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avrahamglattman · 1 year ago

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The Top Theater and Performing Arts Experiences in New York

The Top Theater and Performing Arts Experiences in New York http://avrahamglattman.org/the-top-theater-and-performing-arts-experiences-in-new-york/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-top-theater-and-performing-arts-experiences-in-new-york New York City, the cultural capital of the United States, is renowned for its vibrant theater and performing arts scene. From Broadway shows to avant-garde performances, the city offers a plethora of experiences that cater to every artistic taste. Broadway Extravaganza No exploration of theater in New York is complete without experiencing a Broadway show. Broadway is synonymous with world-class productions, talented actors, and unforgettable performances. From long-running classics like “The Phantom of the Opera” and “Chicago” to new and groundbreaking shows like “Hamilton” and “Dear Evan Hansen,” the options are endless. The energy and grandeur of Broadway theaters create an immersive experience that transports audiences into the world of storytelling, music, and dance. Whether you’re a fan of musicals, dramas, or comedies, a trip to Broadway guarantees an unforgettable night of entertainment. Off-Broadway Gems Beyond the glitz and glamor of Broadway, New York’s Off-Broadway scene offers a more intimate and experimental theater experience. Off-Broadway theaters, located throughout the city, showcase innovative and thought-provoking productions. These smaller venues provide a platform for emerging playwrights, actors, and directors to showcase their talents and present bold and unconventional works. From avant-garde plays to immersive theater experiences, Off-Broadway productions push the boundaries of traditional theater and offer a more immersive and interactive experience for audiences seeking something different. Lincoln Center for the Performing Art Located in the heart of Manhattan, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts is a cultural mecca that houses several world-renowned institutions. From the Metropolitan Opera to the New York Philharmonic, Lincoln Center offers a diverse array of performing arts experiences. Whether you’re a fan of classical music, ballet, opera, or contemporary dance, Lincoln Center has something to offer. The state-of-the-art facilities, coupled with the extraordinary talent that graces its stages, create an atmosphere of excellence and artistic brilliance. The Public Theater and Experimental Spaces For those seeking cutting-edge and thought-provoking performances, The Public Theater and other experimental spaces in New York are a must-visit. The Public Theater, located in the East Village, is known for its commitment to showcasing works that challenge societal norms and push artistic boundaries. With a focus on diverse voices and bold storytelling, The Public Theater presents groundbreaking productions that tackle social and political issues. Additionally, other experimental theaters and performance spaces scattered throughout the city, such as St. Ann’s Warehouse and La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club, offer opportunities to explore avant-garde and unconventional performances that push the boundaries of traditional theater. New York City’s theater and performing arts scene is a vibrant tapestry of creativity, talent, and innovation. Whether you’re a fan of Broadway extravaganzas, intimate Off-Broadway productions, classical performances at Lincoln Center, or avant-garde experiments, the city offers an unparalleled range of experiences that cater to all artistic sensibilities. Immerse yourself in the magic of New York’s theater and performing arts, and let the city’s vibrant cultural scene captivate your imagination. The post The Top Theater and Performing Arts Experiences in New York first appeared on Avraham Glattman | Fun in NYC.

#Avraham Glattman | Fun in NYC

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sweetswannylawson · 1 year ago

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“Let’s rock and roll Julia Stiles!

Julia Stiles 42, is an American actress. Born and raised in New York City, Stiles began acting at the age of 11 as part of New York's La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club.

10 Things I Hate About You 1999, dir. Gil Junger

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oedipusmess · 2 years ago

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Back at La Mama for show number 3. Don’t know much about it but Quita knows Timothy White Eagle. He is a Native artist based in Seattle. Www.white eagle.me (at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club) https://www.instagram.com/p/CnagccROPo2/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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thedustyrebel · 8 years ago

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Kate Bornstein: On Men, Women, and the Rest of Us

From the opening night of Kate Bornstein's solo show —Kate Bornstein: On Men, Women, and the Rest of Us—at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club.

Its wonderful. Seriously, go see it! Playing April 21 through April 30.

