The 2005 Live Arts Festival
and Philly Fringe:
http://www.livearts-fringe.org
Sept 3-17, 2005
For the complete unedited galleries, scroll down to the bottom of this page. Or check back later for an index by show.
Loosely edited photo galleries by date.
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For information on using these images or getting better quality versions, click here.
The quicktime movie of the entire festival is now available for download! This flipbook style animation runs through the entire unedited series of photos (over twenty thousand frames) in just under half an hour.
A compressed streaming version is available via google video here: http://tinyurl.com/79awk
The original big movie file is here: http://tinyurl.com/9x2jg - please pass along the link to anyone that would be interested. It's a huge (350mb) file, so it'll take hours to download- make sure to save the file to your hard drive to avoid having to re-download it later!
If you enjoy these images from the festivals, please contribute a little bit to the photo fund... if everyone that downloads some of these photos gives me a few bucks, it'll pay for my next hard drive.
The last night's late night cabaret featured some traditional head-shaving onstage, and the box office staff's skit where they mocked some of the silliest phone calls that they received during the course of the festival.
The night ended with a late night dance party featuring Animus- Last year I stayed until the last folks left at sunrise; I felt a little bit guilty leaving early this year but I had to get home by six to get a few hours sleep before running off and shooting three thousand more frames at my friend Hannah's wedding.
After the 17th, the performances are over but there's still plenty of work to do- the tech crew are busy taking things apart, the box office staff are counting ticket stubs and crunching numbers, and the admin staff are doing all the followup and then start preparations for next year...
The festival featured some site-specific 'happenings' such as Rolling Naked
Measuring Man recounted the life of Leonardo DaVinci through puppetry and movement-
I went back to catch Le Foulard Orange one more time -
Red-Eye to Havre de Grace was another one of those shows that I should have caught during a rehearsal rather than a performance- really interesting show, but quiet and with tricky lighting-
I went back and caugt an actual performance of Pig Iron Theatre's 'Pay Up' - I'd caught a rehearsal before, but seeing it with a real crowd spending real money was great fun, and I got to sit in on some of the scenes to actually get a sense of what the audience was seeing.
There was always more fun every night at the Late Night Cabaret-
Electra ran the entire length of the festival in an outdoor performance near the Cabaret space- Tricky to shoot, as it was lit entirely with flashlights...
Tonight you've got two chances ( 7:30 and 10 ) to catch Balm in Gilead, a play that chronicles 24 hrs in a diner (and is actually held in a diner) - One bit of advice- get there a bit early and hang out outside- the actors are in character and setting the scene on the streetcorner for a good while before the show actually starts and they're great.
I caught a rehearsal of Siobhan Davies' Birdsong which takes place at The Rotunda in west philly- while I haven't seen the costumes or full light, it's looking to be a gorgeous piece, and it's great to see that long empty space be used. Check it out...
On tuesday I caught Tadhg Stray Wandered In, which was a great one man modern Irish play starring Matt Pfeiffer. It was the last night, but hopefully Inis Nua Theatre Co will be putting it on again-
Another anxiously awaited piece is Myra Bazell and Madison Cario's Le Foulard Orange - If you've seen the posters for this one, let me tell you, the jurry rigging involved in making that image was a bit crazy. Luckily I didn't fall and crush Myra and Madison before they brought this beautiful piece to us... It was dark, and really tricky to shoot, so I'm hoping to go catch it again-
Just Added: two more shows for New Slang! I love these guys- if you thought you'd missed the show, you've got two more chances, Thursday and Friday at 7pm.
It's the last week of the festivals! Make sure that you grab your friends that might be missing out, and make sure that they go catch some shows, and take them out to play at the cabaret afterwards!
A modern version of a classic Myth, Phaedra runs through the 17th, just blocks away from the cabaret.
I caught Leana Song's Say What! on it's last night, which means that you've missed it. Hurry up and call the box office to find out what you can still get to!
Another good show that's finished it's run is Firebrand Theory's rather masochistic Venus in Furs.
