published on 04/01/05

What's to do? Poughkeepsie Edition

Rising star to appear at The Chance
Just over a year ago, singer-songwriter Ari Hest signed to Columbia Records. An NYU grad and native New Yorker, Hest has been touring for the last four years and recorded independently on his own Project 4 label. Since the August 2004 release of his major label debut, Someone To Tell, which was produced by David Rolfe (who has previously worked by Patty Griffin and Rufus Wainwright), Hest has been an incredibly busy man. In the last year, he has opened for both Vanessa Carlton and O.A.R., performed at a Tsunami Benefit Concert at the Virgin Megastore in San Francisco, has appeared on major early-morning and late-night talk shows, and now he has embarked on his own headlining tour around the United States. While some scoff when they hear about the latest singer-songwriter, clearly Hest is the real deal. Someone To Tell made it to Harpers Bazaar December “Hot List”—a list that also included Destiny's Child, Duran Duran, R.E.M., and Joss Stone. Hest will appear at The Chance Theatre on April 3 at 7 p.m. Stephen Kellogg and Lucy Woodward open. Tickets are $10.

—Miranda Kimball, A&E Editor

Unbound uses the Bard to explore gender
Unbound, the political theater group at Vassar, will be presenting a staging of Twelfth Night that brings many gender identity issues to the forefront. “Shakespeare has already set up the context for some gender-bending, and the show provides an excellent backdrop with which to explore this, as well as many other gender-related issues,” said director Lauren Pepitone ’07. In order to emphasize this topic, some of the main characters will be presented as trans-gendered rather than simply cross-dressed.

Twelfth Night is filled with moments in which characters self-consciously act for one another, changing their dress or their manner in order to affect some particular personality, making gender and life a performance. “Hopefully this will lead the audience to question what is real and what is staged—both in the show and out of it,” said Pepitone.

Twelfth Night will be performed April 1 and 2 at 7 p.m. and April 3 at 2:30 p.m. in Taylor 203.

—Andy Berger, Staff Writer

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