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News/notes/links: Cracked beam effects, curator and actor jobs, etc.

By Barry Johnson
November 8, 2011
Culture, Featured

"The Pirates of Penzance" rocked the Oregon Shakespeare Festival!/ T. Charles Erickson courtesy OSF

Remember that cracked beam in the Angus Bowmer Theatre at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival? Just a little thing, right? Well, it ended up costing the festival around $2,130,000 according to the festival’s numbers: more than $1,000,000 in lost revenue from ticket returns, $330,000 for repair of the beam, and $800,000 for the tent and alternate venues the festival used to attempt to make up for the problem.  The problem slammed the festival’s numbers overall, especially in comparison to the great 2010 season. In 2011, attendance was 391,542 (86% of capacity), which generated revenues of $17,007,406. In 2010, the festival sold 414,783 tickets (94% of capacity) and revenues were $18,473,563. Fortunately, the festival’s fundraising goals outside ticket sales were met.

The two biggest hits this season were “To Kill a Mockingbird” and “The Pirates of Penzance,” with sales at capacity or even a little more. All the shows in the New Theatre did very well, but the two Shakespeares in the Elizabethan theater weren’t so popular: “Love’s Labor’s Lost” played to 83 percent of capacity and “Henry IV: Part Two” attracted 54 percent, according to festival numbers. The other big hit was “The Imaginary Invalid,” which played to 95 percent of capacity.

Disjecta is looking for a Resident Curator for its 2012-13 exhibition, five or six shows in all, which is quite a chore, in case you think that curating is a bit of a lark (as I once did). The deadline for applying is November 18. Here are the qualifications, per Disjecta:

  • Minimum three-year curatorial history.
  • Awareness of contemporary arts issues, practices and artists. A clear and distinct curatorial vision that is consistent with Disjecta’s mission.
  • Knowledge of or willingness to become familiar with regional contemporary art.
  • Ability to work both independently and as part of a team within a larger arts organization.
  • Ability to organize and communicate messages effectively through writing and public presentation.
  • Ability to manage exhibition budgets.
  • Ability to meet deadlines.
  • Graduate-level education in curatorial studies or a related field is preferred but not required.

Details at the Disjecta website.

I always thought that if I were I younger and more flexible (a fella can dream, can’t he?), I’d love to tour with one of Imago’s kid shows, even though I know that it can be grueling. If you’re up for it, Imago is holding auditions for a tour of “ZooZoo” and a new family show called “Snow” at 6 p.m Wednesday at the theater, 17 SE 8th Ave. “For both shows we are looking for performers that have the depth of an actor, the grace of a dancer and the timing of a comedian.” Imago is looking for actors 18-35, so I just missed the cut-off. Darn! Details.

Grammy winner Dave Metzger (“Lion King”) and Oregon Book Award winner Henry Hughes have joined forces on “The Call,” a 15-minute piece for choir and orchestra that honors American servicemen and women.  The piece will be part of two Salem concerts, Nov. 11 and 13. Details in Barbara Curtin’s story in the Statesman-Journal.

The book launch for “Transmission Arts: Artists and Airwaves” at Monographs Bookwerks has been pushed back to 7-9 p.m. Nov. 18, because of scheduling difficulties with the performers.

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