Campus events, updated: Oct. 20–31, 2019

Pulitzer Prize–winning author Elizabeth Strout ’77 stands with President Clayton Spencer following their interview about Strout’s approach to writing, the role played by Bates and Maine, and Strout's latest book "Anything is Possible." The Reunion event was SRO in the Fireplace Lounge of Commons. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College)

Pulitzer Prize–winning author Elizabeth Strout ’77, at right, is shown with President Clayton Spencer following a 2017 interview about Strout’s work. The pair will speak publicly again on Oct. 21, the occasion being the October release of Strout’s Olive, Again. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College)

Greetings from Bates!

This is an updated listing of public events at the college Oct. 20–31, 2019.

The public is invited to these events. Except as noted, admission is free.

Updates to this edition:

  • The film Round Midnight featuring jazz musician Dexter Gordon has been added on Oct. 22.
  • Screenings in the French-language film series The Tournées Festival have been added on Oct. 23, 26 and 30. (The festival continues into November.)
  • For a performance by artist Vanessa German that opens her exhibition at the Bates College Museum of Art, we previously provided an incorrect date. The correct date is Oct. 25. We regret the error.

Need directions? Here’s a campus map.

Want the latest events information? Visit the daily Events page.

Questions or comments? Contact events editor Doug Hubley at calendar@bates.edu.


The Tournees Festival presents <em>Barbara</em> on Oct. 30.

The Tournees Festival presents Barbara on Oct. 30.

Recurring events

Taking place while Bates is in session. Please confirm before you go.

4:15pm Mon | Dharma Society Mindfulness Mondays: A rotating mindfulness activity to gain exposure to mindfulness practices. All are welcome. FMI mschapir@bates.edu.
Chase Hall, Skelton Lounge

6:30pm Mon | Zen Sit led by Associated Buddhist Chaplain Heiku Jaime McLeod. Cushions provided, beginners welcome. FMI jaime@treetopzencenter.org.
Chase Hall, Skelton Lounge

7:30pm Tue–Sun | Dharma Society meditation: A 20-minute silent group meditation. Beginners welcome and orientations provided. FMI abrownel@bates.edu.
Multifaith Chaplaincy, 163 Wood St.

6pm Wed | Life drawing with the Museum of Art. Dry-media easels and drawing benches provided, bring drawing board and supplies. $10/$9 museum members; $90/$80 for pre-purchased 10-session tickets. FMI 207-786-8302.
Olin 259

7pm Mon | Ballroom Team practice: Sessions feature rhythm (cha-cha, rhumba, swing) and smooth (waltz, foxtrot, tango, Viennese waltz) styles of dance. Open to everyone, regardless of experience, and no partner is necessary. Please RSVP to ali@bates.edu.
Merrill Gym

9pm Wed | {Pause}: A deeply reflective, secular service of silence, poetry, music, dance and art. FMI 207-786-8272.
Muskie Archives


20 Sun

2pm | Women’s soccer vs. Bowdoin.
Russell Street Field


21 Mon

7pm | Olive, Again: A Conversation With Elizabeth Strout ’77 and President Clayton Spencer. Bates’ president welcomes best-selling author Strout for a reading and conversation about her newest book, Olive, Again, released this month. Strout will discuss the continued adventures of her beloved character Olive Kitteridge, namesake of Strout’s 2008 Pulitzer Prize winner. Free but tickets required: bit.ly/Strout1021. FMI jvanleuv@bates.edu.
Olin Arts Center


22 Tue

7pm | Round Midnight: Bernard Tavernier’s 1986 film drama stars the late jazz saxophonist Dexter Gordon, whose character “Dale Turner” is based on a composite of real-life jazz legends Lester Young and Bud Powell. A conversation between Maxine Gordon, the saxophonist’s widow, and Bates professor Charles Nero follows the screening. Gordon also offers a public talk on Oct. 23. Sponsored by the departments of music and of film, rhetoric and screen studies. FMI 207-786-8212.
Mays Center


23 Wed

Noon | Public Works in Progress: Enjoy a casual lunchtime presentation about community-engaged summer work undertaken by Bates students. Visitors to Bates are invited to charge their Commons lunch to the Harward Center for Community Partnerships and take it upstairs to Room 221–222. FMI Darby Ray at dray3@bates.edu or 207-786-8241.
Commons 221–222

7pm | Sophisticated Giant: The Life & Legacy of Dexter Gordon. Maxine Gordon offers a talk about her late husband, an eminent tenor saxophonist who was one of the first to embrace bebop and who, in turn, influenced such players as John Coltrane and Sonny Rollins. In his later career, Gordon made a triumphant return to the U.S. after 14 years in Europe and starred in the acclaimed 1986 film Round Midnight. FMI 207-786-6135 or olinarts@bates.edu.
Olin Concert Hall

7pm | The Tournées FestivalPeppermint Soda. The annual festival of French-language, multicultural film returns to Bates with director Diane Kury’s autobiographical debut, in which two sisters come of age in 1964 Paris. Shown from an exclusively female perspective, Kury’s film is highly nostalgic, yet includes vivid reactions to historic moments such as the assassination of John F. Kennedy and Algerian independence. (1977, 101 min.) FMI Facebook or lballadu@bates.edu.
Olin 104


24 Thu

7pm | Volleyball vs. Southern Maine.
Alumni Gym


Vanessa German at ARThouse, Homewood, Pittsburgh, Courtesy of the artist and Pavel Zoubok, Fine Art, NY, Photo: Brian Cohen

