BYU’s Department of Theatre and Media Arts will present Microburst Theatre Festival in the Nelke Theatre on Jan. 13-16, at 7:30 p.m., with ASL interpretation on Jan. 14 and a 2 p.m. matinee on Jan. 16. Tickets are $5. Tickets 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. Directed by Rodger Sorensen, Microburst Theatre features a series of thought-provoking and funny short plays, newly written by BYU student writers that explore the theme “taking time, making time.” Winner of three national awards at the 2014 Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival, this annual showcase of new work explores the moments in time that often go unnoticed. “These short plays come at us in brief, intense bits of drama and comedy–sometimes unexpected and sometimes anticipated. Either way, they don’t last long,” said Jeff Martin, the producer for BYU Arts. Now in its third year, this season’s festival features the work of 13 playwrights, 12 actors, 6 student directors and 2 dramaturgs. The plays and playwrights include “Baby Steps” by Hadley Holyoak, “A Blossom Tree” by Ting-Chun Chang, “BYU Time Experience” by Daniel Fifield, “Ding” by Janine Sobeck, “A Dramaturg’s Tale” by Rick Curtiss, “Freeze” by Kristen Perkins, “Keeping Clocks” by Marianne Hales Harding, “Possibilities” by Teresa Love, “Recompense” by Kiersten Carr, “Salvo” by Cristin Lunt, “Time Crimes” by Brad Witbeck, “Time in the Attic” by Jessica Fluegel and “Time Lapse” by Keith Grover. The cast includes Andrew Smith, Courtney Miller, Francisco Acosta, J.D. Shaeffer, Logan Ruesch, Mari Toronto, Rachel Belt, Rachel Bennett, Rachelle Hull, Shay Ruesch, Sierra Docken and Teagan Clark. The production team includes Amberly Plourde, Britney Miles, Daniel Brown, Lauren Wilkins, Michael Comp and Soren Budge as student directors; Juliette Lewis Mergist as costume designer; Celia Rivera as makeup designer; Bronte Campbell as scenic designer; Celia Linford as lighting designer; Scott Jackson as prop shop manager; Aubrianna Hockett as prop designer; and Dillian Durrant as stage manager. Tickets and Show Details Performance Dates and Times: Jan. 13-16, 2015 at 7:30 p.m. ASL performance on Jan. 14. Matinee on Jan. 16 at 2 p.m. Location: Nelke Theatre, Harris Fine Arts Center, BYU Price: $5 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

Vocal Point, Brigham Young University’s popular nine-man pop a cappella group, will perform on Saturday, Jan. 9, at 7:30 p.m., in the de Jong Concert Hall.

Vocal Point is seeking a hard-working, qualified student to join the group as the beat boxer/vocal percussionist. If accepted, you would begin immediately. Auditions will take place on Wednesday, January 6, from 1:30-3:30 pm in HFAC C130 (de Jong Green Room). To audition, go to the link below and click 'sign up' next to your desired time. You will be asked to enter your name, email, and cell phone number (you do not need to sign up for an account).ONLINE SIGN UP SHEET: http://goo.gl/6Ja1rCOn audition day, please arrive 15 minutes early to fill out an audition form. We will audition two people every 10 minutes. Come warmed up and prepared with:1. 30-second beat box solo (show us what you've got!)2. the ability to show grooves from different styles and genres (rock,jazz, pop, etc.)3. 30-second vocal solo in any contemporary style (no musical theater)Those wishing to audition must be full-time BYU students as of January 2016. Any questions can be directed to vocalpoint@byu.edu.

Experience the wonder and splendor of music and dance as internationally acclaimed Brigham Young University performing groups take the stage in Salt Lake City with BYU Winterfest 2016. Over the course of several weekends the Contemporary Dance Theatre, Vocal Point, Noteworthy, International Folk Dance Ensemble, Living Legends, and Ballroom Dance Company will dazzle audiences with performances showcasing a variety of artistic tastes. BYU Winterfest 2016 provides entertainment for audiences of all ages. As part of Temple Square Performances, Winterfest concerts will be held in the Conference Center Theater. Read more >>>>

The hours of the reserved faculty lot by the Museum of Art have recently changed. The lot will now open weekdays at 6 p.m. instead of 7 p.m. to the general public. This will allow patrons to park closer to the Harris Fine Arts Center on the nights of performances. Additionally, the MOA Cafe is now offering a 10% discount to patrons with tickets to performances on Friday nights in the HFAC. The Cafe is open on Fridays until 9 p.m. so guests are encouraged to eat at the cafe before their show. On Thursday, December 31, the MOA will close at 4 PM. On New Year's Day, the MOA will be closed. Happy New Year! The MOA Cafe will be closed for Christmas Break but will reopen on January 4th.

The security guard’s name was Jeff, and he was moving fast. He was at one end of the Museum of Art on the Brigham Young University campus when he noticed out of the corner of his eye a man in blue jeans, shirt tail out, sunglasses perched atop his head, scruffy beard, getting a little too up close and personal with a painting. And not just any painting, but the celebrated “Nativity,” painted by Brian Kershisnik when he was a visiting professor at BYU in 2006. READ MORE in the Deseret News.>>>>

The period between Christmas and New Year's typically has one of the highest rates of impaired driving fatalities, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). 

