"I think I'm a very political writer but I don't write political tracts. Drama has a different function, which society is pushing out, and that's dangerous. Theatre is communication between people. That's why I hate it when writers are clever."
Edward Bond from an interview in today's Guardian
Friday, April 30, 2010
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
immediate action needed
FACT SHEET from ART/NY
Proposed 2010-11 NYSCA Budget
On April 27, 2010, Governor David Paterson announced a revised Executive Budget proposal for the 2010-11 fiscal year. This new proposal recommends a total of $25.2 million for NYSCA's Local Assistance (grant making) budget.
The Governor's proposal also calls for a 2011-12 Local Assistance allocation of $25.2 million.
The Governor's most recent proposal represents a nearly 40% [39.4%] decrease in Local Assistance funding from 2009-10 levels ($41.6 million).
A 40% cut to NYSCA's Local Assistance Budget far exceeds proposed cuts at most other New York State Agencies.
Governor Paterson has also proposed reducing NYSCA's administrative budget to $4.84 million in 2010-11. This represents a nearly 12% [11.84%] decrease from 2009-10 levels ($5.49 million).
The Governor's proposed 2010-11 budget for NYSCA totals $30.4 million. This places New York State's funding of the Arts on par with Minnesota, which provided $30.3 million dollars in arts funding in 2009-10 (the 2nd highest level of funding in the US behind New York). Source: National Assembly of State Arts Agencies
At this level of funding, New York State's per capita spending on Arts would drop from $2.48 to $0.77. New York's ranking as the 3rd highest per capita support for the Arts in the US would drop to 26th, ranking just above Arkansas at $0.74 per capita and below the national average of $0.90 per capita. Source: National Assembly of State Arts Agencies
ACTION STEPS: Please fax the attached letter or call your State Senator and Assembly Member immediately.
April 27, 2010
Dear State Senator/State Assembly Member ____
Today I learned that Governor Paterson made additional cuts to the State budget. Among the agencies he targeted is The New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA), which is to receive a $17 million cut. Not only is this one of the State's smallest agencies, it was hit with the largest cut! This year, NYSCA had a budget of $42+ million. Today, the Governor proposed that the Agency receive $25 million - a 40% cut to the Local Assistance Budget!
With its current budget of $42.6 million dollars, the New York State Council on the Arts fostered a $25 BILLION INDUSTRY! In other words, despite the recession, the Arts have served as a Secret Stimulus package for New York State.
Why then, would the Governor, who is trying to save the State money, consider a cut which will COST it $10 Billion in revenues from tourism, jobs, and hurt the small businesses that depend upon the arts for their livelihood?
The arts also drive neighborhood revitalization. If these cuts go through, what will happen to Chelsea, Dumbo, Williamsburg, Fort Greene, and Jackson Heights?
While the $17 million he proposes to cut is a tiny portion of the State deficit, it represents over a third of the agency's funding! These cuts take us back to the Agency's budget levels in 1992 (when A.R.T./New York had 150 theatre members, as opposed to the nearly 300 members we have today). In fact, the cuts are so severe that NYSCA will have to institute staff furloughs.
Isn't $17 million a small price to pay for an industry that provides financial, social, and spiritual sustenance to New Yorkers? Do we really expect New York to remain the State of the Arts when we fund the arts at its lowest level since 1989? Do we really expect to remain the arts capital of the world when our per capita funding will rank 26th in the country, just above Arkansas?
Please support restoration to the New York State Council on the Arts.
Sincerely,
Proposed 2010-11 NYSCA Budget
On April 27, 2010, Governor David Paterson announced a revised Executive Budget proposal for the 2010-11 fiscal year. This new proposal recommends a total of $25.2 million for NYSCA's Local Assistance (grant making) budget.
The Governor's proposal also calls for a 2011-12 Local Assistance allocation of $25.2 million.
The Governor's most recent proposal represents a nearly 40% [39.4%] decrease in Local Assistance funding from 2009-10 levels ($41.6 million).
A 40% cut to NYSCA's Local Assistance Budget far exceeds proposed cuts at most other New York State Agencies.
