Anya M. Wassenberg's Blog: Art & Culture Maven, page 24

Contemporary Dance | Israel's L-E-V at Harbourfront Centre Toronto March 3 & 5 2022

From a release:

Contemporary Dance
Israel's L-E-V in Chapter 3: The Brutal Journey of the Heart
at Harbourfront Centre Toronto
March 3 & 5 2022

With all the delays caused by the pandemic, Harbourfront Centre Toronto finally returns to regular programming this winter with the company debut of Israel's L-E-V. 

L-E-V’s Chapter 3: The Brutal Journey of the Heart, photo by Stefan Dotter for Dior

The company presents the Canadian premiere of its intoxicating and sensuous full-length work on love and heartbreak, Chapter 3: The Brutal Journey of the Heart. L-E-V performs at the Fleck Dance Theatre on March 3 & 5, 2022. 

Tickets are 'Pay What You Wish,' with a suggested price of $20-95.

The presentation, choreographed by Israel's Sharon Eyal will open up Harbourfront Centre's 2022 Torque contemporary dance series.

L-E-V’s Chapter 3: The Brutal Journey of the Heart, photo by Stefan Dotter for Dior

Chapter 3: The Brutal Journey of the Heart is an intoxicating and heart-wrenching examination of love and loss, and the beauty that comes when life unfolds in new and wonderful ways.

Stunning costumes designed by Christian Dior's Maria Grazia Chiuri to look like full-body tattoos, emblazoned with one bright red, bleeding heart, amplify the work's intense sensuality and expressive movement.

This is also an anticipated premiere from L-E-V, as they were originally scheduled to perform in the spring of 2020.

Indie Film | Future Sci-Fi Cult Classic Strawberry Mansion In Theatres & VOD February 2022

From a media release:

Strawberry Mansion
Kentucker Audley and Albert Birney's Wildly Surreal Sundance Favorite
Scored by Dan Deacon Opens in select theatres February 18, 2022 VOD Release to Follow on February 25, 2022

A hit at last year's Sundace Film Festival, the surreal sci-fi romp Strawberry Mansion is now available to view in select theatres across the United States. In a few days, it will also be available on VOD.

In 2035, our dreams are no longer our own--they’re infused with product placement and auditors assess unpaid taxes on our most private reveries. Beleaguered taxman James Preble (Kentucker Audley) arrives at a run-down house in the countryside for a routine audit and encounters Bella Isadora (Penny Fuller), a lifelong dreamer who remains resolutely analog, circumventing the surveillance state with VHS tapes and homemade headgear. 

Dan Deacon Premieres the Official “STRAWBERRY MANSION THEME” Music Video

As Preble works his way through Bella’s archive of the unconscious, he begins to fall in love with visions of her younger self (Grace Glowicki). But all is not well in dreamland as dangerous family secrets and a rogue’s gallery of blue demons and fried chicken pitchmen threaten to set the lovers’ paradise ablaze. Can Preble and Bella escape from the modern, monetized dreamscape and find refuge in Strawberry Mansion?

Kentucker Audley and Grace Glowicki in Strawberry MansionOfficial Selection: Sundance 2021Written & Directed by: Kentucker Audley and Albert Birney
Starring: Kentucker Audley, Reed Birney, Penny Fuller, Grace Glowicki, and Linas Phillips Playing at: NYC: The Quad Cinema; LA: The Landmark Westwood; Boston: Brattle Theater; Chicago: Music Box Theater Full list of theaters HERE 

Hubert Phipps | Race Car Driver, Aviator, Artist

From a media release:

Hubert Phipps | Race Car Driver, Aviator Artist

American sculptor and painter Hubert G. Phipps' recent Miami show was a sensation. Here's a deeper dive into this intriguing artist. 

Hubert Phipps work on display in the Miami Design District in 2022

Hubert G. Phipps (born November 1, 1957) divides his time between Middleburg, Virginia, New York City, and Palm Beach. Phipps draws on his racing and aviation experiences to develop a distinctive style. 

