LoKo Arts Festival

Butoh Medea performance by guest artist Yokko 
Saturday, March 2, 2024 at 7:30 p.m. 
Black Box Theatre, Performing Arts Center

Inspired by the Medea myth and Euripides' great tragedy, and using the Japanese Butoh Dance, Yokko brings the tortured spirit of Medea to life. This fusion of Eastern dance and Western drama invites the audience inside Medea’s dark and desperate struggle. Trapped in the underworld, she is forever cursed to relive her tragic journey through love, hate, and ultimate loss.

Butoh Medea was premiered at United Solo 2014 and received four awards including Best One-Woman Show. It was selected to perform in Warsaw, Poland (United Solo Europe (2015) Teatre, Syrena), toured Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2015, and was nominated forThe Asian Arts Award. The show has been touring across the USA and Europe (Poland, Scotland, Italy, Turkey, Germany, and Czech Republic) since then.

Watch the performance trailer

Team NV Winter Showcase 
Friday, March 22, 2024 at 7:30 – 9 p.m. 
Dance Theatre, Performing Arts Center

Mark your calendars and immerse yourself in the world of dance as Team NV takes the stage. Showcasing Team NVs’ versatility, creativity, and passion, the show will consist of NV performances throughout the year with guest performers.

Broadway Showcase: Hits and Misfits
April 20 & 21, 2024 at 7:30 p.m.
Washburn Rehearsal Room, Crane School of Music

The Broadway Showcase is proud to present "Broadway Hits and Misfits," a cabaret show of both Broadway classics and musical theater selections that have not yet graced the Broadway stage. Represented shows include The Sound of Music, Bye Bye Birdie, Rent, The Last Five Years, Love Never Dies, and more. Come out to see talented SUNY Potsdam student vocalists accompanied by a 20-piece live pit orchestra!

If you would like to print a full schedule, you can download festival schedule (PDF) here.

Tuesday, April 30

Ama Codjoe, Guest Poet Residency
Ama Codjoe—winner of prestigious Whiting and Lenore Marshall Awards, and finalist for NAACP and Kate Tufts Discovery Awards for her most recent collection, Bluest Nude—will read from her work.

Codjoe’s work addresses art, self-conceptualization and many other prescient topics. Brief Q & A to follow. All welcome!

Time: 4 p.m.
Location: Black Box Theater, PAC 
 

Wednesday, May 1

Filmprov
This event will feature a brief contemporary music improvisation workshop alongside an interactive performance which will explore the concepts of movement, space, and dance through the lens sound exploration. In an inversion of traditional form where music inspires the dance, original and repurposed archival footage of dance and movement will provide the inspiration and structure for the musical experience. Lead by Emilie Fortin (trumpet), Kalun Leung (trombone), and Christine Hoerning (clarinets).

Time: 7:30 p.m.
Location: Black Box Theater, PAC
 

Thursday, May 2

BFA Readings
Graduating Creative Writing BFA students will read from their work, in a final celebration. Join us!

Time: 4 p.m.
Location: Fireside Lounge, BSU

Spring Dance Concert
The SUNY Potsdam Department of Theatre and Dance and LoKo Arts Festival is proud to present the Spring Dance Concert 2024. 

This performance features work by two senior choreographers, Gabriella Smith and Frankie Beshers, as well as pieces by faculty member Kerri Canedy, alumni Kit Athanasidy, and special guest artist, Hettie Barnhill. Free admission.

Time: 7:30 p.m.
Location: Proscenium Theater, PAC
 

Friday, May 3

Spring Festival with Crane Chorus and Symphony Orchestra
The Crane Chorus and Crane Symphony Orchestra will be performing works by Johannes Brahms and Christopher Theofanidis at the Helen M. Hosmer Concert Hall on Friday, May 3 at 7:30 p.m. This concert, conducted by Adrian Slywotzky and Jeffrey Francom, is dedicated to the memory of Dorothy Albrecht Gregory ‘61 and Donald Lougheed (Hon. ‘54). Faculty soloists include Colleen Skull, Donald George, and Steven Groth. “The Here and Now” is a multi-movement setting of Persian poetry by Jalal ad-Din Rumi about joy, love, and gratitude. “Nänie” is a German setting of Friedrich Schiller’s lamentation about loss and death. The concert is free to the public and is expected to last just under an hour.