More photos: Kate Bornstein, La Mama, Theater

#kate bornstein #la mama experimental theatre club #transgender #gender outlaw #portrait #stage and screen #lgbt #queer #la mama

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lyssahumana · 4 years ago

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Patrons at the Cafe La Mama Experimental Theatre Club, New York, November 1965. Photographed by Fred W. McDarrah

#New York #Fred W. McDarrah #photography

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eucanthos · 4 years ago

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Don Herron (1941 - 2012)

Donald Lawrence Herron

Ellen Stewart, 1993

Ellen Stewart (1919-2011) was the founder and artistic director of La Mama Experimental Theater Club in New York City for 50 years. She is credited as being the central figure in the creation of Off Off Broadway Theater. Stewart is known for nurturing the young talents of Sam Shepard, Adrienne Kennedy, Rochelle Owens, Jeff Weiss, Harvey Fierstein, Robert Wilson, Julie Bovasso, Richard Foreman, Meredith Monk, John Kelly, Blue Man Group, Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, and Harvey Keitel. In 1985, the MacArthur Foundation gave her Genius Award. She used the $300,000 grant to buy a former monastery in Umbria, Italy, and turned it into an international theatre center.

In Tub Shots, Queer Icons of the '80s NYC Underground Scene Take a Dip. By Alexander Kacala for Out, 2018/9/12

#Don Herron #photography #bath #bathroom #staged #Ellen Stewart #portrait #portraits #black #african american #Theater #women #underground

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lboogie1906 · 5 months ago

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Ed Bullins (July 2, 1935 - November 13, 2021) was born in Philadelphia and was a playwright. He was the Minister of Culture for the Black Panthers. He has won numerous awards, including the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award and several Obie Awards. He was among the best-known playwrights of the Black Arts Movement.

After completing his GED., he enrolled in Los Angeles City College and began writing short stories for the Citadel, a magazine he started. He moved to San Francisco and joined the creative writing program at San Francisco State College, where he started writing plays. His first play was How Do You Do, followed by Clara’s Ole [Old] Man and Dialect Determinism.

His plays were produced at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club. Street Sounds were produced at La MaMa and then toured to Middletown, Connecticut. His next production at La MaMa was a set of four one-acts, called Short Bullins. The four works were How Do You Do?, A Minor Scene, Dialect Determinism, and It Has No Choice, and the production featured music by Aaron Bell. These four one-acts, along with another work called Clara’s Ole [Old] Man, toured Italy alongside Black Terror, with performances in Venice and Milan. He performed in The Hotel Play at La MaMa. Clara’s Ole Man was produced again at La MaMa.

He was a playwright-in-residence at the American Place Theatre. He was on staff at the Public Theater with the New York Shakespeare Festival’s Writers’ Unit. He wrote two children’s plays, titled I am Lucy Terry and The Mystery of Phillis Wheatley. He wrote the text for two musicals, titled Sepia Star and Storyville.

He returned to school and received a BA in English and Playwriting from Antioch University. He became a professor at Northeastern University, where he was a distinguished Artist-in-Residence. #africanhistory365 #africanexcellence

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blackkudos · 5 years ago

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Cecil Taylor

Cecil Percival Taylor (March 25, 1929 – April 5, 2018) was an American pianist and poet.

Taylor was classically trained and was one of the pioneers of free jazz. His music is characterized by an energetic, physical approach, resulting in complex improvisation often involving tone clusters and intricate polyrhythms. His technique has been compared to percussion. Referring to the number of keys on a standard piano, Val Wilmer used the phrase "eighty-eight tuned drums" to describe Taylor's style. He has been referred to as being "like Art Tatum with contemporary-classical leanings".

Early life and education

Taylor was raised in the Corona, Queens neighborhood of New York City. As an only child to a middle-class family, Taylor's mother encouraged him to play music at an early age. He began playing piano at age six and went on to study at the New York College of Music and New England Conservatory in Boston. At the New England Conservatory, Taylor majored in composition and arranging. During his time there, he also became familiar with contemporary European art music. Bela Bartók and Karlheinz Stockhausen notably influenced his music.