Known for his paint pigment drawings and abstract sculptures, Phipps experiments with various forms and materials, including steel, bronze, wood, composites, plaster, glass, and marble. He was also a race car driver and is a member of the Phipps family.

Hubert Phipps

His works are featured in the permanent collections of museums, institutions and private collectors, including: Tufts University Art Galleries (MA); Boca Raton Museum of Art (FL); Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center (CO); Harn Museum of Art (FL); Georgia Museum of Art (Athens, GA); Coral Springs Museum of Art (FL); and the Flint Institute of Arts (MI) which recently selected Paradise, the monumental bronze sculpture by Phipps, where the 1.5 ton, 9-foot-tall work is currently on view.

His work has been exhibited at the Ann Norton Sculpture Garden in West Palm Beach, the New York Studio School, the Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center at Colorado College, TW Fine Art, the Center for Creative Education in West Palm Beach, Fritz Gallery, MM Fine Arts Gallery in Southampton, New York, Coral Springs Museum of Art, Coral Springs, Florida, and Gallery 1608 in West Palm Beach. 

Lava Flow, the sculpture by Hubert Phipps (multimedia)

Phipps’ monumental sculpture “Rocket” was recently selected for an art in public places initiative in Palm Beach County, spearheaded by the Boca Raton Museum of Art. “Rocket” is valued at $1.5 million, stands 30-feet tall, weighs 9.8 tons, and took more than 2,200 square feet of stainless steel to construct.    

The sculpture towers alongside a waterfront panorama of iconic architecture designed by Marcel Breuer in the 1960s, at Boca Raton Innovation Campus, the historic tech landmark where the world’s first personal computer and the first smartphone were invented.

(Watch the dazzling aerial video of the Rocket sculpture below.)

Phipps has many approaches to drawing, including reference photos that he makes on long, cross-country flights and automatic drawing. He lets his subconscious guide the pen or brush until the work takes on a life of its own.

A significant influence on Phipps’ work comes from the view he gets while piloting his aircraft. He amasses photographic images on these trips that are used as reference for sculpture, paintings, and drawings.

Voyager, the sculpture by Hubert Phipps (cast stainless steel)

Born in Virginia to Lady Phoebe Pleydell-Bouverie and Hubert Beaumont Phipps, Phipps started drawing at an early age. He developed skills as an illustrator, initially transcribing political cartoons. 

He attended Deerfield Academy. At Deerfield, Phipps discovered a passion for flying, something that he would continue throughout life. Since the age of 16, he has logged more than 4,000 hours as a pilot-in-command in both rotorcraft and fixed wing. 

Momentum, by Hubert Phipps (paint pigment on paper) 

He is the cousin of sculptor Susan Phipps Cochran. He was part of the Art Students League of New York at the age of 17, and studied at the San Francisco Art Institute before pursuing a career as a professional racecar driver.

From 1979 to 1985, Phipps turned in solid performances in racecar driving, including winning the SCCA Formula Atlantic National championship, driving a Ralt RT4 powered by Ford.

He achieved wins in the Formula Atlantic Professional series at Willow Springs, California in 1984, and again in 1985. His professional teammates included Danny Sullivan at Garvin Brown Racing in 1982 and Michael Andretti at Ralt America in 1983.

Sky Temple, the sculpture by Hubert Phipps (cast stainless steel)

After retiring as a professional driver, Phipps turned his focus to art again. In 2001, he enrolled in IFAC in Miami to study computer animation, with additional training at Escape Studios in London.  

His interest in animation was specifically to learn how to model forms in the computer as reference for sculpting objects.

In 2002, Phipps participated in Graham Nixon's drawing marathon at the New York Studio School of Drawing, Painting, and Sculpture. It opened his ability to work in large-scale.

A COVID Cabaret Song & Other Pandemic Musical Projects

A COVID Cabaret Song
& Other Pandemic Musical Projects

Despite everything, it seems like the pandemic may actually be on the way out in 2022. Maybe things can progress - hopefully not exactly back to what we used to call normal.

