National Performing Arts Convention http://performingartsconvention.org/ en-us Sat, 18 May 2013 00:00:00 -0700 Sat, 18 May 2013 11:41:27 -0700 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss NPAC info@performingartsconvention.org info@performingartsconvention.org <![CDATA[Apr 2, 2013: Talvin Wilks: Who gets to define black theater?]]> info@performingartsconvention.org 39|33|46 http://www.performingartsconvention.org/home/id=671  Read Talvin Wilks' thoughtful reflection about the history of black theater in America: 

The Tradition of Defining a Tradition


which kicked off a week of blog posts about theater & communities of color on n HowlRound, a journal of the Theater Commons.

Wilks offers an overview of the people, organizations and ideas behind a vital American tradition that is worth celebrating even as it is debated and analyzed. A conversation well worth having.

Excerpt: 
"...who gets to define black theater?
The definition lies in the recognition and understanding of a broad and illustrious history and not in one single answer. It is a history that should be studied and known because it reflects and coincides with the challenges of race and identity in America, a microcosm of the larger scale social debate and contemplation. ... If nothing else, what is remarkable is that these contemplations and queries document a wonderful tradition of discourse that stands as a vibrant reflection of the resilience of the African American artist in the American theater.



http://classic.howlround.com/the-tradition-of-defining-a-tradition/

]]> Tue, 02 Apr 2013 21:35:45 -0700 http://www.performingartsconvention.org/home/id=671 <![CDATA[Mar 31, 2013: Marian Godfrey's Manifesto: "Only Connect the Prose & the Passion"]]> info@performingartsconvention.org 15|29 http://www.performingartsconvention.org/home/id=670 Thoughtful reflections on art & how it gets supported in the U.S. these days:

Marian Godfrey, longtime director of Cultural Initiatives for the Pew Charitable Trusts in Philadelphia, and now cultural advisor to the Berkshire Taconic Community Foundation, has written a fascinating manifesto, taking on the too frequent gap between the thrill of art and the existing mechanisms of support for that work. She assesses the current realities and proposes a hopeful vision. Well worth consideration!

“Only Connect the Prose and the Passion” A Manifesto
by Marian Godfrey
Originally a keynote at the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts’ Cultural Summit 2012
Adapted into an article published in the Grantmakers in the Arts Reader, , Vol. 24, No. 1 Winter 2013
Read it here:  http://www.giarts.org/sites/default/files/24-1_Godfrey.pdf

Excerpts:
 "Over the years I have struggled with the contradiction between my work as an arts administrator, which is mostly deeply prosaic, and my experiences of passionate encounters with art — of being literally exalted — in the theater, in music, in museums, even in the presence of great buildings."

"So why do we need a manifesto? A manifesto is a claim that something in the world needs changing,and that particular beliefs and actions are required to make the world better. The institutional structures that underpin the arts community have deep problems today. But the arts themselves are thriving, or at the very least as well off as they ever have been."

"I sometimes think funders are like the proverbial drunk looking for his keys under the lamppost on a dark night
because that is where he can see: by and large, we look to fund “excellence” and “innovation” only in particular kinds of arts organizations with which we are already familiar. These are organizations that our charters permit us to fund — usually restricted to 501(c)(3) nonprofits — and that our governing boards know and sometimes love. Major institutions such as symphonies and museums fit the bill, as do some smaller museums and performing arts,visual arts, and/or heritage organizations. But these kinds of organizations are not necessarily — certainly not always — where the action really is, whether you are talking about truly adventurous new work that excites audiences, or artists and organizations that work closely and in a sustained way with their communities and address the deep-seated cultural and social inequities that are too often ignored by the“mainstream” institutions."

"a reason for hope is that artists and arts organizations have been coming into focus, recently, as having something desirable to offer to others who are trying to figure out how to navigate the twenty-first century."

© Grantmakers in the Arts Reader
http://www.giarts.org/sites/default/files/24-1_Godfrey.pdf

]]> Sun, 31 Mar 2013 22:56:27 -0700 http://www.performingartsconvention.org/home/id=670 <![CDATA[Mar 31, 2013: Arts Ed Interest? Check out EricBooth.net]]> info@performingartsconvention.org 29|24 http://www.performingartsconvention.org/home/id=669 Eric Booth has long been a powerhouse in arts education, a catalyst, a visionary, and a welcome leader at conferences and training sessions for all of the performing arts.

