Put on a show

The Department of Performing and Media Arts (PMA) invites new and returning students to participate in Festival24, Aug. 30-31 at the Schwartz Center for the Performing Arts, 430 College Ave.

The event features original artistic works literally created overnight – written, cast, directed, rehearsed and performed by students in the space of 24 hours.

The resulting performance is free and open to the public, Aug. 31 at 7:30 p.m. in the Black Box Theatre. Doors open at 7 p.m. and arriving 15-20 minutes earlier is recommended; a full house is expected.

The effort is entirely student-led, produced by Milo Reynolds-Dominguez ’20, with assistant producer Arin Sheehan ’22 and technical director Will Aubrecht ’21.

Students interested in participating (and who can be present as needed during the festival, e.g., actors from 6:45 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday) can email Festival24@cornell.edu; or sign up online.

PMA auditions: For those interested in joining PMA’s fall productions, auditions are open to Cornell faculty, staff and students, Sept. 3 at 7 p.m. in the Black Box Theatre. Auditions will be held for the 10-Minute Playfest, Oct. 3-5; “There For You,” a new musical, Nov. 7-9; and “The Next Storm,” Nov. 15-23, a collaboration with PMA and Ithaca community members.

Visit the online call board at bit.ly/PMAauditions to sign up, and prepare a one-minute monologue (or, for “There for You,” 16 to 32 bars of a contemporary song or musical number). Callbacks will be held Sept. 4-6. LGBTQ+ and persons of color are encouraged to audition. Questions can be sent to Pam Lillard.

Meeting global challenges

Karen Plaut, Ph.D. ’89, dean of Purdue University’s College of Agriculture, will give the 2019 Dale E. Bauman Lecture at Cornell, Sept. 3 at 4 p.m. in Pepsico Auditorium, Stocking Hall.

The lecture, “Preparing Students to Address the Challenge of Global Food Security,” is presented by the Department of Animal Science and is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be provided at 3:30 p.m.

Global food security is a multifaceted problem and is not limited to developing countries. More than 40 million people are food insecure in the United States, and more than 2 million live in New York state, including 14% of Tompkins County residents.

Plaut will discuss some of the issues surrounding global hunger and ways to engage students in addressing them.

We are the world

Want to learn a new language? More than 25 of the language programs on campus, study abroad programs offering immersive experiences, and other Cornell resources to bolster language skills outside the classroom will be among the offerings at the Cornell International Fair, Sept. 4 from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the Uris Hall Terrace.

Undergrads and graduate students can discover hundreds of ways to internationalize their Cornell experience, on campus and around the globe, at the event.

Faculty, staff and program representatives will provide information and can talk about international majors and minors, service learning, courses with international travel components, internships and exchange programs as well as study abroad, language study, fellowships and funding opportunities supporting international study and research.

The fair is organized by the Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies, the Office of Global Learning and the Language Resource Center.

Volunteers of a feather

You can share your love of birds by becoming a volunteer at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. The lab at 159 Sapsucker Woods Road will host an information session for prospective volunteers Sept. 4 at 6 p.m.

Volunteers represent the Cornell Lab at community events, guide behind-the-scenes tours, lead youth and family programs, and help run its largest event – the annual Migration Celebration, coming up on Sept.14.

Volunteers must be 18 or older. Find out more about the lab’s volunteer programs, and RSVP online if you plan to attend the session. Contact Chelsea Benson at cbenson@cornell.edu for more information.

A musical spectacle

“Rocketman,” director Dexter Fletcher’s fact-meets-fiction account of Elton John’s wild ride to pop stardom, is a dazzling rock opera following the musician’s highs and lows, starring Taron Egerton. The musical biography is showing Sept. 6 at 9 p.m. and Sept. 7 at 9:45 p.m. in Willard Straight Theatre.

Credit: Paramount Pictures

Several more films are showing at Cornell Cinema this week, including Akira Kurosawa’s “Rashomon,” Sept. 5 at 9 p.m., with an introduction by Andrew Campana, assistant professor of Asian studies. The grand prize winner at the 1950 Venice Film Festival, “Rashomon” stars Toshiro Mifune and Machiko Kyo.