tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23585324412410413772024-03-13T22:47:54.088-04:00CultureFutureA blog about the future of art, the future of politics, and the conversation that makes up our culture.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15720306798572553680noreply@blogger.comBlogger1161125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358532441241041377.post-43858349930116494472014-07-24T13:59:00.003-04:002014-07-24T13:59:47.418-04:00LITNY Crosspost: Making a Difference 201 with the League of Independent TheaterThe League of Independent Theater posted <a href="http://litny.org/wp/lit-making-a-difference-201-top-10/">a top 10</a> from their meeting on "Making a Difference" during Indie Theater Week:<br />
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<b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">LIT Making a Difference 201 – TOP 10</b></div>
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Making a difference for… surviving NYC!</div>
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1) In 2013, the political committee met more than 50 candidates, endorsed 19 candidates, and elected 10 to office – including City Comptroller, Brooklyn Borough President, and a number of city council seats. Even candidates who did not get elected are passionate about paying it back to LIT, including Cathy Guerriero, who joined our board!</div>
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2) The political committee is currently working on legislation with the candidates we helped elect to get access at unused or underused city-owned spaces!</div>
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3) The Real Estate committee has two projects that can make rehearsing in NY so much easier: the Subsidized Rehearsal Space project, where you can get 5,000 square feet of rehearsal space (!!!) for nothing more than chipping in on the insurance, and…</div>
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4) The Charter Barter Space project, where LIT pairs artists with a parent school for free rehearsal space in return for providing workshops for students! (Applications on website when available)!</div>
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5) The new Unification committee is looking for opportunities to connect to other advocacy organizations, arts organizations, community organizations, you name it – just let us know if you know anyone!</div>
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Making a difference for… our planet!</div>
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6) Some great non-wasteful theater resources:</div>
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<li style="margin: 5px 20px; padding: 0px;">The new SH.I.T. list, for dumping production material after strike or finding material for your next show: http://shitlist.biz/</li>
<li style="margin: 5px 20px; padding: 0px;">TDF Costume Collection: https://www.tdf.org/nyc/30/TDF-Costume-Collection-Overview</li>
<li style="margin: 5px 20px; padding: 0px;">Build It Green http://www.bignyc.org/</li>
<li style="margin: 5px 20px; padding: 0px;">Film Biz Recycling http://www.filmbizrecycling.org/</li>
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7) The Broadway Green Alliance is helping make theater in NY green – not just Broadway, but Off-Broadway and Independent as well!</div>
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8) Broadway/Off-Broadway houses are introducing “Green Captains” to productions – volunteers who can answer green questions, help source materials in a green way, or post “green kits” of information.<a href="http://broadwaygreeningadvisor.org/" style="color: #830000; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">http://broadwaygreeningadvisor.org/</a> has more information on what you can do, or just email<a href="mailto:green@broadway.org" style="color: #830000; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">green@broadway.org</a></div>
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Making a difference for … LIT!</div>
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9)<b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> You can help LIT make even more of a difference! </b>If you have some time to help out, just <a href="http://litny.org/wp/contact/" style="color: #830000; cursor: pointer; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">let us know</a> what you’re interested in making a difference with and we’ll be glad to have your help!</div>
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10) <b style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Making a difference doesn’t take too much time! </b>If you can’t volunteer, just repost things we post! Make sure the people you work with know about the League! Bring a buddy to our next meeting!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15720306798572553680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358532441241041377.post-29346370862783241112014-05-30T22:39:00.000-04:002014-05-30T22:39:18.812-04:00SNEAK PEEK: Baby No More Times<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2tvbISOr2gU/U4k_iTnTpEI/AAAAAAAAI4g/zGQZm84kTgo/s1600/Baby-No-More-Times.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-2tvbISOr2gU/U4k_iTnTpEI/AAAAAAAAI4g/zGQZm84kTgo/s1600/Baby-No-More-Times.jpg" height="143" width="320" /></a></div>
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This isn't a review, because it was a work in progress, but I also saw <i>Baby No More Times</i> at the Jam On Toast festival from <a href="http://www.newgeorges.org/">New Georges</a>, playing at <a href="http://dixonplace.org/">Dixon Place,</a></div>
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It's a feminist pop music cabaret -- engaging, fun, it zips along poking fun at all those experiences women share, but which aren't reflected in our popular culture. To spoil the content of the show would be to spoil some great joke reveals, but suffice it to say that this is a night of music and fun that you'll genuinely enjoy, and feel good about attending.</div>
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And you can see it at <a href="http://arsnovanyc.com/antfest/shows/baby-no-more-times/">ANT Fest </a>later this summer. And you <i>should</i> see it at <a href="http://arsnovanyc.com/antfest/shows/baby-no-more-times/">ANT Fest</a> later this summer.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15720306798572553680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358532441241041377.post-7479191241056687202014-05-30T22:31:00.003-04:002014-05-30T22:31:33.060-04:00REVIEW: Jane the Plain<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-B-jSrAdBrGg/U4k3_GSeeJI/AAAAAAAAI4Q/95QT2ok8y3c/s1600/13555505093_d954a251bd_b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-B-jSrAdBrGg/U4k3_GSeeJI/AAAAAAAAI4Q/95QT2ok8y3c/s1600/13555505093_d954a251bd_b.jpg" height="217" width="320" /></a></div>
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It's a typical story. Girl meets boy. Girl and boy get together. Boy distributes girl's sext all over school. Mirror-man and glowing girl fight an unearthly battle across the surface of the earth.</div>
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<b>Nobody Does It Better</b></div>
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At this point, <a href="http://augustschulenburg.wordpress.com/">Gus Schulenberg</a> and <a href="http://www.fluxtheatre.org/janetheplain/">Flux Theater Ensemble</a> have a lot of my faith when I come to see their productions. I know I can expect a primal story about the nature of love and innocence, with beautiful but subtle language, sharply defined characters, that can take the most universal turns of human experience and expand them to the scale of Greek Mythology. Flux's production of Adam Szymkowicz' <i>Hearts Like Fists </i><a href="http://culturefuture.blogspot.com/2012/12/review-hearts-like-fists.html">(my review here)</a>,</div>
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It's a question of style, and of skillfulness. The plot, on paper, might look like a stage adaptation of <i>Mean Girls</i> -- Jane the Plain (<a href="http://www.alishaspielmann.com/">Alisha Spielmann</a>), is "the plain girl", and she has a big crush on Scotty the Hottie (<a href="http://www.chinazauche.com/">Chinaza Uche</a>). At first, he seems out of her league, but she happens to be on hand when he throws the a great ball during the big game. When they get together, everyone seems hell-bent on putting Jane back in her place -- the viper-like Betty the Pretty (<a href="http://beckybyers.net/">Becky Byers</a>) in particular plots her destruction, and scorned best friend Leonard the Awkward (<a href="http://www.isaiahtpd.info/">Isiah Tanenbaum</a>) is none to happy either. Even Leeson the Decent (<a href="http://www.chesterpoon.com/index.php?view=home">Chester Poon</a>)</div>
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But something else is going on under the surface. Scottie is haunted by a memory that seems much larger than this world, and Jane has a vision that night that transforms her from Jane the Plain into a powerful force -- perhaps too powerful for her own good, as Lexi the Sexy (<a href="http://www.solmarina.com/">Sol Crespo</a>) tries to warn her.</div>
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<b>That Extra Oomph</b></div>
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It's not just the plot that has something else going on under the surface -- it's every part of the production. The writing, for instance, puts words into the mouths of these confused youths that evoke the deep pools of magic that every naive young high schooler secretly sees in the world. When Scottie talks about throwing the ball on the field -- even when he's just alone, working through his fields -- it has all the majesty of tales from past Olympics, World Cups -- tales of Hercules. When a character opens their mouth and describes what's happening inside of them, every word is a beautifully crafted image that you haven't heard before.</div>
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And the extra oomph is the performers. In my previous review of <i>Hearts like Fists</i>, and of <i><a href="http://culturefuture.blogspot.com/2012/11/review-obskene.html">Obskene</a></i>, I highlighted Chinaza Uche's ability to put such passion and deep sincerity that he can sell even the most outlandish or overblown writing. The same applies to every single member of this talented cast. In the crucial early stages of the play, when the mythical undertones first begin to rear their heads, any fakeness or theatricality could have undercut the quality of the performance. But each of the cast members navigates those treacherous waters to turn the performance into something more powerful than any of its parts.</div>
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<b>Sorry We Missed You!</b></div>
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I write all of this knowing that you won't go and see this, namely because the show has closed -- I saw it on closing night -- but mostly to provide a record, and to laud the excellent work on all involved, and to hope that we'll see more of this production, and new productions that push the line of how big and bold our genuine selves can be.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15720306798572553680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358532441241041377.post-19603103398185451212014-05-30T21:58:00.004-04:002014-05-30T22:00:51.428-04:00REVIEW: Party Play<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sRhf2NxgThQ/U4ke2L2XnBI/AAAAAAAAI4A/HQhw_646oJY/s1600/IMG_2500_cSashaArutyunova2014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sRhf2NxgThQ/U4ke2L2XnBI/AAAAAAAAI4A/HQhw_646oJY/s1600/IMG_2500_cSashaArutyunova2014.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i>Copyright<a href="http://home.sashaarutyunova.com/"> Sasha Arutyunova </a>2014</i></span></div>
