Second Senior Show to Open

Chester College is pleased to announce that the second senior show of the Spring 2008 semester will open on Wednesday, April 9, showcasing the art of Danielle Provencher, Georgianna Jennison, Wendy Mierop, and Marie Stern. The opening festivities will last from 7-9 p.m. with senior readings by Michelle Daugherty and Marie Stern at 8 p.m.




At left is a sample piece by Marie Stern.

Chester Colleges Stages The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)

The Chester College of New England Players will perform, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) Friday, May 2 and Saturday 3 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, May 4 at 2 p.m. in Wadleigh Library.

Head director Derek Laurendeau and co-director Matty Williams promise a night of comedy at the expense of arguably the greatest English playwright to, well write. Watch as Romeo and Juliet is performed by three people, Titus Andronicus is performed as a cooking show, and the angst of Hamlet is condensed into a single act!

The performances are free for students. A $5 is requested from all others.


Cast:
Jen Bailey
Ken Belsito
Charles Boucher
Ben Dennison
Jackie Grande
Derek Laurendeau
Rachel Lieberman
Linda McGriff
Eric Notaro
Lisa Pike
Matty Q. Williams

Alumni Reading Announced

Chester College will host a reading for several of its distinguished alumni this Monday, March 31st, at 6 P.M. in Powers 29. Reading will be Eric Crapo, Kiki, and Chris Sumner, with an opening by sophomore Maggie Alerding. Refreshments and good times will both be present.

Eric Crapo (Graduated Dec. '06)
Eric is a frustrated poet pursuing a Master's degree in the field while teaching undergraduates. He writes about God (who is a great kisser) and fuzzy animals.





Kiki (Graduated '06)
Kiki is a friend of small woodland animals and Larry, a well-known Norwegian fish. She enjoys apples, deep space travel and complaint rock.




Chris Sumner (Graduated '07)
Chris is a writer of short fiction, novels, graphic novels, and folk tunes. He likes watching his characters as they try to put their lives back together.

First Senior Show to Open

Chester College is pleased to announce that the first senior show of the Spring 2008 semester will open on April 2, showcasing the art of Kayleigh Hayes, Aime Horton, Natasha Peasley, and Cynthia "Davyn" Walsh. The opening festivities will last from 7:00-9:00pm on the 2nd, with a senior reading by Tiffany Etter at 8:00pm.

Shown here are two sample pieces by Natasha Peasley (Left) and Davyn Walsh (Right).

SO Good Announces First Issue Contributors

SO Good is pleased to announce the contributors for its inaugural issue. If your work was accepted, please email a BRIEF bio to us at chester.annual.online@gmail.com before noon, Friday, March 28. If we've listed your work as "untitled" and it does have a title (or we got it wrong) please include that in your email.

2008 Contributors

Maggie Alerding, "Fish"

Joe Brown, "Utopia," and "Streets of Venice"

Serah Carter, "Dear Valentine"

Jesse Cloutier, "Tip of the Tongue"

Dawn Coutu, "Construction Site" and "An Unexpected Stay in a Hotel"

Shane Ernest, two black and white photographs from Thailand

Tiffany Etter, "That Day is Always Yesterday"

Matt Grubb, "Gas Mask"

Rachel Liberman, "Seeing a Mermaid While Swimming"

Madison Mastri, "Couch" and "Train"

Mike McCracken, two untitled photographs from Thailand

Jeff Metcho, "The Hills Surround Us"

Beth Ann Miller, "Battery Park"

Alexa Patrick, two untitled figure drawings

Shannon Sopha, "Man on Board"

Faculty Favorites (accepted for publication)

Emma Haskins, Textile Piece, nominated by Jason Bagatta

Maggie Hatfield, "Strong as You Keep," nominated by Chris Anderson

Kelly Knowles, "Identity," nominated by Liz Buckley

Kristen Koczarski, "My Everest: An excerpt from Out of Joint"

Matt LaVergne, "Marionette," nominated by Liz Buckley

Renee Mallett, "Guns and Porn," nominated by Eric Pinder

Julian Moore, "Father," and "More Than A Rusted Bed Frame," nominated by Liz Buckley

Laura Spencer, "This is Not a Love Story," nominated by Monica O'Brien

Faculty Favorite nominations not accepted will be noted in the publication.

Thanks to everyone who submitted and nominated. Watch for the first-ever print edition of SO Good during finals week!

Senior Shows & Readings - Updated and Corrected

March 31-April 6

Kayleigh Hayes

Aime Horton
Natasha Peasley
Cynthia Walsh (Davyn)
Opening April 2, 7-9 p.m.
Reading at 8 p.m. by:
Tiffany Etter



April 7-April 13
Danielle Provencher
Georgianna Jennison
Wendy Mierop
Marie Stern
Opening April 9, 7-9 p.m.
Readings at 8 p.m. by:
Michelle Daugherty
Marie Stern


April 14-April 20
Rachel Russell
Jessica Richardson
Mindy Kern
Opening April 16, 7 p.m.-9 p.m.
Readings at 8 p.m. by:
Dawn Coutu
Ben Cardoza

April 21-April 27
Morgan Kristy Reynolds
Emily Couture
Joshua Dix
Matthew Masloski
Opening April 23, 7-9 p.m.
Readings at 8 p.m. by:
Chris Christie
Jess Marshall
Erika Bluemel

April 28-May 2
Jamie Furtak
Courtney Brown
Beth Russell
Stacey Brunette
Thomas Elmore
Heather Cahill
Opening April 30, 7 p.m.-9 p.m.
Readings at 8 p.m. by:
Morgan C. Reynolds

Alumni Success

Chester Alumni Success Eric Crapo, a recent graduate of Chester College, is now back as the professor of Introduction to Poetry. After finishing his Creative Writing Bachelor’s Degree in December of 2006, Eric went on to a Master of Fine Arts program in poetry at New England College.

New England College nurtures the individual in the art process as well as putting an emphasis on peer critique and group workshops. Their low residency program allows a writer to generate ideas and drafts alone fully immersed in life, not isolated in an academic environment. This promotes a more organic root to writing.
The two week residencies are a form of poetry boot camp where one can be expected to wake in the middle of the night with a fully formed poem that must be written.

Eric’s writing is frequently in meter, but its formal approach tends to end there. With subject matter that stretches from God, to bodily functions, Eric’s writing has something for everyone. During his senior project Eric presented a play he wrote to analyze friendship and romantic urges in a diner setting. His play was presented at the end of a semester and is remembered still as an avant-guard display.

At the last Spoken Word event in Dalrymple, Eric read a poem especially for his students, about a cheeseburger: " force it / into your mouth / grease dripping across / your fingers, down / your chin, onto / the plate where crumbs are saved / to fill in the cracks.

Spoken Word is a regular open mic on the Chester College campus. Every other Sunday, students gather to share their work and hear what a guest reader presents. After his twenty minute set, Eric Crapo found his seat through a loud applause and stayed afterwards to answer questions and hear the response to his work.

Student response to Eric’s class is overwhelmingly positive. They feel comfortable and inspired. Ashley Kreutter, one of his students, came to the reading. Afterward she hung out in the room and joined in the conversation about meter. Students were quizzing Eric on the scansion of specific words. Words were thrown out or used in a sentence and on the spot Eric turned it into a lesson, not only calling out the stresses, but over emphasizing them and asking students to identify the type of foot.