Quixotic "Paix Reveuse" promo

Quixotic is an ensemble of musicians, dancers, aerialists, composers, designers, and choreographers collaborating to produce new forms of artistic expression. This inventive group of artists goes beyond the limits of any specific art form to create a total sensory experience for its audience. Quixotic makes performance art interactive and eliminates the barrier between performer and audience.

Guitarist Andy McKee interview by Bill Blankenship

When it comes to a current Who's Who of guitarists, Andy McKee, of Topeka, is on the list.

more at the Topeka Capital-Journal

Simon Carrington Chamber Singers review by Timothy McDonald

Simon Carrington enjoys a long and storied relationship with the Kansas City region. When his professional ensemble, the Simon Carrington Chamber Singers, performs in Kansas City, choral music enthusiasts understandably sit up and take notice, especially since concerts are few and far between. Their performance Saturday afternoon at Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral was well worth the wait.

more at kansascity.com

Robert Trussell visits Broadway

So, one day I was walking down a street in the Theater District and on a building saw a series of posters advertising a musical that doesn’t yet exist — “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark.”

more at kansascity.com

Rock and roll lives on with Muzak

The best public place in the Kansas City metro area to hear great old rhythm and blues music on a Saturday night is…a Hy-Vee supermarket in Overland Park.  (Huh? What the?)

more at examiner.com

Kansas City Kansas Street Blues Festival canceled

After a nine-year run, the Kansas City, Kan., Street Blues Festival has been canceled this year. The event, which was to have run June 25 and 26, has been blocked this year, organizers say, by new laws that make it illegal to drink on sidewalks or in streets. In the past, festival goers brought their own coolers. Organizers say they hope legal adjustments can be made by 2011 so the festival can be scheduled at 13th Street and State Avenue.

more at kansascity.com

Kauffman Performing Arts Center's new organ

The future concert hall remains a warren of scaffolding and dust. Here and there, you can see progress: Acoustic plaster three inches thick has defined much of the sloped ceiling. A wall section of slatted wood projects an idea of the finished space to come

more at kansascity.com

Gale Tallis named director of Folly Theater

After a nationwide search, Folly Theater directors have selected a new leader from within: Gale Tallis, the current director of operations.

more at kansascity.com

Cast of "Pearl" to attend free local screening

“Pearl,” an independent family film, will have a special one-night-only screening 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Studio Movie Grill at Zona Rosa. Cast members will attend and hold a Q&A session after the film. Admission is free.

more at kansascity.com

Wild West Film Festival returning to Lawrence

The Wild West Film Festival is back in Lawrence this summer to celebrate its five year anniversary. The Wild West Film Festival is an annual festival that pushes groups of filmmakers to write, shoot, and edit a five minute film within 48 hours.

more at Press Release Central

Mitchell Kilpatrick interview by Kelly Evenson

Kilpatrick has always been interested in music. He said he is not sure when it became less of a hobby and more of a passion, but it is definitely something that is in his blood.

more at The Examiner

Lexie Hairston wins scholarship from Starlight

As a 3-year-old, Alexandria “Lexie” Hairston told her mother she wanted to be a superstar. As she grew older, her dream never changed.



more at Sun Publications

Local Artist Overthrow photos by Todd Zimmer

Last Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, the Riot Room hosted the Local Artist Overthrow, a showcase of 26 local bands and artists in one venue. Tireless Todd Zimmer worked a marathon weekend photographing 22 of those bands. Present Magazine has extensive photos.

