Assistant professor of communication and theatre, Dr. Chris McCoy said he was on the theatre page of the Jewell website one day when he noticed that a 24-hour theatre festival was listed as an event. Since his time at Jewell, they have not put on the event, but he thought it was a good idea and decided to bring it back.

The festival was a fundraiser for AIDS Walk KC. Admission to the plays was a pay what you can donation. Additionally, raffle tickets could be purchased to win free drink coupons or Jewell gear donated by the bookstore. Donation jars were also designated for each performance, and audience members were encouraged to drop dollars or spare change into the jar of the performance they liked best. They raised $200 at the event.

The event was put on by members of Alpha Psi Omega, members of the Jewell Theatre Company and other individuals who were interested in participating. Participating members were divided into three teams composed of three actors, a playwright and a director.

At the original meet-up, each playwright was given a randomly generated topic from Wikipedia’s random article generator. The topic had to be included at some point in the play to ensure that it truly had been written in 24 hours. The three topics were John K. Richards, shishi-odoshi and the Niue Treaty.

Terrace Wyatt, sophomore theatre major, constructed a confusing play around John K. Richards, an Attorney General of Ohio in the late 1800s.
The play, titled “The Ohio Circuit Court” featured Richards, played by junior speech and theatre education major Kyra Little, in a courtroom defending a client who had allegedly hit Wyatt’s client with a car. The scene was hard to follow and quite frankly made no sense, which Wyatt alluded to in his character’s final address. Despite the confusing nature of the show, Wyatt’s play won the audience choice award.

Robert Hemphill, junior English major, wrote the second play, “The Shishi-Odoshi Play.” This was the first time that a play he has written has been performed.

“The 24 hour constraint is a really good challenge. Being on such a tight leash keeps you from getting too caught up in perfectionism and really helps you to focus on the task at hand,” said Hemphill.

Shishi-odoshi is a Japanese garden tool that is used to deter destructive animals. Hemphill did not focus his entire script around the topic but instead only mentioned it briefly.

“The Shishi-Odoshi Play” is a quick attempt at parodying the classic ‘very special episode’ episodes of old sitcoms, whose protagonists would in each edition be faced with such problems as peer pressure, crushes, racism, and occasionally even child molestation. I thought it would be funny to try this out with climate change (also a very unfunny topic) and try to tell some jokes through the format anyway,” Hemphill said.

His play centered around Grace Urquhart, first year theatre and psychological science major, who played herself, and her concern about global warming. Nick LaDue, sophomore communications major, and Danika Bryant, junior English major, attempt to cheer her up, but Bryant’s high-energy ignorance
juxtaposed with LaDue’s “get over it” attitude did not appease Urquhart, who ultimately settled on writing a strongly worded letter to the newspaper.

The final play, “Waiting for Nuie: a Piece/Treaty,” was written by McCoy. Given the topic of the Niue Treaty, McCoy chose to strand his team on a ship in the middle of the ocean. Over the course of the play, no one is able to remember why they set sail in the first place. Lost at sea, captain Caroline Seitz, junior philosophy and nonprofit leadership major, keeps calling for different members of the crew while repeatedly being reminded that all but three sailors had died. While looking for fish, they happen upon a document that happens to be the Niue Treaty on Cooperation in Fisheries Surveillance and Law Enforcement in the South Pacific Region.

Given the time restrictions, the plays were entertaining. Any technical errors were effectively obscured from the audience, save a few minor laughs and stumbles. The lighting and sets were simple, yet sufficient. Two of the plays required accents, which were executed without faults. The actors successfully sold their performances despite many attesting to anywhere between zero and five hours of sleep. They plan to host it again next year.

Photo by Kristen Agar.

This year’s senior artists are chemistry and studio art major Jesse Lundervold, studio art major Kristina Clevenger, studio art and secondary education major Kaylee Brown and business administration and Applied Critical Thought and Inquiry major and studio art minor Shannon Ernst.  

