Today marked the end of the 10th annual Modfest, a contemporary multi-media art festival.  Starting at the beginning of the spring semester on January 19th, the Vassar calendar was filled with concerts from students and outsider musicians alike, such as the JACK String Quartet.  The Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center also presented new exhibitions of the work of photographer Serge J-F.Levy, graduate of the Class of ’95.  Not only is Modfest for the Vassar community to appreciate art and music, and its own artist and musicians, but some students used the festival as a way to fund raise and generally raise awareness of their organizations.  The Vassar Music Department Choral Ensemble put on a Cabaret Night to raise money for their tour to England and France this coming spring break, which will be one of the largest scale trips in quite a few years for the group.  Many other arts related events took place as a part of the festival, such as movie screenings, lectures, readings of plays and a performance from the Vassar Repertory Dance Theatre.

Photography by Katie De Heras ’13, Pavel Shchyhelski ’14, and Madeline Zappala ’12.

In celebration of the 60th anniversary of the House Fellow Program at Vassar, Miscellany News photographers were welcomed in to the homes of a few of Vassar’s House Fellows and their families.  A small, yet important faction of Vassar’s population, these professors, their spouses and their children all experience dorm life as we as students do, although their apartments are almost unrecognizable to our often small and cluttered dorm rooms.  The presence of House Fellows in the dorms allows for a greater connection with professors on campus, more babysitting opportunities, as well as an increased feeling of hominess in our dorm life.

Read more about House Fellows from last week’s issues of the Miscellany News here.

Read more about growing up on Vassar’s campus here.

Photography by Emily Lavieri-Scull ’15, Cassady Bergevin ’15, Angelo Roman ’15, and Jonah Bleckner ’15.

Over the course of first semester, Miscellany News photographer Rachel Garbade committed to capturing a time-lapsed view of the residential quad from the ninth floor common area of Jewett.  Her photographs capture the changes in foliage on the campus and the Hudson Valley, different lawn mowing patterns, the great snowfall on Halloween and the general mild weather of the start of winter.

Photography by Rachel Garbade ’15.

This Thursday, The Experimental Theater of Vassar College is putting up The Skin of Our Teeth, a play written by Thornton Wilder that first premiered in 1942.  Vassar’s production is directed by Christopher Grabowski, designed by Drama Department faculty members Paul O’Connor, Kenisha Kelly, and Stephen Jones, and features students majoring in Drama.  The play focuses on the struggle of human existence, weaving in biblical references to illustrate the advancement of humanity.  The Skin of Our Teeth focuses on colossal issues like the end of the world, but conveys the struggle with these issues in a deeply humorous and lighthearted manor, balancing on a fine line between comedy and tragedy.  Wilder grapples with the notion of storytelling as a means of moving forward, making the audience hyper-aware of the fact that they are seeing a play.  He does this by writing in moments for the actors to break character, therefore the actors are all playing themselves and their characters.  The production has involved a tremendous amount of collaboration and countless hours of preparation.

Come see the show at the Martel Theater on Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8:00 PM.

Photography by Alex Schlesinger ’14. Synopsis by Emily Wexler ’14.