Photo set 1
Photo set 2 
Photo set 3 (with review)

Broadway Across America "West Side Story" new preview

Blues festivals past, present, future

The loss of the Kansas City, Kansas Street Blues Festival, at least for this year, brings to mind other great festivals that the Kansas City area has lost.

more at examiner.com 
and a preview of the Gladstone Summertime Bluesfest

"Arkansas Traveler" interview by Robert Butler

About 40 folks — technicians, actors, Civil War re-enactors — have gathered this weekend in the woods outside Weston to shoot a movie. No, that’s not exactly right. They’re here to shoot a trailer — a preview — for a movie called “Arkansas Traveler” that hasn’t been made yet. The trailer will be shown to potential investors in an attempt to raise the $10 million the project will require.

more at kansascity.com

Topeka's first Battle of the Bands

Eighteen bands of various genres — from classic and hard rock cover bands to indie original rock and metal ones — will compete June 5-6 at the first Topeka and Midwest Music Scene Battle of the Bands.

more at the Topeka Capital-Journal

Charlotte Street taking applications for studio residency

Charlotte Street Foundation’s Urban Culture Project seeks applications from artists interested in being considered for its Studio Residency Program for both visual and performing artists. Applications are next due Friday, July 16.
more at the Charlotte Street Foundation

How KU students saved the Creede Opera House

The year was 1966, and the tiny mountain city of Creede, Colo., was in imminent danger of becoming a ghost town. Half a dozen local silver mines, the burg's economic lifeline for decades, were closing. Something had to be done, and fast.

more at the Lawrence Journal-World

MET's "Light on the Piazza" review by Robert Trussell

"The Light in the Piazza," an award-winning quasi-operatic musical about a rich woman's quandary when her mentally damaged daughter falls in love with a handsome young Italian, gets a workmanlike production from the feisty Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre.

more at kansascity.com

KC Young Audiences calls for scholarship assistance

Spring is almost over and children’s minds have begun to wander from the school room to fun Summer activities. Hundreds of children will dream about exploring the arts and expressing themselves at the Community School of the Arts’ Summer Camps. However, many of them won’t be able to join their friends at our Summer Camps without financial assistance.

more at KC Studio

Show Me Marriage Equality Bus heads to Iowa

Organized by St. Louis gay activists Ed Reggi and Scott Emanuel, the Show Me Marriage Equality Bus has made three trips to Iowa since its inaugural journey in May 2009.  For noted playwright, director, and civil rights activist Joan Lipkin, artistic director of St. Louis’ That Uppity Theatre Company, the historic bus trip was just the ticket to galvanize her latest production. 

more at Camp

Todd Norris experiments with 9:16 aspect ratio

Tallscreen GH1 from Todd Norris on Vimeo.

My first experiment shooting in a 9:16 aspect ratio. I know a lot of people hate it or think it's the sign of an amateur, but I think it has it's place and can be cool.

Fire by Jason at Byrd Production's Laidback Fundraiser

Jason Smith in April 2009 outside on the lawn at Just Off Broadway in Kansas City performing a fire act for Beth Byrd's Laid Back Fundraiser. This focuses mostly on the part of Jason's performance when he spins up the flame into a pair of big fireballs in a barbell configuration.

Liberty Arts Squared preview by Angie Anaya Borgedalen

If Mother Nature cooperates, thousands of visitors are expected to converge on downtown Liberty Saturday, June 5, for the first Liberty Arts Squared and for Squared Off, a lost-arts event, also scheduled that day just south of the Square at Corbin Mill.

more at the Liberty Tribune
and at Liberty Arts Squared

Actor Tim Scott's Essentials

Kansas City actor Tim Scott is probably best known as the MC for the Royals at Kaufmann Stadium.

more at Ink

MET's "Light on the Piazza" review by Russ Simmons

The Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre’s touching production of the 2005 Tony Award-winning Broadway musical “The Light in the Piazza” provides a sterling case study of how music can completely transform a story.

more at Sun Publications

Olympic Size interview by Timothy Finn

At the end of 2009, local filmmakers Justin Gardner and Trevor Hawkins asked the band Olympic Size to score their short film, “We Will Make You Whole Again.”

more at kansascity.com

Summer arts bonanza from the Kansas City Star

Kansas City. Summer. Think brutal. As in brutal heat, unpredictable storms and humidity that can soak your sticky body through and through. So why, you may ask, would such a place have so much outdoor entertainment?