Governor Paterson has also proposed reducing NYSCA's administrative budget to $4.84 million in 2010-11. This represents a nearly 12% [11.84%] decrease from 2009-10 levels ($5.49 million).
The Governor's proposed 2010-11 budget for NYSCA totals $30.4 million. This places New York State's funding of the Arts on par with Minnesota, which provided $30.3 million dollars in arts funding in 2009-10 (the 2nd highest level of funding in the US behind New York). Source: National Assembly of State Arts Agencies
At this level of funding, New York State's per capita spending on Arts would drop from $2.48 to $0.77. New York's ranking as the 3rd highest per capita support for the Arts in the US would drop to 26th, ranking just above Arkansas at $0.74 per capita and below the national average of $0.90 per capita. Source: National Assembly of State Arts Agencies
ACTION STEPS: Please fax the attached letter or call your State Senator and Assembly Member immediately.
April 27, 2010
Dear State Senator/State Assembly Member ____
Today I learned that Governor Paterson made additional cuts to the State budget. Among the agencies he targeted is The New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA), which is to receive a $17 million cut. Not only is this one of the State's smallest agencies, it was hit with the largest cut! This year, NYSCA had a budget of $42+ million. Today, the Governor proposed that the Agency receive $25 million - a 40% cut to the Local Assistance Budget!
With its current budget of $42.6 million dollars, the New York State Council on the Arts fostered a $25 BILLION INDUSTRY! In other words, despite the recession, the Arts have served as a Secret Stimulus package for New York State.
Why then, would the Governor, who is trying to save the State money, consider a cut which will COST it $10 Billion in revenues from tourism, jobs, and hurt the small businesses that depend upon the arts for their livelihood?
The arts also drive neighborhood revitalization. If these cuts go through, what will happen to Chelsea, Dumbo, Williamsburg, Fort Greene, and Jackson Heights?
While the $17 million he proposes to cut is a tiny portion of the State deficit, it represents over a third of the agency's funding! These cuts take us back to the Agency's budget levels in 1992 (when A.R.T./New York had 150 theatre members, as opposed to the nearly 300 members we have today). In fact, the cuts are so severe that NYSCA will have to institute staff furloughs.
Isn't $17 million a small price to pay for an industry that provides financial, social, and spiritual sustenance to New Yorkers? Do we really expect New York to remain the State of the Arts when we fund the arts at its lowest level since 1989? Do we really expect to remain the arts capital of the world when our per capita funding will rank 26th in the country, just above Arkansas?
Please support restoration to the New York State Council on the Arts.
Sincerely,
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
strength in numbers
Nice gathering last night at the Ohio. Full recap should be up on the LIT site and the NYITA site by the end of the week.
Rose stays silent so Ann goes down, never finding the cost of freedom.
Rose stays silent so Ann goes down, never finding the cost of freedom.
Monday, April 26, 2010
tonight
Need you there.
MMMQ at end of post.
On Monday, April 26th The League of Independent Theater and the Innovative Theatre Foundation will co-sponsor The Community Forum on the Ohio Theatre. The event will begin at 6:30pm at the Ohio Theatre located at 66 Wooster Street in Soho, NY.
After two years of negotiation, two lease extensions, and a 29-year history as an indispensable pillar of the downtown theatre scene, the Ohio Theatre must close the doors at its Wooster Street space forever on August 31, 2010.
The April 26th event will reunite local elected officials and members of the independent theatre community in an open forum to discuss solutions to the real estate crises affecting small theaters and the progress and momentum that has been made over the past year – specifically with regard to the tax abatement proposal currently before the Community Boards. In addition, there will be a discussion as to what steps can be taken to secure the remaining venues within the sector and help locate a new home for the Ohio Theatre.
Members of the community are invited to attend and are strongly encouraged to share their ideas regarding these issues. A list of speakers and more details will be posted at http://www.SohoThinkTank.org as they become available. The event will be streamed live at http://www.nyitawards.com/live beginning at 6:30pm on April 26th.
