Smyrna Celebrates the Beginning of the Holidays with Annual Tree Lighting

                                                By Jada Ojii

SMYRNA, Tenn. -- The town of Smyrna broke in the holiday season on Nov. 24 with its annual Tree Lighting Ceremony, which featured a jazz band performance, a kids sing-a-long, and an official lighting of the Smyrna Town Centre Christmas tree.

The tree lighting in Smyrna drew well over 100 people to the town’s annual ceremony. Everyone who attended appeared to enjoy themselves, sipping hot cocoa and nibbling cookies offered at the event. The Smyrna High School’s jazz band was the main event, with members of the band performing popular Christmas songs like “Feliz Navidad”, “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch”, and “Santa Claus is Coming to Town”.

Smyrna High School Jazz Band impresses crowd (Photo by Jada Ojii)

The kids sing-a-long called for the children in the room to come to the stage and sing “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”, which was very fun and delightful to see. Heather Samson, an employee at the Smyrna Public Library and volunteer at the event, was head of a table that passed out crayons, stickers and Christmas cards to the children there after the performance.

Santa and Mrs. Claus greet kids at Smyrna Tree Lighting Ceremony. (Photo by Jada Ojii)

“It was fun to see the community come out and everyone looked like they had a good time,” said Samson when asked about her experience working at the tree lighting.

The event came to an end with a visit from Mr. and Mrs. Claus in a local fire truck. The children there all cheered for Santa, to which Mr. and Mrs. Claus met with smiles, waving and hugs. For the finale, a five-second countdown was started for the Christmas tree’s lights outside of the Town Centre being turned on. The crowd cheered, and there was an astounding applause as residents of Smyrna and surrounding areas viewed the festive and fully-lit tree.

Fully lit Christmas Tree outside of Smyrna Town Centre. (Photo by Jada Ojii)

Mike Moss, parks and recreation director of Smyrna and MTSU alumnus, worked as the coordinator for the event. He has been working for the town of Smyrna and also helping behind-the-scenes of the annual tree lighting for all of his 20 years at his job.

“We’re lucky,” said Moss.“We get a lot of good people to work with, and those people always step up. I get a lot of volunteers like the high school jazz band and the Spring House Choral Group. They’re always willing to help in the all of the town of Smyrna departments.”

Heather Samson, an employee at the Smyrna Public Library and volunteer at the event, was head of a table that passed out crayons, stickers and Christmas cards to the children there.

“It was fun to see the community come out and everyone looked like they had a good time.” said Samson when asked about her experience working at the tree lighting.

To learn more information about the event, or to check up on when next year’s Tree Lighting Ceremony will take place, visit: http://www.townofsmyrna.org/Home/Components/Calendar/Event/1369/20

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'My Fair Lady' Charms Murfreesboro Audience

By Sarah Cook

            MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – The Murfreesboro Little Theatre staged the musical “My Fair Lady” on Fridays and Saturdays from Nov. 6-22, charming local audiences with drama and song.

            “My Fair Lady,” with book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe, is based on George Bernard Shaw’s “Pygmalion” and was directed by Melvin C. Spring and Alex DeHoff. The musical tells how phonetics professor Henry Higgins gives speech lessons to Eliza Doolittle so that she can pass as a lady in high society.

            On a whole, the Murfreesboro Little Theatre staging of “My Fair Lady” was extremely impressive. The actual performance area is in a black box theatre, which allows the stage area to be moved and audience area to be configured in whatever way would best suit the show. Although the set was fairly small, it was incredibly detailed and made in a way that each part could serve multiple functions and act as multiple locations.

“Every show is beautiful,” said audience member Amelia Hunt, who has been attending shows at the theatre for many years. “You never see the same set twice.”

They even went as far as to paint individual cobblestones onto the floor where the sidewalk was.

            Just as detailed as the set were the costumes. Nearly every actor had at least two completely different outfits, many with different hairstyles to match, and every one of them was just as impressive as the last. The men’s suits were fitted, ladies hats matched their dresses, and Eliza’s Embassy Ball gown looked like it was sewn onto her.

“Wardrobe changes can be really stressful, especially when you only have a minute or two to get it done,” actress Mary Hutchens said.

            Hutchens also mentioned that learning to do a British accent was very challenging. Since she was playing Eliza Doolittle, she had to master two different accents.

“The Cockney accent was definitely the hardest,” Hutchens said. “Everyone knows what a regular British accent sounds like, but the Cockney one was like learning another language for me.”

Upcoming shows include “My Three Angels,” which starts showing on Dec. 11, and “The Exonerated", which begins on Jan. 15.

