Today is officially the last day of the survey phase of Stand, which means you’ll never be asked to fill out “four questions for the future” again. This does not, by any means, signify the end of the Stand team’s hard work.
At midnight, Stand will move from this initial phase of information gathering to a planning stage, which will ultimately result in an action era. This transitional planning stage between gathering information to dispersing it will take several months — and it will be highlighted by guest speakers, community roundtables and even an interactive gallery show.
So, on Friday, we’re not celebrating an end, but a beginning. Celebrating our graduation from one phase to the next with a party that looks back at how we, as a community, got here.
On Friday, October 2, get suited up in all of your Stand garb and help us ring in the next incarnation of Stand. Join us at StandHQ/CreateHere from 5 - 8 pm for authentic Southern food from Cafe LeMont, beer from Big River Grille, and a multimedia tribute to the historic achievement we’ve already accomplished in the last five months.
MakeWork Recipient Launches Yearlong Music Production Project
The “Song a week by Charles Allison” project is a musical exercise/weekly song diary by multi-instrumentalist and 2009 MakeWork grant recipient Charles Allison. A man not without ambition, Charles has mapped out his most recent project: writing, recording and chronicling a new song every week for a year. This project regularly features collaborators and includes video that accompanies the posted audio track. A new song posts every Friday that was written and recorded during the previous week, and most songs are generally written and recorded within an hour. The curveball is that there are no definitive rules about production, lyrics are mostly extemporaneous and generally recorded in one pass, and songs are recorded in a variety of locations and circumstances, including Charles’s own Spanner Studio.
“I’ve planned and executed three large-scale expeditions (Sea-kayaking the coast of Baja, riding the length of Queensland, Australia, as well as San Diego to Saint Augustine, Florida on my bicycle) and I’m thinking of this as the same sort of endeavor. There is a terminus, which is a year. And there is a cycle, which is a new song once a week with a short story about how we made the song.”
Allison has been developing an audio engineering and songwriting firm in Spanner Studios for over twelve years, and his MakeWork grant has moved him towards creating a marketable identity in this field by helping facilitate this project. When coupled with the discipline and work ethic necessary to become successful in such an endeavor, the future is bright for this entrepreneur.
There have been others, however, who have preceded Charles in the field of regimented song writing/song diaries. From Mozart to Paleo, any good musician knows that good songwriting is not simply an instinctual ability that is bestowed upon an annointed chosen one. Songwriting, like any other skill, is hard work. It is a muscle to be exercised regularly, and Allison understands this. He knows that even though every song won’t be top 40 material, the results of disciplined writing and recording every week will manifest itself in the long-term trajectory of his business. There is also an element of transparency and vulnerability in this project. Creating is an assailable activity, and to do so publicly every week for a year is an admirable undertaking.
“I’ve become way too precious about song production, and this is an exercise, as well as an exorcism.”
Follow Charles on Twitter, and make sure and keep up with his weekly songsmithing. He is currently working on week 3 of 52, and he would love your feedback.
By Michael Kendall, Editorial
Posted by Veronique on 09/30 at 12:54 PM Permalink
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Chattanooga Stories: Huskies and Trains. Naturally.
It wasn’t on my radar either, I assure you, if only because I do not and more than likely never will have any longstanding interest in Siberian Huskies.
Don’t get me wrong, dog lovers: they’re beautiful animals. But we could, friendly readers, very easily say the same for llamas. Or jaguars. Or bald eagles. Let’s not forget rare varieties of sapphire colored butterflies. Lovely, all of them.
But on any given day, I spend less than three minutes thinking about these bold fauna, just as I spend a negligible modicum of time worrying about the fate of Siberian Huskies in my community. It’s a natural non-interest. Sorry, Huskies. Nothing personal.
However, good weather makes believers out of skeptics, optimists out of nihilists, and most notably, walkers out of writers. Taking to the streets in a winter hat (happy overkill), a friend and I stumbled upon the Siberian Specialty at the Choo Choo this evening on a lovely, random tour of the town. To call the view before us surreal is perhaps very appropriate. I’d rather call it Just Another Night in Chattanooga.
Let’s set the scene, though. Imagine if you will the Choo Choo gardens. Man-eating pond fish to your left, silver dining car to your right. Straight ahead, the concourses of rail platform open on to the hotel’s large parking lot, spotted with outlying buildings, train tracks, and green spaces.
