Academic Karaoke Discusses Dance Research

One of the really interesting aspects of being on the Coker College campus is the opportunity to hear what kinds of work and research other faculty are doing. In truth, there are not many forums available for that kind of interchange in the regular course of a day, week, month or semester on many campuses. A little more than a year ago the former Dean came up with a concept that came to be called Academic karaoke. It is an opportunity for faculty who have been on sabbatical, or who have developed some recent research or written a recent paper to share their work. One of the bright spots of this type of presentation that it is also open to students. It is an opportunity and some people take advantage.

This recent Friday afternoon Wanda Ebright, Coker associate professor of dance, had her sabbatical last year and that got her tuning into the variety of research possibilities. She shared some of those avenues and some of her thinking about why. Her primary avenue of interest is ballet and she is hoping to pioneer some research into classical ballet companies composed of African American or black dancers. While she has her MFA from Florida State and in her field this is the terminal degree, she is also pursuing a doctorate in dance studies from Texas Woman's Universitye.

She was able to share a lot of her thinking with several faculty, staff and a good number of dance students. In Hartsville, we like to talk about our town as The Art of Good Living and we urge visitors here with the line, "expect pleasant surprises." Each of the academic karaoke events I have been too have revealed enjoyable pleasant surprises -- this was an interesting afternoon.

Little Shop of Horrors opens on Coker Campus

One of the great bits of enjoyment of being part of a college campus is the wide variety of things to do, things to see and things to learn. This weekend the Musical Theater Department and the Theater Department are staging LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS. In fact, last night Dr. Dawson, current Coker President, and Dr. Wyatt, the incoming president, dropped by to see part of the dress rehearsal. Dr. Wyatt said "theater is one of my passions." The news release and photos prepared by James Jolly, head of Coker's Marketing and Communications, follow:


Coker Musical Theater Presents Little Shop of Horrors

For more information, contact James Jolly, director of marketing and communications, 843.383.8018
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Little Shop of Horrors 2009
Little Shop of Horrors, Watson Theater:
-Friday, March 27 at 7:30 p.m.
-Saturday, March 28 at 7:30 p.m.
-Sunday, March 29 at 2:30 p.m.
-Friday, April 3 at 12:30 p.m.
-Saturday, April 4 at 7:30 p.m.
-Sunday, April 5 at 2:30 p.m.
-Admission at the door: $15 for adults; $5 students& children under 18; free with Coker ID.


Hartsville, S.C. — Coker College Musical Theater presents the popular sci-fi spoof “Little Shop of Horrors” the last weekend in March and the first weekend in April in the Watson Theater of the Elizabeth Boatwright Coker Performing Arts Center. Performance dates and times are Friday, March 27 and Saturday, March 28 at 7:30 p.m., Sunday, March 29 at 2:30 p.m., Friday, April 3 at 12:30 p.m., Saturday, April 4 at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, April 5 at 2:30 p.m. Admission at the door is $15 for adults, $5 students and children under 18, and free with Coker ID.

“Little Shop of Horrors” is the story of Seymour Krelbourn, a down and out flower shop clerk, who discovers and raises a bloodthirsty alien plant. He names the plant Audrey Two after his dim-witted love interest and as Audrey II grows and becomes a major attraction at the flower shop, Seymour’s fortunes start changing for the better. Yet while Seymour is going from loser to hero, Audrey Two’s appetite increases and the plant’s wicked plot is revealed.

With music by Alan Menken and book and lyrics by the late Howard Ashman, the duo behind “Aladdin” and “Beauty and the Beast,” among others, “Little Shop of Horrors” has entertained audiences around the world. The quirky combination of dark, tongue-in-cheek humor and tuneful songs has earned the play numerous awards since it first opened off-Broadway in 1982.

The Coker College production of “Little Shop of Horrors” is directed by Ken Stuart, assistant professor of theater, with musical direction by Graham Wood, associate professor of music. Set and lighting design is by Dave McManus, assistant professor of theater, and choreography is by Angela Gallo, assistant professor of dance.

The cast includes freshman Dustin Moree as Seymour, junior Paige ManWaring as Audrey, and sophomore Timothy Dupre as Mr. Mushnik. The Do-Wop Girls, who serve as narrators, are junior Amesha Johnson as Crystal, sophomore Tara Haynes at Chiffon, and sophomore Taylor Adams as Ronnette. Coker College alumni Justin Johnson and Wesley Atkinson are the voice and puppeteer for Audrey Two. Other cast members are Adam Johnson, Julio Ruiz and Colleen Kelly.

Speaker quiets auditorium full of students

Thursday nights are often the let's-go-somewhere and party night for a lot of Coker students. I am not sure that there was as much fun tonight. Before anyone had thought of a beer or cooler or shot, these students were blasted with a sobering dose of reality that could not be ignored.

