Hancher Presents

Anthony McGill, Principal Clarinet of the New York Philharmonic, joined Hancher’s Associate Director of Education and Community Engagement, Micah Ariel James, for a conversation about the artist’s commitment to social justice as epitomized by his #TakeTwoKnees project. This conversation was recorded before a live Zoom audience at 7:00 PM on Thursday, April 1st.

In March 2020, percussionist David Skidmore was faced with the sudden reality of not being able to perform for live audiences for the first time in his career. But just one week after their last in-person performance, Skidmore and the other three members of the Grammy Award-winning Chicago-based percussion quartet Third Coast Percussion were livestreaming their first show. And they've kept that up, collaborating with Hancher and other partners ever since. In this conversation with Micah, Chuy, and Dustin, Skidmore discusses the ways in which the ensemble has been challenged to reevaluate the relevance of their mission in these times, adjust their collaboration and performance practices, and imagine a new way forward. Skidmore also discusses Third Coast Percussion's ongoing Hancher collaboration and their upcoming engagements, including two family-friendly, free events you can attend this weekend. Visit https://hancher.uiowa.edu/ to make reservations to join us for a presentation of Think Outside the Drum on 2/13, followed by the Hancher Youth & Family Talent Show Finale on 2/14. To learn more about Third Coast Percussion, visit https://thirdcoastpercussion.com/.

It's a new year and we're launching a new podcast format! Thanks for joining us for Episode One of HANCHER PRESENTS: THE HEART OF THE ARTS PODCAST. In this conversation series, we'll talk with artists, scholars, and other Hancher staffers about the value of the arts in these times. In this episode, you'll meet co-hosts Micah Ariel James (Associate Director of Education and Community Engagement) and Chuy Renteria (Public Engagement Coordinator) and engineer Dustin Kleba (A/V Lighting Specialist), and hear from Programming Director Paul Brohan about what Hancher has been up to recently and what exciting programming we're planning for the spring. And you'll learn about some "good art" that Chuy, Micah, Dustin, and Paul have been experiencing recently. Spoiler alert: Chuy's been playing some games. Micah's been attending some virtual concerts. Dustin's been reading some books. And so has Paul. https://hancher.uiowa.edu/

Originally recorded in July the latest episode of Hancher Presents is especially relevant to the recent reopening of schools across the country. Emily and Cody chatted with Ali Wieder, who was working at Children's Theatre of Charlotte when the pandemic hit. In addition to talking about this experience Alison talks about helping to organize the theater's children's summer camps this summer. And oh yeah, she happens to be Emily's twin sister! Their conversation echos much of the discussion surrounding kids return to school: how do you effectively teach and manage children when you have to stay socially distant? How did the camp have to change on a fundamental level? (Singing is out "Mask Breaks" are in) How can the arts and education work together to create a fun and vibrant environment in the midst of a pandemic? Tune in for this and more. For more information about the Children’s Theatre of Charlotte, visit https://www.ctcharlotte.org/online/

Quartets are built on solid group dynamics, and confinement has been testing that foundation. Saxophonist Elissa Kana explores the challenges of staying artistically engaged on her own and as a member of the Colere Quartet, which won a gold medal at the 2020 (virtual) Fischoff Competition. Check out the Colere Quartet at https://colerequartet.com/, on Facebook, and on YouTube(https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJBPc5q4xiObQsq42-jLf9g)

Presenting quarantine through a small-business lens, this episode features Leslie Nolte, founder and artistic director of Nolte Academy in Coralville. Nolte shares the challenges and rewards of shifting classes to Zoom in less than two weeks. In addition to the technology, participants learned to dance in 8’ x 8’ spaces -- without hitting the coffee table. Nolte’s story is exemplary of the resolve to provide consistency despite an uncertain future.