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Some plays are big, on the grand scale of an epic. Other plays are tiny, occupying the infinite and narrow space between two people. <i>Party Play</i>, an original production by <a href="http://www.valeriework.com/">Valerie Work</a> and directed by <a href="http://www.theasy.com/about/staff.php">Molly Marinik</a>, is in the latter category -- placing the microscope on a small circle of friends, in a microcosmic world, for a narrow sliver of time. Playing at <a href="http://www.bricktheater.com/">the Brick</a> through <a href="https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/pr/929828">tomorrow</a>, it's a simple story of loss, quiet suffering, and human beings drifting apart.</div>
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<b>Now Is The Party Of Our Discontent</b></div>
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As you might expect with a play of such specific focus, the plot is quite simple in scope. Two friends, Paul (Joe Gregori) and Carl (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHA3PVMw5fc">William Barnet</a>) (pictured above), have shared a popular party apartment somewhere in Brooklyn. Now, the party is over in a larger sense -- Carl has run out of money and is going to move in with his parents in Rochester, NY. Paul is staying in Brooklyn, but moving to a small apartment where, sadly, the party will no longer be continuing. Their mutual friend Dustin (<a href="http://zackcalhoon.blogspot.com/2013/09/people-you-should-know-greg-carere.html">Greg Carere</a>) has been handed "the party baton", but there are serious doubts as to whether he can live up to their raucous past.</div>
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The play takes place over the night of a single party, the last party, unfolding from end to beginning (<i>Memento-</i>style, if you prefer). The two are going through the motions, welcoming their usual cast of friends -- Kiki (<a href="https://www.backstage.com/caitlingoldie/">Caitlin Goldie</a>) and Janalyn (<a href="http://www.charlottearnoux.com/">Charlotte Arnoux</a>). And, talk of the evening, Tamar (<a href="https://www.backstage.com/sarahpoleshuck/">Sarah Poleshuck</a>) is making an appearance, having fallen by the wayside during her marriage... which has just ended in an uncomfortable divorce.</div>
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<b>Tiny Tragedy Writ Large</b></div>
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Tamar, Paul, and Carl are each in transition to new homes, both literally (Tamar is also experiencing the stereotypical pains of NY real estate) as well as metaphorically (Janalyn candidly let's slip that when people are away for months it's like they've disappeared for years).</div>
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The experience is extremely laser-focused: it's a specific moment in history (it could only be this Millennial moment in Brooklyn, layered over with the pop music and references of our time), in time (unfolding backwards over one night, with the narrative focus almost solely on that night's experience), and in space (the only recognizable outside world referenced is the mythical Rochester, NY). It's told through a <i>theatre-verite</i>, moment to moment the conversations have an effortless unforced realness which, when they are not overburdened with forced meaning, feel like reality.</div>
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Unlike your typical, twentieth century "realist" play, this doesn't culminate in explosive monologues -- Tamar never explodes with rage or collapses in tears at the tiny, paper-cut-like slights that her awkward friends send her way, nor does anyone on stage truly speak aloud their fears or pains at any point. We assume that still waters run deep, although in fact all we are seeing are, well, still waters.</div>
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<b>At Least We Had Fun</b></div>
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You may be distracted from the stillness of the waters by innovative use of direction, music, and design that keeps the play moving as its story unfolds. Lee Kinney's sound design keeps the flow moving, tying into the on-going party pulse that drives the narrative forward. Molly Marinik's direction finds new ways to use space to keep the play's low-key, realist dialogue from falling into a repetitive lull.</div>
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But most of all, Pei-Wen Huang's set design knocks it out of the park -- the set (large moveable stacks of cardboard boxes) provides a flexible, easily transformed use for the space -- rearranging to become the patio, or the dance floor, or the kitchen. It stayed within the realism of the space, while still giving the full theatrical flexibility for Marinik and the performers to work wthin. (And, to my producer's eye, a pretty effective use of budget...)</div>
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<b>Distant Party People</b></div>
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This is where I caveat for a moment my relationship to a play called "Party Play" when <a href="http://culturefuture.blogspot.com/2010/11/alcohol-iii-punchdrunks-gig-pt-2.html">I'm not someone who particularly likes parties or alcohol</a>. So from where I sat, <i>Party Play </i>seemed like a dispassionate, almost anthropological assessment of the white American party culture in Brooklyn today.</div>
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If so, I would say that both the form and the content point towards something severe that's missing in these aimless youth's lives. (Boy howdy I'm about to get all old man up on this review). The big problem for Carl, for Paul, and for Tamar is that they've built a social circle around "having fun." Thus, when some non-fun things happen - Tamar's divorce, for example - the friends at hand can't seem to find any way to provide comfort, or to truly connect with this pain. Instead, it becomes a source of quiet shame. </div>
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The real doubt, hanging over the play, is whether any of the people we're watching are going to be in touch after the party ends. It's difficult to see what they have in common aside from shared memories of wedding parties and after parties, waterslide parties, pool parties. Once the party is gone, what will be left? Certainly, nobody wants to talk about it. And while the party is going, nobody has to.</div>
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Tellingly, the two moments when someone addresses the elephant in the room are both Carl, at the beginning and end at the play -- expressions of longing for the past, and fear of the future. A mournful goodbye to a pleasant adolescence.<br />
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">UPDATE: The original post of this article failed to make the FCC required disclosure: as a reviewer, I was given a complimentary ticket to this production.</span></i></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15720306798572553680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358532441241041377.post-30080103980032597202014-05-25T17:50:00.000-04:002014-05-25T17:50:52.635-04:00Promotion and Relegation: A Soccer Fan's Indie Theater ManifestoI woke up this morning and decided that I really wanted to see the Leyton Orient - Rotherham United game today. If you haven't heard of these clubs, I can't blame you -- they're third-tier teams in England, right now battling for the right to move into the second tier -- a move valued at 120 million pounds.<br />
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<b>A Quick Primer (you can skip if you know English soccer)</b></div>
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For the non-fans, part of the amazing power that English soccer has over the nation has to do with <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_football_league_system">the soccer pyramid.</a> </div>
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The Premier League has the biggest teams, which compete on an international scale and provide players to compete in the world cup. The Premier League has the big names: Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal.</div>
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But it also has some not-so-big names: this upcoming season, Burnley, Leicester City, Queens Park Rangers.</div>
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The reason is because the league is at the top of a pyramid; below the Premier League is the Championship, and below that is League One, etc... on a sliding scale of leagues from Professional, through semi-professional, down to amateur. If you look on the Wikipedia article, there's actually 24 tiers on this pyramid... the bottom being the glorious Mid-Sussex Football League, Division 11.</div>
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So those not-so-big names (Burnley, Leicester City, QPR), make it to the Premier league by winning the Championship. Every year, three teams get promoted to the Premier League, and three get relegated out.</div>
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<b>The Power of Promotion and Relegation</b></div>
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In the US, our soccer doesn't have promotion and relegation; nor do any of our sports leagues. And the difference is the quality of the dream.</div>
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In England, there's a significant chance that if you play well enough to play on a mid-tier team, you and that team could advance to the next tier up. Or you could be traded to a team on the next tier. In theory, if you're Leyton Orient, and you're in League Two, all it takes is a few great seasons and you could -- theoretically, be playing against Liverpool and Manchester City in the top tiers of English football.</div>
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In practice, it still takes a lot of money and the odds are extremely long, but -- you have the dream.</div>
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And I think that the people who benefit the most are not the people in the pyramid, but the people at the top. It keeps people engaged and constantly fighting to prove themselves, and if you really do stand out -- well, the deep pockets of Liverpool or Manchester United or Real Madrid can catapult you onto that big stage -- and those teams win for having picked you.</div>
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<b>Theater's Promotion Dream</b></div>
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We do theater for a lot of reasons -- for our own community, for our own edification. For the love of the game, in other words. But we would all love to reach a broader audience with our work, and we'd love to get it out there.</div>
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In a way, we have our own promotion system -- Alex Timbers can write a musical which starts at the Williamstown Theater Festival, and workshops at New 42nd Street Studios, it gets "promoted" to the Public Theater, and from there "promoted" up to Broadway.</div>
