The College of Fine Arts and Communications and the College of Engineering teamed up to develop an alternate reality game. Tessera: Light in the Dark will be released in January after over a year of development by professors and students at BYU. Tessera: Light in the Dark is an interactive game about a mysterious collective of historically significant innovators, known as “The Tessera,” hunted by an even more unknown character who goes by “S.” Players navigate real-world and online computational thinking puzzles with the help of the ghosts of these famous men and women who are trying to save everything their think-tank stands for from S’s destructive tendencies. “The normal claim from educators is that the devices that we use, like a cellphone or a computer, is distracting from students’ learning,” said Jeff Sheets, Associate Professor of Communications. “An alternate reality game is a great vehicle to use for teachers because it actually reverses those relationships. Students can play this game while learning and having fun by trying to solve the mystery.” A replayable version of the game that can be condensed into a concise teaching unit will become available for classroom and home use after the live release. Teachers and students will have access to the game, both in and out of the classroom, for no cost. The Tessera players will learn principles of computational thinking (CT), which prepares them to better understand problems in computer science and technology fields. This is not a “learn-to-code” game but students who practice CT can become more confident and interested in studying computer programming. “This makes teachers the heroes because they have helped make learning interesting for students,” said Sheets. “The same tools and techniques that are used to distract students are being used to engage them, and this is the winning formula for teaching kids STEM (Science Technology Engineering & Math) subjects in the future. Students will be able to solve a puzzle while learning how to computer program. And we are bringing a little bit of the Arts to teaching STEM, they even call it STEAM now.” The game targets students ages 13-16, but aims to get more girls and minorities interested in STEM subjects. This game could potentially encourage more minorities and girls to become involved in STEM classes and careers in the future by showing them the basics of computational thinking. This game will show students that they already have the skills for computational thinking, including coding, and can encourage them to pursue STEM subjects in the future. The game developers designed a trading card game to go along with the online game because they wanted students to have an all-immersive experience. Players can use famous scientists, engineers, artists and mathematicians to claim innovations and gain higher points to win with the trading cards. Each card has a code that can be used in the online game to play against online opponents around the world. This game is designed to be both educational and fun. BYU faculty members have been working with students over the last year to develop this game. Over 30 students from various programs such as illustration, design, advertising, public relations, animation and film have worked together to create the content and to design the game. “The design of the game is two fold,” said Connor King, BFA Graphic Design student. “There is the puzzle and level design, as well as the art design and player experience, both of which are linked together.” Jeff Parkin, a BYU Theatre and Media Arts professor, and Jared Cardon, owner of partner group Tinder Transmedia developed the overall story arc of the game. Students involved created the levels, puzzles, gameplay and a majority of the art included. “After the levels were built, it was tested to see if things broke, and of course, if it was fun! If our game isn't fun, there is no purpose to making it,” said King. “It might look beautiful, and run without any errors, but if it isn't fun, we missed the mark.” Utah locals have the opportunity to attend a launch party for the game on Tuesday, January 17 from 5-7 pm in the Amber Room at the Museum of Ancient Life at Thanksgiving Point. There will also be a concurrent launch with program partner Computer History Museum in Silicon Valley. The Computer History Museum will host a real-life version of the game in conjunction with the virtual game. To learn more and to receive updates on the game, register on http://thetessera.org.

Nat Reed’s puppetry class, TMA 252, performed a puppet variety show Dec. 8. during the afternoon Mask Club times. Eight students self-produced four skits, either on an ethical dilemma or on team work.

