twi-ny recommended events

JOHN ZORN SELECTS: THE CONVERSATION

Gene Hackman traps himself in a corner in Francis Ford Coppola’s gripping psychological thriller, THE CONVERSATION

THE CONVERSATION (Francis Ford Coppola, 1974)
Anthology Film Archives
32 Second Ave. at Second St.
Thursday, September 12, 6:45, and Sunday, September 15, 4:15
Series runs September 12-30
212-505-5181
www.anthologyfilmarchives.org

While changing the face of Hollywood cinema with The Godfather and The Godfather Part II, American auteur Francis Ford Coppola snuck in yet another 1970s masterpiece, the dark psychological thriller The Conversation. Gene Hackman gives a riveting performance as Harry Caul, an audio surveillance expert who has been hired to record a meeting between two people (Cindy Williams and Frederic Forrest) in Union Square in San Francisco. Thinking that he might have stumbled onto a murder plot, Caul soon finds himself in the middle of a dangerous conspiracy that threatens the lives of all those involved. The Conversation is a gripping, taut examination of obsession, paranoia, and loneliness as well as an exploration of language and communication. Caul might spend most of his time listening in on the intimate conversations of others, but he is an intensely private individual who is extremely uncomfortable in his own skin. A deeply religious man who also plays the saxophone, Caul has trouble relating to other people; Hackman is particularly outstanding in a party scene where Caul is forced to talk shop with fellow surveillance expert Bernie Moran (Allen Garfield), who wants to know Caul’s secrets, but the always nervous Caul isn’t about to share everything. The film also examines how people hear what they want to hear and see what they want to see, and it takes on even more meaning in a twenty-first century dominated by public and private surveillance, from store security cameras and government monitoring to Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. The supporting cast, which also features Harrison Ford, Robert Duvall, Teri Garr, and John Cazale, is exceptional, but this is Hackman’s show all the way, leading to one of the great endings in the history of cinema.

A recorded conversation between a mysterious couple (Talia Shire and Frederic Forrest) triggers a possible conspiracy in Coppola masterpiece

Winner of the Palme d’Or at Cannes, The Conversation is screening September 12 and 15 as part of the Anthology Film Archives series “John Zorn Selects,” comprising a dozen works chosen by the master experimental musician and Anthology composer-in-residence on the occasion of his sixtieth birthday, focusing on the soundtracks. “Along with Murder by Contract, The Third Man, and a very few others, The Conversation is a perfect example of restraint, modesty, and intimacy in film scoring — the entire film scored by a single instrument!” Zorn explains. “With an incredible economy of means [David] Shire provides tension, release, excitement, and melancholy to this masterful tale of Harry Caul, the surveillance expert. Originally scored for a small jazz ensemble, Coppola wisely decided to use the solo piano score instead throughout the entire picture. The music was composed first and played to the actors before shooting to get them into the mood. A modern classic.” The festival runs September 12-30 and includes such other films as Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo, Michael Winner’s The Mechanic, Masahiro Shinoda’s Pale Flower, and Orson Welles’s Touch of Evil. From September 20 to 28, Anthology will present “A Pocketful of Firecrackers: The Film Scores of John Zorn,” consisting of such films as Marc Levin’s Protocols of Zion, Michael Glawogger’s Workingman’s Death, and Joseph Dorman’s Sholom Aleichem: Laughing in the Darkness, but the real highlight are two nights of Zorn performing live to short films.

BLINK YOUR EYES: SEKOU SUNDIATA REVISITED

The legacy of multidisciplinary artist and social activist Sekou Sundiata is being celebrated in wide-ranging retrospective

