9 Feb.

2012 B2

Shannon odell
Its not the equipment

IN FOCUS

ARTS

www.hillsdalecollegian.com

Raspberry Cupcakes By Roxanne Turnbull White Chocolate Frosting

My camera does not take nice photos. Just like a stove does not make good food, a good camera does not take beautiful photographs. After a delicious meal, dinner guests do not compliment the cook on the quality of her stove and the meal it made. Praise for a beautiful photograph should not be heaped upon the instrument. A better camera does not make a better photographer. Someone with an eye for composition and a talent for expression through this medium can take a beautiful photograph with a disposable camera. Similarly, thousands of dollars of equipment does not necessarily give value to a photograph. There is no denying that high-quality equipment is helpful. Professional lenses and camera bodies are tools to use, just as a paintbrush or expensive paint serves an artist in his craft. Photographers always desire the best equipment, not to improve their talent, but to improve the quality of their final piece of work. People dont hire a photographer for quality equipment, but for his or her eye and unique view of the world. As a wedding and portrait photographer, I do not advertise what is in my camera bag. No one cares what lens I use. What is captured through the lens is what really matters. A photographer is not a camera. A photographer is a set of eyes, a mind, and a heart that sees the world in a unique way. The goal of every photographer is to present his or her vision in a compelling and profound way. It doesnt matter how many paychecks I spend on a camera. Photographs are not beautiful because of the camera brand but because of the soul capturing them. So next time you see work by a photographer that you really admire, dont turn and complement the photographers camera. It cant hear you. sodell@hillsdale.edu

Make this Valentines Day inspired treat to impress your loved ones. The raspberries give the cake a tartness that cuts through the sweetness of the frosting, creating a perfectly balanced dessert.

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For Cupcakes:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 2 cups cake flour 2 1/4 tsp. baking powder 1 1/4 tsp. salt 1 1/4 cups whole milk 1 Tbs. vanilla extract 2 sticks + 2 Tbs. butter 2 1/4 cups sugar 6 large eggs 12 oz. (two containers) raspberries Red food coloring (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together room-temperature butter Add in eggs one at a time until each is fully incorporated. Beat for an with sugar and beat on medium-high until light in color and fluffy. aditional two or three minutes. Add in vanilla.

Leslie Reyes Collegian Freelancer

Dance accompanies music

For the first time, a musical duo will be accompanied by the Tower Dancers. It is going to definitely be something that the audience has never seen before, Chris McCourry, director of jazz studies and artist/teacher of trumpet, said. The performance will take place on Feb. 10 in Markel Auditorium. Corrine Imberski, visiting assistant professor of dance and director of the Tower Dancers, choreographed the Rhapsody in Blue piece in which six dancers will perform. The Tower Dancers began work back in Oct., and Imberski said they dancers have come a long way, embracing the fun in the music and portraying the characters well. Freshman Maran Mcleod is excited for the performance. We are trying to convey an adventure in the big city young ladies having fun and going to a ball. Just awe and wonder at the masterpieces of human construction; skyscrapers and the nightlife and the beautiful sort of mechanical beauty of the neon signs and the cityscape, Mcleod said. I love the piece it is fun to dance to because the music has a really great beat and it feels like a happy, hopeful piece, junior Elizabeth Hamilton, said. As a little kid, I loved listening to Gershwin. This is one of my favorite pieces, so it

is kind of cool to actually do a dance to it, especially since the music is live. It makes the song feel more alive, sophomore Katherine Holt said. The Tower Dancers are excited for the performance, but the preparation is not without struggles. Because the music will be performed by only a piano and a trumpet, it sounds very different from the recording the dancers originally used in practice. We got into rehearsal and really struggled. It has definitely been a challenging process, Marianna Ernst said. I love wearing heels, but to dance in them is a whole other story, sophomore Angela Pearsall said. Though out of their element, the Tower Dancers still expect a good performance. I thought it was a very good give-and-take between Corinne and the musicians. They worked pretty well together in allowing each to have their own way, Pearsall said. Imberski and Holly Hobbs also will dance a duet to The Legend, and Imerski will be performing an improvisational piece to McCourrys improvisational jazz piece. We have really talented faculty here and it is really exciting to get to show them off. This dance is a celebration of movement, so the audience should just have a good time. Enjoy the music, because it is so classic and performed live. Expect to see something that is really lighthearted, Holt said. lreyes@hillsdale.edu

Meanwhile, whisk flour, salt, and baking powder together in a Fold in the raspberries. To help incorporate them throughout the separate bowl. Add into batter, alternating with milk, in three addi- batter, you can choose to cut up half before putting them in. tions. Begin and end with flour.

