Crimson and Gold Connection; Joe Firman

And speaking of students like you just were a minute ago, a former Pittsburgh State student will be performing at the Bicknell Family Center for the Arts in about mid-late February. Absolutely Jennifer Napa is coming back and she has had an amazing career. She started as a Christian artist and of course graduated from Pitt State so she has connections with our music program and we're super proud whenever one of our alumni can come back. She's also an author. So we're also going to have several book clubs around campus that are reading her book and she's going to be meeting with them while she's here as well. So in addition to that, we have a master class so she's also going to be teaching students here on campus about the music industry and what it's like to be a performer out in corporate music. So it's super exciting to have all of those opportunities for our students and readers here on campus. And for the public, we're super thrilled to have the opportunity for them to come to the master class as well as the concert. One other note on ticketing that you had brought up is we also love it when people want to figure out what seat they want to sit in. If they come by the building, we will show them right where the seats are so they can

kind of get a judge of what seats favorite for them. Everybody has their own favorite seat which is really fun. I have mine and people want to come in and sit in 10, 15 different spots in the room just to figure out which one they want to buy. We're all for it. We love to have them stop by and it's a great way to understand what you're going to be walking into on the day of the concert. And that's an advantage. Going to see performances at the Bicknell Family Center for the Arts that you wouldn't get other places at bigger venues, they're not going to walk around on a huge seat, are they? No, there are some Center for the Arts that like to charge to give tours. And I've always kind of laughed at that because we run into people all the time coming into the Bicknell who were just poking their head in and we say hi and give them a full tour of the building. So it's really exciting for us to be able to share it. As a state facility, it was built by private donation but gifted to the state. So all of the taxpayers have a vested interest in the success of the building and have part ownership. We want to make sure that the owners are happy. So when you come to campus and take a tour of the building, we're thrilled to have you

there. We think of it as much as it being a student run facility where we want them to have ownership and we want the general public to have ownership. We want everyone to have a real sense of having a home away from home and knowing that we are glad to have them there with us. So what are some of the other events happening in February, March and April? Be right here. It's right around the corner. Well the PSU feeder is going to have silent sky and that will be February 27th through the 29th and March 1st. Then for Best of Broadway, we have our final show of the season which will be March 4th, which is American in Paris. And that is based off of the movie. And so it is a wonderful tale of love and romance and dancing. And it is just an absolutely magical experience to see those sort of shows on the stage. And one of the great things about our theater as well is it's a perfect Broadway house. Being that there are only 1,100 seats when you are sitting in the very back row. You were still much, much closer than you would be in any larger theater.

But with the exact same experience and better, in my opinion, because you're able to be that much closer and part of a tight knit audience that really gets to have that shared experience. It's always so special about, is I like to say, getting off the couch and going out and sharing an experience with your fellow human beings, it really makes it a memorable part of your life that you'll be really remembering fondly for years and years to come. Joe Furman, director of the Bicknell Family Center for the Arts. Thanks for joining us this week on the Crimson and Gold Connection. Always my pleasure.