Twenty-three student projects get support for the fifth annual festival

From an outdoor production of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream to a group of 350 jugglers juggling more than 1,000 objects simultaneously, a performance of new music composed and performed by Harvard and Radcliffe undergraduates to an experimental theatre production based on Billy Joel songs, Harvard and Radcliffe students are preparing a multitude of innovative projects for the fifth annual ARTS FIRST festival with the help of funding from the Office for the Arts.

The Harvard Council on the Arts has awarded 23 grants --representing more than 62 percent of all applications -- to student projects which have artistic merit, originality, the involvement of a large number of undergraduates, cultural diversity, and a high level of visibility. (The Council includes acting chair Ivan Tcherepnin, S. Allen Counter, Arthur Loeb, Claire Mallardi, Myra Mayman, Jill McCorkle, and Jane Nichols.) ARTS FIRST is a festival that celebrates Harvard and Radcliffe undergraduates and faculty in the arts and seeks to galvanize the Harvard-Radcliffe arts community. This year it will be held on May 1-4. For more information about ARTS FIRST, call the OFA at 495-8699.

Projects receiving funding are:

DANCE

ARTS FIRST Dance Festival, Hyland Hunt '98: $1,000 for the production of the ARTS FIRST Dance Festival, which will consist of at least 15 groups whose performances are grouped in 20-minute segments

MULTIDISCIPLINARY

1000 Balls, Harvard-Radcliffe Juggling Club and Jason Freidenfields '00: $270 for the organization of approximately 350 jugglers to assemble in Tercentenary Theatre to juggle at least 1,000 objects at one time.

Four Projects, Harvard-Radcliffe Television Organization and Sebastian Bentkowski '99: $300 for production of four different projects: "Crimson Edition" will capture the best of ARTS FIRST for an upcoming documentary, Ivory Tower will tape a scene, Survey Says will tape an episode, and The Common Room will screen an episode emphasizing ARTS FIRST themes or situations.

Lowell House Art Show and Coffeehouse, Lowell House Arts Group and Anne McClanan, House Tutor: $200 to mount an art exhibition and produce an open mic night.

Magic Faces, Harvard and Neighborhood Development (HAND) and Ruhi Kahn '97: $450 for each House HAND program to work with one elementary school class (20-25 students) from each of the 13 Cambridge Public Schools, to make masks to be worn by them in the ARTS FIRST parade.

Pop-Catwalk, Andrea Perini '97: $550 for production of a fashion show of clothing designed and created by the artist, with original music composed and performed by Jace Clayton ('97) and Julia Tom ('97).

MUSIC

A Concert of New Music, H-R Contemporary Music Ensemble and Caroline Mallonee '97: $100 for production of a concert of new music by Harvard and Radcliffe undergraduates, performed by undergraduates, in Busch Hall.

Kuumba Singer's ARTS FIRST Performance, H-R Kuumba Singers and Jante Santos '99: $200 for production support for the Kuumba Singers' ARTS FIRST performance in Sanders Theatre, featuring African-American folk, traditional, and gospel music.

Make Your Own Instrument Parade, H-R Contemporary Music Ensemble/AgitProp and Fleur de Vie Weinstock '99: $100 for project in which participants will make instruments with materials provided by Project4NewMusic, then parade through Harvard Square and Harvard Yard playing music on the instruments.

Myth Nail Broth, David Collins '97: $150 for a concert of a semi-improvisational group of musicians to perform with audience participation on simple instruments.

Pforzheimer House Jazz Show, Pforzheimer House Music Society/Black Men's Forum and Jason Crocker '97: $400 for a variety show featuring student-led jazz ensembles, original hip-hop, and individual vocal performances. A professional-quality live recording of the event will be made on location from the Quad Sound Studio.

THEATER

A Midsummer Night's Dream, Hyperion Shakespeare Players and David Speedie '99: $400 for an outdoor performance of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream in Harvard Yard.

All the World's a Stage with Puppets and Actors Upon It, The Onion Weavers and Safia Jama '99: $100 for the creation of larger-than-life heads using papier maché, paints, and other miscellaneous material. These heads will then be worn by actors in various appearances at ARTS FIRST events.

Allentown: The Billy Joel Story, Alice DuBois '99: $150 for an experimental theater project based on Billy Joel songs set in small town 1950s America.

Assassins , Pforzheimer House Drama Society and Andrew Mandel '00: $100 for the production of Stephen Sondheim's musical thriller, Assassins.

Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune , H-R Dramatic Club and Michael Friedman '97: $450 to stage an innovative production of Terrence McNally's landmark play in the Loeb Experimental Theater.

Magic, Harvard Magic Society and Jay Kimmelman '99: $50 to produce a magic, comedy, and illusion show with audience participation.

So Fine, H-R Dramatic Club, H-R Playwrights Society and Barbara Matteau, GSAS: $100 to stage a one-woman performance piece with slide montage.

The Glass Menagerie, Dana Gottlieb '97: $250 in support of a collaboration between undergraduates and a local theater artist and alumnus for a production of Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie.

The Rose and the Ring, H-R Dramatic Club and Timothy Foley '98: $300 for the production of an original play with larger-than-life characters, princes, princesse, and deviant usurpers, to be staged in the sunken garden in Radcliffe Yard.

VISUAL ARTS

Our Lady of Guan Yin, Adriana Abdenur '97: $300 to create a mixed-media installation/exhibition exploring the similarities between the Virgin Mary and Guan Yin, the Buddhist Goddess of Mercy.

Resurrection, Louis Monoyudis '98: $125 to create an installation consisting of four panels. This art work will show how current discrimination against gays mirrors past hatred against African-Americans, women, and Jews.

Self-Portrait, Self-Portrayal: Visual Art and Personal Identity, Phillips Brooks House (PBH) and Mike Boyce '99: $200 to support a project involving PBH counselors and children (40 Harvard undergraduates, 13 children) who will examine famous self-portraits, then create their own self-portraits.