Pessimism About ‘Hunger Games’ Turns Into Absolute Delight

Macklemore Delivers A Salty and Satisfying Performance At Modstock

On Thursday, May 2, an annual Boston College tradition was taken to an unprecedented new scale, as the arrival of Macklemore transformed the typically small-scale Modstock concert to a massive gathering of 6,000 students in a fenced-off Mod Lot. Everything about this year’s Modstock was bigger than previous incarnations: the audience, the complex ticketing scheme, the heightened security force on display, the uncontrollable nature of the crowd—and, most importantly, the headliner himself.
Avenue Q

For Arts Fest weekend, Robsham Theater housed a heartwarming musical that shares a lot in common with Sesame Street. Everything, from the interactions of puppets with human characters, to the teaching of life lessons through song, calls back to the PBS children’s classic. Well, except for the song about porn. And the casual profanity. Not to mention the world-weary cynicism, the introduction of puppets named Mrs. Thistletwat and Lucy the Slut, a “closeted homosexual” character, heavy drinking, death by a flying penny, and a puppet re-enactment of Kama Sutra positions that gives Team America a run for its money. Welcome to Avenue Q.
Voices of Imani

Boston College’s Gospel choir Voices of Imani is truly one of the most underrated groups on campus. This group, which was founded in 1977, showcased only a fraction of their large choir on Saturday afternoon in the main tent at O’Neill Plaza. The choir put on a number of traditional gospel songs, including “God’s Been Good to Me” and “When We Praise.” The song “By The By,” which the head director Chauncey McGlathery dubbed his “new favorite old song,” was an extremely dynamic performance by the choir.
A True Tale Of Love And War, Dramatized In ‘Unforgettable’ Style

“Those letters were just the beginning of their journey—their lives were full of adventure and great love,” said Amanda Thompson, referring to her parents, Dwight and Cleora, in this weekend’s presentation of Unforgettable: Letters From Korea.
Ahana Collective Theater

The unmistakable buzz caused by Boston College’s Art Festival continued throughout campus on Saturday, making a 45-minute pit stop at the AHANA Collective Theatre Performance. The performance consisted of three plays, two of which were written by AHANA students from universities in California and Arkansas, and one by BC’s own Ogechi-Leah Musa, A&S ’14.
Carnival Of Animals

The second day of Arts Festival was graced with pleasant weather and not one but two animal features. The Chamber Music Society performed Camille Saint-Saens’s beloved Carnival of the Animals, bringing the personalities of the wild kingdom into the Irish Hall of Gasson. Directed by professor Sandra Hebert, the ensemble was conducted by Jonathan Mott, A&S ’14, with professor Mark O’Connor narrating the pieces with Ogden Nash’s own “Carnival of Animals.” The instrumental zoo accompanied the early afternoon neatly, with a nearly full house turn out and heartfelt performance.
BC’s Finest Artists Celebrated Alongside Polito With Arts Awards

“We’re in a different cathedral today. It’s Boston College and we’ve come down the hill and we’re in a makeshift church in the center of a cathedral known as a University for a different kind of worship. Because I truly believe that an artist is a minister—and the sacrament that the artist renders is the art itself.”
My Mother's Fleabag

The extremely popular improv comedy group, My Mother’s Fleabag, put on a show Friday Night in the Stokes Art tent. This show was the last show for graduating seniors, and very different from the group’s annual “Big Shows,” which are put on every fall and spring at the O’Connell House. As opposed to selling out O’Connell, this show was a more intimate affair, but equally as hilarious. Although this show was shorter than their annual shows, Fleabag was able to pack in interesting games that kept the audience entertained.
A Capella Showcase

The first of three a capella showcases on Thursday afternoon in O’Neill Plaza, the Bostonians kicked off this showcase, with an extremely uplifting and well-orchestrated performance of “Skyfall.” This group has a strong presence onstage that draws in audiences on any song they perform. Up next was B.E.A.T.S, a relatively small group with a lot of soul. Although their first song, “Back to Reality” was a bit dragged out, it displayed the group’s excellent vocal range.
Robert Polito Shares Insight At ‘Inside The BC Studio’ And ‘Stylus’ Launch

