2019-2020 McCain Conversations
Success and Tragedy Surrounding the 1990s Hit
6:30 p.m. Monday, Feburary 24, Bluemont Room, K-State Student Union
Hosted by: Professor Jerry Jay Cranford, Broadway performer, 30-year Actors’ Equity member and K-State theatre faculty
K-State Theatre Professor Jerry Jay Cranford will discuss the creation of “RENT,” including the lawsuits, the tragic death of creator Jonathan Larson, the success of the original cast members and the unusual audition practices for Broadway replacements.
Coffee and light desserts provided. Free to all ticket holders of the “RENT”show.
Please present your “RENT” McCain ticket at Chick-fil-A in the K-State Student Union for one free breakfast or lunch sandwich. Offer expires March 9, 2020.
The Inimitable Chris Thile
6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feburary 18, Bluemont Room, K-State Student Union
Hosted by: Dr. Alfred Cochran, Professor of Music
Amidst a stellar lineup of artists for this year’s performance series, Chris Thile stands out as being truly exceptional. A four-time Grammy winner, McArthur Award Winner (Genius Grant), and host of the popular radio show, “Live From Here,” Thile has broad tastes, an ebullient stage personality, dazzling mandolin technique, musical depth, and is equally at home playing Bach, bop or bluegrass. We will explore the life, music and career of this amazing performer. Join us!
Coffee and light desserts provided. Free to all ticket holders of the “Chris Thile, mandolin”show.
Please present your “Chris Thile, mandolin” McCain ticket at Chick-fil-A in the K-State Student Union for one free breakfast or lunch sandwich. Offer expires March 3, 2020.
Music in Motion the quintet as a vehicle for creativity
6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feburary 12, Bluemont Room, K-State Student Union
Hosted by: Dr. Susan Gustavson Maxwell, Instructor, Bassoon, Music Theory
A brief history of the chamber quintet and how Imani is using it as a platform for performance and advocacy.
Coffee and light desserts provided. Free to all ticket holders of the “Imani Winds with Jon Nakamatsu”show.
Please present your “Imani Winds with Jon Nakamatsu” McCain ticket at Chick-fil-A in the K-State Student Union for one free breakfast or lunch sandwich. Offer expires Feb. 25, 2020.
The Magic of McFerrin
6:30 p.m. Monday, Feburary 10, Bluemont Room, K-State Student Union
Hosted by: Wayne Goins, Director of Jazz, School of Music, Theatre, and Dance, Kansas State University and Joshua Oppenheim, Co-Director of Choral Studies, Kansas State University
Bobby McFerrin is one of the most uniquely skilled vocalists in generations. His improvisatory music making inspires and engages audiences around the globe with his all-inclusive stylistic approach, ranging from pop to punk, rock to jazz. This talk will feature explanations and demonstrations of what one can expect from the Bobby McFerrin experience.
Coffee and light desserts provided. Free to all ticket holders of the “Bobby McFerrin: circlesongs”show.
Please present your “Bobby McFerrin: circlesongs” McCain ticket at Chick-fil-A in the K-State Student Union for one free breakfast or lunch sandwich. Offer expires Feb. 21, 2020.
The Curious Afterlife of Peter Pan
6 p.m. Thursday, Feburary 6, Bluemont Room, K-State Student Union
Hosted by: Shannon Blake Skelton, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Music, School of Music, Theatre, and Dance
Explore how J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan “never grows old” as a powerful piece of popular culture. This multimedia presentation will explore Peter Pan in film, television, animation, comic books and even fan culture. Also, learn how Peter Pan radically influenced the popularity of names for newborns!
Coffee and light desserts provided. Free to all ticket holders of the “Finding Neverland”show.
Please present your “Finding Neverland” McCain ticket at Chick-fil-A in the K-State Student Union for one free breakfast or lunch sandwich. Offer expires Feb. 21, 2020.
Zappin’ and Groovin’ with the Squirrel Nut Zippers and Dirty Dozen Brass Band!
6:30 p.m. Friday, January 31, Bluemont Room, K-State Student Union
Hosted by: Wayne Goins, Ph.D., Director of Jazz, School of Music, Theatre, and Dance, Kansas State University
Come and get zapped with the Squirrel Nut Zippers, the North Carolina-based combo of Delta blues, gypsy jazz and klezmer-flavored swing music. Featuring music from their last album, “Beasts of Burgundy” and a whole lot more, this band guarantees to entertain your ears! For over 40 years, the musical gumbo of New Orleans-based Dirty Dozen Brass Band has delivered jazz, funk and R&B music to fans all around the globe. And now the seven-piece music machine from the Big Easy comes to the Little Apple to groove your soul. Don’t miss it!
Coffee and light desserts provided. Free to all ticket holders of the “Squirrel Nut Zippers and The Dirty Dozen Brass Band”show.
Please present your “4Squirrel Nut Zippers and The Dirty Dozen Brass Band” McCain ticket at Chick-fil-A in the K-State Student Union for one free breakfast or lunch sandwich. Offer expires Feb. 15, 2020.
