Congressional staffers-turned comedians will take the stage at Syracuse University as the Capitol Steps on Tuesday, Oct. 12 at 8 p.m. The performance will be in SU's Goldstein Auditorium, located in the Schine Student Center. Tickets are free but are required; they are available at the Schine Box Office. The Capitol Steps performance at SU is part of Syracuse Symposium 2004: Humor. The event is sponsored by Pulse and the Office of the Dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts.
Capitol Steps, founded in 1981, performs more than 500 shows a year. The group seeks to satirize Congress and Capitol Hill. They monitor events and personalities on Capitol Hill, in the Oval Office and in other centers of power and prestige around the world and then take a humorous look at serious issues while providing a nationwide laugh for millions. Their performances are updated regularly and are bipartisan.
"Capitol Steps is a wonderful example of how the arts can use humor to stimulate thought and encourage reflection among individuals," says College of Visual and Performing Arts Dean Carole Brzozowski. "I invite the community to use this performance as a springboard for further discussion of current issues and perspectives."
Most of the Capitol Steps performers have worked on Capitol Hill for Democrats and Republicans. The group has released five albums, including "Papa's Got A Brand New Baghdad" (2004).
"We are hopeful that our students will enjoy seeing the nationally renowned Capitol Steps," says Barry L. Wells, senior vice president and dean of student
affairs. "With this performance taking place within a month of this year's presidential election, I hope it will serve as a reminder to our students the importance of their involvement in electing leadership, both nationally and in their respective hometowns."
At SU, Capitol Steps will perform favorite and timely songs such as, "Son of a Bush," "You're So Vague," "Cheney and the Jets," "Mine Every Mountain," and "Send in the Clones." Performers will be Kevin Corbett, Mike Carruthers, Mike Tilford, Bari Biern and Ann Schmitt. Marc Irwin will accompany them on piano.
SU's Pulse was developed nearly 10 years ago as a joint project between the College of Visual and Performing Arts and the Division of Student Affairs to influence student culture in positive ways, positioning the arts more prominently as part of the regular student experience
Syracuse Symposium is an intellectual festival, hosted by The College of Arts and Sciences, which celebrates interdisciplinary thinking, imagining and creating. Other keynote speakers and performers scheduled for this semester include writer and satirist P.J. O'Rourke (Oct. 19); Muslim stand-up comic Shazia Mirza (Oct. 25); New Yorker cartoon editor Bob Mankoff (Oct. 28); University of Chicago philosophy professor Ted Cohen (TBA); and actress and performer Anna Deavere Smith (Nov. 18).
Tickets for Capitol Steps can be reserved by calling the Schine Box Office at (315) 443-4517.