And now he has a website! Visit EricBooth.net for easy access to Eric's writings, videos, speeches & more.

If you don't already know Eric, here's a bit of his bio from the website:

"In arts learning, he has taught at Juilliard (13 years), Stanford University, NYU, Tanglewood and Lincoln Center Institute (for 25 years), and The Kennedy Center (12 years). He was the Faculty Chair of the Empire State Partnership program for three years (the largest arts-in-education project in America), and held one of six chairs on The College Board’s Arts Advisory Committee for seven years. He serves as a consultant for many organizations, cities, states and businesses around the country, including six of the ten largest orchestras in America, and five national service organizations. He consults with arts organizations, businesses, boards of directors, state arts and education agencies, national arts organizations and occasionally to high tech and medical firms on their innovation work. He is widely referred to as one of the nation’s most creative teachers and as the father of the teaching artist profession, and this is one of many topics he consults on. Formerly the Director of the Teacher Center of the Leonard Bernstein Center, he is a frequent keynote speaker on the arts to groups of all kinds. He delivered the closing keynote speech to UNESCO’s first ever worldwide arts education conference (Lisbon 2006), and gave the keynote speech to the first world conference on orchestras' connections to communities (Glasgow 2007). He completed a six-week speaking tour of Scotland and Australia, speaking to over 40 organizations, government agencies, and universities about creativity and teaching artistry. He was the Senior Advisor to the Music National Service initiative (lead trainer and training designer for the launch of MusicianCorps). He is a senior advisor to the movement developing of El Sistema-inspired sites around the U.S. He is the co-founder and co-leader of the Orchestra Engagement Lab (including its Teaching Artist Academy), a national co-commissioning project which weaves the development of new orchestral works with bold community engagement design and practice, comprised of a summer intensive in a Vermont retreat, and a year of coaching to use the project as a catalyst for organizational change."

http://ericbooth.net  - a great resource for ideas and inspiration in arts education.



]]> Sun, 31 Mar 2013 21:23:28 -0700 http://www.performingartsconvention.org/home/id=669 <![CDATA[Mar 7, 2013: The Illumination Business: John Lahr starts a discussion on critics vs. reviewers]]> info@performingartsconvention.org 29|31 http://www.performingartsconvention.org/home/id=668

In The Illumination Business: Why drama critics must look at and look after the theater in the Winter 2013 Nieman Reports, New Yorker drama critic John Lahr differentiates between reviewers (consumer advice = bad) and critics (thoughtful reflection = good).

He writes: The reviewer and the critic have opposite objectives. Criticism treats the play as a metaphor; it interprets it and puts it in a larger historical, psychological and theatrical context. The critic is in the illumination business; the reviewer, by contrast, provides a consumer service. The reviewer treats the play as an event and reports its contents to the paying customers.

"Reviewing assumes that the plot is the play; criticism, on the other hand, knows that the plot is only part of a conversation that the playwright is having about a complex series of historical and psychological issues. The job of the critic is to join that conversation, to explore the play and link it to the world. The job of the reviewer is to link the play to the box office.

"The media has hijacked the word “critic” to refer to almost anyone dispensing judgment. When people use the term “critic” in reference to theater, they usually mean “reviewer.” The critic sells thought; the reviewer sells opinion...."

And he continues. This article took on a viral life, which expanded when Charles McNulty, the reviewer (in Lahr's parlance, critic in his own) at the L.A. Times posted on his Facebook page, "Re John Lahr’s broadside: I always thought he was part of the problem. " The Facebook post is included in George Hunka's blog "Superfluities."

Comments on the article on the Nieman site are interesting, including 512 likes (as of this writing) , praise from critic Robert Brustein and a call for conversation from playwright Deb Margolin. Comments on McNulty's Facebook page extend the conversation, mostly supporting his view. And comments on George Hunka's blog further the discussion and suggest that theater folks are eager to think about the current state of theater criticism.