Multiple venues
September 10 – October 12, free – $20
www.sekousundiata.org

In his poem “Blink Your Eyes,” poet, writer, teacher, activist, playwright, musician, and performance artist Sekou Sundiata wrote, “I could wake up in the morning / without a warning / and my world could change: / blink your eyes. / All depends, all depends on the skin, / all depends on the skin you’re living in,” addressing what is now known as stop and frisk. Born Robert Franklin Feaster in Harlem in 1948, he adopted the name Sekou Sundiata while attending the Caribbean Festival of the Arts in Guyana in 1972, taking the first name from the first president of Guinea, Sékou Touré, and the last name from the founder of the Mali Empire, Sundiata Keita. Over the next thirty-five years, until his death in 2007 at the age of fifty-eight, Sundiata performed with his bands, Are & Be, the Kou, and dadahdoodahda; became the first writer-in-residence at the New School; kicked a heroin addiction; staged such theatrical productions as The Circle Unbroken Is a Hard Bop, blessing the boats, the 51st (dream) state, The Return of Elijah, the African, and The Mystery of Love, Etc.: An Anthology of Folk Tales, Stories, Poems, and Lies; received a kidney transplant; delivered keynote addresses at international conferences, including “East Coast, West Coast, Worldwide: American Artists and World Citizenship,” “An Artist’s Journey Through Transplantation and Recovery,” and “Ground Zero: One of Many Thin Places / Notes on My New Project”; and started WeDaPeoples Cabaret, all the while fighting for social justice, building local communities, and trying to make the world a better place for everyone.

In honor of what would have been his sixty-fifth birthday, MAPP International Productions has put together the wide-ranging retrospective “Blink Your Eyes: Sekou Sundiata Revisited,” a series of events around the city that continues through October. On September 10, Cave Canem presents “Oralizing: The Speed of Spoken Thought” at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture ($10, 7:30), with Juliette Jones, Marvin Sewell, Val-Inc, Dael Orlandersmith, Tyehimba Jess, and Karma Mayet Johnson, reimagining Sundiata’s “blues of transcendence.” On September 13, teachers, activists, artists, musicians, and others will gather at the New School for “The America Project Methodology Remix: A Symposium for Educators, Artists, and Students” (free but advance RSVP required, 10:00 am). On September 22, Michaela Angela Davis, Bryonn Bain, Ebony Golden, and others will participate in the public dialogue “From Double Consciousness to Post‐Black: A Long‐Table Conversation on Black Identity” at the Actors Fund Arts Center (free, 2:00). On September 27, Hip-Hop Theater Festival artistic director Kamilah Forbes will stage an updated version of The Circle Unbroken Is a Hard Bop with MuMs, Carvens Lissaint, and Traci Tolmaire at the Kumble Theater for the Performing Arts ($10, 7:30). On October 3, Columbia University will host “Geographies of Incarceration: A 21st-Century Teach-In” (free, 6:00) examining the role of the artist in social transformation, led by Kendall Thomas. On October 10, Arthur Yorinks directs a radio version of the 51st (dream) state at the Jerome L. Greene Performance Space ($20, 7:00), hosted by John Schaefer and starring the original cast, with LaTanya Hall taking over Sundiata’s narrator role. On October 11-12, Harlem Stage presents “Days of Arts and Ideas,” with a panel discussion with Khalil Gibran Muhammad, Rob Fields, Shani Jamila, and Forbes at Harlem Stage Gatehouse (free, 7:30) the first day and dance and talk with Jawole Zollar and Liz Lerman at Aaron Davis Hall (free, 4:00) the second day. The “Blink Your Eyes” festival then comes to a triumphant close on October 12 with WeDaPeoples Cabaret at Aaron Davis Hall ($20, 7:00), a community celebration with Chanda Rule, Liza Jesse Peterson, Mendi Obadike, Keith Obadike, Immortal Technique, Rashida Bumbray, Frantz Jerome, Aisha Jordan, and Zora Howard, with a special look at his seminal speech “Thinking Out Loud: Democracy, Imagination, and Peeps of Color.” In his poem “Hopes Up Too High,” Sundiata wrote, “And what if we could show / that what we dream / is deeper than what we know? / Suppose if something does not live / in the world / that we long to see / then we make it ourselves / as we want it to be.” Sundiata continues to be an inspiration to so many; this retrospective offers a great way to keep that legacy vibrant and alive.

THE DANCE CARTEL: ONTHEFLOOR

Liberty Hall at the ACE Hotel
20 West 29th St. at Broadway
Monthly Saturday nights at 9:00 through December 7, $15-$20
www.thedancecartel.com