On any given night, you’ll run into the occasional golf cart or lost tourist. I am perhaps the worst of these Choo Choo tourists: always lost, always gaping, always laughing at the derivations of the hotel’s less than consistent signage (CooCoo, CooChoo). Tonight, it took me longer than usual to process the scene. Walking out into the parking lot, there was a buzz and shuffle to my left: a pickup truck that barked. Straight ahead, 15 RVs, warm against the cool sky, each with a maze of fencing and saw dust and grooming tables around it. And across the lot, running along some old tracks: hundreds of little white snowballs.
The stuff of bizarre childhood dreams, maybe.
Huskies, actually.
There are hundreds of them, friends, here to compete and collect and celebrate. They are beautiful, even for those of us who consider hamsters a big commitment. And they are part of the Chattanooga story: the thing that makes this place so intoxicating, so bizarre, so enduring. You come here for a job, perhaps, and you find a cityscape impossible to ignore. You go for a walk, and you find hundreds of snowy dogs on their evening ambles.
A night with simple Chatty pleasures, it makes me wonder, what kinds of other stories are out there? I know you’ve got ‘em. Interested in sharing? Send me a little email, .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
Go forth, storytellers, and collect inspiration!
Posted by Veronique on 09/29 at 09:21 PM Permalink
Monday, September 28, 2009
Tuesday Night on Main Street
Just when you thought Tuesday was an evening for staying in… Main Street in Chattanooga is proud to present a number of activities this Tuesday, September 29, 2009. Whether you be a film-buff, a musician, or an actor, there’s an event to satisfy your Tuesday night boredom.
Film Screening
CreateHere
Tuesday, 6:30 PM
As part of the “Persona | Anima” exhibit and event series, 55here presents a screening of “Glen or Glenda” (1953), written, directed by, and starring Ed Wood. So, bring a comfy chair, something to sip on, and join us in an exploration of personality and classic film-making. Visit 55here’s web page for more event scheduling.
Mountain Music Folk School
Bluegrass Grill & Area 61
Tuesdays, 6 PM
Mountain Music Folk School revs up and launches their Fall 2009 Schedule of Classes. MakeWork Grant recipients Matt Evans and Christie Burns have been hard at work planning a variety of lessons and workshops beginning September 28. On Tuesday evenings, Lon Eldridge and Christie Burns will teach Ukulele and Mountain Dulcimer. And, the best news is it’s not too late to register. Visit mmfolk.com for a complete schedule and more details.
“Scene Study” Theatre Workshop
Green | Spaces
Tuesday, 7 to 9 PM
Jamie Lawrence will host an 8 week series of acting classes that meet on Tuesdays from 7 to 9 PM. The first lesson will kick-off at Green | Spaces, and the following 7 will meet at CreateHere. Lawrence has been a professional actor and director for 25 years, performing all over the states and in Europe. Jamie held a Research Fellowship in Acting at Yale School of Drama and taught theatre at the University of Texas at Dallas and at Yale University. The class is designed for seasoned and aspiring actors and will cover the method of “scene study”. Call (423) 280.4642 to learn more about the course and pre-register. Read more.
By Jessica Martin, Senior Arts Fellow
Posted by Veronique on 09/28 at 02:39 PM Permalink
Tuesday Night Film Screening: “Glen or Glenda?”
55here invites you to explore your alter ego. In conjunction with Persona | Anima, 55here will be screening “Glen or Glenda?,” a notably campy B movie about embracing all sides of yourself—even those which defy social norms.
Written, directed by, and starring legendary filmmaker Ed Wood, “Glen or Glenda?” is a semi-autobiographical film whose cross-dressing protagonist, Glen, must decide whether or not to reveal “Glenda,” his female alter-ego, to his future wife. A cast of characters includes “The Scientist,” an omniscient narrator with tangential tendancies (played by Bela Lugosi), a herd of buffalo, bound women, Satan, and the infamous angora sweater. Together, they aide (or hinder) his efforts to come to terms with his other self. This film, along with Ed Wood’s other melodramatic classics such as “Plan 9 from Outer Space,” solidified Wood’s reputation as one of the worst directors of all time. With the help of Tim Burton’s bioflick “Ed Wood,” starring Johnny Depp, Wood’s films gained a following and cult classic status.