After an unforeseen and unprecedented cancelling of our Spring 2020 season due to the COVID-19 Pandemic Hancher Presents is back for a very special season. Join Chuy and guest hosts and Graduate Student Interns Cody and Emily. They are joining us through an internship with the Obermann Center for Advanced Studies Humanities for the Public Good program. And speaking of the public good, in this first episode we lay the foundation for this special season. Where we explore all things being a creative entity in the face of a worldwide pandemic. What is it like to work with artists completely through socially distant means? Where were we when we realized that we would not be coming back to our office or classrooms after the University went entirely digital? What does the future of the presenting arts mean in the midst of social and political change? We might not have all the answers but we're certainly going to explore!

Today Mark Rheaume discusses the Danish String Quartet, an Emmy-nominated group named Ensemble of the Year by MusicalAmerica Worldwide who is performing at Hancher on May 4. The quartet, described as "thrilling", "exhilirating", and having a "rockstar vibe", will be performing pieces by well-known composers Bach, Webern, and Schnittke. The quartet is known for its affinity for Scandinavian composers, and their ongoing recording project, a five-album musical evolution, has been meet with a GRAMMY nomination and worldwide acclaim. The Danish String Quartet is made up of members violinists Frederik Øland and Rune Tonsgaard Sørensen, violist Asbjørn Nørgaard, and cellist Fredrik Schøyen Sjölin.

In this episode, Mark Rheaume talks about Boston Pops, the orchestra that came to Hancher and presented a pop-inspired rendition of John Williams music. The Boston Pops Orchestra is a group of highly skilled musicians who love to put their own spin on classical music by adding a twist of pop and lighter classical music. The Orchestra was conducted by John Williams from 1979 to 1985, and they draw from that time with him in this performance.

Hancher Presents is back with an intimate conversation with Artistic Director of Rubberband, Victor Quijada. In what was scheduled as a 30 minute interview turns into a deep dive on Victors beginnings in the LA underground dance scene, his journey to dancing with Twyla Tharp (check out the 25 minute mark for Victors reaction at an original 1996 playbill with the company) and his views on the current Contemporary and Hip Hop dance landscape and where he fits into it.

One of our favorite Creative Matters conversations at Hancher was also one of the few unreleased on our podcast. For the very first time hear the full conversation between Taylor Mac and Garth Greenwell. Their discussion covers topics like Taylor's A 24-Decade History of Popular Music (and its profound impact and design), how Taylor navigated Queer history and its ramifications on present day performances, incorporating calamity in your art, how Taylor views himself as an artistic reminder, and much much more. Taylor and Garth's conversation occurred on April 26, 2018 in Hancher's Strauss Hall.

Mark Rheaume talks about The Miró Quartet and Kiera Duffy in today's episode, discussing their history and the program for their performance at Hancher, "Personal Revolution". Their program includes symphonies from well-known composers Schubert (Quartettsatz and three other pieces) and Bach (StringQuartet No. 8 in E minor), as well as "Three Early Songs" composed by George Crumb and the Lyric Suite written by Alban Berg. The Miró Quartet is one of America's most celebrated string quartets, with The New Yorker labeling them as "furiously committed" and performances throughout the world adding to their acclaim. Kiera Duffy, an American soprano who has been described as "what great opera singers are supposed to be but usually aren't now" by Parterre Box and whose career has seen her with many of the world's greatest orchestras and conductors, will be accompanying the quartet during their performance at Hancher on January 20.

Running from November 19 to December 5, 2019, artist Miriam Alarcón Avila is presenting the culmination of a photo-documentary project in Hancher's Stanley Cafe entitled Luchadores Immigrants in Iowa - comprised of portraits of immigrants to Iowa reimagined as Luchadores (wrestlers), wearing traditional and customized Lucha Libre (Mexican wrestling) masks. The mask is a symbol representing their identity as invisible Latinx immigrants. By wearing the mask, they become local super-heroes, empowering themselves to freely share their inspirational immigration story. In this very special episode Micah and Chuy sit down with longtime Hancher friend Miriam to talk about the inspiration behind the project, how the masks proved helpful regarding the challenges she faced in interviews, and what Lucha Libre means to her and Latinx people.

