artsacrossamerica: Theater Residencies Take Shape in New York

Josephine Hagerty performs in HERE Arts Center's production of Phenomenon. Photo: Richard Termine.

The HERE Artist Residency Program, supported by the NEA, is a professional development program for mid-career performing and visual artists and collaborative artist teams. A result of the program is Phenomenon, which will play at the HERE Arts Center in New York City March 3-25, 2006. The lead artists are director/designer Alyse Rothman, playwright Gordon Cox, and set designer Michael Moore, and the play tells the stories of five people living at the foot of Mt. St. Helens, just 24 hours prior to the 1980 eruption.

International Dance Comes to Oregon

The contemporary dance company, Leigh Warren & Dancers, performs Quick Brown Fox at White Bird in Portland, Oregon. Photo: Alex Makeyev.

In collaboration with the Portland State University (PSU), the dance presenter White Bird holds an annual White Bird/PSU Dance Series that brings international dance companies to the Portland, Oregon, community. This season concludes on March 23-25, 2006, with the Portland debut of one of Australia's most important contemporary dance companies, Leigh Warren & Dancers, performing Quick Brown Fox, the result of collaboration between Leigh Warren and Europe's renowned William Forsythe (based in Frankfurt, Germany). Aside from the performances, Leigh Warren will hold a master class for the local dance community.

Memorial Celebrates Freedman Cemetery in North Carolina

The Oak Grove Freedman's Cemetery Memorial, designed by artist Maggie Smith and landscape architect Sam Reynolds. Photo: Jenn Gardner.

The Oak Grove Freedman's Cemetery in Salisbury, North Carolina has served as a burial ground for African Americans since 1770. The cemetery has suffered from disrepair, bodies being disinterred, and the removal of all grave markers. To bring the cemetery back into the community, the Waterworks Visual Arts Center, with support from the NEA, hired artist Maggie Smith and landscape architect Sam Reynolds to create a public art memorial to honor the historic site. The memorial is scheduled to be completed in March 2006.

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