The pandemic gave me the time to begin to learn how to play keyboards, and through that, to develop my sound as a singer-songwriter in a vein of eclectic pop. My music has a retro feel (so do I!) and a range of influences from blues to RnB and classic pop genres.

One beef: Why do so many singer-songwriter categories insist that I play an acoustic guitar??

I began with basic scales in April 2020, practising during the lockdowns whenever the restlessness took hold. By 2021, I was compelled to write a song about the experience.

COVID Cabaret SongDundas Music Club: Remote Version

In 2022, we went through another partial lockdown locally (as for me, a two-week period of isolation after possible exposure, and a thankfully negative test).

The Dundas Music Club, usually a live open mic event, went online to Zoom. I created a series of one-take videos to participate.

A cover of Do Right by Kansas City Joe McCoy (first recorded in 1936, based on Peggy Lee's 1942 version)

My original, as yet unrecorded song Corporate Jive

A cover Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out, written by Jimmie Cox in 1923 and first made famous by blues legend Bessie Smith

A solo keyboard version of my song Freight Train (from my EP Looking For Heaven's Ghost)

Living Room Cabaret

Another couple of songs I experimented with during the 2020 lockdowns.

Winter Woollen Blues - an original song, as yet unrecorded

Lie Of Love - an original song, as yet unrecorded

UnRomantic: A Playlist

 UnRomantic: A Playlist

Check It Out On Spotify

Hate Valentine's Day? Feeling decidedly unromantic? Or maybe you just love an eclectic selection of North American/British pop music? Have I got a playlist for you. 

Image by Gerhard Litz from Pixabay

The list includes 25 songs, a full 1:55 of anti-romantic pop music spanning the last century or so - and yes, it includes two of mine, because I do love me a good unromantic tune.

Whether you are fresh off a Bad Romance, or simply the kind of person who thinks Love Stinks in general - or maybe you're like me. I'm in love, and have solid and warm relationships around me in my life. 

But I still hate Valentine's Day. :) 

🖤The UnRomantic Playlist: 25 Songs For Your UnRomantic Needs

Love Stinks by J Geils BandLove Is An Illusion by Anya MiaLady Gaga’s Bad RomanceBad at Love by HalseyAriana Grande's 7 RingsYou Know That I'm No Good by Amy WinehouseDo Right by Peggy LeeTainted Love by Soft CellHate Myself For Loving You by Joan JettFreight Train by Anya MiaFairytale of New York by The PoguesI am the Resurrection by the Stone RosesYou're No Good by Linda RondstadtHit The Road Jack by Ray CharlesVoodoo Woman by Koko TaylorDancing With Myself by Billy IdolDancing On My Own by RobynThe Last Day of Our Acquaintance by Sinead O'ConnorFuck Off by Electric ChairsFuck and Run by Liz PhairYou Oughta Know by Alanis MorissetteFuck You by Lily AllenCaught Out There by KelisSo What by P!nkThese Boots Are Made for Walkin' by Nancy Sinatra

Drag Brunch In Time For Valentine's In New York City

From a media release:

SHAGUAR @ Make Believe
SIXTY LES Hotel in the Lower East Side

Sundays starting Feb. 13, 2022 at 2:00pm

Book Now

NEW YORK CITY - Drag yourself up to Make Believe at the Sixty LES Hotel and you can enjoy the Sunday Drag Brunch.

Make Believe at SIXTY LES Hotel NYC

Love can be a drag, but we're sure that our new Sunday Drag Brunch at Make Believe will be anything but dull. There's more! 

Use code DRAGLES for 15% off stays after brunch.

Drag brunch at Make Believe (SIXTY LES Hotel New York City - image courtesy of SIXTY)Make Believe at SIXTY LES 

Enjoy downtown Manhattan in luxury at SIXTY LES. The decor is modern, and the fun never stops, with dancing and live music on site. 

