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Terry S. Davis's Blog – September 2010 Archive (4)

How You Get There

The joke is so old that now when I hear the question, “How do you get to Carnegie Hall,” “Practice” is the only applicable answer. For a true artist, it’s the only appropriate one.

Several years ago, I heard an interview with jazz musician Billy Taylor on NPR where the interviewer asked him if he practiced. Taylor said that he did, running scales and intervals every day. This was a man in his seventies at the time who had… Continue

Added by Terry S. Davis on September 24, 2010 at 2:00pm — No Comments

Sharing Neurons in the Dark

Peter Meineck discusses mirror neurons.

The word “community” has cropped up from three distinct sources lately, and always in relation to theater. I’ll take that as a sign.

First, I stumbled on a video where Thomas Schumacher, president of Disney Theatricals, discusses why attending live theater — or working to create a theatrical production — is… Continue

Added by Terry S. Davis on September 16, 2010 at 6:00am — 1 Comment

"... five, six, seven, eight ..."

Is it an oxymoron to talk about focused nervous energy? That’s what I see almost every time I watch a rehearsal. Performers have a specific set of goals for their shows and a limited amount of time in which to accomplish them. That’ll make anyone nervous. Artists who focus the energy from their nerves on the tasks ahead create great shows.

For example, I caught the company for DRUMLine… Continue

Added by Terry S. Davis on September 10, 2010 at 6:00am — 3 Comments

Narcissism or Art?

At some point in the history of humans, we saw ourselves looking back out of a still pool of water and we have been fascinated with our reflections ever since.

So, are the reflections I propose to post here — on the business and pleasure of entertainment — simple narcissism? I hope not.

Some people make the case that performing arts are all about showing off. For many performers, they’d be right. Others on our stages, though, deserve the name artist. They look in the… Continue

Added by Terry S. Davis on September 3, 2010 at 6:00am — 1 Comment