On Saturday, October 26, 2019, Hancher was pleased to present SITI Company's The Bacchae, a new English translation and innovative take on one of the Western world’s greatest dramas, directed by internationally-acclaimed director and scholar Anne Bogart. On Friday, October 25, 2019, Bogart joined Alan MacVey, the Director of the Division of Performing Arts, for a conversation about listening deeply, unpacking meaning ("What is it? What is it really?"), and more, as part of the creative process of theatremaking. This conversation was presented as part of the UI Creative Matters series, which seeks to demonstrate that creativity is not only at the core of all research and discovery, but also central to our human experience. To learn more about the series, visit https://creativematters.research.uiowa.edu/. Anne Bogart is one of the three Co-Artistic Directors of SITI Company, which she founded with Japanese director Tadashi Suzuki in 1992. She is a professor of theatre at Columbia University, where she runs the Graduate Directing Program. To learn more about Bogart's work, visit http://siti.org/.

Chuy and Micah are back in the studio for the first time this season. Listen in to hear them recap the season so far, including an educational and engaging evening with Audra McDonald, a show of remarkable stamina by the cast of RENT, a game-changing collaboration between local artists (Vocal Artists of Iowa) and Storm Large, and a powerful residency with Urban Bush Women.

"What does it mean for an artist to have an “American” voice?" our guest host, Mark Rheaume, ponders in this very special episode of Hancher Presents. Rheaume is a PhD Candidate in Music Composition at the University of Iowa and he wrote and produced this episode exploring Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center's upcoming Hancher program. An ensemble of 13 exceptional musicians—including David Finckel on cello and David Shifrin on clarinet—celebrate the intrepid (and diverse) American spirit in a performance highlighting two pairs of composers who helped shape classical music in the twentieth century. Harry T. Burleigh was a star student of Dvořák who exposed the Czech composer to American spirituals and was in turn encouraged by Dvořák to perform African American folk music. Two generations later, Copland and Bernstein conceived a clean, clear American sound conveying the wonder of open spaces and endless possibilities. This program will be performed at Hancher Auditorium at 3:00 PM on Sunday, October 13, 2019.

In our first episode of the 2019-2020 season, Micah and Chuy sat down for a conversation with the co-artistic directors of Urban Bush Women—a stirring contemporary dance company committed to pushing the boundaries of storytelling through spoken word, movement, and singing artists. Listen in to hear Chanon Judson-Johnson and Samantha Speis discuss UBW's unique history, dedication to training Builders, Organizers, and Leaders through Dance, commitment to community engagement, and their latest work, Hair & Other Stories, which Judson-Johnson calls "a kitchen conversation about systemic racism". Drawn from personal and public narratives centered on individual identity in a collective culture, Hair & Other Stories investigates issues of body image, race, gender identity, economic inequity, and more. Hair & Other Stories will be performed on the Hancher stage on Saturday, September 21. This conversation was recorded in front of a live audience at the Iowa City Public Library on Tuesday, September 17, 2019. For more information about the company, visit https://www.urbanbushwomen.org/.

We're back with our last episode of Season 3 and, in a poetic twist, we're ending this season just as we began it. In this episode, Micah and Chuy's trusty interns Reid and Jarrett return to the studio to talk about some of the work they've been doing this year and to share their thoughts and insights about some of the exciting artists we'll be presenting at Hancher in 2019-2020. For a full schedule of our 2019-2020 offerings, visit https://hancher.uiowa.edu/2019-20. Tickets go on sale to the public on July 1, 2019. Thanks for listening! We'll be back in the fall. Stay tuned!