Is this a theater issue only, or do other performing arts grapple with the sometimes conflicting goals of thoughtful criticism and enjoyable consumer advice? 

http://www.superfluitiesredux.com/2013/03/03/john-lahr-v-charles-mcnulty-round-1/
]]> Thu, 07 Mar 2013 14:49:15 -0800 http://www.performingartsconvention.org/home/id=668 <![CDATA[Mar 7, 2013: Must Have Extenstions For Google Chrome]]> info@performingartsconvention.org 21 http://www.performingartsconvention.org/home/id=667
Must Have Extensions For Google Chrome
 
First of all, if you’re not using Google Chrome, you should be. It’s top rated on every important browsing feature, including security, ease of use, and speed & compatibility. http://internet-browser-review.toptenreviews.com/
 
(A recent update to Chrome for Android also improves speed on JavaScript-heavy pages like Gmail or Facebook.)
 
 
 
These extensions listed below were all tested—alone and in tandem (on a MacBook Pro 2.66 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with 4GB 1067 MHz DDR3 Memory operating on OS X 10.8.2.) These will make your Google Chrome browsing experience even more secure, easy, and fun. You’ll find resources about even more high ranked stuff at the bottom of the page.
 
 
AdBlock
AdBlock for Chrome! Block all advertisements on all web pages, even Facebook, Youtube, and Hulu. You can pause Adblock on individual pages, if necessary, since Hulu in particular will prevent you from watching if Adblock is on.
 
 
AddThis
AddThis allows you to instantly share, bookmark, print, or even translate pages with one easy-to-use tool.
 
Collusion
Thousands of companies and organizations secretly collect your personal data when you use the web, creating a shadow web of connections between sites you go to and trackers you probably never heard of. Collusion for Chrome graphs the spread of your data from sites to trackers, in real time, to expose and, optionally, to break these hidden connections.

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/collusion-for-chrome/ganlifbpkcplnldliibcbegplfmcfigp

 
Do Not Track Me
DoNotTrackMe protects your privacy by blocking online tracking.
Every time you use the web, companies are collecting and storing info about you and your web activity. DoNotTrackMe (DNTMe) is free privacy software that prevents online tracking and improves your security on the Internet.
 
Evernote Web Clipper

Evernote is the premiere way to clip and store everything you see online that's worth keeping. This extension for the service makes it a breeze, even isolating what it sees as the main content of a page, and storing just that. Search through it all later using Evernote.com or the offline software and apps.
 
Feedly
Organize your favorite blogs, news sites and Youtube channels and access them all in one place (or sync with Google Reader, Twitter and Facebook).
 
Facebook Disconnect
Tired of Facebook? Need a break? Enable this extension and you’ll be Facebook free, in a way. Facebook Disconnect blocks all traffic from third-party sites to Facebook servers but still lets you access Facebook itself. Make sure to re-enable it when you’re ready to get back to seeing the world the way it really is.

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/facebook-disconnect/ejpepffjfmamnambagiibghpglaidiec

 
G Disconnect
You think Facebook is bad? Google is notified whenever you visit one of the more than 25 percent of sites on the web that include Google widgets.

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/g-disconnect/kglfocodeikakacbeoajjhnplhlaoook
 
Ghostery
Protect your privacy. See who's tracking your web browsing with Ghostery.
 
Hide Facebook SideBar Ticker
Turn off the annoying sidebar ads on the right column of Facebook and you’ll instantly like your everday experience a whole lot more.
 
MaskMe

When you register a new account on a website or service you have to provide an email address. Using your regular email address increases the likelihood that your inbox will be flooded with all kinds of new stuff. MaskMe is an extension for chrome that helps you create unique random email addresses linked to your email. Turn off spam with one click, generate strong, unique passwords linked to one single password, and encrypt and store your passwords and online accounts in one safe place, for your eyes only.
 
Privacy Fix
Privacyfix is where you can manage your privacy controls for Facebook, Google, the websites you visit and the companies that track you across the Web. Instantly see privacy risks and navigate instantly to where you can fix them. As you visit sites, get alerted to new privacy risks before you provide personal data, remove website cookies and request deletion of your personal data.
 
Rapportive
Rapportive shows you everything about your contacts right inside your inbox.
 
Too Many Tabs
Manage your tabs, improve your browsing, and maintain your sanity when you have many tabs open.

 

Ever tried having 20 tabs or more open in Chrome? You can’t even see the favicon of the tabs, not to mention the tab titles! If that happens to you, TooManyTabs is a must-have extension that manages your tabs, reduces your tab overflow, and saves your sanity!
 