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And it's Broadway that profits the most by this. They get work developed by others, with the risk picked up by others, and they get to elevate it to its peak product.</div>
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<b>Indie Theater Now</b></div>
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So what happens if this pyramid erodes? The answer is that the talent pool that the top of pyramid has to pull from erodes. They'll have to spend more of their own money scouting for and developing the talent themselves.</div>
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Worse yet, as the pyramid erodes, so do the dreams of people who think they might get to the top of the pyramid. If they don't get there day 1, they realize there's no way to get into the pyramid, no way to get started. So they'll move on and do something else.</div>
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So it behooves the people at the top of the pyramid -- the big touring companies, Broadway, Hollywood -- to tend to and care for the rest of the pyramid. Otherwise, they'll find themselves sinking into the sands.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15720306798572553680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358532441241041377.post-8952908959286062322014-05-23T21:55:00.005-04:002014-05-23T21:55:54.251-04:00LOCAL: LITNY News and UpdatesIf you're reading this, you're interested in the intersection of arts and policy. (If you're not reading this... woah.)<br />
<br />
As the new webmaster of the League of Independent Theater (amongst many, many other things), I'd like to point you towards the fact that the League's website now also features a subscribable blog!<br />
<br />
Two recent posts: one updating on the League's planned first bill <a href="http://litny.org/wp/litpro-activity-update-community-facilities-database/">(getting artists access to city-owned property)</a>, another one highlighting<a href="http://litny.org/wp/example-of-community-support-from-san-francisco/"> San Francsisco's "Working Group on Nonprofit Displacement."</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15720306798572553680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358532441241041377.post-48266748362194663612014-05-22T20:56:00.002-04:002014-05-22T20:56:45.051-04:00TECHNOLOGY: The Upcoming Politics of User Design<div style="text-align: justify;">
I may look like a cultural pundit to you, but in my day job I work as a consultant in the Information Technology space. (I know, thrilling). As a result, I've spent the last five years working with IT departments on how to deliver service to their consumers. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The biggest thing I've noticed in those five years is what I thought would be a conversation about technology (i.e. is my software better than your software) was actually a political discussion -- what do you want to do for your constituents, and how.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>Data Must Be Free</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The original thoughts about politics and technology had to do with data, and the freedom thereof.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The infinite ability to copy digital media (music, movies, etc.) and to distribute such media quickly led to political battles around commercial control. The <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_Millennium_Copyright_Act">Digital Millennium Copyright Act</a> was an initial push against the idea that data must be free. On the other side, Richard Stallman pushed for free exchange of data. Organizations like the <a href="https://sunlightfoundation.com/">Sunlight Foundation</a> sprung up around the idea of using this new opportunity as a tool. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Current City Council freshman Ben Kallos went to Albany, demanded that the state voting records be put online. Even though the law required these votes to be publicly accessible, they could only be accessed in person. When his requests fell on deaf ears, he brought a hand scanner to their offices and began scanning them himself.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<b>User Interface: The Next Battle</b></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
You'll notice that in the Kallos story, the data was already (theoretically) available, but the ability to access it in <i>an easier way</i> was what the state resisted.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
The West Wing had an episode called <a href="http://westwing.wikia.com/wiki/Take_Out_the_Trash_Day">"Take Out The Trash Day"</a> based around the government practice of dumping all its unpleasant stories on the same Friday afternoon, in hopes of flooding the bad news on a day when people already don't like reading the paper. </div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br />
A great example of this was the release of John McCain's 1200 pages of medical records were dumped right before Memorial Day weekend.<br />
<br /></div>
<div style="background-color: black; width: 520px;">
<div style="padding: 4px;">
<iframe frameborder="0" height="288" src="http://media.mtvnservices.com/embed/mgid:arc:video:thedailyshow.com:f94d5110-ed00-11e0-aca6-0026b9414f30" width="512"></iframe><br />
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 4px; padding: 4px; text-align: left;">
<b><a href="http://thedailyshow.cc.com/">The Daily Show</a></b><br />
Get More: <a href="http://thedailyshow.cc.com/full-episodes/">Daily Show Full Episodes</a>,<a href="http://www.comedycentral.com/indecision">Indecision Political Humor</a>,<a href="http://www.facebook.com/thedailyshow">The Daily Show on Facebook</a></div>
</div>
</div>
<div style="background-color: black; width: 520px;">
<div style="padding: 4px;">
<iframe frameborder="0" height="288" src="http://media.mtvnservices.com/embed/mgid:arc:video:thedailyshow.com:f94e9034-ed00-11e0-aca6-0026b9414f30" width="512"></iframe><br />
<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-top: 4px; padding: 4px; text-align: left;">
<br />
<br />
<b><a href="http://thedailyshow.cc.com/">The Daily Show</a></b><br />
Get More: <a href="http://thedailyshow.cc.com/full-episodes/">Daily Show Full Episodes</a>,<a href="http://www.comedycentral.com/indecision">Indecision Political Humor</a>,<a href="http://www.facebook.com/thedailyshow">The Daily Show on Facebook</a></div>
</div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Usability is every bit as political as access. In my work, we sometimes call this "Security through Obscurity" -- keeping things out of public by making access unusable.<br />
<br />
Currently, the League of Independent Theater is working with Councilman Kallos and several other Councilmembers to provide access for community organizations to short and long term rentals of city-owned spaces. Access already, technically, theoretically exists. I'll give you a hundred dollars if you know how, when, or what you need to do to get it.<br />
<br />
Healthcare.gov is probably the biggest battle we've had to date around just this issue: user interface. At the end of the day, access to health care got reduced to literally, the usability of health care. How do you sign up, and how do you get it?<br />
<br />
The difference between usable and unusable is the difference between Google and Yahoo; the difference between the iPad and the Palm Pilot. It's this millennium's version of "the medium is the message".</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15720306798572553680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358532441241041377.post-6582190024020174712014-01-24T20:51:00.001-05:002014-01-24T20:51:23.760-05:00OPPORTUNITY: Cheap SpaceI know you need cheap space. There's two opportunities for it, courtesy of the League of Independent Theater.<br />
<br />
From the website -- first, the <a href="http://litny.org/wp/real-estate/charter-barter-program/">Charter Barter Program:</a><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The League’s Real Estate Committee is creating a new initiative with several NYC Public Schools. We are piloting this program in one school in the first and second quarter of 2014 in Long Island City. We are looking for one company that is in need of rehearsal space in the first two quarters and that has an interest (and preferably some experience) in education and working with students. In exchange for up to 25 hours of rehearsal space per week for two months, we are asking the company to offer either a one day per week workshop or a two week workshop at the close of the rehearsal process. We need a partner to help us build this program that we are hoping to replicate throughout the city. If we can make this one work we can say goodbye to the rehearsal space shortage in NYC. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
You must be a member of the League to participate. Preference is given to member companies and artists in good standing who have demonstrated a commitment to the League in the past or a willingness to assist the League with upcoming initiatives. Members of companies using the space will be requested to join the League as well. By applying for the space, you acknowledge these conditions.</blockquote>
<br />
Secondly, the <a href="http://litny.org/wp/real-estate/subsidized-rehearsal-space/">Subsidized Space Program:</a><br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
In 2013, the League initiated a program to offer member companies and artists heavily-subsidized rehearsal space. It is approximately 5,000 square feet of commercial real estate located in Midtown. Since its inception over 20 companies have used the space. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
This is an opportunity to have a month (or more or less) of exclusive use of the space. You are able to leave props and costumes (neatly) in the space. There is only a small upfront cost of $200 to offset the cost of insurance, plus perform 5 service hours. (One person, 5 hours within 3 months of the closing of your show. Gleefully and competently.) We will be asking for a deposit on your first day of rehearsal as well, but that will be fully refunded as soon as the space is vacated in great condition. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
You must be a member of the League to participate. Preference is given to member companies and artists in good standing who have demonstrated a commitment to the League in the past or a willingness to assist the League with upcoming initiatives. Members of companies using the space will be requested to join the League as well. By applying for the space, you acknowledge these conditions.</blockquote>
Membership in the League is FREE and easy to join. Just sign up <a href="http://litny.org/wp/join/">here</a>, and you can get involved with advocating on behalf of artists and helping to conquer the problems we face.<br />
<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15720306798572553680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358532441241041377.post-84881858644624643242014-01-24T20:24:00.002-05:002014-01-24T20:24:48.422-05:00I'm Still HereI promise.<br />
<br />
It's been a big bizarre change of pace for me in life.<br />
<br />
My day job continues to consume.<br />
<br />
I'm now the Director of Operations for the <a href="http://www.litny.org/">League of Independent Theater</a>.<br />
