February 24, 2009

 

Contacts:

Tami Haaland, Associate Professor of English, 657-2948
Dan Carter, University Relations, 657-2269
Venture Theater, 591-9535

 

Tami Haaland

MSU BILLINGS NEWS SERVICES — A creative writing faculty member at Montana State University Billings will be featured in March at a special performance art collective at Venture Theater.

 

Part of Venture’s Independent Artist Series, the presentation of “A Feast for the Hunger Moon” includes music, poetry, dance and painting. It runs March 6, 7, 12, 13 and 14 at 8 p.m. The artists involved will present performances filled with raw dramatic energy, humor, rhythm and soulful improvisation.

 

“A Feast for the Hunger Moon” features poetry by notable writers. They include:

  • Dave Caserio, a former recipient of a Fellowship in Poetry award from the New York State Foundation of the Arts. A member of Seattle’s 1998 National Slam team, Caserio has been an invited poet to festivals around the country, from the Geraldine R. Dodge Poetry Festival, to The High Plains Book Festival in Billings.

  • Tami Haaland, a poet and associate professor of English teaches creative writing at MSU Billings. Her recent work has appeared in High Desert Journal, Letters to the World and on Garrison Keillor's “Writer's Almanac.” She is a co-editor for Stone's Throw Magazine.

A live band will add to the feeling of a cabaret style, subterranean nightclub for the performances. The Sweet Jelly Jesus Ensemble includes local musicians; percussionist Clay Green from Soul Brat, Bassist Parker Brown from the Tyler Burnett Band, Trevor Krieger on Violin/Fiddle, and Dan Charney on Saxophone.

 

Audiences will be treated to visual feasts of dance and painting that will fuse with the poetry and music to create high energy performances. Betsy Harris, a professional dancer with TV credits including the Emmy Awards, music videos for Prince, Reba McIntyre, and Red Hot Chili Peppers will be is featured. Harris also teaches part-time at MSU Billings.

 

Guest actors Sarah Butts, Blaine Jensen and Alicia Pugh will perform and artists Margaret Myhre, Lael Berner and Emilie Fuller will create improvised visual art inspired by the poets and music.

 

For details visit www.venturetheatre.org or call 591-9535. Tickets to the show are $10 and are available by calling or stopping at Venture Theatre at 2317 Montana Ave.

 

As a part of the event, Caserio will give a poetry performance workshop on Saturday March 14 from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Venture Theatre. The workshop is $10 and open to individuals from grades 7 to adults. Participants should bring one or two pieces of poetry that is familiar or memorized. It can be previously published or written by the participant.

 

Space is limited for the workshop so people are urged to reserve by contacting Sarah Butts, Director of Venture Youth Conservatory at 591-9535.

 

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