ETC Produces 3rd Short Attention Span Play festival with, “Speed Dating in Ten Short Plays!”

Reporting: Monessa Guilfoil

The above theatre poster was created by Young Monster for this original production.

Ensemble Theatre of Chattanooga opens it’s annual festival of short plays at the Saint Andrew’s Center through June 12th, 2011.     ETC’s short plays include original works by up-coming playwrights including Co-Producing Director, Garry Posey.

Has romance changed in the 21st Century of virtual internet chat-rooms and, “speed dating?”     Is true love possible within the first five minutes of meeting someone?     “Why is Generation Y waiting longer to get married,” asks festival actor Daniel Pound who was born on the cusp in the early 80’s?       These short plays seek to address these questions.

“Most of the plays deal with first time interactions,” between characters says Director Casey Keelen.     Krysten Pound who is acting in it says her favorite short play opens with a single woman whose first line to her potential suitor is, “Don’t touch me.”      Actor Daniel Pound describes an abstract short play which takes place entirely while two actors circle one another.

The Pounds are a newly married couple, both trained actors working in Chattanooga.      Mr. Pounds has appeared in UTC’s production of Greek Play, “Peace” adapted by Gaye Jeffers and he is currently involved in Chattanooga State’s Professional Actor’s Training Program.      Mrs. Pound is a graduate of the same program.

ETC says about the cast:

Director Casey Keelen returns to the festival for her second year. Actors include Mary Christa Jaramillo, Maggie Bradshaw, Daniel Pound, Krysten Pound, Seth Wilson, Sonibert Wood and Eric Wyatt.  Stage Managed by Jeremy Wilkins.

ETC says about this original production:

Hey Singles! (And couples too!) Get your play on!
ETC’s annual 10-minute play festival returns this year with 10 original pieces focusing on the sometimes quick and always surprising world of dating.

ETC calls out for play submissions each year and this year’s playwrights include J. Stephen Brantley, Nancy Gall-Clayton Garry Lee Posey, Trace Crawford, John C. Davenport, John Donnelly, Mark Harvey Levine, John Weagly and Michael Weems.

Wikipedia has a well footnoted definition of Speed Dating here.

Chattanooga In The Movies

REPORTING: MICHAEL EDWARD MILLER

If you’re a movie buff, you know Water For Elephants was partially shot right here in the Chattanooga area.  It’s one of the most prominent films to have a Scenic City connection–but it’s not the first time Hollywood stars and major directors have come here.  Actually, more than 25 notable films were shot near Chattanooga or in North Georgia.

In this segment we talk about some of the most notable films shot in our area–films involving actors such as Mark Hamill, Dennis Quaid, Montgmery Clift and Jeff Bridges, as well as directors such as John Carpenter, George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola.

Local filmmakers Dave Porfiri and Barry Schuch join us to discuss Chattanooga in the movies.

The Rain People, from Francis Ford Coppola, was filmed partly in Chattanooga.

The Night The Lights Went Out In Georgia was filmed in Chattanooga and Trenton.

Wild River was filmed in Cleveland, TN.

Tennessee Valley Corridor Summit – Alternatve Energy

Reporting:  Rabbit Zielke

The Tennessee Valley Corridor Summit in May 2011 included a panel discussion of alternative energies and industry.  Panelist Johnathan Hurwitch was interviewed about current and future alternative energy production.

Listen to the story.

Dinosaurs Arrive In Chattanooga

REPORTING: MICHAEL EDWARD MILLER

The latest exhibit at the Chattanooga Zoo features something really different–dinosaurs.

The T-Rex is one of the largest dinos on display.

The Triceratops shows off its large horns.

These very large, very realistic animatronic creatures are part of a traveling exhibit which will be at the Chattanooga Zoo at Warner Park until July 31^st.  Ten different types of dinosaurs are on display at the Zoo.  As I walked inside the building where the exhibit is housed, I heard the dinosaurs roaring and screeching…

The Apatosaurus cranes its long neck and smiles for the camera.

Dinosaur eggs

Future Needs for the Future Workforce

Reporting:  Rabbit Zielke

The Tennessee Valley Corridor Summit in Chattanooga included a panel discussion on the needs for the future workforce.  A focus on education in science, technology, engineering and mathematics is important for the growing workforce but soft skills like communication and persuasion are also important for high technology jobs.

Listen to the story.

Regional Pediatric Trauma Center at Children’s Hospital

Reporting:  Rabbit Zielke

The Intensive Care Unit at the Children’s Hospital in Chattanooga provides a Pediatric Regional Trauma Center for this area.  Combined with the helicopter fleet at Life Force, the Pediatric ICU’s medical staff works to save young lives all across the region.  The 14 bed pediatric trauma unit employs the latest technology with a full staff of trained specialist to work with children and families in critical care situations.   Dr. Greg Talbott provided a rare tour of the facilities at the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.

Listen to the story.