<br />
I'm working on my own solo show, written and everything'd by me (although with plenty of collabofriends at my side, don't worry).<br />
<br />
But I'm still here.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15720306798572553680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358532441241041377.post-40037014067536956652013-09-09T21:36:00.000-04:002013-09-09T21:36:02.290-04:00LOCAL2013: Voter Guide for ArtistsI wanted to keep you more in touch with what the League of Independent Theater has been doing for this election (NYC city-wide). I got too tied up to blog about it. (I will likely blog more about it once the election passes).<br />
<br />
However, I have put together <a href="http://bit.ly/litguide">this voter guide</a> based on who the League of Independent Theater has endorsed in this election. Print it out, take it with you, and make your voice heard.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
(For more background, go to t<a href="http://litny.org/">he League's website</a> and see the list of candidates we've endorsed, the platform that those politicians have endorsed, and our endorsement videos, like this one:)
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/uFC55gSxIjo" width="560"></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
See more at the site!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15720306798572553680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358532441241041377.post-45742037807315671672013-08-29T12:07:00.001-04:002013-08-29T12:07:29.136-04:00Is Theater Inherently Elitist?Question:<a href="http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2010/mar/11/noises-off-is-theatre-elitist"> Is Theater Inherently Elitist?</a><br />
<br />
Yes.<br />
<br />
Theater is labor, resource, and real estate intensive.<br />
<br />
Theater must therefore be expensive to recoup its costs.<br />
<br />
Or theater must rely on the patronage of an elite who can support it.<br />
<br />
Theater cannot be mass produced, so it must appeal to specific, local audiences.<br />
<br />
Theater is inflexible in format -- you must show up at the appointed time, and view it for the appointed length of time.<br />
<br />
Mass produced media is less expensive to create, less expensive to consume, easier to distribute, and easier to consume.<br />
<br />
I notice that most of the blogs answering this elitism question seem to be caught up in the content of the plays. Probably because they're written by writers, who are concerned with the writing.<br />
<br />
I'm a producer, so I'm interested in how plays are produced, so the answer to that question seems pretty obvious to me.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15720306798572553680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358532441241041377.post-66521847540759376582013-06-14T11:34:00.004-04:002013-06-14T11:34:48.237-04:00SHIT YOU SHOULD KNOW: DecideNYC.comAnother part in our continuing series on <i>Shit You Should Know</i>.<br />
<br />
<b>It's an election year</b>.<br />
<br />
<b>It's an important election. </b>(Mayor, a majority of city council seats, and many other positions are open and competitive -- meaning the city politics could pretty drastically change).<br />
<br />
<b>It's really hard to get good information.</b><br />
<br />
That's why you should know about:<br />
<br />
<b><a href="http://decidenyc.com/">DecideNYC.com</a></b><br />
<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><b>What it is: </b>A very easy to navigate web guide to find out who is running for what positions, and recent news about them. (They also operate a <a href="https://twitter.com/DecideNYC">useful Twitter feed</a>).</li>
<li><b>Why you should know about it: </b>Because this election is big and complicated but it's also going to determine who is going to piss you off with <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/13/nyregion/new-york-bike-lane-advocates-fear-new-mayor-will-roll-back-gains.html">bike lanes</a> and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_Yards#Controversy">massive development projects</a> and etc. (By the way, if you want to know who on that list is pro-arts, keep an eye out for <a href="http://culturefuture.blogspot.com/2013/06/local2013-action-item-support-litnys.html">the League of Independent Theater endorsements</a>).</li>
<li><b>Why you should know about it </b><i style="font-weight: bold;">now</i>: </li>
<ul>
<li>The election is coming up <i>swiftly </i>and really, the primaries will settle most of everything by September 10th so now is the perfect time to get involved.</li>
<li>If you do check out DecideNYC and are as happy with their quality local coverage as I am, <a href="http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/decidenyc-com-new-yorkers-guide-to-the-2013-elections-beyond/x/35957">contribute to their project like I did today</a>. Quality local coverage is hard to sustain, <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/17/village-voice-michael-musto-layoffs_n_3293614.html">as New York sees all too clearly</a>, so support it where you can!</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<div>
<br /></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15720306798572553680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358532441241041377.post-78000462074586305062013-06-11T12:00:00.000-04:002013-06-14T19:38:53.742-04:00REVIEW: 3 Kinds of Exile<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black;">Typically, I don't enjoy writing a
negative review -- I try to find the positive in the production, or I don't
write a review at all. I figure that usually a bad play -- if it made it far
enough to be seen -- is either a good idea trying to climb out of poor execution
(in which case I focus on engaging with the idea and how to better present it),
or a bad idea that I don't engage with (in which case I don't feel like a bad
review would contribute much.</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black;">I also don't write bad reviews
because I try to approach reviewing with a semblance of humility. I have only
just read Isaac's <a href="http://parabasis.typepad.com/blog/2013/05/speed-kills-.html">self reflection on the rush to make harsh judgment</a>, and I
worry about stepping over the line myself.</span><span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black;">So why am I about to write bad words about John
Guare's <i>3 Kinds of Exile</i>, now playing at the </span>Atlantic Theater Company? Because,
as a fellow theater producer (albeit a much less successful one) I have honest
questions about how this reached the stage on front of a paying public, in one
of New York's premier theaters without anyone raising an eyebrow.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black;"><b>This Goes Beyond Bechdel</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><o:p>Suppose you and one of your friends get together and decide to write a staged biography about a striking actress you knew (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/El%C5%BCbieta_Czy%C5%BCewska">Elzbieta Czyzewska</a>). Would you really decide that the best way to present her life would be to have two men talk about her, occasionally imitating her, rarely quoting her, and instead rattling off a series of facts about her life in chronological order? (For 40 minutes?).</o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><o:p>The theme of the biography is (so near as I can tell), that Elzbieta was given short shrift by directors and producers who constantly promised her big come-back roles, but never delivered. (Included in that number is a young playwright named John Guare, who seems fairly sad that he was forced to cut her from a play he wrote specifically for her).</o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><o:p>And here she is, one more time, being presented to an audience without truly bringing her voice in the space. A few moments of imitation, but otherwise, she is quite literally an object, a portrait invoked at the beginning and end of a long story.</o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><o:p>That's the content of the second of the three acts. (The first is a monologue by a man about himself, so there's not really much room for a woman there, apparently).</o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><o:p>What about the third act? There are female actresses in there. They get two moments:</o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span lang="EN-GB" style="mso-ansi-language: EN-GB;"><o:p><br /></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
1) A moment where the lead character is pronounced to be attractive by two ladies, and they try to sleep with him.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
2) A bride whose only line of dialogue, repeated, is "Fuck me."</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Seriously. There's a female character who can only say "Fuck me." And yes, it's in context of a criticism of traditional marriage. But I really don't think that's enough! Not when it's basically a punchline in a long series of gags.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Somewhere, in a full 100 minute piece about exile in which there are female characters -- one of which is <i>about </i>a real-life female person -- there has to be more than three lines to encapsulate their experience, more than a few quick gags to capture their voice.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Am I the first person to ask this question? How did this play make it all the way to a major venue in New York today without someone along the way raising an eyebrow?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black;"><b>The Magical Other</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
The third act is basically the story about how a sexually repressed Polish exile finds his way to Buenos Aires, and a tempting Latino seduces him away from that rigidly structured world. This tempting Latino is presented as being magical -- hypnotic, satanic.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Guys, I'm not crazy here, right? Did nobody <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magical_Negro">wikipedia</a> this?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<b>It's Kind Of Hard Out Here For an Artist (What?!)</b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
So, that's already two big problems that seem to me that should have been huge liabilities before this play made it to the stage. There's another one that sticks out to me, which is that both the second and third acts are tragic stories of unrealized, victimized artists.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Don't get me wrong -- if you're a true master, you can make a good tortured artist story. <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amadeus_(film)">Amadeus</a></i> is probably a good example in that genre. I'm willing to let <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sunday_in_the_Park_with_George">Sunday in the Park with George</a> </i>slide, mostly on the back of its music.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
But for the most part, the staggering majority of "tortured artist" stories tend to be exercises in self-indulgence; here, the self-indulgence goes so far that John Guare, as an actor playing the role of John Guare in the play written by John Guare, refers <i>in the third person </i>to a character in the story who is John Guare. At which point a projection of John Guare is visible, as though we don't get that the person standing in front of us describing the story is the same John Guare.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
