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definemeat · 21 days ago

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For Better or Worse: A Cultural Breakdown of DCI's Evolution (2000–2025)

Drum Corps International is more than competition—it’s a reflection of creativity, risk, and cultural identity in motion. From the early 2000s to today, DCI has evolved from tradition-bound pageantry into a hybrid of athletic performance, theatrical storytelling, and multimedia experimentation. This timeline traces that evolution—year by year—not through scores and placements, but through artistic pivots, design revolutions, and the moments that challenged what drum corps could be. Some years sparked transformation. Others fell flat. Together, they define the unpredictable heartbeat of DCI’s modern era.

Each entry below includes a full explanation of its historical weight and why it marks an inflection point in the creative, structural, or cultural development of DCI.

2000: This year marked a creative high point for the activity and served as the blueprint for DCI’s trajectory throughout the 21st century.

2000 introduced a scoring system where General Effect (GE) began to take precedence, shifting the competitive focus from execution alone to the impact of storytelling, design, and audience engagement. Nearly every element that would later define the modern era was present: Blue Devils channeled cinematic vision and precision, the Cadets explored emotional connection and audience communication, and the Glassmen delivered their most complete and expressive show ever. The Cavaliers’ Niagra Falls attacked the senses with unprecedented integration of sound, movement, and pacing. Finals placements weren’t locked in until the last night, underscoring the season’s fluid competition. In hindsight, 2000 established the creative sandbox in which all major DCI innovations of the following decades would play out.

2001: Design innovation took a leap forward as the Blue Devils introduced visual illusion and storytelling through guard work and drill, while the Cavaliers began manipulating sound through field direction and spatial design. These experiments expanded the concept of how audiences interact with shows, laying the groundwork for immersive visual-musical storytelling.

2002: The Cavaliers' use of a full-corps drill break and choreographed segments marked a shift toward the corps-wide integration of theatrical movement. This moment was important because it redefined the visual ensemble not just as a marching unit, but as a unified storytelling machine capable of dynamic stagecraft.

2004: By mastering geometric drill and spatial timing, the Cavaliers demonstrated that narrative and emotional impact could be achieved without words or props. Their visual dominance reestablished the idea that choreography alone could tell complex stories on the field.

2005: The Cadets shocked the activity by blending amplified voice, changing uniforms, prop integration, and direct audience engagement in a single cohesive show. This was a breakthrough moment that broke down traditional boundaries, igniting an arms race of experimentation among corps.

2006: This year validated the concept that a show could rely solely on visual choreography and musical momentum to tell a complete story. The Cavaliers built an emotionally resonant performance without narration, establishing that simplicity and design clarity still had a place in an increasingly theatrical DCI landscape.

2007: A widespread lack of cohesive storytelling or innovation across corps revealed how much audiences had come to expect meaningful design. The Blue Devils won largely due to having the clearest concept, not due to competitive pressure. This year served as a warning that even technically proficient shows would fall flat without strong creative vision.

2008: Phantom Regiment’s Spartacus revolutionized what emotional storytelling could look like in DCI. It showed that character development and cinematic pacing could bring an audience to its feet and alter the competitive outcome. This was the year crowd response became a measurable design factor. The Cadets simultaneously pushed physical endurance and precision to new levels through choreography, staging one of the most demanding and structured visual programs in DCI history. This show wasn’t just technically impressive—it introduced the concept of organized physical expression as emotional storytelling. The Cadets’ daring became a reference point—a new benchmark that redefined the boundaries of form, stamina, and theatrical intention on the field. Their 2008 program used elevation—literal height—as a storytelling tool, incorporating platforms, choreography, and vertical movement to communicate theme, pressure, and emotional range. It was the first time a corps had used height as a central narrative device rather than a staging convenience. This design choice not only intensified the visual demand on performers but also shifted the audience’s perspective on spatial storytelling. The questions raised by this performance—how high is too high, how big is too big, and what can we get away with?—didn’t just inspire future programs; they planted the conceptual seeds that would be fully explored by the Bluecoats in 2016 and beyond.

2009: The Bluecoats removing their jackets during the closer represented the first public rejection of uniform as a fixed symbol of identity. This symbolic moment planted the seed for corps-wide costume changes and narrative wardrobe choices in later years.

2010: The Blue Devils introduced dynamic, movable props that interacted with performers and shaped the pacing of their show. This year marked the transition from props as set dressing to props as integral design elements—making the field a living stage.

2011: Corps like the Cavaliers began incorporating stunts and physical feats, elevating the role of performer to that of an athlete-actor hybrid. Meanwhile, BD’s props grew larger and more interactive, turning them into characters within the show. This redefined what audiences could expect from field design.

2012: When the Blue Devils dressed on the field during their performance, they formally challenged the static idea of identity in show design. This moment opened the door for narrative costuming in DCI. Carolina Crown also redefined brass performance standards with a show that married musical precision and theatricality.

2013: Carolina Crown’s e=mc² demanded extreme brass technique, especially from the trumpet section, raising expectations for musicianship. Simultaneously, Blue Devils' heavy reliance on props sparked criticism and humor, highlighting the debate between visual innovation and thematic coherence.

2014: Blue Devils’ Felliniesque is widely considered one of the most complete and artistically successful shows in DCI history. It became the standard against which all future productions would be measured. In parallel, the Bluecoats’ Tilt used spatial audio and visual distortion to challenge audience perspective, redefining how electronics and staging could be used.

2015: Many corps attempted to return to traditionalism and lost the crowd in the process. The Blue Devils instead doubled down on theatrical design with Ink, showing that coherent storytelling and visual theater could still thrive in a modern format. This validated the shift toward narrative and dramatization.

2016: Bluecoats’ Down Side Up broke every mold—eliminating uniforms, integrating advanced electronics, and using movable props as the stage itself. This show is often cited as the most transformative in DCI history. Meanwhile, Blue Devils introduced trombones, opening the door for new instrumental voices on the field.

2017: Santa Clara Vanguard embraced a minimalist yet theatrical aesthetic with full commitment to costume and prop integration. The Blue Devils’ Metamorph promised to blend the past, present, and future in every performance, cementing their identity as curators of DCI's artistic evolution.

2018: SCV’s Babylon struck a rare balance between design innovation and performance excellence. Their use of “uniformless uniforms,” controlled prop work, and visceral choreography earned them both competitive and artistic accolades, solidifying this design strategy as a championship blueprint.

2019: The Blue Devils began repeating visual themes and design strategies, signaling a shift from innovation to refinement. Meanwhile, other corps struggled with identity, exposing a rift between staying traditional and pursuing the avant-garde. This became a year of collective hesitation.

2020: The cancellation of the season exposed how reliant DCI was on constant competition. It forced corps to face questions about sustainability, community, and purpose—conversations that would shape future rebuilding efforts.

2021The non-competitive Celebration event allowed corps to return to the field without the pressure of scores. It marked the first time in decades that the focus was solely on artistic expression and cultural identity, serving as a creative reset for the entire activity.

2022This season was a chaotic explosion of creativity. With unpredictable placements and dramatic midseason turnarounds, corps like the Bluecoats proved that transformation and risk-taking could still be rewarded. Boston Crusaders’ rise affirmed the value of calculated, SCV-style design.

2024: An uninspired season that felt corporatized and emotionally disconnected. The lack of memorable performances revealed that innovation cannot be delayed without consequence. 2024 became an accidental case study in what happens when the activity plateaus.

2025: TBD.

#DCIHistory #DrumCorpsEvolution #MarchingArts #DCITimeline #DCIStorytelling #GEOverExecution #ModernDCI #DrumCorpsDesign #VisualStorytelling #DCICulture #MethodsOfMadness #SpartacusEffect #DownSideUp #Felliniesque #MarchingInnovation

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whatsonmedia · 2 years ago

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Thursday Thrill: Grab Your Groove December's Hottest Fests Await!

Forget tinsel! December's hottest trend is dancing! Dive into epic beach bashes, dazzling light shows, and world-class beats at these must-do festivals. Escape the ordinary, embrace the extraordinary. Dance your way into 2024! #DecemberDelights #FestivalFever Mareh When: December 26 - January 2 Where: Fortim, Brazil Mareh, an intimate festival on the scenic beaches of Ceará, Brazil, is a holistic experience blending music, dance, well-being, and coastal charm. Attendees groove to diverse sounds like house, disco, and Balearic beats by artists including Ruby Savage, Carrot Green, Cecyza, Vermelho, and Paulete Lindacelva. Moreover the festival offers more than just music, incorporating wellness classes, local gastronomy, and breathtaking ocean views with distant wind turbines. Lineup Highlights: - Ruby Savage - Carrot Green - Cecyza - Vermelho - Paulete Lindacelva Beyond Music: - Wellness classes for a balanced experience - Local gastronomy to savor the flavors of the region RA Pick: Nick The Record takes the spotlight with his infinitely deep bag of tricks, promising an unmissable experience for music enthusiasts at Mareh. Forever Midnight When: December 30 - December 31 Where: Los Angeles Convention Center, Los Angeles, United States Forever Midnight, a groundbreaking dual-city New Year's festival, unfolds across Las Vegas and the expansive Los Angeles Convention Center. The latter, one of the largest in the US, transforms into a warehouse party-style venue at the heart of the city, boasting world-class production for an unparalleled experience. The inaugural edition presents a stellar lineup featuring the likes of Âme back-to-back Dixon, Jamie xx, Kaytranada, Carlita, DJ Tennis, and Chloé Caillet. Prepare for an unforgettable celebration as Forever Midnight sets the stage for a spectacular transition into the New Year. Lineup Highlights: - Âme back-to-back Dixon - Jamie xx - Kaytranada - Carlita - DJ Tennis - Chloé Caillet RA Pick: Don't miss the chance to groove to the timeless classics and dynamic sets by Green Velvet, adding an extra layer of excitement to this exceptional festival experience. Beyond The Valley When: December 28 - January 3 Where: Barunah Plains, Wingeel, Australia Nestled in the picturesque Barunah Plains, Australia, Beyond The Valley transforms this popular wedding destination into the country's largest New Year's Eve festival. Celebrating its eighth year, the camping festival offers a stunning backdrop for attendees from December 28th to January 1st. The event boasts an impressive lineup featuring exceptional artists such as DJ Heartstring, Jayda G, Lady Shaka, and Overmono. Spread across four days, the festival showcases DJ sets and live performances on architecturally built stages equipped with state-of-the-art sound and production. Lineup Highlights: - DJ Heartstring - Jayda G - Lady Shaka - Overmono - And many more all-stars Experience: - Architecturally built stages - State-of-the-art sound and production RA Pick: KETTAMA, hailing from Galway, Ireland, delivers a slamming, old-school-meets-new-school rave sound that promises an electrifying experience at Beyond The Valley. Sunburn 2023: Asia's Electronic Epic Explodes in Goa When: Dec 28-31 Where: Little Vagator, Goa, India Pulse to Asia's largest dance music fest: 350,000+ revelers, Tomorrowland-level stagecraft, and a stellar, yet-to-be-revealed lineup of DJs across genres. Beyond the beats: Goa's stunning beaches, local delights, and wellness activities offer balance and cultural immersion. About the Festival: - Massive scale: With over 350,000 attendees, Sunburn is Asia's largest dance music festival, promising a vibrant and electric atmosphere. - Spectacular production: They're known for their incredible stage visuals and effects, comparable to the renowned Tomorrowland festival. - Star-studded lineup: Expect world-class DJs and dance music artists playing across the four days. Register online to ignite your dance odyssey. #Sunburn2023 #GoaVibes #EDMRevolution Christmas at Kew When: Until 7 Jan 2024 Where: Kew Gardens Royal Botanic Gardens, London Immerse yourself in a luminous winter wonderland at Kew Gardens this festive season. The event, running until January 7, 2024, transforms the renowned botanic gardens into a captivating spectacle of light and sound. Embark on an enchanting journey: - Glimmering tunnels: Traverse pathways awash with vibrant hues, losing yourself in the mesmerizing play of light. - Illuminated giants: Witness iconic Kew trees adorned in radiant colors, shimmering like emeralds and sapphires. - Dazzling displays: Marvel at kaleidoscopic projections dancing across glasshouses, creating surreal kaleidoscopes of color. - Festive warmth: Indulge in seasonal treats that tantalize the senses, amidst the cozy backdrop of twinkling lights and carols. - A merry greeting: Meet Father Christmas in his enchanting grotto, spreading festive cheer for young and old alike. It is a cherished tradition, consistently capturing the hearts of both locals and visitors. Secure your tickets swiftly, as this mesmerizing experience tends to sell out quickly. Don't miss the opportunity to create timeless festive memories amidst the ethereal glow of Kew Gardens. Book your luminous adventure today: https://www.kew.org/kew-gardens/whats-on/christmas Read the full article

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simpletricksandnonsense · 2 years ago

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Baby Yoda & Bounty Hunters:

Why The Mandalorian is the Best Show Ever.

It would be an understatement to say that "The Mandalorian" has revolutionized television, especially for "Star Wars" fans. Since its launch on Disney+, the show has garnered an enormous global following, becoming a beacon of hope for viewers who were yearning for a fresh perspective on the cherished "Star Wars" universe. But what exactly makes "The Mandalorian" the best show ever? Let's delve deeper into this.

