July 2009 Archives

Yesterday morning I went onto the San Diego Fox affiliate's morning show to promote our International Youth Orchestra concert. I was joined by 21 year old flutist Kimberley Beimen from The Netherlands. There is nothing profound in what we say, it's morning TV after all. We were there to wake people up.

I did come away wondering if backstage at vaudeville was similar to what I experienced. A producer got us on the show, a technician took us to our interview/performance location, and a host arrived with her notes for a 4 minute segment. They had other "acts" lined up to follow us - including a car dealership and dancers. The hosts were irreverent and the technicians harried. Knowing that so many vaudeville performers found second careers in TV, it doesn't surprise me that it still has that rushed but ready feel.

And if you're in San Diego this weekend, we'd love to see you at our concert on Saturday night at the Balboa Theatre. It won't feel like vaudeville other than the fact that the Balboa is a full restored 1920's vaudeville theater. Check out the photos at  www.sandiegotheatres.org

 

 

Comic-Con International evaporated for another year on Sunday night from the bayside convention center in San Diego. This is no ordinary trade show - its a festival of 125,000 people gathering over four days to celebrate the epic stories they love from comics, movies, video games, and novels. The Con mission statment is:

Comic-Con International is a nonprofit educational organization dedicated to creating awareness of, and appreciation for, comics and related popular art forms, primarily through the presentation of conventions and events that celebrate the historic and ongoing contribution of comics to art and culture.

The street banners hung all over town simplify this mission to the slogan "Celebrating the Popular Arts."

The arts world outside the scope of Comic-Con has much to learn about its growth from 300 isolated comic and science fiction fans seeking to create a community gathering in 1970 to bursting the seams of San Diego's convention facilities. For three years in a row it has sold out months in advance, and the local tourism industry is pushing hard for a convention center expansion so San Diego doesn't lose this homegrown extravaganza.

Beneath the media and product hype that dominates the exhibit floor are three factors that I believe still make Comic-Con a successful arts focused community event.

1 - Celebration of the artists, creators, and their legacy. Comic-Con has its own Hall of Fame, annual awards, and numerous panel discussions focus on the history of comics.

2 - Access to the artists and creators. Whether it is the opportunity to ask a quesiton at a panel (there are hundreds), getting an autograph, or even seeing someone amongst the crowd on the exhibit floor (I passed Ray Bradbury last year - an attendee since the beginning), the attendees and artists are excited to be interacting with each other.

Here is my son with writer Tom Taylor after getting his autograph and chatting about their mutual enthusiasm for Star Wars.

3 - Fans are full participants. They come in costume, they are featured in games during panels and at exhibit booths, they are officially respected and celebrated along with the artists.

The "fine arts" and "performing arts" don't make these three factors a part of their everyday operation. We don't bring back the legion of actors or musicians that have performed on our stages for an annual celebration, our artists are not regularly available for playful interactions (post-show talk backs are generally so serious), and we don't encourage our audiences to add their own creative energy to the experience.

When my son leaned to me during the San Diego Star Wars Society trivia game and said, "I've found where I belong," I understood how far the rest of the arts have to go before they are swimming in the big "popular" pool like comic book fans do every summer. 

I've just returned from a week at Boy Scout camp with my son. He knew all along we'd have fun. I didn't. But, I was surprised to discover myself having fun by the end of the first day. However, my biggest surprise came from witnessing the use of live performance at the camp, most especially during the closing night campfire.

I'm aware of the long standing controversies that surround the Boy Scouts' policies that exclude gays, atheists, and agnostics. Despite our disagreement with these policies, my wife and I decided to respect our son's desire to join Cub Scouts as a 2nd grader. As a result, we've been interacting with the Boy Scout culture for the past 7 years. Finally, I've come to understand the role of performance in the Boy Scouts community. If every performing arts organization achieved what the Boy Scouts do with performance there would be few conversations about how to keep the arts relevant to people's lives.

Not only does the campfire gather the community for a shared experience, it unfolds with a specific structure that gives meaning, cohesion, and understanding to the community. Through the simple tools of comedy, song, and story the campfire reaffirms the collective experience, articulates community values, and honors community tradition.

The staff campfire performances always start with a mix of silly skits and songs. However, the content of these performances reenact in exaggerated form the experience and perceptions of the camping community. We see a young scout free from parental supervision gorge himself on candy, we are reminded of the absurdity of the scout master trying to keep his troop of excited boys in order, and we watch as the camp staff lampoons itself. The comedy culminates in a long form farce. The one I saw is called "The King, the Queen, and the Gate" and has been in the scout performance repertoire for over 50 years.

Following the farce, an adult leader takes center stage to tell a true story that affirms the community values. I heard the story of football player Raymond Berry and "The Greatest Game Ever Played" at the campfire I attended. The story slows the evening down and is followed by a ballad that articulates everyone's strong feelings about the week of camping and wish for it to continue though it must end. With a quiet mood now settled on the gathering the camp director makes closing remarks and honors all the adults that gave a week of their time to support the scouts in attendance by coming to camp. The night ends with the full camp staff of sixty people entering behind the camp director to sing the camp hymn as the scouts and parents slowly and quietly depart. I lingered behind to see that the hymn ends only after the staff encircles the campfire and sings it through as their own smaller community.

I left the campfire stunned by the perfect service it had provided to its community. The content wasn't sophisticated nor the talent overwhelming. But the genuine enthusiasm of the performers to entertain and be relevant to the audience connected the event to each person's unique experience. I came away wondering why so many non-profit performing arts organizations don't have the same passion for being meaningful to their community as they do for achieving highly polished performances. There is something to be learned from a simple Boy Scout campfire.

I'm camping until July 12. Enjoy your week while I enjoy mine!