In our second to last episode of the season, Micah and Chuy are back in the studio to recap another exciting year of programming on the Hancher stage. We saw a lot, we learned a lot, and now we're ready to talk it through. We also attempt to unpack Batsheva's polarizing new work, Venezuela, which was performed at Hancher on April 12, 2019. What can good art do? Listen in to hear our thoughts. Under the artistic direction of choreographer Ohad Naharin, Israel’s Batsheva Dance Company has built a global reputation for excellence. Employing Naharin’s movement language—known as “Gaga”—the company stands apart from other modern dance companies, offering a singular and arresting approach to choreography and individual movement. In its first Hancher appearance since 2006, Batsheva performed Venezuela, a “work emblematic of Naharin’s curiosity and ongoing search for new challenges” (Haaretz).

Chuy kicks off this week's episode with a conversation with a few of the local children who performed with American Ballet Theatre during this past weekend's run of Whipped Cream. Micah and Chuy also discuss the casting and rehearsal process for the supers (local performers), and Chuy shares his insights about the performance from his unique perspective as one of those supers. Micah also talks with ABT's Ballet Master Carlos Lopez about what drew him to dance, how he knew when it was time to stop performing, the nature of his current work as a ballet master, what it really takes to prepare local performers to perform with ABT, and more! Whipped Cream is a full-length story ballet that tells the story of a young boy who overindulges at a Viennese pastry shop and falls into a delirious dream, filled with sugary heroes who come to his rescue. This dollop of delightful whimsy features alluringly sweet costumes and sets from the mind of pop surrealist visionary Mark Ryden. Choreographed by Alexei Ratmasky and featuring a score by Richard Strauss performed by Orchestra Iowa. The show was performed at Hancher on Saturday, April 6, 2019.

Powerhouse vocalists Lawrence Brownlee and Eric Owens joined by Grant Wood Fellow Brandon Alexander Williams for our final Creative Matters collaboration of the 2018-2019 season. Hancher is always excited to partner with the Creative Matters team on this series that seeks to demonstrate that creativity is not only at the core of all research and discovery, but also central to our human experience. Listen in to hear Brownlee and Owens discuss their journeys into the field of opera, the artists whose work inspires them most, the necessity of infusing artistry with authenticity, the insights they share with students in masterclasses, the reason they will always consider themselves students, and more. Named 2017 “Male Singer of the Year” by both the International Opera Awards and Bachtrack, Lawrence Brownlee has been hailed by the Associated Press as one of “the world’s leading bel canto tenors.” Brownlee also serves as Artistic Advisor at Opera Philadelphia, helping the company to expand their repertoire, diversity efforts and community initiatives. Bass-baritone Eric Owens has a unique reputation as an esteemed interpreter of classic works and a champion of new music. He has been recognized with multiple honors, including the Musical America’s 2017 “Vocalist of the Year” award. Brandon Alexander Williams is a poet, MC, and DJ. He is currently a visiting instructor in the UI School of Music where he teaches courses in Hip-Hop.

Rahim AlHaj, one of the world's best Oud players, visited Hancher and Iowa City to perform Letters from Iraq. Micah and Chuy, along with members of the community, sat down with Rahim in an Embracing Complexity lunch series. Listen as Rahim shares a wide range of stories, from bitter sweet to humorous, from meeting Stephen King and Barack Obama to having to flee Iraq and Syria seeking political asylum.

Micah and Chuy are back for the second half of our third season! We talk about the brutal winter Iowa City is experiencing and how that is effecting everything from scheduled performances to artist experiences. We also revisit the idea of curation and what that means for arts presenters and the communities they serve.

On Friday, November 16. 2018, singer, songwriter, bandleader, and self-described "reluctant ethnomusicologist" Alsarah joined Professor Adrien K. Wing, Director of the UI Center for Human Rights and Associate Dean for International and Comparative Law Programs, for a conversation about the relationship between identity and creativity. This conversation was presented as part of the UI Creative Matters series, which seeks to demonstrate that creativity is not only at the core of all research and discovery, but also central to our human experience. To learn more about the series, visit https://creativematters.research.uiowa.edu/.

