\t\t\t\tThank you to Ms Heather Harris for taking such copious notes. \u00a0She made this blog entry possible!<\/p>\n
On Thursday, May 8, 2014, our guest speaker Patrick Stewart talked\u00a0about the theatre and performing arts scene in San Diego. \u00a0He is the Executive Director for Words Alive, a Arts\/Literacy program that works with other organizations.<\/p>\n
Words Alive just opened a show at Space 4 Art. Space 4 Art is in East Village at 15th<\/sup> & J. It has two galleries, an outdoor performance area, and 6 live-work studios. \u00a0It all started with a La Jolla Playhouse connection that supported an Israeli Photographer who has created a curriculum for Jewish Day Schools \u2013 kids take photos in their community based on Jewish culture.<\/p>\n The Words Alive foundation serves kids in need like at Monarch and Lindsay School \u2013 schools that help kids impacted by life a little harder than norm. \u00a0The connection with the photography concept and the new show was inspired by the kids\u2019 Reading list book \u2013 Great Gatsby. Patrick was wondering about kids\u2019 idea of opulence. What would it look like from their perspective. The project was for all kids would read the book, the organization gave disposable cameras to everyone and they focused on three things:<\/p>\n They brought in a photographer to teach kids how to compose a shot\/frame it. \u00a0Patrick brought together a friend and curator at MOPA, and the Museum Studies at Mesa and they all worked together to put on the show. \u00a0300-plus High school students took pictures across SD County. \u00a0There were 140 photos \u2013 they narrowed down to 41. \u00a0Mesa College students learned how to hang the photographs. \u00a0The show gave a sense of community through an artistic perspective. \u00a0Opened last Thursday at MOPA Space 4 Art Public reception 5\/17 and finishes on 5\/30.<\/p>\n Patrick studied theater, theater criticism, philosophy of art, then got a graduate management degree in non-profit (Non-profit MBA kinda thing). Got accepted to graduate school for directing \u2013 was going to move back east. The culture is very silo\u2019d \u2013 no collaboration. \u00a0He works hard to find collaborative opportunities. \u00a0He spent time in Australia and realized other countries have a different funding model\u00a0 – in a lot of countries, the state funds all the art, so it is paid for.<\/p>\n If we had the same concept of supporting the creation of work \u2013 arts experience becomes very different when its collaborative. In America not a lot of co-mingling because everyone is competing for money.<\/p>\n What is the most collaborative form of art?<\/p>\n Dance collaborates more often and dancers are better at it. They try to tell a story in a really different way. Try to find new and interesting ways to tell the stories. Dancers are forced to tell it in a more imaginative way. They look at collaborations in a different perspective and they are more experimental.<\/p>\n Jean Isaacs most visible and Maloshock \u2013 big dance makers. She rebranded Jean Isaacs dance theater into something completely new. In the past they\u2019ve put together a really interesting multi-media, auto-biographical, slide-movie, one-act that wasn\u2019t even a dance show. It is bringing in more of the disciplines. Her question is, How are we re-defining performing art so its undefinable?<\/p>\n Can San Diego support the arts?<\/p>\n Managing host committee for the performing arts collaboration \u2013 it is a very rich community. Mostly supported by itself \u2013 there\u2019s a large enough\/single group of people supporting everything. \u00a0The arts cannot be supported without a very large philanthropic trust. It\u2019s 50\/50 for income sources for what you\u2019re seeing (to pay for behind the scenes and the actual show). 50% ticket 50% philanthropic sources. Licensing works well for Playhouse and The Globe. 9 Tony Awards for San Diego between the two of them in the last year.<\/p>\n\n