OffStage

OffStage has moved

2013-05-08T08:00:00.000-05:00

KC Stage's performing arts news blog OffStage has moved to a new website. The new blog can be found here: www.kcstage.com/blog

The new location gives the blog a facelift and lets you comment on articles or share them on your Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and more. You can also search the articles by keyword or filter by tag. Articles will also be posted on KC Stage's Facebook and Twitter.

If you are currently receiving email updates you will no longer be able to follow the blog this way, although we hope to offer this feature in the future.

Click here to subscribe to the RSS feed for the new blog. If you aren't currently using a feed reader, try Feedly.com.

The OffStage archive here will remain online but will not be updated with new posts.

If you have any questions or comments email magazine@kcstage.com.

KC Ballet "Hey-Hay, Goin to Kansas City" review by Alexia Lang

2013-05-07T22:00:00.000-05:00

The Kansas City Ballet’s 55^th season is going out with a bang. The final program features three distinct sections that are very different, but have a uniting theme of jazz and sass.

more at the Vignette

Kauffman Foundation considering funding downtown UMKC campus

2013-05-07T20:00:00.000-05:00

It’s been 22 months since the University of Missouri-Kansas City revealed an ambitious plan to relocate its Conservatory of Music and Dance to downtown Kansas City.

more at the KC Star

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2013/05/06/4221062/backers-of-umkc-downtown-arts.html#storylink=cpy

Composer John Chittum interview by Hunter Long

2013-05-07T18:00:00.000-05:00

What is your opera about and what is your ritual? My opera is about morning coffee...and what happens when the ritual of morning coffee gets taken way too far.

more at the Black House Collective

Spinning Tree "Hello Again", Living Room "Hurlyburly" previews by Robert Trussell

2013-05-07T16:00:00.000-05:00

“Hello Again,” an Obie-winning musical that premiered off Broadway in 1993. Spinning Tree Theatre gets sexy with its production of Michael John LaChiusa’s

more at the KC Star

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/2013/05/06/4221491/feel-the-heat-spinning-tree-opens.html#storylink=cpy

KC's jazz origins by kcjazzlark

2013-05-07T14:00:00.000-05:00

Saxophonist Ben Webster was born in Kansas City in 1909. He performed here with Bennie Moten’s and Andy Kirk’s orchestras and recorded with both. But he first gained international recognition after moving East, as lead tenor in what was arguably Duke Ellington’s greatest orchestra in the early 1940s.

more at kcjazzlark

"Envision Arts KC" by Kelly Luck

2013-05-07T12:00:00.000-05:00

This article is from the March 2013 issue of KC Stage

Character. That’s the word I was looking for.

We were in groups, six of them scattered around the top floor of the ArtsTech building on Holmes Street. The brainstorming was in full swing, and the facilitator asked us to name the things about our town that made it unique. We were a pretty mixed bag: visual artists, musicians, actors, educators, and others, and once the suggestions started flowing they came in all directions: the city’s history as an incubator of artists, the Crossroads district, the unique musical heritage, and new artist communities popping up all over the metro area. All good things, fine things. But I couldn’t help but feel these were all subsets of something larger, something untouched-on. It wasn’t until afterwards that what I had been searching for hit me.

I’ve lived in small towns, college towns, major cities. I’ve lived in military bases large and small. I’ve lived in cities that thought like towns and towns that dreamed beyond their abilities. I’ve lived in cities that were essentially giant suburbs looking for an “urb” and places that had clearly just given up a long time ago and only stayed extant through sheer force of habit. But I’ve never lived somewhere like Kansas City. A place born as a nexus, a meeting place, where people came from all directions with all different dreams. A rococo-art-deco-highbrow-lowbrow-country-blues-jazz-Mediterranean gumbo of fountains and murals and ideas tumbling and jostling each other forever.

Character.

The evening had started off well. Mayor Sly had opened the festivities, invoking the ghosts of Disney, Benton, the royalty of 18th and Vine. Kansas City had always been a leader in the arts, he declared, but now it was time to take it up a notch. He wanted the city to become the benchmark by which others were judged, and it would all start here.