Twitter Disconnect
Block traffic from third-party sites to Twitter but still have access to Twitter services.
 
 
 
Here are a few other ‘best extenstions’ lists from around the web:
 
 
 
 
 
 
Facebook Open Graph Redirect
 
 
 
 
  
]]> Thu, 07 Mar 2013 06:17:47 -0800 http://www.performingartsconvention.org/home/id=667 <![CDATA[Feb 23, 2013: The Makeup of Taylor Mac]]> info@performingartsconvention.org 3 http://www.performingartsconvention.org/home/id=666 An interview with performer Taylor Mac posted here some time ago generated a lot of interest. Here's a follow-up visit, backstage before a performance of The Good Person of Szechuan, a Foundry Theater production at La Mama in NY. Watch Taylor Mac put on his makeup and share his thoughts:


"I see some of those musicals on Broadway, & I think, this is some serious avant garde performance, you know?...Mama Mia is stranger than anything that has happened at La Mama in forty years. That is some serious weird stuff. Or Death of a Salesman, that is avant garde. Or realism, kitchen sink drama, that is the new, because it's only been around for  a hundred years, while all this stuff that's going on at La Mama has been going on for centuries...."

Watch it all.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=BqU-83q7M8c



Photos by Pavel Antonov

]]> Sat, 23 Feb 2013 18:44:56 -0800 http://www.performingartsconvention.org/home/id=666 <![CDATA[Feb 11, 2013: The Trouble with February, reflections from Teresa Eyring]]> info@performingartsconvention.org 39|33|16|18 http://www.performingartsconvention.org/home/id=665 In the February 2013 issue of American Theatre Magazine, Teresa Eyring, executive director of Theatre Communications Group and longtime chair of the National Performing Arts Convention, reflects on Black History Month and its relationship to diversity in the arts. 

The annual February focus on African American accomplishments, she says, has an important history and track record, and the arts world has embraced in many wonderful ways. But she also notes the limitations inherent in this fundamentally segregationist approach.

From the article: 
"The idea of there being a Black History Month—why isn’t it Black History Month 12 months a year?
— Bill T. Jones at the TCG National Conference in Baltimore, 2009

"....This yearly focus has indeed become an important mechanism for illuminating black culture and the tremendous contributions of African Americans. It has also become a barrier and a source of frustration for many artists who yearn for their work to be valued equally, in all 12 months of the year...."

Read Teresa's full piece, The Trouble with February.

http://www.tcg.org/publications/at/issue/exec.cfm

]]> Mon, 11 Feb 2013 07:47:12 -0800 http://www.performingartsconvention.org/home/id=665 <![CDATA[Feb 10, 2013: James DePriest, Barrier Breaking Conductor, Leaves a Legacy of Accomplishments]]> info@performingartsconvention.org 39|37 http://www.performingartsconvention.org/home/id=664 The Conductor James DePriest died on February 8 in Scottsdale, Arizona at age 76, leaving behind a long legacy of accomplishments in music. To do so, he had to defy a number of prejudices.

Mr. DePriest broke boundaries as a world class classical music conductor at leading orchestras around the country and internationally, including the New York Philharmonic, the National Symphony Orchestra, the Oregon Symphony, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the San Francisco Symphony, the Royal Philharmonic, the Malmo Symphony Orchestra, the Rotterdam Philharmonic and orchestras in Amsterdam, Berlin, Budapest, Copenhagen, Prague, Rome, Stockholm, Vienna, Seoul, Sydney and Tel Aviv. He was also director of conducting and orchestral studies for the Juilliard School for many years.

In a physically demanding field, overwhelmingly dominated by able-bodied white men, Mr. DePriest, an African American man, who required a wheelchair after both legs were paralyzed by polio he contracted while on tour to Bangkok in 1962, was a rarity. He overcame many obstacles to achieve international renown in a long and influential career.

