Berkeley Divinity alumna is first female bishop in Connecticut's
Episcopal diocese
In a June 30 ceremony at Woolsey Hall, Laura J. Ahrens ’91MDiv was
consecrated as a suffragan bishop by Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts
Schori, the first woman to head the Episcopal Church in America. Ahrens, a
graduate of Berkeley Divinity School, the Episcopal Church affiliate of Yale
Divinity School, has promised to dedicate herself to "a ministry of listening,
listening to all persons, seeking both unity and the excitement of our
diversity." Under the Yale/Berkeley collaboration, Berkeley students earn a
degree from Yale Divinity School and a diploma in Anglican studies from
Berkeley. Joseph H. Britton, dean of Berkeley Divinity School, called the
Yale/Berkeley collaboration an "extraordinary environment for theological
education." Britton was recently reappointed to a second five-year term as
dean.
Scholarship honors retiring pastor
The First Congregational Church of Darien, Connecticut, has established
a scholarship at the Divinity School in recognition of Ronald Evans ’70BD and
his wife, Janet, as well as generations of other YDS graduates who have provided
leadership to the congregation. Evans stepped down as senior pastor this
spring, after 22 years in the Darien pulpit. The scholarship will be awarded
annually with a preference for students preparing to serve in parish ministry.
Biblical scholar remembered
Brevard S. Childs ’66MAH, Sterling Professor Emeritus of Divinity and
one of the most influential Old Testament scholars of the twentieth century,
died June 23 in New Haven at the age of 83. As an Old Testament professor at
YDS from 1958 to 1999, Childs shaped several generations of students and helped
define new approaches to post-war biblical scholarship. With at least eight of
his books in print in three languages and a manuscript for a new book completed
shortly before his death, Childs was a prolific author who did not shrink from
joining the academic debates of his day. "As a colleague dedicated to the highest ideals of rigorous scholarship
and engaged theological reflection on Scripture, he will be long remembered and
revered at Yale Divinity School," noted Dean Harold Attridge.
New but old organ graces Marquand Chapel
Marquand Chapel was a busy place during summer 2007, despite the lack
of students on campus. Workers
installed a new crown jewel in the chapel balcony: one of the few, and one of the largest, meantone organs in
North America. The Institute of
Sacred Music's new organ arrived in pieces on June 6, and the crew from the
Taylor and Boody organ shop in Staunton, Virginia, was in New Haven all summer
installing and voicing the instrument. The meantone system of tuning keyboard instruments, which enables
instruments to play in five or six closely related keys rather than in one key
only, was prevalent from about 1500 through the eighteenth century during the
Baroque, Classical, and Romantic periods. The organ will be inaugurated October 5-6 during a weekend of
musical events that kicks off "Fanfare!," a yearlong celebration of the organ's
installation.
School of Drama
James Bundy, Dean
www.yale.edu/drama
Recognition for
technical design professor
In August President
Rick Levin named Bronislaw "Ben" Sammler the Henry McCormick Professor (Adjunct)
of Technical Design and Production. Sammler has been on the Yale faculty for
over 35 years, mentoring hundreds of technical theater majors towards successful
careers. Currently he chairs the drama school's technical design and production
department and edits Technical Brief, a how-to guide for theater technical professionals. Last November the
New England Theatre Conference (NETC) presented Sammler with the Leonidas A.
Nickole Theatre Educator Award -- the first time the NETC has so honored a
theatrical design and production educator.
Yale Cabaret
celebrates 40th anniversary season
Yale Cabaret, the
legendary basement theater run by Yale School of Drama students, marks its 40th
season of creating daring theater during 2007-2008. To celebrate this
milestone, Yale Cabaret will present two special events as a prelude to the
season: "An Evening of Cabaret," featuring musical and burlesque acts, on September
21- 22, and a "Festival of New Work," September 26-29. Also new this season is "The
Afterparty," a late-night Friday showcase of local bands and performance
artists, which begins October 5.
Founded in 1968, Yale
Cabaret began as a late-night coffee house and private performance space for
Yale School of Drama faculty and guest artists. The Cabaret was eventually
handed over to the students as a public laboratory for their personal projects
in experimental theater. Unique to
Yale Cabaret is that every year, a new leadership team has the exciting job of
creating a new artistic vision -- which is why no two seasons are alike. At
the helm this year are co-artistic directors Becca Wolff ’09MFA and Erik Pearson
’09MFA, who are in the directing program, and managing director Jacob Padron ’08MFA,
who is pursuing a degree in theater management.
Works by YSD alumnus
on stage
Theater companies from
New York to London are producing plays by Tarell Alvin McCraney ’07MFA in the
coming months. The New York Public Theatre will present McCraney's The
Brothers Size, directed by
classmate Tea Alagic ’07MFA, this fall; it will travel to the Studio Theatre in
Washington, D.C., in January. A
different staging of the play is scheduled for November at the Young Vic in
London. In February, McCraney's In the Red and Brown Water will be produced by Atlanta's Alliance Theatre.
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