The Embodiment of the Original Star Wars Spirit

The heart of "The Mandalorian" lies in its ability to encapsulate the original spirit of the "Star Wars" saga. It delivers a perfect blend of new-age storytelling while paying homage to the vintage spaghetti-western & Kurosawa feel of the original trilogy. This serves as a powerful nostalgia trigger for the original fans while simultaneously appealing to new generations. From cantina brawls to high-speed spaceship chases, "The Mandalorian" is a fitting tribute to George Lucas’s vision that started it all.

Storytelling and Character Development

At its core, "The Mandalorian" is a character-driven series. The protagonist, Din Djarin, more commonly known as the Mandalorian or Mando, evolves brilliantly through the episodes. His character development is complex and compelling, with the story masterfully intertwining his enigmatic past, his hardened bounty hunter persona, and his unexpected paternal bond with Grogu (popularly known as Baby Yoda). These narrative layers provide depth and emotion that resonate with audiences, leaving them hungry for more.

Revitalizing Star Wars Lore

"The Mandalorian" also rejuvenates "Star Wars" lore by exploring uncharted territories and delving deeper into the culture of the enigmatic Mandalorians. The series' narrative weaves into the crevices left untouched by the mainline "Star Wars" films, filling gaps in the universe's history and mythos. This expansion of the lore not only attracts avid fans but also enhances the richness of the "Star Wars" universe.

Innovative Filmmaking Techniques

One cannot deny the impact of the revolutionary filmmaking techniques used in "The Mandalorian." The use of a real-time rendering system, known as StageCraft technology, takes visual effects to a new level. This technology offers a 360-degree LED video wall that can simulate realistic backgrounds and environments, providing a more immersive viewing experience and showcasing Disney's commitment to pushing the boundaries of entertainment technology.

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Compelling Performances and Guest Appearances

Pedro Pascal's performance as the Mandalorian is remarkable. He manages to express a wide range of emotions despite his face being hidden behind a helmet for most of the series. Additionally, the series benefits from an impressive roster of guest stars, including Hollywood Legends like Carl Weathers and Rosario Dawson, to name a few. Their performances, combined with the show's outstanding writing, make every episode a cinematic event.

Standout Music Score

The score of "The Mandalorian," crafted by Ludwig Göransson, is nothing short of spectacular. It perfectly blends the classic "Star Wars" style with a unique, fresh sound that echoes the show's premise. The soundtrack is an auditory delight that evokes the right emotions at the right moments, further enhancing the show's appeal.

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To conclude, "The Mandalorian" is not just a television series; it is a testament to the evolution of storytelling, a blend of the old and the new, and a love letter to fans of "Star Wars." Through its exceptional storytelling, character development, expansion of lore, groundbreaking technology, stellar performances, and captivating score, it has established itself as the best show ever. Whether you are a die-hard "Star Wars" fan or a newcomer to this universe, "The Mandalorian" offers an unforgettable journey that you won't regret embarking on.

#the mandalorian #Mandalorian #mando #star wars #din djarin #grogu #baby yoda #disneyplus #dindjarin #babyyoda #tvreview #tv review #scifitv #bountyhunter #mandalorian lore

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transmutationisms · 2 years ago

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More than three decades ago, the young filmmaker Todd Haynes directed an all-Barbie cast in his short feature “Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story,” which tracked the wholesome contralto’s Nixon-era rise to fame alongside her brother Richard and her subsequent descent into anorexia, which killed her at the age of thirty-two. “Barbie’s performance has been really acclaimed by fans across the country,” Haynes told Newsday, in 1990. “Mattel doesn’t really recognize that as a part of her career, and she did a really terrific job.”

Made in the summer of 1985, when Haynes was attending Bard College, in New York, “Superstar” situates its plastic actors on miniature, hand-painted sets. We see Karen and Richard onstage, in the studio, and at the White House, performing their smooth-as-syrup hits, and at home with their harridan stage mother, Agnes, and passive father, Harold. In staging and filming his doll-house mise en scène, Haynes (who co-wrote “Superstar” with Cynthia Schneider) borrows tropes from horror flicks and disease-of-the-week movies and interpolates advertisements and product labels (notably, for Ex-Lax and ipecac, the poisons that kept Karen thin), contemporary news footage, faux talking heads, and grad-seminar intertitles. (“As we investigate the story of Karen Carpenter’s life and death we are presented with an extremely graphic picture of the internal experience of contemporary femininity.”)

[...]

The surviving Carpenter family members would have had little incentive for Haynes’s movie to be widely seen in any form. Emerging into fame in 1970, Karen and Richard bottled the sound of the silent majority that was recoiling from the countercultural irruptions of the era: they were white and suburban and virginal; they lived with their parents; they filmed music videos at Disneyland; they were “young America at its very best,” according to President Richard Nixon, who was keeping lots of young America busy shooting villagers in Vietnam. But “Superstar” depicts the nuclear Carpenter family as smothering, Agnes as a hectoring shrew, and Karen and Richard’s partnership as crypto-incestuous. A montage, set to the wedding staple “We’ve Only Just Begun,” shows the siblings strolling along a promenade at sunset and as bride-and-groom figures atop a cake; Karen sleeps in a girlish canopy bed beneath a photo of herself with Richard. Later, when Karen briefly mistakes another man for Richard at a restaurant and is immediately smitten, Haynes reënacts the montage, this time with the new suitor. The implication is nothing scandalous, but simply that Karen cannot envision a creative or private life that is not bound up with her brother, that there is no Karen without the Carpenters, that she is a performing doll for her mother, brother, and record label to manipulate. Karen was an international star and a millionaire by the time she moved out of Agnes and Harold’s house, at age twenty-five.

[...]

Todd Haynes once told an interviewer that one of his main interests as a filmmaker is “the intense need that a viewer has to identify and fill meaning into anything that they’re given in a film.” One of the challenges that he sets for himself, he went on, is to “put up barriers that viewers were bound to circumvent.” In “Safe” (1995), for example, the barrier is the vapidity and passivity of the protagonist, a San Fernando Valley housewife who appears to grow allergic to her environment. In “Far from Heaven” (2002), the barrier is the stagecraft, tropes, and mannerisms of Douglas Sirk’s nineteen-fifties melodramas.

The barrier in “Superstar,” of course, is the Barbies. They start out as an alienation effect, but, eventually, Haynes’s use of rigid, fixed-expression dolls only intensifies his film’s pathos. The human forces aligned against Karen seem ever more immovable while Karen herself seems ever more helpless; to represent the ravages of her illness, Haynes literally carves away at the Karen-Barbie’s arms and face.

[...]

In fact, the degree to which “Barbie” and “Superstar” exist in diametrical, generational opposition to each other is uncanny. “Barbie” casts human beings as dolls; “Superstar” casts dolls as human beings. “Barbie” is a festival of licensing synergy; “Superstar” was suppressed because its maker never licensed a thing. For all its wit and heart, for all of its layers of thoughtful ambivalence, for all of the Kenergy that Ryan Gosling pours into the most sublimely gonzo film performance in memory, “Barbie” is first and last a vehicle for moving merch; “Superstar” cannot be sold, marketed, or distributed, nor could it ever conjure positive brand associations. “Barbie” cannot be escaped; “Superstar” cannot be seen—not in any legitimate way, at least. “Barbie” sets out to rehabilitate a deeply problematic icon; “Superstar” substitutes one icon for another, then cuts and slashes at her plastic flesh until she dies.

(article / ‘superstar’ youtube link)

me when people are talking about superstar (1987) dir. todd haynes

#superstar

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pubtheatres1 · 6 years ago

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THE HOUSE OF YES by Wendy MacLeod Directed by Matthew Parker The Hope Theatre 8 – 26 October 2019 Interview with Matthew Parker by Heather Jeffery Matthew Parker has had 5 Best Director Offie nominations covering productions from 2015 to 2018. He’s constantly challenging himself and coming out on top. “I don’t take anything for granted. All I do is work as hard as I can and some of them fly and some of them don’t. I never go into room thinking I’m going to smash this; I go into a room terrified.” Becoming Artistic Director of The Hope Theatre in 2015 is what got him noticed. He’d been at The Hope for less than 6 months, when LOVESONG OF THE ELECTRIC BEAR, a play about Alan Turing, won three Off West End Award nominations as well as best director. He is leaving The Hope at the end of this year which will allow him the possibility of working on larger stages. It will be a fresh challenge for him after getting so comfortable with the space at The Hope. At this point in time, Parker has just started rehearsals for THE HOUSE OF YES, but he already has ideas about staging and how to best use his beloved space at The Hope Theatre. THE HOUSE OF YES is about a family living in the shadow of the Kennedy clan but none of the Kennedy’s actually make an appearance in the play. It’s set in 1983, 20 years after the assignation of JFK. The character Jackie O in the play has an obsession with the Kennedy’s along with her whole family. Parker puts it in a nutshell. “They live opposite the Kennedy’s and they are absolutely loaded. It’s a big white house, golden toilets ridiculously rich. They’ve only ever had or will only have people say yes to them. No one has ever said no to anything.” Parker’s been looking at the politics of the time. “There’s a surge of capitalism and loss of society. The rich looking after the rich … Wall Street” he says with relish. “The world changed in the 80s … coming out of 60s 70s people could make themselves. Those 80s films like Trading places, Working Girl, getting rich quickly - that business and money happened in this country too, with Maggie Thatcher and the yuppies.” Matthew runs a course at DRAMA STUDIO LONDON on Stagecraft which explores the idea of ‘significant events’ in Western history and how they change things. So, he’s concentrated on finding the milieu of the family, a mother and her three children, two of whom are twins (male and female). The twins were children when JFK was assassinated. “It’s an obsession with lots of Americans” Matthew explains. “Everything across the world that happens in America changes things. The text gets changed; people talk about 9/11 – normally we’d say 11.9. Something like JFK creates art, creates films. It changes the world and rocks the world making people feel unsafe.” “We had two Princess Diana’s �� Before she died, she was a woman vilified in the press but when she died, she became the people’s princess” says Matthew. “The newspapers completely changed text on her” says Parker “and I find that fascinating. There’s a connection between JFK’s assignation and this family in THE HOUSE OF YES because they live opposite, they feel personally affected. Americans feel it, the whole world feels it.” For Parker it’s all part of his stage craft, not just digging into the text but looking at the other things surrounding it, it isn’t just about character, it’s the world of the play. And what a world it is! It’s comedy but it’s also described as a ‘twisted play’ and it isn’t the first of such plays that Parker has chosen to direct. So, what’s in it for him? “I like things that look at the dark underbelly of society” he says, “that look at the dark side of our psyche.” He doesn’t have any personal reasons for feeling that way, but he really likes to get an audible reaction from his audiences. “I really like it, when one member of the audience finds something that’s really funny and another finds it really horrendous. I like to affect the audience’s breath, and I love to get a vocal reaction, a gasp or a laugh.” “Look at the programme THE THICK OF IT or VEEP; these are people in power who are horrendously awful to each other, but we find it tremendously funny. This is black humour, dark comedy.” For Parker there’s also the element of a challenge. In the past he’s directed musicals, farce and an absurdist play. THE HOUSE OF YES is also tricky to pull off as Parker explains. “Tonally it’s the same challenge I faced with THRILL ME; to get the tone right because some of the behaviour that these characters display is despicable. As a director with a team, we’re not shying away from it but at the same time, we’re not being exploitative.” The set is also proving a tricky proposition. “This play is very short at approximately 70minutes straight through but it moves between two rooms and it keeps moving. I’ve never done that before. It’s a mansion”, he pauses for effect. “We can’t do two ginormous mansion rooms in The Hope. It’s a big white pillars, white wedding cake house, flitting between rooms - don’t know how I’m going to do it yet, but I think the scenes will bleed into each other. As one finishes, the next scene starts around it.” He’s thinking maybe a big chaise, that can be both a sofa and a bed in the bedroom. “I love a scene change, making something out of a scene change, choreograph it with a shift of light for each different space” says Parker, the relish clear in his face. Curiously enough, this piece wasn’t Parker first choice for his final show at The Hope. He’s had a couple of shows in mind, but he didn’t get the performing rights. Two of them are so popular, running number one tours which means that the big theatre companies buy the rights in perpetuity and no one else can get them. He’s been trying for ten years for these two titles but to no avail. Then his sound designer Simon told him about this play; that he really should read because it had all the things he likes. Its female led, it has dark areas of psyche and elements of horror. “It’s a very fast, intense read” says Parker. “I’d not even finished the first scene and I went …” Parker bangs the table with the flat of his hand for emphasis “… I want to do this. It’s quite unlike anything I’ve read before. the dialogue is so distilled, nobodies trying to obfuscate, people say what they mean. No chaff, just wheat.” He hasn’t yet met the writer, but he knows that she regards the play as “Noel Coward comedy of manners meets Pinter”. It has a fascinating psyche underneath it. “It’s scalpel and knives, pointed, sharp, clean and clear” says Parker. “It will make you laugh, make you gasp, and it will make you recoil in terror”. His way into the drama is the fifth cast member, the outsider Lesly (girlfriend to the male twin). “She has no idea how horrendous they are” says Parker, “because on one ever told them no, so when normal people step in …” He lets this stand in the air. “She’s a working-class woman and she stands up to them.” With almost 1,000 applicants for the roles, Parker had a job whittling them down. He’d already cast the mum. Gill King works with Parker at Drama Studio London and he’d wanted to work with her for many years. It will be a “challenge” for both of them says Parker as they’ve never worked together as director and actor, but whenever he comes across someone he wants to work with, whether it takes 10 years, he won’t forget. “I will you get you in next time I can”, he says. There were plenty of people he’d dearly love to work with, but when he’s reading the play, he never thinks about casting. “The first time you read a play is the only time you’re going to be getting nearest to the first impression that the audience will see” he says. “I try to think what my first impression is of this story, write loads of notes, go back to it during the rehearsal process. Otherwise it’s not being able to see the wood for the trees. So many things come out in rehearsal and so many things at the first preview, when an audience first watches.” > Bart Lambert as Anthony Colette Eaton as Jackie O Gill King as Mrs Pascal Kaya Bucholc as Lesley Parker is no stranger to comedy, and he knows how it works. “In rehearsal with a comedy like THARK, which Parker directed at the Drayton Arms in 2017, we’re dealing with high farce, it’s a vocal word gag, say it in a certain way and you can get a ‘tshh’ cymbal noise at the end of it. There’s a physical laugh button and you’ve got to know where the button is. Not everybody will laugh in the same places all the time but often there is a rhythm one can tap into which means that most of the time it will elicit a laugh” Parker is attracted to audience who will react as they want to, and he has a very dark sense of humour. He also likes clowning. “There’s a danger when something funny lands in rehearsals and everyone laughs. You’ve got to keep doing that every time. After a few rehearsals the actor may think it’s no longer working because it’s no longer getting a laugh. If something works, we’ve got to remember that in three weeks time, because that did land.” “We have no way of knowing how people are going to react. We’re constantly looking at - what is the story here? Laughs have to come out of that. Even when an audience is deathly silent it doesn’t mean something hasn’t worked/” Parker is also aware that some audience are following others’ leads, so he keeps as silent as possible when watching his own shows. “No one wants to hear the Director laughing at their own work! Cringe! It’s the audience members that matter” he says. “So long as they don’t hurt anybody, they can do whatever they want. They can react to the story as they want. Some people miss that and think the most important person in the room is the director, actor or writer. Its’s not! It’s who you do it for - the audience - and it’s our collective job to give them a good time. I cannot guarantee it, but I do everything I can to try to.” Matthew Parker was interview by Heather Jeffery, Editor of London Pub Theatres Magazine Photographer credit is lhphotoshots @September 2019 London Pub Theatres Magazine All Rights Reserved THIS SHOW HAS ENDED THE HOUSE OF YES by WENDY MACLEOD Directed by MATTHEW PARKER At The Hope Theatre, Islington, N1 1RL, 8 – 26 October 2019 Box Office: 0333 666 3366 http://www.thehopetheatre.com/productions/the-house-of-yes/ Just what happens when you grow up in a house that only says “yes”? Meet the Pascals. A family living in the shadow of the Kennedy clan. Outside their Washington D.C. home a hurricane is raging. Inside, at the eye of the storm, a series of twisted and dangerous events have been set in motion that can only have one destination. It’s Thanksgiving, 1983. Jackie-O is beyond excited to have her twin brother Marty home. He’s excited too, but for different reasons. He’s bringing home his fiancée to meet the family. Younger brother Anthony is impressed, perhaps worryingly so, and mother Pascal is too zoned out on pills to be paying much attention to anything. The scene is set for an evening of twisted machinations and mind-games that will leave the players with scars that will never ever heal. The multi award winning Hope Theatre presents a rare revival of Wendy MacLeod’s deliciously dark comic drama given cult status by the 90’s film starring Parker Posey. By arrangement with Josef Weinberger Limited, London Press on THE HOUSE OF YES: “Wickedly funny, disturbing and vividly written” San Francisco Chronicle “Gripping, funny and worth its reputation” Time Out London Press on Matthew Parker’s previous shows at The Hope Theatre: ★★★★★ “Juxtaposes the absurd, the horrific and the comic” Act Drop ★★★★★ “Beautiful, unsettling, dark & gripping” London Theatre Reviews ★★★★★ “Taut, sinister and ultimately disturbing” The Review Chap ★★★★★ “Another stunner from The Hope” IThankyou Theatre ★★★★★ Dark and disturbing” London Theatre1 ★★★★★ “Uniquely brilliant” Views From The Gods Twitter: @TheHopeTheatre @TheHouseOfYesH1