Outdoor theatre

Outdoor music

Classical concerts
Jazz concerts

Northland Sweet Adelines seeking singers

Some sing lead, others sing backup, but the blend of different voices makes for a harmonic sisterhood for the Northland Chapter of the Sweet Adelines International.

more at the Liberty Tribune

KC Uncovered photos by Todd Zimmer

Todd Zimmer documents three of the bands performing at recordBar on May 22, 2010 for KC Uncovered, a night of music organized by Bill Sundahl and Slimm Adkins where five local bands – American Catastrophe, The Last Call Girls, The Afterparty, The Bleachbloodz, and Federation of Horsepower – cover the music of their peers.

more at Present Magazine

Cristo Rey seeking videographer for graduation

From the Independent Filmmakers Coalition:

Cristo Rey is an inner city high school that strives to break the cycle of poverty through education and work training. We’re part of a national network that’s transforming urban education. Things are pretty exciting around here these days – we’re gearing up for our historic first graduation on June 4!

We’re seeking a videographer who can offer raw video capture of our graduation ceremony. Hoping for a freelancer. This isn’t in our budget and someone who could do it pro bono would be ideal – it’s a historic moment for the community and the city, and we’d be honored to have a professional cover the event. Do you have an opportunities listing or email list where I may get in touch with your members? I’d love to, at the very least, put a feeler out there for those who may be interested!

Sarah Koci
Development Associate
816.457.6044 phone
816.595.2807 direct

MET's "Light in the Piazza" review by Alan Scherstuhl

Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre's bare-bones production of the intelligent but swoony musical drama The Light in the Piazza moved me on its own terms the second time I saw it. The first time I saw it, everyone in the show pretended that the leading man wasn't bleeding from an open wound on his face.

more at The Pitch

All you need to know about "Dead Wait"

If you haven't check out the Kansas City-based web series Dead Wait then you suck, and I'm cooler than you.

more at Tony's Kansas City

Art Institute film finalist for student Academy Award

They had no idea that making a stop-motion animated movie would be so difficult, so exhausting. Each scene is filmed one frame at a time while doll-like “actors” are manipulated between shots to give the illusion of movement. But for Kansas City Art Institute grads Jeremy Casper, Isaiah Powers and Stuart Bury, the stress and weariness have paid off.

more at kansascity.com

Jazz happenings this week

Plastic Sax has the rundown on this week's jazz events

Blue Springs City Theatre seeking orchestra director

"The Sound of Music" will play this summer at Blue Springs City Theatre. The production is in need of an orchestra director for the show. The show dates are July 15-18, 22-25. Performances are at the Blue Springs High School Auditorium. The position pays $150.  

The following instruments are needed: Flute, oboe, clarinet, Bassoon, horn, 2 trumpets, 2 trombones, Tuba, 2 violins, Viola, cello, bass.

You can set your own rehearsal schedule for the orchestra. They usually only practice 2-3 times before joining the cast. The orchestra joins the cast on July 12, 13, 14 and then the run of the show.
If you are interested in the position of orchestra director, please email your music resume to Sheila Cage, carpentercage@comcast.net

more at Broadway World

Broadway Across America "Shrek the Musical" preview

Coyote Bill interview by Skaught Patterson

The Tavern on Green has become the oasis of blues in the Lee's Summit area, and Coyote Bill and His Wild Ones will amp up the atmosphere there on Saturday, May 29. Coyote and His Wild Ones turned in a great performance at Tavern on Green soon after the club opened as one of the highlights of a ten band, ten hour, amps up to ten blues event. A full night of uninterrupted Wild Ones should make for a slide guitar fan's dream. The Examiner asked Coyote Bill a few questions about the band.
more at examiner.com

Awadagin Pratt to perform at benefit

With dreadlocks and an unusual style, musician Awadagin Pratt has made classical music more real and relevant to urban audiences. He will perform from 7 to 9 p.m. Saturday at the Afrikan Centered Collegium Campus, 3500 East Meyer Blvd. The performance is presented by the Lady of Freedom Monument Foundation’s Urban Wellness Campus, a health and wellness “chamber of commerce” that offers free workshops and demonstrations to promote healthy lifestyles and holistic wellness approaches in the area. General admission is $35, and VIP tickets are $75. They can be purchased at www.ladyoffreedom.org.