Both protagonists in the second and third acts are presented as will-less victims, buffeted by their fate, misunderstood by their peers and family and lacking all agency in the world around them. Which is as negative an impression of artists as you could devise. And very little that is sympathetic is provided about them either. Instead, we are simply asked to connect to their suffering because it is suffering, and because artists are noble creatures that should not be in pain, I guess.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="color: black;"><b>Editing?</b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
All of this, as well as the overly long span of time that the three pieces take up and the repetitive, over-explanation of the messages and morals in each of the pieces (replete with unending rhetorical questions), indicate to me that John Guare was basically allowed to do whatever. It has a very unedited feel; my play-going companion detected a distinct "undergraduate thesis" vibe. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
I don't know how it got here. I don't know how it edged out the thousands of equally competent playwrights and plays that are circulating out in the world. I'm not sure how the bizarre casting, the uneven acting styles, the offensive choices, etc. were allowed to stand in a venue with those kind of resources.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
My god, what <a href="http://taylormac.net/TaylorMac.net/Home.html">Taylor Mac</a> or <a href="http://www.thinaar.com/">Aaron Landsman</a> or <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Ruhl">Sarah Ruhl</a> or <a href="http://www.suzanloriparks.com/">Susan Lori-Parks</a> or a thousand other people could have done.<br />
<br />
<b>Regret</b><br />
I want to end my review by honoring the people who worked on this. Genuinely. It leaves a bad taste in my mouth to trash a production, knowing the time and dedication that came from a talented group of performers and designers. I'm just baffled how this incredible <i>wealth </i>of resources came to be marshaled for this production.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;">
<i>(As required by law, here is a disclaimer that I got the tickets for free.)</i></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15720306798572553680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358532441241041377.post-7180103142860169942013-06-10T22:15:00.002-04:002013-06-10T22:15:19.233-04:00Julius Lester on Gossip<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/nI7khbKl9Uc" width="420"></iframe>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15720306798572553680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358532441241041377.post-64691051904279215072013-06-03T10:42:00.001-04:002013-06-09T00:10:05.689-04:00LOCAL2013: **ACTION ITEM** Support LITNY's Endorsed CandidatesThe following is a press release from the <a href="http://litny.org/">League of Independent Theater</a>, who are endorsing some key political players who are running for office -- all of whom have adopted our <a href="http://litny.org/content/political">Performing Arts Platform.</a><br />
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<b>We need your help.</b><br />
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If you want to reward these politicians for coming to the cultural tables, <b>come out on Wednesday (June 5th) at 11:30 </b><a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/462942873792368/?fref=ts">(FB event here)</a>. We want to show the cameras how big a force the independent performing arts and culture community is.<br />
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<b>THE LEAGUE OF INDEPENDENT THEATER</b></div>
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<b>SET TO ANNOUNCE FIRST SLATE OF POLITICAL ENDORSEMENTS</b><b> </b></div>
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<b>SCOTT M. STRINGER, JULIE MENIN, JIMMY VAN BRAMER</b></div>
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<b>and OTHERS LEAD THE MOVEMENT TO SUPPORT</b></div>
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<b>THE PERFORMING ARTS IN NEW YORK CITY</b><b> </b></div>
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<b>PRESS ANNOUNCEMENT SET FOR WEDNESDAY JUNE 5th, 11:30 A.M.</b></div>
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<b>85 EAST 4TH STREET (BETWEEN FIRST AND SECOND AVENUES),</b></div>
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<b>AT THE LEGENDARY HOME OF THE KRAINE THEATER</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b>PLEASE JOIN STRINGER/MENIN/VAN BRAMER</b></div>
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<b>AND OTHER CANDIDATES ON</b></div>
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<b>THE STEPS OF THE KRAINE THEATER</b></div>
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<b>AS LIT MAKES ITS FIRST POLITICAL ENDORSEMENTS OF</b></div>
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<b>THE 2013 NEW YORK CITY ELECTION CYCLE.</b></div>
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Fighting for the vibrant cultural sector of New York City means fighting for independent theater across all five boroughs. <b>The League of Independent Theater’s</b> mission is to support those artists and venues throughout the City, and to identify candidates in each of those communities to work on their behalf.</div>
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As the <span style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">only</span> 501(c)6 advocacy organization for the independent theater and performing arts population of New York City, the League of Independent Theater (<b>which supports the interests of over 50,000 artists who vote regularly*</b>) is proud to stand with and endorse Manhattan Borough President, <b>Scott M. Stringer</b> for Comptroller of The City of New York, <b>Julie Menin</b> for Manhattan Borough President, <b>Jimmy Van Bramer</b> for City Council, and other pro-Arts candidates including: Jenifer Rajkumar – District 1; Ben Kallos – District 5; Ken Biberaj – District 6; Melissa Mark-Viverito – District 8; Cliff Stanton – District 11 and Rory Lancman – District 24.</div>
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In the winter of 2009, an audience of over 300 independent theater artists and performing arts supporters attended a Community Board Congress forum on the perilous state of the small to midsized theater sector throughout the City where Borough President Scott M. Stringer challenged our sector to create a pro-arts platform. After years of organizational meetings, private discussions and coalition building, the League of Independent Theater unveiled this platform at our “Meet the Candidates” event on March 12, 2013 at The Players Club**. This comprehensive eight-plank platform will encourage, leverage and strengthen the independent theater sector of New York City.</div>
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Despite the many financial, logistical, and creative barriers, it is a widely documented and accepted truth that the independent theater community continues to power the City’s culture and contribute to the local economy. LIT’s goal is to seek advocates in government who understand the challenges that the independent theater community faces, and will partner on specific actions to ease those burdens. Because of <b>Scott M. Stringer, Julie Menin, Jimmy Van Bramer</b>, <b>Jenifer Rajkumar, Ben Kallos, Ken Biberaj, Melissa Mark-Viverito, Cliff Stanton,</b>and<b> Rory Lancman’s</b> belief in us, we believe in them and are very proud to endorse and work to galvanize the independent performing arts section (50,000+ strong) to support these candidates in their upcoming races.</div>
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*NYITF Study, 2008. <a href="http://www.nyitawards.com/survey/oobdemographics.pdf" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgb(204, 51, 51); -webkit-transition: color 0.1s linear; color: #cc3333; opacity: 0.8; outline: none; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.1s linear;" target="_blank">www.nyitawards.com/survey/oobdemographics.pdf</a></div>
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**Videos of this event can be viewed at <a href="http://www.litny.org/" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgb(204, 51, 51); -webkit-transition: color 0.1s linear; color: #cc3333; opacity: 0.8; outline: none; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.1s linear;">www.litny.org</a>.</div>
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The following eight (8) points make up the <b>League of Independent Theater’s performing arts platform.</b></div>
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1. Create access to low-cost and/or no-cost Community Facilities Spaces that are currently available and remain unused throughout the City through the creation of a Community Facilities Space Database.</div>
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2. Create access to empty and unused City property to be re-purposed as temporary rehearsal, office and (if appropriate), performance space.</div>
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3. Include non-profit performance venues in the favorable electricity and utility rates enjoyed by religious institutions and the VFW.</div>
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4. Implement a proposal that would reduce or eliminate property tax assessments for those non-profit organizations that have an artistic mission and/or rent performance space to similar non-profit performing arts groups with artistic missions of their own. All twelve (12) Manhattan Community Boards unanimously ratified this proposal.</div>
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5. Secure affordable permanent low-cost housing for working artists. In addition, work to provide access to affordable healthcare for these artists, depending on the status and reach of the Affordable Care Act at the time of negotiations.</div>
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6. Support the commission of an economic impact study for the independent theater territory.</div>
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7. Work with the Department of Cultural Affairs to expand the Cultural Institutions Group to include the independent theater sector’s anchor venues.</div>
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8. Install plaques at sites of historical import and rename streets after the founders of the independent and Off-Off Broadway community.</div>
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<b><a href="http://www.litny.org/" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgb(204, 51, 51); -webkit-transition: color 0.1s linear; color: #cc3333; opacity: 0.8; outline: none; text-decoration: none; transition: color 0.1s linear;">www.litny.org</a></b></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15720306798572553680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358532441241041377.post-41572614392577274002013-05-28T18:12:00.000-04:002013-05-28T18:12:03.229-04:00SHIT YOU SHOULD KNOW: Hemispheric Institute Digital Video LibraryI haven't been updating much on the blog because my life is full of tangible things, but I haven't been dipping into theory or postulating as much.<br />
<br />