The BYU Museum of Art recently acquired plaster casts of Ghiberti’s “Gates of Paradise.” The original artwork decorates doors on the San Giovanni Baptistery in Florence, Italy, but the MOA will take charge of preserving and displaying the casts in Provo. The relief sculptures depict Old Testament stories on 10 3-foot-square panels, carved by Renaissance sculptor Lorenzo Ghiberti in the early 1400s. Former BYU art professor Sharon Gray discovered the casts in a storage room at BYU-Hawaii, where she was a service missionary. She began negotiations, and BYU-Hawaii allowed the MOA to acquire the casts earlier this year. Gray was organizing BYU-Hawaii’s art collection when she made the discovery. She had visited Florence and seen the original “Gates of Paradise” in 1984 on a study abroad program, allowing her to recognize the white plaster heads as soon as she saw them in a crate in Hawaii. Gray made a few phone calls and confirmed the casts’ identity with an archivist. Gray said the plaster panels had been resting in crates in the university’s storage areas for more than 30 years. “It’s a little like Indiana Jones,” Gray said. Jan Fisher, a former art faculty member at BYU-Hawaii, had acquired the casts from Florence and shipped them to Hawaii. There are conflicting stories about when the casts were made and when Fisher acquired them. However, the word “1984” was scrawled across one of the crates underneath Italian packing tape reading “fragile” and “Firenze.” Gray said Fisher originally thought the gates would be a good addition to the Polynesian Cultural Center, but this didn’t work out, and the panels went in storage. “The Renaissance and the Polynesian Cultural Center don’t really mix,” Gray said. “There’s a dissonance there, even though they’re both paradise.” BYU-Hawaii doesn’t have an art museum, so the two universities collaborated to transfer the panels to Provo for proper care, preservation and display. MOA senior registrar Trevor Weight and head fabricator John Adams packed the original 11 boxes into five padded, custom-built crates. The pieces were then freighted to Los Angeles and trucked to Provo, arriving in early July. The casts sat untouched in the museum vaults for several months to allow them to settle and adjust to changes in humidity. The MOA discovered only a few small cracks after unpacking the panels. Weight said he expected some damage from vibrations caused by planes and trucks, but he was surprised at how well the casts transferred. There were also no apparent effects from the change in climate. BYU Museum of Art director Mark Magleby said the “Gates of Paradise” are often viewed as a starting point of the Florentine Renaissance. In the year 1400, Ghiberti competed against six other artists to win the commission for the doors on the south side of the Florence Cathedral baptistery. He earned the commission and created his first set of doors, then was hired to create a second set. Two generations later, Michelangelo studied the second set of doors and nicknamed them the “Gates of Paradise,” a mantra which has been used since. Magleby said the doors significantly influenced Renaissance artists, especially Michelangelo. “He found in those doors the inspiration to do his High Renaissance style,” Magleby said. “Exquisite naturalism in the anatomy of the figure, proportional figures in space; that’s something that was achieved pretty radically in Ghiberti’s second set of doors.” Magleby said the museum has not yet determined how to display the panels. Opinions vary on whether to leave them as white plasters or to coat the surface with a patina to better represent the original work, but Magleby said the first thing the museum will address is the piece’s conservation by sealing the surfaces to protect them from dust and pollution. There are at least two choices when it comes to displaying the panels in the museum, Magleby said. One option is reassembling them vertically like the original doors so viewers can get a sense of the work’s magnitude. Another option is displaying each panel horizontally so viewers can see greater detail and work chronologically through the Old Testament stories. Magleby said the museum would like to leave both options open so viewers can appreciate the panels in different ways at different times. “It was a tremendous act of generosity and faith that BYU-Hawaii would entrust us with these,” Magleby said. “We’re glad that they knew that we are so careful with our objects that they would receive cautious, proactive attention for their preservation, conservation and preparation for viewing.”

Thousands applauded last month in the de Jong Concert Hall, while twelve thousand others cheered at the same time in more than fifty countries. Thanks to BYU School of Music’s new streaming system, anyone around the world with Internet can join the audience. 'We hope the experience will be similar to professional concert broadcasts on TV and videos,' said Kory Katseanes, director of orchestras. 'It's the first time we've been this sophisticated with our broadcast technology.' The new experience provides three high-definition cameras, each equipped with the ability to zoom in, pan out and switch angles. These effects are hand-operated to provide a personalized tour of each performance while highlighting individual performers. 'I'm most excited to think of parents and loved ones seeing the faces of their students while they're performing,' Katseanes said. 'People see how beautiful the students really are, and how beautiful it is to see them perform.' The stream has spread throughout the U.S. and Europe, attracting viewers from Argentina to Vietnam. This improved system not only showcases performers to their families, but also markets the school's level of excellence to a future generation of potential students. The entire streaming system demands the attention of only one operator, usually a graduate student. Not only does this provide a great opportunity for a resume, but it also replaces broadcast crews, trucks and support networks usually necessary to provide global coverage. 'Enter to learn, go forth by stream. It's our motto right?' Katseanes said. 'It certainly is our mission.' Streaming patrons have reported back on the success of that mission. “This streaming is wonderful beyond words. The production quality was excellent,” commented a patron. “I was a proud parent, tears in my eyes, thankful to be able to participate in such an intimate way.” Another patron looked towards what the future might bring. “The status of my children’s experience will rise exponentially,” he commented. “What a PR coup! Thank you for establishing a trend-setting positive example for higher education for the future. Lead on!” Faculty and staff at the School of Music are confident that this new system will drastically improve the way concerts are experienced outside of the home and raise the bar for other university's music programs. 'With its expansive capabilities, the new system is sure to be one of the most exciting things to come from the School of Music this year,' Katseanes said. 'We believe it will be the gold standard of university based concert streaming, and is another reason the BYU School of Music remains one of the country's premier music programs.' Live streaming of selected performances and their schedule is available at http://music.byu.edu/web-streaming-winter-2016/

