On Thursday, March 7, students filed into the Innovative Media Research & Commercialization Center (IMRC) to watch Yard Dog, a band composed of five University of Maine graduates, perform. The band returned to UMaine as a part of a larger concert series hosted by WMEB, the UMaine student radio station.

The five members of the band have been playing together for four years. Since graduating college and writing their own music, their musical style has shifted from a self-titled “gypsy-surf punk” band to a band that spans the indie-rock genre as a whole. Vocalists Sean Kandall and Joe Ahem wrote all of the songs on the newly released EP, “Be a Good Boy,” which is available on Spotify. They are currently working on a full-length album that is expected to be released later this year, according to Colin Whitton, the band’s bass guitarist.

The concert featured songs off of their new EP, as well as covers of songs that they have been singing for years. Based on requests from the crowd, they switched from fast-paced songs to slower ballads with instrumental sections.

“Yard Dog have been friends of WMEB since they formed, and they haven’t been back up to Orono in a while,” Kat Hinman, a second-year new media student and promotions director at WMEB, said. “A lot of people who went to school with them have graduated or will be soon, so I wanted to make sure they continued to have a presence on campus and with the station.”

Along with the concert, WMEB also had students create pages for a “zine.” A zine is a book or magazine of collage art created by cutting and gluing images, text and drawings. The pages are then photocopied to produce the zine. The purpose of the station’s zine is to get people to engage with them. It will be produced and distributed by the radio station this school year.

“Art is a powerful tool when it comes to building communities,” Hinman said. “A lot of the people who come to shows up here already know each other, and that can be intimidating for someone new who wants to get involved. My hope was that by having a place where people could make art together, it could give people something to talk about with each other, or at least serve as a distraction from how awkward it can feel to be at a show by yourself.”

WMEB is planning on hosting at least one band a month going into next year. The concert series will feature local bands and acts from New England and the East Coast as a whole.

In addition to Yard Dog, WMEB is bringing in other artists to be a part of the larger concert series. In April, The Black Black and Birdgangs, from New York and Boston respectively, will be performing as a part of this series.

WMEB is trying to create a different music atmosphere in Orono. By bringing new artists to perform, they are hoping that more students will come to the concerts and create a more active music scene on campus.

Adam Barr grew up in Lewiston, Maine where his parents were deeply involved in the community. Through their work, they got to meet with people from different races, religions and socioeconomic backgrounds. His mother worked for a non-profit organization that provided education and job training to developmentally disabled adults and his father was a salesman that drove all over the state to meet clients. Barr often accompanied his father on these visits which took them all over the state to visit clients’ farms, businesses and homes.

From these trips, Barr learned how to see people and to care about their stories as his parents did. Barr gained a passion for knowing people deeper, who they were, how they live and how they hurt. Most importantly, he wanted to know what was funny about them. On one visit, he recalled his father selling calendars to a husband and wife who owned a slaughterhouse in Turner, Maine. Standing with them in their living room, flipping through calendars, he noted they were still wearing their blood-stained aprons from work. Barr, talking to a crowd at Wells Conference Center on Friday, March 1, said he is inspired by peoples’ unique quirks.

“And in Maine,” Barr said. “There is no shortage of quirks.”

In high school, Barr had teachers who encouraged his love of the humanities. He enjoyed theater, Shakespeare and Robert Frost. His parents would drive him to chamber concerts or to the library to further cultivate his love of reading and writing.

It was not until college that he decided to pursue a career in screenwriting. His friends, who had already graduated, told stories about writing for shows like “Saturday Night Live” or “Fresh Prince of Bel Air.” This nudged him to start writing scripts.

Since becoming a writer and moving to Los Angeles, Barr has worked on television shows like “Will and Grace,” “The New Adventures of Old Christine,” and a comedy news show called “Not Necessarily the News.” He also works within the community, volunteering and helping students develop their own passion for writing.

The University of Maine Stephen E. King Chair in Literature Caroline Bicks brought Barr to UMaine to discuss his story and the relevance of his work as a writer. As the King Chair, Bicks works to promote literature and the humanities at the University. The goal of her lecture series is to bring people to campus that are using their humanities backgrounds to make a difference in the world.

“I knew that Adam would be perfect for this series because he is using his talent as a writer and storyteller to address larger social issues in a medium that reaches millions of people,” Bicks said. “He and the writers he works with have to think every day about how to find the right words and scenarios to address difficult but timely problems.”

Since the reboot, Barr and his fellow writers have continued to discuss relevant topics like race, gender, sexuality, age, body image and sexual assault.

