Yearly Archives: 2014

Photographer Adam Smith featured on Tales from the South’s Tin Roof Project for July

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talesfromthesouthThe first Tuesday of each month, Tales from the South features one person sharing their life story. They call it Tin Roof Project.  The July featuree is artist Adam Smith.  The program will be Tuesday, July 1.

Music is by Brad and Amy Williams and blues guitarist Mark Simpson.  It will take place at the Argenta branch of the Laman Library.

Adam graduated from the University of Mississippi 1999 with a degree in business and a love of photography. Time spent in Mississippi provided Smith with unique opportunities to document the landscape and music of the state, especially the blues and the indelible culture which surrounds it. In this fertile environment, Smith photographed several blues legends, and his photographs captured the interest of world acclaimed photographer Annie Leibovitz, who needed assistance on a shoot in the Mississippi Delta, Smith was personally requested for his knowledge of the region and his relationships with the blues artists. Adam was again asked to assist for Leibovitz in 2010, which featured Gabourey Sidibe for a promotional “Precious” spread in Vanity Fair Magazine.

“Tales From the South” is a radio show created and produced by Paula Martin Morell, who is also the show’s host. The show is taped live on Tuesday. The night is a cross between a house concert and a reading/show, with incredible food and great company. Tickets must be purchased before the show, as shows are usually standing-room only.

“Tales from the South” is a showcase of writers reading their own true stories. While the show itself is unrehearsed, the literary memoirs have been worked on for weeks leading up to the readings. Stories range from funny to touching, from everyday occurrences to life-altering tragedies.

Dinner is served from 5pm to 6:30pm, the show starts at 7pm.  Admission is $10 for just the show and $25 for show and dinner.

You MUST purchase your ticket before the show.

Previous episodes of “Tales from the South” air on KUAR Public Radio on Thursdays at 7pm.  This program will air on July 17.

“Intermission” at Robinson Center comes on July 1

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Robinson IntermissionAfter several years of planning and an overwhelming vote of support by the Little Rock electorate, the renovations of Robinson Center Music Hall start after a press conference and ceremony on Tuesday, July 1 at 10am.

The building will be closed for two years as the music hall space is re-envisioned with a new, dynamic design implemented which will create not only an outstanding experience for the audience but also for the performers.

In addition, a new special event space will be built along the north side of the building taking advantage of Arkansas River and Riverfront Park views.

Though the Music Hall interior will be re-purposed and re-designed including a two level lobby space, the historic Markham Street lobby a the top of the stairs will be preserved.  In a nod to the appearance when it opened in February 1940, the lobby will be refurnished to its Art Deco splendor.  While the original chandeliers and accents have been lost to time, they are being recreated and will be installed. In addition, the front doors and windows will be re-designed to mimic the original entrances to the historic lobby.

Following the two year intermission, the building is scheduled to re-open in 2016.

(If two years, seems a long time for an intermission, when one considers that the first act was 74 years, it is actually a proportionally shorter interval than one normally gets at performances.)

The Music of Texas will be focus of 2014 Oxford American Music Issue

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oa texasRecently, Academy Award-winner Matthew McConaughey, Oxford American editor Roger D. Hodge, and the Texas Music Office will announce that the state of Texas will be the focus of the OA‘s 16th annual music issue. The announcement is at 4 PM at Austin’s iconic Continental Club.

“The Oxford American is thrilled to showcase the music of Texas, home of many of the world’s most influential artists and recordings,” says Rick Clark, the OA‘s music editor. “In addition to delving into the state’s noteworthy historic recordings and figures, we will put emphasis on Texas’s current vibrant, creative artistic culture.”

The issue will be published and available on newsstands nationwide in December 2014. It will be packaged with a compilation CD dedicated to the music of Texas. The magazine will include a special editorial section comprised of essays and features about the artists and songs on the CD.

“The Texas Music Office in the Governor’s Office is working closely with the Oxford American to help produce the Music of Texas issue,” says Casey Monahan, Director of the Texas Music Office. “We’re looking forward to this exciting and high visibility edition.”

The Oxford American‘s annual Southern Music Issue has won two National Magazine Awards and other high honors since it was first introduced in 1996. It is considered by many readers and listeners to be among the best music packages in the country. In 2012, Dwight Garner of the New York Times wrote, “The Oxford American may be the liveliest literary magazine in America….The CDs are so smart and eclectic they probably belong in the Smithsonian.”

Over the years, NPR has featured many of the OA‘s music issues on its broadcasts. Over the past twenty years, the Southern music issue has showcased an incredible range of talents spanning many genres and decades, including R.E.M., Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Isaac Hayes, Lucinda Williams, Willie Nelson, Elvis Presley, Charlie Rich, and more. Music-writing legends-such as Greil Marcus, William Gay, Stanley Crouch, Peter Guralnick, John Jeremiah Sullivan, and Rosanne Cash-have contributed memorable writing to the issues. Past OA music issues have featured the states of Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana and, last year, Tennessee.

What Dreams Are Made Of – COMPLEAT WRKS OF WLLM SHKSPR ends run at Ark Rep today

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WllmShksprToday is the final chance to experience what Shakespeare has in common with football, cooking shows, rap and psychology.  The Arkansas Repertory Theatre production of The Compleat Wrks of Wllm Shkspr (Abridged) plays at 2pm and 7pm today.