Tune in as Micah, Chuy, Paul(Hancher Programming Director), and other guests join Alsarah of Alsarah and the Nubatones for a lunch discussion as part of Hancher's Embracing Complexity Lunch Series. Listen in to hear Alsarah discuss her work as a singer, songwriter, bandleader, and somewhat reluctant ethnomusicologist. For more information about Embracing Complexity, visit https://hancher.uiowa.edu/embracing-complexity.

Tune in as Micah and Chuy are joined by Paul and Chuck, Hancher's Programming Director and Executive Director. They chat with Kinan Azmeh and the members of his CityBand. They touch on a wide range of topics involving the mission behind their sound, Kinan's collaboration with the University of Iowa Theater department and their Iphigenia project, what is inspiring their band now. And much more!

Micah and Chuy recap the last two weeks of programming at Hancher, including powerful engagements with the Cashore Marionettes, Rufus Reid, and LA Theatre Works. Listen in to hear them discuss the relationship between some of the work and University of Iowa's upcoming theme semester (the American Dream) and the value of keeping hope alive.

Check out a very special episode of Hancher Presents where Rufus Reid sat down with Elizabeth Catlett expert Dr. Melanie Herzog during his full residency week with us. They chatted about their times with Elizabeth Catlett, how her work impacted them, and Quiet Pride, Reid's project celebrating her life.

Micah and Chuy recap The Philadelphia Orchestra from last week, discuss different ways to appreciate and experience an orchestra performance, and give the orchestra the coveted Hancher Presents four thumb up. Rufus Reid is coming to Iowa City. Chuy and Micah discuss the legendary jazz musician's upcoming residency and work surrounding Catlett Hall's namesake, renown artist and friend of Reid, Elizabeth Catlett to show how important it is to contextualize history. Catlett attended the University of Iowa but was not allowed to live on campus giving Catlett Hall's existence and name significance that could be lost. Check out hancher.uiowa.edu to see the schedule of residencies around Rufus Reid. There's something for everyone!

We're back with our first episode of Season 3! In this new episode, meet Reid and Jarrett who are two new interns of the Hancher Public Engagement Team! The new squad discusses the great Hancher events that have already occurred this season as well as the events the squad are most looking forward to. We hope you all are as excited as we are for Season 3!

This season, Chuy and Micah have partnered with the Hancher Guild (volunteers) and trusty public engagement intern Atticus Roberts to capture a few memories of Hancher's 45 seasons. Listen in to hear Hancher audience members share stories of Hancher engagements past and present. In this, our last episode of the season, Chuy and Micah reflect on Hancher's busy and wonderful month of April programming, interview Hancher's new-as-of-November-2017 programming director Paul Brohan, and share several more of those Hancher memories. Thanks for listening! We'll be back in the fall. Stay tuned!

Listen in to hear Micah and Chuy talk with Billie Wilson-Coffey and Todd Kilby about acrobatics, community engagement, making a life as professional touring artists, and their upcoming Hancher performances of “Opus” and “Carnival of the Animals”. To learn more about Circa, visit https://circa.org.au/.

Micah and Chuy explore two projects they're leading at Hancher. They look back at this season's recent Embracing Complexity programming, including the residencies surrounding Feathers of Fire, Bassem Youssef, and the reading of a brand new documentary theatre play called Muslims in Iowa - and look forward to the Dazzle Crawl, a multi-site art installation and crawl being presented in conjunction with Taylor Mac's A 24-Decade History of Popular Music (Abridged). For more info about Embracing Complexity, visit https://hancher.uiowa.edu/embracing-complexity. To learn more about the Dazzle Crawl, visit https://hancher.uiowa.edu/2017-18/dazzle-crawl http://www.publicspaceone.com/dazzle-crawl/

