january/february 2013 issue

January-February 2013 | On The Town 1

Tobin Center Real / Surreal Asian Festival Roads CourageousJewish Film FestivalBoiler House at PearlDinosaurs UnearthedPlus 9 Additional Articles

Tobin Center Real / Surreal Asian Festival Roads CourageousJewish Film FestivalBoiler House at PearlDinosaurs UnearthedPlus 9 Additional Articles

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January/February 2013January/February 2013

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2 On The Town | January-February 2013

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Lair Creative, LLC would not knowingly publish misleading or erroneous information in editorial content or in any advertisement in On The Town Ezine.com, nor does it assume responsibility if this type of editorial or advertising should appear under any circumstances. Additionally, content in this electronic magazine does not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the management of Lair Creative, LLC. Since On The Town Ezine.com features information on perfor-mances and exhibits, it is recommended that all times and dates of such events be confirmed by the reader prior to attendance. The publisher assumes no responsibility for changes in times, dates, venues, exhibitions or performances.

Brahms, Memphis, Shatner, Ross & More 8January and February Inaugurate a New Year of Remarkable Performances

Tobin Center for the Performing Arts: An Exciting 14 Work in Progress

Steve Gilliam & Sam Carter Gilliam: 18 Making the Scene

The Infamous Dr. Brinkley Subject of New Musical 22

Boiler House Texas Grill & Wine Garden 46 Now at Pearl

Junior League’s Fete du Cuvee 52Celebrates Second Year

New Art in the New Year 56

Dinosaurs Unearthed: Bigger. Better. Feathered. 60 February 23 - September 2 at The Witte Museum

Real /Surreal Paints New Way of Looking at 64 American Art

A Fresh Take on History 70 Chris Johnson Breathes New Life into the Emily Morgan Hotel with Passion and Fun

Coushatta Casino Resort Brings Vegas Fun 74Next Door

Year of the Snake 78 Diverse Asian Communities Celebrate Heritage, Identity at Institute of Texan Cultures

JCC Prequel Kicks Off Jewish Film Festival with 82 Hava Nagila (The Movie)

Witte Museum and New Balance San Antonio 84 Team Up For Boot Scoot and 5K Run

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Features


Lair Creative, LLC would not knowingly publish misleading or erroneous information in editorial content or in any advertisement in On The Town Ezine.com, nor does it assume responsibility if this type of editorial or advertising should appear under any circumstances. Additionally, content in this electronic magazine does not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of the management of Lair Creative, LLC. Since On The Town Ezine.com features information on perfor-mances and exhibits, it is recommended that all times and dates of such events be confirmed by the reader prior to attendance. The publisher assumes no responsibility for changes in times, dates, venues, exhibitions or performances.

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Front Cover Photo: Felicia BoswellOf Memphis National TourPhoto by Paul Kolnik

Performing Arts Cover Photo: Karen GomyoPhoto by Minoru Kaburagi

Events Calendar Cover Photo: William ShatnerPhoto by Joan Marcus

Culinary Arts Cover Photo: Greg Harrison

Visual Arts Cover Photo: Kay SageNo Passing, 1954. Oil on canvas. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase 55.10.

Eclectics Cover Photo: Greg Harrison

Literary Arts Cover Photo: Greg Harrison

Out & About With Greg Harrison: Greg Harrison

Cover Credits

ContributorsMikel Allen,creative director /graphic designer

James M. Benavides

Julie Catalano

Jim Dublin

Thomas Duhon

Mauri Elbel

Greg Harrison,staff photographer

Jonathan Horowitz

Shane Kyle

Michele Krier

Christian Lair,operations manager /webmaster

Kay Lair

Susan A. Merkner,copy editor

Shannon Huntington Standley

Laurie Pickei

Dawn Robinette

Lauren Ross

Sara Selango

Jasmina Wellinghoff

Cassandra Yardeni

January-February Events Calendar 26

Book Talk: Shelia Black, Poet and Executive/ 88Artistic Director of Gemini Ink Out and About with Greg Harrison 94

Departments

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Performing Arts

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Performing Arts

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Brahms, Memphis, Shatner, Ross & More!January and February Inaugurate a New Year of Remarkable PerformancesBy Sara Selango


The challenge for patrons of the per forming arts in January and February is determining which incredible events

to attend from the abundance scheduled. Show selection is amazing in all genres. Here’s a peek into happenings in these two months.