As a major snowstorm descended on New York, opera star Renee Fleming boarded one of the last planes out and squeezed between two passengers to claim her economy class seat. Fleming almost always flies first class, so sacrificing comfort to beat the storm was an unusual move, but she was determined to keep a commitment in Utah. Fleming had agreed to perform as part of BYU’s BRAVO! series. In fact, renowned performers from all over the globe consistently write a stop at BYU’s Harris Fine Arts Center into their schedules. The series holds enough weight in the entertainment industry to catch agents’ attention and bring in some pretty big names, BRAVO! producer Jeffrey Martin said. But it wasn’t always this way. Read More

Celebrate 'Festival!' with BYU’s Christmas Around the World Christmas Around the World, the longest running annual Christmas production on BYU campus, opens Friday, Dec. 2 and continues Saturday, Dec. 3 in the Marriott Center. Presented by BYU Department of Dance and the International Folk Dance Ensemble, this holiday tradition—themed “Festival!” for 2016—showcases the rich ethnic diversity of the world through music and dance, and features more than 200 dancers, singers and musicians, with colorful costumes and captivating choreography. “This year’s concert brings to the stage the international festival experience that has created countless meaningful impressions and lasting friendships over the last 60 years of touring,” said Jeanette Geslison, artistic director of the BYU International Folk Dance Ensemble. “We invite everyone to come, meet and interact with dancers in costume, live music, crafts, activities, jugglers, food vendors and a special alumni booth.” The International Folk Dance Ensemble will premiere new choreographies this year representing Ukraine, Mexico, Ireland, Hungary, Indonesia and Palestine. In addition, special guest musicians I-Shan Lai (Chinese Violin) and Kerry Christensen, yodeler and Alpine horn. The BYU Folk Music Ensemble will enhance the production with live music. Patrons should plan to arrive early to join the festival activities on the Marriott Center concourse for food and fun cultural activities. International Folk Dance festivals are held world-wide to promote the safeguarding of intangible cultural heritage of UNESCO. At festivals the students share traditional American dance and music as they serve as ambassadors of BYU, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and the U.S. Folk dance festivals encourage people from around the world to gather despite cultural, political, social, or religious differences. Geographical boundaries dissipate which motivates dancers, musicians, and audience members to become united one with another. The program is sponsored by BYU College of Fine Arts and Communications, Department of Dance and World Dance faculty.

It's about time to make your list and check it twice! Starting today, BYU Arts has opened the box office for 24 different shows this winter. Just to name a few: Mary Poppins, Venice Baroque Orchestra, BYU Jazz Festival, Vocal Point and more!