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2700fstreet · 7 years ago

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THEATER / 2018-2019

The Play That Goes Wrong

Written by Henry Lewis, Jonathan Sayer, and Henry Shields of Mischief Theatre Company Directed by Mark Bell

So, What’s Going On?

In the aptly named The Play That Goes Wrong, very little goes right—and, as promised, just about everything goes wrong. The curtain rises on the actors and crew of the modern-day Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society preparing for their own curtain to rise; it’s also opening night for their whodunit, Murder at Haversham Manor. Their murder mystery takes place in 1922 at the home of Charles Haversham, who lies “dead” on stage as the curtain rises on Act I of the drama society’s play.

(Are you getting all this?)

As Charles’s friends and his fiancée Florence express their distress over his death, a series of plot twists unfolds, and technical difficulties begin to complicate the production. Sound effects go awry, set pieces malfunction, and misplaced props thwart the actors’ efforts to fulfill their dramatic intent. They persevere nonetheless, steadfastly carrying out their prescribed roles with absurd adherence to their scripted lines and movements, even when these actions no longer make sense.

With her groom-to-be’s body barely cold, Florence finds herself on the receiving end of a new proposal! (How timely!) Meanwhile, the Inspector arrives to investigate Charles’s death. Could Florence’s brother have been involved? Or Florence herself? What about Charles’s brother—who also happens to be Florence’s lover…?

(We warned you there’d be plot twists and turns.)

As the investigation continues, the action becomes increasingly madcap. A door hits Sandra, the actress playing Florence, who passes out, and Stage Manager Annie must replace her, with script in hand. Miscues, missteps, and misinterpretations lead to growing chaos as a poorly constructed set puts the actors in danger. The fake elevator’s floor breaks, the second story of the manor tilts precipitously, and too many actors to name end up nearly crushed or otherwise imperiled.

(And so, you have to ask…)

Can the Inspector solve the mystery of Charles’s murder? Will Sandra regain consciousness? If/when she does, will Annie be willing to give up playing Florence? If/when she isn’t, which woman will prevail? And has anyone noticed the set’s too-loose chandelier...?

It looks like most characters will survive the play-within-a-play. But will they survive The Play That Goes Wrong?

Here’s a sneak peek (“The Play That Goes Wrong at The Kennedy Center”): https://youtu.be/1EyI5mAFY90

youtube

Who’s Who

Here’s a very, very helpful note: In The Play That Goes Wrong, names are two-for-the-price-of-one, with each actor playing a character and each of those characters acting in the play-within-a-play. Good luck keeping them straight! (If in doubt, focus on the names of the murder mystery characters, as they’re used more frequently.)

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Characters in The Play That Goes Wrong

Characters in Murder at Haversham Manor

Annie, stage manager for the Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society (CPDS)

Fills in as Florence Colleymoore (see below)

Trevor, lighting and sound operator for CPDS

Fills in as Florence Colleymoore (see below)

Chris, head of CPDS; director of Murder at Haversham Manor

Inspector Carter, esteemed local official

Jonathan, actor for CPDS

Charles Haversham, deceased

Robert, actor for CPDS

Thomas Colleymoore, Charles’s old friend

Dennis, actor for CPDS

Perkins, Charles’s butler

Max, actor for CPDS

Cecil Haversham, Charles’s brother, and Arthur, his gardener

Sandra, actor for CPDS

Florence Colleymoore, Charles’s fiancée and Thomas’s sister

The Play Within a Play

There’s a long dramatic tradition of performing plays within plays, though the inner production does not usually comprise as much of the overall show as in the case of The Play That Goes Wrong. Among the most famous early examples, Shakespeare made use of this technique in his comedy, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and in Hamlet, a tragedy.

In Hamlet, the title character devises a theatrical performance intended to mirror a crime he believes his uncle to have committed in order to prompt a reaction that will prove his uncle’s guilt. Much more recently, the comedic musical The Producers told the story of two theater producers who put on a show they intend to be a flop, Springtime for Hitler, and find that it is an unexpected hit.

In The Play That Goes Wrong, the “inner” show is the entirety of the performance we see, with our Act I corresponding to the characters’ Act I, and the same for Act II. We see the story of an amateur production gone awry. Just as in Hamlet, the inner show is a murder mystery (but this one is set in 1922 and is not being performed for the purpose of catching an actual murderer).

Caption: In The Play That Goes Wrong, the standing clock becomes a stand-in for a character (who is stuck inside); here, it has “fainted” and is resting.

The Language of Stagecraft

Because you’re watching two plays in one, you might like to familiarize yourself with these words related to theatrical productions:

Blackout: what happens when all the lights on stage go out (on purpose); often occurs at the end of an act.

Company: a group of theater performers.

Cue: a line that prompts an action to take place, including another actor speaking a line, entering, or exiting; a change in lighting; a sound effect; a scene change; or a prop placement.

Interval: another word for intermission, which is the break between acts.

Opening night: the first official performance of a theater production.

Stage manager: a person who takes charge of “tech,” or the technical elements of a show, including sets, lighting, props, and costumes. In this show, Annie is the stage manager for the Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society.

What to Look and Listen for…

In The Play That Goes Wrong, actors use physicality to emphasize the absurdity of their show’s unraveling. Exaggerated physical movements also known as “slapstick” (a term originating from the loud sound produced by hitting two wooden sticks together to mimic a slap), help to promote the insanity as the cast tries mightily to perform their play.

The show’s promotional materials reference Monty Python, an apt comparison to the 1970s British comedy group also known for its physical humor (search for the sketch “The Ministry of Silly Walks”—and then, if you still have a taste for British physical humor, search for “Mr. Bean”!). In The Play That Goes Wrong, watch for ways that the actors take advantage of carefully rehearsed “accidental” movements to make their actions funnier.

Caption: An actual slap stick Accessed from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slapstick#/media/File:Bic_(instrument).jpg

Keeping all of this in mind, check out:

How the murder mystery actors point to their verbal uncertainties by using their bodies. Dennis, who plays Perkins, refers to cues he’s written on the back of his hand when he needs to say a difficult word, such as “façade” or “morose.” And when Annie fills in for Sandra to play the role of Florence, she reads directly and without subtlety from a script.

How the show takes advantage of all set pieces and props, finding ways to break or mishandle each one to add to the comedic effect. The stretcher’s canvas rips, leading the actors to carry it out absurdly without Charles Haversham’s body. The door jams, the door handle falls off, the contents of the coal scuttle catch fire, and the entire second floor begins to tilt Titanic-like. Anything that can go wrong does.

The way characters must rush to compensate for (deliberate) structural problems on the set of the murder mystery. When the Stage Manager, Annie, can’t attach the mantelpiece to the stage wall, she has to hold props herself (see below). When the actor playing Perkins can’t leave through the door, which is stuck, he instead climbs into the clock. The actors are flexible when it suits them but stick to the script rigidly at other times—all to maximize comedic effect.

Caption: With no mantelpiece in sight, Stage Manager Annie becomes a human candelabra.

Think About…

How, in addition to featuring a play within a play, the cast of The Play That Goes Wrong breaks the fourth wall (between themselves and you, the audience) when bookending the acts. Look for cast members to solicit help from or speak to the audience.

Moments of dramatic irony, meaning that the audience enjoys the tension of knowing more than a character does and awaiting the results. We know, for instance, that the Stage Manager, Annie, has replaced the empty bottle of “scotch” with a flammable (and potentially toxic) product, though the actors don’t notice—and we also can foresee their horrified reactions before they take their first sips.

How half-hearted pantomime adds another humorous element to the action, as when Max, playing Arthur the Gardener, walks in with a leash and no dog. “Get down!” he tells the empty space. “Quiet, Winston!” he shushes into silence. And, ultimately, to remove the dog from the house—“I’ll put him outside”—Max throws the leash out the door.

Caption: Max and Sandra—as Cecil and Florence—almost kiss.

Take Action: Challenge Yourself

Mischief Theatre has made good use of the “goes wrong” concept, from The Play That Goes Wrong to Peter Pan Goes Wrong to The Nativity Play Goes Wrong. In fact, much of comedy relies on surprise outcomes, from the slipping-on-a-banana-peel gag to the trickery and mistaken identities that fuel the plots of farces. Mishaps are the underpinning of the concept of irony—when what you expect to see or hear is not what ends up appearing. That’s certainly the case in The Play That Goes Wrong.

You, too, can make use of this technique to drive your own comedic productions. To practice, pick a short story, a scene from your favorite movie or play, or even a historical moment. Then try to rewrite it and have everything go wrong. Perhaps Little Red Riding Hood is color blind; or Barack Obama decides to run for president of the marching band instead of President of the United States of America; or the Grinch steals Chanukah instead of Christmas, and his dog Max keeps stopping to eat latkes and loses track of their sleigh. Imagine all the wacky potential of just one altered plot element—and then add more!

If you’re comfortable sharing on social media, post your comic composition to your favorite platform using the hashtag #storiesgonewrong.

Caption: The set’s window provides a more reliable entrance than the door, which gets stuck shut.

EXPLORE MORE

Go even deeper with the The Play That Goes Wrong Extras.

All production photos by Jeremy Daniel.

