http://blog.livearts-fringe.org Philadelphia Live Arts - Fringe Blog en-us Nucleus CMS v3.24 © Weblog http://backend.userland.com/rss http://blog.livearts-fringe.org/nucleus/nucleus2.gif http://blog.livearts-fringe.org http://blog.livearts-fringe.org?itemid=98 new video of Jan Fabre's Another Sleepy Dusty Delta Day from its recent run at the Napoli Teatro Festival Italia. The show ran from June 26-28 before playing at the renowned Festival D'Avignon last week. Another Sleepy Dusty Delta will make its US premiere at the Live Arts Festival on September 10.



Photo by Pascal Gely]]> General http://blog.livearts-fringe.orgindex.php?itemid=98 Wed, 23 Jul 2008 18:07:11 -0400 http://blog.livearts-fringe.org?itemid=97 louder. Based in Oslo, Verdensteatret was formed in 1986 by Lisbeth J. Bodd and Asle Nilsen. Their unique approach is based on the idea that art is constantly being recycled. Video artists, computer animators, sound engineers, musicians, and painters work together to form this "rusty shadow theater," seeking to show us that the way we choose to look at something is not the only light in which it can be seen.



Instead of beginning with an all-encompassing idea, Verdensteatret takes inspiration from the ashes of something that once was: a story, a dream, a journey, and then recreates it. Audiences witness the creation of an expression, a fluid and ever-moving concept that they call flotsam, or things that come floating by that long ago served their original purpose and are now ready to shed that layer of themselves and emerge reincarnated.

louder began with Verdensteatret's journey to Vietnam in the winter of 2007. The Mekong Delta, made mythical in contemporary history through news and film, serves as the backdrop in this chaotic voyage through history that is also an eerie glimpse into the future.



The performance begins and immediately, an explosion of sound and pictures is hurled at us by the machines onstage. Scattered old Soviet-era megaphones spin in circles and howl like sirens as images of the Mekong flash in the background. A row of impish metallic puppets dances by like specters of the Delta's past. A large mechanical spider creature looms over the chaos. The scene seems to hang by a fragile thread, constantly on the verge of destruction.



And yet, amidst the bedlam, there are people who are trying to interact with the landscape. Meticulously plucking at strings, every act carefully planned, they stand in stark contrast to the disorder that surrounds them. In the harsh and frenzied landscape, their actions are calm and systematic. Using the cacophony that surrounds them, they develop their own new noise. This is Verdensteatret’s mission, which louder dutifully accomplishes; to seek beauty in the disarray, to create rebirth from the tangible ruins of the past.



“ louder is a storytelling orchestra that narrates a multitude of tails through sound and images. Tales from a distant past, tales from our time, about wars, river, the theatre, the nation, music nature, technology, the journey, and about exile. In the midst of this throng, we find a heart of darkness- a long black barge on the open sea, radiating coldness and stories." - Company member Elizabeth Leinslie



Photos by Asle Nilsen
]]> General http://blog.livearts-fringe.orgindex.php?itemid=97 Wed, 23 Jul 2008 14:17:07 -0400 http://blog.livearts-fringe.org?itemid=96 MySpace page where you can listen to a few of his songs and learn more about Sweet By-and-By.

Daniel Rudholm]]> General http://blog.livearts-fringe.orgindex.php?itemid=96 Fri, 18 Jul 2008 10:28:32 -0400 http://blog.livearts-fringe.org?itemid=95 The European Lesson and louder, and a hangout space where you’ll find a healthy dose of post-show dancing and debauchery at the end of each Festival day.

FESTIVAL BAR
625 NORTH 5th STREET • SW CORNER OF 5TH + FAIRMOUNT
21 + OVER • NO COVER • DOORS OPEN AT 10PM

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The Festival Bar will offer friends, artists, techies, and show goers everything from video art to Indian take-out to Kenzinger on draught. It's beautiful, spicy, and thirst-quenching all at once!
Victuals! Festival friend and barman Fergie will serve up brew, and culinary wizards from the likes of Tiffin and Konak will supply the grub. Yum!

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Visuals! Media artist Lars Jan will create a ravishing series of visual media projections each night. You’ll also get to see the latest Festival photographs including shots from our lead photographer and longtime friend, JJ Tiziou.

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Vibrations! Of course, there will also be dancing—DJs from all over the city will have you shaking it to your heart’s content. So put on your dancing shoes!

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And more: there's also free, on-site parking! Wow, what a bar, right?]]> General http://blog.livearts-fringe.orgindex.php?itemid=95 Fri, 11 Jul 2008 12:49:43 -0400 http://blog.livearts-fringe.org?itemid=94 Sweet By-and-By. At last week’s Meet the Artist event, a host of eager Festival friends, staff, sponsors, and artists got a sneak peek at the new show.

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Photo by William HebertIn addition to the mini preview, Daniel Rudholm, artistic director of Teater Sláva and Dan Rothenberg, director of the project and co-Artistic Director of Pig Iron discussed the creative process behind Sweet By-and-By, which has been in the works for two years. Dan and Daniel have been working in installments at a performing arts commune in upstate New York and touring around Europe with the piece, evaluating audience responses and tweaking it for its American premiere.

