As the fall season gets under way I generally find myself gearing up for a number of new projects. This season is no exception and I am excited to be involved with a number of new works. The fall starts off with a Bang at CUNY Graduate Center’s Martin E. Segal Theater, where I will be working with a team on PRELUDE.11. This year Prelude “takes as its starting point the dialogue between recent tendencies in theater, dance and visual art performance” and has an amazing line up of participants including Young Jean Lee’s Theater Company, Big Dance Theater & Sibyl Kempson, Elevator Repair Service, Temporary Distortion, Half Straddle, Daniel Fish, Jay Scheib, Jackson Pollock Bar, Jackie Sibblies Drury, Nina Beier and many others.
While I won’t be working on a design for this event (this is an Arts Admin job) I am going to be soaking up all I can by attending the lectures and seeing all the shows that I can. All the events are free so come by if you are in NYC in October and say HI!
Above: Nina Beier, Below: Temporary Distortion
As many of you know, this August I produced my first show, East of the Sun, West of the Moon a story about a young woman who sets out on the adventure of a lifetime to save the man of her dreams. Along the way she encounters Mother Earth, an Evil Troll, and several celestial bodies.
Mother Earth and the Sun
The show was staged on Pilgrim Hill in Central Park. Because of the location we had design challenges that were very unique to the space. Central Park does not allow for anything to be tied to trees, staked into the ground, or otherwise attached to any of the landscape. Furthermore, the park requires that you take everything with you after the show (part of their keep the park clean initiative). What this meant for us was that not only did everything have to be freestanding, but that everything had to pack down into 2 suitcases and a granny-cart so that we could get it out every night.
Transformation
The set pieces that we used ended up being items that could easily collapse, tents, folding tables, fans and cloth in a multitude of colors were used to create the scenic elements. We also worked with the natural landscape of the park to help create the different spaces within the park and worked with our Choreographer to incorporate the fixed elements into the dance numbers.
The Troll and The Prince
Because the scenic elements had to be relatively paired down, the costumes had to be eye-catching in order to attract the attention of passers-by. Kristin Costa (our costume designer) and I worked closely together on developing a look for the actors that would compliment the space and enhance the atmosphere that we were trying to create.
The Step-Mother and Step-Sister
Our biggest challenge by far was getting the audience to move with the actors through the space. While the kids in the audience were gung-ho to chase after the actors, their parents were far more hesitant. I found myself having to approach parents at almost every show to say things like “Its ok if she wants to dance with the moon, the actors are used to it” or “The troll is going to have a battle with the prince in a moment, it’s ok if the kids chase after them”. For this show the solution was to plant audience members who were friends and have them run after a character, for the next show, it will be interesting to see what else we can do to encourage the audience to move.
Hi Folks, Sorry I have been absent for so long. This month is the 3rd anniversary of the Planet Connections Theater Festivity (which I am running) and life has been a little crazy.
Despite all the work that I have to do over the next few weeks I plan on getting away this weekend to see Figment on Governor’s Island in NYC. The festivities start today and go through Sunday the 12th. The island will be filled with plays, sculptures, multimedia art installations, “roving art”, music and dance.
Victorian Volley by Patrick Grenier- Provided by Figmentproject.org
I personally find the idea of roving art and theater fascinating and I am curious to see how this year’s performer’s pull it off. Stay tuned for updates and in the meantime check out images from last year’s Figment weekend!
Alchemy Tribal Collective, One Mountain Photo- Image provided by figmentproject.orgHectagon Heliograph Strategies by Chris Jordan- Image provided by figmentproject.orgRose Petal Pool - Image provided by figmentproject.org
Another Prague Quadrennial notice dropped into my inbox this morning. It was a reminder that the deadline for workshop registration at Scenofest is coming up. Scenofest is a subset of the PQ festivities that focuses on the students of performance design. It allows students and educators from all over the world to meet in workshops, lectures, forums and performances.
What was this workshop!? I don’t know but I want to be there!!!- Image provided by the Scenofest website
I am sadly stuck in NYC doing work during that time, but for all of you who are lucky enough to be free in June, you should get yourself over to Prague for one of THE most amazing theater festivals out there. The deadline for workshop registration is May 25th. You can find out more by clicking here.
Elephant Puppet from the Bird Parade at the PQ 2007- Photo by Me
I am feeling a bit under the weather today so instead of continuing on my work I thought I would promote another exciting piece of art. The Prague Quadrennial happens every 4 years and highlights the best of theater design around the world. I went in 2007 and was blown away. There are all sorts of ways to participate, from displaying your work, to attending lectures to workshops. Since 2007 I have been getting updates about what is planned for 2011. This event landed in my inbox this morning and seemed like an amazing opportunity.
A UNIQUE ARTISTIC EXPERIMENT AT THE PRAGUE QUADRENNIAL! A GREAT FINAL GAME IN THE FORMER, SOON-TO-BE DEMOLISHED PRINTING PRESS BUILDING
Krétakör, Hungarian performance and media workshop, is looking for participants to volunteer in a major artistic experiment at the Prague Quadrennial 2011 between 9 and 24 June.
The participants will move into the Právo printing house on 9 June and will live there together full time until 24 June. Participants will be confined together in Právo for 15 days, eating, drinking, sleeping together, and becoming both the creators of the art piece and the art piece in itself. Those that stay through this extreme experiment will live through an exploration that will include creating a performativecommunity art piece, connected to a film and an installation. The experiment also includes a public presentation for international audiences during three days – June 22 – 24 – as part of the Intersection project of the Prague Quadrennial in the 2011 European Year of Volunteering.
“If you miss your chance now your miss it forever! If you think of your future you are one of us!” (Franz Kafka)
Across the Pond and Back Again 