If you really want to treat yourself, the 18th floor Orchard Suite terrace awaits - or live it up in the decadence of the 2,000 sq. ft. SIXTY Loft. 

And, it's pet friendly too.

Make Believe is one of several dining options at SIXTY LES.

• 190 Allen Street 7Th Floor +1.2‍12.5‍42.8‍69

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts Spring Programming 2022

From a media release:

Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
Spring Programming 2022

Free and Choose What You Pay Spring Programming Season Features Reopening of David Rubenstein Atrium, Return of American Songbook Series

NEW YORK CITY: Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts announced an expansive roster of free spring performances, discussions, and civic activations set to animate the David Rubenstein Atrium, as well as a new edition of American Songbook entitled A World of Voices to the Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse, made more accessible with a Choose What You Pay ticketing model. 

Image by Predrag Kezic from Pixabay

This spring season brings together dozens of arts organizations and artists from across New York City and Lincoln Center’s own campus, exploring the intersection of culture, civic engagement, and community building through vibrant and varied weekly programming.

In-person performances and activations will take place on the Lincoln Center campus, while Lincoln Center Moments, Passport to the Arts, and Lincoln Center Activate will be available virtually on LincolnCenter.org.

With Choose What You Pay ticketing, Lincoln Center is exploring a new model where audiences decide what's right for you. The starting ticket price is $5. For more information, click here.

The David Rubenstein Atrium

In-person events begin with the reopening of the beloved community space, the David Rubenstein Atrium, on Thursday, March 10. 

Philanthropist David Rubenstein’s generous $10 million donation in 2021 has made it possible for Lincoln Center to reopen and expand its civic-minded activities in the space beyond the arts to meet the needs of New York City communities. 

Multiple days a week, audiences will be treated to specially curated events and performances, from the return of fan favorite Latin dance nights and a family friendly performance from the neuro-diverse theater company E.P.I.C. Players, to a staged reading of teenage playwrights in #ENOUGH: Plays to End Gun Violence–in collaboration with Roundabout Youth Ensemble–and opportunities to donate blood at community blood drives. 

Jaime Lozano by Mati Ficara

Atrium events continue until May 26, with Anthony Roth Costanzo. As part of his residency with the New York Philharmonic, Costanzo presents his Authentic Selves performance series, closing out the space’s spring season. 

All events in the David Rubenstein Atrium are free and first-come, first-served. For more information visit LincolnCenter.org/Atrium.

Lincoln Center’s American Songbook

A new edition of the music series, entitled American Songbook: A World of Voices returns to the Stanley H. Kaplan Penthouse on April 14. 

Known for its exploration of the vast and everchanging influences on the American music canon, this year’s season brings together artists from across the globe, each with unique visions of pop, musical theater, rock, classical, jazz, folk, and more. 

Aurelio Martínez by Richard Holder

Opening the series is the leading voice of Garifuna culture and musical tradition, Aurelio Martínez and The Garifuna Soul Band. Several artists will play newly released material and offer sneak peeks of works still in creation, including the joyful soul and rock singer Natu Camara, acclaimed Guatemalan singer-songwriter Gaby Moreno –performing from her new album Alegoría– and Jaime Lozano in Songs by an Immigrant featuring an all-star lineup of Latinx Broadway performers. 

Choose What You Pay tickets include a glass of wine with purchase and go on sale Wednesday, February 16 at 12:00 ET at AmericanSongbook.org.

Passport to the Arts

Passport to the Arts kicks off virtually on February 27 with an Adapted Dance Workshop with New York City Ballet and continues through June 15 with music, dance, and theater workshops presented in collaboration with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Jazz at Lincoln Center, the Metropolitan Opera Guild, Co/LAB Theater Group, and many more. 

Offering virtual arts experiences, Passport is specifically created and inclusively designed for children, teens, and adults with disabilities. 

All Passport programs are free with advanced sign-up at LincolnCenter.org/Passport. Families will receive pre-visit materials, including social narratives, photos, and links, before each program. Spring, in-person performances to be announced in the coming weeks.

