October Events

By John Meehan

This month, CUA will play host to a variety of events, including the celebration of the 25th anniversary of CUA’s Metropolitan College and a 5-kilometer run to benefit a CUA assistant lacrosse coach battling multiple sclerosis. In addition, CUA will host its annual Family Weekend on Oct. 15-17 and observe Disability Awareness Month.

Music Film Series
The first annual film series sponsored by the Benjamin T. Rome School of Music continues. Each film in this series highlights music or a musician through its narrative or has a particularly interesting or significant musical score. The free screening of "Psycho" at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 20, is open to members of the CUA community only. Directed by Alfred Hitchcock, the 1960 black-and-white film features music by composer Bernard Herrmann, who wrote scores for many of Hitchcock’s movies. For more on the film series, click on http://publicaffairs.cua.edu/news/05MusicFilmSeries.htm.

"All My Sons"
Should we put the needs of our family before those of our country? And who or what is worth fighting for? CUA’s drama department will present a play that still resonates with audiences more than a half-century after its composition: “All My Sons,” Arthur Miller’s tale of love, duty, family and the power of greed in time of war. “All My Sons” will be presented Oct. 13-17 in Callan Theatre. Tickets are $12 general admission, $8 seniors and CUA faculty, staff and alumni; $5 students/children under 16. Show times are 7:30 p.m. Wednesday thru Saturday and 2:30 p.m. on Sunday. For more information, call 202-319-5358. For a listing of October performing arts events on campus, click on http://performingarts.cua.edu.

Jerusalem: An Interdisciplinary Colloquy
On Thursday, Oct. 14, the School of Architecture and Planning, the School of Theology and Religious Studies and the Columbus School of Law present “Jerusalem: An Interdisciplinary Colloquy.” Randall Ott, dean of the architecture and planning school, will speak about the design and vision of Jerusalem's sacred space among the faiths of Christianity, Judaism and Islam. The presentation takes place at 4 p.m. in Koubek Auditorium of the Edward M. Crough Center for Architectural Studies. Refreshments and discussion will follow. For more information, call 202-319-5188.

Family Weekend
The annual Family Weekend will take place Oct. 15-17. In addition to a number of annual traditions, this year’s Family Weekend will feature new events, including a presentation by famed Italian actor Giancarlo Giannini, the dedication of CUA’s new fitness center and the holding of a 5K benefit run with proceeds earmarked to help a CUA assistant coach afflicted with multiple sclerosis. For a complete listing of Family Weekend events, see http://universitycenter.cua.edu/weekend.

• "Grand Central Stories (It's a City of Strangers)"
  CUA’s Centerstage Theatre Company will stage its annual Family Weekend show on Oct. 15-16 at 8 p.m. in the Great Room of the Pryzbyla Center. This year’s show, “Grand Central Stories,” is a cabaret-style play revolving around a young woman waiting at a train station for the arrival of her true love. While she waits she encounters a variety of people who describe their unique lives through song.
  
  
• Introducing Today’s Italian Cinema
  On Friday, Oct. 15, the School of Arts and Sciences will present “Introducing Today’s Italian Cinema,” a conversation with one of Italy's greatest actors: Giancarlo Giannini, who was nominated for an Academy Award for his lead role in the 1976 film, “Seven Beauties.” The event is free to all members of the CUA community and will take place as part of the 2004 Washington, Italia Film Festival. The conversation with Giannini will take place from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. in Great Room A of the Pryzbyla Center. For more information regarding the festival, see www.washingtonitalia.com.
  
  
• Kane Center Dedication and 5K Run
  On Friday, Oct. 15, Catholic University will dedicate the new Eugene I. Kane Student Health and Fitness Center at 4 p.m. The following morning, the university will host a 5-kilometer race to support Suzanne Mackay, an assistant coach of the women’s lacrosse team, who is battling multiple sclerosis. Racers are asked to make a donation to help Coach Mackay offset the costs of her medical treatment. The race is open to all members of the CUA community and their families. Registration begins at 8 a.m. at the fitness center and the race will begin at 8:45 a.m. For more information, call Kim Timpany at 202-319-5291.

CUA Conference: Celebrating the Work of Historian Edward Gibbon
On Saturday, Oct. 16, Catholic University will host a daylong conference celebrating the writings of British historian Edward Gibbon, author of The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Symposium speakers will include Patricia B. Craddock, professor of English, University of Florida; J.G.A. Pocock, professor emeritus, Johns Hopkins University; and Clifford Ando, assistant professor of classics, University of Southern California. The symposium will open at the John K. Mullen of Denver Memorial Library at 9:30 a.m. All other symposium events will take place in Hannan Hall. For more information or to make a lunch reservation, call 202-319-5795.
 
The Death of Jesus: Reviewing the History
On Tuesday, Oct. 19, the School of Theology and Religious Studies hosts its annual Quasten Lecture, this year titled “The Death of Jesus: Reviewing the History.” Rev. John Donahue, Raymond E. Brown Distinguished Professor of New Testament Studies, St. Mary’s Seminary and University, will present the lecture. The event takes place at 4:30 p.m. in Hannan Hall’s Herzfeld Auditorium. For more information, call 202-319-5683.

Irish Studies: The Contemporary Theater in Ireland
The Irish Studies Speakers Series hosts a talk by the leading Irish playwright Thomas Kilroy, author of the plays “Talbot’s Box,” “Double Cross” and “The Shape of Metal.” Kilroy published a 1971 novel, The Big Chapel, which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and was awarded the Guardian Fiction Prize, but he is best known as a playwright and has won many literary awards in that field. He will discuss current trends in the Irish theater, including his own body of work. A roundtable discussion will follow in which several local theater critics will participate. This year marks the 20th season of  CUA’s Irish Studies Speakers Series. The presentation takes place Thursday, Oct. 21, at 7 p.m. in room 201 of the Life Cycle Institute.

‘The Secret Garden’
The Benjamin T. Rome School of Music presents a musical theater production of Frances Hodgson Burnett's “The Secret Garden.” Jane Pesci-Townsend is the director; N. Thomas Pedersen is the music director. The Oct. 22 and 23 performances are at 8 p.m.; the Oct. 24 performance is at 2 p.m. All shows will take place in Hartke Theatre. For more information, call 202-319-5414.

Metropolitan College’s 25th Anniversary Celebration
On Thursday, Oct. 28, Metropolitan College with celebrate its 25th year of service to adult and nontraditional learners.  U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige will give the keynote address, and an honorary degree will be conferred on benefactor and former CUA trustee Vincent Sheehy, B.A. 1951. A video about the college will be debuted; it includes an interview with Washington, D.C., Mayor Anthony Williams, and Metropolitan College students and alumni. The presentation begins at 7 p.m. For more information, contact Toni Khianthalat at 202-319-6256.

Medieval and Byzantine Studies Lecture
On Thursday, Oct. 28, the Center for Medieval and Byzantine Studies will host Susanna Elm, professor of history at the University of California at Berkeley, who will present a lecture entitled “Your Mother and Your Father: Gregory of Nazianzus’ Philosophical Family and the Question of Masculinity in Late Antiquity.” The lecture will be held in Room 321 and 323 of the Pryzbyla Center at 5:15 p.m., and a question-and-answer session and light reception will follow. For further details, contact the Center for Medieval and Byzantine Studies at 202-319-5794.

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