#LinkRoundup! — 11/5/14

Link Roundups feature articles and bits of internet goodness that our dramaturgy team digs up. If you find something you want to send our way, drop us a line on Facebook or Twitter!

♦♦♦♦♦

We recently featured Indian-American comic Hari Kondabolu over on our Displaced Hindu Gods production blog, but it’s worth watching the other three performers profiled in the NYT Off Color video series:

The four-part series delves into the personal and political goals and motivations of artists of color who use humor to directly and acutely address issues of race in the United States. It is enthralling to hear these provocative artists overtly explain the social injustices that inspire them to be not just artists who can make people laugh, but activists who can make people think.

Continue reading →

BosTEEN Night – THE CHRONICLES OF KALKI

October 30th was BosTEEN Night at THE CHRONICLES OF KALKI. About 30 students from three different schools and youth groups came to the theatre early for arts activities including Diwali Lantern-making, Theatre Games, and a Jumbo Matching Game that included images of Hindu Gods. All Teens stayed for the show, which was followed by a post-show conversation about what it’s like to feel like a high school outcast. And there was Pizza!

Rock the Vote this Tuesday!

WBUR’s The Artery ran an article this week detailing the arts policies of gubernatorial candidates Martha Coakley and Charlie Baker. It’s a great read, and definitely worth checking out before you get to the polls on Tuesday — you can read it HERE.

Support for arts and culture in Massachusetts is not in danger. But it is by no means robust, according to Grogan. Boston Foundation studies have shown that Massachusetts lags behind other states in allocating critical resources—such as funds for arts education and capital improvements—to the arts sector. “There’s a need for strong and effective statewide advocacy,” he said, “because the arts are still an easy thing to cut.”

MASSCreative also detailed both candidates’ platforms if you want a bullet point rundown — here’s Coakley and here’s Baker.

And while you’re reading up on arts policy, why not check out this Boston.com article for a run down of the ballot questions too!

Happy voting!

Company One & IDEAS UMass Boston

Last Wednesday, Company One Theatre was one of 11 speakers at the 2014 IDEAS UMass Boston conference, an “event where some of the the region’s leading thinkers from every imaginable sector push boundaries and share their latest big ideas to create fertile ground for innovation.” Learn more about the history and mission of the IDEAS conference here.

Below, find the speech that C1’s Director of New Work, Ilana Brownstein, delivered. It was followed by a performance excerpt from BRAHMAN/I: A ONE-HIJRA STAND-UP COMEDY SHOW by Aditi Brennan Kapil, part of THE DISPLACED HINDU GODS TRILOGY, currently in production until Nov 22.

♦♦♦♦♦

Thank you so much for having us here this afternoon. My name is Ilana Brownstein, and I’m the Director of New Work at Company One Theatre, in residence at the Boston Center for the Arts in the South End. This season, we’re 16 years old. We were founded by graduates of Clark University who took the school’s motto to heart: “Challenge convention. Change our world.”

Continue reading →

#StaffChat: Envisioning Boston’s Cultural Future

Staff Chat posts feature articles and news that the C1 team discusses as part of our weekly all-staff meeting. We’d love to hear your thoughts, too — hit us up here in the comments, or on Facebook and Twitter!

♦♦♦♦♦

While C1 was busy opening our Displaced Hindu Gods Trilogy by Aditi Kapil over the past few weeks, some exciting announcements about the state of Boston’s cultural community were released. The staff is reading a few articles this week to catch up on the news – check out the links below:

“MFA study finds Bostonians love cultural events” by Melissa Hanson for the Boston Globe
“New Report: The Changing Face of Culture in Boston” by Ed Siegel for the WBUR Artery
“Boston launches cultural planning process” by Joel Brown for the Boston Globe

“Seven Moon Junction” by Shinique Smith, the Greenway Wall in Dewey Square

Continue reading →

THE DISPLACED HINDU GODS TRILOGY Opening Weekend Celebration

C1 artists, staff, cast and crew raised a glass to celebrate the opening of THE DISPLACED HINDU GODS TRILOGY after our first full Marathon Day! C1 Artistic Director Shawn LaCount gave a toast to the Artists, Cast, Crew, and Staff and C1 Co-Founder and SHIV Director thanked everyone for joining us to celebrate the C1 family.

CLICK HERE FOR EVENT PHOTOS

Studio Sessions for SHIV

A fun time was had by all at Merrill & Co. for our third Studio Session of the Trilogy! Guests were treated to a behind-the-scenes glance at a SHIV rehearsal and a chat with our very own Summer L. Williams. One guest even suggested a new option for a bit of stage magic – it might just end up in the show!

Studio Session for THE CHRONICLES OF KALKI

We hosted another great crowd at MELA for a delicious round of chatter before moving over to watch a rehearsal of THE CHRONICLES OF KALKI. Guests received swag bags and the inside scoop from our Dramaturgy team.

Studio Session for BRAHMAN/I: A ONE-HIJRA STAND UP COMEDY SHOW

Guests had a great time at MELA, with the delicious samosas and Lychee Martini being a particular hit. And we all enjoyed taking a look at the rehearsal process of a scene from the show! Aila Peck, who plays “B” was thrilled to have a live and laughing audience for her stand up.

C1 Studio Session for BRAHMAN/I: A ONE HIJRA STAND-UP COMEDY SHOW

A great crowd helped us fill MELA to capacity for this night of mingling and a sneak-peak behind the scenes of BRAHMAN/I. The samosas and Lychee Martinis were a huge hit with all. Guests got an inside look at rehearsal for a scene from the show, and our “B”, Aila Peck, was super psyched to have a live and laughing crowd for her stand-up.