We just got this press release about a performance next week. Sounds like a great concert!
Mark Damisch, concert pianist, attorney and civic leader will present a concert of American Music at Northern Light United Church on Tuesday, August 2 at 5:30 p.m. This concert is a part of his 2011 tour that will take him to British Columbia, Alaska, China, Mongolia, Taiwan, Japan and South Korea. Damisch’s performance includes Copland, Barber and Gershwin favorites. The concert will feature Rodeo, Rhapsody in Blue and An American in Paris. The Juneau concert will also feature Katherine Damisch and Alexandra Damisch, Mark’s two daughters who will play and sing.
Damisch has been touring since 1975 and does so in order to promote peace and understanding. His first tour program stated, “Our prayer is that people everywhere will learn from each other’s differences, heal each other’s wounds, promote each other’s progress and benefit from each other’s mistakes.”
There is no admission charge, but the suggested donation is $12 for adults and $10 for seniors and students. All contributions at the door will support the reconstruction of the Northern Light window wall and the prison ministry at the Lemon Creek Correctional Facility.
The Juneau-Douglas City Museum is hosting a book release and signing party for James Kohn’s new book, “Half-Ton of Trouble” this Saturday, July 30, from 9 to 11 a.m. Come meet the author and enjoy some light refreshments!
From the press release:
“‘Half-Ton of Trouble’ a story of an old Juneau crime, hidden treasure, and contemporary greed that lead to a half-ton of trouble. Old man Denton’s life is plagued by a secret. He is a victim of his momentary crime of greed committed during Juneau’s mining heydays. As his mind unravels in illness he longs for absolution for his youthful crime. After a lifetime of sorrow and regret, the greed of his past sparks the hopes and dreams of a disillusioned Juneau tourist merchant and an Islamic radical. As they seek Denton’s hidden treasure their ambitions blind them to strong forces seeking justice.” For more information about the book signing call the Juneau-Douglas City Museum at 586-3572.
Perseverance Theatre announced today in a press release that the Juneau-based theater will be bringing its first season of plays to Anchorage in 2010.
“Perseverance’s goal is to be a professional theatre by and for Alaskans,” said Art Rotch, Perseverance Theatre artistic director, in the release. “We look forward to serving this mission by bringing the mix of new productions of classics, contemporary American writing, comedies, new musicals and other types of plays that we have brought to Juneau audiences for 31 years. We remain committed to training and retaining Alaskan talent to work on and behind the scenes with our company, and supporting the creation of plays written by and about Alaskans. This approach has been tremendously successful in Juneau and we aim to share our work with more Alaskans.”
The lineup for the first season in Anchorage includes a new Alaska play, “The Blue Bear,” and the classic American play “A Raisin in the Sun.” “The Blue Bear” is adapted from the award-winning book that follows the friendship of Alaskan wilderness guide Lynn Schooler and Japanese photographer Michio Hoshino. The production includes a design showcasing Hoshino’s wilderness photography. “The Blue Bear” will run Feb. 10-18, 2012.
“A Raisin in the Sun” is the classic story about the American dream by the trailblazing African American writer Lorraine Hansberry. It will run from April 13-22, 2012. Both of the productions will be presented at the Sydney Laurence Theatre at the Alaska Center for the Performing Arts.
Subscriptions to Perseverance Theatre’s first season of plays in Anchorage can also be purchased as part of an Anchorage Concert Association season package at anchorageconcerts.org, or by calling Perseverance Theatre at 1-855-462-TIXS (8497).
Perseverance Theatre was founded in 1979 and serves 15,000 artists and audiences annually with classical, contemporary and world premiere productions. It has developed more than 65 new plays by Alaskan and national playwrights, including Paula Vogel’s 1998 Pulitzer Prize-winning play “How I Learned to Drive,” building a national reputation for excellence in leadership in the theatrical field. Find more information on Perseverance Theatre at perseverancetheatre.org, facebook.com/PerseveranceTheatre and Twitter.com/PersevTheatreAK.