Lincoln Center Moments

Continuing its support of individuals, caregivers, and families impacted by dementia, Lincoln Center Moments is partnering with arts organizations across disciplines including the New York Philharmonic, Mark Morris Dance Company, Ajna Dance Company, Jazz at Lincoln Center, the Metropolitan Opera Guild, The Juilliard School, and more to create free performances, activities, discussion, and art making programs. 

Moments is set to begin on March 9 through June 14, with virtual and in-person performances, all free of charge with advanced sign-up at LincolnCenter.org/Moments.

Lincoln Center Activate

Lincoln Center Activate offers a shared platform for artists and educators to connect, collaborate, and build new ways of doing to spark change across the arts industry and beyond. From March 16 - March 17, join Activate participants for an exploration of the power of the arts to build common ground and foster community. Sessions from April 6 - April 7 focus on the power of regional cultural networks to amplify welcoming in communities. 

Activate is free with advanced sign-up at Lincolncenter.org/Activate.

***All guests are required to provide proof that the final dose of their primary COVID-19 vaccination series was administered at least 14 days before entry. In addition, all guests eligible to receive a COVID-19 booster, under eligibility criteria recommended by the CDC, must present proof of receiving a COVID-19 booster. Additionally, all guests are required to wear a face covering. For more information, click here.***

For more information on Lincoln Center’s spring programming visit LincolnCenter.org.

SonSublime at David Rubenstein Atrium at Lincoln Center on January 24, 2019.

NOLA Examines Its Past | Sabertooth Swing: Delta Bound (Independent / March 18 2022)

From a media release:

NOLA Examines Its Past
Sabertooth Swing: Delta Bound
(Independent / March 18, 2022)

Sabertooth Swing to release ambitious “Delta Bound”,  a meditation on the violent history and complex culture out of which jazz first emerged.

Check Out Their Website

“How does music carry memory? How does New Orleans music carry memory differently? Is there meaning in historical violence? What is the meaning of Louisiana’s historical violence?”

These are the questions being asked on New Orleans-based Sabertooth Swing Band’s upcoming Delta Bound (March 18, 2022, Slammin’ Media), an ambitious album that brings together the work of poets, activists, and historical figures to become a meditation on the violent history and complex culture out of which jazz first emerged. 

“In New Orleans, memories linger in the humid air. But not all memories hanging in the air are benign.”

History is felt here; it’s close to everything you look at. The histories recorded in the archives of institutions and written by figures of authority always have a shadow, and so often it’s a shadow of violence. Delta Bound’s look into the cultural wealth of New Orleans is a one of a kind collection that doesn’t pull any punches. 

It invites the shadow of violence in and insists that the cultural wealth would not exist without it. As writer and liner note contributor Holly Devon asserts, “What’s so important about this album is that it’s showing the continuity of the story of New Orleans. There are all these different time periods that are filtering through, but the place is the constant that binds it all together. It’s the making of the reality that we’re all living through in New Orleans right now. And there’s been no break. Delta Bound asks, ‘Can we all face this violent history and can we all face the truth of it?’ With the power of art, you get a chance to actually touch the depths of this music and you can’t do that if you’re not willing to face that reality.”

After a brief spoken introduction from Devon that sets the premise of the trip we’re about to embark on, we’re invited into history by Dan Ruch growling out a brooding version of Alex Hill’s “Delta Bound”. The album’s focus track, Sabertooth’s version starts out with a trumpet shout into a chromatically descending line that sets the mood for Ruch’s sardonic, gravelly delivery of the desire to get back to the Delta “where there’s no shelter, no helter skelter”. 

Background horns quoting Wayne Shorter’s “Fee-Fi-Fo-Fum” illustrate the continuity of Black American music and make one take pause and observe that this already isn’t a typical ‘New Orleans Classics’ kind of album. After a rockin’ trombone solo from Sabertooth’s multi-talented trombonist/engineer/co-producer Chris Butcher, special guest Bruce ‘Sunpie’ Barnes lays down a mostly dark, minor key accordion solo before Ruch boldy reasserts the last verse, “I’m on my way now, most any day now, I’m delta bound” and by the end of the last horn licks, we’re there. 