Academy Award winning actress, Olympia Dukakis encourages community participation saying, "It is so important to protect the cultural capital of New York City. Institutions like the Ohio Theatre, which for 3 decades has served this community and has been the home for many artists, needs the support of the city and the community. We must work together to preserve the remaining spaces and help develop new ones."
The Community Forum on the Ohio Theatre is a follow up to the Public Forum on Small to Midsized Theatres that was hosted by Manhattan Community Boards 1-5 at the Players Club in February 2009. The lack and gradual loss of adequate, affordable performance space was a key theme of that event. Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer challenged attendees to hold their elected officials to a higher standard and provide them with a road map of what is needed to keep small to midsized theaters and performing arts companies in NYC alive.
The closure of the Ohio is the most recent example of a distressing trend affecting small to midsized performing arts venues throughout New York City. According to a study conducted by the Innovative Theatre Foundation, in recent years Off-Off-Broadway (OOB) has seen over 25% of their theaters either torn down to make way for new developments, or repurposed into non-performance spaces. With a number of theaters currently facing the same prospect, the urgency to find a solution to this growing problem has intensified.
The Ohio Theatre was one of Soho’s pioneering performance spaces and is now one of the last remaining. For 29 years, the Ohio Theatre has embodied the living history of the neighborhood of Soho, continuing the spirit of community and cutting-edge artistic practice that once defined the area. This is where Tony Kushner produced his first play out of college, where Philip Seymour Hoffman made his professional acting debut, and where Eve Ensler performed Dicks in the Desert – a decade before writing The Vagina Monologues. Today, the Ohio Theatre remains an incubator and platform for New York’s most exciting and widely recognized companies, like New Georges, Clubbed Thumb, Target Margin, Ma-Yi, International WOW, to name but a few of the many artists who are collectively changing the cultural landscape of New York and beyond.
The League of Independent Theater is a not-for-profit membership, advocacy and business league for the independent theater community in New York City (http://www.litny.org).
The Innovative Theatre Foundation was created to bring recognition to the great work being done in New York City's Off-Off-Broadway, to honor its artistic heritage and to provide a meeting ground for this extensive community (http://www.nyitawards.com).
And staying on topic, what was the B side to the 1970 Neil Young release "Ohio"?
1. Find the Cost of Freedom
2. Wooden Ships
3. Heart of Gold
4. War Song
MMMQ at end of post.
On Monday, April 26th The League of Independent Theater and the Innovative Theatre Foundation will co-sponsor The Community Forum on the Ohio Theatre. The event will begin at 6:30pm at the Ohio Theatre located at 66 Wooster Street in Soho, NY.
After two years of negotiation, two lease extensions, and a 29-year history as an indispensable pillar of the downtown theatre scene, the Ohio Theatre must close the doors at its Wooster Street space forever on August 31, 2010.
The April 26th event will reunite local elected officials and members of the independent theatre community in an open forum to discuss solutions to the real estate crises affecting small theaters and the progress and momentum that has been made over the past year – specifically with regard to the tax abatement proposal currently before the Community Boards. In addition, there will be a discussion as to what steps can be taken to secure the remaining venues within the sector and help locate a new home for the Ohio Theatre.
Members of the community are invited to attend and are strongly encouraged to share their ideas regarding these issues. A list of speakers and more details will be posted at http://www.SohoThinkTank.org as they become available. The event will be streamed live at http://www.nyitawards.com/live beginning at 6:30pm on April 26th.
Academy Award winning actress, Olympia Dukakis encourages community participation saying, "It is so important to protect the cultural capital of New York City. Institutions like the Ohio Theatre, which for 3 decades has served this community and has been the home for many artists, needs the support of the city and the community. We must work together to preserve the remaining spaces and help develop new ones."
The Community Forum on the Ohio Theatre is a follow up to the Public Forum on Small to Midsized Theatres that was hosted by Manhattan Community Boards 1-5 at the Players Club in February 2009. The lack and gradual loss of adequate, affordable performance space was a key theme of that event. Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer challenged attendees to hold their elected officials to a higher standard and provide them with a road map of what is needed to keep small to midsized theaters and performing arts companies in NYC alive.
