Name: Wade Hollingshaus BYU employee since: 2006 My job at BYU is... chair of the Theatre and Media Arts Department. A department chair does a wide range of things. One that I find very rewarding is the work I do to make sure that our faculty have what they need to teach and continue their research.

The Brigham Young University 2016-17 BRAVO! Professional Performing Arts Series opens Sept. 2 and 3, 7:30 p.m. with two special performance from Leslie Odom, Jr., Tony Award-winning star of the hit musical, Hamilton.

Wade Hollingshaus, chair of the Theatre and Media Arts (TMA) Department in the College of Fine Arts and Communications, will give the Devotional address. Hollingshaus' remarks will be broadcast live on BYUtv, BYUtv.org (and archived for on-demand streaming), KBYU-TV 11, Classical 89 FM, BYU Radio and will be archived on speeches.byu.edu. Wade Hollingshaus is the current chair of the Theatre and Media Arts (TMA) Department in the College of Fine Arts and Communications. Hollingshaus is an associate professor in the TMA critical studies faculty, is head of dramaturgy studies and is an affiliated faculty with BYU's Scandinavian studies program. He is a member of the Performance Philosophy research network and currently serves as American Society for Theatre Research's liaison with the Theatre Library Association. His primary research interests center on rock performance and culture in the 1960’s and 1970’s. He is also interested in Finnish and Scandinavian theatre and film. In 2015, Hollingshaus was awarded the BYU Alcuin Fellowship, which recognizes outstanding teacher-scholars whose work at the university transcends the limits of their disciplines, and who have made significant contributions to the general education and honors curriculums.

Legendary soul and R&B star Gladys Knight will perform as the featured guest during BYU’s Homecoming Spectacular! on Saturday, October 15. The live concert will be held in the Marriott Center, at 2 and 7:30 p.m., as part of BYU’s Homecoming Week celebrations. Knight will be joined by singers Peter Hollens and Lexi Mae Walker in two special 90-minute shows presented by the BYU Alumni Association and sponsored by Deseret First Credit Union and Liberty Mutual Insurance. READ MORE >>>>>>>>

BYU ARTS Art Director Nick Mendoza and Designer Sam Reed earned a Grand Gold from the CASE VII 2016 Award of Excellence for their entry in the Design & Poster category. The entry was a poster designed in support of the university’s Contemporary Dance Theatre (CDT). It features one image cut into three pieces on three posters — as a metaphor for the various dance choreography combined in one show. We asked Nick if he would share more about the award-winning project. READ MORE >>>>>>

Brigham Young University’s performing group Living Legends recently returned from a three-week tour in the Pacific Islands where they dazzled appreciative audiences with their show “Seasons” and built lasting friendships through service rendered at schools, hospitals, care centers and other venues. “What they brought to the South Pacific will long be remembered,” said the Rev. Maauga Motu of the National Council of Churches in Samoa. “What they performed will live forever.” The message from the performers was one of love, peace and unity among all peoples and cultures. More than 16,500 children, teenagers, parents, university students, dignitaries, diplomats, religious leaders and members of the media were entertained and served during the nine performances and 19 private outreach events during the tour. READ MORE>>>>

The Brigham Young University Museum of Art has hired Dr. Kenneth Hartvigsen as Curator of American Art. The retention of Dr. Hartvigsen was precipitated by the retirement of long-time Curator of American Art, Dr. Marian Wardle, who acted in this role for over 14 years. Dr. Hartvigsen will continue the scholarly legacy of Dr. Wardle, researching and publishing the BYU Museum of Art’s collection, engaging diverse American Studies faculty across campus, and curating exhibitions that support a wide variety of disciplinary curricula. Read more>>>>

“Where does the power come from to see the race to its end?” pondered Eric Liddell moments before his 1924 Olympic victory in Paris. “From within.” In March 2017, the true-to-the-faith stories of British runners Liddell and Harold Abrahams will be rekindled in a live stage production of Chariots of Fire as part of the BYU theatre season. The desire for a BYU production of the play ignited from its origination in London’s Roundhouse Theatre and subsequent West End production in 2012 during the London Olympic Games. BYU Arts producer Jeffrey Martin attended a performance and immediately hoped to be able to produce the play in Provo. READ MORE AT BYU ARTS>>>>>>

Every three years, the BYU Ballroom Dance Company competes at the British Open Ballroom Dance Championships in Blackpool, England. The team has a long history of dominating this prestigious event, having won the competition a record 22 times. However, 2016 would be the first year the team would perform under new directors Curt and Sharon Holman, who took over the Ballroom Dance Company in the summer of 2015. At the end of Spring semester, the team began to prepare both the Latin and Ballroom medleys for Blackpool — meeting from 7:00am to 2:00pm six days/week. The group’s hard work was rewarded when they were crowned champions in both Ballroom and Latin categories.

The world truly is 'a campus' for many performers, athletes at the Church-owned school. A sign at the entrance of Brigham Young University carries a familiar slogan: “The World Is Our Campus.” It’s not a metaphor. The influence and reach of the Church-owned college stretches across the globe. BYU’s performing arts groups and athletic teams are responsible for much of that broad footprint. Every year students take their artistic and athletic talents on the road – representing the university (and, by extension, the Church) in front of myriad nations and cultures.

The BYU Museum of Art has launched a new exhibit commemorating the centennial anniversary of the U.S. National Park Service. The exhibition, titled “Capturing the Canyons: Artists in the National Parks,” contains around 90 pieces of artwork highlighting western National Parks and the artists who have captured their beauty. Curator Ashlee Whitaker spent three years preparing the exhibition through research and careful selection of compelling pieces of art. She felt it was important to convey the dynamic relationship between the parks and the artists who helped to popularize them.

Assistant Professor of Design David Dibble recently received an award at the Oil Painters of America 25th National Juried Exhibition. Dibble’s work “Hinckley Farm” won a Landscape Honorable Mention from the exhibition in Texas. He primarily paints landscapes working on site, and this painting was no exception. “I did the painting on location at the Hinckley farm in West Provo and loved the morning light striking the old farm buildings,” Dibble said. “I then took the painting back to the studio and further explored the scene to clarify the emotion of strong warm light and remoteness of location that I wanted to portray.”