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Theatre Professor performs in touring production in her native england
English-born Jane Ridley, professor of theatre, has been living and working in the United States for 35 years, but has always been interested in performing again in her home country. She got the chance last summer, when she appeared in The French Lieutenant’s Woman on its tour through England. “The prospect of working in my native land and establishing a foothold in the English theatre was all very exciting,” she says, adding it was gratifying to have her family and friends in England see her perform for the first time in many years.
Ridley’s journey started three years ago when she was cast as Mrs. Tranter and Old Ma Terpsichore in the premiere of a play based on the Jo
hn Fowles novel The French Lieutenant’s Woman, at the Fulton Opera House in Lancaster, Pa. After the run in Lancaster, the English director, Kate Saxon, and playwright, Mark Healey, went back across the pond determined to get the play produced in England. Ridley kept in touch with Saxon in hopes of working with her again.
Fast-forward three years—Ridley was visiting her parents in England in June 2006. Two days after her arrival, she learned that Saxon was trying to reach her because she got the green light for The French Lieutenant’s Woman.
While Ridley was in England, she was officially hired, met the producers and began the reorganization of the next six months of her life, which was not an easy task. “I had been scheduled to play Mrs. Higgins in My Fair Lady at the Pennsylvania Shakespeare Festival, I was due to move from State College to Bellefonte, I was scheduled to teach in the fall, and so on. Long story short—the move happened, I withdrew from My Fair Lady, and Dan Carter [director of the School of Theatre] and my colleagues, in their invariably generous way, made it possible for me to switch my teaching load from the fall term to the spring.”
The production of The French Lieutenant’s Woman began rehearsals in London on August 7, opened in Guildford in September and played one week in each of the following: the Theatre Royals in Glasgow, Windsor and Brighton and equivalent theatres in Milton Keynes, Cambridge, Cheltenham, Richmond, Poole and Bromley. The tour was what the English refer to as a “number 1” tour, playing terrific venues across the country, and starred a number of well-known English stage and television actors (including Anthony Howell as Charles Smithson and George Irving as the Writer). –FWM
palmer exhibition features work by artist-couples
The varying ways in which artist-couples live, work and influence one another was the impetus behind Couples Discourse, a Palmer Museum of Art exhibition on display through December 22. Curated by Joyce Henri Robinson of the Palmer Museum and Micaela Amateau Amato, professor of art and women’s studies, the exhibition features 40 American contemporary artists whose work has been shown in some of the most prestigious galleries and museums around the world.
Several of the artists in the exhibition have served as mentors and role models to Amato, a mixed media artist who has been curating exhibitions since the 1970s in New York, Colorado and Texas. “The most interesting thing for me is that there are so many facets to these artists’ relationships. You don’t understand the totality of their work unless you approach it from different angles,” she says, explaining there are correspondences in many of the couples’ artwork that are not evident at first glance. “For example, artists’ works may differ stylistically but similar sensibilities become apparent. Seeing what the couples do have in common in their creative work helps you understand what confluences may have drawn them together in the first place.”
When Amato, herself part of an artist-couple (her husband, Don Schule, previouslyGoing Home from Roman Allegories, 2004, chromogenic print, 48 1/2 x 102 3/4 inches, by Eleanor Antin (American, b. 1935). Photo courtesy Ronald Feldman Fine Arts, New York.
served on the Penn State School of Visual Arts faculty), approached Robinson with her idea for the couples exhibition more than three years ago, Robinson knew she wanted to be involved. “I was intrigued by the idea of exhibiting work by couples, and also wanted to do a contemporary show,” says Robinson, an affiliate associate professor of art history. “And I was excited to curate an exhibition featuring recent work that our audiences would usually have to travel to Going Home from Roman Allegories, 2004, chromogenic print, 48 1/2 x 102 3/4 inches, by Eleanor Antin (American, b. 1935). Photo courtesy Ronald Feldman Fine Arts, New York. New York to see.”