The closure of the Ohio is the most recent example of a distressing trend affecting small to midsized performing arts venues throughout New York City. According to a study conducted by the Innovative Theatre Foundation, in recent years Off-Off-Broadway (OOB) has seen over 25% of their theaters either torn down to make way for new developments, or repurposed into non-performance spaces. With a number of theaters currently facing the same prospect, the urgency to find a solution to this growing problem has intensified.
The Ohio Theatre was one of Soho’s pioneering performance spaces and is now one of the last remaining. For 29 years, the Ohio Theatre has embodied the living history of the neighborhood of Soho, continuing the spirit of community and cutting-edge artistic practice that once defined the area. This is where Tony Kushner produced his first play out of college, where Philip Seymour Hoffman made his professional acting debut, and where Eve Ensler performed Dicks in the Desert – a decade before writing The Vagina Monologues. Today, the Ohio Theatre remains an incubator and platform for New York’s most exciting and widely recognized companies, like New Georges, Clubbed Thumb, Target Margin, Ma-Yi, International WOW, to name but a few of the many artists who are collectively changing the cultural landscape of New York and beyond.
The League of Independent Theater is a not-for-profit membership, advocacy and business league for the independent theater community in New York City (http://www.litny.org).
The Innovative Theatre Foundation was created to bring recognition to the great work being done in New York City's Off-Off-Broadway, to honor its artistic heritage and to provide a meeting ground for this extensive community (http://www.nyitawards.com).
And staying on topic, what was the B side to the 1970 Neil Young release "Ohio"?
1. Find the Cost of Freedom
2. Wooden Ships
3. Heart of Gold
4. War Song
Thursday, April 22, 2010
save the date
On Monday, April 26th The League of Independent Theater and the Innovative Theatre Foundation will co-sponsor The Community Forum on the Ohio Theatre. The event will begin at 6:30pm at the Ohio Theatre located at 66 Wooster Street in Soho, NY.
After two years of negotiation, two lease extensions, and a 29-year history as an indispensable pillar of the downtown theatre scene, the Ohio Theatre must close the doors at its Wooster Street space forever on August 31, 2010.
The April 26th event will reunite local elected officials and members of the independent theatre community in an open forum to discuss solutions to the real estate crises affecting small theaters and the progress and momentum that has been made over the past year – specifically with regard to the tax abatement proposal currently before the Community Boards. In addition, there will be a discussion as to what steps can be taken to secure the remaining venues within the sector and help locate a new home for the Ohio Theatre.
Members of the community are invited to attend and are strongly encouraged to share their ideas regarding these issues. A list of speakers and more details will be posted at http://www.SohoThinkTank.org as they become available. The event will be streamed live at http://www.nyitawards.com/live beginning at 6:30pm on April 26th.
Academy Award winning actress, Olympia Dukakis encourages community participation saying, "It is so important to protect the cultural capital of New York City. Institutions like the Ohio Theatre, which for 3 decades has served this community and has been the home for many artists, needs the support of the city and the community. We must work together to preserve the remaining spaces and help develop new ones."
The Community Forum on the Ohio Theatre is a follow up to the Public Forum on Small to Midsized Theatres that was hosted by Manhattan Community Boards 1-5 at the Players Club in February 2009. The lack and gradual loss of adequate, affordable performance space was a key theme of that event. Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer challenged attendees to hold their elected officials to a higher standard and provide them with a road map of what is needed to keep small to midsized theaters and performing arts companies in NYC alive.
The closure of the Ohio is the most recent example of a distressing trend affecting small to midsized performing arts venues throughout New York City. According to a study conducted by the Innovative Theatre Foundation, in recent years Off-Off-Broadway (OOB) has seen over 25% of their theaters either torn down to make way for new developments, or repurposed into non-performance spaces. With a number of theaters currently facing the same prospect, the urgency to find a solution to this growing problem has intensified.