In 1955, Taylor moved back to New York City from Boston. He formed a quartet with soprano saxophonist, Steve Lacy, bassist Buell Neidlinger, and drummer Dennis Charles. Taylor's first recording, Jazz Advance, featured Lacy and was released in 1956. The recording is described by Richard Cook and Brian Morton in the Penguin Guide to Jazz: "While there are still many nods to conventional post-bop form in this set, it already points to the freedoms in which the pianist would later immerse himself." Taylor's quartet featuring Lacy also appeared at the 1957 Newport Jazz Festival, which was made into the album At Newport. Taylor collaborated with saxophonist John Coltrane in 1958 on Stereo Drive, now available as Coltrane Time.

1950s and early 1960s

Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, Taylor's music grew more complex and moved away from existing jazz styles. Gigs were often hard to come by, and club owners found that Taylor's approach of playing long pieces tended to impede business. His 1959 LP record Looking Ahead! showcased his innovation as a creator as compared to the jazz mainstream. Unlike others at the time, Taylor utilized virtuosic techniques and made swift stylistic shifts from phrase to phrase. These qualities, among others, still remained notable distinctions of Taylor's music for the rest of his life.

Landmark recordings, like Unit Structures (1966), also appeared. Within the Unit, musicians were able to develop new forms of conversational interplay. In the early 1960s, an uncredited Albert Ayler worked with Taylor, jamming and appearing on at least one recording, Four, which was unreleased until appearing on the 2004 Ayler box set Holy Ghost: Rare & Unissued Recordings (1962–70).

By 1961, Taylor was working regularly with alto saxophonist Jimmy Lyons, who would become one of his most important and consistent collaborators. Taylor, Lyons, and drummer Sunny Murray (and later Andrew Cyrille) formed the core personnel of the Cecil Taylor Unit, Taylor's primary ensemble until Lyons' death in 1986. Lyons' playing, strongly influenced by jazz icon Charlie Parker, retained a strong blues sensibility and helped keep Taylor's increasingly avant garde music tethered to the jazz tradition.

Late 1960s and 1970s

Taylor began to perform solo concerts in the latter half of the 1960s. The first known recorded solo performance was "Carmen With Rings" (59 minutes) in De Doelen concert hall in Rotterdam on July 1, 1967. Two days earlier, Taylor had played the same composition in the Amsterdam Concertgebouw. Many of his later concerts were released on album and include Indent (1973), side one of Spring of Two Blue-J's (1973), Silent Tongues (1974), Garden (1982), For Olim (1987), Erzulie Maketh Scent (1989), and The Tree of Life (1998). He began to garner critical and popular acclaim, playing for Jimmy Carter on the White House Lawn, lecturing as an artist-in-residence at universities, and eventually being awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1973 and a MacArthur Fellowship in 1991.

In 1976, Taylor directed a production of Adrienne Kennedy's A Rat's Mass at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club in the East Village of Manhattan. His production combined the original script with a chorus of orchestrated voices used as instruments. Jimmy Lyons, Rashid Bakr, Andy Bey, Karen Borca, David S. Ware, and Raphe Malik performed in the production as the Cecil Taylor Unit, among other musicians and actors.

1990s and the Feel Trio

Following Lyons' death in 1986, Taylor formed the Feel Trio in the early 1990s with William Parker on bass and Tony Oxley on drums. The group can be heard on Celebrated Blazons, Looking (Berlin Version) The Feel Trio and the 10-disc set 2 T's for a Lovely T. Compared to his prior groups with Lyons, the Feel Trio had a more abstract approach, tethered less to jazz tradition and more aligned with the ethos of European free improvisation. He also performed with larger ensembles and big band projects.

Taylor's extended residence in Berlin in 1988 was documented by the German label FMP, resulting in a box set of performances in duet and trio with a large number of European free improvisors, including Oxley, Derek Bailey, Evan Parker, Han Bennink, Tristan Honsinger, Louis Moholo, and Paul Lovens. Most of his later recordings have been released on European labels, with the exception of Momentum Space (a meeting with Dewey Redman and Elvin Jones) on Verve/Gitanes. The classical label Bridge released his 1998 Library of Congress performance Algonquin, a duet with violinist Mat Maneri.

