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March 19, 2010

The Daily Tar Heel staff writer Sam Jacobson had a chance to talk to artist-in-residence Oliver Herring. On Saturday, Herring will lead a group through a TASK Party. He discusses his career and TASKS below.

March 19, 2010
The Ackland Art Museum is showcasing an outdoor exhibit of photos taken by young girls living in Kibera.

The art at the Ackland Art Museum is going out tonight.

An exhibition of photographs depicting daily life in Kibera, Kenya, one of Africa’s largest and poorest slums, will be displayed from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. tonight on the museum’s lawn.

March 18, 2010

Groups representing cultures and performance styles from around the world will bring their talents together in the name of AIDS education tonight.

A variety of groups will take over Memorial Hall at 7:30 p.m. for the fifth annual Triangle Dance Festival for AIDS.

March 19, 2010
World renowned fiddler Eileen Ivers performs in “Beyond the Bog Road” for St. Patrick’s Day. DTH/Shar-narne Flowers

St. Patrick’s Day brings out a little bit of Irish in everyone.

A sea of green audience members experienced true Irish tradition in Eileen Ivers and Immigrant Soul’s performance in Memorial Hall on Wednesday night.

The group provided a lively show combining the mediums of music, dance and video to chronicle the diaspora of Irish immigrants during the great potato famine and their experiences up to the present time.

March 18, 2010
Eileen Ivers will perform at 7:30 tonight at Memorial Hall.

Celtic fiddler Eileen Ivers will perform tonight at Memorial Hall. Daily Tar Heel staff writer Lindsay Saladino spoke with Ivers on Monday about her tour and her music. Ivers’ responses have been edited for space.

Daily Tar Heel: Why did you start playing music?

Eileen Ivers: I started playing fiddle when I was around 8 years old. I totally loved the instrument as a kid. My parents are both from County Mayo, in the west of Ireland, and they kind of wanted me and my sister to pick something of Irish up, whether it be dancing or the music.

March 16, 2010
Dramatic art professor Ray Dooley plays Lady Bracknell in “The Importance of Being Earnest.” Courtesy of Jon Gardiner

PlayMakers Repertory Company struck the proper matches to ignite Oscar Wilde’s wit ablaze in its production of “The Importance of Being Earnest.”

The jovial acting, which left the audience charmed, was lovely, but the production’s set was beautiful.

Without a sprinkle of dust, the innards of a Victorian townhouse were littered with highbrow detail. A surplus of polished wood, unruffled cushions, caged birds and tasseled carpets produced a burgundy-tinted, exquisite image.

March 14, 2010
Robert Wittman has recovered more than $225 million of stolen art. Courtesy of Robert Wittman

In 2005, Robert Wittman, founder of the FBI’s Art Crime Team, recovered Rembrandt’s “Self-Portrait” after thieves stole it and two other paintings from the N

March 4, 2010

Memorial Hall will be filled with the sound of samba fused with rock ’n’ roll March 14 for Gilberto Gil’s “The String Concert.”

March 5, 2010
Lee Smith, Marshall Chapman and Paul Ferguson worked together in writing “Good Ol’ Girls” in 1998. Courtesy of Lee Smith

Make it on Tobacco Road and you can make it anywhere.

UNC communication studies professor Paul Ferguson and his “Good Ol’ Girls” finally have a taste of those blinding Manhattan lights.

March 4, 2010
Ray Dooley plays Lady Bracknell in PlayMakers’ newest play.

In 1983 actor Ray Dooley played protagonist Jack Worthing in a production of “The Importance of Being Earnest.”

Twenty-seven years later, he returns to the play, this time in the rigid dresses of Lady Bracknell.

PlayMakers Repertory Company will lend a twist of hilarity to Oscar Wilde’s comedy classic, “The Importance of Being Earnest,” which opens today and runs until March 21.

Wilde’s play, set in the Victorian era, is a witty social satire about three couples trying to find love.

Connie Mahan, director of marketing and communication for PlayMakers, first suggested that Dooley play Lady Bracknell.

The show’s director, Matthew Arbour, agreed that a male actor cast as a female would add to the play’s humor.

March 4, 2010
The London Philharmonic Orchestra captivated a full audience in Memorial Hall on Tuesday. DTH/Anika Anand

Vladimir Jurowski stepped onto the conductor stand, picked up his baton, and so the magic began.

From the first note, the London Philharmonic Orchestra captivated the audience in a full Memorial Hall Tuesday night.

With the dim lighting, the musicians in all black, and the rich mahogany-colored sound shell, the feel of the hall was warm and majestic.

March 4, 2010
London Philharmonic Orchestra Conductor Vladimir Jurowski will lead tonight’s show. Photo Courtesy of Carolina Performing Arts

Correction (March 4 12:31 AM): Due to a reporting error this story incorrectly stated that the orchestra would stop in Newport, Va. It will stop in Newport News, Va. The Daily Tar Heel apologizes for the error.

Chapel Hill is in elite company this week.

Memorial Hall is one of only four venues that will host The London Philharmonic Orchestra on its exclusive U.S. tour, which includes stops in New York City, Long Island, NY, and Newport News, Va.

The orchestra will perform tonight and Wednesday night and has different programs planned for each night.