Join us for pretzels, soda, and cinematic fun worthy of Mystery Science Theater. The film runs from 6:30 to 8:30 in the evening on Tuesday, September 28. Hope to see you there!
By Katie Waddell, Arts Fellow
Posted by Veronique on 09/28 at 01:23 PM Permalink
Friday, September 25, 2009
Hamlet, Redux
Whether you’re a theatre aficionado, a Shakespeare enthusiast, or just someone who enjoys a great story, you’ll want to make some time in your weekend schedule for Garry Posey’s revisioning of Hamlet at the Ensemble Theatre. The play, which opened two weeks ago, accentuates the young prince’s indecision and self-conflict by casting six actors — Julie Van Valkenburg, Jonathan Nichols, Joey Tipton and newcomers David Seeber, Tenika Dye and Ryan Laskowski — to simultaneously portray him.
The Ensemble Theatre itself is a rather magical and dramatic place in its own right, housed in one of many cubbyholes in the labyrinthine St. Andrews Center. Posey, a SpringBoard grad, and his team of actors and crew remodeled the quarter-round room themselves to create a not just functional, but downright remarkable space that’s used by both his theatre company as well as the La Paz community center.
This weekend is the show’s last, but luckily you’ll have three chances to see the Ensemble’s unique version of Hamlet before its gone forever — with an evening show tonight at 7:30, as well as 3 pm matinees tomorrow and Sunday.
The Chattanooga Theater Center will be holding auditions for Twelfth Night on October 10, 2-5 at the CTC. Quite a few roles are still open for the show, which goes up in January.
Posted by Veronique on 09/25 at 02:08 PM Permalink
Lindsay Street Hall: Two Great Events in One Weekend
A little birdy told us to watch out for a few great events in an awesome venue this weekend…
Lindsay Street Hall, across from the Bessie Smith Center, hosts two shows worth checking out this weekend. Tonight, catch the New Binkley Brothers and Big Kitty, for a small $5 cover. That fee gets you in the door to a recently renovated venue, complete with stained glass windows and hardwood floors. Saturday night, head back for a performance from the legendary Honky Tonk Hero Billy Joe Shaver. $15 cover for a 10 pm show.
Posted by Veronique on 09/25 at 11:11 AM Permalink
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Persona | Anima Opens Tomorrow: Live Music + Identity Construction
In a culture increasingly rich in social programming, we wear many hats. Often, it’s in the company of others that we see the best, and the worst, in ourselves. Group think and mob mentality: the difference is a matter of perception. It is from this idea that Persona | Anima, 55Here’s newest exhibition, derives its conceptual underpinnings.
This exhibition asks viewers to actively participate in the construction, and deconstruction, of persona. We’ve got a trunk of clothes and an ecosystem to help in the process, in addition to works by Mia Bergeron, Ana Marie Cox, Kimara Dawn, Matt Grady, Tara Harris, Thomas Shaw, Michael Woods, and Daniel Wroe.
55Here will host an opening reception for Persona | Anima on Friday, September 25 from 6 to 8 pm. The event features live music from Dolphin Mouth of local group Forest Magic, and is held in conjunction with the September edition of Last Fridays on Main.
Posted by Veronique on 09/24 at 12:28 PM Permalink
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
“Scene Study” An Acting Workshop | Starts September 29
Starting September 29, CreateHere is pleased to host “Scene Study,” an 8-week acting class, which will take place every Tuesday from 7 to 9 pm. Below, instructor Jamie Lawrence gives us a little background on the course.
The Class
What is “scene study?” Scene study is an acting class in which you always have a partner. In other words, you are not by yourself, as when working on a monologue. When we have someone to play with, playing is more natural and more fun, and we have someone other than ourselves to focus on.
Who It’s For
Almost anyone. If you have ever imagined yourself as an actor, but never tried it; if you have acted before, but it has been a while; if you are a professional who is interested in “working out” without the pressure of performance—this class is for you.
What Goes On
The actors choose a couple of short scenes from the reading material that they are interested in working on. The partner is given a copy of the scene, and we can begin. Scenes will be memorized, but that comes later. Bring your scenes to the first class. I will talk for the first hour, then we will start.