Morris Communications is proud to present its first video movie review. That’s right, we’re jumping headlong into the 21st Century with new online content. And what better way to use video than for stuff about movies? I sure can’t think of anything. But don’t take my word for it, unless it’s my actual movie opinions. In that case, obey my every recommendation unquestionably.
By the way, we want more video on the web for the Juneau Empire and Capital City Weekly, and you’re what we in the media call “sources,” whose contributions help us avoid plagiarism lawsuits. So for any feedback, recommendations or any other movie-related topics you would like to see addressed, I’m here at jonathan.grass@juneauempire.com. Thank you, sources…and enjoy!
Attach the term “open bar” or “free beer” to an event in the capital city, and you’re bound to draw a crowd.
As part of Juneau Jazz & Classics, celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, the Alaskan Brewing Co. hosted a special event with plenty of Bach and bock for all at its downtown depot.
For the Bach portion of the evening, visitors were treated to a solo performance by cello virtuoso Evan Drachman.
The bock, Alaskan Brewing’s newest brew, is a dark, sweet beer made with Alaskan birch syrup, and has started showing up on tap around town in various watering holes.
The room was filled with the scent of bock and the sound of Bach, blending together as people shut their eyes.
With clear nights and warmer weather in the forecast for the coming days, it’s a great time for stargazing in Juneau. Need further inspiration? The Marie Drake Planetarium just announced the winners of its first Astronomy Poetry Contest.
Starry night
Juneau Chambley, 4th grader at Auke Bay Elementary
Starry night
The stars glow as the moon shines.
A small gust of wind hits my face at 1 mile per hour, whoosh!
Hold on to the grass so you don’t float to the stars! Aliens! Ahhh!
Haiku
Holly Rose, 8th grader at Floyd Dryden Middle School Stars planets and rocks
orbit a central point forming
galaxies freely
The Big Bang!
Austin Gonzales, 8th grader at Floyd Dryden Middle School
The Big Bang started it all
The Universe keeps on growing
From a time when it once was small
Smaller than an ant, a baseball
Due to the poem I have just told
As I look into the night sky
I happen to see
That many blinking lights
Had shared their lights with me
Orion
Nina Chordas, Associate Professor of English at University of Alaska Southeast
When the dogtooth falls out; the left or the right, it doesn’t matter which.
This is just one of the many rules that describe the world of the unnamed family in “Dogtooth,” Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos’ arresting film. The story centers on a dictatorial patriarch and his attempt at complete dominance over his wife and “adult” children, who have never ventured beyond the fenced-in garden, who are taught airplanes flying overhead are toys, “zombies” are little yellow flowers, and that kittens are dangerous, savage beasts and will tear you limb from limb—you are only safe in your house.
Watching “Dogtooth” is like flipping through the charred remains of some mysterious family photo album. Through beautifully shot scenes with some interesting cropping, we are allowed an almost childlike view in on the family. There is nothing in the film that does not carry with it some portentous weight, and Lanthimos hands it to you like a stranger on a bus for you to examine. The results are nothing short of remarkable.
The film does not aim to shock, or at least not in the way other films, to which “Dogtooth” will likely be compared, do it. There doesn’t seem anything forced in the narrative or imagery; there is no shadow of the work of Todd Solondz (“Happiness,” “Storytelling”) or David Lynch. Lanthimos isn’t smashing the ideas we have about family and social norms against a wall, nor is he dissecting it with a scalpel. It’s a more organic process, like peeling an onion, or pulling off the stamen and petals of a budding flower in a morality game of “He loves me, he loves me not.” The methodology is a little messy, but also starkly honest.
Though there are scenes that, provided without apology, will make the strongest constitutions quail, once you spend a little time with the family, you may still be able to be horrified or uncomfortable, but you certainly won’t be surprised. The domineering father’s choices, though abhorrent, fall in line with a sadistic, inevitable logic. Everything that happens within the walls of the prison/Eden is there for a reason. Nothing seems tacked on for the sake of shock value.