Next to speak was Mike Burke, the man who ran unsuccessfully against Sly in 2011. He told us how he and Hizzoner had worked out that whichever of them won, the other would pitch in on side projects such as the one we were helping launch that night. “I told him, I’ll take getting Google Fiber here and the arts, and you can have snow removal, crime, and the city council,” he joked. “You can figure out who really won.” He went on to emphasize his belief in the project, and encouraged all assembled to play an active role in the weeks to come.

Shortly after that, we found ourselves in our groups. Each had a facilitator and a note-taker to keep track of the results of our brainstorming. We went through some of our favorite cultural items and events here in the city, and started to throw ideas around. At first the ideas were hesitant and far between, but as the group warmed up to the idea they came flying. Funding came up, of course, as did better transportation infrastructure, venue support, preservation of arts districts and so on. But the real light went on when the topic got round to education.

Teachers of music, artists, poets all spoke up about the need to engage the young people of the city. Discussion was made of the lack of coverage of the arts by the popular press, with one woman wishing there could be arts coverage on a parity with the sports coverage in this town. Much was made of the lack of artists being made available to help children nurture early talents (I recall one person telling a story of a school that asked some local artists to come in and, essentially, teach for free. “Now just how,” she asked, “are we supposed to convince children that art has value when the schools won’t even pay for it? They’re getting mixed signals there!”) Many brought up the importance of working arts into the educational curricula, not just as a class in and of itself, but throughout the whole program. “Art integration in ALL education” became the rallying cry for our group, and if nothing else comes of that night, I only hope that at least makes it out.

Around the large open space that served as the kickoff point, the other groups thrashed out their vision for the next five to ten years. After this night, the city will be sending groups out into the community to talk to people where they live and work and find out what they see as the future of arts in Kansas City. This, we were told, was the first step for a decade-long process, one that would need foresight and planning not only from the civic government and art communities, but from the city as a whole. It’ll take a long time to pull it off but, we were assured, we were just the place to do it.

After the groups broke up, I wandered around the room, listening to music fair organizers talk to photographers, teachers talk to sculptors, all twos and threes and drifting from one knot of people to the next. Then down the stairs, past the proud rows of children's’ art projects and out into the night past unique old buildings and over ancient brick paving. As I got back to my car, I looked back over the quiet nighttime scene, and all of the ages of the city were there at once, jazz-aged, city-slick, post-modern dreaming serenely together into the future. Standing there at day one, ten years seemed a long time in the future, but this city s patient; it will make it, and when we get there, who knows what changes will have come from the seeds that were planted this night?

I took the exit up to the highway, headed home to the suburbs. And behind me, the city forged in amalgamation and collaboration and with music and art flowing through its very veins slept, and dreamed of the future.

To share with Envision Arts KC your vision of the future of arts in the Kansas City area, please visit the Envision ACKC website at www.kcmomentum.com.

KC Ballet "Hey-Hay, Going to Kansas City" review by kellyluck

2013-05-07T10:00:00.000-05:00

Leave The Tutus At Home; KC Ballet Ends Season In A Decidedly Modernist Trip Rating: 4

Hey-Hay, Going to Kansas City
Kansas City Ballet

The Kansas City Ballet is wrapping up another season at the Kauffman, and in grand style. These last couple of years at the new venue have been ones of experiment, and the season closers have been time for the troupe to step out of the ordinary, to present new and interesting ideas. For the programs on display Friday night, they have gone with three fascinating and nicely executed pieces.

First on the program is Energy Made Visible, a performance in six movements by Karole Armitage with music by Bobby Watson. Mr Watson is a busy man just of late, having just come off of a short run of "Kansas City Swing" at the UMKC Theater. There as here he provides the music onstage, accompanying himself in his own compositions. He plays in full jazzman kit, a porkpied piper whose music sends the dancers through their frenzied movements. The transmutation of jazz into other mediums is a tricky business, and one fraught with hazards. Fortunately, there is confident skill at the helm, and the dancers move with the improvised music, seemingly letting it pull them along.

