F O R A L U M N I A N D F R I E N D S O F COLUMBI A C O L L E G E C H I CAG O SUMMERSUMMER2 0 02 6 0 0 6 DEMOAR T S + M EDI A = C UL T URE 3 COMIC CRITICISMS RADIO DAYS THE FINE PRINT Winners of the 2006 Mara Tapp talks with Columbia’s new partnership Fischetti Award for broadcasting alumni with print workshop editorial cartoons from the 1940s Anchor Graphics 7 12 24 D A N C E Bareback into the Sunset September 14 - 16, 8:00 p.m. The Dance Center of Columbia College GA LLERIES Chicago, 1306 S. Michigan Ave. Tickets $22 for Thurs, $26 for Fri & Sat MP3: Midwest Photographers at www.dancecenter.org Publication Project; Greta Pratt: 312.344.8300 Using History; and Tim Davis: A gay man struggles to find his place COLUMBI A My Life in Politics within the shifting landscape of August 18 - October 14 the AIDS pandemic in this dance- Museum of Contemporary theater work by writer/choreographer Photography, 600 S. Michigan Ave. Peter Carpenter. Post-performance 312.344.7779 discussion September 14. www.mocp.org In Plain Clothes: Three distinct exhibitions, including Siobhan Davis Dance Company UP the emerging talents of the MP3 September 28 - 30, 8:00 p.m. show (Kelli Connell, Justin Newhall, The Dance Center of Columbia College and alum Brian Ulrich (’04)); Greta Chicago, 1306 S. Michigan Ave. Pratt’s images of historical events Tickets $22 for Thurs, $26 for Fri & Sat through the lens of Americana; at www.dancecenter.org and Tim Davis’s documentation of 312.344.8300 COMING his own political life. E V EN T S This leading independent British dance Inactive/Active: company makes its Chicago debut Performative Sculpture with In Plain Clothes. Artistic director August 28 - September 29 Sue Davies engaged an architect, Glass Curtain Gallery a linguist, a heart surgeon, and a 1104 S. Wabash Ave. landscape architect in the rehearsal 312.344.6643 process, alongside her composer and http://cspaces.colum.edu designer. Post-performance discussion Six sculptors play the role of September 28, pre-performance talk artist/inventor in this exhibition of with Davies September 29, 7:00 p.m. performative, kinetic, and interactive artworks that each express messages RE A DIN G S through their functions, beyond what they could as static objects. Patricia Spears Jones September 20, 5:30 p.m. A Movable Feast: The Music Center of Columbia College An Exhibition of Pop-Up Books Chicago, 1014 S. Michigan Ave. August 11 - September 23 312.344.8125 Center for Book and Paper Arts http://english.colum.edu/events 1104 S. Wabash Ave. Jones, a widely published poet, arts 312.344.6630 writer, and playwright, is author of the www.bookandpaper.org collections Femme du Monde from Tia Pop-ups, vovelles, and other movable Chucha Press (2006) and The Weather books by leading paper engineers of That Kills from Coffee House Press (1995). the mid and late twentieth century, Tim Davis, including Czech artist Vojtech Kubasta. Bitchfest Mock Protest, Communist Summer Camp September 28, 5:30 p.m. from the series “My Life in Politics 2002-2005.” Sartorial Flux: Wearables Ferguson Hall, 600 S. Michigan Ave. 20” x 24”, C-print. Courtesy of the artist and September 7 - October 21 312.344.8829 Greenberg Van Doren Gallery, New York A&D Gallery, 619 S. Wabash Ave. Bitch magazine founders Lisa Jervis 312.344.8687 and Andi Zeisler visit the Institute for An artistic look at the changing the Study of Women and Gender in nature of clothing and fashion in our the Arts and Media in support of the increasingly nomadic and techno- publication of Bitchfest, a collection Events are free unless noted otherwise. centric society. of essays from the past ten years. See more and get more info at www.colum.edu /calendar D EMO 3 SUMMER 2 0 0 6 DEP A R T MEN T S 3 Letter: from the President 4 Wire: news from the college community 7 Portfolio: Comic Criticisms: 2006 Fischetti Awards, commentary by Doreen Bartoni 30 Get Lit: new books by Qween Wicks (’99, ’03), Kevin James Miller (’82), Dan Dinello (Film + Video), Brian Costello (’04), and William Frederking (Photography) 33 outhere:our special alumni section featuring letters from readers, alumni news and notes, faculty and staff accomplishments, and more 40 Point & Shoot: social scenery from campus and beyond F E AT URES 10 There’s a Hole in the Bucket, Dear Hettie, Dear Cara Dance goes from bathhouse inspiration to the Kennedy Center stage. By Micki Leventhal. Photography by William Frederking. 12 Radio Days A look at how broadcasting alumni from the 1940s and 1950s worked to dene the emerging industries of radio and television. By Mara Tapp. 20 Spring Breaking Students take an Alternative Spring Break to help a community hit hard by hurricane Katrina. By Lott Hill (’96, ’00). Photography by Alan Baker (’06), Na’m Hayes (’07), and Emily Rehm (’08). 