What We Are Learning
We are learning a specific method, a specific discipline. I learned it at Yale. It is not in any book.
I teach this method because it is the best that I have ever seen (and I’ve seen a lot of them). It is practical, functional, and it is centered on the actor’s need to identify and play a dramatic action. There is nothing esoteric about it.
The Plays
Our course materials are from the major plays of Anton Chekhov: The Seagull, Uncle Vanya, The Three Sisters, The Cherry Orchard.
Important: Please try to have at least two of these plays read for the first class. However, if you can’t get them read by then, that’s okay. Come anyway. There are no grades here. The reading will give you a head-start on choosing material.
Goal
To become the best and most disciplined actor you can be.
Jamie Lawrence has been a professional actor and director for 25 years or so. He has performed all over these United States and in Europe. Jamie held a Research Fellowship in Acting at Yale School of Drama. He has taught acting and theater at The University of Texas at Dallas and at Yale University. For more information or to pre-register, call 423.280.4642
Posted by Veronique on 09/22 at 01:55 PM Permalink
Guest Blogger Matt Evans: MakeWork Makes, Well, Work
A few months ago, recipients of CreateHere’s MakeWork Arts Grants made the news. I’m sure not a few people pictured the grant winners as victorious, ready to ride off into the sunset with their prizes.
But there’s a reason the grants have their name.
I thought about giving a play-by-play account of my schedule this past week for this blog posting, but thought better of it: it’d tire you out to read it. My grant was awarded to help develop a business plan for the Mountain Music Folk School, and our first semester of group music classes starts in just over a week. This represents the initial tangible, public result of the grant I won, and I’ve been out, with the help of the talented and tireless Christie Burns, co-founder of the folk school, beating as many bushes as possible to try to drum up interest and enrollment for the classes. In fact, we’ve been hard at work since June to make this happen: bringing the Executive Director of the Folk School of St. Louis to town, working with a local business advisor, and many, many more tasks.
But before you think this posting is about how overworked I am, let me tell you how excited and energized all this has made me. We have had so much support and encouragement from far too many sources to name, and we are confident that what we set out to do, bring music to Chattanoogans in new way, is well on its way to happening. So, check out our website, http://www.mmfolk.com, spread the word, enroll, get excited and involved in this new opportunity in your city.
By Matt Evans, 2009 MakeWork Grantee and co-founder of Mountain Music Folk School
Posted by Veronique on 09/22 at 01:28 PM Permalink
Oct 7 & 8: Two Nights of Improvised Shamanic Good Times
CreateHere and The Shaking Ray Levi Society are pleased as punch to present two nights of improvised shamanic energy featuring Arrington de Dionyso and The Shaking Ray Levis, October 7th and 8th.
Start the good times with a workshop series on October 7. De Dionyso will present “Unleashing the Voice in Creative Music: From Raw Expression to Refined Technique”; a workshop exploring the voice as an instrument of the body and soul, where participants gain awareness of multiphonic vocal techniques with an emphasis on Tuvan throat singing.
At the same time, The Shaking Rays will be conducting their own “Ol’ TIme Avant-Garde Workout”, a physical and cognitive workout, where participants create a sonic vocabulary with their own instrument of choice (or the provided drums and percussion instruments). Space is limited, and the workshops come at a small $20 fee.
On October 8, CreateHere and the SRLS will also present a live performance by de Dionsyo and the Shaking Rays. No way you say? Yes way! But we’ve also got a little something extra planned for you good people: workshop participants will become performers. It’s like watching a moth change into a butterfly.
If all of this sounds too good to be true, well it kind of is, but we’re excited to make it happen all the same. The performance will take place at CreateHere’s 55Here Studio and is free to the public.
Interested in participating in the workshop? Shoot an email to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) and tell us which workshop you’d like to attend, vocal or instrumental.
Posted by Veronique on 09/22 at 11:18 AM Permalink
Monday, September 21, 2009
Waterlogged? Explore the Great Indoors this Week
Join your neighbors this week for some great community events, rain or shine.