The Ohio Theatre was one of Soho’s pioneering performance spaces and is now one of the last remaining. For 29 years, the Ohio Theatre has embodied the living history of the neighborhood of Soho, continuing the spirit of community and cutting-edge artistic practice that once defined the area. This is where Tony Kushner produced his first play out of college, where Philip Seymour Hoffman made his professional acting debut, and where Eve Ensler performed Dicks in the Desert – a decade before writing The Vagina Monologues. Today, the Ohio Theatre remains an incubator and platform for New York’s most exciting and widely recognized companies, like New Georges, Clubbed Thumb, Target Margin, Ma-Yi, International WOW, to name but a few of the many artists who are collectively changing the cultural landscape of New York and beyond.
The League of Independent Theater is a not-for-profit membership, advocacy and business league for the independent theater community in New York City (http://www.litny.org).
The Innovative Theatre Foundation was created to bring recognition to the great work being done in New York City's Off-Off-Broadway, to honor its artistic heritage and to provide a meeting ground for this extensive community (http://www.nyitawards.com).
After two years of negotiation, two lease extensions, and a 29-year history as an indispensable pillar of the downtown theatre scene, the Ohio Theatre must close the doors at its Wooster Street space forever on August 31, 2010.
The April 26th event will reunite local elected officials and members of the independent theatre community in an open forum to discuss solutions to the real estate crises affecting small theaters and the progress and momentum that has been made over the past year – specifically with regard to the tax abatement proposal currently before the Community Boards. In addition, there will be a discussion as to what steps can be taken to secure the remaining venues within the sector and help locate a new home for the Ohio Theatre.
Members of the community are invited to attend and are strongly encouraged to share their ideas regarding these issues. A list of speakers and more details will be posted at http://www.SohoThinkTank.org as they become available. The event will be streamed live at http://www.nyitawards.com/live beginning at 6:30pm on April 26th.
Academy Award winning actress, Olympia Dukakis encourages community participation saying, "It is so important to protect the cultural capital of New York City. Institutions like the Ohio Theatre, which for 3 decades has served this community and has been the home for many artists, needs the support of the city and the community. We must work together to preserve the remaining spaces and help develop new ones."
The Community Forum on the Ohio Theatre is a follow up to the Public Forum on Small to Midsized Theatres that was hosted by Manhattan Community Boards 1-5 at the Players Club in February 2009. The lack and gradual loss of adequate, affordable performance space was a key theme of that event. Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer challenged attendees to hold their elected officials to a higher standard and provide them with a road map of what is needed to keep small to midsized theaters and performing arts companies in NYC alive.
The closure of the Ohio is the most recent example of a distressing trend affecting small to midsized performing arts venues throughout New York City. According to a study conducted by the Innovative Theatre Foundation, in recent years Off-Off-Broadway (OOB) has seen over 25% of their theaters either torn down to make way for new developments, or repurposed into non-performance spaces. With a number of theaters currently facing the same prospect, the urgency to find a solution to this growing problem has intensified.
The Ohio Theatre was one of Soho’s pioneering performance spaces and is now one of the last remaining. For 29 years, the Ohio Theatre has embodied the living history of the neighborhood of Soho, continuing the spirit of community and cutting-edge artistic practice that once defined the area. This is where Tony Kushner produced his first play out of college, where Philip Seymour Hoffman made his professional acting debut, and where Eve Ensler performed Dicks in the Desert – a decade before writing The Vagina Monologues. Today, the Ohio Theatre remains an incubator and platform for New York’s most exciting and widely recognized companies, like New Georges, Clubbed Thumb, Target Margin, Ma-Yi, International WOW, to name but a few of the many artists who are collectively changing the cultural landscape of New York and beyond.
The League of Independent Theater is a not-for-profit membership, advocacy and business league for the independent theater community in New York City (http://www.litny.org).
The Innovative Theatre Foundation was created to bring recognition to the great work being done in New York City's Off-Off-Broadway, to honor its artistic heritage and to provide a meeting ground for this extensive community (http://www.nyitawards.com).
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
plays and playwrights 2010
The new anthology from the New York Theatre Experience is out. Great launch party last night at Dixon Place hosted by the indefatigable Dentons.
