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Conference KitPitch track: Artists (feature)While there are many workshops and events during the Members Conference that may interest you, the following have been selected as a track specifically for members of the media looking to write a feature piece on one of the many artists who will be involved.If you have any questions about the content of any of the events below, to schedule interviews or if you know of a story you are interested in writing that may be enhanced by an interview or aspect of this year's Members Conference, do not hesitate to contact Melissa Schwartz, Director of Communications at 202.207.3843 or via e-mail at mschwartz@artspresenters.org.
Saturday, January 8, 200511 am - 1 pmOpening Plenary Session: Featuring Oliver Sacks As a physician and a writer, Oliver Sacks is concerned above all with the ways in which individuals survive and adapt to different neurological diseases and conditions, and what this experience can tell us about the human brain and mind. His books exploring these themes have been bestsellers around the world and are used widely in university courses on neuroscience, writing, ethics, philosophy and sociology. They have served as the inspiration for artists working in forms as varied as poetry, essay, documentary, drama, painting, dance, cinema and fiction, including Peter Brook's L'Homme Qui… and the Oscar nominated film Awakenings. 1 pm - 2 pm Artist Voices: Carl Hancock Rux Moderated by Daniel Banks, New York University Selected by The New York Times Magazine as "One of Thirty Artists Under The Age of Thirty Most Likely To Influence Culture Over The Next Thirty Years" and featured on the cover of The Village Voice as one of "Eight Writers on The Verge Of (Impacting) The Literary Landscape," Carl Hancock Rux crosses the disciplines of poetry, theater, music and literary fiction in order to achieve what one critic describes as a "dizzying oral artistry - unleashing a torrent of paper bag poetry and post modern Hip-Bop music; the ritualistic blues of self awakening; Coon songs and schizophrenic soul sestinas - from hellacious to hilarious and back again." 1 pm - 2 pmArtist Voices: Dan Zanes Moderated by Rachel Chanoff, Artistic Director, Celebrate Brooklyn; Curator, Just Kidding, Symphony Space Dan Zanes, the former lead singer and songwriter for the legendary rock and roll band The Del Fuegos, and his band perform exuberant, handmade music for enthusiastic crowds of kids and kid sympathizers. On his four critically acclaimed albums, Rocket Ship Beach, Family Dance, Night Time! and House Party, Zanes performs with a spirited group of Brooklyn-based musicians in addition to special guests Lou Reed, Aimee Mann, Bob Weir, Deborah Harry, Suzanne Vega, Sheryl Crow, Sandra Bernhard, Dar Williams, Loudon Wainwright III and Rosanne Cash, among others. 1 pm - 2 pmArtist Voices: Christopher O'Riley Moderated by George Steel, Miller Theater, Columbia University An artist whose poetic gifts and captivating virtuosity have made him one of the most important and versatile pianists performing before the public today, Christopher O'Riley enjoys a thriving concert career. His singularly broad repertoire ranges from music of the English Renaissance and French Baroque periods to the new works of today's leading composers to such non-classical forms as the tango. He also plays many of his own arrangements and transcriptions. O'Riley made his debut on the Sony Classical label with the worldwide release this spring of True Love Waits, a new recording that introduces his piano transcriptions of songs by the English alternative rock band Radiohead.