And as soon as we get there, the history sets upon us.

Indigenous Louisiana

As the first source of documentary evidence of the Lower Mississippi Valley, the 16th Century de Soto expedition offers a window into the world of indigenous Louisiana, albeit through severely prejudiced colonial lenses, and is therefore a kind of historical ground zero for Louisiana as we know it. 

Hernando de Soto was a Spanish explorer who, in the 1540s, made the first contacts with the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern region of America — encounters that always wound up with the Europeans visiting unspeakable brutality and violence on the people they found already living there. 

Set to a bouncing shuffle, Armando Leduc-Cruz’s reading of Luis Hernandez de Biedma’s original account of de Soto’s meeting with Chief Tuscaloosa and the resulting massacre of the inhabitants of Mobila on “De Soto Pt 1” sets up the arc of the narrative of the shadow of violence. 

It’s a brutal accounting of the atrocities, putting us face-to-face with the violent history of this land. 

Romain Beauxis of Sabertooth Swing Band, the originator of the concept of Delta Bound, wanted to make sure to include the de Soto history. “I’ve been in the New Orleans region for over 10 years, and I love it.” Beauxis explains. “But I want to face all the dark elements of it. “De Soto Pt 1” is the opening of the whole arc of violence that that has always been a background, a backdrop, for a lot of histories. Sister Helen Prejean says, ‘We’re a very young country and violence has worked for us in the past.’ And it started with the genocide of Native Americans. De Soto is here to represent that part of the story.” 

The death penalty and racism

At roughly the halfway mark of Delta Bound, Sister Helen Prejean herself ties de Soto directly to the present day by reading her 1997 letter to Pope John Paul II. After thanking the Pontiff for speaking out against the death penalty, Sister Helen goes on to call out former New Orleans District Attorney Harry Connick Sr. for stating that, in his view, the application of the death penalty is “all too rare”. 

She points out the stark reality of the discrepancy between punishments for the same crime: “In the decision to seek death as a punishment, the vast majority of people on death row, 85%, are chosen for death because they killed white people.” Prejean notes. “Whereas, when people of color are killed - fully 50% of all homicides - not only is the death penalty seldom sought but often there is not even vigorous prosecution of such cases.” 

One might conclude that when the District Attorney for the City of New Orleans doesn’t think we use the death penalty enough against our poor citizens - and 99% of the souls on death row are poor - maybe we’re not so far from de Soto trying to eradicate every Indigenous person he encountered.

A diverse history

Different threads of New Orleans and Louisiana history are explored on Delta Bound through the inclusion of poems like “St Malo”, which Cedric Watson reads in the original French Creole to represent the Haitians who settled in southern Louisiana after the Haitian revolution. 

Another standout reading is Jeremy Thomas’s reading of “Free Day”, Sidney Bechet’s recollection about the music played by slaves in Congo Square on Sundays, that speaks from inside the memory of Africa itself.

Bringing the histories of the Haitian and African progenitors of Zydeco tradition into the mix is Clifton Chenier’s “I’m On the Wonder” (single, out Feb 18), sung here by Zydeco accordionist and fiddle player Jeffrey Broussard. 

Zydeco combines European, African, and Caribbean musical traditions with syncopated rhythms, and Sabertooth takes it even further afield for Delta Bound with the addition of pianist Ryan Hanseler, who contributes gutbucket stylings to the down and dirty blues accordion Broussard brings to the mix. If New Orleans music is a gumbo, “I’m On the Wonder” is a trusted family recipe. 

Finding the joy

Although Delta Bound deals with difficult themes, it is not without rays of hope peeping through the cracks. Halfway through our journey, we are reminded by “Joie de Vivre” how Zachary Richards’ grandparents were able to channel happiness dancing in their kitchen on a Sunday afternoon. 

