If you had walked past any of the sandwich boards throughout campus that announced the arrival of Jeff Dunham and his lineup of bitingly sarcastic puppets, you may have heard students exclaim something along the lines of, "Can't wait for that show!"
What you wouldn't have heard is, "I'm so glad Miami University has a Performing Arts Series." It is this frequently unrecognized group that brings Jeff Dunham and numerous other performers (including pianist Menahem Pressler and Doctor Kaboom!) to the student body.
"Hopefully, students are open to trying new things if they did not arrive on campus as lovers of the arts," Director Patti Liberatore said. "Part of our job is to convert students to art lovers."
Started nearly 80 years ago, the Performing Arts Series (PAS) strives to expose students to various artistic works and brings artists into the classroom through residencies programs. According the PAS' mission statement, it "seeks to provide both a window through which to view ideas, cultures, art forms, as well as to provide a mirror in order to reflect upon ourselves, our history, our own culture."
David Sheldrick, the assistant director/audience development and artist services guide, has attended conferences with other universities to discuss the performing arts and reports Miami has higher numbers of students attending shows than many other universities.
"We average about 50 percent student audience for the season, other places are talking about 5 percent, 10 percent, 2 percent," Sheldrick said.
But according to Sheldrick, the key component of these artists' performances is their willingness to educate students in the classroom.
"The amount of residencies we do is pretty extensive. In the 2010-2011 season, 10 of our events had residencies for a total of 33 activities. In total, we had 3,000 people participate in the programs, not counting the performance. Almost 2,900 were students," Sheldrick said.
Although the PAS will not be holding any special performances for the Year of the Arts, Liberatore hopes that more students will become aware of the opportunities Miami offers.
"The point of the Year of the Arts is to shine a spotlight on the fantastic things that happen all the time, all year long here, it's more about celebrating the stuff that Miami is committed to all the time as opposed to coming up with a bunch of new stuff for one big year," Liberatore said.
For those students who want to enjoy all that the PAS has to offer, there are a variety of shows to experience throughout the year. From the show "Chi of Shaolin: The Tale of the Dragon" to Avner the Eccentric, there's sure to be something to please every fancy.
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For more information on shows and ticket prices, head to www.arts.muohio.edu/performing-arts-series/events.
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