There is something akin to Eden in the film, or Eden as it would have been. Without any contact with the outside world, the “children” simply have the morality that was constructed for them by their parents, and they are left to themselves and their imaginations to fill in the gaps. There is an innocent note to every squeamish activity of the siblings, each bizarre invented game to pass the long, lonely hours.
The mother and father also seem trapped in perpetuating the imperfect world they have made. In one scene, the brother accuses one of his sisters of hitting him in the knee with a hammer. The sister denies it with a plausible explanation, at least in their world: a cat did it. The father has no choice but to censure the brother for his lack of readiness to defend himself.
Additionally, there is a mythical brother outside the walls, who was expelled from “paradise” for his disobedience, and who is alternatively provided with food by one sister and attacked with stones by his brother, lobbed over the wall into the treacherous world.
Even Christina, the young woman brought in from the outside by the father to take care of his son’s libidinal needs, quickly descends to the alien rules of the compound, even though she is castigated as being a wicked temptress, bringing a “bad influence” into the dysfunctional life of the family.
The word “dysfunctional” seems inappropriate to describe the activities in this house. That term evokes some tender abuse from “The Simpsons,” some redeemable overbearing characters that learn to live and love again. The family in “Dogtooth” are trapped, aflame with silent passion, and headed for some precipice where return seems unlikely. You may be uncomfortable by watching them descend, but you are just as likely not to look away.
(Caveat: You should have fair warning that there is graphic nudity, sexuality and, though brief, scenes of domestic abuse and explicit violence in the film. Caution is advised for anyone who would be uncomfortable with any of this. Consider yourself warned.)
“Dogtooth” will be playing at the Gold Town Nickelodeon in Juneau, AK Thursday, Feb. 17 through Sunday, Feb. 20. For more information, call 907-586-2875 or go online at www.goldtownnick.com.
This just in from the University of Alaska Fairbanks:
FAIRBANKS — When the world music festival Tune In opens in New York City next week, all ears – and eyes – will be on composer John Luther Adams. The audience will hear his work “Inuksuit” performed indoors and in New York for the first time. At the same event, the film Strange and Sacred Noise by Leonard Kamerling, curator of film at the University of Alaska Museum of the North, premieres. This new film explores Adams’ work through an outdoor performance of his percussion piece by the same name.
“I am a documentary film-maker,” Kamerling said. “I deal with the narratives of real events, of people living their lives, and I look at stories through that filter. Strange and Sacred Noise pushed me far beyond that familiar zone.”
It was something new for Adams, as well. “I’m not usually a hands-off kind of guy,” he said. “In this case I’ve done my best to stay out of Len’s way. He’s the filmmaker. My attitude now is one of curiosity about what I might learn and what Len made of that extraordinary night.”
Kamerling and Adams had long talked about making a film together, but nothing stuck. Then a musician who had already performed “Strange and Sacred Noise” in various outdoor locations wondered what it would be like to return to an Alaskan setting, the source of the glaciers, rivers and mountains that inspired the piece. This time Kamerling, who is also a professor of English at UAF’s College of Liberal Arts, sensed a story. So the crew trucked musical instruments, recording equipment and camping gear to one of Adams’ favorite camping spots in the Alaska Range.
“It was an incredible circus getting a percussion orchestra into the wilderness,” Kamerling said. “I thought this story would be the center of the film, but in the end I didn’t use any of that material. With any film I don’t really know what it’s about until I’m in the editing room. That’s where the discovery takes place.”
The performance transpired through an Alaska night in June of 2008. As the sun dips below the mountains, bathing the lake and tundra in a supernatural glow, Kamerling shows the audience different perspectives of the environment, from huge expansive mountain vistas to miniature elements like the small white flowers that flourish on the tundra.
“To experience it there was moving,” he said. “The sound that was huge in the auditorium blew away with the wind. It was like setting an animal free in its environment.”