Lundervold said the show is an expression of her four years in the art department and a way to display her growth as an artist. Through the art department, she was exposed to different mediums and is displaying a variety of them in her show. Following her rural Missouri theme, Lundervold uses film photography, oil paintings and reduction prints to bring to life her experience growing up near her family farm.

Her favorite piece is an oil painting she made this semester called “Farm House #1.” The painting is based on a childhood photo of Lundervold and her grandma on the family farm.

“It’s a memory that I have of living near my family farm, but also just of my experience as a child in rural Missouri. And so I really like how it turned out and I love the color. Yeah. I’m very proud of it,” said Lundervold.

Brown focused on the opposite aspect of Missouri and portrayed Kansas City through a series of photographs. Her favorite is “Western Auto.” 

Photo by Kristen Agar.

“It was fun, I was out with friends for that day, and we found this bridge. It was kind of hidden and it happened to just kind of frame Western Auto. And I love that building anyways, so I thought it was a cool find,” said Brown.

Clevenger’s theme was recycling. Many of her pieces are made from recycled objects.

Photo by Christina Kirk.

“I feel our world of mass-production has left an overabundance of material that can be transformed and fabricated into innovative aesthetically appealing works of art,” said Clevenger in her artist statement.

Clevenger said the Jewell art department helped her expand her horizons. Prior to attending Jewell, she had never welded or developed her own film in a dark room. Two of her most popular displayed pieces, “Industrial Ambiance” and “I wonder about the trees?” required welding. 

Photo by Christina Kirk.

Ernst was also able to branch out at Jewell. She said her favorite medium is clay, but since Jewell does not offer an extensive ceramics program, she has experimented with other mediums.

“I have had to go outside of my comfort zone, and I’ve really learned to love pastels,” said Ernst.

Although Ernst did not need to follow a theme for her show, many of her pieces featured aspects of the human body. As an athlete, she was inspired by the power of the body. Her favorite piece on display is “Paige.”

Photo by Kristen Agar.

“It’s of one of my best friends, so it just means a lot to me in multiple facets,” said Ernst.  

The four artists all have various plans for their futures in art. Brown recently signed a contract to be an art teacher in the Independence School District. Ernst said art will be a hobby in her near future but hopes to eventually open her own ceramics studio. Clevenger said she will open an Etsy shop to sell her work. Lundervold wants to keep taking art classes and producing art in the near future and eventually wants to combine her chemistry and art majors by working in art conservation.

Trips typically occur bi-annually in January and May. Senior psychology, communication and Applied Critical Thought and Inquiry (ACT-In) major Shakiyla Hughes; junior elementary education and ACT-In major Paige Cunningham; junior mathematics and psychology major Olivia Tolberd; senior nursing and ACT-In major Kelly O’Hare-Baxley; senior music major Allison Maple; college chaplain Dr. Jeff Buscher; and Wetmore planned to travel to Honduras in January 2018 but experienced an itinerary change.

In January, Honduras was experiencing political unrest after their November 2017 election. President Juan Orlando Hernández, who began his term in 2013, was re-elected in 2017. Previous laws allowed a president to sit for only one term, but that law was overturned by the Supreme Court of Honduras during Hernández’s early years in office. This election was the first since that rule was overridden.

Former president Manuel Zelaya attempted to alter the term limit portion of the Honduran Constitution in 2009 and was consequently removed from office in a military coup. Many of his supporters protested the 2017 election because Hernández was allowed to do what Zelaya could not. The protests lasted into December. Hernández’s main opponent, Salvador Nasralla, was also claiming victory, so a recount was held.

Sarahi Zeron, Honduran Director of Village Partners and community liaison, had the Jewell group on standby. She made the ultimate decision and suggested the group postpone their trip. The decision came only about a week before the group was set to leave.  

“We were not concerned for our safety as much, as when Hondurans protest and riot, they often sit on bridges. Our concern was that we would get down there, maybe get to our village, but then not be able to get to our other village or not get back to the airport on time because of any civil unrest,” said Buscher.

The trip was postponed until spring break, which meant the logistics would have to change. For one, the planned 10-day trip had to be shortened to nine. However, Buscher said they were still able to accomplish most of what they had intended.