Choral Arts of Chattanooga Season Finale

Reporting: Monessa Guilfoil

Choral Arts of Chattanooga describes their upcoming concert:

A New Look, A New Sound

Tuesday, May 24, 2011, 7:30 pm

Center for Creative Arts

Experience an exciting range of choral music, as Choral Arts performs a variety of selections across centuries and genres, from medieval days to Broadway themes.

This Spring Choral Arts performance features pieces by composers William Billings, Phillip Hayden, Vincent Persichetti, William Hawley, Ricky Ian Gordon and George Gershwin.

The Dave Walters Trio will accompany the chorus on the Gershwin pieces.

Following is an excerpt from an article published in 1895 in the New England Magazine  about Colonial American composer, William Billings:

“It was about 1770 that the Billings craze began. William Billings was a remarkable man in many re-spects; and the peculiar fever of which he was the cause was largely due to his strong personality. He stands in our musical history as he first self-taught native composer. A collection published at Philadelphia in 1761, entitled Urania, had furnished him with models for composition, and working from these he prepared a host of fugueing tunes, which through their very freshness, quickly commanded attention. Church music had acquired a dolefulness due to the slow pace that had become the fashion. Billings commanded liveliness, and his fugues favored greater animation than had seemed proper for the plain harmonies and steady rhythms of the older tunes. The head of the new school, a tanner by trade, was somewhat deformed with legs of different lengths, a slightly withered arm and a blind eye. He had a voice of tremendous power and a manner that brooked no opposition. There was no one to criticize his tunes or to controvert his theories, some of which were really shrewd and sound; and so long as he lived, which was until the century had nearly expired, he had hosts of followers.”

Choral Arts Artistic Director, Keith Scott Reas believes that performing the works of contemporary composers is important.    After all, both Mozart and Beethovan had their works performed during their lifetimes.     Reas grew up with fellow musician and composer, Phillip Hayden and Hayden will be in attendance as Choral Arts of Chattanooga performs his compositions of two Shakespeare Songs.

Listen to the story with Director, Keith Scott Reas:

BioBlitz Catalogs Natural Diversity in Chattanooga

Coming up on May 20th and 21st at the Chattanooga Nature Center: BioBlitz 2011.  Organizers say that Bio Blitz is part contest, part festival, part educational event, and part scientific endeavor.  It’s an annual event where scientists, students, teachers and volunteers work together for twenty-four hours non-stop, going out in the woods and identifying as many species as possible.

Listen to the story.

From the Nature Center’s Web site:

This is a 24 hour event. It begins at 3:00pm on May 20, 2011, and concludes at 3:00pm on May 21, 2011.

The Chattanooga Nature Center, Reflection Riding Arboretum & Botanical Garden, the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, and the Tennessee Aquarium are joining forces to host the fourth annual BioBlitz in Chattanooga. This event is held in many cities across the nation. Chattanooga is one of the first cities in Tennessee to participate. A BioBlitz is part contest, part festival, part educational event, and part scientific endeavor. The Chattanooga BioBlitz brings together scientists and other nature-oriented organizations from across the region in a race against time to see how many species can be counted in a 24-hour biological survey of CNC and Reflection Riding. The public also participates by observing the scientists at work, interacting with them, and participating in educational activities provided by local nature-oriented organizations. The children and adults of our community gain many benefits from this event:

• Greater understanding of scientists’ work in the field
• Appreciation for the rich biodiversity of our region
• Greater knowledge of the interdependence of flora and fauna in our local ecosystem
• Awareness of human impact on the land and how we can lessen its negative effects

In the three years of conducting the BioBlitz there have been as many as 693 species of plants and animals that were identified through the combined efforts of up to 105 scientists and volunteers. As many as 171 people have attended a variety of educational programs. At Chattanooga BioBlitz 2010, the vascular plant team found a Lesser Yellow Lady slipper flower which is the first record for Hamilton County. You never know what exciting thing will be found by the team of scientists.

We hope that this year will be the best BioBlitz yet!

Chattanooga Harp Ensemble Spring Concert

Reporting:  Rabbit Zielke

The Jan Pennington Gray Harp Scholarship Fund is hosting a concert featuring the Chattanooga Harp Ensemble on Sunday, May 22nd.  The free concert will be held at First Cumberland Presbyterian Church located at 1505 N Moore Rd in Chattanooga beginning at 3:00 pm.

Listen to the story.

Days of Remembrance

Reporting:  Rabbit Zielke

The Holocaust claimed the lives of approximately 6 million European Jews during World War II.  Nazi Germany systematically exterminated millions and worked others to death in slave labor camps and death marches.  The National Days of Remembrance were established in the United States as an annual commemoration of the events of the Holocaust.

Sol Lurie was a young boy living with his family in Lithuania when the Nazi’s invaded.  He shared his story as a Holocaust survivor in a two-part special on Around and About.  Part 1  is the story of trials and tribulations as the young Sol lived the horrors of the ghetto and concentration camps.  In Part 2 Sol shares his triumph of liberation and time spent sharing a message of love with young people to help reduce hate in the world.

Part 1 

Part 2