Northwestern College | Classic magazine - Winter 2004-05 - Vol. 76 ...

Northwestern ClassicCampusnewsAlumni return to campus to speak and learnAmong the many alumni who returned to campus forvarious reasons this fall were five whose visits included teaching,speaking and learning within the campus community.Dan Addington ’85 visited campus Aug. 30 and 31 tospeak in chapel and interact with art students. He alsobrought an exhibition of his encaustic artwork, which hungin Te Paske Gallery through mid-October.Owner and director of the Gwenda Jay/AddingtonGallery in Chicago, Addington spoke in chapel and art classesabout his journey as an artist and how he integrates his faithwith his art. He also encouraged students to take advantage ofopportunities to learn more about the visual arts and to seekways to incorporate artistic images in worship and churches.Satoru Itoh ’88 is a chaplain at Aoyama GakuinUniversity in Tokyo. He and the university’s head chaplainvisited Northwestern College and Duke Divinity School inearly September as part of their research on moral educationand character development of college students. Itoh and hiscolleague hope to take what they learned and incorporatestronger character development programming into the curriculumat their university.The invocation at the dedication of the new Korver Fieldon Sept. 4 was given by the Rev. Clint Loveall ’91. Loveallplayed for former Coach Larry Korver, after whom the field isnamed. Loveall and his family live in Spirit Lake, where he ispastor of First Presbyterian Church.Kurt Dykstra and the Rev. Darrin Kimpson, both membersof the 10-year reunion class of 1994, participated incampus worship during Homecoming weekend, Oct. 1-3.Dykstra, a Marquette University law graduate and attorney inHolland, Mich., spoke in chapel, encouraging students not tosettle for less than they are capable of. He said more Northwesternstudents—who are receiving a wisdom education—need to consider graduate school and careers that will takethem into arenas like law and politics.Kimpson, lead pastor at Papio Creek Church in Papillion,Neb., spoke at the Homecoming worship service on Sundayfor alumni, students and community members. Dressed in asweat suit and carrying a high-jump bar, he read from ICorinthians 13 and challenged the congregation to aim highfor the goal of loving well.Northwestern theatre retellsThe Odyssey as romantic comedyA premiere retelling ofHomer’s The Odyssey waspresented by Northwesterntheatre Nov. 19-20 and Dec.1-4 in the DeWitt TheatreArts Center.Director RobertHubbard, associate professorof theatre, collaborated withplaywright T.M. Camp ofGrand Rapids, Mich., to producethis stage version of TheOdyssey, the legendary storyof Odysseus’ 20-year journeyback from the Trojan War tohis beloved Penelope.Hubbard says audiencemembers may be more familiarwith contemporaryretellings like the Coen brothers’film O Brother, Where ArtThou? or the novel ColdMountain, which recently wasadapted for screen.Hubbard says Camp’sretelling emphasizes thestory’s comedy, and hedescribes it as “… playful,postmodern and full of puns.It’s often categorized incorrectlyas a tragedy,” explainsHubbard, who, with Camp,found elements of a romanticcomedy in Homer’s epic.▼“Working on and evolvingthis original script has beenvery fun. Creating somethingthat’s never been createdbefore—Northwesterntheatre does a lot of this.”▲Cast members for TheOdyssey played a number ofroles, wearing masks to travelback and forth in time to tellOdysseus’ story. The productionwas very physicallycomic, with elaborate costumesand staging.“Working on and evolvingthis original script hasbeen very fun,” saysHubbard. “Creating somethingthat’s never been createdbefore—Northwesterntheatre does a lot of this.”The Odyssey featuredoriginal music, including anever-heard-before sirens’song, composed by Dr.Andrew Sauerwein, visitingassistant professor of music.The opening nightproduction was followedby a forum with theplay’s author.Let us knowWhat would you like to see in a futureissue of the Classic?E-mail beeson@nwciowa.edu with suggestions.NWC happenings5 ▲ Winter 2004-05