Kamerling decided to use self-reflection in the form of on camera narration from the composer as a balance between the live performances and location footage. With that addition, the film became an exploration of Adams’ artistic process as well as a record of the performance.
Adams said he took “Strange and Sacred Noise” outdoors – from the desert of California to the woods of New England, a meadow in Ohio and finally the tundra of the Alaska Range – in a spirit of exploration. “The experience was humbling and transformative for me. Outdoors some things that sounded so powerful, even frightening in the concert hall simply blew away in the wind. But at other moments, I began to hear a magical dialogue between the music of my composition and the music of the places in which we performed it.”
That experience led Adams to compose “Inuksuit,” a piece for nine to 99 percussionists. It is his first piece specifically intended for an outdoor performance. It premiered in the summer of 2009 at the Banff Centre in the Canadian Rockies. Since then it has been performed across North America, with performances now planned all over the world.
The film, Strange and Sacred Noise, debuts in the Park Avenue Armory in New York City on Friday, Feb. 18, 2011 at 8 p.m. Kamerling said it will be presented at Harvard and Northwestern Universities before he returns to Alaska, where he hopes to show it to local audiences.
The Juneau Arts and Humanities Council is now accepting nominations for the Mayor’s Award for the Arts through Jan. 15. The nomination categories are:
Volunteer/Patron of the Arts: Recognizes individuals whose support for the arts through either volunteer work or donations has made a significant impact on the community.
Business Leadership in the Arts: Recognizes businesses (profit or nonprofit) or individual business leaders whose efforts enhance and sustain the arts in Juneau, through donation or participation.
Artist: Honors individuals for their creative contributions to the community.
Innovative Application of the Arts: Recognizes individuals, businesses or programs whose work uses the arts in new and inspirational ways to in some way improve the community.
Arts in Education: Recognizes individuals, programs, or businesses whose efforts advance the arts in education.
Patron of the Arts: Honors individuals who make significant contributions of services and/or money to further the arts in the community.
If you know of an organization or someone who deserves to be recognized for their contributions to the arts please nominate them. Nominations are accepted online at www.jahc.org until Jan. 15. Winners will be announced at the Sunday Wearable Arts ILLUMINATE runway show.
Wearable Art artists: have you registered yet? Registration deadline for the 2011 show is this Saturday, Jan. 15. Here’s the press release from the JAHC:
Join the spectacle and let your creativity glow! Registrations are now being accepted for Juneau Arts and Humanities Council’s 2011 Wearable Arts extravaganza: ILLUMINATE.
Wearable Arts allows local artists to spotlight their talents in a truly unique fashion and this year many of the entries will be lit in a whole new way: for the first time in the eleven years of Wearable Arts in Juneau, the use of glowing materials is actually being encouraged.
“In the past, things that glowed were simply washed out by the stage lighting,” says ILLUMINATE Director Patricia Hull. “Our design team has worked around those problems to allow glowing, glow-in-the-dark and black-light sensitive elements to be used.” Set Designers Jeremy Bauer and Jason Clifton, Lighting Designer Calvin Anderson and Technical Director Rik Pruitt are creating in ILLUMINATE an environment where artists now have the option of embracing creative possibilities involving light that were previously unavailable.
Hull says the timing for such show is good because there’s now a large array of materials available for artists including fiber optics, LED wire and lights — even old cell phones. “These newer lights don’t require as much power so artists are now freed-up from the constraint of how to incorporate battery packs into their pieces.”
And while this year’s show promises to shine, the use of lights in a piece isn’t required, “We never want any artist to feel constrained by our theme,” says Hull. “The fun of Wearable Art people letting their imaginations cut loose and fly.”
Artists can register online at http://jahc.org/2011-illuminate-wearable-art-extravaganza or print out your registration and bring it by in person to the JACC. The deadline is 5 p.m. on Jan. 15. ILLUMINATE will be presented at 8 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 12 with a 3 p.m. matinee on Sunday, Feb. 13.
