Hearing Artistic Voices

The Creative Life series will feature, from left, Young Adult author Lois Lowry, Lion King choreographer Garth Fagan and Broadway star Patti LuPone.

ALBANY, N.Y. (Nov. 3, 2017) -- The Creative Life: A Conversation Series at UAlbany kicks off its 2017-18 series with an appearance by Young Adult author Lois Lowry on Friday, Nov. 10, at 7 p.m. at Page Hall on the Downtown Campus.

The series resumes during the spring 2018 semester with appearances by Lion King choreographer Garth Fagan and Broadway star Patti LuPone. An additional guest from the visual arts world will be announced at a later date.

The Creative Life series is a major arts initiative of the New York State Writers Institute, Performing Arts Center and University Art Museum in conjunction with regional public radio station WAMC. Presented by The University at Albany Foundation, the series features live onstage interviews conducted by WAMC’s Joe Donahue with artists of national and international prominence in conversation about their creative inspiration, their craft and their careers. A question and answer period closes all of the programs.

The series celebrates the depth and range of artistic practices, helps to demystify the creative process for the audience and explores what it means to dedicate one’s life to a creative pursuit. It is also intended to bring attention to the vibrant arts community on the University at Albany campus.

The events, which are free and open to the public, are as follows:

Lois Lowry

The author of more than 30 books, Lowry is known for books that explore such complex issues as racism, terminal illness, murder and the Holocaust. She received the Newbery Medal for both The Giver (1993), about a futuristic dystopian world, and Number the Stars (1989), an historical novel set in Nazi-occupied Denmark. Lowry wrote three companion novels to The Giver, including Gathering Blue (2000), Messenger (2004) and Son (2012). A film adaptation of The Giver, starring Jeff Bridges and Meryl Streep, was released in 2014.

Garth Fagan

Lion King choreographer Garth Fagan’s appearance is scheduled for March 28 at 7 p.m. at the Performing Arts Center.

Fagan is the recipient of the 1998 Tony Award for Best Choreography, the 2000 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Theatre Choreographer (London, UK) and the 2004 Helpmann Award (Australia) for best choreography in a musical as well as the Drama Desk Award, the Astaire Award and the Outer Critics Circle Award, all for his work with The Lion King. Fagan was born in Jamaica and, for more than 47 years, has toured the world with his dance company, Garth Fagan Dance. He has forged his own dance language and technique, drawing from modern dance, Afro-Caribbean and ballet.

Patti LuPone

Two-time Tony and Grammy Award winner Patti LuPone will be appearing April 26 at 7 p.m. in Page Hall on the Downtown Campus.

LuPone is starring as Helena Rubinstein in the new Broadway musical War Paint opposite Christine Ebersole. A graduate of the first class of the Drama Division of New York’s Juilliard School and a founding member of John Houseman's The Acting Company, LuPone has been a Broadway superstar for more than 30 years. Her career includes Tony-winning performances in Evita and Gypsy and Tony-nominated performances in Anything Goes, Sweeney Todd and Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. She is the author of the New York Times best-selling memoir, Patti LuPone: A Memoir.

Major support for The Creative Life is provided by The University at Albany Foundation with additional support from the College of Arts and Sciences, Office of the Provost and University Auxiliary Services.

For more information, call the Performing Arts Center’s box office at (518) 442-3997.

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