In the meantime, while I recharge my theoretical batteries, I'm turning over this blog to a new regular feature called <b>shit you should know</b>. Largely because now that I'm working with the League of Independent Theater and getting into the community, I'm realizing that people don't know a lot of things that, well, they should know. Groups that are out there, resources that are out there, etc.<br />
<br />
<b><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://hidvl.nyu.edu/">Hemispheric Institute Digital Video Library (HIDVL)</a></span></b><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><b>What is it: </b><a href="http://hemisphericinstitute.org/hemi/">The Hemispheric Institute of Performance and Politics</a> is a research and performance institution founded by <a href="http://admin.tisch.nyu.edu/object/TaylorD.html">Diana Taylor</a> as a focal point for artist-activists throughout the Americas (the Hemisphere in the name). The Digital Video Library is an initiative (one of many great initiatives they run) which archives lectures, presentations, interviews, and performance in digital mediums.</li>
<li><b>Why you should know about it:</b> You should know about it from a couple perspectives:</li>
<ul>
<li><b>Inspiration</b> -- Seriously, you can see years of work from artists like <a href="http://hemisphericinstitute.org/hemi/en/hidvl-profiles/itemlist/category/387-rschechner">Richard Schechner</a>, <a href="http://hemisphericinstitute.org/hemi/en/hidvl-profiles/itemlist/category/69-fomma">FOMMA (Fortaleza de la Mujer Maya)</a>, or <a href="http://hemisphericinstitute.org/hemi/en/hidvl-profiles/itemlist/category/146-amok">Circus Amok</a>. Work that spans the entire gamut of performance from across many different cultures across the Hemisphere.</li>
<li><b>Education </b>-- If you didn't recognize the names above, or want to learn more about other movements of resistance or activism, this is a great way to just explore. (While typing this post I stumbled across <a href="http://hemisphericinstitute.org/hemi/en/performances/item/90-09-vicky-holt-takamine-%E2%80%98%C3%AElio%E2%80%98ulaokalani-coalition">Hula as Resistance</a> and you can bet my curiosity was piqued!)</li>
<li><b>Preservation </b>-- If you know of artists whose work should be preserved, contact them (or contact me, I'd be happy to pass it along), their work can be preserved <b>in perpetuity</b>, <b>in updated formats</b>, <b>without conceding ownership over the work.</b> Seriously, an artist's dream.</li>
</ul>
</ul>
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An important aspect of performance is its ephemerality. The performance itself can only be experienced from within the performance. But to understand our own history, performance needs to in some way be preserved and passed down, to understand what happened and when it happened.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15720306798572553680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358532441241041377.post-9198210016699497112013-05-07T22:09:00.002-04:002013-05-07T22:09:23.738-04:00LOCAL2013: Mayoral Forum in BrooklynThe following are raw notes from Monday Night's mayoral forum at Congregation Beth Elohim in Park Slope. It's a lot of info, but I bolded the things that stuck out to me.<br />
<br />
<ul class="ul1">
<li class="li1"><b>John Liu</b></li>
<ul class="ul2">
<li class="li1">Question 1: Felony charges for his campaign staff. Response: basically, that he's been investigated for four years (wiretapped for eighteen months), and no other candidate has gone through this scrutiny. If anyone else had gone through this, they would have "errors of omission" as well.</li>
<li class="li1">Question 2: Barclay Center. It's a great facility, but "the promise was no where near met." His policy is that hew wants to <b>end <i>all </i>subsidy for job creation or for affordable housing</b>.</li>
<li class="li1">Question 3: Is there anything he'd credit to Bloomberg? The smoking ban. But the soda tax goes too far. Too much top-down leadership: schools opened and closed "as a business decision" and education system is over testing.</li>
<li class="li1">Question 4: Prospect Park Bike Lane: Liu says it's not popular. <b>"Popular isn't about what the polls say… it should have had more process" than just being approved by the Community board</b></li>
</ul>
<li class="li1"><b>Bill Thompson</b></li>
<ul class="ul2">
<li class="li1">Question 1: Prospect Park Bike Lane: <b>Needed an approval process "broader than the community board."</b></li>
<li class="li1">Question 2: Would you impose bike lanes? "Leadership isn't forcing things on people, it's about consulting them." Education as well: need an education system that listens to parents.</li>
<li class="li1">Question 3: Barclays Center. "I supported the proposal… but it was supposed to be something more. There were supposed to be jobs, there was supposed to be affordable housing." Said that there should be penalties against 'anyone' who goes back on promises; fell short of saying he'd penalize Rattner. Also said that large-scale developments should have multiple developers.</li>
<li class="li1">Question 4: Is the EPA Cleanup of Gowanus Canal better or worse for the community? Cleaning Gowanus is more important than developing the neighborhood.</li>
<li class="li1">Question 5: School Selection process. Supports mayoral control of the school systems, but the mayor has abused the privilege. Processes aren't transparent, need to return to community value for schools. Testing has robbed schools of so much, school closings are not policies.</li>
<li class="li1">Question 6: Is it right that District 2 can exclude students? I didn't catch his answer</li>
<li class="li1">Question 7: Library Closings? Against.</li>
<li class="li1">Question 8: <b>Inclusionary Zoning for Affordable Housing? Yes, and it should be mandatory</b></li>
<li class="li1">Question 9:<b> Other set-asides? Yes, a "smart growth" model. </b>And NYCHA should not be allowed to dump city land for luxury housing; needs to be used for affordable housing/middle income housing.</li>
<li class="li1">Question 10: Brooklyn's greatest transportation need? Fix the subways, add more buses. Bring back the commuter tax, and weight based registration fees. Would bring $1.7 billion into MTA</li>
<li class="li1">Question 11: Bus lanes? Yes, he would impose them top-down, but only on large streets like Flatbush and Nostrand</li>
</ul>
<li class="li1"><b>George McDonald</b></li>
<ul class="ul2">
<li class="li1">Question 1: Are you happy with how Barclay has turned out? </li>
<ul class="ul3">
<li class="li1">"Yes, once the affordable housing is built."</li>
<li class="li1">"That hasn't happened yet"</li>
<li class="li1">"It will within the first six months of the next mayor's term."</li>
<li class="li1">"What if they aren't built in the next six months?"</li>
<li class="li1">"They'd have to."</li>
<li class="li1">"… But what if they aren't?"</li>
<li class="li1">"In a civilized society, we go to court."</li>
<li class="li1">"If you had the chance to build it again?"</li>
<li class="li1">"I would, for all the affordable housing that will be built there…once it's built."</li>
</ul>
<li class="li1">Also <b>supports micro-housing</b>, and 421G to allow commercial buildings to switch to housing. "We need housing across the city."</li>
<li class="li1">And we need jobs. He'll make jobs. He did that at the Doe fund. (Audience members shouted 'how?!' and he didn't answer).</li>
<li class="li1">Need to train people who come out of prison</li>
<li class="li1"><b>NYC public employees need to pay into their pension funds</b>, like every other public employee (audience members shouted that he was lying). Wouldn't resign their contract if they didn't.</li>
<li class="li1">Question 2: Prospect Park Bike Lane — would you have supported it if you were mayor?</li>
<ul class="ul3">
<li class="li1">"But I'm not."</li>
<li class="li1">"… But if you were."</li>
<li class="li1">"But I'm not."</li>
<li class="li1">"… But you want to be, right?"</li>
<li class="li1">"Well yes, but I wasn't."</li>
</ul>
<li class="li1">Question 3: Transportation needs for Brooklyn:<b> Mayoral control over MTA and Port Authority.</b></li>
<ul class="ul3">
<li class="li1">"Is it going to happen?"</li>
<li class="li1">"I don't know, but I'm going to fight like hell for it."</li>
</ul>
<li class="li1">Also wandered a bit about how politicians need to stop making promises before they look at the budget.</li>
<li class="li1">Question 4: Expand subways or expand buses? Likes buses because they're built in New York, think some new subway lines (e.g. The 7 train) are a good idea.</li>
<li class="li1">Question 5: About his failed lawsuit against the campaign finance board. Wants to use the State fundraising limits, rather than the city, if you don't participate in the matching fund. </li>
<ul class="ul3">
<li class="li1">Moderator: "So you think the state is less corrupt than the city?"</li>
<li class="li1">"The state is like a slow moving crime wave.</li>
<li class="li1">"So why would you follow them?"</li>
<li class="li1">He cut off the conversation at this point with a humorous anecdote where a mobster says he's "too honest" and then later a business person says he's "too honest."</li>
</ul>
</ul>
<li class="li1"><b>Sal Albanese</b></li>
<ul class="ul2">
<li class="li1">Question 1: Barclays? Not accepting developer money. Clamp down, force penalties and clawbacks on bad developers</li>
<li class="li1">Question 2: Park development? Never give up an inch of parkland. "My summer vacation was JJ Byrne Park." Parks are important to communities</li>
<li class="li1">Question 3: Priorities for transit? <b>Fair tolls (Based on access to mass transit), Select Bus Service up to 20 routes, more bike lanes, mayoral control over MTA</b>. Objects to an MTA run by "political appointees who don't even have metro cards." Would raise $1 billion; $750 million to transit, $250 to lowering fairs. "Bloomberg hasn't paid any attention… no comment on the 10% fare hike"</li>
<li class="li1">Question 4: Prospect Park Bike Lane: Yes, it seems like there was enough community input. Also wants a bike lane over the Verranzano Bridge.</li>
<li class="li1">Question 5: Mayoral Control of Schools: In favor if it: "I want control to repair what was broken."</li>
<li class="li1">Question 6: Is it good that property values have doubled in Park Slope? Yes, but we need more affordable housing. (He paid $50/mo in rent when he was growing up in Slope)</li>
</ul>
<li class="li1"><b>John Catsimatidis</b></li>
<ul class="ul2">
<li class="li1">Question 1: Transit? Wants "transit-oriented development. It solves "the problem of congestion pricing"</li>
<ul class="ul3">
<li class="li1">Moderator: "Is congestion pricing a 'problem'?"</li>
<li class="li1">Don't penalize people who want to drive <b>"God Bless them if they want to drive" </b>-- "I'm from Harlem and I had a dream" to drive a GTO car. "<b>Don't tell Americans that they should not dream — we should build more efficient cars, not restrict Americans from their dreams.</b>" "I teach children in Harlem and I teach them that it's good to succeed — don't hate success, don't promote failure."</li>
</ul>
<li class="li1">Question 2: Does social good outweigh need? His answer drew the example of the sanitation plant Quinn wants to build on the UES. "<b>When you touch something that has germs, you get germs. </b>When you smell something, you know what that literally is? It's something touching your lungs. And you want to know what Christine Quinn called it? Social Justice."</li>