Writer: Marina Ruben

Content Editor: Lisa Resnick

Logistics Coordination: Katherine Huseman

Producer and Program Manager: Tiffany A. Bryant

David M. Rubenstein Chairman

Deborah F. Rutter President

Mario R. Rossero Senior Vice President Education

Theater at the Kennedy Center is made possible by

Major support for Musical Theater at the Kennedy Center is provided by

The Kennedy Center Theater Season is sponsored by Altria Group.

Major support for educational programs at the Kennedy Center is provided by David M. Rubenstein through the Rubenstein Arts Access Program.

Kennedy Center education and related artistic programming is made possible through the generosity of the National Committee for the Performing Arts.

#theater #theplaythatgoeswrongat2700F

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techcrunchappcom · 5 years ago

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New Post has been published on https://techcrunchapp.com/the-political-theater-of-kayleigh-mcenanys-scripted-walk-offs-the-washington-post/

The political theater of Kayleigh McEnany’s scripted walk-offs - The Washington Post

McEnany was ready for this one.

Quickly flipping pages in her briefing binder, McEnany launched into an extended critique of the New York Times, which broke the Russia story last week. Reading from her notes, she rattled off a series of alleged errors published by the Times in its reporting about Russia over the past four years, including a claim that 17 intelligence agencies had agreed about Russian interference in the 2016 election. (Only four agencies had done so.)

Then she unleashed the uppercut punch: “It is inexcusable, the failed Russia reporting of the New York Times. And I think it’s time that the New York Times, and also The Washington Post, hand back their Pulitzers.”

And with that, McEnany snapped her binder shut and strode out of the briefing room, trailed by the unanswered shouts and murmurs of the White House press corps.

Such dramatic exits have become a signature of McEnany’s brief tenure as press secretary. Since taking the job in April, the former Trump-friendly CNN pundit and spokeswoman for Trump’s reelection campaign has often waited until the briefing’s conclusion — that is, the moment when she determines the briefing is concluded — to unload on the assembled reporters.

The excoriation is typically punctuated by a binder slam and a determined stride away from the lectern, almost like the slugger who doesn’t bother to watch the pitch he just swatted as it sails into the bleacher seats. The unspoken message seems to be: Take that, hacks!

McEnany, for example, concluded her briefing on June 1 by playing a White House-produced video of police embracing protesters, images that she said “have not been played all that often” in the news media.

And when she was asked in early May if she wanted to take back her assertion in a Fox Business Network interview in February that “we will not see diseases like the coronavirus come here,” McEnany responded by rhetorically asking if news organizations would like to take back articles that had downplayed the threat. After rattling off several of them, she delivered her exit line: “I’ll leave you with those questions and maybe you’ll have some answers in a few days.”

During another very special McEnany moment in May, the press secretary closed things out by narrating an illustrated PowerPoint presentation of five questions she said reporters should pose to Obama administration officials in support of Trump’s claims of a conspiracy against him.

“If I write them out in a slide format — maybe we’re visual learners and you guys will follow up with journalistic curiosity,” she said sarcastically in introducing her lecture. Sounding like a teacher handing out an assignment, she concluded: “It’s a long weekend. You guys have three days to follow up on those questions. And I certainly hope the next time I ask, some hands go up, because Obama’s spokesperson should be asked those questions because President Trump’s spokespeople certainly would be.”

The would-be smackdowns seemed so orchestrated that all it lacked in stagecraft was the kind of musical punctuation that “CSI: Miami” used to punch up Detective Horatio Caine’s bon mots before jumping to the opening credits and theme song, the Who’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again.”

As a practical matter, McEnany’s abrupt exits have the advantage of foreclosing upon follow-up questions or comments. They give her, in effect, the last word. They’re also in keeping with her boss’s perpetual denunciations of the media as “fake news.”

McEnany didn’t respond to requests for comment.

Her mic-dropping moments are really designed for two audiences beyond the denizens of the briefing room: Trump himself and the universe of Trump-friendly websites, said Ryan Lizza, Politico’s chief Washington correspondent and a CNN contributor. The websites, he said, turn her set pieces into share-worthy clips “for the MAGA-sphere” within minutes of her walkout.

“We used to have this quaint idea that the press secretary wasn’t just a mouthpiece for the president, that half of the job was serving the press and the public,” said Lizza, who appeared with McEnany on CNN many times when she was a network contributor. “That model is gone now. Now it’s almost pure theater, and [she’s serving] the negative partisanship that drives all else.”

Social scientists study the way in which people end interactions with others, known as “leave-taking behavior,” and McEnany’s behavior fits into this analytical framework, said Jennifer Mercieca, an associate professor at Texas A&M who specializes in rhetoric and public affairs.

In friendly or cordial relationships, she said, a person typically will begin to position themselves toward an exit and announce their intention to depart. They’ll reaffirm the relationship by summarizing what’s been said and suggest, if only in vague terms, a future meeting.

The failure to do these things sends the opposite message about a relationship — that one party has disrespect for the other.

McEnany’s scripted walk-offs point to “how adversarial the relationship between the press secretary and the press is at present,” said Mercieca. “The abrupt ending signals a lack of respect for the press, especially after she has berated their reporting.”

Correction: This story originally stated that the “CSI: Miami” theme song is the Who’s “Who Are You.” It is actually the Who’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again.” “Who Are You” is the theme song of the original “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.”

#kayleigh #mcenany #political #scripted #theater #washington #Uncategorized

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anthonypaulh · 6 years ago

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JOY and PAIN - The Troubled Life and Tragic Death of Marvin Gaye

The song “Joy and Pain” forms the perfect epitaph for Marvin Gaye. Ultimately, the hugely troubled, flawed, sensitive soul lived his all too short life, somewhere between the extremes of the classic Frankie Beverley and Maze soul anthem.

It is often said that fact is stranger than fiction, that with some events you apparently couldn’t make it up. Well, in the traumatic life of the silkiest of soul singers that is absolutely accurate. A complicated, sensitive, and passionate man, Marvin Gaye lived his life overshadowed by his violent father.

The difficult, violent, explosive relationship with his father underpinned everything that followed in the life of Marvin Gaye. Ultimately, and tragically it would end in father shooting son after their final yet fatal bitter argument on April 1st 1984.

The contradictions of Marvin Gaye’s life started on April 2nd 1939 when he was born in Washington DC as Marvin Pentz Gay. He later added an E to his name , in the early 1960’s to ward off teasing about being Gay and also to distance himself from his father’s surname.

His father Marvin Gay was a Reverend in a Hebrew Pentecostal church called the House of God. He imparted a very strict upbringing on Marvin junior and his 3 siblings. He was a brutal man, frequently inflicting physical violence on his children and subjecting his wife to regular beatings. Marvin junior attracted the worst of his father’s violence as he took it upon himself to protect his mother Alberta from the worst his father could do.

Needless to say, this very violent family upbringing, left Marvin Junior scarred for life. He forever craved the love of his father who could never give him that. Despite all of his career achievements and the recognition he earned he never achieved the thing that he needed the most, his father’s love.

Nowadays we all recognise that trauma experienced by any child in their formative years is always going to lead to a troubled adulthood and in fact it is a key factor in addictive behaviour of all sorts. Hardly any wonder then that Marvin would become drug dependent and a manic depressive despite all of his fame.

It was therefore, no surprise that Marvin wanted to escape from his family as soon as possible. His first attempt to break free was in 1956 when aged 17 he enlisted in the US Air Force. But even then, the contradictions that ran through his life surfaced as he faked mental illness to extricate himself from the disciplined air force environment he hated.

He returned to Washington DC and formed a vocal quartet called The Marquees. But after one failed single they were dropped from their recording contract with Okey records a subsidiary of Columbia.

One of the few things that Marvin had seen as a positive from his father was the delivery style of his sermon’s in church. Marvin regularly attended and sang at the services from the tender age of 4. He drew on his father’s preaching style as he developed his own stagecraft and he readily acknowledged that it was something that played a key role in his vocal delivery.

As a singer the young Marvin was influenced by Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Ray Charles and Billy Eckstine. But success didn’t come quickly. After the initial failure of The Marquees, he continued working in Washington DC on the club circuit and started writing his own songs.

Eventually the impresario Harvey Fuqua spotted Marvin and took him under his wing. Harvey would become the father figure that Marvin had always sought and he would shape the rest of his life and career in so many ways.

As it happens Harvey was a very good judge of talent. He had already discovered the likes of Johnny Bristol, Lamont Dozier, Junior Walker and The Spinners. Just as importantly for Marvin, his new mentor was to introduce him to the woman that would he would marry and that in itself would effectively catapult him to International fame.

In 1959 Harvey Fuqua and his group The Moonglows moved to Chicago where they recorded a few unsuccessful tracks for Chess Records. But with little sign of success the group split up and in 1960 Harvey and Marvin moved to Detroit. It would be the most important move of their lives. Hittsville USA was about to become the Sound of Young America and they would be vital cogs in that machine.

On arrival in Detroit, Marvin became a session musician, a drummer. However, his fate was about to be signed, sealed and delivered when he was invited to the home of Berry Gordy over the Holiday Season of 1960.

Harvey Fuqua had married Gwen Gordy the sister of Berry and he distributed the first record that would become a MOTOWN hit. The record was Barrett Strong’s “Money (That’s What I Want ) and it was released on Anna Records, owned by Harvey and Gwen. Their label was later sold to Berry. Thereafter Harvey Fuqua became a song writer and executive at MOTOWN.

For Marvin, the introduction to Berry Gordy in 1960 would change his life and the history of soul music to boot. He married Anna Gordy, seventeen years his senior, in June 1963. The relationship was intense, passionate and fiery. But they were good for each other and Marvin realised that his marriage kept him close to the ear of Barry Gordy at the “Hit Factory”.

Nonetheless, Berry was always grudging in any praise of his brother in law. He recognised his talent and was especially keen to use Marvin as the leading male vocalist for MOTOWN. He saw Marvin as a cross between a matinee idol and a pop star.

Many studio workers and musicians at MOTOWN recall strenuous arguments between Marvin and Berry. They would often square up to each other in heated squabbles but Berry held the highest cards. Financially Berry called the tune and Marvin sang the songs that Berry wanted (at least to start with). What made things even worse for Marvin was that Berry owned the house that he and his wife Anna lived in. It seemed that Berry controlled his every move.

Undoubtedly, in the early part of his career, MOTOWN wanted Marvin to sing simple, pop songs. Berry Gordy wanted MOTOWN to sell records and not make political and social statements. He didn’t want to alienate the middle of the road, largely white, record buying public.

Berry Gordy did not want to present MOTOWN as in any way threatening. In many ways he was doing with MOTOWN what Brian Epstein did with The Beatles. Keep it clean, don’t threaten, dress sensibly and get the hits. He was selling pop, upbeat, happy music. Selling was his game and money was the driver. Berry Gordy was a ruthless businessman first, second and third.

The first hits Marvin had on MOTOWN reflected the “safe” music that the company ordered. So in 1962 “Stubborn Kind of Fellow” was typical of the type of material that the business demanded. It was absolutely not the music that Marvin dreamed of making but it was successful.

As success followed success Marvin worked with the genius in house MOTOWN production team, Holland-Dozier-Holland, and the hits kept coming. So “Can I Get A Witness”, You’re A Wonderful One” and “How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You “ hit the charts.

Firmly established as MOTOWN’s leading man, Marvin was pushed by Berry to record a series of duets with the leading ladies on the label. Against his wishes, Marvin agreed and although he didn’t really want to cooperate the recordings produced some great moments.

Firstly he recorded with Mary Wells “What’s The Matter With You Baby ?”, then with Kim Weston “It Takes Two”, and most successfully with Tammi Terrell “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”, Ain’t Nothing Like The Real Thing”, and “You’re All I Need To Get By”. Later Berry forced him to record with Diana Ross although they never actually recorded anything at the same time because they despised each other.

The Prince of MOTOWN he may well have been but privately Marvin Gaye was in torment. He was deeply hurt at having to play the tunes that Berry called, and he wanted to record his own more contentious, expansive music. He felt a fraud and in fact some of the duets released under his name with Tammi Terrell were exactly that because due to illness some of her vocals were actually performed by Valerie Simpson.

Following her collapse on stage in Virginia in October 1967, Tammi Terrell was never able to perform or record again so Valerie Simpson stood in her shoes. Marvin was spun the line that he should continue recording with Valerie impersonating Tammi as sales meant money which could pay medical bills for Tammi. Marvin reluctantly went along with it out of respect and love for Tammi. When Tammi died from a brain tumour on 1970 Marvin was broken. He spiralled into depression.

By the late 60’s the relationship between Marvin and Berry could be described as frosty, at best. Typical of the shenanigans was the saga that went on with the classic Norman Whitfield and Barratt Strong tune “ I Heard It Through The Grapevine”. It was recorded by Marvin in February 1967 but MOTOWN rejected it suggesting it be covered by Gladys Knight and The Pips.

Only when released as an album track on Marvin’s LP “In The Groove” in August 1968 did radio stations give it the airplay that demanded it be released as a single. His classic rendition reached number 1 on the pop and RnB charts in the US and became a world wide smash hit. A victory of sorts for Marvin but the next battle of wills with Berry and “the company” was not long in coming.

In May 1969, Obie Benson of the Four Tops started work on a song he intended be recorded by the “Tops’, called “What’s Going On ?”. It was rejected by the Four Tops because it was a protest song. But their loss was to be Marvin’s gain and it would result in arguably one of the most important MOTOWN albums.