The New York Times reports:
"Though he was reluctant to be seen as a role model on the basis of his race, rather than purely for his musical accomplishments, he still understood, he said, that young black musicians regarded him as a role model, much as they had revered his aunt, the great contralto Marian Anderson, who was the first black singer to perform at the Metropolitan Opera. It was a responsibility he took seriously, he said. In 1997, he appeared in “My Country,” an hourlong documentary on PBS in which he drew comparisons between racial barriers and the challenges faced by people with disabilities"

Read the New York Times obituary for more information about this remarkable man.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/10/arts/music/james-depreist-pioneering-conductor-dies-at-76.html?ref=obituaries&_r=0
]]> Sun, 10 Feb 2013 08:39:04 -0800 http://www.performingartsconvention.org/home/id=664 <![CDATA[Feb 6, 2013: The Pew Research Center Report on Arts Organizations & Digital Technology]]> info@performingartsconvention.org 21 http://www.performingartsconvention.org/home/id=663
"Cultural organizations like theater companies, orchestras, & art museums are using the internet, social media, & mobile apps to draw in & engage audiences, provide deeper context around art, & disseminate their work beyond the stage & the gallery"

The Pew Internet & American Life Project  has published the results of an extensive survey on arts organizations' use of a wide range of digital technologies.  Authors Kristin Thomson research consultant, Kristen Purcell Associate director for research, Pew Internet Project, & Lee Rainie director, Pew Internet Project share detailed data on engagement, perceived impact, benefits & challenges.

From the report overview:
"A survey of a wide-ranging mix of U.S.-based arts organizations shows that the internet, social media, & mobile connectivity now permeate their operations & have changed the way they stage performances, mount & showcase their exhibits, engage their audiences, sell tickets, & raise funds.These organizations are even finding that technology has changed the very definition of art."

Read the summary overview
Read the full report.


image from Technology in the Arts

]]> Wed, 06 Feb 2013 09:49:48 -0800 http://www.performingartsconvention.org/home/id=663 <![CDATA[Feb 1, 2013: Race & Representation in Theater: Panel Discussion & Victory Gardens Theater]]> info@performingartsconvention.org 29|34|16|35|32 http://www.performingartsconvention.org/home/id=662  Victory Gardens Theater, The League of Chicago Theatres, Silk Road Rising and Lifeline Theatre are collaborating on a conversation series, Race &Representation in Chicago Theater, to discuss the issues of race & representation in Chicago's theater community.
]]> Fri, 01 Feb 2013 20:12:09 -0800 http://www.performingartsconvention.org/home/id=662 <![CDATA[Jan 31, 2013: Arts in a Changing America: Join the Conversation]]> info@performingartsconvention.org 29|33|16|54|17 http://www.performingartsconvention.org/home/id=661 Check out the Arts in a Changing America blog! Read it, post to it, be a part of the conversation on art in world that is changing fast.

From the site: 

"We are a community of writers and cultural practitioners documenting the story of how the [ART] world as we know it has already ended…

"Our aim, niche, and focus is simply: the intersection of arts and changing demographics in the U.S. and the Americas.

"We welcome submissions from emerging as well as professional “cultural reporters” who have their ear to the ground of what is happening artistically  in communities, places, media, and among groups and publics not normally or regularly covered by mainstream art critics and publications.

"Submissions can be as short as 150 words and as long as 2,000+ words.

"Got any ideas? Pitch them to editor Maribel Alvarez at: artsinachangingamerica@gmail.com"

http://www.artsinachangingamerica.net

]]> Thu, 31 Jan 2013 14:45:21 -0800 http://www.performingartsconvention.org/home/id=661 <![CDATA[Jan 9, 2013: 'Social Media On Stage:Theater Meets Twitter,Facebook,Youtube, Tumbler, Soundcloud…']]> info@performingartsconvention.org 29|10 http://www.performingartsconvention.org/home/id=660 " Theater, the original social media, meets its digital counterparts in form-breaking new live/virtual experiments:"
 *  Nerve Tanks' The Attendants, in which texting drives the action, what action there is
 *  New Paradise Laboratories' Fatebook, Extremely Public Displays of Privacy, with websites, tumblrs, ipod tours & Facebook pages for characters

The article quotes New Paradise artistic director Whit McLaughlin: 

"“It is important to me that more and more people become aware of the possibilities of online storytelling,” MacLaughlin says. “Theatre tends to hold its Luddite credentials high. We fancy ourselves to be the antidote to all that digital stuff.” He believes it is the wrong attitude. “If we’re serious about reaching young and nontraditional potential theatregoers, we’ve got to think of the Internet as a delivery system, not just of marketing but of content.”
By content, of course, he means those old-fangled things called plays."