Other members of the cast include

Melvin C. Spring/Alex DeHoff – Directors

Andy Ford – Henry Higgins

Perry Poston – Colonel Pickering

Robert DeHoff – Alfred P. Doolittle

Rae Ellyn Kelley – Mrs. Eynsford-Hill/First Cockney Servant

Zach Kelley – Freddy Eynsford-Hill

Raeley Underwood – Mrs. Higgins Maid/Flower Girl 2

Aylee Gardner – Flower Girl

Heather Gardner – Mrs. Higgins/Mrs. Hopkins

Jacob Knight – Jamie

Janice Denson – Mrs. Pierce

Alyssa Brangenberg – Ensemble

More information about the Murfreesboro Little Theatre can be found at www.mltarts.com.

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Open Mic Night Relieves Stress for MTSU Students

By Destiny Everett

            MURFREESBORO, Tenn.- - Open Mic Night crashed a handful of people’s study sessions on Nov. 17 at Blue Raider Grill on the Middle Tennessee State University Campus.

            Open Mic Night is held from 6 p.m. until 8 p.m. every Wednesday at Blue Raider Grill. Acts include local artists performing comedy, spoken word, singing, poetry or improvisation. The event is open to anyone who wants to show off his or her performing talents. To participate in Open Mic Night, acts sign up for a 15-minute time slot to showcase their talents.

            Hogan Roberts, a freshman at Middle Tennessee State University, hosts Open Mic Night. Roberts found out about the event through Facebook and thought that it would go well with his major, audio production. He enjoys doing this for experience as he waits to receive candidacy.

            “I would rather be hated for who I am than be hated for who I’m not,” said Roberts.

Roberts uses this quote as motivation to do the things that he does, for he knows that the audio production world can be very competitive.

            Blue Raider Grill makes for a great venue because of its restaurant-style qualities. It provides such a rich and laid back atmosphere for students on campus. Out of all the eating places located on campus, Blue Raider Grill’s restaurant vibe sets it apart from the other eating places on campus, which draws people to come. The live music provided on Wednesdays brings this eating place to life.

            Reporter Destiny Everett was in attendance for Open Mic Night on a recent Wednesday night to write a story for The Motlow Stew. For her it was very laid back and was definitely the perfect venue to host an event such as this. Another attendee, Akeyia Arnett mentioned that she enjoys herself at Open Mic Night.

            “I don’t purposely come for Open Mic Night, but I do enjoy the entertainment,” said Arnett.

Arnett enjoys the food at Blue Raider Grill, but while eating she enjoys the free entertainment that comes along with it.

Arnett’s favorite performance was a performer who did a “Thinking About You” cover about potatoes.

            Open Mic Night is a great experience to get involved in, whether it be to entertain or to be entertained! Sign up are available at the register in Blue Raider Grill. For more information visit  http://www.mtsu.edu/events/openmicnight.php

           

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The Frist Hosts New Exhibits

By Mariah Mims

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - - The Frist Center for the Visual Arts was crowded with students and tourists alike on Nov. 21 for the latest popular art exhibits on display.

The Frist is a popular place for people who are interested in a fine mixture of culture and education. Students often come for field trips to check out some of the more traditional exhibits. On this Saturday, they explored the Islamic Art from the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. The sculpted ceramics, colorful religious rugs, and vividly vibrant textiles date all of the way back to the eighth century.

The Hume-Fogg Magnet High School World History class visited to learn about international religions and global art. Students planned to compare the cultural world and spectacular objects that were chosen to represent great Islamic art at the Frist with what they learn about day-to-day in the classroom.

MTSU Middle Stew reporter Mariah Mims was on assignment at The Frist exploring every exhibit from the Islamic Art to the colorful exhibit of “Wonder and Rainbows” that integrated fashion, graffiti, music and childhood wonder. The artist Shinique Smith found old, seemingly unimportant objects from her childhood to give a sense of nostalgia that visitors can see on hanging portraits and outlandish boxes of ripped clothing arranged artfully in the floor.

"It looks like the stuff I would have on the floor of my bedroom,” Emily Thomas, from the Hume-Fogg High School said.

The last exhibit on display was “Phantom Bodies: The Human Aura in Art” exhibit. It is a strange exhibit with pictures and moving contraptions and concepts of human bodies that beckon one to look around. The exhibit includes pieces that really make the viewer think about the human experience and life itself. Some of the pieces are odd and spooky, contrived of shadows and almost uncomfortable lighting.

"People often feel the presence of someone when no one is there or someone in the car looking over at you when they're not,” said Mark Scala in an interview for The Frist’s informative pamphlet, the chief curator who brought the exhibit to the Frist. “The fear of the unknown. That's what this exhibit is."

Jennifer Dalton, a security guard for the Frist, stood with her arms crossed, watching all the high school kids observe a winding machine manned by a foot-peddle to make sure no one broke anything.

"Yeah, this exhibit is pretty controversial,” said Dalton. “We often don't willingly offer it to our school kids. We leave it up to the teachers to decide if they want to bring them or not.”

These exhibits will be at the Frist until Jan. 10, 2016. Admission is $9 for individuals with student IDs and $12 for the general public. For more information, go to www.fristcenter.org.

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