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Jacob’s Pillow theatre, site of college dance collaborations, destroyed in fire

Jacob’s Pillow theatre, site of college dance collaborations, destroyed in fire

Tali Natter December 9, 2020

Kusika, the College’s African Dance group, performing at the 2014 Inside/Outside series at Jacob’s Pillow. (Photo courtesy of Jamie Kraus/Jacob’s Pillow Dance.) On Nov. 17, the Doris Duke Theatre...

David Fincher’s MANK is a political story disguised as an historical Hollywood drama

David Fincher’s MANK is a political story disguised as an historical Hollywood drama

Tharini Prakash December 9, 2020

David Fincher’s latest venture MANK, a black and white historical recreation chronicling the writing of Citizen Kane, is a thoughtfully crafted and refreshing departure from the usually bleak and cool-toned...

Comic

Olivia Winters December 2, 2020

Star Choir: Phase 1 Brings a Panel of Experts to Create Art out of Science

Star Choir: Phase 1 Brings a Panel of Experts to Create Art out of Science

Erin Barry November 18, 2020

“In a time when Earth is no longer habitable, a band of humans attempt to colonize Planet 85K: Aurora.” This is how the description for Star Choir, Phase 1: Dialogue begins. “A performance for...

Trivial promises innovative digital performance

‘Trivial’ promises innovative digital performance

Isabel Williams November 13, 2020
Trivial, a new Cap & Bells production which premieres Friday, Nov. 13, started as a high school homework assignment.
Voting Rights Embroidery: Emily Bleiberg ’22 encourages voting through embroidery fundraiser

Voting Rights Embroidery: Emily Bleiberg ’22 encourages voting through embroidery fundraiser

Kevin Weng November 4, 2020
With the recent national presidential election, the subject of voting has been continuously plastered across the media and in the minds of many. However, following the 2016 presidential election, voter suppression has been growing rampant and encouraged by the likes of certain politicians.

From Stripping to Stepping: A Discussion of Complex Blackness on the Stage and Screen

Amalia Culpepper-Wehr October 28, 2020

In a world of webinars and Zoom calls, it’s rare to be in an environment that makes us want to get up out of our chairs and dance. Yet on Friday night, I was delighted to find myself grooving along...

Drawing to a close: Lin Saeed’s must-see ‘Arrival of the Animals’

Drawing to a close: Lin Saeed’s must-see ‘Arrival of the Animals’

Erin Barry October 21, 2020
Hidden away in the Clark’s Lunder Center on Stone Hill, Lin May Saeed’s Arrival of the Animals exhibition at the Clark is playful yet somber, mythical yet futuristic, and is a definite must-see before it closes. It is a zoo of the synthetic sort — filled with styrofoam pangolins and bronze foxes alike.
Performance groups adapt to remote recruitment and rehearsal

Performance groups adapt to remote recruitment and rehearsal

Tali Natter October 7, 2020
Although they won’t be singing on Mountain Day, dancing during Homecoming halftime, or performing before a packed crowd in Currier ballroom, a cappella, dance, and improv groups at the College have navigated the remote setting to hold auditions for new members.
1,000 paper cranes and a welding project: one entry’s First Days activity

1,000 paper cranes and a welding project: one entry’s First Days activity

Tali Natter September 30, 2020
While the weeks between quarantine and classes brought many out of their dorms to enjoy the outdoors, the first-year residents of Mills-Dennett 4 (MD4) found themselves inside, doing quite the opposite. Working in dorm rooms, common areas and hallways for two weeks, they collectively folded 1,000 origami cranes, creating an art installation and meaningful bonds.
A. G. Cook’s latest album Apple unearths a singular digital sound, with its reverberations extending far past genre conventions

A. G. Cook’s latest album ‘Apple’ unearths a singular digital sound, with its reverberations extending far past genre conventions

Phillip Pyle and Arts Desk September 30, 2020

Apple, A. G. Cook's second studio album, was released September 18, just one month after his 49 song studio debut, 7G (Photo courtesy of PC Music). Perhaps best known for his collaborations with Charli...

What do the 2020 Emmys mean for the future of television?

What do the 2020 Emmys mean for the future of television?

Tharini Prakash September 30, 2020

Williams alum, Jason Hehir (’98) won his first Emmy for The Last Dance (Photo Credit: Yahoo) Last Sunday, the 2020 Emmy Awards, hosted virtually by Jimmy Kimmel from the Staples Center, gave us a...

