Superior Festival Brings together Students and Scholars from Across the Country
Elizabeth Sippl

Superior Festival VI: A Performance Event and Colloquium was held October 12-14 in the LSSU Fine Arts Center.  This years theme was Directors on Directing and featured Dr. Michael Bowman from Louisiana State University and Dr. Christie Logan from California State University, Northridge as Guest Artists and Scholars.  Schools participating this year included Northern Michigan University, Eastern Michigan University and Ithaca College, in Ithaca New York.  Sault Area High School and JKL Bahweting PSA also performed for the Festival.

After a greeting by Dr. Gary Balfantz, the Festival director, and Dr. Michael Donovan, the Associate Provost, 14 elementary students from JKL Bahweting, under the supervision of Chris Gordon, their teacher and Drum Keeper, led a powwow that welcomed guests and invited them onstage to dance with the girls while the boys sang and drummed, as part of the traditions Mr. Gordon shared with the group.  Mrs. Lou Ann Bush, an Ojibwe Elder from the Sault area followed the students, sharing a story called How Silk Worm Helped Creator.  The powerful images in the story helped draw the group together into a community gathered to share, participate and learn with one another.  Dr. Bowman led the first Keynote Lecture, speaking on Directing/Drifting/Devising: Composition and Collaborative Group Performance.  He then led a workshop, introducing a five phase rehearsal process: warm-up exercises, tuning exercises, composition tasks, presentations of compositions and a debriefing session.   Ithaca College then presented Home(s) at the End of the World, based on Michael Cunninghams novel.  

Friday, October 13th, began with Dr. Logans Keynote lecture on Scripting and Staging Non-Dramatic Literature and was followed by Sault Area High Schools presentation of Bang, Bang Youre Dead by William Mastrosimone, which examines the topic of school violence.  After several solo performances and a break for lunch, Dr. Logan led a workshop on Envisioning and Developing a mise en scene: Non-dramatic literature and performance which used Chant for All the People on Earth by Leslie Woolf Hedley to develop specific given circumstances, situated characterizations and embodied voice.  Eastern Michigan University presented Dr. Faustus Lights the Lights by Gertrude Stein and there were several other solo performances.  The night was capped off by a banquet held in the Crows Nest and a reprise performance of The Guys by Anne Nelson.

Saturday began with a Dance Performance by the Northern Michigan University Dance Company, exploring the topic Choreographing, directing or not?  The final performances of the Festival were more solo pieces.  After a Directors Round Table and Forum - discussing what participants learned and where they go from here - a farewell was given, in the form of Hula dancing, under the direction of Kahoaalohaokekai Malalis and featuring Keana and Angie Kamalii.   Finally, as is tradition, the entire group participated in creating Image Theatre, using the body to express feelings, in this case, the participants feelings on the Festival.  

The Superior Festival is held each October and is open to anyone interested in participating.  As Dr. Youngblood noted, the Superior Festival Brings new focus and opportunities for the campus community.  For those interested in performance at Lake State, email Dr. Balfantz at gbalfantz@lssu.edu or the Lake State Theatre Company and Drama Club at lssudrama@hotmail.com
