Graduation Speaker Chip Egan
Clifton "Chip" Egan is dean emeritus of the College of Architecture,
Arts and Humanities at Clemson University. He received his BA in speech
and theatre from Hanover College and his MFA in scenography from
Northwestern University. Chip began his academic career at Clemson
University in 1976, eventually serving as chair of the department of
performing arts for nine years, during which time the Robert Howell
Brooks Center for the Performing Arts was planned and constructed. He is
a past president of the South Carolina Theatre Association and the
Southeastern Theatre Conference and currently serves on the SETC
Executive Committee. Chip is now a freelance director, actor and
designer who works regularly at the Warehouse Theatre and Centre Stage
in Greenville and at the South Carolina Repertory Company in Hilton Head
Island. He and his wife of nearly 40 years, Diane, have two married
children and four grandchildren.
Recently, he was seen on the Warehouse Theatre stage as George in a
production of "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" staged by FAC Director
Roy Fluhrer. This coming Warehouse season, the two will together again
in the Pulitzer Prize winning "August: Osage County."
Visiting Artist
Kadiatou Kante taught an African Dance Master Class to the dance and theatre students, with percussion students playing drums. Kadiatou was born in the village of Siguiri, Guinea, West Africa, and at age 7 she began her formal training under Master Artist Kemoko Sano, the Director of Les Ballets Africains. Kadiatou currently resides in New York City, where she teaches dance, conducts workshops and performs.
Refresh
"Refresh" is the School District's word for providing new computer
hardware for our schools, and now it is our turn. This week we have
begun to receive computers that will replace all of the computers in our
building, a combination of PCs and Macs. With the increasing necessity
of technology in our schools, we cannot afford to be behind the curve,
so this initiative by the district is most appreciated. However, while
the district picks up the check for $130,000 of computers, they do not
cover the $33,000 needed for the software to drive them. Without the
software, it's as if we had a powerful sports car with no engine. We
have applied for and hope to receive grant funds that will cover all of
the software. In addition, the Fine Arts Center Partners organization
has contributed to both of these initiatives, which has helped reduce
our costs. You, too, can help by making a donation at
www.FineArtsPartners.org.
When the new year begins, your students will return to all-new
technology and, given their imaginations, they'll find new ways to
express themselves and have something to teach the rest of us about the
best way to use these educational tools.