Martin Sexton entertains fans who couldn't get tickets

A rather fantastic black and white clip features Martin Sexton and his band singing "Gypsy Woman" outside his tour bus for a group of fans who were unable to get tickets to his sold out show.

more at Tony's Kansas City

Jonathan Dillon seeking actors for commercial shoot

From the Independent Filmmakers Coalition:

This is Jonathan Dillon from Rigged (aka Fight Night). I am directing and producing a book trailer for this company out of Los Angeles called ASI. But we are shooting in and around the greater Kansas City area. Basically we create a fictional movie trailer for a book that is about to be published and then show it online to gain exposure and market the book. It is very low budget and can only offer $50 a day for each part, but thought maybe you would know a few talented people.

Below is the cast description and we are holding auditions: THIS FRIDAY, MAY 28TH in Lenexa. Please have any actors interested to send an email to this address c47pictures@yahoo.com with a head shot and resume to set up an audition time this Friday. We will be filming the following week. Also, here is a link for an example of a trailer they have done before: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kvu-aPi8PaA

CHARACTERS:

ALICIA is of Italian decent, dark hair and dark eyes, completely ravishing at the age of 25

ESTEBAN ALVEZ, 45, dark haired with olive-coloured skin. Although attractive there is something sinister about him.

MABEL, 13, her long black hair sets off her green eyes. She is the younger sister of Alicia and is pregnant.

ROBERTO BURAN, 50, dashing, and has lots of money.

JUANITA, mid 30’s, is having a secret relationship with Esteban.

There is NO NUDITY, however there is a love scene between Alicia and Roberto in which they will be kissing. Talent must be comfortable with this.

best
Jonathan Dillon
c47pictures@yahoo.com
Director/Producer/Editor FIGHT NIGHT
www.jonathandillon.com 

Lee's Summit West's Ben Martin retiring after 35 years

After 35 years —18 of them in the Lee’s Summit School District — Martin is retiring from teaching high school theater.

more at kansascity.com

Guest-conductor LeRoy Esau interview by Christine Metz

Hutchinson resident LeRoy Esau, a former assistant director for Midwestern Music and Art Camp, will serve as the guest conductor for the “National Emblem” march during the Lawrence City Band’s first summer performance tonight.

more at the Lawrence Journal-World

KC Symphony season finale preview

Kansas City Symphony Music Director Michael Stern previews the exciting Classical Series season finale featuring pianist Vladimir Feltsman. Call 816-471-0400 to purchase tickets today or visit kcsymphony.org for more information!

Hellhound Junkies review by Tom Dalton

On Friday, May 14, 2010, the local Kansas City band The Hellhound Junkies performed in front of an almost packed house at the Crosstown Station located in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri.

more at examiner.com

World War I Musuem Memorial Day events

Free Lecture: "Gold Star Mothers and World War I"
Saturday, May 29, 1 p.m.
Dr. Lisa Budreau, historian and author, will draw from her new book "Bodies of War: World War I and the Politics of Commemoration in America, 1919-1933" to talk about Gold Star Mothers. Book signing to follow. This free event will be held in the Museum's J.C. Nichols Auditorium.

Vintage Military Vehicle Display
Sunday-Monday, May 30 - 31
The Military Vehicle Preservation Society displays vintage military vehicles on the Southeast Lawn of the National World War I Museum. Their members will be available to answer your questions about their collections.

Celebration at the Station
Sunday, May 30, 4 - 10 p.m.
Enjoy a spectacular patriotic concert by the Kansas City Symphony. The free performance starts at 7:30 p.m. and concludes with a fantastic fireworks display over the Liberty Memorial Tower. Bring a blanket, chairs or a picnic and enjoy this great tradition. Celebration at the Station is sponsored by Bank of America. For details visit www.CelebrationAtTheStation.com.