Anna Gordy persuaded Marvin to try the song “What’s Going On ?” and it soon became clear that “What’s Going On ?” was perfect for him. From the very first run throughs it was his song, tailor made for him. But even though the studio singers, musicians and engineers were convinced he had to record and release the song, Berry Gordy was annoyed that Marvin was contemplating doing so.

As far as Berry Gordy was concerned, if the Four Tops believed the song to be inappropriate then it WAS inappropriate. It was a “protest” song and MOTOWN did not do anything that might rock any boats. Berry Gordy forbade Marvin to record the song. Effectively Marvin subsequently went on strike, refusing to record at all.

The stand off lasted almost a year, until in June 1970 permission was granted for the single “What’s Going On ?” to be recorded by Marvin for release at an undetermined time. When it was eventually released it was done so without the knowledge or sanction of Berry Gordy.

The strike period had actually given Marvin time to compose a series of songs he wanted to release on a concept album with “What’s Going On ?” as the title track. The contentious piece of work was to become one of the most important records ever made and certainly the most radical of anything put out by MOTOWN. Marvin openly challenged the existing social order on the album. He sang about civil rights, environmental abuse, intolerance and the record became a clarion call for anyone wanting to question the politics of the time. It was definitely NOT MOTOWN neither musically or lyrically.

As a political record, Berry Gordy did not want Marvin to continue with the album and he did not believe it would be a hit anyway. It was far too serious. MOTOWN was light hearted, fun pop. Marvin was talking about climate change before the scientists talked about it and he sang in a more jazz influenced style than RnB/pop that had proven successful for Hittsville USA.

The seminal Marvin Gaye album “What’s Going On ?” was released in May 1971, arguably the most important year in the history of MOTOWN. The album became the biggest selling album on MOTOWN to that point and remains a key piece of work. It fused social commentary, politics, jazz , funk and soul to endure well beyond its’ time. It is still one of the most important records ever made.

Following “What’s Going On ? “ was always going to be a huge challenge but throughout the 1970′s Marvin continued to experiment with jazz, gospel, blues, soul and even more with narcotics. He managed to balance spirituality, commerciality, and experimentation with hits such as “Let’s Get It On”, “Trouble Man”, “After The Dance” and “Got To Give It Up”. He eventually divorced Anna Gordy in 1978 after what can only be described as a pained, strained marriage.

The traumatic separation inspired him to record the album “Here My Dear” and it is probably the most bitter record you will ever listen to. Marvin was leaving no doubt that he was in a deep emotional hole. His drug use fuelled terrible and dangerous mood swings as he lurched from one instability to another seeking some kind of stability and solace.

A short lived second marriage to Janis Hunter lasted only until 1979 with divorce finalised in 1981. Marvin found himself bankrupt financially and emotionally and he attempted to take his own life.

In 1982 with the aid of old friend and mentor Harvey Fuqua, Marvin made something of a comeback. Exiled to Britain then Belgium it was here that he released the single “Sexual Healing” on Columbia Records. The track was taken from the album “Midnight Love” which certainly had some more than decent high moments. As usual for Marvin, he fused a number of different musical influences from reggae, RnB, soul, funk and synthopop.

The success of the 1982 “comeback” allowed Marvin to clear 2 million dollars in back taxes to the US authorities. Sadly off stage, Marvin could never fend off his personal demons. All that damage that he had been caused as a child, all that trauma, all that baggage. Stage fright, paranoia, drug use and ongoing depression eventually confined the “Prince of Motown” to his Los Angeles home. It was a home that he would lose his life in.

As if somehow predestined Marvin Gaye was shot dead by his father on April 1st 1984. Yes indeed, April fools day. You couldn’t make it up could you ? In a violent argument and fight between his mother and father, Marvin tried to intervene and sadly the whole situation escalated quickly into the final, fatal act of the ultimate tragedy.

The Reverend Marvin Gay was charged with first degree murder but eventually the charge was reduced to manslaughter following the diagnosis of a brain tumour. He was sentenced to a six year suspended sentence and probation. He died in 1998 in a nursing home.

In the final analysis, Marvin Gaye will always be remembered as one of the most important voices ever to be recorded. In the pantheon of male vocal greats, he is right up there in the top echelons. He is in the same company as Frank Sinatra, Sam Cooke, Wilson Picket, Otis Redding, Donny Hathaway, Ray Charles, Nat King Cole, and now Gregory Porter.

His work remains as relevant today as it was when it was recorded. The sentiment and messages delivered on the “What’s Going On ?” album were years ahead of their time and are probably more important today than ever. Marvin Gaye has often been imitated but never bettered.

Nothing in his successful music career however, could compensate him for the love and recognition he craved from his father. His whole life was a battle to achieve the acknowledgement and attachment his father didn't provide.

In life Marvin Gaye was a restless, troubled, tragic soul. He leaves an incredible body of work and a wonderful musical legacy. Rest in peace Marvin, you will never be forgotten

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placementlog-blog · 6 years ago

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DSM, SM AND ASM

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DSM, SM AND ASM

Stage management is the practice of organising a theatrical production. It encompasses a variety of activities, including constructing the production and formulating communications between various personnel (e.g., between director and backstage crew, or actors and production management). Stage management is a sub-discipline of stagecraft.

Deputy Stage Manager = The DSM will prompt actors before they are needed and often cue the technical crew members and sometimes cast, following the orders of the director and the stage manager. The DSM assures that the lighting and sound cues are acted upon at the correct times. They do this by using verbal standby and prompt calls. They read the book and follow the cues from the side lines of the show. They are in charge of making sure everyone is where they need to be at the correct time, by communicating through the COMMS system in the theatre. ‘ The DSM then follows the script, cueing the lighting changes, sound effects, music, scene changes and also speaking to the dressing rooms to let the actors know that their entrances are approaching. ‘ (The Little Theatre, 2017)

Stage Manager = The SM, will be the key assistant to the director; however the SM is also serves as an assistant to the designers, technical director, costume shop supervisor, director of theatre, conductor, and all other staff positions. The Stage Manager is a key position in any successful theatre production. The position has a unique function because it serves the dual function of assistant to the director and production staff during the rehearsal period and then becomes the person in charge of the production during the actual performance.The SM will be issued any required key by the Technical Director.The SM will maintain the Production Call Board, posting notices for cast and crews. he SM will help with the auditions as required by the director and director of theatre. The SM will create a Company Roster that will contain accurate information as to assignment, address, and phone number of each company member. This should be completed at the initial Company Meeting.

A fundamental duty of the SM is the creation of the Prompt Script. The SM will prepare a prompt script that will eventually contain all blocking notations, plus cues for lights, sound, projection, fly’s etc . This book must be created with care so that anyone would be able to assume the position of SM and call a successful performance.The SM will maintain a Production Book that will contain all information necessary for the production: Company Rota, production and rehearsal calendars, prop list, Daily Rehearsal Reports, Performance Logs ect. This production book must be brought to every production meeting. When rehearsals move into technical rehearsals, the SM will run the rehearsals. The SM will schedule paper techs prior to the first tech rehearsal. The SM will maintain the show throughout the run of the show, as rehearsed.

Assistant Stage Manager = The ASM has varied responsibilities, which are assigned by the stage manager. Mundane tasks such as mopping the stage, sweeping the stage and brewing coffee or tea may fall to the ASM. If the stage manager is unable to perform his or her duties, the ASM must be able to fill in. They often look after props and bits of set that are needed throughout the show, and make sure that all said props are where they are supposed to be before the show begins so there is no confusion amongst the cast.

Bibliography:

The Little Theatre (2019) The Role of the Deputy Stage Manager [Online] Available from: https://www.thelittletheatre.net/the-role-of-the-deputy-stage-manager/ [Accessed 28/02/19]

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jessicakmatt · 6 years ago

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Field Recording: 10 Ways to Use Found Sound in Your Production

Field Recording: 10 Ways to Use Found Sound in Your Production: via LANDR Blog

Innovating in art and music is about pushing boundaries and breaking away from traditional molds.

One way adventurous musicians challenge conventions is by using non-musical sounds in their work.

Sonic elements from our everyday world can be powerful parts of a musical composition.

Capturing these sounds in the wild is called field recording. Field recording opens up endless possibilities, but using these found sounds in your production isn’t always easy.

This post will walk you through how to incorporate field recordings into your music as well as creative ways to manipulate found sounds in your DAW.

What is field recording?

Field recording is the term used to describe any audio recording that takes place outside of a recording studio.

Field recording comes from the practice of field work. Researchers would travel to cultures and places unlike their own and document what they found there.

In the 1940s, composer Pierre Schaeffer began experimenting with recording of the human voice and natural environments.

These unique compositions were the beginnings of Musique Concrete, which laid the foundation for much of today’s experimental and avant-garde music.

In the past, capturing field recordings required expensive equipment and specialized skills. Today, thanks to modern technology, anyone with a smartphone has the ability to record audio.

Getting started: What equipment will you need?

All you need to capture field recordings is a microphone, a recording device and a set of headphones.

If you have a smartphone, you already have a device capable of making field recordings.

However, if you invest in a device specifically meant for field recording you’ll get superior audio quality and some helpful features for your workflow.

Check out our list of the 13 best field recorders to start capturing found sounds from the world around you.

What kinds of sounds should you record?

The beauty of field recording is that you can capture any sound you can imagine to use in your tracks.

Once you’ve decided on what type of equipment you want to use, it’s time to get out there and start recording.

Here are some ideas to get you started with field recording:

human voices

distant incoherent conversations

sounds from nature

industrial sounds such as machines, construction, etc.

How to use field recording in your productions

Once you’ve captured your field recordings you’ll need to incorporate them into your tracks.

Layering found sounds over musical elements is a great way to add depth and interest to a track.

But you can also get creative by manipulating the sounds with effects or using the recordings to create musical elements like rhythms or basslines.

The possibilities are pretty much endless, but here are a few suggestions for how to work with your field recordings in your DAW:

1. EQ

It may seem obvious, but there are plenty of creative and useful ways to use your EQ.

Maybe you just want to isolate certain sounds from your recording by filtering out undesirable frequencies.

You can also use EQ to highlight certain frequencies and create unnatural and interesting sounds.

2. Gating

Gating is a slightly more advanced technique that can completely isolate certain sounds from your recording.

Along with compression, gating is one of the main tools for controlling your dynamic range.

One of the challenges you might face while recording outdoors is picking up excessive background noise.

Setting the threshold of the gate in your DAW determines the level where it will kick in and cut off the signal.

Anything above the threshold won’t be affected, anything below will be muted. Tweaking the attack and release will help you make the gating sound natural and transparent.

3. Transpose

Transposing is the process of adjusting the pitch of the recording, but it can completely alter the feel of a sound.

This is a great technique to use with vocal recordings. Adjusting the pitch up or down even just a few semitones can give the recording an otherworldly feel..

4. Reverb and Delay

Adding reverb or delay to a field recording is a great and simple way to add a lot of depth to your track.

Between your DAW’s built-in reverb plugin and those from third-party developers, there are literally thousands of reverb and delay textures to choose from.

Experiment with reverb and delay parameters like density, reflection, and shape to add spatial interest to your track.

5. Panning

Playing with the panning of your field recording is another simple technique to add spatial interest to your tracks.

For vocals or nature sounds, try using duplicate tracks panned at opposite ends of the stereo field.

You can also layer the sounds so the timing is slightly off, which will create depth and a delay-like effect to the field recording.

If you want to experiment with something more complicated than the built-in pan on your audio tracks, much like reverb, there are tons of possibilities for panning your recordings both in the presets in your DAW, and through external plug-ins.

6. Reverse

One easy way to manipulate your found sounds is to simply reverse them.

This can add a menacing vibe to vocal recordings or create a completely new sound when used on recordings of machinery.

Taking a few of your found sounds and using them both forwards and reversed in a track is a great technique when using field recordings as an instrument.

7. Cut it up

Depending how you use your field recordings in your tracks, layering bits and pieces in a nonsensical order is another way you can add interest and depth to your track.

8. Sidechaining

Rules are meant to be broken, and you can create some interesting effects by using sidechains in non-traditional ways.

If you have a recording of a texture or static sound, try sidechaining it to a percussive element like a drum loop. Mute the loop and see what kind of rhythmic volume curves emerge.

9. Create custom instruments

Using a custom instrument or sampler in your DAW is a great way to create your own drum patterns, basslines or synth parts.

Many producers use short samples of different sounds (kicks, hats, etc.) to write their own patterns.

Before doing this you’ll probably want to use the previously mentioned tip of cutting up your recordings.

Cut each recording down into multiple one bar segments and then them into your custom instrument.

That way you can create arrangements and adjust the parameters of each individual sound as you go.

10. Use creative plugins

There are thousands of third-party VSTs you can purchase or download to process your found sounds in unique ways.

Here are a few plugins that are great for processing field recordings:

Sinevibes Hologram This effect processor resynthesizes sound in real time. It converts your sound into a series of related sine waves of different frequencies.

Two flexible, multi-waveform modulators apply rhythmic motion to the resynthesized sound. This way you can create basslines, synth parts and drum patterns from your field recordings.

MDSP Smart Electronix Livecut Beat Chopper A live beat-slicer that’s algorithm is meant to simulate the automatic cutting of breakbeats like the style of early jungle and drum and bass tracks. You could get some really interesting results if you ran cut up pieces of field recordings through this free VST

Stagecraft Echothief Echothief is a convolution reverb that lets you model real spaces with convolution. Stagecraft’s advanced IR techniques give you access to impulse response of spaces that are too noisy to record with traditional methods.

