Ivy Tech and IU theatre students collaborate, perform for MLK Day

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 9, 2013

Ivy Tech and IU theatre students collaborate, perform for MLK Day

Ivy Tech Community College-Bloomington and Indiana University Bloomington students collaborated to create “Catalyst: An Emergent Theater Experience inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.”, to express what it means to live in a pluralistic society. The public is invited to the free performance as a part of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Celebration on Sunday, January 20, at the Indiana Memorial Union, Whittenberger Auditorium, 900 E. 7^th Street at 4 pm.  Light Refreshments and a cast talk-back will follow the performance.

This collaborative theatre project was created by Eric Love, Director of Indiana University’s Office of Diversity Education, and developed by Love and Gustave Weltsek, Ph.D., Ivy Tech Assistant Professor of Humanities and adjunct professor with the Indiana University Theatre Department facilitating the Drama and Theatre Education licensee program.

For three months, Ivy Tech and IU students were engaged in a series of theatre workshops facilitated by several different theatre educator artists. Among them IU Professor Emeritus Dr. James E. Mumford, Dr. Lili Medina and New York City professional artists/educators Dr. Jodi Vanderhorn-Gibson and Denis A. Allen.

“Students explored the ways race, ethnicity, prejudice, class, gender, and religion affect their lives,” Dr. Weltsek said. “We used arts-based engagements such as dance, voice, visual arts, media arts, applied theatre and Theatre of the Oppressed strategies to explore these complex and sometimes tension-filled issues. These explorations became the bases for the creation of our original production. ”

“Integration of arts into the curriculum is one way that Ivy Tech fulfills its mission as a comprehensive community college,” said Ivy Tech-Bloomington Chancellor John Whikehart. “Theatre courses are a new offering at our campus, along with the Associate of Fine Arts degree program. Almost 55% of Ivy Tech-Bloomington students enroll with the intent to transfer to a four-year institution, which is one of the reasons we provide courses in the arts that transfer.”

About Ivy Tech Community College

Ivy Tech Community College (www.ivytech.edu) is the state’s largest public postsecondary institution and the nation’s largest singly accredited statewide community college system serving nearly 200,000 students annually. Ivy Tech has campuses throughout Indiana. It serves as the state’s engine of workforce development, offering affordable degree programs and training that are aligned with the needs of its community along with courses and programs that transfer to other colleges and universities in Indiana. It is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission and a member of the North Central Association.

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