A Christmas Carol makes its way to Slippery Rock University

Slippery Rock University's production of 'A Christmas Carol' closed November 20th. The above Meograph shares the history of the well-known holiday story leading up to its production at Slippery Rock University.

Meograph Proposal: A Christmas Carol

Slippery Rock University's Department of Theatre opened their production of A Christmas Carol Friday. The play was adapted and directed by Slippery Rock University theatre professor David Skeele. A Christmas Carol will run for a total of seven performances in the University Union multi-purpose room, ending its run Thursday, November 20.

A Christmas Carol, written by Charles Dickens, was first published in 1843. The story follows an old miser who hates Christmas. After a visit by the ghost of his departed colleague, Jacob Marley, Scrooge is taken on a journey of redemption with the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future. The classic Christmas tale has been retold in many mediums over the past 171 years including books, plays, films, an opera, ballet, and a Broadway Musical.

It is said that the current state of observance of Christmas is largely the result of a mid-Victorian revival of the holiday spearheaded by A Christmas Carol. Even the popularity of the term “Merry Christmas” is largely attributed to the success of the book. According to historian Ronald Hutton, in superimposing his secular vision of the holiday, Dickens influenced many aspects of Christmas that are celebrated today in Western culture, such as family gatherings, seasonal food and drink, dancing, games and a festive generosity of spirit.

 

Having been such an influential piece of literature over such a long period of time and all over the world and being currently relevant to our campus and community as the theatre department’s A Christmas Carol completes its run, I think this topic is great for coverage using Meograph. .

 

Dodge for Paws event raises $500 for Butler County Humane Society

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. (Nov. 8, 2014) 1 p.m.--RockPRoductions Dodge for Paws event raised $500 for the Butler County Humane Society Saturday afternoon.

Dodge for Paws is a charity dodgeball tournament RockPRoductions has organized for the past three years at Slippery Rock University. To participate in the event, students paid $5 per person. This year, 11 teams registered to participate in the tournament.

"Skillz that Killz" prepares for the first round of the tournament.

RockPRodcutions raised $500 at this year’s event, the most the event has raised in its history. This is also the first year RockPRoductions gathered sponsors to help offset costs of the promotion of the event, and the event itself. Some of the sponsors also donated money to the Butler County Humane Society. The Dodge for Paws event sponsors include; The Heights, The Grove, HANZOFF GRAF-X, Domino’s Pizza and the Aebersold Recreation Center.

Michele Allen, Executive Director of the Butler County Humane Society, explained that the entirety of the donated funds would benefit the shelter animals.

“The proceeds of the event go to the Butler County Humane Society where we can use them for a multitude of things,” Allen said. “Food, medical supplies, anything that would pertain to the safe haven for the dogs and cats at our society.”

Michele Allen receives check from RockPRoductions.

The Butler County humane Society was established in 1897 and has been providing shelter for unwanted and neglected animals in the Butler County area for over 100 years. The society takes in about 700 dogs and cats each year. For more information on how you can support the Butler County Humane Society, visit their website.

RockPRoductions Secretary Chelsea Fryc contacted the Butler County Humane Society before the start of the fall semester to begin organizing this year’s event. RockPRoductions divided members into committees based on their interests.

Fryc explained, “We had some people work with design, writing, social media, photography…all the aspects of public relations.”

RockPRoduction is a student-run public relations firm organizes events on campus in order to give students hands-on experience in public relations with actual clients. RockPRoductions works with many local clients in the Butler County area as well as on-campus RockPRoductions President Kyle Dempster encourages students in any track of the Communication Department to join the organization. He explains that it’s a common misconception that the organization is only open to Public Relations majors.

“Our organization is not just limited to public relations majors, we invite all communication majors to join,” Dempster said.

Dempster explained that the experience gained through working with RockPRoductions is valuable experience for anyone in any major interested in working in any aspect of publicity and promotion.

If you're interested in joining RockPRoductions, weekly meetings are held on Wednesdays at 4:00 p.m. in room 201 Eisenberg Classroom Building. More information can be found on their website.