The possibilities when using plug-ins with your field recordings becomes endless, check out this list of 200 Best Free VST Plug-ins Ever for a solid list of effect plug-ins to add a unique twist to your found sounds.

Recording the world around you

Much like digital music production, incorporating field recordings into your tracks allows for endless possibilities.

It can be difficult to know how to use field recordings well in your tracks and make them sound cohesive with your music, but with some simple effects and basic production techniques you can make non-musical sounds musical.

The post Field Recording: 10 Ways to Use Found Sound in Your Production appeared first on LANDR Blog.

from LANDR Blog https://blog.landr.com/field-recording-tips/ via https://www.youtube.com/user/corporatethief/playlists from Steve Hart https://stevehartcom.tumblr.com/post/188659036444

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newssplashy · 7 years ago

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NEW YORK — By the time the woman in the cafe starts to sing that the music has taken over her body — her bones, her stomach, her heart — you’re in no position to question the diagnosis. You’ve been feeling that same, gut-deep response almost since the first notes were sounded in “Carmen Jones,” which opened on Wednesday at Classic Stage Co.

This may also be the moment at which you accept for good that John Doyle’s transformative revival of this once-shunned, sui generis work from 1943 — a strange hybrid of opera (the score is that of Georges Bizet’s “Carmen”) and musical theater (the lyrics are by Oscar Hammerstein II) — isn’t going to be embarrassing.

It is, on the contrary, sublime.

There’s no point trying to resist such sheer, distilled beauty. Your chances would be about as good as those of our helpless hero in escaping the erotic pull of the show’s title character, thrillingly embodied here by Anika Noni Rose.

And it all could have gone so wrong.

That song about the viral effects of music, for example — its title is “Beat Out Dat Rhythm on a Drum.” Its lyrics, when read on the page, should make any enlightened citizen of the 21st century wince. (Sample: “I know dere’s twen’y millyun tom-toms beatin’ way down deep.”) James Baldwin, writing about the 1954 film version of “Carmen Jones,” called the number “an abomination.”

This was a work, after all, that transliterated a 19th-centry French opera depicting the supposedly lusty, homicidal nature of Gypsies into a 20th-century spectacle depicting the supposedly lusty, homicidal nature of black people. And that language! Baldwin said it made African-Americans sound “ludicrously false and affected, like antebellum Negroes imitating their masters.”

Granted, the original Broadway show had been enthusiastically embraced when it opened during World War II. (The New York Times said it “has everything it needs to make great theater.”) But despite the occasional concert staging in recent years, “Carmen Jones” has seemed destined to languish in that hidden cabinet reserved for cultural curiosities from a racist era.

Doyle, however, has a way of taking a stethoscope to overdressed shows, listening for the compelling heartbeat beneath stereotyped surfaces and translating what he hears into elegantly spartan stagecraft. That was the approach to his Broadway interpretations of Stephen Sondheim’s “Sweeney Todd,” and, more surprisingly, the Tony-winning 2015 revival of “The Color Purple,” a musical adaptation of Alice Walker’s landmark novel, which had seemed bloatedly sentimental in its first New York outing in 2005.

But “Carmen Jones” may be his most unexpected act of reclamation. In this version at Classic Stage, where the British-born Doyle is the artistic director, the doomed title character and the people whose lives she damages often seem as timeless as the beautiful and damned of Greek tragedy.

In its own way, this production is as primal and breathlessly seductive as the great director Peter Brook’s “La Tragédie de Carmen” (seen at Lincoln Center in 1983), which set Bizet’s opera in a bull ring. No voyeuristic detachment is allowed in this “Carmen Jones,” which has been electrically choreographed by Bill T. Jones; the audience feels what the characters feel, on the rutted road to a harrowing catharsis.

Such intensity of feeling is partly a matter of scale. The in-the-round (or rectangle) seating puts the audience right in the midst of the munitions factory and, later, the Chicago club in which the show takes place. Scott Pask’s bare-boards set, lighted with nowhere-to-hide clarity by Adam Honoré, consists of some sheets of parachute silk and olive-drab packing crates, which are put to multifarious use.

The orchestra is made up of six musicians in a balcony. And the cast has been shrunk to a select 10, who occasionally amuse themselves by flirting with the front row. Mostly, though, they exist entirely in the moment — which is to say, in the music.

And there you have the principal reason this “Carmen Jones” is so smashingly effective. Though Bizet’s resplendent score (freshly orchestrated by Joseph Joubert and directed by Shelton Becton) may have been whittled to pocket-size opera, Doyle and his team go with the magnetic flow and personality-shaping detail of the original composition.

Music is character here; it is also destiny. Its sweep is such that the lines between speech and song are eradicated. Listening to the lingo that so appalled Baldwin, it might as well be French — an exotic, serviceable vehicle for the thrust and parry of melody.

And this cast isn’t singing like a bunch of Broadway belters. Opera purists may squawk, but for me every voice does justice not only to Bizet’s melodic richness but also to the inescapable fatalism of the story, as the music tugs everyone into combustible convergence.

As for Carmen herself, Rose, a Tony winner for “Caroline, or Change,” more than makes good on her character’s boast, that when she loves someone, “my baby, that’s the end of you.” Wearing snug, flame-color dresses (Ann Hould-Ward is the costume designer), her hips rolling like waves in a gentle surf, Rose nails the contemptuous arrogance of the sexiest girl in a small town.

But she gives Carmen the provincial girl’s naïve hunger for — and fear of — a bigger, more glamorous life. This discrepancy is reflected not just in her giveaway gaze and serpentine movement (thank Jones for the devastating Salome-style dance of enticement she performs) but, more important, in a soprano that unleashes itself into heady flights of rapture and sunken notes of anger and resignation.

As her chief prey, the virtuous Joe, a touchingly bewildered Clifton Duncan has a tenor that matches Rose’s mezzo in ways that remind you that, in opera, sex starts in the vocal cords. The theory is confirmed by David Aron Damane’s booming bass prizefighter, Husky Miller, who captures Carmen’s attention.

But the entire cast — which also notably includes a heartfelt Lindsay Roberts in the ingénue role of Cindy Lou — is first-rate, and each member creates a specifically defined individual whom you somehow feel you’ve met before. Yet when they cut loose for Jones’ centerpiece dance number, a stylized mix of shoulder-shaking swing and jive, everyone melts into an ecstatic harmony.

That’s during the aforementioned “Beat Out Dat Rhythm.” The soloist here is the marvelous Soara-Joye Ross as Frankie, and for the duration of the song, she is the life force incarnate, exultant and undeniable.

There may be tragedy just around the corner, but for the immediate now, human existence seems like a blessed gift. Frankie concludes the song proclaiming there “ain’t but one big heart for the whole world,” and for those few radiant minutes, you actually believe her.

—

Production Notes:

“Carmen Jones”

Through July 29 at Classic Stage Co., Manhattan; 866-811-4111, classicstage.org. Running time: 1 hour 35 minutes.

Credits: By Oscar Hammerstein II; music by Georges Bizet; directed by John Doyle; choreography by Bill T. Jones; sets by Scott Pask; costumes by Ann Hould-Ward; lighting by Adam Honoré; sound by Dan Moses Schreier; hair and wigs by Mia Neal; music supervisor and orchestrator, Joseph Joubert; music director, Shelton Becton; production stage manager, Bernita Robinson. Presented by Classic Stage Company, John Doyle, artistic director.

Cast: David Aron Damane (Husky Miller), Erica Dorfler (Myrt), Clifton Duncan (Joe), Andrea Jones-Sojola (Sally), Justin Keyes (Rum), Lindsay Roberts (Cindy Lou), Anika Noni Rose (Carmen Jones), Soara-Joye Ross (Frankie), Lawrence E. Street (Dink) and Tramell Tillman (Sergeant Brown).

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

via NewsSplashy - Latest Nigerian News Online,World Newspaper

#IFTTT #NewsSplashy - Latest Nigerian News Online #World Newspaper

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musicmapglobal · 7 years ago

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Nine up-and-comers who killed it at Primavera Sound 2018

As expected, the old hands performing at Primavera Sound 2018 proved adept at holding the crowd’s attention. Whether it was Nick Cave’s thousand-mile-stare or Sparks’ ‘Mael Gaze’ (see below), Björk’s bizarre stagecraft or Jane Birkin’s tearful chansons, Skepta’s last minute appearance or hip-hop big guns Tyler, the Creator and A$AP Rocky joining forces, there was plenty to get excited about at the main stages throughout the weekend.

However, the real thrills of a festival like Primavera Sound are the new discoveries, those bands and artists who you’re witnessing for the first time, perhaps having just stumbled upon them in a drunken haze. It’s those moments that elevate a festival from a well-curated series of concerts into an enchanting space where new loves can be forged just as old ones are strengthened.

To celebrate the spirit of discovery that has helped make Primavera Sound a globally recognised music event, three members of the MusicMap team have each chosen their three favourite performances from the weekend by acts they’d never seen before. From dreamy Austrian R&B to gobby Bristolian punk, here are the moments from Primavera Sound 2018 that we hope to relive again and again at future editions…

O’o (Thursday – Night Pro stage)

Finding French duo O’o was one of those auspicious chance incidents that are always the sign of a good festival. Ostensibly on my way to meet some friends, I found myself irresistibly drawn towards singer Victoria Suter’s overlayed vocals in the distance. After hearing her self-harmonising in full effect alongside Mathieu Daubigné’s synth artistry, our plans to meet at the Ray Ban stage swiftly became a new rendezvous with O’o at Night Pro. The duo, who are based in Barcelona, couldn’t hide the excitement triggered by appearing at this local institution, while their carefully developed electronic grooves boasted a fitting melodiousness for a band named after an extinct Hawaiian songbird. Kier Wiater Carnihan

Jlin (Thursday – Bacardí stage)

Thursday had a mellow start with Art Ensemble of Chicago’s avant-garde jazz and Kelela’s R&B, however as soon as Jlin got started the whole audience reacted with their smoothest dance moves. It was undeniable that her visceral African drum samples and Chicago footwork energy awoke something inside everyone, whether they were or weren’t familiar with her work. At some point the Bacardí stage resembled a ritualistic area within a black forest, where a tribe was celebrating a yearly rain dance with their best attitude. Anna Baqués

Wandl (Friday – Night Pro stage)

After arriving on stage and playing his first song, the singer announced ‘I’m Wandl, W-A-N-D-L’. Most of the audience seemed surprised at his strong Austrian accent. You see, Wandl sings dreamy wavy-R&B that would sound far more at home in a smoke-filled dive bar in LA. He continued his set flitting between piano and microphone, and by the time he played ‘Cola’ from last year’s album It’s All Good Tho the audience had their eyes closed and were swaying to the fragile, melodic beats. There was something enigmatic about his display which included jazz interludes, hazy vocals and occasional coy smiles from the artist. With the water next to the Night Pro stage we could well have been in California after all. Roxy Shah

Yellow Days (Friday – adidas Originals stage)

Primavera Sound has a knack unlike any other festival for idyllic scheduling. As Thursday’s hangovers began to subside and the sun started to set, Yellow Days (below) took the adidas Originals stage in one of those perfectly timed moments. Despite releasing music for a few years, the teenage prodigy is finally gaining well-deserved recognition for his harrowingly beautiful modern soul sound. There are obvious comparisons with fellow Brit King Krule, however this Primavera Sound 2018 appearance allowed George van den Broek to be recognised as an original in his own right. Interjections of jazz trumpet pulled the performance together with ‘Gap in the Clouds’ and ‘Your Hand Holding Mine’ proving to be crowd-pleasers. There are clearly big things to come from this youngster. RS

Knox Fortune (Friday – Bacardi stage)

For hip-hop fans, the name Knox Fortune might be familiar. He’s produced tracks for Joey Purp and Vic Mensa and grabbed the attention of the world when he appeared on Chance the Rapper’s Coloring Book. While he isn’t a rapper himself, his show at Primavera Sound 2018 had the swagger and finesse of his colleagues, though his own musical style is closer to the indie pop DIY explosion happening across the pond. Accompanied by band, Knox looked like he’d arrived straight from the skate park in a tie-dye t-shirt. He sand a medley of songs from his debut album Paradise, with stand-out track ‘Lil Thing’ getting the crowd in the perfect mood for the rest of summer. RS

Idles (Friday – adidas Originals stage)

Visually, Idles’ debut at Primavera was a blurry mess of spit, sweat, crowd-surfing and some seriously demented dance moves. Musically, however, their brutish, serrated punk anthems never failed to miss their mark. Bluntly, they were tight as fuck throughout. Much like when Sleaford Mods conquered the same stage back in 2015, it was slightly surprising that their idiosyncratically British mix of acerbic wit and political righteousness translated so well for a foreign crowd, but then again the pure passion that Idles spew out makes sense in any language (as does, bizarrely, an impromptu rendition of Mariah Carey’s ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’). However, as a mid-set shout out to Bristol gig-going legend Big Jeff demonstrates, Idles’ increasing notoriety overseas doesn’t mean they’ll be forgetting their roots anytime soon. KWC

DJ Python (Friday – Pitchfork stage)

