A creative and playful comedy described as clown noir will be staged in November by the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point’s Department of Theatre and Dance.

Photo courtesy UWSP. Students rehearse “Clown Bar,” a creative comedy that blends clowns and film noir. Credit: Charlesworth

“Clown Bar” will be performed at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 8-9, and Nov. 14-16 in Jenkins Theatre in the Noel Fine Arts Center, 1800 Portage St., Stevens Point. A matinee show will be performed at 2 p.m. Nov. 10, with a pre-show talk from director Tyler Marchant, professor of theatre and dance, at 1 p.m. in Room 221.

The show is recommended for audiences age 13 and older because of some language and violent situations.

Featuring singing, dancing, physical and word-play comedy mixed with a classic crime film style, “Clown Bar” is a “fun night in the theater with a different kind of play,” Marchant said. “While it has a dramatic plot, it is surprisingly humorous.”

The main character, Happy, is a police detective who used to be a clown. When his clown brother is murdered, he must return to the clown world to investigate. How will he solve the crime without being dragged back into the seedy underbelly of organized clown crime?

Audiences should get to the theater early to enjoy a 15-minute pre-show clown cabaret.

Tickets are $26 for adults, $23 for seniors and $16 for age 17 and younger at the UW-Stevens Point Information and Tickets Office in the Dreyfus University Center concourse, by calling 715-346-4100 or at http://tickets.uwsp.edu. Discounts are available for UW-Stevens Point students, faculty and staff.

Tickets are also available for the First Nighters package Nov. 8, which includes dinner before the performance (www.uwsp.edu/theatre-dance/Pages/First-Nighters.aspx).

Photo courtesy UWSP. Chancellor Bernie Patterson, student and alumni veterans and ROTC cadets will take part in a Veterans Day ceremony on campus on Nov. 11. Credit: Charlesworth

NEW! Student veterans and ROTC cadets will be featured in a public ceremony marking Veterans Day at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point Nov. 11.

The ceremony will be held at noon at the Alumni Room in the Dreyfus University Center, 1015 Reserve St., Stevens Point. The ROTC Color Guard will present the colors and UW-Stevens Point Pep Band will perform prior to the ceremony.

The master of ceremonies will be student Ethan Sheets, a member of the Army Reserves. Speakers will include Chancellor Bernie Patterson, a veteran of the U.S. Army; and Chief Warrant Officer Jon Weiler, retired from the U.S. Army and the Highground Veterans Memorial. Alumnus and U.S. Marine Corps veteran Tyler Pozolinski will introduce an honor roll reading and the use of a bell, with campus and community veterans reading the names of fallen UW-Stevens Point veterans. Light refreshments will be served.

Family members and friends are welcome to submit the name of a fallen student veteran who attended UW-Stevens Point. Please email the name of the student veteran, branch of military and years served, if known, to Pozolinski at [email protected]. Those eligible for this honor include student veterans killed in action, those whose deaths were due to service-related (non-wartime) causes or those lost to the war they brought home.

Also, UW-Stevens Point at Marshfield’s Symphonic Band will offer a Veterans Day Concert at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 11 at the Helen Connor Laird Theater, 2000 W. Fifth St., Marshfield. Concert tickets are free for those with military ID and Marshfield campus students. General admission tickets are $7, available at http://tickets.uwsp.edu.

Saemyi Park Credit: Charlesworth

“The Role of Media in a Healthy Democracy” will be held at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 12, presented by Saemyi Park, assistant professor in the Department of Political Science. Held in the Pinery Room of the Portage County Public Library, this is the third talk in the eight-part 2019-2020 Community Lecture Series. The public may attend free of charge.

“This talk invites you to understand the critical roles of media in our society by examining media effects and biases,” Park said.

Park earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in political science and international relations from Sookmyung Women’s University in South Korea, a master’s degree in international communication from American University and a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She teaches classes such as American Politics and Minority Group Politics.

Photo courtesy UWSP. Pictured are CWYSOP Music Director Kurt Van Tiem, from left, first place winner Olivia Yang, second place winner Maiah Hamre and honorable mention winner Bánk Bodor.

NEW! The Central Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestra Program will perform a concert at 4 p.m. Nov. 17 at the Stevens Point Area Senior High School auditorium.

The program’s Youth Symphony, Philharmonia and Percussion Ensemble will perform.

Tickets will be available at the door beginning at 3 p.m. Admission is $3 per person or $10 for families of four or more. Cash or checks to UWSP Continuing Education/CWYSOP will be accepted.

The symphony also has announced winners of its annual Concerto Competition:

  • First place – Olivia Yang, a featured soloist in the November concert, is the daughter of Tom and Jenni Yang. She began studying cello at age 2.
  • Second place – Maiah Hamre, the daughter of Seth and Andrea Hamre, has been studying music since age 4 and currently studies violin, voice and piano.
  • Honorable mention – Bánk Bodor, the son of Tamas Bodor and Orsolya Gosztony.