Nationwide, black theatre companies have “cut programming and reduced staff. Some troupes have had to cancel shows or suspend production in recent years. Other respected companies, like the Freedom Theater in Philadelphia and the New Jomandi in Atlanta, have struggled financially as public and private support continues to dwindle.” But one hardy soul is traing to “establish something almost unheard of since the heyday of the black theater movement in the 1960’s and 70’s: a national black theater company.”
Tag: 04.14.04
NY Fringe Fest Roars Back
The New York Fringe Festival has shaken off its financial misfortunes and says that more than “800 applications were received this year, a better than 10% jump over the 2003 total of 716. This was the first year artists could submit applications online; if one includes incomplete and late submissions (which are not adjudicated), that figure rises to over 900. The total two years ago was 585.”
Passion Sells
Passion of the Christ may or may not be a good movie. But it’s breaking box office records around the world and making a ton of money. “It’s clear that the film has tapped into something which Hollywood normally avoids like the plague: Strong, assertive religious belief. Mel Gibson, who directed and financed the film himself outside the usual channels, will make a fortune from his enterprise, but it mirrors his strong belief.”
Corleone – An Offer Film Critics Can’t Refuse
US film critics have named Mafia boss Vito Corleone, as played by Marlon Brando in The Godfather, as the greatest movie character of all time.”
Sci-Fi Museum – Beam Me Up
Paul Allen’s Science Fiction Museum in Seattle is getting close to opening. “Despite some forward-looking, hopeful exhibits, like “SETI Fiction and Fact,” which will explore the Paul Allen–funded effort to receive communications from actual ETs, SFM will essentially be, like any museum, retrospective. It will celebrate a past when geniuses could envision happier futures and it will chronicle sci-fi’s evolution into negativity, including the bleakness expressed in Planet of the Apes (the costume of Dr. Zaius will be on display).”
Music To Torture A Deity By
The soundtrack to Mel Gibson’s controversial film about Jesus’s last hours has been certified gold after selling 500,000 copies in February alone.
The Ghetto Dream Maker
In times of political upheaval, many people take refuge in music, and in South Africa, an entire musical movement has grown out of the nation’s first tumultuous decade following the end of apartheid. The music is called kwaito, and its biggest star is a man known as Zola, who personifies all the anger, confusion, and hope of the impoverished black township residents who are wondering whatever happened to the promises of post-apartheid prosperity.
The God Culture: Heavenly Comeback Or Hellish Culture War?
“Nearly 40 years after Time magazine posed the question “Is God Dead?” signs of His resurrection are everywhere: Mel Gibson’s ‘The Passion’ is on its way to becoming the highest-grossing independent film of all time, while the apocalyptic ‘Left Behind’ novels, based on the Book of Revelations, have sold 58 million copies, a publishing jackpot… The nation’s born-again president pronounces Jesus his ‘favorite philosopher’ and trumpets America’s mission to battle evil in the world. And faith avowals are all but requisite on the campaign trail – with hell to pay for anyone who demonstrates biblical illiteracy… Is all this ferment a result of post-Sept. 11 anxiety? Or has spirituality become just another commodity in a world where consumerism has become the ultimate value?”
Taking Comfort
It was the sweltering summer of 1951 when artist Charles Comfort spent 58 days creating a 20-meter mural on the back wall of a Toronto Dominion Bank branch in Vancouver. The resulting artwork stayed in place for half a century, and became known as one of British Columbia’s most important works of public art. “When the bank branch closed in 2002 and the space was taken over by a pharmacy, the bank was determined to find a way for it to stay in the province. It wasn’t such an easy task. The size of the mural was certainly an issue. And the restoration needed to remove layers of tobacco smoke and grime was extensive. More troubling, however, was the controversial history of Comfort’s murals in Vancouver.”
Installation Art 101
Eleven Colorado high schools are taking part in “Design and Build 2004,” an annual program sponsored by the Denver-based Museum of Outdoor Arts which is designed to give students a chance to experience firsthand the challenges of designing, building, and installing a major piece of public art. The students create “technical drawings, topographical maps and conceptual statements” of their proposed installations, then consult with the museum on feasibility, cost, and other minutiae. Finally, their fully constructed works are mounted at various high-profile sites throughout the Denver metro, with all the attendant fanfare of a “professional” installation.