The main adjustment was the cost of airfare. Spring break prices increased everyone’s airfare by about $300.

“Money that would have gone into the project in Honduras instead paid for slightly higher airline tickets, which is frustrating to us because you know, you’re trying to do a project in a country, you want the funds to go to the country,” said Buscher.

The group didn’t run into any protests, but they could still see the evidence of them. Buscher recalled passing demolished toll booths. The only remaining pieces of them were the concrete barriers. Everything else had been destroyed.

Buscher didn’t think the change impacted the students at all.

“They just really rolled up their sleeves and did just whatever needed to be done…This team was just exceptional just in terms of being flexible,” said Buscher.

The Village Partners are currently in a transitioning phase, easing their way out of the village of Matagua and into Boca del Toro. The group spent three days in Matagua and two days in Boca del Toro. The remaining days were travel days and one leisure day.

“I didn’t expect to be welcomed with open arms. Going into Honduras you have an image of what you think it will be like, and it was amazing to see how the villages welcomed us,” said Tolberd.

Jewell has been working with the people in Matagua on a three-pond tilapia cooperative project. The first crop of tilapia was harvested and sold, bringing in enough money to buy a second round of fish, which has been growing since last fall and is almost ready for harvest. During the March visit, Buscher traveled with some Hondurans to El Progresso to pick up 4,000 minnows for the third crop. They filled four big garbage bags with water, poured the fish in and filled the rest of the bag with oxygen using a hose. The minnows are now growing in Matagua.

“This was kind of fun,” said Buscher. “It’s kind of like a big bubble. They tie it and you got these inflated garbage bags full of fish.”

Students helped plant bamboo around the pond to help prevent erosion, but they also played with the children in Matagua. Cunningham and Tolberd are both members of the Jewell volleyball team. They brought a volleyball net and equipment to donate to the school in Matagua and taught the kids how to play.

“My favorite part of the trip was hanging out with the children. I loved how they were open to us being there and were very eager to be around us. Many of the kids showed up bright and early and did not leave till after dark,” said Tolberd.

This trip was the first time the Village Partners have stayed the night in Boca del Toro. They took a tour of the village, learned its history and became familiar with the community.

The main community project for Boca del Toro has not been decided, but some ideas were discussed. The village, which sits on a river, currently has a fishing tournament once a year. People from all over Honduras and even other countries come to compete, so it is an economic boost for the village and town. They discussed the possibility of hosting the tournament twice a year.

While the group was there, they partnered with a staff person and students at Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras to provide dental exams for the children in the village. The mayor of the municipality attended the clinic.

“We had the opportunity to begin building relationships with the mayor. After a meeting with him in city hall, he joined us in Boca del Toro to see the dental clinic in action. We took a great photo of him holding a toothbrush surrounded by the village children and students from Jewell and the Honduran university. We work to involve the municipality in planning projects for the village to expand our network of partnerships,” said Wetmore.

The Jewell students will be holding a fundraiser to raise money for a follow up clinic with fluoride treatments and parent training. They will be selling photos from their trip and hope to raise $500. Details for the fundraiser will be coming soon. Another group will be traveling in May. If you would like to support Village Partners, email vp@william.jewell.edu to find out how.

Photo credits to Jeff Buscher.

Anwar Robinson, American singer, songwriter and musician, served as a guest conductor at Jewell last year while associate professor of music and director of choral studies Dr. Anthony Maglione was on sabbatical. Robinson introduced the choir to the central piece on the album, a three movement cantata by African American composer Adolphus Hailstork.

“I think we all sort of fell in love with it,” said Maglione.

Maglione began researching the piece and found that no recording of the piece in its entirety has been produced. The choir gathered money through donations and grants and began to put the album together.

Current Jewell choir members, Jewell choir alumni and faculty took part in the making of this album. David Sanchez, Class of ‘14, is the tenor soloist for the Hailstork piece. Two newer works are done by Dr. Ian Coleman, professor of music and department chair, and Stewart Duncan, Class of ‘15.