The exhibition showcases a diverse selection of artists at varying stages in their careers. Notable participants include George (painter and photographer) and Betty (ceramist) Woodman, Lari Pittman (painter) and Roy Dowell (mixed media), and painters Helen and Brice Marden and Robert and Sylvia Plimack Mangold.
According to Amato, the Woodmans have served as an inspiration to her, demonstrating how “ongoing symbiotic discourse” allows artist-couples to continue to pursue their creative work while juggling other domestic, personal and professional demands. Amato met the couple nearly 40 years ago when she was a graduate student at the University of Colorado; George was her teacher, and Betty became her friend.
“The Woodmans seduce people through the sensuousness of their lifestyle,” Amato explains, noting their work is displayed—and used—throughout their home. “For example, when you visit them in New York City or Italy, you are served the most delicious foods in exquisitely beautiful and extravagant vessels and dinnerware made by Betty. People are seduced by their elegance and subtlety.” 
The exhibition catalogue is dedicated to the Woodmans and to Nancy Spero and Leon Golub, a well-known painter and activist who passed away while the exhibition was in the planning stages. The catalogue features the artist-couples’ responses to a series of questions about how they live and work together. Although their responses varied greatly, Robinson says one thing became clear: no one could imagine being married to someone who was not also an artist. Female Portrait (Second Generation, B), 2003, painted aluminum and wood, 65 x 78 x 25 inches, by Carroll Dunham (American, b. 1949). Photo courtesy the artist and Gladstone Gallery, New York. © Carroll Dunham 2003.
The catalogue also includes short essays on the artists’ work written by Robinson, Amato and graduate assistants at the Palmer; an introductory essay by Sarah Rich, associate professor of art history; and photos of the couples taken by Jenny Rogers (’03 M.F.A. Art), a professional video and installation artist and one of Amato’s former students.
Robinson and Amato agree Penn State is an appropriate venue for this exhibition because the University is particularly supportive of hiring couples, as evidenced by the high percentage of spousal job placements. The College of Arts and Architecture employs many artist-couples, and some of them are participating in a music series at the Palmer Museum to complement the exhibition. The Palmer’s fall film series also includes movies about couples.
According to Amato, artist-couples, due to the highly competitive nature of their professions, need to have a relationship based on trust and creative exchange. “We hope this particular exhibition will offer an intimate entrée into the subtleties of art-making over a lifetime.”
For more information about the Palmer Museum, including museum hours, visit www.psu.edu/dept/palmermuseum. –AMM
stuckeman family building honored for commitment to sustainability
The Stuckeman Family Building for the School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture has been awarded a Gold Rating from the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System®. It is one of the first buildings on any college campus to earn this certification, which distinguishes building projects that have demonstrated a commitment to sustainability by meeting the highest performance standards.
The Stuckeman Family Building, which opened in summer 2005, was the first Penn State building designed to be LEED certified. Among other factors, it was recognized for integration of the building and site design, use of natural light, fitness for the regional climate, use of low-maintenance planting materials, use of recycled materials and certified wood, and a ventilation system that reduces the need for mechanical heating and cooling. During construction, the project followed a rigorous program to reduce waste and limit site disturbance. The energy-efficient design of the 111,000 square-foot building is projected to reduce its annual energy costs by 35 percent compared to a conventionally designed structure.
Dan Willis, head of the Department of Architecture, points out that the ratings system, in addition to addressing the construction process and the building itself, takes into account how the building and site are used and maintained, and how people get to the building. “We even received points [in the ratings system] for using the building and its surroundings as teaching tools in our courses.”
According to Brian Orland, head of the Department of Landscape Architecture, the Gold Rating—while exciting—tells only part of the story. “True sustainability will occur only when buildings and their landscapes also delight their occupants and beautify their surroundings. The Stuckeman Family Building has emphatically scored ‘gold’ in those areas.” –AMM
