PLATO Weekly Update

July 6, 2021

CURRICULUM

Read about the history of courses over PLATO's 35 years!

Find out how coordinators and members have adapted to changing times.

SPECIAL EVENTS 

Stay tuned for new walks coming soon!

THEATER
Need a break from the hot weather? Check out these new Virtual Theater Trips:

The Arts Interrupted: In this 53-minute special edition of Great Performances, see how the arts have been managing during the COVID-19 pandemic. Arts organizations share their stories, along with examples of innovative performances, from COVID-19 inspired theater to site-specific operas. This feature streams free of charge through this week Friday, July 9th.

Tender Age: Stark and propulsive, this George Brant play is about living at the edge of your ethics. When Martín applies for a position at the local Walmart-turned-Detention Center, he is dismayed to discover that he'll be working as a security guard for a warehouse full of children separated from their families at the nearby Texan border. The steady paycheck outweighs his misgivings – until a strange epidemic grips the facility and Martín faces a moral reckoning.

PLATO's Lecture series will return this fall. In the meantime, members can access Past Recordings.

MEMBERSHIP RENEWAL UPDATE

If you haven't already, please renew your PLATO Membership!

Current memberships will expire on July 31. Renew online to continue to take advantage of summer activities and the mix of virtual and in-person activities anticipated for this fall.

We are pleased to announce that dues will remain at the pre-pandemic level of $60 per person.

Renew online or mail a check for $60 to PLATO, 21 N. Park St., 7th Floor, Madison, WI 53715‐1218. If mailing your check, please let us know if your contact information has changed since June, 2019. Please email any further questions to Stephanie Steigerwaldt, PLATO's office coordinator, at info@platomadison.org.

Thank you for your membership and continued support of PLATO! We look forward to seeing you at the many courses and events lined up for the coming year. 

FEATURED AGORA WORKS

Each week, we offer for your enjoyment, a featured piece from contributors to PLATO's Agora arts and ideas journal. This week we are pleased to present Redbuds by Jim Albright, who shares a bit about the choices he made in composing this peaceful painting. 

SOCIAL GATHERINGS

Social Gatherings will resume this fall with in-person breakfasts. 

SOCIAL JUSTICE EVENTS & READINGS
Suggested readings, films, activities, and podcasts.

Select from a range of topics and formats for your reading, viewing, or listening, curated by PLATO's Diversity Awareness Committee. 

Launched last month is our new biweekly feature called DID YOU KNOW? -  which is intended to increase awareness of the many contributions in all areas of our community by individuals outside of our mainstream white world. Suggestions for inclusion are welcome (send to ksmichaelis@gmail.com).

DID YOU KNOW? Marcellus Gilmore Edson, who patented peanut butter, (US Patent # 306727) was an African-American chemist from Canada. Edson developed the idea of peanut paste as a delicious and nutritious food for people who had difficulty chewing solid food, a common issue in those days.