You can get your discounted copy at www.nytesmallpress.com.
Congratulations to the playwrights: Brian Parks, Ellen Maddow, Nat Cassidy, Jerrod Bogard, Gyda Arber, Aaron Baker, Tony Asaro, Dan Collins, Will Le Vasseur, Josh Koenigsberg, John Crutchfield and Joshua Conkel.
Ann conjured up quite the experience, but at 51 words...
Wait.
Judges are allowing the extra word in consideration of the overall muscularity of the prose.
Don't know what that means, but the judges' decision is final.
You can get your discounted copy at www.nytesmallpress.com.
Congratulations to the playwrights: Brian Parks, Ellen Maddow, Nat Cassidy, Jerrod Bogard, Gyda Arber, Aaron Baker, Tony Asaro, Dan Collins, Will Le Vasseur, Josh Koenigsberg, John Crutchfield and Joshua Conkel.
Ann conjured up quite the experience, but at 51 words...
Wait.
Judges are allowing the extra word in consideration of the overall muscularity of the prose.
Don't know what that means, but the judges' decision is final.
Monday, April 19, 2010
LIT words
LIT had its second annual members meeting on Saturday and here's what I had to say:
The Bodhidharma says “All know the way; few actually walk it.”
For years, ever since I’ve been in this city, I’ve known that the only people who really care about the Off-Off independent theater world are the people who know it and work in it. And I’ve known, and I think we all know, that the only way we’re ever going to improve the conditions we all work in is to band together, to work together and unite the thousands of hard-working, innovative, creative artists and producers and the hundreds of dedicated, resilient, obstinate companies and collectives into the undeniable creative and economic force that they are in this city.
But only when we are united.
Otherwise, we just all tumble forward through the years as we’ve done for years, some individual success here, another venue closed over there, another art star anointed from above there, but no real progress; all of us just grimly toiling forward on our separate but equal paths, not really sure where we’re going, just glad to have the energy to take the next step.
And so the dream of the League of Independent Theater, dedicated to organize and protect our members to ensure that independent theater is economically viable for all of its practitioners, to advocate on behalf of the decades-old tradition of Off-Off Broadway theater and ensure that it remains, and grows, as a thriving artistic and economic sector in New York City.
You’ll hear from the Committee reports some of the specifics of the League’s efforts and accomplishments this year, but I just want to stay on the big picture for a moment and tell you how satisfying it’s been and how proud I’ve been to finally be walking towards something with all of you. I wish we were sprinting and I wish the path wasn’t quite so uphill, but we are walking towards solutions together and most importantly, we are walking together.
It’s the old Margaret Mead quote, “never doubt that a small group of dedicated people can change the world, because indeed it’s the only thing that ever has.” I don’t know if we can change the world, but I know we can change the way independent theater is practiced, created, supported and recognized in this city. And I know the way we can do it and that’s by continuing to walk and work together.
I want to thank the Board and all of the Committee heads for their work this year, recognizing that they all have their creative careers and day jobs and families and lives to juggle already and of course Jennifer Conley Darling and Paul Bargetto for their work and time and passion. You all have been wonderful traveling companions along this road and I look forward to many more miles ahead with all of you.
Our MMMQ is an essay question, Ann. In 50 words or less, have you ever been experienced?
The Bodhidharma says “All know the way; few actually walk it.”
For years, ever since I’ve been in this city, I’ve known that the only people who really care about the Off-Off independent theater world are the people who know it and work in it. And I’ve known, and I think we all know, that the only way we’re ever going to improve the conditions we all work in is to band together, to work together and unite the thousands of hard-working, innovative, creative artists and producers and the hundreds of dedicated, resilient, obstinate companies and collectives into the undeniable creative and economic force that they are in this city.
But only when we are united.
Otherwise, we just all tumble forward through the years as we’ve done for years, some individual success here, another venue closed over there, another art star anointed from above there, but no real progress; all of us just grimly toiling forward on our separate but equal paths, not really sure where we’re going, just glad to have the energy to take the next step.
