1- Let It Be Art

written and performed by Ronald Rand

Directed by Gregory Abels

About the play “LET IT BE ART! Harold Clurman's Life of Passion”

The moment Ronald Rand takes the stage as Harold Clurman in his solo performance LET IT BE ART! Harold Clurman's Life of Passion, embodying Harold Clurman, through voice, gesture and size, we are immediately thrust into a world of boundless passion for the theatre, and taken on a inspiring journey that lingers within our consciousness for a very long time. Mr. Rand as writer and performer captures the essence of who Harold Clurman was and what he stood for. His creation instills in the audience an unforgettable experience of passion, courage and inspiration. We follow Harold Clurman from his beginnings on the Lower East Side, through his education at the Sorbonne in Paris with Aaron Copland as his roommate, his initiation into the theatre through The Provincetown Players and The Theatre Guild, his friendship with Lee Strasberg, and their decision with Cheryl Crawford, to found The Group Theatre, as well as his relationships with Stella Adler, Alfred Stieglitz, Marlon Brando and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, among several others.

LET IT BE ART! Harold Clurman's Life of Passion, starring Ronald Rand is a dramatic journey of humor, boldness and fervor, of the man heralded as "the elder statesman of the American Theatre." An experience you don't want to miss! (Now in its 10^th year) received great critical acclaim Off-Broadway in two runs and standing ovations in London, Paris, Athens, Frankfurt, Los Angeles, Buenos Aires, New Delhi, Mumbai, Paysundu, Zagreb (Academy of Dramatic Art), the State Theatre in Esksehir, Turkey (Anadolu University), and in 13 states across America (over 25 universities and colleges). Students and audiences love Harold Clurman's great passion for art theatre in this inspiring play.  “LET IT BE ART!” brings to life the great humor and humanity of America’s most influential 20th century theatre leader, Harold Clurman, and the story of The Group Theatre!  Audiences also meet Marlon Brando, Stella Adler, Lee Strasberg, Constantin Stanislavsky, Clifford Odets, Gordon Craig and Jackie Kennedy Onassis.

LET IT BE ART! Harold Clurman's Life of Passion IS A SPONSORED PROJECT OF THE NEW YORK FOUNDATION OF THE ARTS.

About The art of Transformation with Roland Rand, click here

To read Roland Rand's biography, click here

2- “Who is Afraid of Site-Specificity?”

Site-specificity is among the less frequent artistic spectrums that releases such energy and speaks across and beyond Arab nations and borders. While ample attention has been given to site-specificity in its global contexts, it is equally important to further investigate it in Arabo-Islamic contexts. The aim of the upcoming project "who is afraid of Site-Specificity?" is therefore to interrogate  the theories and practices of site-specificity in a self reflexive way. Parallel to the theoretical debates, we plan to devise a self-reflexive site-specific performance which mirrors all our aesthetic concerns and questions within an Arabo-Islamic context. It will be re-sited at the Kasba Museum as a pemanent video installation accompanied by choreography May 21 till May 23, from 18:00 to 20: 00 pm. The choreography is a journey through different rhythms of dance, of the body resonating with its immediate environment (space, movement, event) and by extension how our perception of space is manipulated: an investigation of the body’s memory, an exploration of the neutral mask of the body and its theatricality, of dance in all its forms.  Imagine:  “make space dance.” Dance and Architecture are closely related.  One is built on mobility and movement, whereas the other fixes its spatial designs, and builds our environment.  Yet in their spatial work, whether static or dynamic, they both concentrate on our perception of our environment, and on how we represent the world and the way it turns.  The architecture of the Kasbah Museum,  a sultan's palace built upon the ruins of York Castle, is an ideal location for our project. It is a historically loaded site, a sedimental layering of multiple memories, besides being a spacious platform of engaging performativity. "Who is Afraid of Site-Specificity?" comprises a permanent Video installation mainly a reflection on our previous works permeated by instances of choreography.

3- Desert in the Coffehouse Synopsis

Many Arabs may have stereotypes of Americans being materialistic, sex-obsessed and intent on controlling world resources.  But the actions of our government and the image projected by our media do not reflect the lives of average Americans.  This film attempts to put a face on the “American public,” who are for the most part aware that their foreign policy is creating enemies in the Arab world. Some are naïve and ignorant about the Middle East; some totally support the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; others are fairly well-informed and appalled at our policies.  This film asks two basic questions:  what do Americans think about the Middle East, and do they see America as an empire?  Minnesotans, interviewed in coffeehouses across the Twin Cities, reflect on these questions and on our relationship with people in the Middle East.