Drew Cameron is a papermaker and artist based in San Francisco. He rediscovered his interest in the craft of hand-papermaking after returning from his enlistment in the U.S. Army with a deployment in the war. Cameron traveled to Iowa to participate in several workshops and class visits in support of Hancher's recent production of My Lai. In this conversation with Micah and Chuy, recorded before a small audience on Monday, March 19th, Drew Cameron shares how he believes Combat Paper can open a deeper understanding between people and expand our collective beliefs about military service and war. Papermaking, for Drew Cameron, is a community-driven process and art form, which he facilitates with others through workshops as Combat Paper. This papermaking technique, and the workshops that Cameron facilitates, provide an opportunity for veterans and their communities to transform military uniforms into handmade paper, prints, books and artwork. He has facilitated these workshops across the United States for over a decade while also creating and exhibiting his own studio work. His artwork can be found in over forty public collections including the Library of Congress. For more information, visit https://www.combatpaper.org/.

In this episode, Chuy and Micah are joined by UI professors Anne Marie Nest and Carrie York Al-Karam to discuss Muslims in Iowa: The Play, a brand new documentary theatre piece about the lives of Muslims who call Iowa home. Anne Marie Nest is an assistant professor of voice and speech and the creator of Muslims in Iowa. Dr. Carrie York Al-Karam is currently an adjunct in the Department of Religious Studies, and was one of more than fifty Iowa residents Nest and her team interviewed for the project. Muslims in Iowa was developed as part of Hancher’s Embracing Complexity project, which seeks to build textured knowledge of Islamic cultures while creating a greater sense of empathy for the experiences of peoples of diverse racial, ethnic, and religious backgrounds. We will present a staged reading of the work in progress at Hancher on April 10th at 7:00 PM. For more information about the project, visit https://www.muslimsiniowatheplay.com/.

Micah and Chuy sit down with Dre' Woods from the cast of Motown The Musical to talk about the powerful show that's currently touring the US. Woods also shares a bit about his own journey to Motown (by way of Louisiana). Motown The Musical is the true American dream story of Motown founder Berry Gordy’s journey from featherweight boxer to the heavyweight music mogul who launched the careers of Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Smokey Robinson, and many more. Motown shattered barriers, shaped our lives, and made us all move to the same beat. Featuring classic songs such as “My Girl,” “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” and many, many more.

Following her keynote lecture in the Stanley Cafe, MacArthur Fellow, choreographer, writer, educator, and Hancher favorite Liz Lerman stopped by the Hancher Presents studios to say a little more about the topic of Hiking the Horizontal: Trans-disciplinary Practices for Tackling Questions Big and Small. Lerman's lecture was part of "Me and We: Collective Acts Toward Sustainability" - a collaboration between the UI Department of Dance and the Obermann Center for Advanced Studies. Liz Lerman is a choreographer, performer, writer, teacher, and speaker. She has spent the past four decades making her artistic research personal, funny, intellectually vivid, and up to the minute. A key aspect of her artistry is opening her process to everyone from shipbuilders to physicists, construction workers to ballerinas, resulting in both research and experiences that are participatory, relevant, urgent, and usable by others. To learn more about her work, visit: https://lizlerman.com/.

In this Obermann Conversation, jazz musician Amir ElSaffar (Hancher guest artist) and playwright Lisa Schlesinger (Professor, UI Theatre Department) share their journeys as artist-activists whose work interprets strife and crisis for audiences that may feel removed from such global events. What tools do artists have to elucidate violence and injustice that might feel distant or even unimportant to some audiences? What can musicians, theater makers, and other artists add to conversations that might otherwise be relegated to politicians? The Obermann Center for Advanced Studies supports artists, scholars, and researchers – independently and in cross-disciplinary collaborations – as they unearth, explain, and engage the past, and invent the future. For more information about their programming, visit https://obermann.uiowa.edu/. Moderated by Hancher Presents co-host Micah Ariel James, this episode was recorded before a live audience at the Iowa City Public Library on Tuesday, February 6th.