In writing about relevant topics, Barr hopes to begin a discussion among viewers. During the original seasons of “Will and Grace,” Barr would read letters from young fans thanking them for sparking the conversation about the LGBT community. These fans were able to start to talk to their families about their sexuality because they were able to relate to the comedy.

Since the reboot, the writers still work to create a conversation among viewers. By discussing socially relevant topics, they hope that fans can bond over the comedy and talk about hard topics.

“I don’t pretend that television has the power to heal all wounds … But they demonstrate that tv can serve a purpose beyond mere entertainment,” Barr said. “I’ve turned down a lot more offers than I have taken. I have no interest in a project that is simply entertainment for entertainment sake. For me a show has to shine some light on the human condition, and I have been lucky enough to work on the shows that I have.”

During his series of visits at UMaine, Barr was able to interact with students from diverse parts of campus. He spoke to students in the Maine Business School, the English Department, School of Performing Arts and more. By connecting with these students, he was able to share his own experiences and discuss how Hollywood can stay relevant.

In addition to his lectures, Barr hosted a workshop to help writers cultivate their ideas. His workshop taught students how to think about character development, how to create a narrative, and how to tell a compelling story while considering the marketability and audience of their work.

Barr believes that with good writing, television can help start conversations about hard topics and create relatable experiences for diverse audiences. Hollywood will only remain relevant as long as writers continue to promote diverse casts and socially relevant topics. With that, audiences can become more aware of social topics and can work towards a broader understanding of issues that they face in society today.

On Saturday, Feb. 16, students, faculty and community members packed into the Collins Center for the Arts (CCA) to watch the 15th annual International Dance Festival (IDF). The festival featured dances from 13 countries, spanning five continents. The dancers showcased traditional music, dance and clothing that represented the diverse community in the Bangor area and at the University of Maine that hosts over 400 international students from over 70 different countries.

“This event is for people to become more aware, educated, and appreciative of the people from countries all over the world that we have in this area, and all the wonderful cultural aspects that come along with them,” Hannah Holbrook, the president of the International Student Association, said.

The IDF started in 2005 when a small group of students performed cultural dances in front of a minimal, but lively audience. Since then, the IDF has continually grown in popularity and size. The event boasted 18 different performances this year, the largest number yet.

The afternoon showing began at 2 p.m. and was hosted by Kristin Vekasi and the 7 p.m. show was hosted by Cheryl Robertson. Both showings highlighted dances from the United States, India, Iran, Japan, Argentina, China, Nepal, Africa, Ireland, Brazil, Sri Lanka and Chile.

The International Student Association (ISA) hosts the event every year in conjunction with the Student Government and the Office of International Programs. They help organize volunteers for backstage, bring in performers and advertise for the festival.

“The real work is done by the dancers. They spend weeks practicing their dances, over and over, making sure all steps and timing are perfect,” Holbrook said.

Most of the performers were students from the UMaine, but some came from Southern Maine and a group named Sheri’s Dancers made the journey from Bar Harbor, Maine. Sheri’s Dancers performed a swing dance representing the United States.

“We are a group of grandmas and great grandmas… we want to bring live dance to the public or anyone who needs it,” Sheri Kean, the group’s president, said. The group has been working off and on together for the past 10 years.

In addition to the work put in by the dancers, the CCA lighting and sound crew, headed by Scott Stitham, spent a significant amount of time preparing.

“(We are) a 35 person crew … we had a tech day early in the week and a dress rehearsal,” Dayle Welch, the backstage supervisor, said. “It took about two full days to put up the lights and work on the timing.”

“The lighting and music have to be timed correctly, and all of the backstage assistants have to spend lots of time in practicing these things as well,” said Holbrook. “It is really incredible what our international community is capable of accomplishing together.”

The performances began with a piece called “Shunki Mushin,” which was inspired by traditional Japanese dance with umbrellas. The next act featured an American tap dance titled “Hundred Acre Woods.” It was inspired by Christopher Robin’s adventures in “Winnie the Pooh.”

The next act was titled “Rangeela” and was one of three dances from India. It was followed by a Tango from Argentina called “Los Fuegos Del Tango.” The fifth performance was inspired by the teachings of Confucius in China. Dancer, Joey Liu, paid tribute to his teachings and philosophies in a solo.

The program then moved on to “The Delightful Dances of Nepal” from the Himalayan region and “Jaan Jaan,” one of two dances from Iran.

In “Mama Africa Soloda Kids-Afro Fusion,” Betelhem Abay performed a solo that is common in Ethiopia. She moved her shoulders in time with the music and drew applause from the crowd. She then joined five other group members in performing traditional African dances.

