The Plaridel Awards, a national competition honoring excellence in Filipino American journalism, were announced by the Philippine American Press Club USA (PAPC USA). The Plaridel Awards is named after Marcelo H. del Pilar, a Filipino journalist and publisher who over a century ago went into exile in Europe. Plaridel was his nom de plume, the anagram of his surname, Del Pilar. Continue reading »
You’ve likely not heard of Jane Bowles, but she wrote a cock-eyed, mesmerizing play that was one of the signal achievements of postwar American drama. It’s right up there with the classic works of Arthur Miller, Tennessee Williams, Gertrude Stein, late Eugene O’Neill, Lillian Hellman, and Sam Shepard. This post is about Jane Bowles’s unjustly neglected play: “In the Summer House.” Continue reading »
Often it is worth questioning the democracy of social media by just re-viewing a second time and digging a little bit deeper. The video below which documents Kalugin’s confrontation with Russian airborne troops has gone viral. What’s also spread like wildfire is the outraged and sometimes ill-informed commentary on it. It is easy to lash out at Russian government officials. If you look closer at this story though, the surface is not what it seems. Here, the Russian special forces turned out to be the good guys. Continue reading »
A New Statesman article, entitled “Why Britain can’t afford to fall behind in the race for soft power,” maintains that the west must not stint in giving financial support for culture and cultural diplomacy. If the west failed to sustain cultural confidence, then “China’s gain in global influence and trade will be our loss.” Continue reading »
In October 2012, I was invited to be a guest on “Pia Lindström Presents” She asked me to speak about politics, the arts and world theater. She also asked me personal questions. Continue reading »
I would go so far to say that, after post-structuralism, communication is now the dominant force in design innovations. PQ provides designers with an international art-based platform where they can wrest back the current valorization of time-based performance modes, which visual artists have ruthlessly co-opted for their own ends Continue reading »
“These events, on a practical level, raise the public’s level of awareness of the importance of good creative design. They affirm the professionalism and creativity of outstanding designers and theater architects. And these events have demonstrated an economic impact to the countries that host them.” Continue reading »
The following interview originally appeared in Postcards from the Inge, a blog. It is re-posted here with the kind permission of the author. Interview by AMANDA WHITE THIETJE Well, here it is, friends—the final installment of the Randy Gener trilogy. Thank you for tuning in this week to read Randy’s words, and many thanks to Mr. Gener … Continue reading »
IT’S PRAGUE QUADRENNIAL WEEK on Postcards from the Inge! Randy agreed to talk with me about the PQ, and there’s so much in this interview I want to share with you that I’m going to post it in three parts, so look for the second installment here and the third installment here. Continue reading »
The following interview originally appeared in Postcards from the Inge, a blog. It is re-posted here with the kind permission of the author. Interview by AMANDA WHITE THIETJE Here is the second installment of my interview with Randy Gener, curatorial adviser and co-creator of the USA national pavilion “From the Edge,” about the Prague Quadrennial. I’ve included … Continue reading »
“The future is increasingly becoming hyper-local and immersive. The designers of the future will have to provide valuable insights into how, why and where we create new performance environments. They will determine the shape of theatre architecture to come. What’s the matter with Kansas if it cannot see that the techniques of illusion shape our reality, and not the other way around?” Continue reading »
Vibrating within a new discipline that is up for grabs, From the Edge proposes one approach toward an American version of performance design. Future curatorial teams will really have to find the courage to contend with the challenge of displaying the U.S. anew in a competitive international environment. Continue reading »
2011 had but one theme for me: I worked to advance the creativity of artists. I tried, in my own busy way, to experiment on how to Occupy American Theater. Continue reading »
XIAMEN, CHINA and PARIS, FRANCE: The International Theatre Institute (ITI) – the world’s largest organization for the performing arts – is holding its 33rd world congress at the Xiamen International Conference and Exhibition Centre in Xiamen, China, from Sept. 19 to 24, 2011. Held under the auspices of UNESCO, the congress will have a strong … Continue reading »
In thinking about the meaning and significance of winning a Chicago Filipino-American Hall of Fame Award, I must say that it is very flattering to be inducted into something called a “Hall of Fame.” Ay naku! Masaya talaga! But if I pause for a moment to re-consider: Fame is not as important as the belief in and the firm commitment to something real and important that is outside of your self. Continue reading »