The flip slide of the shadow is the joy and warmth found in the South, and Sabertooth Swing reminds us that if one gives people a chance, change and understanding can happen. Sister Helen Prejean herself tells the Pope that despite all the difficult matters that she has witnessed “I am full of hope. I have found that when people can get real information about the death penalty, not just rhetoric from politicians or sound bites from media, overwhelmingly, they reject the death penalty and choose life.”

Produced by Sabertooth’s Romain Beauxis and Chris Butcher and writer Holly Devon, featured guests include Sister Helen Prejean, Bruce ‘Sunpie’ Barnes, Jeffery Broussard, Cedric Watson, Paul Chéene, The Daiquiri Queens, Zachary Richard, Kid Chocolate, Daiquiri René Jones, and Big Queen Mary Kay of the Original Wild Tchoupitoulas, who contribute thoughtful spoken word essays, readings of works by Sidney Bechet and Frank Stanford and excerpts from Spanish soldier Luis Hernandez de Biedma’s first-person account of the 16th Century De Soto expedition, and who perform songs whose lyrics address the history of violence in Louisiana- and by extension, all of American society. 

Delta Bound will be released March 18 in digital, CD, and vinyl formats on Slammin’ Media/Believe Digital.

Crow's Theatre Toronto Welcomes Audiences Back | Gloria Opens March 1 2022

From a media release:

Crow's Theatre Toronto Welcomes Audiences Back
Gloria Opens March 1, 2022
#ReturnToTheNest

Buy Tickets To Gloria

The to Streetcar Crowsnest have been reopened once again, and the company of GLORIA arrived to begin rehearsals. We are feeling very hopeful and look forward to gathering together again to experience the magic of theatre.

With a few exceptions, Crow's Theatre 2021.22 season continues as planned. GLORIA, “a whip-smart satire of fear and loathing in a beleaguered industry under siege” (NYT), will run March 1 to 20, 2022 in the Guloien Theatre. 

GLORIA will be followed by the world premiere of a new George F. Walker play, ORPHANS FOR THE CZAR, a high-stakes comedy and a plea for decency, directed by Tanja Jacobs and starring Eric Peterson. The season closes with the “must see” (Radio-Canada) French production, SINGULIÉRES, direct from Quebec, a co-presentation with Théâtre français de Toronto. 

Changes

Due to the impact of the Omicron wave, we are unable to move forward with the public workshop presentations of FIFTEEN DOGS. We wish to thank Margaret Atwood, Bob and Martie Sachs, and The Scott Griffin Foundation for their generous support of FIFTEEN DOGS in this development year, as well as the subscribers and patrons who purchased tickets. We have also decided to refocus our resources on the remainder of the live season, and will no longer be streaming digital versions of MIXTAPE and ORPHANS FOR THE CZAR.

We are working very hard to bring both FIFTEEN DOGS and BENGAL TIGER AT THE BAGHDAD ZOO back to you next season.

If you are a subscriber or ticket holder, you will hear directly from patron services.

Thank you so much for your continued support, we could not have come this far without you. Stay safe and see you at the theatre. - Crow's Theatre

Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ searing drama GLORIA tells a story about the lingering effects of trauma in a time where what sells is more important than the truth. André Sills makes his directorial debut with GLORIA, a Canadian premiere written by the author of An Octoroon which Sills starred in at Shaw Festival in 2017. 

The cast of GLORIA features Deb Drakeford, Carlos Gonzalez-Vio, Jonelle Gunderson, Savion Roach, Nabil Traboulsi, athena kaitlin trinh, and the design team of Jackie Chau, Chris Malkowski, and Chris Stanton.

Click HERE to learn more about the artists of ARC.