A discussion of classical music opportunities gets us started. Camerata San Antonio inaugurates 2013 with three performances of Personal Expressions Jan. 3-6 in Kerrville, Boerne and San Antonio, respectively. The San Antonio Symphony brings us Garza Plays Mozart Jan. 11-12 at the Majestic. Musical Bridges Around the World adds to the classical mix with a Judy and Jefferson Crabb Musical Evenings at San Fernando Cathedral program titled Musical Gifts Jan. 13, plus A Little Nightmare Music featuring Igudesman and Joo at McAllister Auditorium Jan. 18. San Antonio Symphony assistant conductor Akiko Fujimoto leads a Musical Offerings’ Brahms and Beyond concert at Christ Episcopal Church on the afternoon of Jan. 20. That evening, she conducts a symphony performance of Passione: Italian Baroque at San

Fernando Cathedral. Also on the afternoon of Jan. 20, Fredericksburg Music Club presents vocalist Ava Pine in concert at Fredericksburg United Methodist. The Jan. 22 Tuesday Musical Club appearance of pianist Joyce Yang at Laurel Heights Methodist is another highlighted performance in the first month of the year, as are SA Symphony’s Symphony Espagnole featuring violinist Karen Gomyo and conductor Karen Kamensek Jan. 25-26 at the Majestic, and San Antonio Chamber Music Society’s Jan. 27 presentation of Miro String Quartet at Temple Beth-El.

February brings with it Superbows, a Mid-Texas Symphony per formance on the second day of the month at Brauntex Per forming Arts Theatre in New Braunfels. Russian Folk Festival, featuring baritone Nikolai Massenkoff, takes the stage at Kathleen C. Cail loux Theater in Kerrvil le the following afternoon. Musical Bridges offers another evening of classical music at San Fernando Cathedral Jan. 3, in addition to a per formance called Musical Generations featuring pianist Lilya Zilberstein and her two



sons on Jan. 24 at McAllister Auditorium.

Under the direction of Sebastian Lang-Lessing, the San Antonio Symphony has organized an amazing festival dedicated to the music of Johannes Brahms. Not only are symphony concerts included, but those of many other presenting and per forming organizations as well. This is a huge undertaking for which the symphony should be duly commended. Their concerts include Brahms 1 on Feb. 8 and Brahms 2 the following evening, with both per formances featuring pianist Kir i l l Gerstein. Brahms 3 and Brahms 4 are on the festival docket for Feb. 15 and 16 featuring violinist Vadim Gluzman. Lang-Lessing conducts Brahms 1-4 , al l at the Majestic. Nineteen artistic partners have joined together to comprise the festival, including San Antonio Symphony, Camerata San Antonio, SOLI Chamber Ensemble, Musical Bridges Around the World, San Antonio Choral Society, San Antonio International Piano Competition, Cactus Pear Festival, San Antonio Chamber Music Society, Musical Offerings, Children’s Chorus of San

Antonio, Youth Orchestras of San Antonio and many more. For more information, go to www.sasymphony.org or www.brahmssa.com.

In musical performances other than classical, Doc Severinsen and the San Miguel Five play the Brauntex in New Braunfels Jan. 4-5, and Justin Beiber fills up AT&T Center Jan. 12. The legendary Diana Ross graces the Majestic stage Jan. 29, with Matchbox 20 and special guest Phillip Phillips there the following evening. The Carver offers Christian McBride and Inside Straight Feb 9 at Jo Long Theatre. Symphony pops in the first two months of the year are From Broadway to Hollywood by Symphony of the Hills Jan 12 at the Cailloux in Kerrville, and SA Symphony’s Pops Goes to the Movies with Carl Topilow conducting Feb. 1-2 at the Majestic. Boerne Performing Arts offers three exceptional shows in January and February at Champions High School auditorium. Drumline Live! kicks things off Jan. 30, with The 5 Browns and Celtic Nights close behind on Feb. 9 and 23.