Time: 7:30 p.m.
Location: Hosmer Hall, Crane

Senior Dance Concert

Time: 7:30 p.m.
Location: Proscenium Theater, PAC
 

Saturday, May 4

Stitch-A-Thon
Come and stitch a spell to celebrate fiber arts and folk crafting. Handcrafts sit at the intersection of art, craft and creativity but are often overlooked in the discussion of the arts and their value in our lives.

Everyone is welcome from all skill levels. Come to learn or to teach. Materials will be provided.

Time: 9:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
Location: Main Lobby, PAC

Artstop
Join the Stitch-a-Thon, participate in relaxing crafts, paint, draw, color, and make friendship bracelets. There will be a juice bar, as well as coffee and tea. Materials as they last!

Time: 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Location: Main Lobby, PAC

Two Worlds
“The Two Worlds Project” is a verbatim documentary theatre play that aims to explore the urban rural divide in New York State, and the experiences, attitudes, and values of people in both of these places in regards to their local communities and the direction of the state and country. Composed of sections of 40 total interviews with individuals from both the North Country and New York City, this performance project seeks to explore how theater can disrupt biases folks might have about people from a community that is geographically and/or culturally different from their own.

This project was conceived by Ryan Howland, a theatre artist, educator, and doctoral candidate in the program of Educational Theatre at NYU Steinhardt.

Time: 2 p.m.
Location: Black Box Theater, PAC

AIGA Drawing Day
Ever wanted to create your very own stickers, pictures or tattoos? Wanted to try your hand at graphic design? Join AIGA (America Institute of Graphic Design) for our Design Day event and come learn and create with us!

Time: 2 p.m.
Location: Graphic Design Lab, Dunn

Madfest
Madstop Records proudly presents our annual music festival, Madfest! Come enjoy quality live music performed by students and musicians from different parts of NY state. Our headliner all the way from Boston, Massachusetts, Divine Sweater, will be closing out the festival. This indie rock band amassed over two million streams on Spotify in 2023 and they are known for their “dreamy and dynamic music” that has a “healthy dose of groove.” So, clear your calendars, this will be a Madfest to remember!

Time: 4 p.m.
Location: Marshall Park, Bandshell

Spring Dance Concert

Time: 7:30 p.m.
Location: Proscenium Theater, PAC
 

Sunday, May 5

Spring Dance Concert
The SUNY Potsdam Department of Theatre and Dance and LoKo Arts Festival is proud to present the Spring Dance Concert 2024. This performance features work by two senior choreographers, Gabriella Smith and Frankie Beshers, as well as pieces by faculty member Kerri Canedy, alumni Kit Athanasidy, and special guest artist, Hettie Barnhill. This project is also made possible with funds from the NYS DanceForce, a partnership program of the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature. Free admission.

Time: 2:00 p.m.
Location: Proscenium Theater, PAC

Two Worlds

Time: 7:30 p.m.
Location: Black Box Theater, PAC
 

Throughout the Festival

2D Dorm Room

Liza L. Paige received a Bachelor of Fine Arts with a minor in Pre-Creative Arts Therapy from SUNY Potsdam in 2012 and completed a Master of Fine Arts in Visual Studies from the University at Buffalo in 2014. She is currently the Arts Educator at the North Country Children’s Museum and teaches as an Adjunct Instructor of the Arts at St. Lawrence University, SUNY Potsdam and Clarkson University.  Liza is dedicated to presenting drawing as a fine art form. Her recent works (heavily formed through drawing) are presented as installations that aim to create inter-generational art experiences for interactive audiences. The viewer becomes a part of the work by participation and/or creation.

Dates: May 1 - 5
Location: Lougheed Learning Center, Main Lobby/Entrance 

Bachelor of Fine Arts Exhibition 2024
View the work of participating students: Madelyn Thompson, Kendall Jones, José Abel Santiago, and Reina Boyea. See hours and learn more by visiting The Art Museum webpage.

Dates: April 19 – May 18
Location: Gibson Gallery, Brainerd Hall