You can do all the research you want beforehand, but the best-laid festival plans are inevitably tossed aside the moment a friend drags you towards a particular stage with wild promises of musical nirvana. Often those promises turn to ash the moment you arrive, but Brian Piñeyro’s 4am set as DJ Python more than lived up to expectations. The New York native’s silky shimmy through gentle dembow rhythms – a style he’s previously dubbed ‘deep reggaeton’ – was as refreshing as the Mediterranean zephyrs that were just beginning to breeze across Parc del Fòrum, while retaining enough bass to keep the crowd moving till dawn. Having since delved deep into last year’s Dulce Compañia album, it’s clear that DJ Python was never going to be anything other than good company at Primavera Sound 2018. KWC

Gaika (Saturday – The Warehouse)

One of the novelties at Primavera Sound 2018 was the incorporation of The Warehouse stage: the inside of a car park powered by Bowers & Wilkins Sound System that immediately transported everyone who entered to Berlin. The stage hosted three different label showcases and Jonsi’s Liminal Soundbath, an ambient event presented by Sigur Ros’s singer alongside Alex Somers and Paul Corley. When Gaika appeared for Saturday night’s Warp Records showcase, it was difficult to tell (they located the stage in the middle of the room and it was generally surrounded by people); did the previous show end or was everyone clapping to their favourite tune? However, Gaika made himself noticeable soon enough: his tremendous energy filled every inch of the huge space and jumped to the DJ table previously used by Tutu. The audience didn’t stop twerking until the very end. AB

LYZZA (Saturday – The Warehouse)

Although Lyzza’s Amsterdam Boiler Room set sees her blasting all-audience hits such as a Los Del Río and Rihanna mashup called ‘Rude Macarena’, her Primavera set, which followed Gaika’s performance, saw her display hardstyle and gabber tunes without giving the audience a break. If Gaika’s atmosphere was hot, her show made literally everyone in the room sweat and dance like crazy. Tops off and butts down! AB

Photos by Anna Baqués except for Sparks photo by Kier Wiater Carnihan

#Barcelona #Bowers & Wilkins #DJ Python #festival review #gaika #Idles #Jlin #Knox Fortune #Lyzza #Mathieu Daubigné #O'o #primavera sound #Sparks #Victoria Suter #Wandl #Warp Records #Yellow Days

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pkerem-blog · 7 years ago

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Week 13-Digital and Multimedia

Multimedia:

The defining medium of 21st C. Concept of integrated, interactive media

‣The computer controlled integration of text, graphics, drawings, images, audio, etc

Forms of multimedia:

‣ World Wide Web ‣ CD-ROMs ‣ Virtual reality games ‣ Interactive installations, etc

An evolution of more than 150 years :

Multimedia:

‣ appeals to all the senses simultaneously ‣ inter-disciplinary ‣ composes extreme states of subjective experience.

Extreme states of subjective experience: ‣ To increase knowledge, ‣ To transform consciousness, ‣ To enhance creativity...

‣ by individual choice ‣ free association ‣ personal expression

5 Basic Characteristics/ Key Concepts of Multimedia:

1.Integration: The combining of different media into a single (hybrid) work & the incorporation of technology into artistic practice. 2.Interactivity: The ability of the user to manipulate or change the media s/he uses. 3.Hypermedia: the linking of separate media elements to one another to create a trail of personal association(e.g. text leads to image leads to sound…) 4.Immersion: the experience of entering into believable virtual environments. 5.Non-linear/multi-linear Narrative: non-linear story forms and media presentations.

“Birth of a New Medium”

-First Mouse

THE EVOLUTION OF THE PERSONAL COMPUTER

1st computers: ‣ for calculation, ‣ used in the field of defense: ENIAC computer, during WWII by the US military, to calculate ballistic tables...

Vannevar Bush in 1945, outlined a future device for individual use… realized: human mind operates by free association = the notion of the hyperlink.

in 1960s, Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) supported:

Douglas Engelbart to create “on-line system”— forerunner of Internet, in 1968, he invented: ‣ computer mouse, ‣ windows for text editing ‣ & electronic mail.

A step towards interactivity

The first computer mouse (to the keyboard’s right), part of “the oNLine System” - 1968

1965: Ted Nelson devised Xanadu to share information across computer networks.

Nelson coined the terms:

‣hyperlink ‣hypertext ‣hypermedia

a hyperlink connects texts in a non-linear fashion.

1965: Ivan Sutherland invented sketchpad - the first interactive graphics software.

He theorized about the construction of believable 3-D virtual worlds using computer.

1966: Ivan Sutherland introduced headmount display

the “Dynabook”

In 1970, Alan Kay developed the “Dynabook” - a notebook-sized computer that was fully interactive.

1973: Xerox Alto: The first true multimedia computer

1989: Tim Berners-Lee proposed an in-house on-line document sharing system that he would later call “the World Wide Web”

By 1993 the Web or the Internet became an international phenomenon.

In 1849, Richard Wagner introduced the concept of Gesamtkunstwerk Total Artwork :

= integration of all the arts: unifying music, song, dance, poetry, visual arts, & stagecraft to embrace full range of human experience

The Italian Futurist artist: F.T. Marinetti: in 1916: FILM is the supreme art because it embraced all other forms of art, resulting in a “totalizing” effect.

The American composer John Cage (1912 - 1992) wrote pieces that included audience participation.

John Cage, late 1940s: organized group performances by chance operations, & indeterminacy -- lowering borders between arts

-- inspired other artists like: – Allan Kaprow, – Dick Higgins, – Nam June Paik

Then, we see the development of: nontraditional performance techniques:

-“Happening” in Grand Central Train Station New York, 1970s

Alan Kaprow invented a form of artistic performance: “The Happening” where all audiences were participants. = Blurring the distinction between Artwork & audience

(1960s-70s) Bell Labs scientist: Billy Klüver introduced equal collaboration between artist & engineer: integrating electronic media into artworks.

Klüver & others created Pepsi Pavilion at 1970 Osaka Expo, Japan: based on visitor participation

“Through the Looking Glass”

The cave paintings of Lascaux, France, 15,000 BC, theaters for performance of rituals engaged all the senses.

early example of immersion

immerse (v): to become completely involved in something

Ancient Greek theaters also attempted to “immerse” the audience in the performance . . .

Richard Wagner designed an opera house (in Germany) “to immerse the audience in the performance.”

Early 1970s: Myron Krueger designed “Metaplay” where viewers became part of the work.

Late 1970s: “Architecture Machine Group” at MIT created “media room” where objects on a screen could be moved around by pointing and talking

1980s: Scott Fisher of the NASA-Ames Research Center created VIEW (Virtual Interface Environment Workstation) that placed users in virtual environments

Immersive environments: Interactive installation:

In 1980s, artist Jeffrey Shaw began to incorporate virtual reality into his installations.

Jeffrey Shaw’s The Legible City: (1988-1991)

an urban textual environment buildings from words where the participant reads the texts navigating through virtual city streets

-- a head-mounted display, & riding a stationary bicycle

In 1995, Char Davies, “Osmose”: navigating imaginary worlds through - breath & balance - movements of the participant’s body

In early 1990s, Daniel Sandin & Thomas DeFanti created CAVE: Cave Automatic Virtual Environment -- no usage of helmets or extra equipment to the body

In 1970s - 1980s,

Kit Galloway & Sherrie Rabinowitz staged tele-performances that used satellite hookups to link distant performers.

Kit Galloway & Sherrie Rabinowitz, “Hole in Space”, 1980 People at Lincoln Center, New York (high art) are video-linked with people in a department store (low art) in Los Angeles

The medium’s most defining element:

Its mutability = changing nature!

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2700fstreet · 6 years ago

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THEATER / 2018-2019

SHE A GEM

TEACHER AND PARENT GUIDE

A world premiere Kennedy Center commission Written by Josh Wilder Directed by Paige Hernandez

Student Guide: She a Gem

Parents, Teachers, and Caregivers: Get the Conversation Going

She a Gem is the story of four African American teens at a pivotal point in figuring out who they are—as girls, as Double-Dutch teammates, and as part of a multi-generational sisterhood. It touches ground where our young people in the audience can perhaps serve as our guides in sharing what the play’s central themes mean to them and their friends; themes that include identity, freedom and courage, family and community.

“I hope young audiences will leave the theater thinking about their own community,” says director Paige Hernandez. “And about their families—both those they come from and those they make.”

For adults—caregivers and teachers—She a Gem offers unique openings to engage our young people in conversations about relationships, managing conflict, goal-setting, and their place in their communities. The play also dramatizes the relationship between the personal history of the teen girls and the collective memories safeguarded and shared by their elders. We can also observe Ms. T and how she engages the young people in her care with an open heart and ears, offering guidance that is gentle, firm, respectful, and loving.

The creators hope this adult guide will support the theater experience and the discussions it inspires.

BEFORE THE SHOW

Start a discussion with your young people or students to determine how they want to prepare for going to see She a Gem at the Kennedy Center. The Student Guide can serve as an entry point. Then invite their input: What else do they want to know to prepare for the performance? Do they want to learn more about the social and historical contributions of African American women? Take a tour of the Kennedy Center? Find jump ropes and take a turn on the ends and inside?

Consider following their lead on how they want to prepare. You can suggest explorations of theater etiquette (see “Know Before You Go”), stagecraft (see “It’s Not Just a Stage”), and themes in She a Gem.

Activate Knowledge: Chants and Game Songs

To prepare for the play, ask students to share their own experiences with game songs, jump roping, and other examples of casual play not associated with organized clubs or sports. Have them share stories of simply playing with friends and family.

Refer to the Double Dutch chants featured in the Student Guide, reading them aloud or having groups of students prepare them for presentation. (They are meant as an oral art, after all.) Ask your young people to share the game songs, chants, and other examples of word play they know and have performed. Better yet: Grab your phone and document your work with pictures.

Access the “Take Action” section in the Student Guide to invite young people to create and write down new chants, in styles that someone could recite as they jump rope or step. Encourage them to write, revise, and share them with you, their friends, or the class. Encourage them to play with rhythm, rhyme, and nonsense words.

Activate Knowledge: The Games We Play

Introduce the idea of playing and its role in not just childhood but as part of being human.

She a Gem focuses on a group of young African American women and how Double Dutch serves as a means for them to connect, bond, express friendship, and process conflict. Before going to the performance, consider discussing with your young people perceived social differences between how girls and young women play as compared to boys and young men.

As a group, consider creating a Venn Diagram to show how gender play differs and where it overlaps. (You might also discuss the emotional and social needs different types of play fulfill.) As much as possible, keep the discussion on real experiences and away from abstract or popular generalities. Model and guide mutual respect as much as possible, using questions to probe problematic ideas that may arise.

Pose Open-Ended Questions

Use and solicit open-ended questions inspired by the “Check This Out…,” and “Think About This…” sections in the Student Guide. These questions are designed to inspire young people to connect the show to their personal experiences.

Collaborate

Before attending the show, lead a class preview of the Student Guide sections “Check This Out…,” and “Think About This…” clarifying points as needed. Putting these points in front of students before the show can help them be ready to spot and engage illuminating details in the performance. You might also assign teams of students to choose a point or two from the list to watch for and describe during post-show discussions.

AFTER THE SHOW

Join forces with your young people to determine how they want to process the play afterward. Let them brainstorm ways to get the most out of the experience and keep the conversation going. Do they want to go deeper into the play’s themes? Consider the characters and their motivations in more detail? Talk about acting and stagecraft?

Return to the Student Guide

Return to the two sections from the Student Guide: “What to Look and Listen for” and “Think About This …” Use them to guide discussions about the production, scenes in the play, the plot, and its characters.

Consider Three Central Themes

Here are three important themes in She a Gem, though you and your young people may note others, as well.

Identity relates to how we see ourselves and others, and how we form and express ideas about who we are. Especially for Krystin and Symone in She a Gem, they are at pivotal moments between girlhood and adulthood. They must make choices that reveal who they are and are becoming.

Freedom and courage are linked in the play, and explored through the metaphor of Double Dutch. At the very beginning, Krystin talks about the freedom she feels as she pushes through the moment of fear she feels before stepping into the ropes. Near the end, Symone urges Amber to “Stop being scared of the rope…” With the help of Ms. T, each of the girls faces her fears and sees the possibility of greater freedom if she can overcome them. They are discovering they can learn to be brave, especially with the support of their sisterhood, and that may be the path to true freedom.

Themes of family and community overlap in the play. Is it relational blood and loyalty that binds people together? Or the unity that comes with shared experiences, belief in one another, and the alchemy of respect and love? The play models how bonds of community and family are formed and tested, and ultimately become infused with faith.

Facilitating the Conversation

Again, create space for young people to explore the production from their own vantage points. To set the tone, consider sharing something from your personal experience that relates to the play and its themes. The intention is to start conversations and keep them going.

At the same time, you can use questions to help students spot details they may have missed and dive deeper into the play’s content. Encourage students to back up their interpretations or views with supporting details from the play.

Here are several open-ended discussion points to consider posing:

Describe the setting onstage, including the set, lighting, props, sound effects, etc. What grabbed your attention, made you smile or tense up? How did that stagecraft influence how you felt as you watched the play?

As a group or class, recount what happens in the play. No need to speculate or judge what’s happening, just describe the events as a means to gather detail. Creating a timeline can serve as frameworks for analysis.