We’re back with our first episode of 2018. Happy new year! Choreographer Camille A. Brown says of her new work "ink", a Hancher commission, "The heart of the work is about seeing the dancers. They are people. What are the stories that live inside of their bodies?" Her new work seeks to reclaim African American narratives and culture from appropriation and silence. The third work in a trilogy about identity, "ink" is an amalgamation of African dance, African American social dance, tap, jazz, modern, and hip-hop, depicting the pedestrian interactions of individuals and relationships as grounds for accessing one's innate superpowers and finding liberation. For more information about Camille and her company, visit http://www.camilleabrown.org/. Michael Sakamoto, UI assistant professor of dance, is an interdisciplinary artist active in dance, theatre, performance, photography, and media. His solo, ensemble, and visual works have been presented in 14 countries throughout Asia, Europe, and North America with such venues as the Vancouver International Dance Festival, REDCAT, Audio Art Festival-Krakow, Roulette/NYC, TACTFest Osaka, San Francisco International Butoh Festival, and many others. To learn more, visit http://michaelsakamoto.org/.

In the early days of Hancher Presents, Chuy and Micah spoke to community members about their favorite memories in the old auditorium. This season Chuy and Micah have partnered with the Hancher Guild (volunteers) and trusty public engagement intern Atticus Roberts to collect even more memories in honor of Hancher's 45th anniversary. Listen in to hear Hancher audience members share stories of Hancher engagements past and present, and leave your favorite Hancher memory in the comments. This is our last episode of 2017, but we'll be back in 2018 with all new artist interviews, lectures, Q&As, and more. Cheers!

As promised, here's the bonus question from Terence Blanchard's Q&A at Hancher! Micah, Chuy, and public engagement intern Atticus also share some of their insights on Terence's residency and performance with The E-Collective.

Trumpeter Terence Blanchard is a musical force, equally respected as a jazzman and as a composer and performer of music for film—including the full catalogue of Spike Lee Joints. The evening before his Hancher performance, Blanchard sat down with UI Professor Deborah Whaley to discuss his inspirations, the relationship between art and spirituality, how the acts of fighting for social justice and creating music are one and the same, and what a life in the arts has taught him about what art can and should do. Deborah Elizabeth Whaley is an artist, curator, and writer. She is currently Senior Scholar for Digital Arts and Humanities Research for the Digital Scholarship and Publishing Studio (DSPS) and Professor of American and African American Studies at the University of Iowa. To learn more about her work, visit https://www.deborahelizabethwhaley.com/.

Dance Gala 2017 celebrates its return to Hancher with compelling new dances from the University of Iowa’s highly acclaimed Department of Dance. In this episode Chuy and Micah sit down with several of the collaborators who helped bring this year's event to life - choreographers Charlotte Adams (Kansas No More) and Jennifer Kayle (...at the receding edges), dancers Sonja Schultz (Leave it on the field) and Christine Howe (Canções de Zunido e Rosas), costume shop supervisor Cindy Kubu, costume tailor Joyce Mckinley, and scenery and costume designer Margaret Wenk-Kuchlbauer. You'll hear about the choreographers' research, how the designers create costumes in collaboration with choreographers and dancers, and what it takes to get these pieces from the rehearsal phase to the Hancher stage for two unforgettable nights. Charlotte Adams is an associate professor in the dance department and the artistic director of Dance Gala. For more information about her work, visit www.charlotteadamsdance.com/. Jennifer Kayle is Associate Professor and Co-Director of the dance MFA program at University of Iowa. To see photos from the original version of "…at the receding edges" or for more information on her research, visit www.jenniferkayle.com.