Earlier this year, in an exclusive twi-ny talk, dancer and choreographer Ani Taj Niemann said about OntheFloor, “We really embrace the idea of making dance happen in unexpected places so that people outside of the usual dance crowd can have access to it. . . . Our MC offers a few simple guidelines at the top of the show, but mostly it’s common sense: If you see a body flying toward you, move; if you like the beat, groove. Part of the fun is that you’re being asked to be aware of your own body in space — as you would at a crowded concert or club.” Conceived by Niemann and codirected with Sam Pinkleton, the Dance Cartel’s OntheFloor is back at the newly renovated downstairs Liberty Hall at the Ace Hotel for monthly shows September 14, October 5, November 2, and December 7. Among the special guests scheduled to join Dance Cartel members Alexandra Albrecht, nicHi douglas, Thomas Gibbons, Audrey Hailes, Sunny Hitt, Danika Manso-Brown, Justin Perez, and Niemann are Reggie Watts, the Mast, Grace McLean, DJ Stefan, DJ Average Jo, BatalaNYC, and others. When we saw the immersive, interactive production last fall, we raved, “After spending about an hour and a half with the Dance Cartel, you might not know exactly quite what hit you, but you are likely to feel energized and exhilarated. . . . Things get fast and furious, the dancers getting right in everyone’s face, eventually leading to a free-for-all finale.” The frenetic show features tantalizing costumes by Soule Golden, lighting by Vadim Ledvin (be careful not to block the spots), and video by Harrison Boyce and Stephen Arnoczy, making sure there is plenty for you to see and do every step of the way.

GLOBAL CITIZEN FESTIVAL 2013

Great Lawn, Central Park
Saturday, September 28, free lottery with eight action points
www.globalcitizen.org

There’s still a week left to accumulate enough action points to be eligible for unclaimed free tickets to the 2013 Global Citizen Festival, taking place September 28 on the Great Lawn in Central Park. This year’s all-star lineup features Stevie Wonder, Kings of Leon, Alicia Keys, and John Mayer, after the 2012 inaugural event included the Black Keys, Neil Young, K’Naan, Foo Fighters, Band of Horses, and John Legend. Global Citizen is an online project that encourages people to take action to help bring an end to extreme poverty around the world. Through education and support and advocacy campaigning, people can accumulate points by watching and sharing videos, signing petitions, purchasing fair-trade products, and calling and e-mailing political representatives. The Global Citizen website examines such critical issues as child mortality, gender equality, food and hunger, polio and other diseases, primary education, and environment sustainability, providing links to find out current information and to donate to various causes. Even if you don’t get tickets, you can still make a difference, as every little step helps, so sign up and do your part in changing the world for the better.

TWI-NY TALK: SARA FARIZAN

Sara Farizan will be at McNally Jackson on September 10 talking about her debut novel, IF YOU COULD BE MINE, as part of the launch celebration of the Alquonquin Young Readers imprint

McNally Jackson
52 Prince St. between Lafayette & Mulberry Sts.
Tuesday, September 10, free, 7:00
212-274-1160
www.mcnallyjackson.com
www.algonquinyoungreaders.com

In her debut novel, If You Could Be Mine (Algonquin Young Readers, August 2013, $16.95), Sara Farizan details the dangerous love between two seventeen-year-old Tehran girls who must keep their relationship secret from everyone. The story is narrated by Sahar, who has wanted to marry Nasrin since they were six, but same-sex relationships are punishable by death in Iran. “It’s difficult, hiding my feelings for her. Tehran isn’t exactly safe for two girls in love with each other,” Sahar explains at the beginning of the book. “We are always around each other, so I don’t think anyone will suspect that Nasrin and I are in love. She worries, though, all the time. I tell her no one will know, that I will protect her, but when we kiss I can feel her tense. She keeps thinking about the two boys who were hung years ago in Mashhad.” When Nasrin’s family arranges for her to marry a doctor, Sahar considers taking extreme measures to continue their secret love.

In the book, Farizan, a gay woman born in Massachusetts to Iranian immigrant parents, explores the very serious subjects of homosexuality, gender identity, gender reassignment surgery, and other aspects of LGBTQ life in Iran with tenderness, intelligence, and humor. On September 10, Farizan will be at McNally Jackson with fellow novelists Hollis Seamon (Somebody Up There Hates You) and Amy Herrick (The Time Fetch) celebrating the launch of Algonquin Young Readers, with each of the writers reading from their works, speaking with AYR editor and publisher Elise Howard, and participating in an audience Q&A, followed by a signing. But first, Farizan took part in an exclusive twi-ny talk, discussing the book, her influences, her family’s reaction when she came out to them, and more.

twi-ny: If You Could Be Mine is a deeply intimate story about two very different girls. Would you say there are parts of you in each of them, or do you most closely identify with one of them?