Luce-Virlynn Apollon, senior nursing and Applied Critical Thought and Inquiry (Act-In) major described the process of making an album.

“Not many people are aware of how much work and attention to detail go into making an album. Yeah, we sing the same portion of the song over and over again—with so many voices a slight difference in each take makes a huge difference. There would be times where we sang a passage perfectly but an 18 wheeler drove by and ruined it,” said Apollon.

Senior music major Jackson Ritchie further described the detail that goes in to the process.

“[It] begins with working through and getting to know each piece of music musically, theoretically and poetically, so we can perform each piece exactly how the composer intended it to be performed. Then after a year of practicing the music, we spend around two days on a weekend at a church, since they have really good acoustics, and we’ll record each piece. Dr. Maglione will take us section by section of each piece and makes sure that every note is perfect and that we are truly singing as an ensemble instead of just singing the notes on the page,” said Ritchie.

The choir traveled to a church in Belton, Mo. to produce the album.

“The space was really warm and resonant so it helped create the sound we were looking for…Overall, I loved the experience. We did some of our best singing in that room,” said Apollon.

A hard copy of the album can be pre-ordered on Amazon. Within the first week after its release, it will be available to stream on Amazon, iTunes, Naxos and through the recording company itself. About ten days later it will be available to stream on Spotify.

“I am incredibly excited for people to hear all of the work we’ve done. Dr. Maglione always does an incredible job of choosing literature for our choir that is both challenging musically and spectacular for those listening to it. I know all of the work we put into the album and I know that people will be impressed that this came from a small liberal arts college in Liberty, Mo,” said Apollon.

After the release of their CD, the Concert Choir leave May 14 for a two-week tour of England and Scotland. The choir will fly into London and stay at Harlaxton Manor. The first part of the tour will have performances at Ely Cathedral and a church in Nottingham as well as visits to York and Cambridge. Then they will travel to Edinburgh to perform at St. Giles on the six concert series. They will return to London and perform in Oxford.

All of these events are open to the public and advertised by the venues. The venues will have free-will offerings to recover the costs of hosting.

The Concert Choir has been touring England since 1985. Then chair of the music department, Don Brown, originally designed the tour. Even though Brown retired in 2004, he still plans the tours. Brown and his wife, Helen, both former faculty at Jewell, will travel with the choir.

“I’m excited for [the choir] to make music in these ancient spaces, these 13th and 14th century cathedrals. I think it’s going to be remarkable,” said Maglione.

For the choir members, the trip is something to look forward to.

“I was a first-year last year and the seniors that are this year, I was friends with all of them and they’ve all just totally hyped it up and told me like what the entire experience is like so getting to kinda go over there and like fulfill that and like do some of the things that they got to do when they were first-years is going to be super cool,” said sophomore music performance, nonprofit leadership and Act-In major, Spencer Ruwe.

Ritchie was one of the seniors who went on this tour his first year.

“The trip to Europe my first-year was one of my greatest experiences and created so many lifelong memories with my friends. We visited many great places that were unknown, non-tourist spots, that were hidden gems for me and made my experience unforgettable,” said Ritchie.

He is excited to experience this again because of the music they are performing.

“Another experience I can’t wait to have again is performing music written for the specific cathedrals we’re performing in so we can see how the original composers heard the music and how they experienced the music they wrote,” said Ritchie.

Maglione incorporated both traditional English and American compositions.

“The English folks really like hearing us sing folk hymns and spirituals and American compositions. They really think that’s authentic I guess which it is kinda cool cause you grew up hearing these sounds so you know when you hear an ensemble come from another country and another culture and they bring their own, a little bit of their homeland, it’s really exciting,” said Maglione.

The variety of pieces excites Blair Walker, junior music education and education major.

“I like singing their music to them and showing how well we can do it but then also singing our music in terms of like we’re singing a bunch of songs that were composed in American literature and then a bunch of English compositions. And I like showing that we appreciate their culture but then to also show them ours,” said Walker.

Feature photo courtesy of William Jewell Photo.