A. G. Cook’s latest album Apple unearths a singular digital sound, with its reverberations extending far past genre conventions

A. G. Cook’s latest album Apple unearths a singular digital sound, with its reverberations extending far past genre conventions

Phillip Pyle September 30, 2020
Perhaps best known for his collaborations with Charli XCX and for founding the electronic pop music label PC Music, A. G. Cook’s musical oeuvre is hard to pin down. Apple, his followup to the gargantuan experimental survey that is 7G, is a testament to the L.A.-based producer and singer-songwriter’s simultaneously fringe and essential position in electronic and pop spheres.
Selma Marchers Approaching Montgomery, Alabama, James H. Karales (American; 1930-2002).

The Difference Between Emails and Action: How WCMA’s Messaging About Racial Justice Falls Flat

Magdalena Arias September 16, 2020

Selma Marchers Approaching Montgomery, Alabama, James H. Karales (American; 1930-2002). Following the murder of George Floyd at the hands of police this year, and as a response to the ongoing protests...

Rachel Buccalo/ The Williams Record

And the Oscar Goes to Inclusivity

Kimberlean Donis September 16, 2020

Courtesy of Rachel Buccalo/The Williams Record. Ever since the creation of the #OscarsSoWhite campaign by April Reign, a Black activist, four years ago, the Academy has dedicated copious amounts of...

Williams College TaskMaster: cross-country quarantine comedy

Williams College TaskMaster: cross-country quarantine comedy

Tali Natter May 6, 2020
“I just have to hope that somewhere out there, in some part of the world, one of the others is failing more than I,” said Hallie Della-Volpe ’21 in a dramatic aside to the camera. The camera in question was her iPhone, and the failure referred to the collapse of the small rubber bands she had spent twenty minutes diligently stacking in attempts to “create the tallest thing out of the smallest things.”
A cappella groups discuss the transition to quarantine, new initiatives

A cappella groups discuss the transition to quarantine, new initiatives

Phillip Pyle May 6, 2020
The classroom experience has been hindered, athletics have been canceled, final performances have been nixed, lives have been uprooted and, yet, some continue to sing in spite of their separation from nearly every semblance of campus life.
One in Two Thousand: Melia Hagino ’22

One in Two Thousand: Melia Hagino ’22

Tali Natter May 4, 2020
Each week, we randomly select a unix from a list of all current students at the College. So long as the owner of the selected unix is willing to be interviewed and not a member of the Record board, that person becomes the subject of that week’s One in Two Thousand. This week, the computer (using a very simple script in R) chose Melia Hagino ’22.
Professor Sharpe performs jazz set about black experience

Professor Sharpe performs jazz set about black experience

Joey Fox March 4, 2020
Avery Sharpe, who is retiring this year after 10 years teaching bass, leading jazz ensembles and advising the College’s gospel choir, held a performance of his album 400 last Thursday alongside a band of fellow music professors, students and guests. The album, which was released in 2019, includes 10 songs, nine originals and one arrangement, and was designed to encapsulate 400 years of black history in America.
Sondheim’s A Little Night Music dazzles

Sondheim’s A Little Night Music dazzles

Eddie Wolfson March 4, 2020
With musicals, you either love them or you hate them. In commemoration of alum Stephen Sondheim ’50’s 90th birthday, the College’s theater department has teamed up with Cap and Bells to present a musical this upcoming weekend that they hope everyone will love: A Little Night Music.
Box Office Hours: ‘Border South’ with Cheryl Shanks

Box Office Hours: ‘Border South’ with Cheryl Shanks

Phillip Pyle March 4, 2020

“Wherever people feel safe … they will be indifferent,” Susan Sontag writes in her 2003 essay “Regarding the Pain of Others.” How, then, might government officials or other privileged individuals...

Graduate student explores legacy of public art on campus

Graduate student explores legacy of public art on campus

Ella Napack February 26, 2020
Walking toward Currier Quad on a warm day, one might see children climbing on the statuesque eyes embedded in the hill around the walkway, or possibly someone sitting on one of the eyes as they read. These moments of interaction between humanity and artwork are simple yet significant; they touch on the unique and multi-dimensional relationship between an artwork and its audience.
Brandon Hilfer ’20 writes opera for senior music thesis

Brandon Hilfer ’20 writes opera for senior music thesis

Tali Natter February 26, 2020
Podcast Editor Tali Natter sat down with Brandon Hilfer ’20 to learn more about his music thesis, an original opera titled “Actaeon, or the Hunter,” adapted from a story in Ovid’s “Metamorphoses” The piece will be performed May 9 at 7:30 pm in The Directing Studio.
Music professor Zachary Wadsworth’s album nominated for JUNO Award

Music professor Zachary Wadsworth’s album nominated for JUNO Award

Magdalena Arias February 26, 2020

At this year’s JUNO awards, Assistant Professor of Music Zachary Wadsworth’s album When There Is Peace: An Armistice Oratorio has been nominated for the category “Classical Album of the Year:...