<li class="li1">Question 3:<b> You don't believe in global warming? "I tell the truth."</b></li>
<li class="li1">Question 4: Protection against future storms? <b>"You can't build wooden shacks on the beach and expect to survive a storm."</b> Quoted a Greek Saying, "Never build palaces near the sand." "Don't put your equipment in the basement." "Build more solid buildings."</li>
<li class="li1">Question 5: Education? High school graduates should donate more money to their schools. Also: the education system is built to give every kid an academic education: stop teaching calculus to kids, it makes them feel ashamed when they fail and the give up and drop out. Vocational schools instead.</li>
</ul>
<li class="li1"><b>Christine Quinn</b></li>
<ul class="ul2">
<li class="li1">Question 1: 4th Avenue Rezoning, success or not? "In some ways" -- it made affordable housing a part of the conversation, even though they failed to get the affordable housing on 4th ave.</li>
<li class="li1">Question 2: Expand inclusionary zoning? "It's a question of how far can we go?" but she wants to be "as aggressive as possible." She's <b>not sure mandatory inclusionary zoning is legal</b> "but wants to consider it." <b>Favors <i>permanent </i>affordable housing over increasing the ratio.</b> Willing to consider a property tax cap, but the state bill that REBNY proposed was far too generous to developers. Against the sale of NYCHA land for luxury condos.</li>
<li class="li1">Question 3: Barclays? Should have not been a state project, which bypassed ULURP. Took credit for killing the West Side Stadium by driving it into ULURP even though it wasn't required. <b>Thinks every large development on public land should go through ULURP. </b>On Barclays itself, too soon to judge if it's successful.</li>
<li class="li1">Question 4: Pilot programs to drive up parking costs? Not necessarily. Cars happen when mass transit options don't exist. <b>Heavily favors expanding the ferry system to all five boroughs. </b>East River Ferry was the first public transit up after Sandy. Also, breaks away from the "spoke and wheel" model of the MTA subway system. Also, more select bus services — 10 routes would be a good start. Favors dedicated bus lanes in some areas</li>
<li class="li1">Question 5: Road space is hotly contested? Focus on making streets safe for young and old.</li>
<li class="li1">Question 6: Industrial zoning? Expand industrial and manufacturing — she grew jobs in Brooklyn Navy Hards during the recession, and kept the money recirculating internally through tax breaks. Subdivided factories to allow more jobs to grow, and <b>wants to bring manufacturing back to manufacturing zones that are lying dormant. </b>(Would she support the same for "cultural zones"?)</li>
<li class="li1">Question 7: Department of Education: Too much testing, and definitely need to stop "field testing" where students are pulled out of class to be test subjects for Pearson and other education. Need to move toward portfolio assessment. We're the only city with only one standardized test — has an impact on racial/gender diversity</li>
<li class="li1">Question 8: School selection: process is stressful, confused, and unclear.</li>
<li class="li1">Question 9 Are you too mean, and too close to business?</li>
<ul class="ul3">
<li class="li1">"I'm tough. I'm push. And I'm too loud."</li>
<li class="li1">Audience member: "That’s for damn sure."</li>
<li class="li1">"Thank you, sir."</li>
<li class="li1">Characterizes herself as uncompromising, willing to fight for the New Yorkers that work so hard in the city. "I want this city t one the tech capital. I want it t one the literacy capital, to have the schools with the best scores. I want this school to have the most CUNY graduates working in tech."</li>
</ul>
<li class="li1">Very proud of her record in City Council — most pro-tenant laws of any city council. You can now sue harassing landlords. <b>New York's carbon footprint will be reduced by the carbon footprint of Oakland.</b> (not sure what that means but that sounds great in an ad)</li>
<li class="li1">Question 10: Sandy? We need infrastructure, hardening the city. Man-made barriers, blue belt and oyster beds. Schumer is bringing the Army Corps of Engineer to study, Cuomo is buying up land on river-front to bring in blue belt. No more overhead power lines, need gas redundancy. Punish bad players in the oil industry (Mobile, Exxon) who didn't help in recovery, and reward the good players (Hess gave free gas). Building resiliency committee.</li>
<li class="li1">Question 11: What do you want people to say when you leave office? "I want people to say that I emptied my tank for NYC."</li>
</ul>
<li class="li1"><b>Bill de Blasio</b></li>
<ul class="ul2">
<li class="li1">Question 1: Barclays? Good for Brooklyn, but not worth it until the affordable housing arrives.</li>
<li class="li1">Question 2: Was oversight in place? <b>The Community Benefit Agreement was the strongest in the city, but should have been supported by the government. City should lock out all development from developers who did not honor the promises</b>. Not enough infrastructure planning (water, sewage) to support. Most concerned about affordable housing and income disparity.</li>
<li class="li1">Question 3: 4th Avenue Rezoning? Not enough affordable housing, and not enough give-back to schools. Los an opportunity to down-zone, and to put in an inclusionary zone. <b>Wants mandatory inclusionary zoning. </b>Formula can start with 80/20, maybe should be 70/30, <b>but maybe there are other community needs e.g. Schools that we need to demand too.</b> "Affordable housing is the one given" but other needs include schools, open spaces, etc.</li>
<li class="li1">Question 4: Did Bloomberg do enough for affordable housing. Added 165,000 over 12 years, but lost almost as much. Too much of it is at the high end of low income, smaller apartments than normal. Wants 200,000/10 years, including preserving the stock. Wants to leverage the $1 billion pension fund investments to fund this. <b>Concerned about vacant plots — wants to make it easier to bring land on the market</b>.</li>
<li class="li1">Question 5: School selection process? Needs to be simplified. <b>Also wants a tax on people making over $1 million to pay for universal pre-K</b>.</li>
<li class="li1">Question 6: Can District 2 prioritize local students? Maybe, but the issue is that other schools aren't meeting District 2. Needs to make sure that the best schools don't misrepresent the city.</li>
<li class="li1">Question 7: Double in housing prices in Park Slope? Need more affordable housing, "Local version of Keynesianism." Wants to stop the abuse of small businesses.</li>
<li class="li1">Question 8: Transit needs? The deepest needs are furthest out, like Canarsie. MTA should be accountable to the mayor. Payroll tax needs to be defended.</li>
<li class="li1">Question 9: Prospect Park West Bike Lane? In the end it worked, was better than the sidewalk. <b>"Needed a deeper kind of control than the community board."</b> Community boards are a part of the puzzle, but not everything.</li>
</ul>
</ul>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15720306798572553680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358532441241041377.post-73424638472349567582013-04-21T21:55:00.004-04:002013-04-21T21:55:54.064-04:00LOCAL2013: Meet the Candidates Event -- Full VideoSorry I haven't been doing well updating you all about the campaign to support the arts in NYC. We've been knocking it out of the park. I'm incredibly excited about the potential in this election.<br />
<br />
Since my last update, I've been made Brooklyn Borough Chief for the League of Independent Theater, so I'll be the contact person for artists and venues in Brooklyn, as well as the candidates running in those elections.<br />
<br />
Anyways, without further ado, here is the <b>full video </b>from the League of Independent Theater event: I'll write up some thoughts in a later post.<br />
<br />
Here's the introductory remarks, including remarks by Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer and Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer:<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/jDPHbiPGj7M" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br />
Here is a mayoral candidate, the Manhattan Borough President hopefuls, and a Queens Borough President hopeful:<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/PWU5vJHJ0WU" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br />
Candidates for Districts 1, 3, 5:<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/rC9undVWLB0" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br />
Candidates for Districts 6, 7, 8:<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/bymAwftaoe4" width="560"></iframe><br />
<br />
Candidates for 18, 35, 37, and the Public Advocate hopefuls:<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/vON6nu4uMp4" width="560"></iframe>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15720306798572553680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358532441241041377.post-11709882728212753702013-04-09T21:38:00.001-04:002013-04-09T21:38:11.520-04:00HOW WE MAKE THE CASE XII: From Arts BlogI had <a href="http://culturefuture.blogspot.com/2011/02/how-we-make-case-round-up.html">my own round-up of posts in the past about how we make the case</a>, but for this year's national arts advocacy day, here's <a href="http://blog.artsusa.org/2013/04/08/10-reasons-to-support-the-arts-in-2013/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=10-reasons-to-support-the-arts-in-2013">10 reasons to support the arts.</a><br />
<br />
I'm going to bring this blog up to speed on the work the League is doing to actually make that case in New York, and the successes we're having, etc. but chew on those reasons for the moment.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15720306798572553680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358532441241041377.post-69494146185035295512013-03-20T21:04:00.002-04:002013-03-20T21:04:53.240-04:00ART ECONOMICS: Getting Paid?<div style="text-align: justify;">
<i>The Onion </i>tells you to <a href="http://www.theonion.com/articles/find-the-thing-youre-most-passionate-about-then-do,31742/">"Find The Thing You're Most Passionate About, Then Do It On Nights And Weekends For The Rest Of Your Life"</a>:</div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
I have always been a big proponent of following your heart and doing exactly what you want to do. It sounds so simple, right? But there are people who spend years—decades, even—trying to find a true sense of purpose for themselves. My advice? Just find the thing you enjoy doing more than anything else, your one true passion, and do it for the rest of your life on nights and weekends when you’re exhausted and cranky and just want to go to bed. </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
It could be anything—music, writing, drawing, acting, teaching—it really doesn’t matter. All that matters is that once you know what you want to do, you dive in a full 10 percent and spend the other 90 torturing yourself because you know damn well that it’s far too late to make a drastic career change, and that you’re stuck on this mind-numbing path for the rest of your life.</blockquote>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