Last night at the Late Night Cabaret was the Peek-a-Boo Revue's burlesque show- unfortunately I was pretty wiped out and moving in slow motion, and went to bed early without good photos to show... It's this whole three hours sleep and then tons of computer work thing that's getting in the way of the photography- who wants to be my intern next year? :)
Sunday's Late Night Cabaret was hosted by the one and only Miss Martha Graham Cracker-
Saturday's Late Night Cabaret featured Madi DiStefano's Tech Appreciation skit, where the folks who usually work behind the scenes were recognized, and got to spend some time on stage (except for the poor few who were stuck running the sound and lights, as while the actors do a good job of impersonating tech folks onstage, they don't quite know how to run the soundboard... or maybe Mike won't even let them near his gear. )
Susan DiPronio's Whispers, Songs and Ghosts from the Past recounts the experience of surviving breast cancer.
Ballet X's 2Differet was gorgeous, but I would have gotten way better shots had I caught a rehearsal and been able to run around up front. so it goes...
The photos from Accidental Nostalgia are the ones that I almost lost through stupid computer problems- a lot of stress and several hours of data recovery later, all was well. Thank you to Lexar for their Image Rescue software. The piece itself was great, superb use of multimedia and Cynthia Hopkins has a gorgeous voice.
Friday night's cabaret featured multiple appearances by Jody Sperling's Time Lapse Dance.
The Late Night Cabaret was hosted by The Legendary Wid, whose prop-driven comedic antics were part of my first festival cabaret five years ago or so.
The Emerging Artists seriese #2 featured work by Makoto Hirano, Robin Marcotte and Devynn Emory.
On friday evening I explored Big House's Zone, a labyrinth that walks you through a physical representation of Apollinaire‘s poem Zone and culminates in Beckett's A Piece of Monologue.
This weekend was the last time that Monica Bill Barnes' dancers frolicked in the fountain at Love Park-
The tech crew has been busy at work preparing west philly's Rotunda at 40th and Walnut.
The space, which is normally vacant, will host Siobhan Davies Dance Company's Bird Song
if you reload the page, you'll get a different set of photos from the same shows.
Leah Stein's 'Bardo' is another gorgeous dance piece that, like New Slang, surrounds the audience with a lot of unexpected action from all directions. It takes place right at dusk, and with the weather we've been having, it's an extra-gorgeous experience.
The piece takes place in the vacant lot across from the Kimmel Center on south Broad street in center city.
While in center city, I went over to catch a very fun musical number: Medusa Sings the Blues. Apropriately enough, it takes place in the Medusa Lounge at 21st and Chestnut.
After that, I had only a few blocks to go to the Adrienne Theater to make it in time for Squid and Fishy, a piece about two troubled punk kids with a baby on the way. It closes tonight, so if you're interested, make sure you get there!
And as always, the Late Night Cabaret is always the place to go after the shows... and always free.
Last night's Late Night Cabaret featured the Car Music Project- these guys took apart a car and used all the pieces to build instruments- pretty wild.
I got a chance to check out Monica Bill Barnes' Thank You and Good Night at the Painted Bride- a very funny piece, but tough to shoot because good bits of it happen in complete silence... In addition to checking it out, don't forget that friday and saturday are your last chance to check out her crew's antics in the Love Park fountain.
Kate Watson-Wallace's The Mentalist was really tough to shoot due to tricky lighting; I'd have to go back a few more times to really do it justice- luckily I got there a bit early and got some fun shots of the performers getting ready too.
Earlier in the day was a rehearsal for Miro Dance Theater's piece Hurdy Gurdy- I'd already caught a brief preview at the Rockys, but it was well worth seing the whole piece. Some nice multimedia work on top of some excellent dance.
Madame Douce-Amère was a piece that I'd been looking forward to long before the festival ever since they'd asked me to do their promo photos for them. It's pretty unique in that it's a theater piece manages to captivate the audience and ellicit a wide range of emotion without a single word ever being said by the two characters.
Martha McDonald's "drown'd in mine own tears" just opened, is a pretty wild solo show combining knitting, singing, mythology and powerful personal narative.
Robin Marcotte delivered a great performance at the Late Night Cabaret, and I'm very much looking forward to seeing his whole piece in Emerging Artists Program 2
The festival's army of ushers, house managers and firewatch staff are all volunteers- it's a great way to help out, and get to see shows for free. They could use more volunteers right now, so click here for info!
