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When James Laughlin founded New Directions he wanted the company to be a place where writers could carry out their experiments in print. His initial mission was simple: introduce American readers to  international, modernist writers who could not get their work published in the United States--Dylan Thomas, Ezra Pound, Marianne Moore, Henry Miller, Vladimir Nabokov (Laughlin rejected his scandalous blockbuster, Lolita!), and many more. "These writers were really radical,” says publisher Barbara Epler. Today they are part of the canon. Indeed, they are its twentieth-century core. 

There was an email invitation recently for a Zoom workshop in the UK, where one could learn how to draw a self-portrait or, as it was advertised: 'Learn how to draw a selfie...' Our Interactive Selfie Project, 2021, has wonderfully spoken to very many participants. There are now 130 selfies or almost selfies, as I called it, concluding phase 3. And, in fact, the project may yet continue.... -- Also, please read the article. Many, who have taken part, also contributed thoughtful messages.

The winners of the Virtual Berlinale, 2021, have received their Golden and Silver Bears and will return to Berlin in June for the award ceremonies and, so the world hopes, for a public viewing of their films.

The annual mid winter 10X10 New Play Festival new play festival is back for its tenth year. This time virtual from Barrington Stage Company in Pittsfield. The plays are generally fun. Ones your don't care for are gone in ten minutes and there are nine more to consider. There are always hits and misses and it's fun to participate and debate.

MASS MoCA staff petitioned the National Labor Relations Board today, March 8th, for a union election. The unit includes curators, art fabricators, educators, facilities, other front-facing staff, and more.

While no others loomed so large in the public’s fascination, “The Queen’s Gambit” was certainly not the first performance work to feature chess as a central theme.  Among others was Anthony Clarvoe’s play “The Art of Sacrifice” which was first produced in 2006. This production is captured with Zoom technology.  Director Desdemona Chiang has chosen to use conventional Zoom format with actors facing separate fixed cameras.  With this limitation, actors appear as talking heads delivering competing monologues.

MASS MoCA presents Close to You, a group exhibition that gathers the work of artists who probe the capacity of the visual arts to conjure feelings of closeness — both to others and to ourselves. On view from Saturday, April 3, through January 2022, in the Michael & Agnese Meehan Gallery, the exhibition features the work of Laura Aguilar, Chloë Bass, Maren Hassinger, Eamon Ore-Giron, Clifford Prince King, and Kang Seung Lee.

Patricia “Pat” White is a mainstay of the New Federal Theatre (NFT). For twenty-five years she has handled all the details of running the producing company. This allows founder Woodie King Jr. to read scripts until 2 o’clock in the morning.

Audiences will find a missing person in the show Safe House, a hybrid between a film and a live show. Sarasota's Urbanite Theatre's production runs through April 4.

This March, journalist Julie Scelfo will be hosting conversations about extraordinary women from the nineteenth century who have helped shape the American story with their achievements. The events will occur free on Zoom.

Skyspace will augment one of the world’s most comprehensive experiences of installations by James Turrell while realizing a vision the artist had when visiting the museum’s campus in 1987. The Skyspace will join a long-term exhibition of Turrell works at MASS MoCA, which includes one work from each of the six decades of the artist’s career.

“This extraordinary collection of images reminds us of photography’s power to preserve and amplify the full emotional range of lived experience. Together, these 48 photographs serve as both memory and documentary evidence of the extremes of war. They are powerful and memorable,” said Matthew Teitelbaum, Ann and Graham Gund Director. “Imagine the journey: passed from the photographer to a fellow prisoner in the Lodz Ghetto, hidden and brought to New York City in a small envelope, passed from one generation to another after a lifetime of care, and now preserved permanently in one of America’s great collections of photography. That, too, is powerful and memorable.”

On the fourth Monday of every month, the Copland House brings us Underscored,  zoomed performances from Aaron Copland’s study. Contemporary composers are featured. This must attend musical event is presented in collaboration with the Graduate Center of the City University  of New York. Founder and pianist Michael Boriskin introduced the premiere of John Musto’s Cello Sonata.

Last weekend, SF Opera offered four screenings in the drive-in movie format at Fort Mason.  The filming was the company’s 2009 fine production of Puccini’s brilliant “Tosca.”  A review of the film of a 12-year-old stage production that has completed its drive-in run may seem fatuous. However, it could be of interest to those who might consider viewing a future streaming of the production or buying an electronic copy.

The works featured are inspired by Andy Moerlein’s fascination with ancient practice of collecting and displaying unusual and often awkward stones. Brought indoors and placed on pedestals, these stones (Scholars Rocks, Viewing Stones) are transformed into icons of personal or imagined journeys. These rocks have influenced philosophers and artists for thousands of years.

In Compensation, the characters experience a profound yearning for family and connection. The world premiere production by Island City Stage, near Ft. Lauderdale, is streaming online through Feb. 28. Compensation is a lean, focused, heartfelt, and sometimes funny piece.

New Federal Theatre is presenting three classic plays during Black History Month. The troupe has mastered the streaming form, using individual, adjoining screens for the actors and cleverly breaking the 4th wall of streaming, the line that divides one screen from another. Malcolm X and Rev. Martin Luther King can even arm wrestle in this form.

As the Julian and Eunice Cohen President and CEO of the BSO, Gail Samuel will lead the Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Pops, and Tanglewood, and will oversee a robust, rapidly evolving slate of initiatives intended to expand the reach and relevance of orchestral music in the Boston area and beyond.

Actors' Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre in Coral Gables and Palm Beach Dramaworks in West Palm Beach will pair up to produce a play about Emily Dickinson. The co-production of The Belle of Amherst will stream from April 2-6. A crew will film the production on Palm Beach Dramaworks’ mainstage. No audience members will be present.

The Boston Symphony Orchestra is taking a big step toward its future with the appointment of Gail Samuel to succeed Mark Volpe this June, just in time for Tanglewood. 

The Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA) announces Glenn Kaino: In The Light of a Shadow from April 3, 2021 through September 4, 2022. Curated by Denise Markonish, the show will take over MASS MoCA’s signature Building 5 galleries, with a series of immersive installations that create a sense of wonder and hope while issuing an urgent call to action. 

Bang on a Can announces a dynamic slate of new virtual programming taking place from March through May 2021, all streaming at live.bangonacan.org. All shows are free to watch, but viewers are encouraged to consider purchasing a ticket to help support the performers and commissioned composers.

The work of Benny Andrews (November 13, 1930 – November 10, 2006) is complex, compelling and problematic. The son of Georgia sharecroppers he matured to be a true polymath in the art world. Today he is regarded as a leader in the development of African American art. He was also a part of the movements of figurative expressionism and the Rhino Horn group. This is the third exhibition and an extensive catalogue from Michael Rosenfeld Gallery which represents the estate.

Theater royalty recognizing theater, television and movie royalty was the fantastic vibe when the New Federal Theatre recently celebrated its Golden 50th Anniversary and successfully operating from 1970 to 2020 and of course, it will keep on keepin’ on! It was a celebration fit for a king and it was for a king, Mr. Woodie King Jr., founder of New Federal Theatre and a man I love to call Mr. Theatre.

Long Distance Affair takes you on a virtual trip across the world to view short plays. Miami's Juggerknot Theatre Company and New York's PopUP Theatrics run the program. Travel to Lagos, Nigeria; Mumbai, India; Mexico City, Mexico; Los Angeles, Calif., Portland, Oregon; and Beirut, Lebanon. The current run of Long Distance Affair continues through Feb. 21.