Christmas Eve

As a continuation of its Set Apart project, the Brigham Young University Men’s Chorus will share its newest release, “Savior, Redeemer of My Soul,” as a free download starting December 4, 2015. The original Set Apart: Beloved Missionary Hymns album, originally released in April 2013, is still available as a free download. Both can be downloaded at. Hymns for the free Set Apart album were thoughtfully selected to especially honor prospective and current missionaries, and was originally created as a gift to all who share in the love of missionary work. Since the initial album release, songs from the album have been downloaded more than half a million times in 177 countries. Giving away a new song for free as a Christmas gift has become a BYU Men’s Chorus tradition. “We believe that music has the ability to teach indefinable truths, comfort in times of inconsolable pain and inspire even the hardest of hearts,” said Benjamin Jacob, president of the BYU Men’s Chorus. “Every time we sing, we bear our testimony of the reality of Jesus Christ. Men's Chorus is a place of refuge and strength for all as we seek to serve our brothers and sisters through song.” The BYU Men’s Chorus is the largest collegiate men’s choir in the nation. Conducted by Rosalind Hall, they serve as one of the pillars of the BYU College of Fine Arts and Communication’s performing groups, with 180 members and decades of rich, musical history. The choir hopes to spread joyful messages to everyone with the download of this original arrangement of crowd-favorite, “Savior, Redeemer of My Soul.” Rosalind Hall, the director of the BYU Men’s Chorus, considers this particular song an ideal gift to missionaries and to the world this Christmas. Hall feels this song took on new significance when many in Men’s Chorus choose to sing it as their audition piece. Hall soon asked retired faculty member Ronald Staheli to personally arrange and conduct this hymn for her choir members because she knew that no one else would write a more beautiful arrangement. “The first time that I started teaching it to the Men's Chorus, I knew that it would be a special piece. There was such a connection to it. They connected to it from the word go,” Hall said. “I know that missionaries out in the field will feel the same way–it will speak to their souls and it will be especially meaningful to them as they meet all the challenges that come to them as they devote two years of their lives to the Savior of the World.' While Hall and Jacob hope those preparing for missions will download the hymn, they hope that everyone will happily receive the chorus’ Christmas gift. Notable arrangers for the hymns, including Daniel McDavitt, Matthew D. Nielsen, David Zabriskie, Lane Johnson, Rob Gardner and Ron Staheli generously forfeited licensing rights so the BYU Men’s Chorus could offer the hymns on the album for free.

This year’s “Christmas Around the World” celebration at Brigham Young University–featuring the International Folk Dance Ensemble and sponsored by the BYU Department of Dance–will take place in the Marriott Center Friday and Saturday, Dec. 4 and 5, at 7:30 p.m., with a 2 p.m. Saturday matinee. Tickets are $10-20, with discounts available for alumni, students, employees, senior citizens and groups. Tickets 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. This year’s theme, “The Gift,” will be demonstrated in a performance of more than 150 student dancers, singers and musicians in colorful costumes who bring their talents to share the world’s Christmas traditions. The program will feature dances and music from dozens of countries across the globe including China, Croatia, Haiti, Mexico and Palestine. In her fifth year as artistic director, Jeanette Geslison cites the students as the heart and soul of this annual tradition. “In this production we journey, as the Wise Men of old, through different areas of the world as we eventually end in the Holy Land,” said Geslison. “We celebrate and honor cultural diversity through principles of love and goodwill. These cultural presentations are truly gifts at this time of year.” This performance will feature International Folk Dance Ensemble and guest musical performers will include Mountain Strings, BYU Men’s Chorus and the Intermountain Symphony Orchestra.

Moonbot Studios has drawn praise for an anti-bully short for The Ad Council’s latest campaign, “I Am a Witness” with three graduates from BYU’s College of Fine Arts and Communications including creative director Jake Wyatt, artist Renee Bates and animator David Wilson. “When The New York Times calls your work 'relevant' and 'adaptive,' you know you're making some savvy career choices,” said Wilson. Already nominated for Best Animated Special Production for the upcoming Annie Awards, the highest award in the animation industry, “I Am a Witness” continues to draw praise. The video, an interactive 2D animated short and the first fully hand-drawn short from the studio, is part of the Ad Council’s new integrated web campaign directed to empower teens. In an article, The New York Times discusses how staying relevant in an overcrowded advertising market is no easy feat for the Ad Council, the first creator of public services announcements in the United States over 70 years ago. The “I Am a Witness” campaign marks a new emphasis to motivate action of significant public issues through digital communication in a social media age. See more at The New York Times

This winter, the BYU Museum of Art presents American Chronicles, a traveling exhibition showcasing the iconic works of beloved American artist Norman Rockwell. The exhibition runs from Nov. 20, 1015 to Feb. 13, 2016. One of the most popular American artists of the past century, Rockwell (1894-1978) was a keen observer of human nature and a gifted storyteller. For nearly seven decades, while history was in the making all around him, Rockwell chronicled our changing society in the small details and nuanced scenes of ordinary people in everyday life, providing a personalized interpretation–albeit often an idealized one–of American identity. His depictions offered a reassuring visual haven during a time of momentous transformation as our country evolved into a complex, modern society. Rockwell’s contributions to our visual legacy, many of them now icons of American culture, have found a permanent place in our national psyche. RESERVE YOUR TICKETS ONLINE Admission to American Chronicles is free, but due to the anticipated popularity of the exhibition, tickets are required. Patrons can reserve tickets in advance online, and a limited number of standby tickets will also be available on-site on the day of admittance.