Arts at Noon: Ahalji Papa Susso

Alhaji Papa Susso will visit GVSU at noon on Nov. 11 as part of the Arts at Noon series. Susso will perform a concert of traditional African music and dance with his ensemble.

A master of the African harp-lute, kora, Alhaji Papa Susso is from The Gambia in West Africa. Susso comes from a long line of traditional oral historians known as griots of the Mandinka people.

He was taught the kora by his father and has been playing since the age of five. Susso has performed at Carnegie Hall and made appearances with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, the St. Louis Symphony and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

The event is free and open to public. For more information, visit www.gvsu.edu/music/arts-at-noon-197.htm.

Twilight Los Angeles: 1992

At 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 13 in the Louis Armstrong Theatre in the Performing Arts Center, GVSU’s theater program will perform “Twilight Los Angeles: 1992.”

Written by award-winning playwright and actress Anna Deavere Smith, the show is the result of nearly 300 interviews Smith conducted following the protests and riots that broke out in the streets of Los Angeles. The riots were a result of the acquittal of the four Los Angeles Police Department officers charged with assaulting Rodney King.

The performance provides an opportunity for audiences to address current societal issues through the context of a major historical event. The play is often referred to as documentary theater and aims to spark discussion and awareness as well as provide opportunities for engagement, finding ways to actively help people of all cultures suffering from repression in the U.S.

The event is LIB 100/201 approved.

“Interstellar” Showing and Q & A

In preparation for the GVSU Fall Arts Celebration lecture given by Kip Thorne, the physics department will be sponsoring a showing of the 2014 movie “Interstellar” and a Q & A session about the movie and the science behind the movie at 6 p.m. on Nov. 14 at the Wealthy Theatre (1130 Wealthy St. SE) in downtown Grand Rapids.

Kip Thorne is an Einstein Medal-winning theoretical physicist from the California Institute of Technology. Thorne worked as an adviser and executive producer on the movie “Interstellar” and wrote “The Science of Interstellar,” which explains how the events and visuals are grounded in science. He will be speaking at GVSU as part of the Fall Arts Celebration at 7 p.m. on Nov. 16 in the Eberhard Center.

Both events are free and open to the public.

Saturday Night Dive

Spotlight Productions will host an open mic comedy night at 7 p.m. on Nov. 14 in Area 51 in the bottom level of the Kirkhof Center. Saturday Night Dive is open for any and all comedians, experienced or not. Each comedian will receive 10 minutes on the clock.

For more information, contact Spotlight Productions. To sign up to be in the show, email Abby Lyons at [email protected].