Tuesday 5:30 to 7
Mainx24 Planning Meeting
@ green|spaces
Join the organizers of Mainx24 for their first planning meeting on September 22 at 5:30 pm, hosted at green|spaces. Interested in helping coordinate, participate, volunteer? Maybe you just want the inside scoop on events and programming? This meeting’s for you. Plan to attend with your neighbors, business owners and friends in preparation to make our annual neighborhood event the best in the city.
Tuesday, 5:30 to 8
The Arts Take a Stand
@ the Center for Creative Arts
AVA teams up with Chattanooga Stand and CreateHere to host a night of thoughtful discussion about the future of the arts in Chattanooga. Held at the Center for Creative Arts, the “Arts Take a Stand” event invites artists and advocates from all over the region to come together from 5:30 to 8 pm to share hopes, ideas, and possible solutions.
“This is a great opportunity for everyone who appreciates the importance of a strong arts community,” says LeadHere fellow and AVA member Katie Waddell. “It’s both a means to have a hand in planning the future of Chattanooga’s cultural landscape and to meet like-minded people who are also trying to have an impact.”
For more information on the event, contact Katie Boerema at 423.265.4282 or Sarah Lester at 423.648.6499.
Friday, 5 to 7
Last Fridays on Main
@ participating galleries and venues
We still have a few more weeks of warm, walking weather, but only one Last Fridays on Main left in the season. Hop around for one last round at your favorite Southside galleries and shops.
Friday, 6 to 8
Persona | Anima Opening Reception
@ CreateHere
How often is our persona determined by the people that surround us? And how often is our anima—or our perception of self—determined by our social roles? “I think, therefore I am.” Is it really that simple? Persona | Anima is an exhibition hosted at 55Here that pairs traditional and non-traditional figurative artwork, as well as interactive activities to tackle questions of identity.
Persona | Anima opens today (surprise!) and features work by Mia Bergeron, Ana Marie Cox, Kimara Dawn, Matt Grady, Tara Harris, Thomas Shaw, Michael Woods, and Daniel Wroe. In addition to 2D and 3D works, the exhibition features an interactive component that allows visitors to explore and document the many parts of their persona.
55Here will host an opening reception for Persona | Anima on Friday, September 25 from 6 to 8 pm. The event features live music from Dolphin Mouth of local group Forest Magic. Additionally, Persona | Anima, which runs through October 31, will feature weekly community events to engage and push boundaries around issues of identity.
Posted by Veronique on 09/21 at 11:34 AM Permalink
Friday, September 18, 2009
An Epic Milestone: Stand Hits 25,000
Chattanooga Stand collected its 25,000th response to a four question visioning survey today. In the blink of an eye, we passed our goal (but have no fear, we’re accepting surveys through the end of September). In the oh-so-quick video below, Stand Campaign Coordinator Sarah Lester ushers in this milestone.
Thank you, Chattanooga, for helping us reach this goal!
Posted by Veronique on 09/18 at 05:31 PM Permalink
A Week in the Life of a Fellow
For an editorial fellow, I haven’t done much writing this week. Instead, I spent a few days building our new mobile idea wall for Park(ing) Day.
I started working at CreateHere about two weeks after graduating from UTC with a degree in English. For the five years it took me to finish school, I worked as a carpenter for Brown Dog Construction, my family’s remodeling company. During this time, I did everything from laying tile to running electric to helping build walls and decks — but where I really found my place was in the woodshop, building cabinets.
Like writing, cabinetry requires a lot of flexibility. Because one project is never the same as the last, a good craftsman has to be creative and resourceful. Because every detail counts, she must also be meticulous in execution. And because the end result is never quite the same as the original idea, she must acknowledge and accept that a piece will never be perfect — that it will never truly feel “finished.” While some of these traits may come more naturally to me than others, they’re goals that I hope to achieve in everything that I craft, from words to relationships to clothing to walls.
On Monday, CreateHere’s Design Department handed me a five inch drawing and an idea. From this, we measured, planned, and in the end, built a wall from some plexiglass, PVC pipe, buckets of concrete, spray paint and zip-ties.
As I write this, I’m sitting on a couch in a parking space on Main Street. There is a rotating handful of my coworkers drawing their hopes and ideas with colorful paint pens onto the clear plastic wall. As it fills with words and imagery, I realize what a diverse and passionate crowd we are. Musicians, athletes, artists, activists, and craftsmen. In this place, we bring our various talents and perspectives together to see what comes out.
