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Artifacts - Sept. 17, 2008
* Ira Glass, host of NPR’s This American Life is coming to The Pageant Sept. 27, courtesy of Prison Performing Arts, a local organization with which he has worked closely. Back in 2002, Glass and the This American Life team produced a one-hour special about inmates at the Missouri Eastern Correctional Center in Pacific as they rehearsed and performed the final act of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. They were working under the watchful eye of PPA Artistic Director Agnes Wilcox, who is the wife of Word theater critic Bob Wilcox. The episode has been rebroadcast regularly since.
During his appearance at The Pageant, Glass will talk his innovative approach to radio and chat with some of those who took part in the Hamlet project and have since been released from jail. The event is a fundraiser for Prison Performing Arts. Tickets are $35 for general admission; $60 for preferred admission. Visit www.prisonperformingarts.org for more about the event.
* Fancy having a drink with conceptual artist Joseph Beuys or visionary architect Buckminster Fuller? Don’t let the fact that both are dead put you off. White Flag Projects in Forest Park Southeast is experimenting with a monthly cocktail hour, accompanied by footage of rarely seen interviews with various artists playing in the background. The first event — Drinks with Joseph Beuys — is from 5 to 7 p.m. Oct. 8. Other artists in the series include abstract painter Agnes Martin, performance artist Allan Kaprow, filmmaker Jeremy Blake and sculptor and painter Sol Lewitt. Visit www.whiteflagprojects.org or call531-3442 for more info.
* Alicia Graf — formerly a principal dancer with Alvin Ailey, the Dance Theater of Halrem and Complexions — has been named assistant director of COCAdance, one of the Center of Creative Arts’ two student dance companies. In addition to working at COCA, she’ll be pursing a master’s in non-profit management at Washington University. Graf calls COCA “an incredible organization that truly exemplifies the meaning of arts education.”
* Congrats to Aaron Coffman whose screenplay The Drowning was named winner of Cinema St. Louis’ annual CinemaSpoke screenplay contest. The screenplay is set during a devastating flood, and an investigation into a murder reveals more than one violent act. Coffman also took the top prize last year for Somewhere Less Familiar, and his directorial debut, Texas Snow, was shown at this year’s St. Louis Filmmakers Showcase.
* Calling all Jane Austen fans… The Rep is producing Emma, the musical, from Oct. 8 to Nov. 2, and it has teamed up with the Regional Arts Commission to offer discounted tickets to any book club that pledges to plunge into the book. Austen’s 1816 novel follows Emma Woodhouse as she tries her hand, none too successfully, at matchmaking. Call 968-9489 for ticket information.
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