February 27, 2006

Kenneth's show went off without a hitch. For a work-in-progress it was remarkably tight, especially given the amount of tech he's incorporating these days. Audiences were healthy if not huge; and for the most part folks were receptive to the work (those of you who know Kenneth's stuff will understand - he's working in a place that's very difficult stylistically...and certain people just can't get with the program). I, for one, think he's going for something really different, important, and great. He's come a long way since the Ontological.

This week is Gabriella's Scenes From A Wedding. Before now, I'd only seen her work on video and wasn't sure what to expect. I saw a rehearsal last Friday and was pleasantly bowled over. She's very intelligent, and her performers are a committed bunch. The design elements seem really cool. And there will be free champagne! You should all make time to see it if you can.

Sheila and I took in Trajal & Karen at The Kitchen on Friday night. I'll be polite and say I didn't take much (if anything) away from the performance, though I really wanted to like it and (thought I) knew what they were working toward. I thought both pieces were irritatingly self-referential; or worse, a little self-important. A few years ago I would have chalked it up to my own ignorance of dance. But I've seen enough this year to know better. Both of them used video in really old-school ways (which has been something of a trend this year, yes?) - which would have been fine had they done so more purposefully. Trajal subjected us to maybe 15 minutes of American Gigolo, unmediated, with no audio and no discernible point of reference. Karen did the whole "look at me when I was younger" thing (which I don't necessarily hate - I thought Miguel's use of this convention in his piece at DTW was touching). That said, I thought Arturo was hilarious in his suit and tie. But I'm biased. And the sound design was kind of great. Addendum: I read the Times review this morning - which is proof-positive that I am completely out of step with mainstream critical opinion. It's a mystery. Another nail in the coffin.

February 8, 2006

GUN PLAY is over, the show is struck, we've had a bit of a breather (well, not really) and now it's on to our Spring '06 Visiting Artist offerings. You may notice that we're doing fewer shows this Spring than we did last year. Partially it's to accommodate my own work cycle. Partially it's about my curatorial leanings and my desire not to sacrifice quality for quantity. Partially it's about maintaining our collective sanity (we're a staff of 3, after all). Regardless, the stuff we've got lined up this Spring is really exciting. It's a good mix of dance, theater and music. A few of the artists - like Kenneth - have been here before. We've got our very first (well deserved) remount of the Ursula/Rebecca extravaganza. And of course there are some new faces too. I'll say this - the artists I've chosen have a voice, they are hungry, they are not weighted down with feelings of entitlement, and above all, they're putting on the kind of work that I can get behind.

And what of my own work, you ask? Well we've got something in the hopper. We'll be working very slowly on this one (hence all the gaps in the schedule this Spring) and we'll see what happens. We spent a year on GUN PLAY, and it still felt harried in the end. Part of me feels that GUN PLAY deserves another round of development, but that's another story for another day. If it takes me 2 years to make something, so be it. We're starting to receive larger grants, get bigger press, reach greater numbers of people. And I need very badly not to succumb to my own encroaching panic and paranoid delusions and...listen to my own voice for a change. Which knowing me, will be a slow SLOW process. I'm excited.

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November 5 - 8, 2008