Box Office Hours: “Fantastic Fungi” with Katya King

Box Office Hours: “Fantastic Fungi” with Katya King

Phillip Pyle February 26, 2020
Katya King, Director of Fellowships at the College, grew up foraging for mushrooms in what was then Czechoslovakia. The activity followed Katya's familial lineage – her grandfather taught her mushroomer lessons, a skillset she practiced often as a child but lost touch with in the U.S. In South Hadley, MA., where King lives, she’s fostered a new relationship with mushrooms, one that’s encouraged her to reflect upon her past and grow her understanding of the expansive study of mushrooms. She now considers herself an amateur mycologist – an expert on mushrooms.
The Clark invites students to special opening of “Arabesque” exhibition

The Clark invites students to special opening of “Arabesque” exhibition

Sarah Gantt February 26, 2020
Last Friday, the Clark Art Institute held an exclusive student opening of its “Arabesque” exhibition. This opening demonstrated the strong connections between the Clark and the student body and underscored the unique relationship the two institutions have. The exhibition gave room for students to appreciate art outside of the campus, allowing for a coming together of students interested in art.
Sawyer art piece showcases experiences of black students

Sawyer art piece showcases experiences of black students

Sarah Gantt February 19, 2020

KIMBERLEAN DONIS/THE WILLIAMS RECORD Kyle Scadlock '19 drew several black students and created an exhibition to display these drawings along with a quote selected by the students. Studio art major...

“American Factory” raises questions about the history of unionization

“American Factory” raises questions about the history of unionization

Arts Desk February 19, 2020

PHOTO COURTESY OF IFCCenter “American Factory” details the struggles of industrial workers at the Moraine Assembly Plant and the impact of lost jobs to the workers. Last Thursday, The Massachusets...

“The invisible enemy should not exist” continues a necessary discussion, asks for institutional responsibility and change

“The invisible enemy should not exist” continues a necessary discussion, asks for institutional responsibility and change

Phillip Pyle February 19, 2020

PHOTO COURTESY OF THE WILLIAMS COLLEGE MUSEUM OF ART. WCMA transfromed one of its galleries into an exact replica of the Room Z of King Ashurnasirpal II’s ninth century palace. The piece engages with...

Purple Box: Ivy Sole

Purple Box: Ivy Sole

Arts Desk February 19, 2020

KARA R. HADDEN ’22 “I was told there was going to be a hot gay rapper coming to campus, so I had to go. And in short, she delivered. I made a lot of friends at the event – it didn’t feel like...

Students participate in Oscars-watching festivities

Students participate in Oscars-watching festivities

Magdalena Arias February 12, 2020

Bong Joon-Ho’s Parasite walked away with  four Oscar wins, including Best Picture. Students watched the awards ceremony from various locations on campus and in town. (Photo courtesy of IMDB.) During...

Eph Ensemble: Sankofa draws on rich history of step dance

Eph Ensemble: Sankofa draws on rich history of step dance

Virginia Ontiveros February 12, 2020

Sankofa, pictured here rehearsing in the ’62 Center for Theatre and Dance, pays homage to traditional black step culture. Sankofa was founded in 1996 by five black women, Dahra Jackson ’00, Maxine...

Ephs self-advertise for romance

Ephs self-advertise for romance

Irene Loewenson February 13, 2019

Hipolito Vazquez ’22 put together a humorous boyfriend resume for potential suitors, posting copies in public spaces around campus. ANIAH PRICE/PHOTO EDITOR Roughly one in five alums from the...

Box Office Hours: ‘If Beale Street Could Talk’ with Anthony Y. Kim

Box Office Hours: ‘If Beale Street Could Talk’ with Anthony Y. Kim

Phillip Pyle February 13, 2019

Stephan James and Kiki Layne help bring James Baldwin’s novel to visual life in Barry Jenkins’ screen adaptation of If Beale Street Could Talk. (PHOTO COURTESY OF TATUM MANGUS/ANNAPURNA PICTURES) My...

Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Jon Lovett ’04 reimagines media coverage of politics

Jane Petersen February 6, 2019

Jon Lovett ’04 has worked as a speechwriter for Obama, a screenwriter and a co-creator of popular podcast channel Crooked Media. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. In the midst of an unprecedented...

‘Noises Off’ impresses with farcical flare

‘Noises Off’ impresses with farcical flare

Shreyas Rajesh February 6, 2019

This past weekend, Cap & Bells put on a production of Noises Off – a famous comedy of errors. Students and community members alike were treated to a three-hour witty, slapstick comedy at the...

First Congregational Church spearheads immigrant activism

Jeongyoon Han February 6, 2019

On Jan. 27, as the wind whips snow into the air on a brisk morning in Williamstown, towngoers hurry in to seek refuge in First Congregational Church (FCC), a building that, with its classic white exterior...

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