Touring theater puts forward some great


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opportunities as well, beginning with Arts San Antonio’s presentation of Will iam Shatner ’s one -man show, Shatner ’s World: We Just Live In It , at the Majestic Jan. 9. Then there’s The Rat Pack Now at the Brauntex Feb. 9, followed by the Cadillac Broadway in San Antonio road show engagement of Memphis , a super-show in my opinion, at the Majestic Feb. 19-24. Four per formances of Andrew Lloyd Webber ’s Tell Me on a Sunday at the Brauntex Feb. 21-24 round out this discussion.

Community theater in the first few months of the new year includes Glengarr y Glen Ross at the Sheldon Vexler, Cats at the Cameo, The Full Monty and Neil Simon’s Chapter 2 at the Woodlawn and the Woodlawn Black Box, A Raisin in the Sun at Jo Long Theatre, and the world premier of Roads Courageous at The Playhouse SA’s Russell Hil l Rogers Theatre.

Out-of-towners are Rabbit Hole and Funny Valentines at Boerne Community Theatre, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

by Fredericksburg Theatre Company, Dir ty Rotten Scoundrels at Circle Arts in New Braunfels, Playhouse 2000’s The Girl in the Freudian Slip at the Cail loux in Kerrvil le, Love, Loss and What I Wore at Hil l Country Arts Foundation’s Elizabeth Huth Coates Theatre in Ingram, and A Time to Heal at S.T.A.G.E. in Bulverde.

Before I f inish, please let me remind you to see Tu Dance at the Carver Jan. 18, to refer to the events calendar in this magazine for all shows associated with the San Antonio Stock Show and Rodeo, and to take in an on-screen Metropolitan Opera per formance at Cielo Vista 18, Huebner 14 or McCreless Cinema. Enough said.

Get some tickets and go!



Photo Credits:

Pages 8-9

Felicia Boswell and the National Cast of MemphisPhoto by Paul Kolnik

Pages 10-11 (L-R)

Vadim GluzmanCourtesy San Antonio

Symphony

Akiko Fujimoto Courtesy San Antonio

Symphony

Bryan Fenkart in the National Cast of MemphisPhoto by Paul Kolnik

Karen GomyoPhoto by Gabrielle Rivere

Kirill GersteinCourtesy San Antonio

Symphony

Pages 12-13 (L-R)

William ShatnerPhoto by Joan Marcus

Joyce YangPhoto by Larry Ford

Drumline Live!Courtesy Boerne Performing

Arts

Carl TopilowCourtesy carltopilow.com

Diana RossCourtesy Majestic Theatre



Tobin Center for the Performing Arts: An Exciting Work in ProgressBy Jim Dublin

When the new Tobin Center for the Performing Arts opens in September 2014, it will be the best place to see and hear a

live performance – anywhere, organizers say – and its programming will offer something for everyone.

This $203 million facility re-purposes one of San Antonio’s historic landmarks, the 1920s-era Municipal Auditorium, into a contemporary theater complex with unique versatility. Situated along the banks of the San Antonio River in the city’s heart,


Tobin Center for the Performing Arts: An Exciting Work in ProgressBy Jim Dublin

the Tobin Center will feature the acoustically tuned, multi-purpose 1,750-seat H-E-B Performance Hall, a 250-seat studio theater and a 600-seat outdoor performance plaza connected to the River Walk with a water taxi portal.

While the auditorium’s original Moorish façade will be preserved, the Tobin Center’s River Plaza will serve as a “second front door” which opens onto the Museum Reach extension of the San Antonio River leading to the San Antonio Museum of Art, the Pearl Brewery and


the Witte Museum. People on the River Walk will be able to watch and listen to performances taking place inside on a 20-foot-by-30-foot projection screen on the River Plaza.

“We want to open up the Tobin Center and the performances inside it so that people walking by will see and hear it and want to experience the magic themselves,” said J. Bruce Bugg, chairman of the Bexar County Performing Arts Center Foundation which is constructing and will own and operate the facility. “The Tobin Center represents a major community investment in San Antonio’s arts infrastructure and speaks volumes about our community’s sense of itself, of our aspirations and our determination to realize them,” Bugg said.

“This will be a game-changer for the performing arts in San Antonio and will become the focal point for the city’s performing arts companies, with artistic and economic advantages for them,” Bugg said. “A venue like this creates an air of excitement for performers as well as audiences and helps attract the world’s great performing artists and groups. Besides symphony, opera, ballet and modern dance, we’ll have cabaret performers, theater, touring shows and groups ranging from country music to jazz to performers from the Americas and around the world.”