The Bates College Museum of Art opens an exhibition by Vanessa German on Oct. 25. (Courtesy of the artist and Pavel Zoubok Fine Art, New York City. Photo: Brian Cohen)

25 Fri

5pm | Vanessa German: Miracles & Glory Abound. Renowned visual and performing artist German opens her Bates College Museum of Art exhibition Miracles & Glory Abound with an open-ended song/poem that explores love, vulnerability, intimacy and power. A reception follows at 6pm. Free but tickets required: tinyurl.com/Bates-Museum-German. FMI museum@bates.edu or 207-786-6158.
Olin Concert Hall

7:30pm | The Zoo Story: In Edward Albee’s one-act play, lonely Jerry starts a conversation with Peter on a park bench. It does not go well. Directed by Nicky Longo ’21. Free, but $5 donation gratefully accepted and tickets recommended: batestheateranddance.eventbrite.com. FMI 207-786-6161.
Schaeffer Theatre


Volleyball loses 2-3 to Middlebury in Alumni Gymnasium.

Bates volleyball welcomes Trinity on Oct. 26. Shown is junior Angel Echipue during a game against Middlebury on Sept. 23. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College)

26 Sat

11am | Field hockey vs. Amherst.
Campus Avenue Field

11am | Women’s soccer vs. Amherst.
Russell Street Field

1pm | The Tournées Festival: A Paris Education. In Jean-Paul Civeyrac’s black-and-white film, a young student moves from the provinces to Paris and discovers love, political activism, and the trials and tribulations of filmmaking. Civeyrac, drawing from his own perspective as a film professor, creates a contemporary narrative of life as a film student in modern times, coupled with the solitude experienced by a young person in the urban buzz of Paris. (2018, 136 min.) FMI Facebook or lballadu@bates.edu.
Olin 104

2pm | Men’s soccer vs. Amherst.
Russell Street Field

2pm | Volleyball vs. Trinity.
Alumni Gym

5pm | The Zoo Story (see Oct. 25).
Schaeffer Theatre


27 Sun

2pm | The Zoo Story (see Oct. 25).
Schaeffer Theatre


Culinary historian and author Michael Twitty. (Bret Harman)

Culinary historian and author Michael Twitty. (Bret Harman)

29 Tue

2pm | Museum of Art mask making: Not ready for Halloween? The Bates College Museum of Art can help. Workshop for ages 8 and up, but children under 12 must be accompanied by an adult. $5 per person. To register or FMI, please contact Elizabeth Boyle at eboyle2@bates.edu or 207-786-6417.
Mays Center

7:30pm | Michael Twitty & Kosher/Soul: The 2019 Annual Zerby Lecture on Contemporary Religious Thought features Michael Twitty, a culinary historian, author of The Cooking Gene and creator of Afroculinaria.com. Twitty will discuss culinary heritage and “identity cooking” that embraces and melds his experience of being black and Jewish. A book-signing follows the talk. Co-sponsored by the Multifaith Chaplaincy and the Office of Intercultural Education. FMI multifaithchaplaincy@bates.edu.
Olin Concert Hall


30 Wed

2pm | Museum of Art mask making (see Oct. 29).
Benjamin Mays Center

6:30pm | The Tournées Festival: Barbara. More than your average biopic, director Mathieu Amalric’s film centers around actress Brigitte, who is tasked with portraying the beloved French singer-songwriter Barbara in a film. Soon she finds that her film role and her real life blur together in a surreal tale of melancholy, cinema and music. Jeanne Balibar won the 2018 Best Actress César for her performance. (2017, 97 min.) FMI Facebook or lballadu@bates.edu.
Olin 104


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Martin Andrucki directs John Cariani’s Love/Sick at Bates, opening Oct. 31. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College)

31 Thu

7:30pm | Love/Sick: Written by Maine-born playwright John Cariani (Almost, Maine), Love/Sick tells a comedic tale of heartbreak in a string of short plays. Directed by Martin Andrucki, Dana Professor of Theater. Free, but $5 donation gratefully accepted and tickets recommended: batestheateranddance.eventbrite.com. FMI 207-786-6161.
Gannett Theater


Museum of Art

bates.edu/museum

museum@bates.edu

Ralph Eugene Meatyard, "Lucybelle Crater and one of the 7 kids of Mertonia friend Lucybelle Crater," ca. 1969-72, gelatin silver print. ( © The Estate of Ralph Eugene Meatyard, courtesy Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco, and DC Moore Gallery, New York)

Ralph Eugene Meatyard, “Lucybelle Crater and one of the 7 kids of Mertonia friend Lucybelle Crater,” ca. 1969-72, gelatin silver print. ( © The Estate of Ralph Eugene Meatyard, courtesy Fraenkel Gallery, San Francisco, and DC Moore Gallery, New York)

Oct. 25–March 28

Vanessa German: Miracles and Glory Abound: The familiar painting “Washington Crossing the Delaware” by Emanuel Leutze is the starting point for German’s sculptures. Using her own power-figures to imitate Leutze’s composition, she sparks a conversation about public memory and rewriting history through the lens of privilege.

Ralph Eugene Meatyard: Stages For Being: Bringing concepts from Zen Buddhism and Surrealism to his photography, Meatyard (1925–72) painstakingly staged images in rural Kentucky that, working on multiple levels, are best read like poetry that uses symbolic language to provoke reflection and revelation.