Amarillo entertainment in brief for Dec. 17, 2023

Prominent author and Amarillo native George Saunders to be focus of WT English class

CANYON — Registration is open now for a West Texas A&M University graduate class on a world-renowned author and Amarillo native. “Seminar in Major Authors: George Saunders–His Work, Influences and Impact” will be offered online from 6 to 8:40 p.m. Mondays in the spring semester by Dr. Ryan Brooks, associate professor of English and codirector of graduate studies in English.

“Saunders is one of the most influential and celebrated, not to mention funniest and strangest, fiction writers in the world,” Brooks said. “We’ll examine his depictions of 21st century working-class life, among other topics, and consider how those depictions may have been shaped by his time in the Panhandle. His speculative fiction also crosses over into horror and science fiction, so we’ll be reading and discussing a wide variety of genres.”

Saunders, who was born in Amarillo and spent time as a master’s student in WT’s English program in the 1980s, will be the featured speaker for Amarillo College’s Creative Mind Lecture on April 4, to be co-presented by WT’s Distinguished Lecture Series and the Center for the Study of the American West’s Garry L. Nall Lecture in Western Studies. The lecture will take place at 7 p.m. April 4 in Legacy Hall in the Jack B. Kelley Student Center on WT’s Canyon campus.

Saunders is the author of a novel, five collections of short stories, a novella and a book of essays. His 2017 novel “Lincoln in the Bardo” won the Man Booker Prize. The recipient of a 2006 MacArthur Foundation Genius grant, his work appears regularly in the New Yorker, GQ and Harpers Magazine. He is the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship and was named one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World by Time Magazine in 2013.

Brooks’ class will cover not only Saunders’ fiction and nonfiction writing, but also texts that influenced him, including Kurt Vonnegut’s “Slaughterhouse Five” and John Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath,” as well as texts by writers influenced by Saunders, like Karen Russell and Charles Yu.

The seminar is open to students in the WT Graduate School. For information, contact Brooks at 806-651-2484 or rbrooks@wtamu.edu.

Dr. Alex Hunt, CSAW director and WT’s Vincent/Haley Professor of Western Studies, also will incorporate several of Saunders’ works in his English classes in the spring semester.

WT students advance to national finals in opera competition

CANYON — Three West Texas A&M University music students will compete over the holiday break in a national opera competition named for one of their professors.

Taking part in the National Opera Association’s Robert Hansen Collegiate Opera Scenes Competition on Jan. 4 in Phoenix will be Brooklynn King, a senior music major from Pearland; Erin Hinds, a senior music major from Amarillo; and Sarah Estes, a junior music major from Turpin, Oklahoma.

They will perform “Hatbox Trio” from the opera “Postcard from Morocco,” staged in November 2022 by WT Opera.

“It’s really, really exciting,” Hinds said. “Sarah Beckham-Turner (WT’s assistant professor of voice and WT Opera director) submitted us, and we’re happy that we advanced to the finals. It’s nice to know that all our hard work on ‘Postcard’ paid off.”

The contest, which was founded in 2009, was named for Hansen in honor of his 25 years of service as NOA’s executive director.

Hansen, WT’s Regents Professor of Music, stepped down as director of WT’s School of Music this summer and officially will retire from the University following the 2023-24 academic year.

“It’s really cool that this contest is named for Dr. Hansen,” Hinds said. “He is such a dedicated teacher — exactly what you should look for in a teacher.”

Only four finalists are selected in the competition’s three divisions, Beckham-Turner said.

“Win or lose at the conference, we are in the top four in our division, and that shows the quality of work here at WT Opera,” Beckham-Turner said. “I am so proud of my students and their dedication to greatness.”

Exhibit honoring 100 Years of Texas State Parks comes to PPHM

CANYON — In honor of the Centennial Celebration of Texas State Parks, the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum in Canyon will display a new traveling art exhibit through Feb. 18, 2024.

The Art of Texas State Parks is a visual arts survey of state parks featuring more than 30 of the parks by some of Texas' finest artists. Along with the traveling exhibit, the exhibit also includes a commemorative book published by Texas A&M Press. Proceeds from book sales and the sale of the artwork through Foltz Fine Art in Houston will be donated to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation to benefit Texas State Parks at the conclusion of the exhibition run.

In anticipation of the 2023 Centennial Celebration of Texas State Parks, Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation collaborated with Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD), the Meadows Center for Water and the Environment at Texas State University, and the Bullock Texas State History Museum to present The Art of Texas State Parks. Thirty notable Texas artists were commissioned to create works celebrating parks across Texas. PPHM was selected as an important stop for this traveling exhibition since it is partners and located near Palo Duro Canyon, the most visited state park.

A commemorative book is available online through several sources, including Texas A&M Press and Amazon.

Benefits of educational travel on view in upcoming WT student art exhibition

CANYON — A trio of West Texas A&M University students will explore parallel worlds in an upcoming art exhibition.

“Mundos Paralelos” will hang now through Dec. 23 in the Dord Fitz Formal Gallery in Mary Moody Northen Hall. Featured students are John Flatt, a senior studio art major from Canyon; Elvina Hernandez, a senior studio art major from Wellington; and Ana Ramirez, a senior studio art major from Perryton.

Also on view in the Northen Hall atrium will be portfolio posters by seniors in the graphic design course. Participating students, all graphic design majors, include Ana Briones, a senior from Plainview; Kia Broussard, a senior from Dallas; Christi Dawson, a senior from Hereford; Dylan Green, a senior from Dumas; Melody Richards, a junior from Lubbock; Matthew Rosas, a junior from Meridian; and Kristyn Serna, a senior from Wildorado.

The exhibition comes through the Department of Art, Theatre and Dance in WT's Sybil B. Harrington College of Fine Arts and Humanities. Fitz Gallery will be open by appointment only during winter break, Dec. 11 to Jan. 15. Email jrevett@wtamu.edu.

Bert Kreischer to perform Jan. 21 at Amarillo Civic Center

Notoriously shirtless comedian, podcast host, actor and author Bert Kreischer is extending his Tops Off World Tour to an additional 34 cities across the U.S., kicking off in January, including a Jan. 21 performance at the Amarillo Civic Center Complex.

Tickets are on sale online at panhandletickets.com , in person at the Amarillo Civic Center box office, by phone at (806) 378-3096 and on site at area United Supermarkets.

Kreischer starred in and produced the film, "The Machine," which has been in the top 10 on Netflix since its release on the platform on Sept. 23. The film premiered in the spring of 2023 and is based on his signature stand-up set recounting his experience with Russian mobsters while on a booze-soaked college trip.

In March, Kreischer released his fifth stand-up special, "Razzle Dazzle," and his stand-up specials, "Secret Time," "The Machine" and "Hey Big Boy" are currently streaming on Netflix as well. "Razzle Dazzle" has charted in the top five standup specials on Netflix and has been accompanied by at least one of his other three specials in the top 20 since its debut. More Kreischer information is available at www.BertBertBert.com.

This article originally appeared on Amarillo Globe-News: Amarillo entertainment in brief for Dec. 17, 2023