Line cupcake tins with baking cups. Use spoons or an ice cream scoop to evenly fill each of the cups.

Bake the cupcakes for 20-25 minutes or until the cake bounces back after you press lightly down the top with your finger. Let cool.

For Frosting:

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar Pinch of salt 6 oz. white chocolate (Bakers is fine, but do not use chips) 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

(Joe Buth/Collegian)

WOMEN WEARING THE PANTS: A GENDER INVERSION

Tory Cooney Copy Editor On the stage of the Globe Theater, men commonly played women who dressed up as men and were later revealed as women. On the stage of Markel Auditorium however, the Shakespearean formula has been reversed. In Merry Wives of Windsor, we have two women who are playing men who are disguised as women at the end of the play, said the shows director, Professor of Theatre George Angell. Its an exact Shakespearean gender inversion. While the Hillsdale College theatre department frequently casts women in roles written for males, they seldom play men, referred to as having a pants role. Rather, the role is simply adapted for a female, Angell said. Theater is a big game of Lets pretend and Lets pretend with the audience too. Once they know the rules, theyll play along, he said. You just want to make whatever youre doing work. The last time a female donned a trouser role in the Hillsdale theater department was in the 2006 production of Tartuffe. We had a lot of fun with that mustache, Angell said. There were quite a few people who never even realized we had a female in that role. A woman playing a man still has to solve the same problems and answer the same questions about their character as any other actor, Angell said. How to walk, talk, sit, and stand are all elements of creating a believable character as well as understanding the characters motivations. Im starting to notice all of these little things Im going to have to change, down to the way I stand, said junior Kyra Moss, who is one of two women playing pants roles in Merry Wives. But the clown part is probably harder. Moss and senior Caitlyn Hubbard will play Peter Simple and John Rugby, two clown roles described by Angell as galumphing buffoon servants. The only person in this play who is stupider than John Rugby is Peter Simple, and no-one anywhere is stupider than Peter Simple, Moss said. Every sitcom has a dumb character, and I always look at them and think No one is that stupid. But I really am. And its a comedy, so everythings overthe-top. I just have to make sure Im not too over-the-top. Its a challenge. Moss and Hubbard have been friends since high school, Moss said. Its really fun working with her. Weve been joking around with each other since tenth grade. Pants roles first originated in the world of opera, after the castrati fell out of favor with the Catholic Church, and the public at large, around the time of Mozart and Rossini. It was seen as unnatural, musicologist and Professor of Music Renee Clark said. Up until then, the castrati were the heroes. That was their role. Since the music was written for a voice in the female range, producers had two options, They could transpose the role, which would create an imbalance in the music, or let the women take over, Clark said. And that is how we ended up with pants roles. Composers such as Mozart and Verdi also intentionally wrote pants roles for comedic effect, having women sing as un-bearded youths, such as Cherubino in The Marriage of Figaro. In order to perform these classic musical masterpieces, mezzo-sopranos and contraltos assume pants roles in Hillsdales Opera Workshop or in private voice lessons. Sophomore Katie Gordon is one such singer, playing the Roman tyrant Nero in Pur ti Miro from Monteverdis Coronation of Poppea last year. It was quite a stretch for me, because Im really quite ladylike, but I enjoy playing roles outside of my comfort zone, Gordon said. A lot of people would be kinda funny about it. I dont know, it was still fun.

1. Put the chopped white chocolate into a small bowl. Heat the chocolate in the microwave for 40 seconds. Stir. Heat again for 20 seconds. Stir. Set aside to cool. 2. Mix powdered sugar and salt with the butter. Cream together until light and fluffy, scrapping the sides of the bowl as needed. 3. Mix whipping cream and vanilla in a cup. 4. Gradually pour cream into mixer, working on low speed. 5. Fold in the melted, but cool, chocolate into the mixture until incorporated. 6. Beat frosting for an additional three mintues on medium high.

around in my pants. Like I usually do. vcooney@hillsdale.edu

Suiting Up

The Birth of Pants

Sometimes people find it odd to see women dressed up as men or men singing that high, Clark said. But what can I say? Its theater. There are people dressed up as other people all across the stage. At the very least, pants roles mean that actresses in period plays dont have to bother maneuvering huge skirts across the stage. And thats a good Junior Kyra Moss and senior Caitlyn Hubthing, said Moss. bard duking it out.(Elena Salvatore/Collegian) Just me. Walking

Working It