Comments for From the Ledge

Comment on Weekend Shuttle by francis

francis — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 05:10:40 +0000

Jonathan, I don’t know why you’re trying to go incognito on my blog…yes, performing in a swimming pool is risky business, and I kept on thinking about you and your colleagues in Pegasus’s “The Frogs” last year. So props to “Fake Lake”’s cast, definitely. As for “Little Miss Sunshine”, the less said about it, the better.

Comment on Weekend Shuttle by Notgonna Say

Notgonna Say — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 02:21:11 +0000

1) Little Miss Sunshine was not Icky by any means. It was totally fun and enjoyable.

2)The Neo-Futurists are not the first company to do a show in a pool, but it is tricky, so way to go neo-futurits.

Comment on Not curious at all? by francis

francis — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 15:55:13 +0000

Thanks Paul for your insightful comments. I would agree that Brecht (or Beckett or Ionesco or Pinter, or yes, even Tennesee Williams and Eugene O’ Neill, two more “realistic” and “naturalistic” playwrights, for that matter) can be appreciated, nay enjoyed, at the instinctual, visceral level of a Radiohead or Wilco or Bloc Party or any other musicians and groups that participated in Lollapalooza. However, enjoyment of Beckett, as it is with enjoyment of Radiohead, is an acquired state. No one comes out of the hospital nursery saying “I am a fan of Mother Courage (or I’m a fan of Thom Yorke)”. Folks just need to be curious and open-minded enough to go see Brecht plays, in multiple productions, in the same manner that they keep on downloading Radiohead’s songs from i-Tunes so they can continuously listen to it the whole day. There is effort involved - a conscious, proactive, internally-driven level of effort.

I also agree that art forms such as opera and classical music do suffer from a perception that there is only one way to stage an opera and one way to symphonically play Handel. Yes, it’s almost a cliche, but it’s very true, I think, that perception is reality. Again, people just need to get over this preconception and just go. The Chicago Opera Theater, of which I am a big fan of, presented a “Marriage of Figaro” set in the jet-setting milieu of late 1990s South Beach a couple of years ago; and a “Don Giovanni” in an S and M club this year. Both expanded my expectations of what opera can do and its impact. Last year, I went to a Chicago Symphony Orchestra Music Now concert where the 26 year old classical music composer Nico Muhly, one of the hottest, most sought-after classical music artists in the world today, redefined what a symphony orchestra can do. When people see a CSO ad in the Reader, maybe they should stop for a minute and read it before going on to Dan Savage’s sex advice column or News of the Weird. It could be advertising a CSO concert that Gustavo Dudamel (the 28 year old Venezuelan conductor who has put the sexy back in music conducting) is leading. And that experience would be so much more enriching than sitting in a coffee shop reading about gorillas setting jailhouses ablaze in Penang or husbands wanting to wear their wives’ panties.

Comment on Not curious at all? by Paul Rekk

Paul Rekk — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 00:27:50 +0000

As one who takes only a slight interest in both, I think part of the problem is that we as a theatre/dance/classical arts culture are quick to assume that Brecht necessarily requires more intellectual curiosity than Radiohead, or any of a number of Lollapalooza participants. Brecht and Radiohead can both obviously be enjoyed on a deeply analytical level, and Radiohead can obviously be enjoyed on a more guttural, instinctual level. My question then would be whether Brecht also can be enjoyed on that level. I would lean towards yes. Finding that may be one key…

I think another aspect that results in the elitist tag (and this falls more in line with the likes of opera/classical music section) is a sense of ‘purity’ involved with an art form; an idea, or at least a perception, that the lineage of the form is of such genius that we should be content to bask in its glory. I know that it is many times an incorrect perception, but as someone who is more often than not looking for these types of things, even to me it often appears that opera and classical music are some of the most ’set in their ways’ of forms. How must it appear to the otherwise uninterested?

Comment on Not curious at all? by Sydney

Sydney — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 20:47:26 +0000

So true! The Lollapalooza single-day tickets were $80, more than almost any Chicago “elitist” cultural event. But, keep in mind, the Lollapalooza ticket price included the world’s largest tattoo/body piercing fashion show and a free contact high. Priceless.

Comment on Summer Feasts by francis

francis — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 04:18:21 +0000

Julie, you’re right! That’s why I need to go and get a crash course in agriculture in, gulp, Caledonia, Illinois!

And Dan- hi there! Wow, a really loud blast from the not-so-recent-past! Hope you’re well.

Comment on Summer Feasts by Dan

Dan — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 03:24:26 +0000

Houston, we made contact! =) Finally!

Kumusta ka na Francis? Nawa’y nasa mabuti kang kalagayan dyan sa Chicago. I won’t forget your hospitality and graciousness when I visited Chicago several years ago. If you happen to cross over the Pacific pond in the future…contact me, and let’s catch up.

Again, so good to make contact or read your blog (I can actually imagine you talking).=)

Comment on Summer Feasts by Julie

Julie — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 00:06:03 +0000

um…corn is a GRAIN.

Comment on This is art? by Jonathan

Jonathan — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 22:04:35 +0000

Im with you FS. What a load a crap. I mean, I was on the team that thought The Gates were an eyesore on the park, but this just looks like the bridge is somehow leaking. Yuck. See- we can agree!

Comment on Top Dogs by carrie

carrie — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 06:48:58 +0000

??????? are you retarded?