And so the dream of the League of Independent Theater, dedicated to organize and protect our members to ensure that independent theater is economically viable for all of its practitioners, to advocate on behalf of the decades-old tradition of Off-Off Broadway theater and ensure that it remains, and grows, as a thriving artistic and economic sector in New York City.
You’ll hear from the Committee reports some of the specifics of the League’s efforts and accomplishments this year, but I just want to stay on the big picture for a moment and tell you how satisfying it’s been and how proud I’ve been to finally be walking towards something with all of you. I wish we were sprinting and I wish the path wasn’t quite so uphill, but we are walking towards solutions together and most importantly, we are walking together.
It’s the old Margaret Mead quote, “never doubt that a small group of dedicated people can change the world, because indeed it’s the only thing that ever has.” I don’t know if we can change the world, but I know we can change the way independent theater is practiced, created, supported and recognized in this city. And I know the way we can do it and that’s by continuing to walk and work together.
I want to thank the Board and all of the Committee heads for their work this year, recognizing that they all have their creative careers and day jobs and families and lives to juggle already and of course Jennifer Conley Darling and Paul Bargetto for their work and time and passion. You all have been wonderful traveling companions along this road and I look forward to many more miles ahead with all of you.
Our MMMQ is an essay question, Ann. In 50 words or less, have you ever been experienced?
Friday, April 16, 2010
sublet needed
Steve Kovacs, Hero of the Fringe and the battle of Charas el Bohio, is back in town from abroad. Anyone know of any available shelter, please let us know.
Happy weekend, all.
Happy weekend, all.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
not OK
From the batshit crazy bin, this in the Times yesterday:
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Frustrated by recent political setbacks, tea party leaders and some conservative members of the Oklahoma Legislature say they would like to create a new volunteer militia to help defend against what they believe are improper federal infringements on state sovereignty.
Tea party movement leaders say they've discussed the idea with several supportive lawmakers and hope to get legislation next year to recognize a new volunteer force. They say the unit would not resemble militia groups that have been raided for allegedly plotting attacks on law enforcement officers.
Think it through. You believe there are "improper federal infringements on state sovereignty", so your solution is to get a bunch of armed guys together.
Not, say, a couple of lawyers.
And this in Oklahoma, home of the worst domestic terrorist attack in our history.
Crazy days.
Ann wins the MMMQ and so we award her the Pulitzer Prize for Lampshade Dancing and Music Trivia.
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- Frustrated by recent political setbacks, tea party leaders and some conservative members of the Oklahoma Legislature say they would like to create a new volunteer militia to help defend against what they believe are improper federal infringements on state sovereignty.
Tea party movement leaders say they've discussed the idea with several supportive lawmakers and hope to get legislation next year to recognize a new volunteer force. They say the unit would not resemble militia groups that have been raided for allegedly plotting attacks on law enforcement officers.
Think it through. You believe there are "improper federal infringements on state sovereignty", so your solution is to get a bunch of armed guys together.
Not, say, a couple of lawyers.
And this in Oklahoma, home of the worst domestic terrorist attack in our history.
Crazy days.
Ann wins the MMMQ and so we award her the Pulitzer Prize for Lampshade Dancing and Music Trivia.
Monday, April 12, 2010
random monday
Calvitto's back out on the road with The Event. Ireland this week and then a week in London at the Cochrane starting April 20th and then on to Glasgow.
That boy loves the road.
The Civil War started on this day back in 1861. Wonder when that thing is ever going to end.
They announce the Pulitzers today, so we're keeping the phone lines open.
You never know.
Got baby names on the brain, what with the birth of the twins on Friday, so here's your MMMQ:
Who was born Farrokh Bulsara?
1. Seal
2. Freddie Mercury
3. Cat Stevens
4. Boy George
Winners get a Pulitzer, losers get a subscription to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
That boy loves the road.
The Civil War started on this day back in 1861. Wonder when that thing is ever going to end.
They announce the Pulitzers today, so we're keeping the phone lines open.
You never know.
