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Austin360 blogs > Austin Arts: Seeing Things > Archives > 2009 > June > 03
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Joey Seiler: ‘Goodbye and thanks, Austin’
(Joey Seiler, longtime American-Statesman freelance theater critic leaves town this week and sends an adis to the arts community.)
I’m leaving this Friday to travel around the country for a few months. In the fall I’ll be heading to law school in New York, one of the cultural capitals of the world. I’m really going to miss Austin.
My earliest memory of any sort of art is falling asleep on the Zilker Hillside during the 1988 Summer Musical production of “Camelot.” I was five and my parents had carted me through the park in a red wagon filled with blankets and pillows — it wasn’t a critical judgment.
Far from it: I still remember Lancelot’s joust as was filled with real fighting knights in real shining armor on real thundering horses. If I think hard enough, it shifts to a few guys in pasteboard helmets riding horses made of sticks and cloth. But, then again, I always preferred the bittersweet ending of “Man of La Mancha” to outright cynicism of “Don Quixote.” And since I don’t know (for certain) which memory is more accurate, I’d rather stick with the giants instead of the windmills and remember the onstage magic.
That line of thinking cemented during my two summers at UT’s Shakespeare at Winedale. I was never a great actor, but I loved every minute of it. I got to be a part of the Roman Empire’s birth on a stage in a country barn and a rude mechanical in the woods of Texas. I owe a huge debt for personal, creative and intellectual growth to Dr. James Loehlin. The least I can do to make it up is encourage you all to make the drive to Round Top this summer if you haven’t taken the chance.
For the same reasons, I have an even larger debt to Austin theatre. In the almost four years I’ve been lucky enough to write for the Statesman, I’ve had some of the best experiences of my life. We don’t have the budgets or audiences of New York, but we do have, I think, a real sense of the pure joy and beauty and tragedy and wonder that can walk across a stage.
And that’s Austin for me: passionate people doing amazing things. Even at its most staid, theatre in Austin takes the best part of community productions (excitedly celebrating art) and combines it with real drive to succeed and, often, innovate. I didn’t always like the product, but I’ve been thrilled to be a part, in any small way, of the process. Whether back on the Hillside, in a warehouse in East Austin, a school’s student stage, or in one of our flagship theatres, it’s been my pleasure and outstandingly good fortune to sit quietly in dark rooms and take in Austin.
So thanks to the Statesman for the opportunity. Thanks, specifically, to Michael Barnes for answering an unsolicited email sent when I graduated from UT suggesting, “Hey, you should give me a job.” Thanks to Sharon Chapman and Jeanne Claire van Ryzin for all their help and advice since then. Thanks to anyone who read anything I wrote; I hope it drove you to see at least a few shows. And most of all, thanks to everyone—actors, directors, writers, crew, producers, etc.—who let me sit in the back of your houses and scribble away at notes for the last four years.
Thanks to all for letting me be a part of Austin theatre.
Image: Joey Seiler on the set of ‘Plaid Tidings’ at Zach Scott in December 2007, one of four holiday shows he saw, and reviewed, in one weekend. Photo by Tessa Moll.
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Recent arts coverage:
Austin Critics’ Table Awards 2008-2009 | Robert Dale Anderson, 1949-2009 | ‘Practice, Practice, Practice’ at Lora Reynolds Gallery | Follow @artsinaustin on Twitter
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Memorial set for Robert Dale Anderson
Friends of Robert Dale Anderson, the Austin artist and UT teacher who passed away unexpectedly Sunday, have organized a memorial event for Thursday evening at indie gallery Okay Mountain.
6 p.m. Thursday
Okay Mountain, 312 E Cesar Chavez St. Suite B
Organized by artist Jill Pangallo and Dan Sutherland, the event will include an exhibition of Anderson’s works. Anyone who has works of Anderson’s that are framed and ready for hanging please contact Sutherland at scumpuppy@mail.utexas.edu. Sutherland is compiling stories and sentiments about Anderson, so send those along as well.
Pangallo has generously offered to put together digital images on a CD to project during the evening. Please send images of Anderson and his antics to jillpangallo@gmail.com.
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Weekend Arts Pix
THURSDAY
‘Drawn (Not Quartered).’
Who says fine art drawing is passé? It’s not. Six Central Texas artists present six engaging and very different approaches to drawing. From the raw, energetic works of Glenn Downing to Katie Maratta’s one-inch tall landscapes of the Texas horizon to Jared Theis’ delicate ink vellum images, drawing is alive and not just well, but hot. Opening reception: 6 to 8 p.m. today. Regular gallery hours: 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays-Saturdays. Exhibit continues through July 18. D. Berman Gallery, 1701 Guadalupe St. Free. www.dbermangallery.com.
‘Word.’
Former Drums & Tuba drummer (and former Austinite) Tony Nozero returns to the Continental Club — but with his paintings at the club’s upstairs gallery, not his drum kit on the stage. Since putting his drumming to the side in the last few years, Nozero, who now lives in New Orleans, has created vibrant, expressive paintings Opening reception: 6 to 9 p.m. today. Continental Club Gallery, 1313-A S. Congress Ave. 512-441-2444.
SATURDAY
‘Lizzy Wetzel: The Medicine Show.’
Where’s the line between this world and the next? Artist Lizzy Wetzel explores the idea by creating a multi-sensory, interactive installation that transforms the Women & Their Work gallery into two dream-like realms. Visitors pass from a desertlike landscape filled with the ambient sound of drumming and into a black-lit chamber where masked attendants perform a mystically charged ritual. Opening reception: 7 to 9 p.m. Saturday. Regular gallery hours: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays-Fridays, noon to 5 p.m. Saturdays. Exhibit continues through July 16. Women & Their Work, 1710 Lavaca St. Free. www.womenandtheirwork.org.
Anton Nel: Dvorák’s Piano Music.
It’s always a special event when pianist Anton Nel plays a recital. As part of the Georgetown Arts Festival, Nel will play Dvorak’s Suite in A Major, Humoresque in G-flat Major, 12 Silhouettes and 8 Slavonic Dances. 8 p.m. Saturday. Alma Thomas Theatre, Southwestern University. 1001 E. University Ave. $20. www.gtownfestival.org.
Image: Jared Theis. ‘Sheet Music Drawing 15, 2008.’ Courtesy D. Berman Gallery
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Conspirare executive director steps down
Erich Vollmer, executive director of Grammy-nominated choir Conspirare, has announced that he will step down from his position effective June 30. Vollmer said he plans to retire to Santa Fe, NM, where he lived and worked prior to taking the Conspirare position in March 2007.
From Conspirare’s press release:
Artistic Director Craig Hella Johnson said of Vollmer, “Erich came to the position of Executive Director with vast experience and many gifts as an arts administrator. He has worked tirelessly and passionately in support of Conspirare’s mission. His contributions to the organization and engagement with the Austin arts community have been significant. His knowledge of and love for choral music have been a special aspect of our partnership during his time here. I deeply appreciate all that he has done for Conspirare.”
Board Chair Fran Collmann added, “Erich’s extensive experience in managing non-profits helped Conspirare navigate our organization’s significant growth over the past two years during these very challenging times. On behalf of the Board of Directors, we thank Erich for his dedication and leadership and wish him the very best.”
The Conspirare Board of Directors has appointed Melissa J. Eddy, currently Conspirare’s Development Manager, as Interim Managing Director effective July 1. Eddy is the immediate past Executive Director of the Classical Music Consortium of Austin and has over sixteen years of experience as an Austin-area arts administrator. The board will undertake a search for Vollmer’s permanent successor.