BYU BRAVO! Professional Performing Arts presents 'Selected Shorts' on Friday, Nov. 18, at 7:30 p.m. in the de Jong Concert Hall of the Harris Fine Arts Center. Public radio’s beloved program, one of the premier short story reading series in America, comes to Provo with a very special theme: Modern Fairy Tales. Utah author Shannon Hale (Princess Academy, Goose Girl) hosts the performance and will guide the audience through an evening of contemporary spins on classic fairy tales, while some of the best actors from stage and screen bring to life feisty princesses, vengeful lackeys, and other fun and familiar characters. “We look forward to presenting NPR’s celebrated storytelling program at BYU,” said Jeffrey Martin, presenter of the BRAVO! performances. “Not only will it allow us to showcase these entertaining stories read by esteemed actors, but the program will be recorded for future broadcast on National Public Radio.” Stories will be read by René Auberjonois (Benson, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine), Jane Kaczmarek (Malcolm in the Middle) and Zach Grenier (The Good Wife, 24). “We’re pleased to bring 'Selected Shorts' to campus with these three incredibly talented and celebrated actors,” said Dr. Joey Franklin, professor in the BYU Department of English. “It’s going to be a wonderful night of storytelling by—and for—grownups!” The program is generously supported by the BYU Department of English. Date: Friday, Nov. 18 Time: 7:30 p.m. Location: de Jong Concert Hall, Harris Fine Arts Center, BYU Price: $15–30 ($3 off for senior citizens or BYU alumni, $5 off with BYU or student ID) Tickets: Available in person at the BYU Ticket Office in the Harris Fine Arts Center or Marriott Center, by phone at 801-422-2981, or online at byuarts.com

BYU presents the newest a cappella group on campus, Noteworthy, in concert Saturday, Nov. 19, at 7:30 p.m., in the de Jong Concert Hall of the Harris Fine Arts Center. Tickets are $10-12 and can be purchased in person at the BYU Ticket Office in the Harris Fine Arts Center or Marriott Center, by phone at 801-422- 2981 or online at byuarts.com. Noteworthy, though recently added to BYU’s Performing Arts Management portfolio, comes with a ten year history and an amazing resume. Noteworthy’s nine female singers deliver a power-packed concert that combines vocal percussion, humor and a tight harmony. The group’s varied repertoire includes rock, pop, country, jazz, R&B, spiritual and other musical styles. 'There's nothing like Noteworthy anywhere else at BYU—or anywhere else—period. The chance to work with such talented, committed ladies to make such exciting, inspiring music is one I cherish,” said Keith Evans, director of Noteworthy and former Vocal Point member. “These days, young women can so easily find female role models who don’t inspire and uplift. That is what makes it a privilege to direct an ensemble of women who are honest, loyal and virtuous, as well as bright, talented and fun.' The performers take songs and rearrange them to deliver a new rendition with just their mouths. They mimic complex instrumentation, hold a perfect pitch, and give a beautiful harmony. Noteworthy is full of class and charm. All nine members are carefully selected through competitive auditions and they are experts at displaying musical ability, creativity and stage experience—resulting in original, skillful and spirited performances. Noteworthy has appeared on NBC’s hit television show The Sing-Off and was crowned International Championship of Collegiate A cappella champions in 2007. In October 2015, their music video “Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)” went viral two weeks after its release and currently has more than 17 million views. Performance Date:Saturday, Nov. 19 Time: 7:30 p.m. Location: de Jong Concert Hall, Harris Fine Arts Center, BYU Price: $10-12

Five of the Brigham Young University’s Department of Dance premier dance groups will perform during an assembly in the Marriott Center on Nov. 8 at 11:05 a.m. The Ballroom Dance Company, Living Legends, Theatre Ballet, the International Folk Dance Ensemble and Contemporary Dance Theatre will all perform. Each dance group will present choreography demonstrating how dance can be used to inspire, imagine, reflect, celebrate, remember or express with the theme of “Together, let’s dance—just for the joy of it.” “The assembly celebrates one of the cheerful ways we express our faith and hope through a variety of expressions of joy through dance,” said Marilyn Berrett, Department of Dance chair. Berrett also referenced the words of President Russell M. Nelson who recently spoke about joy in the October General Conference. “That’s it! Saints can be happy under every circumstance,” said Nelson. “We can feel joy even while having a bad day, a bad week, or even a bad year! My dear brothers and sisters, the joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives. The BYU College of Fine Arts and Communications is home to the largest and most versatile dance department in the United States. For more than 50 years, BYU students have shared a spirit of joy with people worldwide through the creative expression of dance. Performances strive to benefit and support members of the Church in distant lands, and can be seen on campus throughout the year. The BYU Department of Dance is also pleased to present the BYU DanceSport Championships on Nov. 11-12, BYU’s dancEnsemble concert on Nov. 11-12 and the Senior Dance Projects Showcase on Nov. 19. Performance Date: Nov. 8 Time: 11:05 a.m.-12:00 p.m. Location: Marriott Center, BYU Price: Free