Some interesting business throughout the performance involves a giant "canvas" at which the dancers hurl imaginary "paint", slowly recreating some of the works of Jackson Pollock. The effect was quite interesting, albeit the animated splatter didn't always line up with the throwing movements, hurting the illusion. Nevertheless, it was an interesting experiment and sound and visualization with excellent small and large group choreographies and of course Mr. Watson's wonderful score.

After the first intermission, the mood changed significantly with Common People, Margo Sappington's tour through William Shatner & Ben Folds' 2004 collaboration "Has Been" (this is the same ballet that was featured in the 2009 documentary "William Shatner's Gonzo Ballet", which is entirely recommended). Taking us through seven of the featured songs, Sappington gives us an interesting if occasionally uneven experience, with choreography that matches the eccentric, offbeat yet strangely engrossing nature of the material. Highlights are the title track at the beginning, the surprisingly dreamlike "Together", and the final two parts: a frenzied interpretation of "I Can't Get Behind That" and "Has Been", in both of which the choreography was seasoned with just the right amount of wit, making a good solid finish to the set.

Finally, we had Donald McKayle's Hey-Hay, Going to Kansas City, in which some of the great jazz classics that shaped this city are brought to life. We start off with Euday Bowman's "12th Street Rag" and proceed through the works of Jesse Stone, Charlie Parker, Count Basie and other memorable performers. The dancing here is interesting; something about the looseness of the movement put this reviewer in mind of a Hart Benton painting come to life. Vintage recordings were used of the originals, adding more to the atmosphere and bringing us back to a time and place that looms almost legendary in the annals of our city. Here dancing as storytelling was given its strongest push, each song a vignette. The dancers performed strongly as indeed they had all through the night, and all in all it was a decidedly enjoyable performance.

A few months ago, announcements were made regarding the upcoming 2013-14 season. It will be a solid return to the classics, starting with Jerome Robbins and finishing with Prokofiev's "Cinderella". It should be a good season, but the experimentation of the ballet's first two Kauffman seasons will lie long in this reviewer's memory. And dance aficionados wishing to see and hear something truly creative and interesting are highly recommended to catch this show before its closing night on the 12th.

"Rose Brooks Project SAFE" short film by Stephen Locke

2013-05-07T08:00:00.000-05:00

Created by Stephen Locke Film and Video
Visit RoseBrooks.org

KC Actors Theatre 2013-2014 Season preview by Bob Evans

2013-05-06T22:00:00.000-05:00

Count on the classics of American theater to generate excitement, and when these classic plays come from icons of the theater world, expect something special. Everyone who follows theater knows the names of noted playwrights Inge and O’Neill so what could be better to kick off a season that two of their favorite plays?

more at examiner.com

"The Harvester" short film by Joseph Pollock

2013-05-06T20:00:00.000-05:00

The Harvester is a short horror/suspense film Director by Joseph Pollock, Directors of Photography TJ Baurain & Jesse Smith, Fabulous Features Matt Olson, Editor Joseph Pollock, Colorist TJ Baurain, Production Assistant Joe Knotts. Filmed on Canon 7D and T2i.

Riverkey Creative on "Startups: Made in Kansas City"

2013-05-06T18:00:00.000-05:00

It's no coincidence that creativity is in their name. For ten years, Riverkey Creative has worked with clients developing 3D animations, graphics, video and film for the small screen of the web to the giant screens in sports arenas.

Starlight Blue Star Awards preview by Bob Evans

2013-05-06T16:00:00.000-05:00

Kansas City’s largest theater, Starlight Theatre, located in Swope Park and adjoining the KC Zoo announced its nominations for their Blue Star Awards, based on student performances and productions across the Kansas City Metro area, to be presented May 23 in a ceremony, free to the public at the Starlight Theatre.

more at examiner.com

Spencer Museum of Art Spring Arts and Culture Festival review by Meagan Thomas

2013-05-06T14:00:00.000-05:00

The weather may have been dreary, but the inside of Spencer Museum of Art was lively with music, dance and art during the annual Spring Arts and Culture Festival on Saturday.

more at the Lawrence Journal World

Musical Theatre Heritage Parlor Series featuring Harold Arlen

2013-05-06T12:00:00.000-05:00

The MTH Parlor Series is an intimate affair seating 15-17 patrons and is presented 6 times a year in the crossroads Arts District in Downtown, Kansas City. The Series is hosted by Nationally syndicated radio host, George Harter and highlights the work of a different composer at each event.

