BGSU’s Institute for the Study of Culture and Society presenting Faculty Fellows Lecture Series this spring

The Institute for the Study of Culture and Society (ICS) presents two thought-provoking events on the changing role of the performing arts as part of the Spring 2023 Faculty Fellows Lecture Series.

Established in 1996, ICS is a public humanities hub at Bowling Green State University whose aim is to encourage innovation in the arts, humanities and social sciences, and to communicate the value and significance of that work to the wider public.

“Places, Please: Stage Managers, Gender, and Invisible Labor” will be presented by Dr. Angela Ahlgren on Wednesday, Feb. 22, from 7-8:30 p.m. at the Black Swamp Players Theater, 115 E. Oak St., in Bowling Green. Ahlgren, an associate professor of theatre and film at BGSU and a faculty fellow with ICS, will explore how stage managers engage in organizational, emotional and aesthetic labor behind the scenes in the theater. She will dive deep into discussing the topics of labor and workers more broadly, including cultural shifts like so-called “quiet-quitting” and The Great Resignation. Stage managers have valuable insight about labor — both within theater and beyond — that they gain from their unique positions as invisible, yet essential workers, as Ahlgren will discuss.

“Making American Opera After Einstein” will be presented by Dr. Ryan Ebright on Thursday, March 2, from 7-8:30 p.m. at the Way Public Library, 101 E. Indiana Ave., in Perrysburg. Ebright, an associate professor of musicology at BGSU and a faculty fellow with ICS, will discuss how American opera has been transformed over the past four decades, since the avant-garde opera, "Einstein on the Beach," first made waves in 1976. He brings this complex subject matter to life in a way that is both fun and educational through a combination of dramatic images and thought-provoking narration.

“These events illustrate the work of public humanities and arts scholars to examine and explain the changing world we live in,” said ICS Director Jolie Sheffer. “The events of COVID-19 and the #MeToo movement have accelerated changes to the way theater and opera are staged. Ahlgren and Ebright will help us make sense of where we’ve been and where we’re heading.”

Both events are free and open to the public. Visit bgsu.edu/icsevents for more information. Follow @icsbgsu on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.