Memorial Day Observance Ceremony
Monday, May 31, 9:30 a.m.
The outdoor ceremony begins at 9:30 a.m. with a color guard parade and includes performances by the American Legion Band, dedication of newly installed Walk of Honor bricks and a keynote address by Chaplain Major R. Patrick Moore. The Museum will open immediately following the ceremony (approximately 11 a.m.). Free parking and shuttle service are available on May 31 from the parking lots at Grand & 27th Streets from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Free Movie: "Gold Star Mothers: Pilgrimage of Remembrance"
Monday, May 31, 1 p.m.
This 2004 film, produced by the University of Illinois public television station, examines government-funded trips that took mothers to WWI cemeteries (60 minutes). This free event will be held in the Museum's J.C. Nichols Auditorium. Part of the "The Great War, the Great Movies" with a series theme of WWI documentaries.

Free Lecture: Americans All! Foreign-born Soldiers in World War I
Tuesday, June 1, 7 p.m.
Dr. Nancy Gentile Ford, Professor of History, Bloomsburg University, Pennsylvania will draw from her recent book Americans All! Foreign-born Soldiers in World War I to highlight the contributions of Italian Americans. Book signing to follow. The series is made possible by a grant from the Barton P. and Mary D. Cohen Charitable Trust and the Harry Portman Charitable Trust. The "Americans All" Lecture Series explores the important role American minorities played during the Great War. This free event will be held in the Museum's J.C. Nichols Auditorium.

Museum and Memorial Hours for Memorial Day Weekend
Please note that regular admission fees apply throughout the weekend.

Saturday, May 29 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sunday, May 30 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Monday, May 31 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Tuesday, June 1, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The Museum will be open on First Fridays from June through September until 9 p.m. Join us on June 4 and tour the Museum and the Tower.


more at the National World War I Museum

Lawrence Arts Center's summer classes and events

The Lawrence Arts Center has announced the Summer 2010 Arts in Action Course and Events. To view the catalog, click here. To enroll, you may do so by phone at (785) 843-2787, online, or in person at 940 New Hampshire Street in downtown Lawrence. For more information, visit www.lawrenceartscenter.org.

University of Central Missouri's Summer Season

The Central Missouri Repertory Theatre at the University of Central Missouri launches its 29th annual summer season featuring the musical, I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change, and a touring children’s show, Everykid.

more at the University of Central Missouri

Filmmaker Justin Parlette's work at UMKC

Justin Parlette, Support System Administrator with UMKC Information Services, has launched a locally-produced web series.

more at UMatters

Volunteer Lawyers & Accountants hosting ethics seminar

Join the Kansas City Volunteer Lawyers and Accountants for the Arts and learn the ethical implications of representing artists with a two hour continuing legal education seminar “The Ethics of Representing Artists Pro Bono” at 6pm June 30 at the Arts Incubator, 115 W 18th St. 2 hours Ethics Credit in Kansas and 2.2 hours Ethics Credit in Missouri. For more information call (816) 472-3535 or visit www.KCVLAA.org

Egads! "Eating Raoul" rehearsal

Here are some clips of the cast of Egads! Theatre's "Eating Raoul - The Musical" as they run through their first read-through/sing-through rehearsal together.

McPherson Opera House restored and reopened

A 122-year-old opera house in McPherson, KS was saved from destruction. Recently restored, the town's opera house lives to see another curtain rise. 

listen at KCUR

Plastic Sax laments the meager audience for jazz

As has been noted elsewhere, there's no shortage of great new jazz. But there's an increasingly limited number of people willing to consume it.

more at Plastic Sax

Crown Center's summer promo

Unicorn "And Her Hair Went With Her" review by Paul Donovan

For the final show of the Unicorn Theatre’s season, playwright Zina Camblin gives us And Her Hair Went With Her, a funny and thought-provoking look at the modern African-American female. It’s a two-woman show, and both actresses portray a number of black women with various personalities… and personal issues.

more at Camp

Broadway Across America interview on KCTV

Nancy Besa with Broadway Across America is interviewed on KCTV5 about the next season of shows.

more at KCTV

[thanks, Tony]

AIDS Quilt dinner with musician Nhoji

Nhojj is the first black male to win an OUTMusic award. His song “Love” won in the R&B category. 

more at Camp