This article first appeared in the January 2013 issue of American Theatre magazine, published by Theatre Communications Group
Available online through New York Theater

]]> Wed, 09 Jan 2013 12:10:58 -0800 http://www.performingartsconvention.org/home/id=660 <![CDATA[Jan 9, 2013: Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Establishes Playwright Residencies with $3.7 Million Initiative]]> info@performingartsconvention.org 28|29|31 http://www.performingartsconvention.org/home/id=659 It's hard to make a steady living as a playwright.

In the United States, most professional theaters are likely to have marketers or grantwriters on staff who can count on a regular paycheck, but playwrights rarely have that stability. Most support their playwrighting habit by writing for film or television, teaching, or working a day job.

But for at least the next 3 years, 14 playwrights will be able to try another way.

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has awarded $3.7 million initiative to allow playwrights to focus on their work as playwrights. 14 playwrights have been selected to receive a salary and benefits for 3 years, while in residence at theaters in 11 different communities across the United States. The funding will go to the playwrights and the theaters and includes a $760,000 grant to the Center for the Theater Commons at Emerson College, more than half of which will be used to cover the participating playwrights' travel and research expenses. The rest, according to the Boston Globe, will be used to hire freelancers to document, track the impact of the initiative and share information through social networking.

The 14 playwrights are: Melinda Lopez, Huntington Theatre Company of Boston; David Adjmi, Soho Repertory Theatre of New York City; Dan Le Franc, Playwrights Horizons of New York City; Robert O’Hara, Wooly Mammoth Theatre Company of Washington, D.C.; Luis Alfaro, Oregon Shakespeare Festival of Ashland, Oregon; Pearl Cleage, Alliance Theatre of Atlanta; Marcus Gardley, Victory Gardens Theater of Chicago; Nathan Louis Jackson, Kansas City Repertory Theatre of Kansas City, Missouri; Julie Marie Myatt, South Coast Repertory of Costa Mesa, California; Peter Nachtrieb, Z Space of San Francisco; Qui Nguyen, Mixed Blood Theatre Company of Minneapolis; Kira Obolensky, Ten Thousand Things of Minneapolis; Will Power, Dallas Theater Center of Dallas; and Andrew Saito, Cutting Ball Theater of San Francisco.



]]> Wed, 09 Jan 2013 11:15:59 -0800 http://www.performingartsconvention.org/home/id=659 <![CDATA[Dec 27, 2012: Listen to President Obama Speak at the 2012 Kennedy Center Honors Reception]]> info@performingartsconvention.org 15|3|27 http://www.performingartsconvention.org/home/id=658 Listen to President Barack Obama's speech at the 2012 Kennedy Center Honors on December 26. He spoke to the talents of Buddy Guy, Dustin Hoffman, David Letterman, Natalia Makarova and Led Zeppelin, to the range of performing artists being honored, and said:

"each of us can remember a moment when the people on this stage touched our lives.  Maybe they didn’t lead us to become performers ourselves.  But maybe they inspired us to see things in a new way, to hear things differently, to discover something within us or to appreciate how much beauty there is in the world.  It’s that unique power that makes the arts so important.

  
         "We may not always think about the importance of music or dance or laughter to the life of this nation, but who would want to imagine America without it?"


Watch the speech:


Read the transcript

http://www.whitehouse.gov/photos-and-video/video/2012/12/02/president-obama-speaks-2012-kennedy-center-honors-reception

]]> Thu, 27 Dec 2012 06:59:21 -0800 http://www.performingartsconvention.org/home/id=658 <![CDATA[Dec 18, 2012: Check Out the New Website from New Music USA]]> info@performingartsconvention.org 30 http://www.performingartsconvention.org/home/id=657

Check out the new website from New Music USA!

It's full of information for new music creators & fans. News, grants & a terrific Musician Stories page with profiles from NewMusicBox & updates from New Music USA grant recipients.