Taylor continued to perform for capacity audiences around the world with live concerts, usually playing his favored instrument, a Bösendorfer piano featuring nine extra lower-register keys. A documentary on Taylor, entitled All the Notes, was released on DVD in 2006 by director Chris Felver. Taylor was also featured in a 1981 documentary film entitled Imagine the Sound, in which he discusses and performs his music, poetry, and dance.

2000s

Taylor recorded sparingly in the 2000s, but continued to perform with his own ensembles (the Cecil Taylor Ensemble and the Cecil Taylor Big Band) and with other musicians such as Joe Locke, Max Roach, and Amiri Baraka. In 2004, the Cecil Taylor Big Band at the Iridium Jazz Club was nominated a best performance of 2004 by All About Jazz. The Cecil Taylor Trio was nominated for the same at the Highline Ballroom in 2009. The trio consisted of Taylor, Albey Balgochian, and Jackson Krall. In 2010, Triple Point Records released a deluxe limited-edition double LP titled Ailanthus/Altissima: Bilateral Dimensions of Two Root Songs, a set of duos with Taylor's longtime collaborator Tony Oxley that was recorded live at the Village Vanguard.

In 2013, he was awarded the Kyoto Prize for Music. He was described as "An Innovative Jazz Musician Who Has Fully Explored the Possibilities of Piano Improvisation". In 2014, his career and 85th birthday were honored at the Painted Bride Art Center in Philadelphia with the tribute concert event "Celebrating Cecil". In 2016, Taylor received a retrospective at the Whitney Museum of American Art entitled "Open Plan: Cecil Taylor".

Taylor, along with dancer Min Tanaka, was the subject of Amiel Courtin-Wilson's 2016 documentary film The Silent Eye.

Ballet and dance

In addition to piano, Taylor was always interested in ballet and dance. Taylor's mother, who died while he was young, was a dancer and played the piano and violin. Taylor once said: "I try to imitate on the piano the leaps in space a dancer makes." He collaborated with dancer Dianne McIntyre in the late 1970s and early 1980s. In 1979, Taylor composed and played the music for a twelve-minute ballet "Tetra Stomp: Eatin' Rain in Space", featuring Mikhail Baryshnikov and Heather Watts.

Poetry

Taylor was a poet, and cited Robert Duncan, Charles Olson, and Amiri Baraka as major influences. He often integrated his poems into his musical performances, and they frequently appear in the liner notes of his albums. The album Chinampas, released by Leo Records in 1987, is a recording of Taylor reciting several of his poems while accompanying himself on percussion.

Musical style and legacy

According to Steven Block, free jazz originated with Taylor's performances at the Five Spot Cafe in 1957 and with Ornette Coleman in 1959. In 1964, Taylor co-founded the Jazz Composers Guild to enhance opportunities for avant-garde jazz musicians.

Taylor's style and methods have been described as "constructivist". Despite Scott Yanow's warning regarding Taylor's "forbidding music" ("Suffice it to say that Cecil Taylor's music is not for everyone"), he praises Taylor's "remarkable technique and endurance", and his "advanced", "radical", "original", and uncompromising "musical vision".

This musical vision is a large part of Taylor's legacy:

Playing with Taylor I began to be liberated from thinking about chords. I'd been imitating John Coltrane unsuccessfully and because of that I was really chord conscious.

Personal life and death

In 1982, jazz critic Stanley Crouch wrote that Taylor was gay, prompting an angry response. In 1991, Taylor told a New York Times reporter "[s]omeone once asked me if I was gay. I said, 'Do you think a three-letter word defines the complexity of my humanity?' I avoid the trap of easy definition."

Taylor moved to Fort Greene, Brooklyn in 1983. He died at his Brooklyn residence on April 5, 2018, at the age of 89. At the time of Taylor's death, he was working on an autobiography and future concerts, among other projects.