Meanwhile, Amanda Palmer says, <a href="http://www.ted.com/talks/amanda_palmer_the_art_of_asking.html">don't charge money for music, ask people to pay.</a> I feel like this month, I see an article weekly about either reporters, musicians, writers, performers, or other creative individuals either accepting that being paid is no longer a part of the paradigm, or raging against the same trend.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15720306798572553680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358532441241041377.post-86078720237893498212013-03-12T23:30:00.001-04:002013-03-12T23:30:38.487-04:00LOCAL2013: Meet the Candidates Forum... Met the Candidates!<div style="text-align: justify;">
I'm pretty gosh-darn exhausted, but initial impressions upon getting home from the <a href="http://culturefuture.blogspot.com/2013/03/local2013-first-step-towards-having.html">Meet the Candidates Forum</a> was that a packed-full room of enthusiastic, interested artists was presented by four full panels of city-wide candidates who spoke -- at times humorously, at times substantively, at times passionately -- about what exactly can be done for the arts, and for artists.</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It was a shot in the arm, and a kick in the butt. Now comes the hard work -- voting on candidates to endorse, and then fighting to get them elected. But we're in the room, and we're being heard.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15720306798572553680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358532441241041377.post-48642387818247809762013-03-09T23:08:00.001-05:002013-03-09T23:08:29.715-05:00HOW WE MAKE THE CASE: It's Fair To Get Paid<div style="text-align: justify;">
An artist really eloquently puts why it's important for artists to get paid for their work:</div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/QFv8Unvg78k" width="560"></iframe></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
It's becoming a bigger and bigger cultural conversation, whether it's the <a href="http://theater.nytimes.com/2013/02/20/theater/upright-citizens-brigade-grows-by-not-paying-performers.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0">Upright Citizens Brigade</a> or <a href="http://gawker.com/5989280/when-people-write-for-free-who-pays" style="font-style: italic;">The Atlantic</a>. As the technology of mass communication (and, with 3D printing, duplication), the economics of "Free" is going to become a bigger and thornier issue. A larger-than-ever slice of our economy is going to be maintained by freelancers and consultants, and that can be a double-edged sword.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15720306798572553680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358532441241041377.post-77595318433892599252013-03-07T11:41:00.003-05:002013-03-07T11:41:45.538-05:00LOCAL2013: The First Step Towards Having A Voice is to Show UpThat's right. If you say you do socially conscious work, or you think that the City could be doing more to be supporting the arts, then <b>you have no excuse</b> not to come to the <a href="http://litforum.eventbrite.com/"><b>League of Independent Theater's Meet the Candidates Forum</b></a> this Tuesday, March 12th, 6:45PM at the Players on Gramercy.<br />
<br />
Here are the politicians who are going to be there:<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;">Opening Remarks by </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;">Jimmy Van Bramer, City Council Member and Chair, Cultural Committee</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;">Keynote Address by </span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px; text-align: left;">Scott Stringer, Manhattan Borough President</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;">Tom Allon (Mayoral)</span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><div style="text-align: center;">
Kevin Coenen Jr. (Mayoral)</div>
</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><div style="text-align: center;">
Robert Jackson (Manhattan Borough President)</div>
</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><div style="text-align: center;">
Julie Menin (Manhattan Borough President)</div>
</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><div style="text-align: center;">
Peter Vallone, Jr. (Queens Borough President</div>
</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><div style="text-align: center;">
Letitia James (Public Advocate)</div>
</span><div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><div style="text-align: center;">
Jenifer Rajkumar (CC Manhattan 1)</div>
</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><div style="text-align: center;">
Corey Johnson (CC Manhattan 3)</div>
</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><div style="text-align: center;">
Yetta Kurland (CC Manhattan 3)</div>
</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><div style="text-align: center;">
Ben Kallos (CC Manhattan 5)</div>
</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><div style="text-align: center;">
Hill Krishnan (CC Manhattan 5)</div>
</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><div style="text-align: center;">
Marc Landis (CC Manhattan 6)</div>
</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><div style="text-align: center;">
Mel Wymore (CC Manhattan 6)</div>
</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><div style="text-align: center;">
Mark Levine (CC Manhattan 7)</div>
</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><div style="text-align: center;">
Cheryl Pahaham (CC Manhattan 7)</div>
</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><div style="text-align: center;">
Angel Molina (CC Manhattan/Bronx 8)</div>
</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><div style="text-align: center;">
William Russell Moore (CC Bronx 18)</div>
</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><div style="text-align: center;">
Matthew Silverstein (CC Queens 19)</div>
</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><div style="text-align: center;">
Laurie Cumbo (CC Brooklyn 35)</div>
</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><div style="text-align: center;">
Kimberly Council (CC Brooklyn 37)</div>
</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span>
That's right, from across the city, these candidates are going to be telling us why the League of Independent Theater should endorse them.<br />
<br />
<b>And if you attend, you can vote and tell us who should get the endorsement.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
They're going to be discussing this platform:<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;">As a pro-performing arts elected official, I will work to:</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;"><div style="text-align: center;">
1. Create access to low-cost and/or no-cost Community Facilities Spaces that are currently available and remain unused throughout the City through the creation of a Community Facilities Space Database.</div>
</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;"><div style="text-align: center;">
2. Create access to empty and unused City property to be re-purposed as temporary rehearsal, office and (if appropriate), performance space.</div>
</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;"><div style="text-align: center;">
3. Include non-profit performance venues in the favorable electricity and utility rates enjoyed by religious institutions and the VFW.</div>
</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;"><div style="text-align: center;">
4. Implement a proposal that would reduce or eliminate property tax assessments for those non-profit organizations that have an artistic mission and/or rent performance space to similar non-profit performing arts groups with artistic missions of their own. This proposal was unanimously ratified by all twelve (12) Manhattan Community Boards.</div>
</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;"><div style="text-align: center;">
5. Secure affordable permanent low-cost housing for working artists. In addition, work to provide access to affordable healthcare for these artists, depending on the status and reach of the Affordable Care Act at the time of negotiations.</div>
</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;"><div style="text-align: center;">
6. Support the commission of an economic impact study for the independent theater territory.</div>
</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;"><div style="text-align: center;">
7. Work with the Department of Cultural Affairs to expand the Cultural Institutions Group to include the independent theater sector’s anchor venues.</div>
</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;"><div style="text-align: center;">
8. Install plaques at sites of historical import and rename streets after the founders of the independent and Off-Off Broadway community.</div>
</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;"><br /></span>
It's all there -- clear, immediate ways that these politicians can make an impact for our local artistic community. <b>And you can't influence unless you come.</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
<b><span style="font-size: large;">Please <a href="http://litforum.eventbrite.com/">RSVP now</a> </span></b>-- we've had to turn away candidates and we will be packed from floor to ceiling. The initial response has been overwhelming, and if we follow through on this, we can actually have a big political impact this election.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15720306798572553680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358532441241041377.post-34607777171721647022013-02-11T13:47:00.001-05:002013-02-11T13:47:53.059-05:00ART ECONOMICS: Just When You Thought Artist Pay Could Go No Lower...... it goes negative! Performers in Hair <a href="http://theater.nytimes.com/2013/02/08/theater/hair-by-afterwork-theater-project.html?_r=0">paid a $495 enrollment fee to perform.</a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15720306798572553680noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2358532441241041377.post-30232142914941216742013-02-09T15:46:00.001-05:002013-02-09T15:46:06.850-05:00TV: The Dysfunctional World of Sports Broadcasting<div style="text-align: justify;">
If <a href="http://culturefuture.blogspot.com/2013/02/technology-terrifying-fact-of-day.html">data-driven web-series are the future of television</a>, then the horse-and-buggy is probably sports broadcasting. The content is every bit as desirable now as it was in years past, but the model is bizarre. For example, because of rising licensing costs, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/26/business/media/all-viewers-pay-to-keep-tv-sports-fans-happy.html?_r=0">people who don't watch sports have to pay for it on their TVs:</a></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: justify;">
Time Warner Cable subscribers in Southern California will eventually see their monthly bills increase thanks to an impending $7 billion deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers, believed to be the most lucrative for any sports team in history. DirecTV, the country’s most popular satellite service, and Verizon FiOS have started adding a $2 to $3 monthly surcharge in markets like New York and Los Angeles to pay for regional sports networks.</blockquote>
<div style="text-align: justify;">
And on the flip side, if I want to watch anything online, I typically can in a legal format -- except sports, because I don't pay $75/year for ESPN or other sports networks on my television.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15720306798572553680noreply@blogger.com