piano. Lingenfelter, an alumna of McPherson College, taught piano in McPherson for many years to both college students on campus and younger students at her studio downtown.

The American Brass Quintet will also be teaching a master class on February 7 at 1 p.m. in Brown Auditorium. Students from McPherson College and all area high school band students are encouraged to participate. The class is free.

McPherson College continues to require masks for all indoor campus events.

The artwork of Kansas painter and printmaker, Michael Jilg, is currently on display in the McPherson College gallery at Friendship Hall.

The exhibition also features jewelry by Joyce Jilg. The exhibition will be on display through February in Friendship Hall and 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.

“Michael Jilg is one of the most distinguished painters and printmakers in Kansas,” Michaela Valli Groeblacher, gallery director, said. “We are thrilled to have his art on display. Joyce Jilg uses recycled items to make beautiful jewelry and is a perfect complement to her husband’s work.”

Michael Jilg has degrees from Fort Hays State and Wichita State University and spent 30 years as an art professor at Fort Hays State University. A past Governor’s Visual Artist, he has shown his work in more than 200 exhibitions and is represented in museum collections in the United States, England, and Asia.

Dr. Craig Treinen (left) and Randy Crow give a clinic on jazz improvisation.

The sounds of jazz could be heard across the McPherson College campus as more than 350 musicians participated in the eighth annual Jazz Festival on November 4.

This year ensembles from 18 area middle and high schools performed and participated in on-stage clinics with professional jazz educators. The clinicians also led sessions covering jazz improvisation and rhythm section issues. This year’s clinicians were Dr. Craig Treinen and Dr. Tom Morgan from Washburn University; Gregg Walker, retired jazz educator and adjunct of woodwinds at McPherson College; and Randy Crow, a hall-of-fame retired music educator from Wichita.

Schools participating in the event included: Abilene, Dodge City, Goddard, Hesston, Junction City, McPherson, Newton, Nickerson, Osage City, Riley County, Salina Central, Smoky Valley, Sterling, Wichita North, and Winfield high schools; McPherson and Smoky Valley middle schools; and McPherson College.

Director of Bands and associate professor of music at McPherson College, Kyle Hopkins, said the idea for the annual jazz festival came from area band directors asking for quality jazz education opportunities. The festival is held each year in the fall, typically a time when marching band overshadows other aspects of a band program, and has grown in size each year.

“Jazz is the quintessential American art form,” Hopkins said. “In studying jazz, you can’t separate the music from the history of jazz, which is American history. What a great thing to teach our kids!”

Awards were given for outstanding individual musicianship and each group was rated and critiqued on its performance by the clinicians.

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.