Sara Farizan: I suppose I am more like Sahar but to be honest they are both really nothing like me. They are both a lot braver than I am; I’m a big scaredy cat. I think I know people that have elements of Nasrin’s personality, but I created them pretty much from scratch.

twi-ny: Sahar and Nasrin have to hide their love from their parents. You’ve stated that your own coming out to your family was very difficult. How is your relationship with them now, especially with the publication of the book, which explores some very complex themes that are rarely dealt with in YA novels and are often not discussed between parents and children?

Sara Farizan: My parents have been amazing and I am so lucky to have them in my life. I came out to them about ten years ago and it wasn’t always easy but they have never treated me differently and truly love me unconditionally. My mom is a big champion of the book and loves the idea that it might help other families discuss these issues. Dad still hasn’t read the book because I think he’s a little scared but he Googles me a lot, which I find adorable. I give them a lot of credit and am so proud of the growth they have shown in just ten years.

twi-ny: You’ve traveled to your parents’ home country of Iran several times, including to research the book. How does the gay community over there deal with the apparent contradiction that the government openly supports gender reassignment surgery but outlaws homosexuality?

Sara Farizan: Well, I can’t speak for the whole community because it’s a country of 70 million people, but there are a lot of groups that have to deal with things privately. I think there is a huge distinction between gender identity and sexual orientation and everyone has their own opinion. I imagine it must be frustrating for both groups because the two have a tendency to get blended together.

twi-ny: What books and authors, either YA or adult, served as influences while you were writing If You Could Be Mine?

Sara Farizan: My mentor, Chris Lynch, is amazing and lovely. I read books by Deborah Ellis, Marjane Satrapi, Khaled Hosseini, Julie Ann Peters, Cris Beam, and many others.

twi-ny: How long did the research/writing process take?

Sara Farizan: It took me about two and a half years with all the research and finishing a final draft.

twi-ny: Your undergraduate degree is in film and media studies. Iran has a rich yet complex cinema history, with such directors as Jafar Panahi, Abbas Kiarostami, and Mohsen Makhmalbaf making often controversial films that sometimes get banned and can get them arrested. Did any specific Iranian films play a role in your research?

Sara Farizan: I’ve grown up watching a lot of Iranian films and they have kind of informed me about many issues that I may not have been privy to in my Western bubble. Some favorites include Children of Heaven, Santoori, Leila, No One Knows about Persian Cats, and the documentaries Be Like Others and The Iran Job.

twi-ny: On September 10, you, Amy Herrick, and Hollis Seamon will be featured at a launch party at McNally Jackson for the Algonquin Young Readers imprint. What’s it like to be part of this launch? What are you personal expectations for the event?

Sara Farizan: It is so surreal and I still can’t really believe it. I keep thinking someone is going to call me and say, “Actually we’ve made a mistake.” I love Algonquin Young Readers and I don’t want to ever disappoint them. I hope it will be a special evening and I hope people see how much passion we put into our novels.

ABBY ALDRICH ROCKEFELLER SCULPTURE GARDEN: THE MODERN MONUMENT

Katharina Fritsch’s “Group of Figures” is back in MoMA’s Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden, which is now open for free every morning from 9:00 to 10:30 (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Museum of Modern Art
The Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden
West 54th St. between Fifth & Sixth Aves.
Early hours: open daily 9:00 – 10:30 am, free
www.moma.org