#03/25 #04/05

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robertxdarling · 6 years ago

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Candy Darling starring in Tom Eyen’s ‘The White Whore and the Bit Player’ at La Mama Experimental Theatre Club Photo by Jack Mitchell, 1973

#candy darling #tom eyen #70s #new york #warhol #andy warhol #superstar

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sguardimora · 7 years ago

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Nella residenza #Panorama

Francesca Giuliani: Leggendo Rosi Braidotti e in particolare il passaggio in cui parla di "nomadismo artistico" - "il nomade sa però come leggere mappe invisibili, o mappe scritte nel vento, sulla sabbia e i sassi, nella vegetazione" - ho pensato al vostro lavoro e a come, entrando a contatto con diverse realtà dall'Italia a Seul a New York, riuscite a carpire e tradurre scenicamente la crisi "sociale-politica" del momento. Cos'è l'arte per voi oggi?

Daniela Nicolò: Questo nuovo progetto è esemplare del nostro percorso. Trovarci a lavorare negli Stati Uniti nel momento in cui scoppiano tutte le polemiche per le scelte e le dichiarazioni politiche di Trump. Essere nella cosiddetta "Terra della libertà", un paese di migranti, nel momento in cui vengono promulgate leggi che restringono gli ingressi come quelle contro i "Dreemers" - più o meno la situazione che vive il nostro paese con le lotte per lo Ius soli. Senza dimenticare il clima che c'è in Italia e in tutta Europa dove si assiste al ritorno strisciante del razzismo e del fascismo. Per noi il teatro è questo: poter andare a colpire il cuore del problema avendo l'occasione di lavorare nel paese che in un certo senso è l'occhio del ciclone di questo triste ritorno del movimento conservatore. Per noi l'arte è avere la possibilità di confrontarci con reali situazioni politiche e sociali, entrare nei contesti, viverli, assorbirli il più possibile e poi provare a tradurre scenicamente quelle domande, quelle tensioni che divampano. Il lavoro che abbiamo fatto con gli attori di Panorama è proprio questo. Se altre volte siamo partiti da figure di riferimento letterarie - vedi Antigone o La tempesta - trovando sempre un secondo livello su cui appoggiarci, qua siamo andato diretti al tema con delle interviste. Insieme al drammaturgo americano Erik Ehn, che ci ha seguito durante tutto il percorso iniziale di preparazione, abbiamo scritto le domande caricandole già di un forte valore drammaturgico, dandogli quindi un aspetto astratto, poetico e filosofico e non solo biografico. Le interviste sono state una base per la drammaturgia ma tutto il lavoro è nato dalle loro risposte. Non c'è una parola che viene da noi. Viene tutto da loro. Ogni discorso è stato smontato e rimontato facendo cadere la linearità che poteva esserci tra biografia e attore. Sono frammenti di episodi raccontati nelle interviste o presi da momenti in cui gli attori erano invitati a scrivere. Un esercizio che abbiamo fatto con Erik a La Mama Umbria a Spoleto è stato scrivere la propria vita in 10 carte e da lì abbiano utilizzato molti frammenti per lo spettacolo. Da un lato c'è quella ricerca sociologica che è sempre presente nei nostri lavori artistici - una ricerca sul campo - dall'altro c'è un grande lavoro di trasposizione visiva - in "Panorama" in particolare ci siamo concentrati sul linguaggio filmico. A New York lo spettacolo è andato benissimo. Il pubblico si è commosso, ci ha ringraziato, si sono sentiti partecipi. Sono venute molte delle diverse comunità presenti sul territorio e ciò è stato forte perché comunemente non succede così. Questo è quello che mi spinge a continuare a fare arte. Riuscire a lavorare su questioni urgenti e vere e provare a trovare il coinvolgimento colpendo il cuore.

#residenze creative #panorama #Motus #residenze 2018 #2018 #daniela nicolò #ENRICO CASAGRANDE #intervista #rosi braidotti #nuovi soggetti nomadi #nomadismo #la mama experimental theatre club #erik ehn

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