Thank God for DVR.
My roommates and I are recording the entire run of the Olympics, and the next few weeks will cause serious damage to our study schedules. For this week’s edition of Daze, Assistant Daze Editor Cara Sprunk explored Cornell’s Olympic presence, past and present.
However, there is entertainment to be found closer to our Ithaca home than the Vancouver Olympics.
Daze Staff Writer Lucy Li went behind the scenes at rehearsals for Biloxi Blues, the latest production put on by the embattled Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts.
Though I do not possess any theatrical talent whatsoever, some of the greatest experiences I have had at Cornell involved the performing arts. Whether laughing myself silly at a Schwartz show or helping a friend workshop a play she wrote, these experiences help me feel a little bit closer to the genius of these authors, artists and technicians at Cornell, as well as to the glamour of Broadway and Hollywood.
The recent budget cuts affecting the Department of Theatre, Film and Dance, therefore, came as a shock to me. Some might say that the cuts are not as bad as they seem, or that those involved in the performing arts represent a minority that must make sacrifices for the greater good of the University, yet what is Cornell’s purpose if not to offer students the opportunity to learn and inspire others at the same time?
Many of you watched the Olympic’s Opening Ceremonies last week, and witnessed an amazing collaboration between theatre, dance, music and science. The ceremonies demonstrated exactly what Cornell aspires to do, in my experience: to combine knowledge from disparate fields to unite diverse groups of people. That is what the Schwartz Center has done for over 20 years, and here’s hoping that Biloxi Blues is not one of the last great productions that Cornell sees.
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Enjoy the show,
Allie Perez
Original Author: Allie Perez