Got baby names on the brain, what with the birth of the twins on Friday, so here's your MMMQ:
Who was born Farrokh Bulsara?
1. Seal
2. Freddie Mercury
3. Cat Stevens
4. Boy George
Winners get a Pulitzer, losers get a subscription to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Friday, April 09, 2010
two new ones
At 6:03 this morning, Lilavati and Siddarth Shirke came into this world.
Papa Sanjay and Mama Amy are both fine.
Now let's all do our part to make this a better world for the twins to grow up in.
Papa Sanjay and Mama Amy are both fine.
Now let's all do our part to make this a better world for the twins to grow up in.
Wednesday, April 07, 2010
more from Melbourne
An extremely thoughtful review of the Melbourne production of Fatboy by Alison Croggon:
It's the kind of play which makes you laugh all the way through, and leaves you with a kind of bracing blackness. Its absurdity and grotesqueness cut through cant and piety, and brutally reveal how bad things are. Because they really are as bad as all that. Probably worse. The laughter makes it possible to see it, albeit briefly; human beings, as the poet once said, cannot bear very much reality.
You can read the whole thing at www.theatrenotes.blogspot.com
And then go and get out into that sunshine.
It's the kind of play which makes you laugh all the way through, and leaves you with a kind of bracing blackness. Its absurdity and grotesqueness cut through cant and piety, and brutally reveal how bad things are. Because they really are as bad as all that. Probably worse. The laughter makes it possible to see it, albeit briefly; human beings, as the poet once said, cannot bear very much reality.
You can read the whole thing at www.theatrenotes.blogspot.com
And then go and get out into that sunshine.
Tuesday, April 06, 2010
Albany blitz
This from NYS ARTS:
The Legislature will be in session starting April 7. Our message MUST be in front of them this week when they get back to Albany. Let's blitz the Senate and the Assembly at this critical time with 10,000 messages by April 9!!!!
Both Houses have printed their budget resolutions. Now they will negotiate to determine the final State budget. The arts can still LOSE or GAIN ground. It is up to you!
The Senate restored $3.25 million or 50% of the $6.5 million cut to NYSCA local assistance (grants) funding proposed by the Governor. The Assembly restored $1.6 million or 25% of the cut proposed by the Governor.
This is the time to send our legislators the following message:
1) To your Senator: Thank you for your support. Please be vigilant and make sure that the 50% restoration of $3.250 million to NYSCA local assistance is maintained.
2) To your Assembly members: Please increase the restoration from 25% or $1.6 million to 50% or $3.250 million, matching the Senate support of NYSCA local assistance funding.
Remember, we only have resolutions from each House. So we MUST to be heard during this step in the process, which is perhaps the most important time to make our voices heard.
Numbers can and do change in the final hours. Send your message NOW. Protect what we already have and help get us what we need.
Traveling yesterday, so missed the MMMQ. I'll get extra tricky next week, promise.
The Legislature will be in session starting April 7. Our message MUST be in front of them this week when they get back to Albany. Let's blitz the Senate and the Assembly at this critical time with 10,000 messages by April 9!!!!
Both Houses have printed their budget resolutions. Now they will negotiate to determine the final State budget. The arts can still LOSE or GAIN ground. It is up to you!
The Senate restored $3.25 million or 50% of the $6.5 million cut to NYSCA local assistance (grants) funding proposed by the Governor. The Assembly restored $1.6 million or 25% of the cut proposed by the Governor.
This is the time to send our legislators the following message:
1) To your Senator: Thank you for your support. Please be vigilant and make sure that the 50% restoration of $3.250 million to NYSCA local assistance is maintained.
2) To your Assembly members: Please increase the restoration from 25% or $1.6 million to 50% or $3.250 million, matching the Senate support of NYSCA local assistance funding.
Remember, we only have resolutions from each House. So we MUST to be heard during this step in the process, which is perhaps the most important time to make our voices heard.
Numbers can and do change in the final hours. Send your message NOW. Protect what we already have and help get us what we need.
Traveling yesterday, so missed the MMMQ. I'll get extra tricky next week, promise.
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