Chuy and Micah are back in the studio - but only briefly! - recapping two recent Hancher performances, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s The King & I and an evening of dance performed by NYC Ballet MOVES. Listen in to hear them discuss the value of revisiting classic works in contemporary contexts. Then stick around to hear author G. Willow Wilson's lecture, A Superhero for Generation Why, given at Hancher on Sunday, October 8. G. Willow Wilson is a superhero who employs her literary powers to address pressing issues including religious intolerance and gender politics. In fiction, nonfiction, and comics, the American convert to Islam has distinguished herself as a writer of remarkable originality and insight. In her lecture, Wilson uses the challenges Ms. Marvel—a Pakistani-American Muslim teenager—faces as a parallel for the challenges of a misunderstood generation: the millennials. She discusses the genesis of Ms. Marvel, her roots in the historical science fiction/fantasy tradition, and the significance of writing a superhero for a millennial (and wider) audience.

It's been a wild and crazy couple of weeks! Micah and Chuy facilitated 30 residency events on and around the University of Iowa campus. Listen in as they recap the last few weeks, including exciting engagements with Niyaz, La Santa Cecilia, and G. Willow Wilson. Plus, they talk about what makes a successful artistic or community partnership, planning a strong residency, and using the arts to build bridges.

We had lunch with Niyaz. Azam Ali and Loga Ramin Torkian and their collaborators joined us for a weeklong series of conversations about the intersection of art and technology, immigration, the relationship between Islam and Sufism, and their latest work, The Fourth Light Project, which focuses on the life and work of Rabia al-Basri, an eighth-century Muslim saint and the first female Sufi mystic. Micah and Chuy sat down with the artists at the Iowa City Public Library for this conversation that kicked off the super stellar week. Niyaz—known for its contemporary electroacoustic trance music that blends Sufi poetry with folk music from Iran and surrounding countries—embraces the collision of the old and new as a means to create the unique and affecting. The artists are part of Hancher's Embracing Complexity project, which takes a multidisciplinary and collaborative approach to building understanding of contemporary Islamic cultures and Muslim identity.

On September 7th, we partnered with the UI Creative Matters Lecture Series to present KJ Sanchez, theatre artist and associate professor at UT Austin. In this episode, you'll hear her lecture, with a bit of commentary from your trusty Hancher Presents co-hosts, Micah and Chuy. Listen in to hear Sanchez make the case for compassionate, non-judgmental listening as she chronicles her journey into the world of documentary theatre, her work concerning the concussion crisis in American football, issues of immigration and resettlement in the United States, and her docudrama exploration of the challenges faced by Marines when they return home from war.

We kicked off our second season in the new building with a production of Happy Hour (Monica Bill Barnes & Co.), and in this first episode of our second season of Hancher Presents, Micah and Chuy break down why this was the perfect show to get us started. It's a whole new year at Hancher Auditorium, and a happy one to boot!

In our last episode of the 2016-2017 season, Micah and Chuy recap the last residency of the season. And Micah sits down with /peh-LO-tah/ cast members Marc Bamuthi Joseph, Tommy Shepherd, Delina Patrice Brooks, Traci Tolmaire, and Yaw Agyeman to talk about the inspiration behind the show they call a "futbol framed freedom suite", their collaborative process, and whether it’s challenging or liberating to combine sports and the arts. We'll be back next season with more Hancher talk!

As Hancher's current season comes to a close we've been fielding questions on Marc Bamuthi Joseph's new multi-disciplinary work. "So what's /pe-LO-tah/?" "Is it a dance...is it poetry...is it about Fifa...the Black Lives Matter movement?" We turned to student assistant Atticus to help us explain how /peh-LO-tah crafts all these elements together in the final show of Hancher's 16/17 Season.

In our second to last episode of the season, we recap recent Hancher engagements - Fred Hersch Trio at Club Hancher and a Culinary Arts Experience with local restaurant Share. Plus, Chuy and Micah talk a bit about what to expect from the final show of the 2016-2017 Hancher season, /peh-LO-tah/, a new multi-disciplinary work that considers soccer as a conduit for both joy and corruption around the globe. We also talk about our recently-awarded grant from the Association for Performing Arts Professionals, supporting performances and interdisciplinary activities that focus on arts and cultures that have roots in contemporary Muslim-majority regions of the world.