From Devastation to Redemptive Love: Recognizing Dysfunction and Resilience in The Color Purple
6:30 p.m. Wednesday, January 22, Bluemont Room, K-State Student Union
Hosted by: Tosha Sampson-Choma, Assistant Professor, Department of English
Alice Walker’s highly regarded novel, The Color Purple, is a contemporary text that has been praised, critiqued, banned, adapted into film, theater, song and poetic works. It engages topics once considered taboo, ranging from domestic violence to flagrant sexuality, religious contradiction, incest and family dysfunction. This conversation will focus on the resilience and love that permeate Walker’s narrative and identify elements that make the novel an important contribution to American and African American literature and culture.
Coffee and light desserts provided. Free to all ticket holders of the “The Color Purple”show.
Please present your “4The Color Purple” McCain ticket at Chick-fil-A in the K-State Student Union for one free breakfast or lunch sandwich. Offer expires Jan. 31, 2020.
42 FT — CIRQUE MECHANICS History and Circus Traditions
6:30 p.m. Tuesday, November 19, Bluemont Room, K-State Student Union
Hosted by: Shannon Blake Skelton, Assistant Professor of Theatre
Theatre and circus scholar Shannon Blake Skelton presents a multimedia history of circus and how Cirque Mechanics pushes at the limits of the possible — and impossible —of the form’s traditions.
Coffee and light desserts provided. Free to all ticket holders of the “42FT”show.
Please present your “42FT” McCain ticket at Chick-fil-A in the K-State Student Union for one free breakfast or lunch sandwich. Offer expires Dec. 3, 2019.
DIAVOLO Veterans Project: Moving Veterans Lives
6:30 p.m. Thursday, November 14, Bluemont Room, K-State Student Union
Hosted by: Ret. Lt. Col. Art DeGroat, The Col. H. Duane Saunders Executive Director of Military and Veterans Affairs and Director, Military Innovation Center
Los Angeles-based DIAVOLO Dance Theater has created a nationally acclaimed outreach program with American war veterans that restores their personal strengths, develops social connectivity to their new civilian tribes and helps them nd deeper personal meaning of their military service experiences, including war. This talk shares insights on this arts-based strategy of restoration, building community and creating deeper narratives of military service and the consequences of war.
Coffee and light desserts provided. Free to all ticket holders of the “Diavolo: Architecture in Motion” show.
Please present your “Diavolo: Architecture in Motion” McCain ticket at Chick-fil-A in the K-State Student Union for one free breakfast or lunch sandwich. Offer expires Nov. 27, 2019.
A Songwriter With a Little Faith… and Brilliance
6:30 p.m. Wednesday, October 16, Bluemont Room, K-State Student Union
Hosted by: Steve Maxwell, Associate Professor of Music, School of Music, Theatre, and Dance
John Hiatt is one of the most talented songwriters in blues and country music history. We will take a journey through Hiatt’s songwriting past and discuss his successes, failures and powerful legacy.
Coffee and light desserts provided. Free to all ticket holders of the “An Acoustic Evening with John Hiatt” show.
Please present your “An Acoustic Evening with John Hiatt” McCain ticket at Chick-fil-A in the K-State Student Union for one free breakfast or lunch sandwich. Offer expires Oct. 31, 2019.
MYSTERY MAGIC MUSIC MASTERY
6:30 p.m. Thursday, October 10, Bluemont Room, K-State Student Union
Hosted by: Laura Donnelly, choreographer, teacher, dancer and writer
This conversation will begin with a brief discussion of traditional flamenco, touch on the career of Siudy Garrido, then move quickly to her focus on flamenco as a universal art form based on geometric principles of energy and evolution. We will explore the concepts of dynamic artistry and creative expression and how Garrido uses these within the traditional language of flamenco to develop a new artistic language that is uniquely her own. Her work is dramatic, visually rich, rhythmically complex, beautiful and moving. Our conversation will be a little tamer.
Coffee and light desserts provided. Free to all ticket holders of the “Siudy Garrido Flamenco Dance Theater” show.
Please present your “Siudy Garrido Flamenco Dance Theater” McCain ticket at Chick-fil-A in the K-State Student Union for one free breakfast or lunch sandwich. Offer expires Nov. 16, 2019.
A Tribute to Italian Tenors
6:30 p.m. Friday, September 13, K-State Student Union
Hosted by: Dr. Reginald Pittman, Professor of Music/Voice Division Chair, Kansas State University
A historical journey of the greatest tenors singing the most loved arias and songs of all time.
Coffee and light desserts provided. Free to all ticket holders of the Four Italian Tenors: “Viva Italia” show.
Please present your “Italian Tenors” McCain ticket at Chick-fil-A in the K-State Student Union for one free breakfast or lunch sandwich. Offer expires September 27, 2019.
Nitty, Gritty, and a Whole Lotta Fun!
6:30 p.m. Sunday, September 8, K-State Student Union
Hosted by: Steven Maxwell, Associate Professor of Music
From a jug band in the ‘60s to a cornerstone of country rock, come hear about how this little, GRITTY band helped shape the landscape of American country and rock and roll music.
Coffee and light desserts provided. Free to all ticket holders of the “Nitty Gritty Dirt Band” show.
Please present your “Nitty Gritty Dirt Band” McCain ticket at Chick-fil-A in the K-State Student Union for one free breakfast or lunch sandwich. Offer expires September 27, 2019.