Susan McCully, assistant professor in UMBC’s theater department, spoke about her new play, “All She Must Possess,” on September 13. The work aimed to capture the “messy episodic way” the Cone sisters of twentieth century Baltimore traveled the world as they gathered their legendary collection of art. 

It was Etta Cone who started collecting art in 1898. She started off by purchasing small sketches and drawings but by the end of her life the collection amounted to over two thousand pieces. Today, some of Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse’s most famous pieces live inside of the Baltimore Museum of Art’s Cone Collection.  

When starting, McCully was unsure how she wanted the play to begin. All she knew was that she wanted to tell their story in an interesting, unique and compelling way leading her to write Cone into the role of a hero.

This was not the orthodox hero who effortlessly saves lives and is admired by many, but the kind “who really just sat at the feet of other people and [takes] care of [them] as she quietly amass[es] this collection of art.” McCully wished for Cone to act as a heroine in a way that is not typically recognized as heroic at all. Her expansion of the hero trope presents the audience with a fresh perspective on a middle aged woman.

“All She Must Possess” does not have a traditional five act or dramatic structure. McCully said that she “want[s] it to parallel modern art.” This is why the play is organized in such a loose and free flowing way. It feels like being inside the mind of an artist – a powerful place to be. “I knew that I wanted the art to come alive,” McCully said as she gestured towards Henri Matisse’s “Blue Nude” behind her.  The paintings themselves will be characters in the play.

The play’s opening date is February 7, 2018 and closes on February 25, 2018 at the Rep Stage.

CIRCA Presents: Susan McCully

Join MIPAR for the "Grant Craft: Soup to Nuts" workshop on Friday, October 6, 2017. Breakfast will be served at 9 AM, with workshop to follow from 9:30 AM - 12:30 PM.

Special Guest:  Dr. Sonia Arteaga, Program Director NIH, NHLBI & UMBC alumna (Ph.D. Community-Social & Behavioral Medicine Psychology)

RSVP Required: https://my.umbc.edu/groups/mipar/events/52966

AGENDA 

Breakfast

Welcome & Introductions

Identifying Funding Sources

                Foundations & Corporate

                State

                Federal

Break

Proposal Development and Writing

Introduction to Office of Sponsored Programs (OSP)

Practical Hints Panel and Q&A

Since we live in such a historically spooky town (I’m looking at you, Edgar Allan Poe), you’ve probably already celebrated Halloween with the go-to Baltimore events like the Fells Point Ghost Tour and all of the haunted houses. However, if you want to really celebrate Spooktober the Baltimore way, here are the most-Baltimore events that you can’t miss.

Spooktastic Burleoke

October 7, 8 p.m. at The Crown

A Gameshow/Karaoke/Burlesque show? Sure, why not? You’ll get to see the contestants sing and dance, competing for the crown (haha, get it?), but in a spooky way. Costumes are encouraged, spooks are even more encouraged. Whatever this event actually is (the description is very vague), it’ll be fun. And weird. Mostly fun, though.

Shocktail Hour: House on Haunted Hill!

October 10, 9 p.m. at Golden West Cafe

Recently voted Baltimore’s Best Late Night Happy Hour by Baltimore City Paper, Shocktail Hour boasts costume contests, drawings, games, a movie showing and specially-themed cocktails. This month, they are showing House on Haunted Hill, a film about a socialite who tempts guests to stay in a haunted mansion for one full night with the chance to win $10,000.

WTMD’s Halloween Spooktacular

October 26, 8 p.m. at WTMD’s studio

Rocky Horror Burlesque and Dinner Show

October 31, 6 p.m. at The Eagle

If you haven’t been to a drag brunch or a weirdly specifically-themed burlesque show, do you really live in Baltimore? The Eagle is always fun, but this night they’re having a Rocky Horror-themed menu complete with meatloaf, “Tim Curry,” a chicken curry, and “Rocky’s Birthday Cake.” There will be a showing of the movie, with a special burlesque shadow cast. If you haven’t seen “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” before, this would be the chance to do it. There’s sure to be extra special teasing for the RHPS virgins in the crowd.

“What does undocumented mean?”

“To not be afraid.”

Halfway through Angy Rivera’s Peabody award-winning film, “Don’t Tell Anyone,” her little sister says that she is proud of her mother and older sister for their struggle as undocumented people living in the United States, and for the audience watching, it is easy to see why.  Her story is unique and inspiring, and she bravely tells it in the hopes that it might inspire others.

The talk and film screening, which took place on Thursday, Sept. 21, was part of PAWTalks, a new series inspired by TEDTalks and organized by the Mosaic Center. The series seeks to “educate people about social issues,” and “help students forge connections and maybe identify issues that they wouldn’t think about,” according to Carlos Turcios, the Program Associate for Diversity and Inclusion at the Mosaic Center.

The film screening, held in the Mosaic Center, brought students from all across campus to hear Rivera’s story — one that, in her words, is unique and tries to “tell a story about sexual abuse, and immigrant women and me and my mom, and single motherhood.”

Junior Becca Mann, a social work major and intern with the Mosaic Center who attended the event, felt that it had a powerful message.

“People have a lot of opinions about who the undocumented population is and what should be done about them,” said Mann.  “It was empowering to give her that space to share her own story instead of having other people share what they think they know.”

The film covers two and a half years of Rivera’s life in New York as an undocumented immigrant, the difficulties she faced and the decision she made to speak out and get involved in activism. She says she hopes her audiences will realize that “undocumented immigrants have a voice and can speak up,” and that “immigrant issues are about more than just getting papers.”

In “Don’t Tell Anyone,” Rivera documents her activism and her story of sexual abuse, which inspired others to reach out to her and tell their stories too. There are over 11 million undocumented people in the United States and many who experience sexual assault do not feel safe coming forward. Rivera explains this is often a result of their undocumented status, making them wary of those in positions of authority.  Rivera hopes that talking about her story will help share a different kind of immigrant story: one that shows they can have a voice.  While her assault did eventually lead to Rivera receiving a visa, she said she was angry that it took a violent crime for her to become eligible for citizenship and that she intends to continue to fight for immigrant rights.

The Mosaic Center is a valuable resource for students on campus that strives to provide a more interactive cultural learning experience for the school community. The next PAWTalk is scheduled for November 14.  More information can be found at the Mosaic Center website, and Rivera’s film can be found streamed from the PBS website.

Turcios hopes that people will come back and that “they will think about these topics and stories beyond just what they hear in the moment tonight.”