Designed in 1953 by architect Philip Johnson, the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Sculpture Garden resides on the site that was once the town-house home of Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, one of the founders of the Museum of Modern Art. A socialite and philanthropist who married John D. Rockefeller Jr. in 1901, Aldrich was the mother of Abby, John III, Nelson, Laurance, Winthrop, and David Rockefeller. The garden has been one of the great, peaceful respites of New York City for sixty years, its multiple levels and reflecting pools, which Johnson called “canals,” along with its birches and beeches, offering visitors a beautiful space to commune with both art and nature en plein air. Beginning September 9, the sculpture garden will be open for free starting at 9:00 each morning, ninety minutes before the rest of the museum opens to paying customers. Early risers can buy coffee and other drinks and enjoy the garden’s current arrangement of sculptures, “The Modern Monument,” which consists of old favorites as well as newer delights. Walking around the garden, one will encounter Alberto Giacometti’s “Tall Figure, III,” Jenny Holzer’s “Granite Bench,” Joan Miró’s “Moonbird,” Barnett Newman’s “Broken Obelisk,” and Pablo Picasso’s “She-Goat.” Aristide Maillol’s “The River” still dangles over one of the pools, while Hector Guimard’s “Entrance Gate to Paris Subway (Métropolitain) Station, Paris, France” stands in its longtime space at the far east end and Henri Matisse’s stunning quartet, “The Back,” lines its usual wall, celebrating the human body. Also on view are Mark di Suvero’s “For Roebling,” Tony Smith’s “Die,” Claes Oldenburg’s “Geometric Mouse, Scale A,” Picasso’s “Monument,” and Katharina Fritsch’s colorful “Group of Figures.” The most recent addition to the garden is Stephen Vitiello’s audiovisual installation “A Bell for Every Minute,” which was created for the High Line and now resides outside at MoMA, a collection of different bells from around the city chiming minute after minute. In 2004, when the museum returned to Midtown after a major renovation and expansion (and temporary move to Queens), architect Yoshio Taniguchi restored the garden to its original dimensions, explaining that it is “perhaps the most distinctive single element of the museum today.” And now entrance to this most distinctive element is free every morning from 9:00 to 10:30.

TICKET ALERT: FALL FOR DANCE FESTIVAL 2013

Rennie Harris’s Alvin Ailey commission HOME examines the AIDS crisis in a positive way (photo by Paul Kolnik)

City Center
131 West 55th St. between Sixth & Seventh Aves.
Tickets go on sale Sunday, September 8, 11:00 am
Festival runs September 25 – October 5, $15 (plus free shows September 16-17 in Central Park)
212-581-1212
www.nycitycenter.org

The Fall for Dance Festival turns ten this year, celebrating a decade of providing low-priced tickets to performances at City Center by emerging and established companies from around the world. Tickets go on sale Sunday, September 8, at 11:00 in the morning, and at $15, they’re gonna sell out fast, so don’t hesitate. This year’s lineup includes three festival commissions: an untitled world premiere pairing New York City Ballet principal dancer Sara Mearns and Dutch National Ballet principal dancer Casey Herd, choreographed by Justin Peck and with a live piano score composed by Mark Dancigers; Ballet Hispanico’s Sombrerísimo, choreographed by Annabelle Lopez Ochoa; and an untitled piece by the Royal Ballet choreographed by Liam Scarlett and with a live score composed by Arvo Pärt. Program One (September 25-26) features Richard Alston Dance Company’s The Devil in the Detail, with live Scott Joplin music, a tango by Gabriel Missé and Analía Centurión, the Mearns/Herd piece, and DanceBrazil’s Fé do Sertão. Program Two (September 27-28) consists of Nrityagram’s Vibhakta, choreographed by Surupa Sen, 605 Collective’s Selected Play, HeadSpaceDance’s Light Beings, choreographed by Mats Ek and set to music by Jean Sibelius, and Dance Theatre of Harlem’s Gloria, choreographed by Robert Garland to music by Francis Poulenc. Program Three (September 30 – October 1) comprises American Ballet Theatre’s The Moor’s Pavane: Variations on a Theme of Othello, choreographed by José Limón, Colin Dunne’s The Turn, Ballet Hispanico’s Sombrerísimo, and Introdans’s Sinfonía India, choreographed by Nacho Duato.

Elizabeth Streb’s HUMAN FOUNTAIN should make a big splash as part of free Fall for Dance presentation at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park (photo by twi-ny/mdr)

Program Four (October 2-3) includes Dorrance Dance’s SOUNDspace, choreographed by Michelle Dorrance, Doug Elkins Choreography, etc.’s Mo(or)town/Redux, the Royal Ballet’s untitled world premiere, and one more to be announced. And Program Five (October 4-5) brings together Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui / Sadler’s Wells London’s Faun, BODYTRAFFIC’s o2JOY, choreographed by Richard Siegal, Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo’s Black Swan Pas de Deux, choreographed by Marius Petipa, and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater’s Home, choreographed by Rennie Harris. The Fall for Dance Festival actually kicks off with two special free performances September 16-17 at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park presented by the Public Theater and featuring the New York City Ballet’s Red Angels, choreographed by Ulysses Dove, Paul Taylor Dance Company’s Esplanade, Ronald K. Brown / Evidence’s Upside Down, and Streb Extreme Action Company’s Human Fountain. Tickets for those two shows will be distributed the day of the event at the Delacorte and via virtual ticketing.