Life is short. The complete works of Shakespeare are long. Now all of the bard’s most familiar pieces are condensed into one hilarious rollercoaster spoof! Ending The Rep’s season is an entertaining romp where audiences will see all of Shakespeare’s plays, reduced in madcap fashion, in less than two hours.

Written by Adam Long, Daniel Singer, and Jess Winfield (former founding members of the Reduced Shakespeare Company) and first performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1987, The Compleat Wrks of Wllm Shkspr (Abridged) later played at the Criterion Theatre in London, where it ran for nine record-breaking years.

The cast includes Rep favorites Avery Clark (Hamlet, Henry V, Death of a Salesman, The 39 Steps) and Ethan Paulini (The Full Monty, Avenue Q, White Christmas, Tommy) and Rep newcomer Patrick Halley.  The show is directed by Resident Director Nicole Capri. The design team includes Costume Designer: Shelly Hall, Set Designer: Chris Pickart, Lighting Designer: Dan Kimble, Sound Designer: Allan Branson and Properties Designer: Lynda J. Kwallek.

The Compleat Wrks of Wllm Shkspr (Abridged) is a parody of the plays of William Shakespeare, with all of them being performed in shortened and sidesplitting form.

It has become one of the world’s most popular shows, playing frequently in a variety of languages, and is most notable for holding the (self-proclaimed) world record for the shortest-ever performance of Hamlet, clocking in at just 43 seconds. You don’t have to be a fan of Shakespeare, or even familiar with his plays, to enjoy this inventive, fast-paced comedy!

 

 Avery Clark, Patrick Halley and Ethan Paulini. Photography by John David Pittman.

Little Rock Look Back: Richard Rodgers

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richard_rodgersOn June 28, 1902, Richard Rodgers was born.  He grew up to become a composer, producer and arts educator. For his talents he was recognized with two Pulitzer Prizes, a Kennedy Center Honor, and seven Tony Awards.

He is featured on this blog, because one of his shows was the musical South Pacific.  The fictional heroine was Little Rock native Nellie Forbush.  Through the success of the show, this “cock-eyed optimist” represented Little Rock to the world.  Rodgers composed a song called “My Girl Back Home” which contained references to Little Rock.  It was cut from South Pacific before it opened on Broadway in April 1949.  However it was used in the movie version and appeared in the 2008 Broadway revival.

The works of Rodgers have been performed by the Arkansas Repertory Theatre, Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, Ballet Arkansas, Wildwood Park for the Arts, Little Rock Wind Symphony and many other cultural organizations.  Numerous tours of Richard Rodgers musicals have been performed at Robinson Center Music Hall since it first opened in 1940.

48 Hour Film Project this weekend in Little Rock

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2014 48hrLittle Rock will be overrun with filmmakers this weekend as the annual 48 Hour Film Project takes place from June 27 – 29.

From conception to post-production, participating teams have only 48 hours to make movie magic.  Filmmakers must write, cast, produce and edit a four to seven minute film in two days. Each team is given a genre, a character, a prop and a line of dialogue that must be used. The story is up to them.

“[The] 48Hour is a great experience for filmmakers and film fans alike who want to get a taste of what it’s like to complete a short film from scratch,” said Levi Agee, producer of the LRFF 48 Hour Film Project. “You’ll never participate in anything like it. This is Little Rock Film Festival’s fifth year supporting the film festival and we are all very excited to see what Little Rock puts up on the big screen.”

At the end of the weekend, each team will submit their completed film, which will be screened in the near future.

Registration is $175. Anyone interested can register here.  For more information, visit the website.

56th annual Delta Exhibition opens tomorrow at Arkansas Arts Center; Member preview tonight

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Mark Lewis, Peoria Avenue #7, 2011, graphite and paper collage, 2013 Grand Award

Mark Lewis, Peoria Avenue #7, 2011, graphite and paper collage, 2013 Grand Award

“As one of the most anticipated Arkansas Arts Center events of the year, the 56th Annual Delta Exhibition offers a unique snapshot of the Delta region,” said Arkansas Arts Center executive director Todd Herman. “The widely held exhibition sanctions local artists to lead and inspire their respective communities through art, education and cultural excellence.”

The Delta Exhibition opens tomorrow. Members of the Arkansas Arts Center can have a sneak peek tonight at a Member reception.  Prior to the reception, there will be a lecture by Brian Rutenberg who was the guest juror for this year’s show.

The Delta Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture was founded in 1956 to feature contemporary work by artists from Arkansas and the bordering states. Today, the 56th Annual Delta Exhibition has grown to encompass works in all media and is a showcase for the dynamic vision of the artists of the Mississippi Delta region. The diversity of their art reflects the region’s strong traditions of craftsmanship and observation, combined with an innovative use of materials and an experimental approach to subject matter.

The competition is open to all artists who live in or were born in one of the following states: Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas. All work must be completed during the last two years and must not have been exhibited previously at the Arkansas Arts Center. This year’s exhibition will be on view June 27 – September 28 in the Townsend Wolfe Gallery.

Guest juror Brian Rutenberg of New York selected works for the exhibition in addition to a Grand Award, with a cash prize of $2,500, and two Delta Awards, with cash prizes of $750 each, for the top works in the show. Juror Rutenberg earned his Master of Arts degree from New York’s acclaimed School of Visual Arts and went on to become a Forum Gallery artist in 2001. He has since had three successful solo exhibitions and actively exhibits throughout the United States and Canada.

For more information, visit arkansasartscenter.org/delta or call(501) 372-4000.