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4 :I '
3y 7 '!mothy Hagan
ou are sitting in the Lions
Den, and someone with a white
paimed face comes up to you
and starts doing mime. Are you
interesed? Kathy Branigan
hopes so.
7..nr,igaii. Coordinator of Stu
dent Activities and chairperson
of the committee for the
Cultural Events series, hopes
that using mime in the after
noon will draw students to the
presentation of "Quiet Riot, -
- vhich is a fast-paced comedy,
including mime, gymnastics,
dance, illusion, verbal comedy,
and audience participation.
The use of mime plus posters,
fliers, table cards, handouts,
and word of mouth, are used
to publicize cultural events on
campus.
If the promotions are
creative, the events must be
even more so. Branigan and the
committee try to get a good
balance of programs for
students.
Ideas for events come to the
committee from numerous
directions—from stacks of pro
motional materials and from
professors and, at times,
students.
Each spring, Eiranigan and
C , iturai. Affairs directors from
19 Penn State campuses get
tc:s.ether and exchange informa
tion about the cultural offerings
submitted. They do
'..)tocic-booking,' which means
. -- mre than one campus
schedules the same event. This
"The events free to the public
a better relationship bet
ween the community and the
college."
Kathy Branigan
saves money. The more the
event is booked, the less it
costs.
This does not mean that all
campuses have the same series
But the same event could be
booked anywhere from five to
15 times.
The decisions made at the
spring meeting are for the
cultural events such as dance,
music, theater, and mime. The
lecture series is a separate ac
tivity but it too comes under the
cultural events series.
The lecture series is overseen
by a committee which tries to
choose a well-known person
with "academic principles."
They do not just want
celebrities.
For the 10 cultural events, the
total budget is $6250. Out of the
$6250, $2450 comes from the
budget here and $3BOO from a
grant from Provost Edward D.
Eddy of The Pennsyvania State
University.
The cultural events can range
from $l5O to $lOOO but most cost
around $5OO. Performers give
Penn State campuses breaks in
price because of block-booking.
The cost to another university
for an event can be a lot higher.
The cost of lecturers can
vary. If the lecturer is pushing
his or her book, the cost can be
less. The price starts around
$5OO and can go up from there.
If they tried to get someone like
political humorist Mark
Russell, the price would be in
the $BOOO to $lOOOO range. Un
substantiated reports have'
Susan Stamberg receiving $2200
to $2350.
The cultural events series is
free to the public. Kathy
Branigan said, "The events,free
to the public, build a better
relationship between the com
munity and the college. If the
:vents were so tuII that the
students were not getting the
full academic opportunity from
them, I would suggest changing
the policy."
Branigan emphasizes that the
cultural events series is for the
students. "Our first respon
sibility is to anticipate your in
terest and needs ; Sp we value
every student comment."