Describe how Krystin acts when she feels confronted, threatened, or frightened. How do the other girls respond to her when she’s distressed? What about Ms. T’s actions? Forming character profiles can serve as frameworks for analysis of how the characters develop.

What makes a thriving neighborhood? What is the responsibility of individuals in a community? What is the community’s responsibility to individuals?

Write and Create

Review the activities in the Take Action section of the Student Guide. See which ones might resonate with your young people, such as researching gem stones, writing Double Dutch chants or about “memory objects,” or even getting out some ropes for some real jumping action.

Q & A WITH PROFESSOR KYRA GAUNT, PHD

Professor Kyra Gaunt, PhD, is an ethnomusicologist at the University at Albany, State University of New York. Ethnomusicology is the study of music as it relates to the social and cultural aspects of the people who make it. She is also the award-winning author of The Games Black Girls Play: Learning the Ropes from Double-Dutch to Hip-Hop.

Kennedy Center: What’s your personal history with Double Dutch?

Professor Kyra Gaunt: I grew up in the Washington, D.C., area in Rockville, Maryland, and my mother was a Double-Dutcher. She was great at it. I was an only child and an introvert. And honestly, I was not very good at Double Dutch, in part because I thought I was too fat. But the music-making involved in it became something that serendipitously got my attention while in graduate school at the University of Michigan studying ethnomusicology. I was at a reception for an ethnomusicology conference around 1994, and I heard the sound of girls down the hallway. They were twin seven-year-old sisters, black girls, playing a popular hand-clapping game sung in a pentatonic blues scale: “Mary Mack (clap) / Dressed in black (clap) / Diamonds all down her ba - aa – ack (clap).” It was an epiphany to me. I was familiar with this game but not the song. But the beats and rhymes reminded me of rap. It sounded just like Hip-Hop.

It was after that that I began to explore and study Black girls’ game-songs, cheers, and the chants and rhymes that accompany Double Dutch. As part of my research, I interviewed 15 African American women and a handful of girls from different parts of the country about their game-songs, and saw that as girls they considered them central to their lives. Also as part of my research, I learned to jump with the Double Dutch Divas in New York City. These were grown women [35 and up] and they let me join the group and taught me how to jump and dance in the ropes to recorded music. It was really a powerful experience—to be doing Double Dutch again, but this time as an adult surrounded by the support of Black women. Each member was given a nickname. One Diva named “Joy” started calling me “Twinkle Toes.” But they ended up calling me “Dr. Diva.” Why? Because I had a PhD. We respect people who have earned a doctoral degree and since I was learning from them so I could write my book about Double Dutch and hip hop, “Dr. Diva” stuck.

KC: When and why did Double Dutch take root among girls in African American communities, particularly in urban areas?

KG: Street Double Dutch has probably been popular for at least 70 or 80 years, and it was dominant in black neighborhoods like Harlem in the 1950s. It wasn’t all that familiar or popular in the South, though, or in suburban and rural communities.

The 1970s was when Double Dutch became bigger than street play and grabbed national attention. Starting in 1973, two New York City police officers, David Walker and "Mike” (born Ulysses) Williams, organized Double Dutch into competitions and tournaments for girls. The Fantastic Four were a ground-breaking group in the late ’70s, and these four teen girls were a very innovative, self-taught team. It’s important to me to say these black girls’ names: Dolores Brown, De’Shone Adams, Nikki Adams, and Robin Oakes. Their picture appears in the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. They won the American Double Dutch League Championship in 1980, then appeared in two McDonald’s commercials, and the 1981 video documentary, “Pick Up Your Feet: The Double Dutch Show,” which won an Emmy®.

All this was going on at the same time Hip Hop was being born in New York City. The Fantastic Four were part of the very first international European rap tour in 1982 with Afrika Bambaataa, Grandmaster Flash, the Rock Steady Crew, and others who all became legends in Hip Hop. But on the tour they were called the Double Dutch Girls, not the Fantastic Four, and they are largely erased from the history of the birth of Hip Hop as it was becoming commercialized from 1979 to 1982. They essentially were made invisible. That has so often been the case—African American girls and women and their contributions get left out of our picture of the past. Still, there is a dynamic relationship between Hip Hop and Double Dutch and the two practices have often sampled from each other. All you have to do is compare the lyrics of Nelly's “Country Grammar” with the popular Double-Dutch chant called “Down, down baby” or “Rollercoaster” and you'll see how girls’ games influenced the music of an emerging Hip Hop artist back in 2000. He went on to win a Grammy® with that song. “Down, down baby” is basically the entire hook.

KC: Double Dutch is athletically and creatively intense, but it’s so much more than that. What is its meaning and power, especially for young black women and girls?

KG: Over time, Double Dutch became synonymous with “black girl” community and identity in many urban cities. Boys had their usual sports, but as a rule, space wasn’t made for black girls to participate or express themselves, especially their embodied music-making and dance, which was too often viewed as hyper-sexual given the rhetoric about teenage moms or welfare queens in the Reagan era. Double Dutch was one realm where black girls ruled the game and called the shots. They were defining black culture in a public space doing something where Black boys and White girls couldn’t keep up or were not interested in being included.

It’s an important reason why Double Dutch has mattered so much for many women of color. It actually created boundaries, carved out a safe space, where black girls could be all they wanted to be devoid of the gender stereotyping and anti-Black sexism elsewhere. Black girls have so often been demeaned and denigrated, or punished for talking too loud or showing attitude, or made fun of because of their “different” names or their hair or their body shape or skin color. Their bodies don’t necessarily conform to the white normative ideals of beauty. But when you’re turning those twirling ropes or stepping inside what looks like an eggbeater that others find impossible to jump through, none of that matters.

Double Dutch has been a powerful symbol of identity and sisterhood for black girls and women. Decades ago when doing my research, I interviewed a sister and fellow musician who grew up in North Carolina. The only Double Dutch she knew was from television. She told me without a second thought, “I’ll never be a black girl until I learn Double Dutch. And that’s me. That’s us. It’s not like anything else. Double Dutch is Black girls’ jazz. And that’s the root of our Black Girl Magic.”

KC: You sometimes discuss the concept of “kinetic orality” related to Double Dutch. What do you mean by that?

KG: Part of being human is the need to pass along our own stories. We usually think of stories in terms of writing or storytelling, but there are also stories in how we move, how we dance, the sounds and songs we make, how we carry ourselves. These are examples of “kinetic orality” – telling stories and learning lessons of style and identity through word of mouth and body. I call the game-songs “oral-kinetic etudes.” Such self as well as social expressions are passed from person to person, generation to generation, place to place, especially within the African American community where so often attempts have been made to erase our history, especially the lived memories and history of black girls. Kinetic orality is an important element in our story, and it is very present in Double Dutch, game songs, and other embodied musical expressions of what we know and who we are.

KC: You’ve also talked about “memories in objects.” How do we experience and use such objects in our lives?

KG: What I mean by that is that we attach memories to objects and they carry that memory, so to speak, for us. The women I interviewed about their childhood might say, “I don’t remember how the songs to Double Dutch go, it was so long ago.” But as soon as they heard the recording of the twins I first interviewed or when they pick up the handles, they’re right back there. Embodied memory takes you there. If you grew up baking bread, as soon as you put your hands in the dough it connects you to the timeline of your tactile experience. The toys from childhood, they carry memories. An “object” can also be a song or vinyl record cover from the past. These objects trigger social memories—the chants can [do that] when it comes to Double Dutch. Just the feel of your feet scuffling on asphalt can remind you of the playground, a sidewalk, or the tick-tat sound the rope makes as it skips across the pavement.

Black girls were musical griots in our neighborhoods and communities across generations. We were the librarians of musical traditions, and the caretakers of those sonic objects that held our collective memories. We helped keep them intact for us and for the world.

[END of Q & A]

GO DEEPER/LEARN MORE

“How the Jump Rope Got Its Rhythm.” Small Thing Big Idea, a Ted Series. Professor Kyra Gaunt, PhD. Professor Gaunt shares some of the history jump ropes and the unique culture of Double Dutch among African American women.

youtube

The Games Black Girls Play: Learning the Ropes from Double-Dutch to Hip-Hop by Kyra D. Gaunt, PhD. New York University Press. 2006.

Read some truth about the early ties between Double Dutch and Hip Hop. “Double Dutch’s Forgotten Hip-Hop Origins.” By Lauren Schwartzberg. Vice. March 31, 2015.

“The Power of Theater: What Does Theater Do?” ARTSEDGE.

“Hip-Hop: A Culture of Vision and Voice.” ARTSEDGE.

Foster care, including group homes, are part of a government system to take care of children and teens who cannot live with their families, for whatever reason. Curious about the program and how it operates? Check out:

Group homes: “Giving Group Homes a 21st Century Makeover” by Teresa Wiltz. June 14, 2018. The Pew Charitable Trusts.

Foster care: “Foster Care”; Child Trends.

Now you're ready for She a Gem.

Standards Connections

English Language Arts - Reading: Literature (RL.7, RL.9) Social Studies - Psychology

Writer: Sean McCollum

Content Editor: Lisa Resnick

Logistics Coordination: Katherine Huseman

Producer and Program Manager: Tiffany A. Bryant

She a Gem is part of the Kennedy Center's Human Journey representing Identity.www.kennedy-center.org/humanjourney

The Human Journey is a collaboration between The Kennedy Center, National Geographic Society, and the National Gallery of Art, which invites audiences to investigate the powerful experiences of migration, exploration, identity, and resilience through the lenses of the performing arts, science, and visual art.

David M. Rubenstein Chairman

Deborah F. Rutter President

Mario R. Rossero Senior Vice President Education

Bank of America is the Presenting Sponsor of Performances for Young Audiences.

Additional support for She a Gem is provided by A. James & Alice B. Clark Foundation; the Kimsey Endowment; The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation; Paul M. Angell Family Foundation; and the U.S. Department of Education.

Funding for Access and Accommodation Programs at the Kennedy Center is provided by the U.S. Department of Education.

Major support for educational programs at the Kennedy Center is provided by David M. Rubenstein through the Rubenstein Arts Access Program.

Kennedy Center education and related artistic programming is made possible through the generosity of the National Committee for the Performing Arts.

#theater #forteachers #sheagemat2700F

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fa172-spring2018-zdatalay-blog · 7 years ago

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Multimedia

In our 13th week, we learned about multimedia. What defines multimedia is using more than one medium of expression or communication. There are different forms of multimedia: -World Wide Web -CD -Virtual reality games -Interactive installations, etc.

Multimedia appeals to all the senses simultaneously, inter-disciplinary, composes extreme states of subjective experience (which let you work with the artist and artwork)

There are some key concepts of multimedia; 1.Integration: The combining of different media into a single (hybrid) work & the incorporation of technology into artistic practice. 2.Interactivity: The ability of the user to manipulate or change the media/he uses. 3.Hypermedia: the linking of separate media elements to one another to create a trail of personal association(e.g. text leads to an image leads to sound…) 4.Immersion: the experience of entering into believable virtual environments. 5.Non-linear/multi-linear Narrative: non-linear story forms and media presentation.

Multimedia starts with the computer & it uses computer’s capability for personal expression. First computers in the history were made for calculation and used in the field of defense. Digital computers were initially designed as calculating machines. Douglas Engelbart created computer mouse, windows for text editing and electronic mail. After that Alan Kay pursued his idea for the Dynabook-a notebook-sized computer that enabled hyperlinking, was fully interactive, and integrated all media. (a hyperlink connects texts in a non-linear fashion. A hypertext is a text and a hypermedia is mixing all video typography) And after all we see the 1973 Xerox Alto; -the 1st personal computer -the idea of multiple works -capable of creating video - user-friendly

The Integration of the Arts

Alan Kay’s Dynabook which unifies all media within a single interactive interface had roots in theories of 19th-century opera composer, Richard Wagner who introduced the concept of Gesamtkunstwerk Total Artwork. It is the integration of all the arts: unifying music, song, dance, poetry, visual arts, & stagecraft to embrace the full range of human experience. And in 1916 with The Italian Futurist artist F.T. Marinetti, Film is the supreme art. Because film embraced all other forms of art, resulting in a “totalizing” effect on human consciousness. After, the American composer John Cage wrote pieces that included audience participation. It was a breakdown of traditional boundaries between artistic disciplines in the late 1940s. He counted the majors. Every time he did the shows differently. Artists became increasingly interested in integrating technology into their work. Bell Labs (scientist) and Billy Klüver (powerful engineer), introduced equal collaboration between artist & engineer with integrating electronic media into artworks.

Through the Looking Glass

We all have that fantasy taken from where you are and transported into another world. With computer-based multimedia, virtual worlds will soon become commonplace. There are mnemonic virtual environments of the earliest known form of human expression, the prehistoric cave paintings. One found in Lascaux, France from 15,000 BC, theaters for performance of rituals engaged all the senses. As well as paintings the immersive environments are also important. Immersive means; to become completely involved in something. There are many examples of immersion in the history of art like this one. From Greece, the Greek theatres and the great cathedrals of Europe are two obvious examples. Richard Wagner designed an opera house (in Germany) “to immerse the audience in the performance.” The late 1970s: “Architecture Machine Group” at MIT created “media room” where objects on a screen could be moved around by pointing and talking. In 1980′s, Scott Fisher of the NASA-Ames Research Center created VIEW (Virtual Interface Environment Workstation) that placed users in virtual environments. With time immersive environments and interactive installations showed an increase in many fields.

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