The proverbial coffeehouse - that smoky, intimate medium in which artists and intellectuals share and exchange their thoughts and creations, will exist in the Rat this Saturday when The College's student arts festival,"The Goods," will be held for the third time from 2 to 8 p.m.
"The Goods" is a campus-wide event sponsored by the College's writers' club, ink, which is also responsible for other events such as the Student Reading Series and the Visiting Writers Series. Dan Brady, a recent graduate of the College now attending George Mason University in Washington, D.C., is accredited with the original inspiration for "The Goods." The event was then realized by students of last fall's Writing Communities class taught by Catie Rosemurgy, professor of English, including Bethany Allinder, current junior English major and creative writing minor.
Allinder, with the help of Angela Schifano, junior English major and psychology/creative writing minor, intends to present a high-quality collection of student talent this Saturday.
"Being selected for 'The Goods' means you are the best of the best on this campus, and we believe our lineup really reflects that," she said.
A m?lange of all kinds of talent, including poetry, music and fiction, will be presented. Also, bands such as "The Light Years" and "Raleigh St. Claire" are scheduled to perform. The College's dance company, Synergy, and improv comedy troupe, Mixed Signals, will both be headlining.
In addition, starting this semester, budding artists can also display their creations. One such artist is Annie Giordano, a sophomore art education major, who submitted two pieces, a pen and ink drawing and an oil painting. "My works aren't shocking or extremely thought provoking in any way, just some things that I believe to be beautiful and hope others will as well," she said.
Jilly Appleheimer, a senior women's and gender studies major, who will be reading a poem and a piece of a short story, said she views the event as an invaluable opportunity to improve her work: "I can tweak my pieces based upon audience reaction," she sad. "For instance, I can try out different endings or make challenges based upon the emotions that I am attempting to invoke."
Courtney E. Rydel, junior English major and creative writing minor, has been participating since the festival's debut and is delighted to do so again. "From the incredibly talented performers to the extremely professional organizers, the students involved in 'The Goods' are so passionate, smart and fun that it's an honor just to be included."
This time, Rydel will share a part of a chapter of her novel in progress, tentatively titled "Murphy's Algorithm."
For Allinder, the main aim of "The Goods" is to cultivate a greater sense of community at the College. "(B)uilding an arts community is especially important and those working on 'The Goods' consider it to be a worthwhile challenge," she said. "Politicians may come and go, newspaper headlines will be different tomorrow, but art - and that exhilaration that comes from performance and pride - is eternal. And that is what I hope to help sustain and promote this Saturday."
- For more information, visit tcnj.edu/~ink
