All in a Day's Work 24 Hours of Art

Author: Abbie Beane

Serving as the perfect venue for experienced performers, artistic hopefuls, unabashed rookies and all those in between, "24 Hours of Art" promises to satisfy anyone with a voracious artistic appetite.
Celebrating the Center for the Arts' (CFA) 10th anniversary, "24 Hours of Art" will be held from 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 20, through 5 p.m. the next day as part of the annual Clifford Symposium.
Proposed and arranged by Peter Schmitz and Amy Chavasse, both of the Middlebury College Dance Program, this upcoming event invites faculty, staff, students and alumni to sing, dance, rap, exhibit, read and perform through every "conceivable medium" for the sake of celebrating the simple powers as well as the powerful complexities of a variety of art forms.
These feverish 24 hours are anticipated to be tightly packaged and explosive, even as the deranging moments between 3 a.m. and 4 a.m. approach, making for a "cornucopia of events held in unexpected locations at unconventional times." As the program promises, "24 Hours of Art" will be, "a forum for exploration and risk taking" and a "chance for artists and audiences to experiment with orthodoxy and innovation."
More than that, this opportunity serves as the ideal instrument for first-years, as well as artistic novices and people new to the Middlebury College art scene, to pull back the curtains and step into the world of performance. The event allows the experienced and the inexperienced alike to be recognized and to tap into the adrenaline rush which results from surmounting a challenge, running a risk, or courageously dancing before an audience of one's own fears and vulnerabilities.
This sequence will also be an opportunity to take part in the first all-building event, an experimental production conceived from a tiny seed called "Floor Plan," which was a 24-hour event held 10 years ago when the CFA opened, yet restricted to only one room.
Never before has the CFA seen such artistic forms of expression occupy even the most unassuming parts of the building, or as Marketing Manager at the CFA Liza Sacheli put it, "reach its fingers into all corners and all rooms [of the center] in order to enjoy and exploit them." Performances will take place in all of the "nooks and crannies," sometimes simultaneously, as Schmitz explained it, "from the stairs to the hallways to dark and obscure corners." And this, he said, will offer students, faculty, staff and the general public the chance to "see the spaces in the building in a different light."
Where once people considered the CFA "intimidating" or "too weird," Schmitz said he hopes that after the event the building, a work of art in and of itself, will seem "inviting and not too daunting." Sacheli predicted her hope that after the event people will want to "make the CFA their home."
Having the opportunity to spend a lengthy amount of time in the building may also help to accomplish that goal. Yet, if you are not a college student accustomed to foolishly staying up around the clock, there will be plenty of fun performances held at reasonably normal hours as well.
Events to look forward to, which have been scheduled thus far, include the "Bad Play Festival," a compilation of plays written by the theater students of Visiting Lecturer in Theater and playwright Dana Yeaton, which has amusement written all over it. The weekend also proposes some improvisational theater, musical events, a number of visual displays and a possible appearance by Riddim, the dynamic world dance group on campus.
Schmitz and a group of his alumni dancers, all of them professional, collaborated on a piece as well, which should to be wildly entertaining and aesthetically pleasing, considering the skill, energy and passion that Schmitz and his dancers possess.
Lastly, one should look for the gospel concert featuring Janice Harrison-Aikens, an award-winning soloist with the Newark, N.J., Community Concert Choir and a member of the Harlem Spiritual Ensemble. She will be hosted by Dr. Francois Clemmons, Twilight artist-in-residence, and members of the Middlebury College Choir.
Sacheli asserted "it is a misconception that non-art students can't participate here." Instead, she reminded everyone that the CFA is not just a place for classical music, but a place to explore the "countermovement," dedicated to the pursuit of "contemporary, diverse events, which contrast art done 100 years ago that tends to distance the contemporary audience."
Schmitz also agreed that the upcoming weeks will offer an incredible time for artistic growth in the College community, encouraging those who have ever had any interest in performing arts to be spectators if not active participants. Translation: if you have ever wanted to be realized by a larger audience than your full-length mirror, the time is now.
And not to worry if you have not spent hours rehearsing or seem to be, what is in your opinion, a very rough performer. "There will be a whole range of events performed next week," Sacheli predicted, "some polished, some on the fly, made up as you watch, and what could be cooler than that?"
If you could not attend the informational meeting Wednesday night and are interested in performing, there is still time to contact Peter Schmitz at (802) 443-5030 or Amy Chavasse at (802) 443-3422, to schedule a performance time slot.