The main stars of the tuesday night cabaret were Montazh. Their show "Brown Girl" is this weekend only at the CEC
While you're having a drink and checking out what's on stage at the Late Night Cabaret, you can also find a daily updated slideshow of my pics projected in the bar area-
make sure to take time during lunch to catch Monica Bill Barne's Limelight Project in Love Park- it's only 15 minutes and great fun... and if you like her work, there's also a longer performance at the painted bride-
Brian Sanders and co take to West Philly with Patio Plastico, showing at what was the Cinemagic movie theater.
One of the festival's first events was the Toilet Tricycle Race, which was great fun. You can still find these contraptions floating around the city, and I think there's one you can try out at the Box Office.
Things actually got started a bit before Sept 2, with a VIP party at Cinemagic in conjunction with the opening of Patio Plastico
Nichole Canuso Dance Co's We Spar Down The Lane is a really well done mix of dance and clowning. Highly recommended. And not just because I took their promo photos for them. :)
Pig Iron Theatre's Pay Up takes place in the National Building (where the Box Office is) - their space has been painted all white, and the performance is a bit of a 'choose your own adventure' game- you'll have to think fast and decide which scenes you want to pay for... And when you walk out, stick around for New Slang which is right in the same building.
One of the great things about the festival is how any venue can be turned into a performance space. Here Stephen Marc Beaudoin performs Franz Schubert: A Life in Pierre's Costume Shop.
Further proof that anything can be called a 'performance': the members of 1812 Productions and InterAct Theater Co organized a game of kickball as their fringe piece.
New Slang (by the Reactionaries / Bald Mermaids) is one of those shows that I could shoot ten times and still have fun with- the dancers move amidst the audience and they keep you guessing as to what's going to happen next...
I could tell you all about how interesting Big Dance Theater's Plan B was, but if you haven't already caught it,it's too late- their run is already over. Many of the festival's shows have shorter runs, so hurry up and get your tickets before you miss more good stuff...
There's no doubt that between the performers, staff audiences, there's always an abundance of amazing people around at the festival
If you'd like to get a chance to trade ideas with some of them, some of the performances are followed with talkback sessions, where you can ask questions or offer feedback on the work you've just seen.
For a fun adventure in Northern Liberties (and an interesting comment on gentrification) check out Kaibutsu's Northern Liberty
but if a short comedy about the Vatican's big secret sounds interesting, check out Pontiff Blues
The Festival Staff have been hard at work all summer to make this whole thing happen. If you're interested in helping them out for next year, or maybe even right now, click here for volunteer info.
If an adventure in a cathedral in West Philly is what you're looking for, then you should be on the set of New Paradise Laboratories' Planetary Enzyme Blues
Another event that has already passed is The Rockys: the awards ceremony for the Philadelphia Dance community.
And of course let's not forget the folks working behind the scenes to make sure that everything works right- I neglected the tech crew a bit this year, as I was on my fieldtrip to Los Angeles during much of the load-in work, but they've been slaving away getting everything set up, and will continue to be at it backstage during the whole festival and after it...
If you enjoy the photos from the festival, check back here when it's over for information on getting copies.
Wait, you want more?
Ok, here's the entire unedited take from 2005:
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Click here for the photos from the 2004 festivals
The video of the 2004 festival is now on the Google Video Player click here. (this movie runs through all 18 thousand+ frames of the 2004 festival at 12 frames per second, creating a 26 minute turbo-slideshow.)
Or, you can download the entire quicktime source here.
This project entails a whole lot of sweat, and yes, a bit of blood... Please remember that the little bit of cash that the festival and assorted artists give me barely covers the back end costs of this whole crazy thing; It's something that I do because I love all that goes on with the festival; while it's not a big moneymaker, it's a heck of a lot of a fun.
So, if you feel like making a contribution to the gear and archive fund, I certainly won't turn it down. If everyone chips in a few bucks, it might even make a dent in that sixteen hundred dollar hard drive I just had to buy for my archive.
Also, If you know folks that need photography, send 'em my way. And, take a few minutes to check out the rest of the site and tell folks about my fieldtrip project.
Thanks!
-jj
PS If you hit that donate button, then thank you very much,
but don't do it before first giving a little bit of cash to the hurricane relief efforts.
