The West Virginia University School of Theatre and Dance will present “Dance Now!” Feb. 28 - March 2 in the Lyell B. Clay Concert Theatre at the Creative Arts Center.

“Dance Now!” is an annual dance concert choreographed by students, faculty and guest artists. The performance gives WVU students the opportunity to hone their performance abilities in a professional environment while learning about collaboration between performer, choreographer and designer. 

Education has shaped the lives of West Virginia University alumni Ken and Annie Mrozinski. It is what brought the couple together, and for Annie, education became a lifelong career. Their love for education is what inspired the couple to make a monumental planned gift to support scholarships in WVU’s School of Theatre & Dance.

A WVU education was practically written in Annie’s DNA. A native of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, she was the 10th member of her family to attend WVU. Annie decided to study theatre, which at the time was still a major within the speech department. Ken attended WVU to study communications after receiving his undergraduate degree at Kent State University. The couple met in a speech class, and spent years as friends before falling in love. 

Dr. Charles “Chuck” Neel, professor emeritus at West Virginia University’s School of Theatre and Dance, passed away Jan. 14.

Dr. Neel was an influential member of the School of Theatre & Dance faculty, helping to start the careers of hundreds of alumni including Chris Sarandon, academy award nominee, and Morgantown-native David Selby. His influence also impacted Jim Fagan, former WVU football player and professional voice-over and on-camera talent with hundreds of national commercials on his resume.

Artist Peter Saul’s recent paintings, Man with Secret, 2016, and Buddy, 2018, will be the focus of the next Art Up Close! at the Museum Education Center, on Wednesday, Feb. 20. 

Presented by Patrick Jones, Coordinator of Drawing and Lecturer of Art and Art History at the School of Art and Design, College of Creative Arts, West Virginia University, the program begins at 5:30 p.m. in the Museum Education Center Grand Hall, which is located near the corner of Patteson Drive and Morrill Way at the Evansdale Campus North Entrance.  The event is free and open to the public.

West Virginia University today (Feb. 4) launched a statewide musical talent competition in an effort to promote the arts in the Mountain State.

Talent West Virginia, sponsored by WVU Medicine and WVU Health Systems, is open to West Virginia residents and college students attending a West Virginia institution. The competition has two categories - professional, for competitors 18 and up, and junior, for competitors 14 - 17. 

Night Queens and bird catchers and flutes? Oh My! Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote an opera with all three, and WVU’s College of Creative Arts is bringing that experience to you! “The Magic Flute” runs January 31- February 3 in the Lyell B. Clay Concert Theatre.

“The Magic Flute” was Mozart’s last dramatic composition and became an immediate and lasting success; the Queen of the Night’s Aria, “Der Hölle Rache kocht in meinem Herzen” was even included on the first disk of the Voyager Golden Record launched in 1977. In 1780, Mozart met Emanuel Schikaneder, an actor and singer. Years later the two used an existing story that revolved around a good fairy whose daughter needs rescuing from the clutches of a wicked magician. The hero has a magic flute as a weapon. They mimicked the structure of this story through act one but then decided to take a different approach in act two. It is unclear whether they feared competition from another existing piece or if they wanted to create a piece that glorified Freemasonry.

Todd J. Tubutis has been named the next director of the Art Museum of West Virginia University, the College of Creative Arts announced today. 

“We are excited to welcome Todd to the Art Museum of WVU,” said College of Creative Arts Dean Keith Jackson. “As we head into the museum’s fourth year of operation, we know Todd will bring his eagerness and many refreshing ideas to help us engage more West Virginians in experiencing the transformative power of art.” 

Mr. Davis was almost forty when he took his first pottery class in 1974.  He had held many titles in his life up until that point, including banker, pastor, actuary and political activist.  But it was during that first pottery class that Mr. Davis found what he considered his destiny.  From there, Mr. Davis studied at the Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina, before receiving a Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts grant in the early 1980s to spend a year at the Baltimore Clayworks, a center for the ceramic arts.

While in residence at Baltimore Clayworks, Mr. Davis began experimenting with shino, a Japanese style glaze. Over the years, he perfected his technique and recipe, creating pottery that did not have the customary milky-white glaze of shino, and instead boasted a variety of color and drama on every piece.