DC Program Notes

This film is an answer to a challenge and a question posed by Ahmed, a young Moroccan, when I was teaching theatre at the National Theatre Institute in Rabat.  “We want to know what Americans--not their government or media--think of Arabs.”  This was followed by, “Do they feel like they are living in an empire?”  This film explores the territory between these two thoughts.   My map was made of  questions I had heard many times in Egypt, Morocco and Syria.  With it, I discovered how my fellow Minnesotans--over 100 of them, in many coffeehouses in Minneapolis and St. Paul—were thinking of the Middle East and America’s relationship to it.  What images do they have of the Middle East?  Where do they get their news of this region?  Do they know why Palestine is so important to Arabs and Muslims around the world?  Why do they think we’re so involved in the Middle East?  How do they think Arabs view us?  And finally, back to Ahmed’s question, considering the financial and human investment in the Iraq War and the War on Terror, do they feel like we’re living in a country at war?

Comment on the film from Cairo:

 “Filmmaker Nice asks all the right questions, and succeeds in shedding light on the diversity of opinions within American society on the Middle East.  Desert in the Coffeehouse is a great opening for dialogue between the U.S. and the Middle East.”
--Matthew Kuehl, Education Abroad Program Manager AMIDEAST/Egyptwww.amideast.org
"Almost a decade after 9/11, and after numerous publications and films, I have yet to see a documentary that matches Pamela Nice's treatment of Americans' perceptions of Arabs, Islam and the Middle East.  By allowing average Minnesotans to voice their opinions, Nice's “Desert in the Coffeehouse” brings America's mainstream views--unedited and without embellishments--into focus and lets us wrestle with our prejudices and hopes.”

--Anouar Majid, author of We are all Moors and A Call for Heresy

Filmmaker Bio

Pamela Nice is an independent filmmaker from St. Paul, Minnesota whose recent documentaries have focused on increasing understanding between Americans and Arabs.  In Letters from Cairo (2003), which won the Worldfest Houston Bronze Award for international documentaries, she interviewed Egyptian artists and intellectuals about their views of the U.S. and their own culture.  Dreaming in Morocco (2007) interviewed Moroccans aged 18-30 about their hopes and dreams.  Both were intended for American audiences, and have been shown at film festivals in Montreal, Toronto, Washington, DC, Houston and Orlando, among others; at educational conferences such as the Middle Eastern Studies Association (MESA); and on American television.  Nice also writes and directs multimedia dance/theatre/film productions and has extensive experience in theatre.  Her work has been funded by Fulbright and Jerome Fellowships, Minnesota State Arts and Metropolitan Regional grants, and the National Endowment for the Arts.  She has lived in Morocco and Egypt, is a film critic for Al Jadid Magazine—a review of Arab arts and literature-- and currently teaches Arab film and literature at the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota.

4- A Wall Is A Screen

Short films in public spaces, the interaction of fiction and reality, since 2003, A Wall is a Screen brings the short film into the hearts of the cities around Europe. Equiped with a projector, a sound system and a generator, they screen short films on existing walls in inner cities. After one film is over, the group moves on to the next wall. The audience follows, the entrance is free. For the spectators, the event has a double effect: first, they mostly discover parts of their city, they have never been before. The feeling for the city changes, it moves away from only shopping to a wider view of the city. The other side-effect happens, while watching the film: the fiction of the film mixes up with the reality of the streets. Our brain is not able to make a difference; all seems to be fiction - or reality? A Wall is a Screen will give a lecture about this effect and its chance for the public space. 

5- Site-Specific installation at the Kasbah Museum by the American Artist & Fulbright Fellow in Morocco Eric Saline

The American Artist and Professor Eric Saline who lives with his family and works in Tétouan, Morocco while on a Lecture/Research Fulbright Fellowship, teaching at l'Institut National des Beaux Arts  will present his latest exhibition in  Performing Tangier conference. More at website: www.ericsaline.com

Artist's Statement:

Natural Contacts Architectural: For inspiration in my artistic practice, I examine the relationship between nature and the built environment. Paper is my chosen material, largely due to its malleability, endless recycle-ability, and the appeal of its relative organic ephemerality. Paper is extremely versatile and durable, yet at the same time, it is weak and vulnerable: herein lies a fundamental tension, resonant with the human experience, which I attempt to highlight. My work conveys kinetic visual movement through surface activity, employing rhythm and color as ubiquitous leitmotifs. I address a variety of formats including books, print-collages, and also site-specific installations out of my own recycled handmade papers. Smaller works, such as prints and books, provide a shift in size, but yield a similar feeling of intimacy and discovery, possibly referencing an even larger scale than the installations. In my large-scale printed-paper installations, I attempt to produce sculptures that are complimentary to a sites' specific architecture by considering regional history, the landscape of the natural environment surrounding the site, and also by incorporating my own eclectic imagination. I use lighting to create both a sense of drama and atmosphere, through shadow and its corresponding back-lit effect, much like that of light passing through stained glass. This dynamic experience implores viewers to explore a piece, to see what discovery a change in viewpoint may reveal. After an installation, I recycle my work by continuing to print, paint cut and glue the paper, treating it much like a quilter would fabric.