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ltmurnauLaurie Anderson will present a new piece in February as part of the "Cultural Olympiad". Appropriately, it is called "Delusion". (I seem to remember that she was involved with the 2084 Olympics too, in some way.)
http://www.vancouver2010.com/more-2010-information/cultural-festivals-and-events/event-listings/laurie-anderson--delusion_65694Sm.html
Delusion: A new work by Laurie Anderson
Conceived as a series of short mystery plays, "Delusion" jump-cuts between the everyday and the mythic. Combining violin, electronic puppetry, music and visuals, "Delusion" is full of nuns, elves, golems, rotting forests, ghost ships, archaeologists, dead relatives and unmanned tankers. It tells its story in the colourful and poetic language that has become Anderson's trademark. Inspired by the breadth of Balzac, Ozu and Laurence Sterne, and employing a series of altered voices and imaginary guests, Anderson tells a complex story about longing, memory and identity. At the heart of "Delusion" is the pleasure of language and a terror that the world is made entirely of words.
“You begin with a blank mind. There is absolutely nothing in it. Not a single picture. There is a void. No names. The first thing to wander into this mind is a small spotted dog named Terence and his owner, historian and social commentator Fenway Bergamot.” — Laurie Anderson.
Presented With:
Vancouver Playhouse Theatre Company
Commissioned by VANCOUVER 2010 CULTURAL OLYMPIAD, Vancouver; BARBICANBITE10, London.
With additional support from BAM for the 2010 Next Wave Festival; Cal Performances UC Berkeley; Stanford Lively Arts, Stanford University, generously supported by Sarah Ratchye and Ed Frank. Additional production support and residency provided by the Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center (EMPAC) at Rensselaer.
When: February 16 - 21, 8:00 pm each night
Where: Vancouver Playhouse, 600 Hamilton Street, Vancouver
Ticket information:
Price(s): $45 and $55
604 873 3311
Produced with additional support from Cal Performances; University of California, Berkeley; and Stanford Lively Arts, Stanford University.
***
I would actually go and see this, because I have been a Laurie Anderson fan since high school, and have never had a chance to see a performance. Except that there is NO WAY I could even find, let alone afford a place to stay in Vancouver - and even if I lived there I'd be of two minds about venturing out onto the streets, after having been admonished so many times by VANOC to stay at home and out of the way of the tourists.
The Cultural Olympiad is probably the one item of intelligence and merit to come out of the 2010 circus (although looking at some of the events, it must have been a bit of a stretch to tie it in withthe theme of "sports"). The original budget of $25 million was cut by 20 percent to $20 million due to VANOC's cost overruns in other departments - and while that's relatively a huge amount of money to spend on an arts festival (expecially when the provincial government is cutting public arts funding in BC by 95% over the next 2-3 years), it is a vanishingly small amount compared to the entire cost of the Olympics, which might be over $2.5 billion when all is said and done (http://www2.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=01fc5dbe-9e38-4573-9b07-696fd3144d3f).
I make it to be about eight tenths of one percent. It's near zero, but suppose one ought to be happy about that, because it could just as easily be exactly zero.
http://www.vancouver2010.com/more-2010-information/cultural-festivals-and-events/event-listings/laurie-anderson--delusion_65694Sm.html
Delusion: A new work by Laurie Anderson
Conceived as a series of short mystery plays, "Delusion" jump-cuts between the everyday and the mythic. Combining violin, electronic puppetry, music and visuals, "Delusion" is full of nuns, elves, golems, rotting forests, ghost ships, archaeologists, dead relatives and unmanned tankers. It tells its story in the colourful and poetic language that has become Anderson's trademark. Inspired by the breadth of Balzac, Ozu and Laurence Sterne, and employing a series of altered voices and imaginary guests, Anderson tells a complex story about longing, memory and identity. At the heart of "Delusion" is the pleasure of language and a terror that the world is made entirely of words.
“You begin with a blank mind. There is absolutely nothing in it. Not a single picture. There is a void. No names. The first thing to wander into this mind is a small spotted dog named Terence and his owner, historian and social commentator Fenway Bergamot.” — Laurie Anderson.
Presented With:
Vancouver Playhouse Theatre Company
Commissioned by VANCOUVER 2010 CULTURAL OLYMPIAD, Vancouver; BARBICANBITE10, London.
With additional support from BAM for the 2010 Next Wave Festival; Cal Performances UC Berkeley; Stanford Lively Arts, Stanford University, generously supported by Sarah Ratchye and Ed Frank. Additional production support and residency provided by the Experimental Media and Performing Arts Center (EMPAC) at Rensselaer.
When: February 16 - 21, 8:00 pm each night
Where: Vancouver Playhouse, 600 Hamilton Street, Vancouver
Ticket information:
Price(s): $45 and $55
604 873 3311
Produced with additional support from Cal Performances; University of California, Berkeley; and Stanford Lively Arts, Stanford University.
***
I would actually go and see this, because I have been a Laurie Anderson fan since high school, and have never had a chance to see a performance. Except that there is NO WAY I could even find, let alone afford a place to stay in Vancouver - and even if I lived there I'd be of two minds about venturing out onto the streets, after having been admonished so many times by VANOC to stay at home and out of the way of the tourists.
The Cultural Olympiad is probably the one item of intelligence and merit to come out of the 2010 circus (although looking at some of the events, it must have been a bit of a stretch to tie it in withthe theme of "sports"). The original budget of $25 million was cut by 20 percent to $20 million due to VANOC's cost overruns in other departments - and while that's relatively a huge amount of money to spend on an arts festival (expecially when the provincial government is cutting public arts funding in BC by 95% over the next 2-3 years), it is a vanishingly small amount compared to the entire cost of the Olympics, which might be over $2.5 billion when all is said and done (http://www2.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=01fc5dbe-9e38-4573-9b07-696fd3144d3f).
I make it to be about eight tenths of one percent. It's near zero, but suppose one ought to be happy about that, because it could just as easily be exactly zero.
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no subject
Date: 2010-01-25 11:20 pm (UTC)I remember listening to Laurie's United States and being entranced. She is a one-of-a-kind artist - totally unique and captivating - and more relevant than ever in the age of Internet, the age of homogenous thought. "Sweaters" remains the greatest love song of all time.
no subject
Date: 2010-01-25 11:35 pm (UTC)I had United States out and was listening to it not long ago.
I don't know if I could pick an absolute favourite song, but I always liked "Finnish Farmers" with that long violin crescendo while she recites, "Breadbasket. Melting Pot. Meltdown. Shutdown".
Of course, she's very funny too!
no subject
Date: 2010-01-26 12:48 am (UTC)"Lighting Out for the Territories" always got my attention.
I have to admit, you're only the second Laurie Anderson admirer I've encountered. The first was the guy who turned me onto O SUPERMAN. That was 27 years ago.
no subject
Date: 2010-01-26 06:09 pm (UTC)I can't remember if someone specific turned me onto Laurie Anderson, I think I did it myself when I found a 12" of "O Superman/ Walk The Dog" in a bin in a record store - I can't remember if anyone had mentioned her name to me before that. That was 27 or 28 years ago, yep.
no subject
Date: 2010-01-26 01:44 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-01-26 06:16 pm (UTC)Yes, we are hungry for some cultcha in my town. Motley Crue played here last weekend, w00t! And that's about as good as it gets, except for what we make ourselves.