Fame or Famine

Howdy, guest blogger Karl here. This post takes the Mountain Standard Time Zone literally, with a look at the Mountain Standard Time Performance Art Festival.
Now, I’ll admit that I found this by googling “Mountain Standard Time Arts”, but a causal browse on
their website revels a lot beneath the generic title. The first festival was in 1971 in Calgary, AB Canada. Since then, the festival has specialized in combining traditional art forms like film and dance with more modern ones like video and multimedia, as well as covering everything else under the “performance art”
umbrella. I know that this will be of …read more

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On my shelf sits a book, a black book with a picture of a curly-haired smiling lady on the back. It’s called “Improvisation for the Theater” and is written by drama pioneer Viola Spolin.
Her son, Paul Sills, died of pneumonia today at age 80, having continued his mother’s work and shaped theatre as we know it today.
Paul Sills, the “Orson Welles of Improv”
Maybe you’ve heard of some of the places Paul Sills’ influence was felt. Second City? The Kids in the Hall? OK, how about Saturday Night Live? 30 Rock? Broadway’s Ragtime? Or how about one of his students, a …read more

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I’m very excited to read that the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis is going to host the premiere of the new musical Little House on the Prairie. Directed by Francesca Zambello, it’s a re-telling of the classic 70’s television show.
Melissa Gilbert: Typecasting or Resource?
I find myself questioning the casting of Melissa Gilbert in the role of “Ma Ingalls” – not because I doubt her abilities as an actress, but more because there is quite a difference between acting – even on a stage – and performing in a musical. She has more than enough cred with “straight plays”: A Shayna Maidel …read more

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What better way to kick off the start of So You Think You Can Dance tonight but with an announcement of another opportunity to dance with some stars?
Li Chiao-Ping is a choreographer and dancer originally from San Francisco, now living in Wisconsin. Her dance company has toured all over the world, and she has dedicated her company to “offering programs of emotionally charged and athletic works, with striking visual design and the music of contemporary composers.” She has been the chair of several dance departments and is the wife of award-winning video artist Douglas Rosenberg.
The auditions will be held June …read more

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“It makes me grouchy to show up to “dance” after “dance” to find such a paucity of invention.” That’s the sentiment of Apollinaire Scherr in her recent column about several dances created about the Iraq war. She mentions

“Not About Iraq Dance” at Danspace
“zero degrees” at City Center
“Far…” by Rachid Ouramdane

And she discusses the “Inertia” movement, which is the tendency to show tension in a dance environment through the lack of movement (hence the initial quote). I would have to agree, there does seem to be a lack of originality in terms of works about the war, but I believe the …read more

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We’re rarely surprised when a musical goes overseas to the U.K. or Australia, or vice versa. Even shows like “Dancing With the Stars” have versions down under that are even more popular, in their countries, than they are here in the states.
But I had to blink when I found out that a theatre group in Beirut, Lebanon is putting on a version of Disney’s “High School Musical“. Why would they do that? Says one actress, “since this is Lebanon, lots of foreigners have this image of war. They don’t realize we have arts and theater. We’re giving a good message …read more

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This blog is a bit of a balancing act. I try to cover general performing arts, and that’s a wide spectrum; so you end up with one day me talking about plays in London, another day about popular culture like Dancing with the Stars, and another day about the Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre celebrating its 50th anniversary.
And then you have days like today, when I can talk about how the Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre performed part of its signature ballet Revelations on Dancing with the Stars. I have to say, this is one of the best …read more

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It worked for the Medicis & Michelangelo. It even worked for Laurie Anderson and Larry Ellison, I believe. It’s a system of supporting the arts that is not public-funded, and therefore not subject to the vagaries and whims of the hoi-polloi.
It’s the literal term “patron of the arts,” meaning not so much someone who just frequently visits them, but actually takes steps to actively support them. Instead of the whim of the public eye and politicians screaming “save the children!” it’s the whim of the benefactor with the deep pockets.
Selling out? Maybe, but I should be so lucky as to …read more

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AAADT: NEWS FROM THE ROAD AS 50TH ANNIVERSARY YEAR IS SET TO LAUNCH: On a 27-city tour, the company has critics raving “The Ailey troupe is one of few companies constantly capable of attracting viewers new to dance, and making converts of them.” Click for the AAADT North American Tour Schedule.
AILEY II GEARS UP FOR PERFORMANCES AT THE JOYCE THEATER: April 30-May 8, 2008, the Ailey II company program will include four New York City premieres including Fragile by French choreographer Stephane Boko, The External Knot by Ailey II’s Associate Artistic Director Troy Powell, Christopher Huggins’ …read more

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Just gotta gush a little here: a while back I mentioned that my girlfriend is singing lead in a lesbian musical called PULP put on by StageQ.
Well, the excellent writers over at Dane101.com have gone to the musical and have given their own review. And with apologies to my content editor, who hates it when I use block quotes (which is why, I’ll point out, I usually don’t) I’m going to include the full gush about my lady’s performance:
“Dana Pellebon’s sultry jazz numbers, as Vivian, sparkle. She literally sneaks up on you at the start of the second scene and …read more

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