March 1, 2010
Terence Blanchard and his band focused primarily on his 2009 album in a concert. Courtesy of Carolina Performing Arts

The loyal couriers of the U.S. Postal Service are duty-bound to deliver in times of rain, snow, sleet or hail. I guess the same can be said of jazz musicians.

March 2, 2010
Lewis Black was one of the few comedians who beat weather delays to perform for a packed house.  DTH/Daniel Sircar

Correction (March 1 11:49 p.m.): Due to a reporting error this story failed to include UNC student Emily Satterfield, one of the winners of the student stand up competition.  The Daily Tar Heel apologizes for the error.

A New York City snowstorm prevented “The Daily Show” comedians John Oliver, Wyatt Cenac and Rory Albanese from attending the events of this week’s seventh annual Carolina Comedy Festival, but the show continued with help from some New York comedians and Lewis Black.

Festival sponsor Carolina Union Activities Board reacted quickly to the weather and what Sam Morgan, the chairman of CUAB’s comedy committee, called “a fun surprise.”

“Even though things didn’t go as planned, the shows still went great,” Morgan said.

March 1, 2010

“Speech and Debate” promises to be a juicy high school play, full of sexual intrigue, blackmail and shameless ambition.

As director Andrew Slater joked, it’s more like “Notes on a Scandal” than the happy halls of “Saved by the Bell.”

March 1, 2010
Courtesy of Carolina Performing Arts

Famous trumpeter Terence Blanchard will bring his soulful sound to Memorial Hall at 8 p.m. tonight for an evening of jazz.

Blanchard, a native of New Orleans, recorded his latest album at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art in New Orleans, honoring the city after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.

David Houston, the museum’s curator and director, said Blanchard brought back the soul of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina with his music.

“Terence gave it more soul, gave it more feeling,” Houston said. “He started thinking more of his legacy as a New Orleans tradition rather than a national reputation.”

February 25, 2010

Seated in front a chic Victorian-inspired set, the director of the upcoming “The Importance of Being Earnest,” discussed his vision for the approaching show.

The public had the opportunity to converse with director Matthew Arbour through PlayMakers Repertory Company’s Vision Series event.

Oscar Wilde famously said, “The world is a stage, but the play is badly cast.”

February 26, 2010
Cast members Jacob Williams and Haley Scruggs rehearse Wednesday night. DTH/Lauren Vied

Six actors will try to remind audiences what matters most in life by illustrating what they learned in kindergarten while honoring the memory of a beloved professor.

February 25, 2010
Senior Danny Nowell was one of nine winners chosen in the Student Stand Up Competition. DTH/Melissa Abbey

Laughter rocked the walls of the Student Union Cabaret on Tuesday night as 22 students took three minutes at the mic to try to woo the crowd with their funniest jokes.

The contestants were competing for a chance to open at the Carolina Comedy Jam featuring stand-up comedians Lewis Black and The Daily Show’s Wyatt Cenac, John Oliver and host Rory Albanese.

February 24, 2010

The sounds of saxophones, trombones and trumpets will fill the air as the 33rd Carolina Jazz Festival kicks off today.

February 24, 2010

Junior Cody Hughes will be defending his title against 23 other UNC students tonight as they vie for one of several opening spots for comedian Lewis Black — an opportunity Hughes has won for the past two years.

February 23, 2010
Members of the STREB dance team  perform Friday night in Memorial Hall. DTH/Daniel Sircar

The performers of STREB: Brave displayed just how brave they are in their performances Friday and Saturday night in Memorial Hall.

Not even belly flopping onto a stack of mats from 25 feet in the air posed an obstacle.

The performers astounded audiences with their creative mix of aggressive aerobatics, extreme sports and dance.

February 23, 2010

When not studying and working on her doctorate, Larisa Mann is busy spinning beats as DJ Ripley.

February 23, 2010

Gaming expert Jesper Juul posed an unexpected question: “Can video games make you cry?” in his speech Friday afternoon in the Union auditorium.

He answered it with a slide of a South Korean man tearfully mourning his loss in StarCraft, an example of the potential emotional investment involved with competitive gaming.

February 19, 2010

Since the launch of his YouTube video “Web 2.0...The Machine is Us/ing Us,” cultural anthropologist Michael Wesch has become a YouTube celebrity through his exploration of the effects of new media on society and culture.

February 22, 2010

Continuing its critically acclaimed 2009-10 season, the PlayMakers Repertory Company has unveiled its next season, beginning on Sept. 22 with William Shakespeare’s “As You Like It.”

February 22, 2010
Jeb Stuart

The Daily Tar Heel had a chance to talk to the director of the new movie “Blood Done Sign My Name” and the author of the book the movie is based on.

February 22, 2010
Elizabeth Streb, front, leads a master class Thursday afternoon at the Center for Dramatic Art. DTH/Daixi Xu

Combining extreme sports, dance and technology, STREB Extreme Action Company’s “BRAVE” promises to be something much different than you’ve ever seen.

February 19, 2010
From left, Emily Weinstein and Dale Morgan work on a mural that will be shown at Earth Day festival. Courtesy of Dave Otto

Dale Morgan has taken her work out of the studio and into the environment, earning a career as an environmental artist.

Morgan is one of the many local artists who focus their work on nature by painting, drawing, or taking photos of the indigenous plants and animals of the area.

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