ANDREW BURTEN

When asked how he finds the time and energy to be such an illustrious leader in the arts on campus, Andrew Burten, with a characteristic smirk, responded, “I don’t actually do all that much, I’m just lucky enough to be constantly surrounded by smart and motivated people who make me look good.” Burten, behind an impenetrable wall of humility, refuses to directly admit to his copious accomplishments, but it is difficult to deny the powerful aura Andrew exudes. Just as he commanded the stage as the lead in University Theatre’s recent production of Witold Gombrowicz’s The Marriage, Burten seems to confidently fill whatever space he finds himself in. Whether chatting with his first-years as a Link leader, encouraging his fellow DJs as a producer for WRCU, cracking jokes as a member of Colgate’s improve comedy group Charred Goosebeak or commanding the world of theater on campus as the president of Masque & Triangle, Colgate’s oldest theater organization on campus, it appears as though people are drawn to Burten for comfort and direction. A double major in English Literature and Theatre, Burten hails from Los Angeles, and seems to have been born to be a star, both on the stage and off. Although it is clear that Burten will succeed with whatever he chooses to do in life, his post-graduate plans are still open, with interest in film and theatre. He would, of course, love to pursue acting, as it is his natural calling, but is realistic about the difficulties ahead and would relish the opportunity to be involved with film or theatre production in any capacity possible.

DORIS YEN

Growing up in New York City, Doris Yen has always been heavily exposed to the arts. As a double major in Theatre and Studio Art, Yen has found undertaking both concentrations to be very time-consuming/soul-devouring yet satisfying endeavors. Yen has been involved with at least one theatre production every semester throughout her entire Colgate career, either stage managing or assistant stage managing shows. The most recent (as well as the last) show she stage managed here was University Theatre’s The Marriage, which was an amazing, invaluable experience. Stage managing has allowed her to work with not only University Theatre, but also Student Theater, Student Musical Theater and the Ballet Company. In addition, Yen has served on the Masque & Triangle Board since her junior year as M&T’s secretary. When not in rehearsals, however, she could be found in the studio, furiously working on either paintings or drawings. This semester’s worth of drawings has accumulated into Yen’s senior art project – “Diurnal Emissions” – a piece incorporating drawings re-created directly onto the gallery wall and drawings reproduced on clear film.

BEN SANOFSKY

Ben Sanofsky spent two years studying jazz piano with Rick Montalbano and four years in classical piano with Steven Rosenfeld (for one year) and Steve Heyman (for the past three). He is also spending his current semester taking drum lessons with the world famous Jimmy John. At Colgate, Sanofsky spent this year as a percussionist for the Colgate University Orchestra and spent two semesters conducting the Colgate Student Wind Ensemble. He is also the keyboardist for the Sonic Symposium. Sanofsky has enjoyed teaching piano to Colgate students and Hamilton kids, writing a funk piece for the Wind Ensemble, arranging and writing for the Colgate 13 and writing jazz infused hip-hop for the Sonic Symposium (with whom he has had the chance to play lots of gigs–from Peruvian Earthquake Victim benefit concerts to strange off-campus venues). He’s also played around town in various settings: at the Barge, the First Baptist Church and outside the Hamilton movie theater for the grand opening of Harry Potter last summer. He is currently pursuing honors in Composition under Dr. Mark Volker. Next year, Ben is moving to Boston for a research fellowship at Harvard Medical School and will apply to medical school for the following year. He will also assist children in music and science at low-income schools in conjunction with Teach for America.

NIKKI SANSONE

Nikki Sansone will be graduating with a double major in Studio Art and English. This year she was a participant in the ARTS 405 senior arts show and exhibited a sound/video installation which is currently on view in the Clifford. Last semester for the works-in-progress show POWER/PLAY, I had a drawing installation on the bottom floor of little. In the spring of ’06, Sansone went on the first London Art History program with Padma Kaimal, where she studied cities, museums and took drawing classes at the London School of Economics. As a Studio major, she has attended many of the weekly lecture series, and this year took part in the Nature 2.0 Symposium. Sansone is a member of the Swinging ‘Gates, and during her time with the ‘Gates, she has been in charge of publicity for two semesters, designing all posters and hand outs. She recently designed the cover for their upcoming cd Underground a cappella. After Colgate, Sansone will be applying to grad schools to get her Master’s degree in art writing and criticism, which she hopes will one day extend to a PhD, so that she may be a professor of contemporary art.

Lee Sloan

Lee Sloan is a senior hailing from Orlando, Florida, majoring in Art & Art History. Most of Sloan’s involvement in the Arts include creating his own art, mainly in the medium sculpture, which can be seen all around campus. These projects include “Adhesives” on the third floor of the Dana Arts Center and his senior project “Patience” on the second floor of Little Hall, as well as attending and assisting visiting artists that come to Colgate University for the Wednesday Art & Art History Lectures and Exhibitions Series. Last semester, he had the wonderful opportunity to meet Willoughby Sharp, a well known international artist, filmmaker and curator who helped pioneer postmodernist art, and assisted with setting up two of his outdoor projects in his exhibition “Retrospective.” After graduating from Colgate, Sloan hopes to have the opportunity to work for Under Armour as an On Field Designer where he will design customized uniforms for collegiate teams.

KATIE ZARRELLA

Katharine K. Zarrella became heavily involved in the Arts her junior year at Colgate. An English major with a minor in Art and Art History, Zarrella developed a passion for abstract metal sculpture her freshman year of high school. Her love affair with blow torches and steel was rekindled in the Fall of 2006 when she enrolled in Professor Dewitt Godfrey’s Sculpture I course. Her final piece, a welded steel cube with reaching, twisted arms, marked the beginning of her fascination with geometry and the poetry of the cube. This obsession only grew and the following year, she installed “1,000 Cigarettes.” Over the span of five months, Zarrella stalked Colgate’s smoking community and collected 1,000 cigarettes in a soup can. The finished work featured a welded steel and glass cube which encased the swarm of cigarettes, the can and a delicious aroma of cancer and nicotine. Above the toxic box flashed 1,000 digital photographs Zarrella had taken to document each transaction between herself and the smokers who so generously donated their butts to the cause.Later that year, Zarrella installed “Baby’s First Playpen,” the piece of which she is most proud, in the Academic Quad. A distorted and dangerous work, the four-foot cube lined with protruding spokes of various widths calls to mind an exploding cage from which a ferocious animal (such as a baby) may have escaped. Currently, Zarrella is participating in an independent study in welded steel which she appropriately titled “Geogasms.” The resulting work promises to be mind-blowing.The voice of Colgate Couture and an aspiring fashion editor, Zarrella plans to journey to Paris after graduation to study fashion journalism and photography, flippant attitudes and all that is chic.