Archive for May 8th, 2008

Armidale’s festival of short plays, “Favourite Shorts”, provides UNE Theatre Studies students and staff members with opportunities to develop their professional skills in acting, writing, directing and production.

It also provides opportunities for other members of the UNE community to contribute their theatrical skills to this popular Armidale event. In each week of the three-week festival there are four or five different original works.

In the second annual “Favourite Shorts” festival, which begins this evening, Bengi Smith, a second-year Theatre Studies student, has the lead role in Bubble, by Luke Brattoni. Bengi plays the part of a boy born with a rare immunodefiency disorder who has lived his life in a “bubble”, and the play explores how he deals with the effects of lonliness.

A third-year PhD student from the UNE’s School of Health, Margaret Anderson, directs this play. Margaret also co-directs – with the young Aboriginal actor Adam Williams – TJUM’S Story, written by the Aboriginal writer Jaluka Rose Quinlan. A controversial narration is provided by Steve Widders, a prominent member of the local Indigenous community, and one of Australia’s leading didgeridoo players, Steve Donovan, will provide a live performance.

Jenny Greaney, a UNE law lecturer, has teamed up with Barabra Albury, an Adjunct Senior Lecturer in Theatre Studies, to co-write and co-direct the comedy EXERTIA. Jenny is once again one of the three stand-up comedians to perform during the festival.

Peter O’Donohue, the UNE Theatres Studies technician, directs Theatre studies graduate Martin Mantle in Martin’s own play, Return to Sender.

Terry Cooke, UNE surveyor, has taken on the role of festival photographer for the second year.

“Favourite Shorts” runs for three weeks (May 8 to 24), on Thursdays Fridays and Saturdays at 7 pm, and on Saturdays at 2 pm, in the New England Hotel upstairs. Tickets ($10 each) are available at the door.

THE PHOTOGRAPH displayed here shows Terry Cooke with some favourite shorts. It expands to show him “hanging out” with the Artistic Director of the festival, Kate Coward.

The University of New England will be celebrating Europe Day tomorrow (Friday 9 May) with a program of talks, music, film, food and activities reflecting the University’s widely-recognised strengths in the study and teaching of European languages, literatures and cultures.

The program, beginning at 10 am in Lecture Theatre 111 of UNE’s Education Building, will include talks by specialists in the study of French, German and Italian, and by UNE staff members with a European heritage. Speakers will include Professor Kerry Dunne, Emeritus Professor Chris Gossip, Professor Giovanni Andreoni and Associate Professor Jurgen Brohmer (all of UNE) and Annick Bourveau of Alliance francaise in Canberra.

“The activities we have scheduled for the day include presentations on the role of Italy, France and Germany in the European Union, a screening of the much-loved feature film L’Auberge espagnole (2002) at 1.30 pm, and a quiz testing your knowledge about the EU,” said UNE Lecturer in French, Dr Helena Duffy. “You will also have a chance to sample Italian, French and German food and listen to music provided by Vivace!.”

On the 9^th of May, 1950, Robert Schuman, the French Foreign Minister at the time, presented his proposal on the creation of an organised Europe, a structure that would help to maintain peaceful relations on the Continent. The proposal, known as the “Schuman declaration”, is considered as the beginning of the creation of what is known today as the European Union. The 9^th of May has thus become one of the European symbols, along with the European flag, the anthem and the single currency (the euro).

“While in Europe the day is an occasion for activities and festivities that bring Europe closer to its citizens and that create a sense of a shared European identity, for us this is a chance to feel closer to Europe,” Dr Duffy said. “So, if you are studying or are thinking of studying European languages at UNE, if you would like to visit, work or study in the European Union, or if you simply want to know more about Europe, come and celebrate Europe Day with us.”

For more information about the day’s events, contact Dr Helena Duffy helena.duffy@une.edu.au, Dr Julia Petzl-Berney jpetzl@une.edu.au or Dr Livio Loi livio.loi@une.edu.au.

THE PHOTOGRAPH displayed here shows the Italian author Alberto Bevilacqua. It expands to include UNE’s Convener of Italian, Brennan Wales, and Alberto Bevilacqua’s wife, Olga. It was taken recently at the Italian Institute of Culture in St Petersburg, Russia, which Mr Wales was visiting to arrange a conference on Italian literature in the world.