Music for mindfulness | Yuval Ron feat Úyanga Bold: Sacred Spiral (Metta Mindfulness Music / 6 February 2022)

Music for mindfulness
Yuval Ron feat Úyanga Bold: Sacred Spiral
(Metta Mindfulness Music / 6 February 2022)

Pre-save Sacred Spiral At The Link

Composer, guitarist and peace activist Yuval Ron teams up with luminous vocalist Úyanga Bold and a crew of international musicians on this release of music for mindfulness. However, I'd venture to say you don't need to be part of the mindfulness movement to appreciate the music on its own merits, and as the backdrop for work or any calmer moments. 

To celebrate the release of "Sacred Spiral", Yuval Ron, and Executive Producer of Metta Mindfulness Music, Dr. Richard Gold, are hosting a livestream event as they take an inside look at the creation of Sacred Spiral, a meditative and healing album featuring the world-renowned singer, Úyanga Bold.

Participants will get to listen to excerpts of this enlightening music, watch behind the scenes videos on the creation of this album, and hear from the composer, Yuval Ron, and Executive Producer, Dr. Richard Gold.

Join them on February 6 at 11 am PST at this link

The music has a real sense of majesty and wonder, almost cinematic in its scope, and resonates on an emotional level. In Ethereal Voyage, voice and instruments merge into an undulating wave of sound. The music swells and ebbs in a gentle rhythm. It's compelling, but also calming.

Úyanga Bold

The music was composed and arranged by Yuval Ron, with all the vocal tracks performed by Úyanga Bold. Bold is an interesting vocalist, with a rich tone and a range of expression, from a throaty lower end to a liquid higher range, a whisper to an urgent shout. 

Her voice is joined by an intriguing series of instrumental arrangements, from a melancholy flügelhorn juxtaposed with jaw harp (on Voice of Freedom), to the sweetness of Bansuri flute (Mysteries of the Heart) and more. Ron has assembled a super group of international musicians to flesh out the music, including Shye Ben Tzur, Pandit Nayan Ghosh, James Hood, Chugge Khan, Dennis Karmazyn, Andrew Carney, Brien Engle, Andjru Werderitsch and Kenneth Goff.

The combinations are imaginative, and keep the sound fresh. Mind Vision Invocation shimmers with the sound of birds, water running, vocals, and the PANArt Hang, a kind of hand percussion that resembles steel drums in terms of tone. 

The album was recorded in studios around the world, from Mumbai to Tel Aviv, Atlanta, Georgia to Grass Valley, California. 

Úyanga Bold in the studio
From the Artists:

“This music is truly stunning and healing. A breathtaking multi-colored and multidimensional journey through the sublime... May many souls benefit. The title Sacred Spiral is powerfully compelling, evoking the mystery, intelligent design, and harmony of creation.” - Úyanga Bold

“Beyond being transporting, cinematic, and meditative, this album is a breath-taking showcase of Úyanga’s amazing voice, her range of vocal expression, and spiritual depth. Her astounding vocal performances with so many colors and nuances and her ability to take my melodies to high and deep places are the wonders of this project. I am grateful to Dr. Richard Gold who initiated and supported this unique undertaking” - Yuval Ron

Track List: 1. Ethereal Voyage; 2. Voice of Freedom; 3. Mind Vision Invocation; 4. Mysteries of the Heart; 5. Water of Forgiveness; 6. Darkness into Light; 7. Deep Earth Chant

Personnel: Brien Engle - Glass harp (Ethereal Voyage); Andrew Carney - Flugelhorn (Voice of Freedom); Chugge Khan - Jaw Harp (Voice of Freedom); James Hood - PanArt Hang (Mind Vision Invocation); Shye Ben Tzur - Bansuri flute and vocals (Mysteries of the Heart); Pandit Nayan Ghosh – Sitar (Water of Forgiveness); Dennis Karmazyn – Cello (Darkness into Light); Kenneth Goff – Gongs (Deep Earth Chant); Andjru Werderitsch – Didgeridoo (Deep Earth Chant); Drones programming for all tracks: Christopher Whotherspoon and Yuval Ron

Stay in touch via their website. www.mettamindfulnessmusic.com