Things to Do at Penn State: Nov. 7-14

A selection of cultural events happening at the University this weekend and next week
Piscataway Nation 2019

The Piscataway Nation Singers & Dancers will bring American Indian dance, drum and song to Penn State York on Nov. 12 to celebrate Native American Heritage Month.

Credit: Courtesy of Piscataway Nation SIngers & Dancers

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — What's happening at Penn State? Here's a look at some of the cultural events taking place at the University this weekend and next week:

Performances

"A Little Night Music" — Nov. 5-15, Playhouse Theatre, University Park campus. Penn Stage Centre Stage presents the Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler musical set at the turn of the last century.

"A Midsummer Night's Dream" — 7 p.m., Nov. 7, Eisenhower Auditorium, University Park campus. The American Shakespeare Company presents the Shakespeare classic set in a magical bayou with original music drawing inspiration from bluegrass to bebop to barbershop. Free.

Nobuntu — 7:30 p.m., Nov. 13, Mukund S. Kulkarni Theatre, Penn State Harrisburg. Nobuntu, a female a cappella quintet from Zimbabwe, will perform traditional and contemporary African music, ranging from folk tunes to Afro Jazz to Gospel. 

Piscataway Nation Singers & Dancers — 12:15 pm., Nov. 12, Main Classroom Building conference center, Penn State York. The Piscataway Nation Singers & Dancers will bring American Indian dance, drum and song to Penn State York to celebrate Native American Heritage Month. Free and open to the public.  

Events

"Words of Art" — 5 p.m., Nov. 7, 3 Dots Downtown, 137 E. Beaver Ave., State College. The Pennsylvania Center for the Book and 3 Dots Downtown will host a reading in the spirit of "Words of Art" — an online collection of audio poems in response to artwork — or ekphrastic poetry — by Nicole Miyashiro. Free.

“An Evening with Itzhak Perlman” — 7:30, Nov. 14, Eisenhower Auditorium, University Park campus. Itzhak Perlman, one of the world's most famous violinists and acclaimed classical musicians, will share photos, videos and stories from his 60-year-long career during this special event.

Tour of "Indigenous Roots/Routes" — 2 p.m., Special Collections Exhibition Gallery, 104 Paterno Library, University Park campus. Clara Drummond, curator and exhibitions coordinator for the Eberly Family Special Collections Library, will offer a free, public tour of the exhibition, “Indigenous Roots/Routes: Contested Histories, Contemporary Experiences." 

Lectures

"An Evening with Michael Fimognari" — 7 p.m., Nov. 11, Carnegie Cinema, University Park campus. Accomplished cinematographer, director and alumnus Michael Fimognari will discuss his success working on independent features and larger scale films. Free and open to the public.

"Exploring the World Through Geovisualization" — Penn State University Libraries will observe GIS Day, an annual daylong event celebrating the technology of geographic information systems, that will feature a keynote talk by Keith Swavely, account executive for local governments at the Environmental Systems Research Institute, among other events. Free and open to the public.

"Winning Back Our Democracy" — 4 p.m., Nov. 12, Foster Auditorium, Paterno Library, University Park campus. Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Hedrick Smith will bring his latest project, the documentary “Winning Back Our Democracy,” to campus for a screening and discussion sponsored by the McCourtney Institute for Democracy.

Navajo culture, lifestyle and traditions — 7 p.m., Nov. 12, Hiller Auditorium, Penn State DuBois. Navajo Cultural Ambassador Lawrence Kaibetoney will speak about Navajo culture, lifestyle and traditions as part of the Penn State DuBois Cultural, Performing Arts, and Lecture Series. Free and open to the public.

“Ten Things I Learned from My First Podcast” — 7 p.m., Nov. 13, Foster Auditorium, Paterno Library, University Park campus. Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Christopher Goffard, an author and reporter at the Los Angeles Times, will speak about podcasting and the lessons he's learned running his popular podcast “Dirty John.”

"Guest-Tech Today: Consumer Reactions to Emergent Technologies in Service Settings" — 4 p.m., Nov. 13, Bennett Pierce Living Center, Henderson Building, University Park campus. Anna S. Mattila, Marriott Professor of Lodging Management and professor-in-charge of the graduate program for the School of Hospitality Management at Penn State, will deliver the 2019 Pauline Schmitt Russell Research Lecture. Free and open to the public.

“From Trash To Treasure: Sustainability in the Philippines" — 6 p.m., Nov. 13, Grandfather Clock Lounge, Atherton Hall, University Park campus. Edmund Dimalanta, the founder and chief executive officer of D&G Pacific, will speak on his unique community-focused approach to sustainability. Free and open to public, but prior registration requested.

Exhibits

"A Meditation on this Age of Struggle and Strife"  Through Nov. 10, Art Alley, HUB-Robeson Center, University Park campus. A solo exhibit of drawings and sculptures by Art Rudy Shepherd, associate professor of art, that reflects on news from 2017 to current day. Free.

"Augusta Savage: Renaissance Woman" — Through Dec. 8, Palmer Museum of Art, University Park campus. Nearly 80 objects, including sculptures, paintings, works on paper, and archival material highlight this reassessment of Harlem Renaissance artist Augusta Savage. Free.

"Bauhaus Transfers: Albers/Rauschenberg" — Through Dec. 15, Palmer Museum of Art, University Park campus. The museum celebrates the centenary of the Bauhaus, the influential school founded in Weimer, Germany, that unifies fine arts, design and architecture in its curriculum. Free.

"The Web of Life: John Biggers and the Power of Pedagogy" — Through Dec. 15, Palmer Museum of Art, University Park campus. The exhibit spotlights the work of artist John Biggers in relation to two important mentors, artist Charles White and famed art educator Viktor Lowenfeld. Free.

"Fantasy and Reality: The World According to Félix Buhot" — Through Dec. 15, Palmer Museum of Art, University Park campus. The museum spotlights one of the most original French printmakers of the 19th century. Free.

"Folded Section" — Through Jan. 10, 2020, Woskob Family Gallery, 146 S. Allen St., State College. The gallery is displaying an ambitious new wall drawing that explores the local landscape. Free.

"Ghosts" — Through Feb. 2, 2020, HUB-Robeson Galleries, HUB-Robeson Center, University Park campus. An exhibition of works selected from the School of Visual Arts' collection of bisque ware, known as the Bisque Library. Free.

"Indigenous Roots/Routes: Contested Histories, Contemporary Experiences" — Through March 15, 2020, Special Collections Exhibition Gallery, 104 Paterno Library. This exhibition reflects on the past five centuries of colonization and cultural exchange between Indigenous Peoples, Europeans, Africans and, later, Americans. Free.