Sunday, January 9, 20055 pm - 6 pmArtist Voices: Cynthia Hopkins Moderated by Boo Froebel, Lincoln Center Festival Cynthia Hopkins has composed and performed for many theater and film projects, including Big Dance Theater's productions of Mac Wellman's Antigone, Shunkin and Another Telepathic Thing, based on Mark Twain's The Mysterious Stranger, for which she won an Obie award for performance and a Bessie award for composition. She also performed in Ridge Theater's production of Mac Wellman's at jennie richee, based on the work of Henry Darger, for which she won an Obie award as part of the collaborative team. She is also the lead singer, songwriter and accordionist for the band Gloria Deluxe. She is currently touring the operetta Accidental Nostalgia. 5 pm - 6 pmArtist Voices: Peter Sellars and Dawn Upshaw Moderated by Alicia Anstead, Editor, Inside Arts Peter Sellars, a director of opera, theater and film, is renowned worldwide for his innovative treatments of classical material from western and non-western traditions, and for his commitment to exploring the role of the performing arts in contemporary society. He has served as Artistic Director of the Los Angeles Festival, the American National Theatre at the Kennedy Center, the Boston Shakespeare Company and the Elitch Theatre for Children in Denver. Recent projects include directing John Adams' El Niño at the Theatre du Chalet in Paris; Stravinksy's The Story of a Soldier with the Los Angeles Philharmonic (conducted by Esa-Pekka Salonen), a 25-year survey exhibition of the work of American artist Bill Viola; Jean Genet's The Screens, adapted by poet Gloria Alvarez, with the Cornerstone Theater Company and performers from the community of Boyle Heights in East Los Angeles; and Peony Pavilion composed by Tan Dun. He currently teaches at the UCLA World Arts and Culture program. Dawn Upshaw, admired for her uncommon musicality and for the unaffected beauty of her singing, is further esteemed for having paved a career path that is wholly her own. The integrity and freshness of conception that mark her choice of repertory and her interpretations have made her a model for a new generation of singers. Applauded in the opera houses of New York, Paris, Salzburg and Vienna for her portrayals of the great Mozart roles, she is equally renowned for work in more remote corners of the repertory. Two-thirds of Upshaw's calendar each season is set aside for work away from the opera stage - as a chamber musician, with major orchestras and in the recording studio. Her advocacy of contemporary music is compellingly evident in her broad range of solo recordings.
Monday, January 12, 20041 pm - 2:45 pmAward Luncheon and Ceremony Ceremony and lunch are by reservation only. Please contact Melissa Schwartz if you are interested in attending.
Award of Merit - Paul Taylor, choreographer
3 pm - 4 pm He has been called a genius; a legend; a cultural icon. Time calls him "the reigning master of modern dance," and the New York Daily News declares him to be "the best choreographer in the world." But Paul Taylor considers himself, above all, a reporter whose job is to observe us and record his impressions. Twice a year, he dutifully leaves behind his shore-front cottage, his scarabs and butterflies, his wildflowers and the furniture he's made solely from driftwood, to enter a dance studio and "report." Whether investing everyday movement with breathtaking beauty or reminding us that we are not as removed from our prehistoric ancestors as we like to think, he rivets us with astonishing inventiveness, poignancy and wit. As prolific as ever after 50 years, he recently completed his 120th work. 4 pm - 5 pmArtist Voices: Emio Greco and Pieter Scholten Moderated by Stephen Greco, Editor-at-Large, Trace Magazine Amsterdam based Emio Greco | PC, the artistic partnership of Emio Greco and Pieter C. Scholten, has been described as one of Europe's most daring and innovative dance companies. Their performances have been invited to theatres and festivals around the world receiving enthusiastic audience responses and rave reviews. For Greco and Scholten, the curiosity towards the body and its inner motives serve as the starting point for creating dance. In their performances, dance is not used as a medium to convey a message or decorate theatrical space, instead it is seen as having an intelligence of its own, capable of communicating a wisdom of the body that needs no added explanations. The participation of Emio Greco and Pieter Scholten is made possible through the support of The Consulate General of the Netherlands.
Tuesday, January 11, 200510 am - 11 amClosing Plenary Session: Molly Smith Molly Smith is in her seventh season as Artistic Director of Arena Stage in Washington, DC. Smith began her theater career in Washington, DC in the early 1970s. In 1979 she moved to Juneau, Alaska where she founded Perseverance Theatre. During her 19 years at Perseverance, Smith nurtured the theater into a national presence, directing more than 50 productions as Artistic Director. In addition to directorial work at Arena Stage, she has directed productions for the New York Theatre Workshop, Berkeley Repertory Theatre and Trinity Repertory Company. She has directed two full-length films: Raven's Blood and Making Contact. All Programs are Subject to Change. |
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