Tonight they saw a video of friends having a Spring Break blast. They saw a video of these friends getting blasted and busting some really drunken dance-floor moves. The audience nodded along with the "Bully,Bully" lyrics even began to get into the music. And then Mark Sterner reappeared on stage dressed in an orange prison uniform. Behind him a photo of a demolished Lincoln town car. Then, another photo of a pile of metal, that had once been that automobile that had once been a party-car holding five best friends. From the mike came the words, "I wasn't the first person in my family to graduate from college. I was the first person in my family to to to prison." Mark Sterner, about a month from graduation had become a felon, convicted of killing his three best friends while driving with a blood-alcohol content level of 1.7 -- twice the legal limit in Florida. Mark was the least intoxicated of the five-person group. He got to drive. He also gets to live the rest of his life knowing he was responsible for the death of his three best friends. He doesn't mix words when he talks to audiences of students around the country. He outright says, I killed my three best friends.

Sterner's presentation is low key but highly polished. His story is personal and his story is riveting. His story is a nightmare. He tells the story hoping that his words keep another 21-year-old from creating the same nightmare.

At the beginning of the talk the students were talking, laughing, jostling, wondering why the speaker thought they might actually put their cell phones away while he was talking. Following the talk it was about 30 seconds before anyone moved from their seats. There did not appear any laughing, shouting to friends or the other normal end of talk action release. Most people just sort of walked out the doors, many appearing to be deep in their own thinking.

Coker College used some money from an NCAA grant and some other funds to bring this speaker to campus. The college works to help athletes and other students understand the need for right choices. There is no question -- this speaker was worth the investment. Somewhere, some night, some student is going to be moving toward his/her car and catch a memory glimpse of Mark in his orange prison jump suit and is going to find another way home.

Sterner told the audience he has now spoken to more than two million people with this message. He relives this nightmare in hopes that someone else will avoid a nightmare. It would be hard to believe he has not saved countless lives.

Honor Societies Hold Induction Dinner

At Coker College, the home of Communication is in the Literature, Language and Communication Department. On March 25, 2009, that gave the three different concentrations an opportunity to join in recognizing those students and faculty who were being inducted into the various Honor Societies. Dr. Lellis, professor of communication, has been the long-time adviser of the Lambda Pi Eta Communication Honor Society on the Coker campus. This year seven new members were inducted into the Society. Lindsay Crighton, who was inducted previously, joined in the induction ceremony. The seven new members included: Kat Friedmann, James Fields, Tom Oschip,Sheila Braddock, Crystal James, Rachel Croyle and Jessica Barnes.

The English Department has probably the longest existing honor society on the Coker Campus, 77 years. Dr. Lois Gibson, adviser for Sigma Tau Delta, was honored by the group for her years of service as adviser as she will be retiring at the end of the academic year.

For the Foreign Language area, Dr. Cathy Cuppett inducted the new members for that group. While most of the groups sat at their own tables, this was an opportunity for "table cloth" meal and some real honor to those whose academic performance allowed them to apply for membership. All of the Honor Societies have high academic requirements.

Former student talks about his job

Charles Ellison graduated from Coker a few years back with a degree in communication. Charles was already an experienced journalist when he began Coker, having worked as weekly reporter pretty consistently from the time he was 17. He is a good writer and has developed a strong background with a myriad of issues. He attended graduate school at Penn State and is working on his masters degree in marketing communication at the University of South Carolina.

A couple of Saturdays ago he was in town for a talk to a group of early childhood care givers as part of his job with the South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs. We had a great lunch after that talk, getting reacquainted and catching up. Since the camera was handy I asked Charles if he would share a little about what is job with Consumer Affairs entails, an opportunity for current students to understand the breadth of activities and skills needed for many communication positions.

Students on campus

Groups of high school students are often visiting the campus to get a look at what college is so they can have something tangible to envision when being told they should study so they can get to college. Coker has a group of students called the Student Ambassadors who do a really good job of giving these students a stock of information about the Coker experience. This video show Meik Dekind and some high school students in the middle of a tour of the Performing Arts building.

Veterans Affairs questions on tap today...

There was a meeting this morning with some of the people at Coker who are veterans and others to see if there is support for a student veterans club/group on campus. At the same time, that sparks questions about Coker's role in educating veterans. Just by coincidence the headline on today's USA TODAY is that veterans unemployment is at 11.2%

It is pretty obvious with unemployment numbers like that, going back for more education might be a real veteran option. And how is this a Coker experience topic? I guess because it takes me back. When I left the Marine Corps in 1970 there were not a lot of jobs for veterans. When I returned back to Rome, NY, (home) after about six months of traveling parts of the world there were no jobs. (1971). It was more than a little embarrassing to be in the unemployment line with a college education and with experience as a Marine Corps officer. Through a strange set of circumstances a school principal from South Carolina was in upstate NY visiting husband's relatives and she put an ad in the paper for teachers for her school. I applied (with absolutely no training as a teacher) for the job and because I had read a great deal about Open Education, she offered me the job. That started my life in South Carolina, which is now being spent many hours a day on the Coker campus.

I am not sure Coker is large enough to sustain a large population of veterans but, at the same time, we might be just the right size to incorporate some key programs to fit the differing educational needs of those who have spent some years serving our country. I think the campus will get a veteran and military student organization. A few of our students are National Guard and they may be motivated enough to start the group.