Theatre Lawrence closes doors on old building as it prepares to move

2013-05-06T10:00:00.000-05:00

It must seem awfully strange to Mary Doveton to be moving into a building designed specifically for theater. Theatre Lawrence’s executive director has been adapting other facilities to her needs since helping found the organization in 1977. “We just rolled with the punches of whatever we had,” she says, reminiscing on 36 years of community theater productions.

more at lawrence.com

Joel Wachs, Warhol Foundation speaks at Charlotte Street luncheon

2013-05-06T08:00:00.000-05:00

JOEL WACHS, Warhol Foundation CEO, speaks at Charlotte Street Foundation luncheon

KC Ballet "Hey-Hay, Going to Kansas City" review by Libby Hanssen

2013-05-06T06:00:00.000-05:00

Kansas City Ballet ended its 55th season with a celebration of American dance, music and hometown talent in “Hey-Hay, Going to Kansas City.” This vibrant company offered an exhilarating trio of pieces on Friday night, including the world premiere of Karole Armitage’s “Energy Made Visible.”

more at the KC Star

Unicorn "My Name is Asher Lev" extended run by Bob Evans

2013-05-05T22:00:00.000-05:00

Because of sell-out crowds, great reviews, and spreading word of mouth, The Unicorn Theater in Kansas City extends its current show, My Name is Asher Lev for another week until May 19.

more at examiner.com

CinemaKC seeking help for move out of Screenland

2013-05-05T20:00:00.000-05:00

We have to be out of Screenland Crossroads by May 20th. Just days away. With events planned out for the year, a new website about to launch, and a show about to start filming we find ourselves without a base. Please join us for our final two events with Screenland and help us raise the funds we need to maintain our operations for the next year.

more at CinemaKC

Victoria Alaadeen poetry honors Ahmad Alaadeen

2013-05-05T18:00:00.000-05:00

For two years she couldn’t listen to the music she loved for nearly half her life. Every jazzy note holds a memory of her husband, Kansas City jazz great Ahmad Alaadeen. The songs press a key deep in her heart: loss.

more at the KC Star

Quality Hill "You've Got a Friend" review by Kellie Houx

2013-05-05T16:00:00.000-05:00

A standing ovation is the form of applause where members of a seated audience stand up while applauding after an extraordinary performance of acclaim. The collaborative voices and musicians at Quality Hill Playhouse for the current show, You’ve Got a Friend: Music That Raised the Baby Boomers, deserved every round of applause and the standing ovations.

more at KC Studio

OffStage is moving

2013-05-05T14:00:00.001-05:00

KC Stage's performing arts news blog OffStage will be moving to a new website on Wednesday, May 8. The new blog can be found here: http://www.scoop.it/t/offstage

The new location gives the blog a facelift and lets you comment on articles or share them on your Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and more. You can also search the articles by keyword or filter by tag. Articles will also be posted on KC Stage's Facebook and Twitter.

If you are currently receiving email updates you will no longer be able to follow the blog this way, although we hope to offer this feature in the future.

Click here to subscribe to the RSS feed for the new blog. If you aren't currently using a feed reader, try Feedly.com.

The current OffStage archive on Blogspot will remain online but will not be updated with new posts.

If you have any questions or comments email magazine@kcstage.com.

Shawnee Mission East nominated for ten Blue Star Awards

2013-05-05T12:00:00.000-05:00

The nominations are out. And the cast and crew of SM East’s The Drowsy Chaperone couldn’t be much happier.

more at the Prairie Village Post

Karole Armitage, KC Ballet interview by Laura Spencer

2013-05-05T10:00:00.000-05:00

Choreographer Karole Armitage, a native of Lawrence, Kan. says artist Jackson Pollock can be viewed as "a metaphor for the creative process"; his lines of dripped and poured paint are like a dance. Kansas City Ballet concludes its season with a world premiere by Armitage, exploring the intersection between art, jazz, and dance.

more at KCUR
and more here