On a hot Thursday afternoon in the Stokes art tent, Festival guest Robert Polito, BC ’73, was joined by BC English professor Carlo Rotella for this year’s installment of “Inside the BC Studio,” a lively conversation about Polito’s career and artistic influences. The talk revealed Polito to be a man of many tastes—a Renaissance man equally adept in the fields of poetry, criticism, and prose, and an author whose work takes in influences from high and low culture alike. Whether equating classic film noir with Samuel Beckett or explaining his interest in pulp novelist Jim Thompson—the subject of his acclaimed 1995 biography Savage Art—Polito revealed himself to be refreshingly unencumbered by highbrow literary pretension, a man of letters who finds inspiration from all corners of culture.
Dance Showcase

Thursday afternoon’s dance showcase was the first of three that occurred throughout the Arts Fest weekend. A selection of dance groups, both well known and underrepresented groups were showcased throughout the three performances. The very popular Latin dance group Fuego del Corazon kicked off Thursday’s showcase. Although this group ran into some technical difficulties mid-routine, they triumphed by performing a portion of their routine a capella. Dancers were counting from off-stage so the dancers on stage could remain in sync. The crowd was twice as loud during this portion of their performance and gave the dancers the motivation to keep going. The group eventually came back to finish off their performance in the middle of the showcase, which the audience was happy to see.

BC's Best

Singer-Songerwriters And Student Bands Compete For Gold

When the rumors that Macklemore would play at Boston College’s 2013 Modstock were confirmed, the whole campus was buzzing, electrified by this amazing news. Then, when the Music Guild announced that whoever won this year’s multiple rounds of Battle of the Bands would get to be the opening band for the concert, the stakes became higher than they had ever been. The final stage of the competition took place at this year’s Arts Fest, during the same event that showcased several of BC’s talented singer/songwriters in a competition of their own.
James Balog ’74 Screens His Acclaimed ‘Chasing Ice’ In Devlin

The Boston College alumni list is one that is certainly filled with many successful names. Aspiring actors, politicians, even modern day adventurers have made their way into the elite club. One alumnus in particular has been making BC proud, as he travels the world in pursuit of enhancing people’s understanding of the dangers of global warming.
Stokes Art Tent

While O’Neill Plaza’s tent dedicated itself to the arts that demanded a bit more noise, the Stokes Arts Tent reminded visitors of the quieter, more contemplative side to Arts Fest.
'BC Underground'

The first event of its kind, BC Underground was a collaborative effort highlighting the talents of various underrepresented student artists. A feature of this year’s Arts Festival, Underground brought spoken word poets, break dancers, rappers, and DJs together in O’Neill Plaza for an evening of unique artistic expression.
'After Hours'

Any event that starts with an impromptu dance party is guaranteed to be a good time, and that was exactly how the BC Theatre Department’s After Hours was hailed in, thanks to spillover from the BC Underground event that preceded it. Though starting about a half hour late due to said dance party, the plays to follow after were worth the delay. Though for the most part After Hours was a collection of inside jokes, the student-written and directed shorts were still full of heart, wit, and humor for those not privy to the department.
Dancing With bOp!

From opening notes to closing bows, Dancing with bOp! illustrated how beautifully seemingly unique genres of music and dance can combine, forming a highly entertaining culmination to the 2013 Boston College Arts Festival.
CCE's Deadfast Club

A lot can happen in 90 minutes, especially when there is a murder to solve. This is what the characters in the CCE’s production of The Deadfast Club sought to portray all in the midst of absurd happenings, personality power struggles, and countless secrets revealed. Directed by senior member Philip Seidl, LSOE ‘13, and written by Joe Allen, A&S ’13, Emma Missett, A&S ’13, and Gabby Colavecchio, A&S ’15, the murder mystery was a witty though self-indulgent production.

Singer-Songerwriters And Student Bands Compete For Gold