Encore for Bravo! BGSU

April 2 signature event raises funds for arts scholarships

By Julie Carle

The arts at Bowling Green State University came alive Saturday night for the second annual Bravo! BGSU. Students, faculty and alumni from across the arts performed and demonstrated their talents throughout the Wolfe Center for the Arts.

Artists representing the College of Musical Arts, School of Art, Department of Theatre and Film, the Creative Writing Program and the Dance Program showcased the quality and vibrancy of all the University’s arts areas. Funds raised from the event benefit scholarships for arts students. 

The event, presented by PNC for the second consecutive year, included performances and programs presented in the Wolfe Center for the Arts' lobby, Thomas B. and Kathleen M. Donnell Theatre, the Eva Marie Saint Theatre, the Margit Bloch Heskett Studio and the Marjorie Conrad, M.D. Choral Room. The building was alive with musical performances by the BGSU Men’s Chorus, the cast of BGSU’s production of “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” opera singer and master’s student Jennifer Cresswell, musical theatre students and a group of students from the BGSU-sponsored Toledo School for the Arts. 

Mariah Burks, a 2015 musical theatre alumna, returned to BGSU to perform several selections and served as emcee for the opening program. At last spring’s Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival, Burks won the national Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship. She is currently studying at Case Western Reserve University, where she was one of three women in the country chosen for the 2018 class of the Case Western/Cleveland Playhouse MFA Acting program.

Guests also had the opportunity to listen to poetry and fiction readings in the Creative Writing Program’s Café Plume and stroll through the Gallery Walk — featuring various arts demonstrations ranging from painting, metals and ceramics to graphic design, film and computer animation. Among the items included in a silent auction were an original painting by the late BGSU artist Robert Mazur; signed books by author Wil Haygood and BGSU alumni Anthony Doerr and Tim Conway; blown glass art pieces; a BGSU customized Keurig and a granite cutting board; “Book of Mormon” tickets and collectibles; athletics tickets for BGSU and Toledo Mud Hens; a hand-painted cake plate/punch bowl; and a variety of gift certificates. 

“Bravo! BGSU is the perfect opportunity to highlight the talents of our BGSU arts students, faculty and alumni,” BGSU President Mary Ellen Mazey said. “Our guests enjoyed an evening of quality entertainment and food, and at the same time supported students’ arts scholarship.”