24 The Fine Print Columbia’s new partnership with printmaking workshop Anchor Graphics. By Ann Wiens. Photography by Eric Davis (’06). C O V ER William Frederking, (faculty in the Department of Photography) Hettie Barnhill (’06) and Cara Sabin (’06) in Hole in the Bucket, choreographed by Jan Erkert, 2006. Story, page 10. William Frederking’s photographs are in the permanent collections of the Museum of Contemporary Photography and the State of Illinois Museum. They have appeared in The New York Times, the Chicago Tribune, Chicago magazine, the Chicago Reader, and in several books. His new book of photographs, At Home, is reviewed on page 32. SUMMER 2 0 0 6 EXECUTIVE EDITOR Markland Lloyd, Ph.D. Assistant Vice President DEMOV OL 1 ISSUE 3 Marketing and Communication EDITOR : dear Ann Wiens CREATIVE DIRECTOR Mary Johnson dear friends readers ART DIRECTOR Guido Mendez EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD As we were wrapping up production on this, our third issue of Demo, I got a call from Bill Randall Albers Parker, a 1948 graduate of Columbia’s television program. Parker is one of several alumni Sharon Bloyd-Peshkin interviewed by Mara Tapp for “Radio Days,” her feature looking back at Columbia’s role as William Cellini / ’94 Cheryl Johnson-Odim, Ph.D. a training ground for broadcasters of the 1940s and 1950s (see pages 12 – 19). After Mark Kelly graduating from Columbia, Parker enjoyed a decades-long career in broadcasting in Upstate Jim MacDonald New York as the beloved star of local children’s television programs including “TV Ranch Alton Miller Brian Shaw / ’86 Club,” “Captain Galaxy,” and “The Officer Bill Show,” as well as several radio talk shows. Kari Sommers / ’90 Jeff Spitz As we talked about Columbia College then and now, Parker told me a story about a trip Jim Sulski / ’84 Crystal Williams he and his wife made to Chicago a few years ago. They were leading a tour group on a trip CLASS NOTES EDITOR from Upstate New York, through Windsor, Canada, then down to Chicago for a few days. James Kinser /’05 In Chicago, the group spent an evening taking in the entertainment at Tommy Gun’s Garage, EDITORIAL INTERN a dinner theater that stages a lively, crowd-pleasing rendition of a 1920s vaudeville show, Rebecca Mielcarski /’05 replete with flappers and gangsters. “There was part of the show,” Parker told me, “where Columbia College Chicago the actors got ‘volunteers’ from the audience to come up and participate in an old 1920s radio show. My group pushed me up there, and I played along pretty well, I think.” CHAIR , BOARD OF TRUSTEES Allen M. Turner PRESIDENT “Well,” Parker continued, “the young actors caught on that I’d perhaps done this before.” Warrick L. Carter, Ph.D. After the show, they asked Parker about his background, and he told them about studying VICE PRESIDENT FOR INSTITUTIONAL ADVANCEMENT broadcasting at Columbia in the 1940s, and his subsequent career. “They said, ‘You’re Eric V.A. Winston, Ph.D. kidding!’” said Parker. “It turned out they were all theater students at Columbia, working ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR OF ALUMNI RELATIONS in the show at Tommy Gun’s to pay for school.” Joshua Culley-Foster /’03 ALUMNI RELATIONS COORDINATOR Columbia College has changed dramatically since Parker was a student here, yet a common James Kinser /’05 DIRECTOR OF ALUMNI RELATIONS , thread of creativity and determination runs through its alumni, from his small cohort of WEST COAST pioneering broadcasters to the some 2,000 students who graduated this past May. This Sarah Schroeder /’00 DIRECTOR OF ALUMNI RELATIONS , issue concludes our first year of publishingDemo , and we’ve enjoyed the opportunity to tell EAST COAST the stories—and demonstrate the contributions—of some of those alumni, students, and Alfred Szymanski others whose hands and minds have formed Columbia’s culture of creativity over the years. We look forward to bringing you many more. DEMO (volume 1, number 3) is published by Columbia College Chicago. It is mailed But first, we want to know what you think.Please take a moment to complete a short free of charge to alumni and friends of the college three times a year. online reader survey at www.colum.edu/alumni. The survey gives you, our readers, For change of address, please write a chance to tell us what you like—or don’t—about this publication. It should take less than DEMO magazine, Columbia College Chicago ten minutes to complete. If you don’t have Internet access, please send us a note or give 600 S.