It's a great way to learn more about your favorite American composers & to discover new ones as well. 

https://www.newmusicusa.org




]]> Tue, 18 Dec 2012 08:38:34 -0800 http://www.performingartsconvention.org/home/id=657 <![CDATA[Nov 28, 2012: Do Orchestras Really Need Conductors? A New Study Settles the Question]]> info@performingartsconvention.org 29 http://www.performingartsconvention.org/home/id=656  "Have you ever wondered whether music conductors actually influence their orchestras?" asks NPR science correspondent  Shankar Vedantam. "They seem important. After all, they're standing in the middle of the stage and waving their hands. But the musicians all have scores before them that tell them what to play. If you took the conductor away, could the orchestra manage on its own?"

A scientific study, using infrared lights and expert ears, led by Yiannis Aloimonos of the University of Maryland, and colleagues looks to answer the question. You may think you already know the answer, but do you?  

Listen and read what they found here.  

http://www.npr.org/blogs/deceptivecadence/2012/11/27/165677915/do-orchestras-really-need-conductors
NPR Music


]]> Wed, 28 Nov 2012 18:42:28 -0800 http://www.performingartsconvention.org/home/id=656 <![CDATA[Nov 28, 2012: 2013 NEA Art Works Grant Recipients]]> info@performingartsconvention.org 61|29 http://www.performingartsconvention.org/home/id=655


The National Endowment for the Arts has announced the most recent grant recipients: 



2013 Grant Awards: Art Works

Categories: 
Artists Communities | Arts Education | Dance | Folk & Traditional Arts | 
Literature | Local Arts Agencies | Media Arts | Museums | 
Music | Opera | Presenting | Theater and Musical Theater | Visual Arts



]]> Wed, 28 Nov 2012 12:03:48 -0800 http://www.performingartsconvention.org/home/id=655 <![CDATA[Nov 28, 2012: Watch Video of the 2012 TCG Fall Forum on Governance: Focus on Diversity]]> info@performingartsconvention.org 42|36 http://www.performingartsconvention.org/home/id=654

Theatre Communications Group's 2012 Fall Forum on Governance focused on diversity & had a fantastic group of speakers. Watch Video of:

- Playwright Katori Hall's amazing keynote
- Angela Glover Blackwell of PolicyLink on demographics & cultural change
- A panel on best practices with diversity leaders from Johnson & Johnon, Asian American Arts Alliance, & Stanford School of Medicine
- A panel on practical experiences with diversifying theaters with leaders from The Public Theater, CENTERSTAGE, Oregon Shakespeare Festival and the Alliance for Inclusion in the Arts
- Highlights from Theatre Facts, TCG's comprehensive survey of the state of the theater field


Find all the videos & introductions at TCG.org

http://www.tcg.org/events/fallforum/2012/recordings.cfm


]]> Wed, 28 Nov 2012 10:28:48 -0800 http://www.performingartsconvention.org/home/id=654 <![CDATA[Nov 28, 2012: Top 10 Apps for Arts Education]]> info@performingartsconvention.org 7|21|10 http://www.performingartsconvention.org/home/id=653 On GettingSmart.org, Sarah Cargill identifies her top 10 art education apps.

She says: "Entrepreneurs today who identify the significance of making art more accessible have developed brilliant websites, apps and more to bring the experience of looking at, say, the Mona Lisa to any device, anywhere and anytime."

These are apps oriented toward visual arts learning. We'd love to hear your ideas for performing arts apps that could be as brilliant!

http://gettingsmart.com/cms/news/top-10-apps-for-arts-education/

]]> Wed, 28 Nov 2012 09:12:20 -0800 http://www.performingartsconvention.org/home/id=653 <![CDATA[Nov 16, 2012: Is This the Answer for Your Venue? How to Make Your Own Cell Phone Jammer]]> info@performingartsconvention.org 21 http://www.performingartsconvention.org/home/id=652 Cell phones in the theater - what to do? Encourage tweeters or beg for silence?

For those who favor silence, Technology in the Arts highlights Wired's step-by-step instructions for building your own homemade cellphone jammer.

Technology in the Arts notes that it's actually not legal to build a cell phone jammer in the U.S., but for some, it's mighty tempting. And now it's easy too.

http://howto.wired.com/wiki/Build_Homemade_Cell_Phone_Jammer

http://www.technologyinthearts.org/2012/11/for-those-of-you-who-cant-stand-it-anymore-a-homemade-cell-phone-jammer/

 



]]> Fri, 16 Nov 2012 13:30:25 -0800 http://www.performingartsconvention.org/home/id=652