News in the Arts: Memphis featured in MTV's 'Buried Life'

Laurie Nye will have a one-night- only exhibit "So Forgotten" at Material on Broad Avenue.

Some eight months after "$5 Cover" and almost three years after Three 6 Mafia's "Adventures in Hollyhood," MTV returns to Memphis for an episode of "The Buried Life." The new reality series chronicles the misadventures and charitable missions of four twentysomething Canadian men who use "good will, guts and gumption" to "travel the globe in a purple transit bus to complete a list of '100 things to do before you die...,'" according to MTV.

Some items on the list: "Camp at the Playboy Mansion," "Host Saturday Night Live" and "Play ball with Obama."

The Memphis episode -- the series' fourth -- debuts at 9 p.m. Monday.

The gimmick of the series is that the young heroes perform a good deed for every fantasy they're able to cross off their list. In Memphis, the guys help deliver a baby (No. 59 on their list), and earn money by working at Corky's to sponsor a woman's trip to visit the grave of her mother, who died as a result of Hurricane Katrina.

The kindness-to-strangers aspect makes the series "a huge change in direction from the typical MTV show," according to publicist Scott Sheff.

For more information, visit theburiedlife.com.

-- John Beifuss: 529-2394

Local photog in Texas show

A black-and-white urban landscape by local photographer Chip Pankey is part of a show, "Masterworks of American Photography: Popular Culture," at the Amon Carter Museum in Fort Worth, Texas.

The image was selected from four purchased by the museum for its permanent collection, and comes from Pankey's 1986 book, "Urban Options," a monograph of 64 platinum photographs that capture how people create a sense of place in their environment, said Tracey Greene, Amon Carter public information officer.

The exhibit, which spans a century's worth of iconic and identity-defining images, runs through July 18. Visit cartermuseum.org or chippankey.com.

Laurie Nye lecture

Los Angeles-based artist and Memphis College of Art graduate Laurie Nye will give a lecture on her work at Rhodes College in Blount Auditorium, Buckman Hall, 7 p.m. Thursday.

The talk precedes her one-night-only exhibit, "So Forgotten," which explores notions of 19th century naturalism filtered through the lens of modern urbanity, 6-8 p.m. Friday at Material, 2553 Broad. Call 219-1943 or e-mail hamlettdobbins@hotmail.com.

-- Bill Ellis

U of M theater on the road

This week, the University of Memphis Theater Department showcased its original production "The Horror of the Little Family Farce" at the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival in Murfreesboro, Tenn., one of only four regional productions to be invited to perform. Written and directed by associate professor Stephen Hancock, the play is the first to go to the festival since 2002.

The region includes colleges and universities in Tennessee, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North and South Carolina and southern Virginia. A grant from the Jeniam Foundation helped send sent the entire cast, crew and set to the event.

Wild game on stage

Opera Memphis' annual Wild Game Dinner, "Arias and Antlers," will take place at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 19 at the Clark Opera Memphis Center.

Chef Chuck Goldstein of Heart and Soul Catering will prepare the feast. Hunting attire is encouraged. There will also be a live and silent auction featuring items from Williams-Sonoma, The Peabody, the Memphis Symphony Orchestra and Gold Strike Casino.

Tickets are $125 per person or $1,000 for a table of eight. Call 257-3100.

Neil Berg rescheduled

Due to last weekend's inclement weather, the Germantown Performing Arts Centre has rescheduled its production of "Neil Berg's 101 Years of Broadway" for May 14. All tickets to the Jan. 29 performance will be honored. Call 571-7500.

-- Christopher Blank

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