Sweet By-and-By features Rudholm as he re-invents the songs of Joe Hill, a Swedish-American labor organizer and songwriter, while embodying the personas of both Hill and his own great-grandfather, Georg Rudholm. The preview gave the audience a taste of Daniel’s effusive performing style. He appears on the stage with a chair, a banjo, a small accordion, and a large screen hanging behind him. When he steps in front of the screen, his face lights up as he breaks into song. His movements engage the audience and his charismatic and robust voice silences the room with Hill’s biting and brilliant lyrics. Teater Sláva bases much of its work on the physical body, as does Pig Iron, and one can see this training come through in Rudholm's performance. Besides Rothenberg and Rudholm's humor and good-naturedness, a highlight of the event was the projection screen composed solely of any and all sized envelopes, which as Dan explained, tied the show to its roots. Joe Hill wanted to send himself in envelopes to the workers of the world, and the pair decided to incorporate this detail into their show. The result is both effective and eye-catching.

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Photo by William Hebert

The event ended with a series of audience questions, moderated by our own producing director, Nick Stuccio, and afterwards everyone enjoyed food, wine, and beer. Keep your eyes open for more about Sweet By-and-By, a fusion of old songs with new ideas that re-invent them.
]]> General http://blog.livearts-fringe.orgindex.php?itemid=94 Tue, 24 Jun 2008 12:51:38 -0400 http://blog.livearts-fringe.org?itemid=93 L’Ange de la métamorphose, (The Angel of the Metamorphosis) is the fourth installment of the museum’s Counterpoint series, which challenges contemporary artists to juxtapose their works with those of the permanent collection in an effort to connect the past with the present.

nullPaying homage to his predecessors, Fabre’s exhibit is set up in galleries that display the painted works of the Flemish, Dutch, and German masters. A gold-plated lamb wearing a party hat stands before van Eyck’s “Adoration of the Mystic Lamb.” A life-size wax figure of Fabre himself stands bleeding before the portraits of the deceased masters in a gesture of insignificance. This vast array of installations exhibits a brilliant recontextualization of the work of the greats from the past within a post-modern framework.

Fabre is also known for his ground-breaking performance art and will be bringing a new piece to the Live Arts Festival this season. Another Sleepy Dusty Delta Day features Croatian dancer Ivana Jozic in a solo performance inspired by Bobby Gentry’s “Ode to Billy Joe.” Fabre brings themes of love, suicide, and the erotic body, creating the “dusty day” with 1.5 tons of coal on stage. Always passionate, provocative, and highly experimental, this artist’s work will leave audiences feeling anything but sleepy.
]]> General http://blog.livearts-fringe.orgindex.php?itemid=93 Tue, 10 Jun 2008 17:38:09 -0400 http://blog.livearts-fringe.org?itemid=92 The European Lesson. Last week, Jo visited Philadelphia for a day to work with Aaron Cromie, Jeb Kreager, Catharine Slusar, and John Zak, who will star in Strømgren's new work this September. The group started their day at The Second Mile Center in West Philly, where they had lots of fun taking photos and buying old Phillies t-shirts on the cheap, and then they came over to the Arts Bank, where they had a few hours of workshop time before meeting with Live Arts friends, donors, and staff to talk a little bit about the show...

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Aaron, Catharine, and John put on their Slovak suits. Photo by Manny Dominguez.The European Lesson will feature an American anthropologist (played by Jeb Kreager) presenting a lecture on Slovakians and Slovak culture. Cromie, Pig Iron's Sarah Sanford, Slusar, and Zak will play a somewhat dysfunctional Slovak family, speaking in a Slovak-inspired tongue, one of Strømgren's signature faux languages. Strømgren explained that the show will reference the early twentieth century practice of putting tribal peoples on exhibition at large fairs and circuses (he told us a brief story about the 1958 World's Fair in Brussels, where the presentation of a faux Congolese caused significant political controversy), while simultaneously poking fun at cultural exoticism, and international political and cultural misconceptions as they are today. Learn more about The European Lesson.
]]> General http://blog.livearts-fringe.orgindex.php?itemid=92 Tue, 3 Jun 2008 11:22:09 -0400 http://blog.livearts-fringe.org?itemid=91 The Happiness Lecture, lauding the show as a demonstration of the great collaborations that happen between artists from New York and Philadelphia. Starring Tony-award winning actor and clown Bill Irwin, The Happiness Lecture will also feature several acclaimed local performers including longtime Festival artists Nichole Canuso, Aaron Cromie, Dawn Falato, and Makoto Hirano. Click here to read more.



Bill Irwin. Photo by Mark Seliger.

]]> General http://blog.livearts-fringe.orgindex.php?itemid=91 Mon, 19 May 2008 11:24:18 -0400 http://blog.livearts-fringe.org?itemid=90 IN FLUX series showcases works-in-progress by emerging and mid-career local choreographers. This year, the Live Arts Festival will host three evening-length presentations of the following works by IN FLUX choreographers: Not On Tuesday by Sarah Gladwin Camp; Seabee by Rebecca Lloyd-Jones; Inside by Erica Saben; and After Fantastic by Kathryn TeBordo.

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Here are some more photos from the series, all taken by Steve Weinik.

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Almost famous? Festival staff members John Emory and Danielle Hoffman wave to the crowd.


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Cerberus the three-headed dog threatened to eat our party guests! Karen Getz gave us a sneak peek performance of her work for the 2008 Festival, Disco Descending.


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Kate Watson-Wallace showed us a snippet of Car in the parking lot across the street. Thanks, PhillyCarShare.


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Friends and drinks were plentiful--everyone had a great time! Thanks again to the sponsors, donors, volunteers, artists, and friends who made this Festival Kickoff a success.

Photos by Elizabeth Hershey.



]]> General http://blog.livearts-fringe.orgindex.php?itemid=89 Mon, 12 May 2008 10:46:18 -0400