The final performance of Act I was a Celtic inspired dance. The five students in the performance spent time in Ireland recently, and brought back elements of traditional Irish step-dance infused with modern dance techniques.

Act II began with a clog dance that was made popular in the Appalachian region of the United States. Clog dancing is the state dance in both Kentucky and North Carolina.

The second act was entitled Capoeira, which was developed in Brazil by Africans who were enslaved in the 16th century. Capoeira is one of the newest forms of martial arts. It infuses elements of dance and acrobatics and is improvised, so no dance is exactly the same.

The next act, “Beauty of Sri Lankan Bride,” displayed a traditional wedding dance in Sri Lanka. “Sing, Sing, Sing (With a Little Swing)” by Sheri’s Dancers followed. They performed a swing dance that paid tribute to the United States’ military.

India is home to over 50 different styles of dance. In “Ticket to Bollywood,” Pooja Rawat performed five of those styles in her solo. According to host Kristin Vekasi, Rawat knows 45 out of 50 dance styles from India.

The next dance, called “Gilaki,” hailed from a region in Northwest Iran that harvests rice. This dance utilized several actions that rice harvesters use. The next performance was the final dance from the United States. The hip hop piece titled “Once Upon a Beat” featured old-school hip hop dance moves that energized the crowd.

The second to last performance was from Chile and Easter Island. It began with a dance that could be performed between two partners or between a person and the Chilean flag. It then shifted to a dance inspired by warriors on Easter Island. The costume included a grass skirt and body paint that was typical of male warriors on the island.

The finale, “Bollywood Dhamaka!,” was a dance from India that celebrated dance and the ever-changing styles in India, while still holding on to its traditional roots. Dancers wore outfits inspired by traditional Bollywood costumes and featured more contemporary music.

Sarah Joughin, senior associate director of international programs, closed the show by giving thanks to sponsors, the ISA and everyone else who made the show possible.

Rating: 3.5 stars

“Glass” is the highly anticipated final installment in M. Night Shyamalan’s superhero trilogy. This finale comes almost two decades after Shyamalan’s 2000’s hit, “Unbreakable” starring Bruce Willis and Samuel L. Jackson. “Glass” merges “Unbreakable” with Shyamalan’s 2016 thriller “Split” about a man with dissociative identity disorder. In “Glass” David Dunn (Bruce Willis), Elijah Price (Samuel L. Jackson) and Kevin Wendell Crumb (James McAvoy) are united against a new evil.

The “Unbreakable” trilogy defies the average superhero movie tropes. The heroes do not have a long drawn out back story about how they came to Earth from another planet, they do not wear tights or capes and they are not trying to save the world from an alien invasion. The characters’ humanity is highlighted as the audience learns more about how their special abilities were developed.

In “Unbreakable,” comic books serve an important role in passing down essential truths through generations, a motif that Shyamalan continues in “Glass.” The heroes and villains are real people who teach us right from wrong and moral values throughout society.

Following “Unbreakable,” David Dunn, born with unbreakable bones, continued his vigilante crime-stopping spree while trying to track down Kevin Wendell Crumb, who had fully given in to “the beast” — one of his personalities that turns him into a beast-like monster. Dunn and Crumb face off very early in the movie. As a result, the two men are placed in a psychiatric hospital, where Elijah Price is also being held.

Shyamalan is famous for his twist endings, like in his notorious films “The Sixth Sense” and “The Village.” However, the twist ending in “Glass” is not as satisfying as Shyamalan fans have come to expect. The twist doesn’t give the audience the same “wow” factor that movies like “The Sixth Sense” and “Unbreakable” provide.

“Split” and “Unbreakable” are very different movies and it seemed the production had a difficult time bringing these worlds together due to the fact Crumb and Price are more supervillains than superheroes. As a result, this movie seemed to be more of a sequel to “Split” than “Unbreakable” as a lot of the action focused around Crumb and his different personalities and not around Dunn and Price.

Shyamalan had a $20 million budget for this film. The action scenes in the movie are engaging and typical of any superhero movie, but the film hits a lull about halfway through when the three men are in the psychiatric hospital. This break in the action doesn’t last for long, and picks back up toward the end of the movie just to leave you wanting more.

The ending may not have been as unexpected as Shyamalan fans would have liked, but it does leave the door open for another movie about the superheroes that may come forward after Price, Dunn and Crumb. Shyamalan has the potential to launch a larger superhero universe about inspired superheroes and villains.

Overall, the movie is entertaining but seems a little sloppy. A lot of the key plot points are predictable and boring. I am hoping that Shyamalan can launch a superhero franchise that shows how superheroes become a part of society.