Bugg said, “Truly, this will be San Antonio’s performing arts center, and we will have performances and entertainment that will have a very broad appeal.”

Funding for the project comes from a public-private partnership that combines Bexar County, the city of San Antonio and the private sector. In 2008, Bexar County voters overwhelmingly approved a bond issue which earmarked $100 million for a new performing arts center, and Bexar County subsequently funded another $8 million in improvements along the River Walk. The City of San Antonio donated the Municipal Auditorium and adjacent San Antonio Fire Department headquarters building, valued at $41 million, to the foundation, which agreed to raise an additional $54 million in private donations. Private giving, with nearly two years to go before the grand opening, totaled more than $36 million at press time. The new theater complex is named after longtime San Antonio arts patrons, the late Robert L.B. Tobin and his mother, the late Margaret B. Tobin. The Tobin Endowment made a $15 million challenge grant to kick-start the fundraising campaign, and that challenge has already been exceeded by other private gifts.

“We have had a wonderful response from leading individuals, corporations and foundations,” Bugg said, “and now we are moving into Phase II of our capital campaign.”



A distinctive feature of the H-E-B Performance Hall is its first-in-the-nation “flat floor” capability. Literally, at the touch of a button, electro-mechanical systems can transform in 15 minutes the traditional raked seating (835 seats) on the ground floor into several different configurations which greatly increase the flexibility of the hall. Among the floor settings, it can be raised to the level of the stage, seating as many as 800 people at 80 banquet tables, and can also be set with tiers for cabaret seating.

This feature added $10 million to the cost of the project, but Bugg said the foundation’s board of trustees was so enthused about the capabilities it would add to the building, they decided to add the flat floor to the construction budget and raise the money to fund it.

The acoustics in the H-E-B Performance Hall can be “tuned” so that audiences will be able to experience performances – symphony, opera, popular music, musical theater, plays – as they were meant to be heard. All the interiors of the hall, including seating, will be carefully selected to maximize acoustic quality.Those attending performances or other events inside the hall also will note the LED lighting around the mezzanine and balcony facing, enabling lighting to be changed to fit the mood of the performance or event. Sound insulation throughout the Tobin Center will enable simultaneous use of the H-E-B Performance

Hall, the Studio Theater and the River Plaza.

Architecturally, the building will be a stunner. With the iconic Moorish towers and entrance and, behind it, the new portion of the structure rising to some 123 feet and clothed in an aluminum “veil” with LED lights that will illuminate the building at night, the Tobin Center will be an extraordinary addition to the downtown cityscape. As with the interior of the hall, the exterior lighting can be choreographed to match the character of the events taking place inside.

The Tobin Center will be a busy place, with tens of thousands of San Antonians and visitors expected to attend performances and events of all sorts and sizes every year. A key audience group will be young people: students from around the city and surrounding communities who will receive special treatment for many performances and opportunities for master classes by visiting artists, after-school programs and summer camps.

A permanent home for San Antonio’s performing arts companies. An extraordinary audience experience. A place where young people can be inspired. A “new” downtown landmark that will spur continued redevelopment. The Tobin Center will be a shining beacon of creativity, of entertainment and community pride. The best place to see and hear a live performance – with something for everyone.



Steve Gilliam & Sam Carter Gilliam:Making the SceneBy Julie CatalanoPhotography Greg Harrison

January-February 2013 | On The Town 19January-February 2013 | On The Town 19

It didn’t take long for young actor Steve Gilliam to realize that he could be a lot more successful behind the curtain than in front of it.

“I discovered that I could actually make a living by working backstage,” said the talented and prolific scenic designer, whose illustrious 40-plus-year career has included an eclectic array of work for professional, community and university theaters, touring companies, corporations, theme parks and more.

Freshly retired from a 30-year career as professor of drama and theatre director at San Antonio’s Trinity University, Gilliam is finally at a place where, as he describes it, “I’m having a ball.”

And why not? The Idaho-born, Iowa-bred artist this year celebrates 20 seasons as resident scenic designer at the historic MUNY in St. Louis, the oldest and largest outdoor theatre in America. With wife and business partner Sam Carter Gilliam, their SLG Design & Creative Talent company has been involved in hundreds of theatrical projects over the years.

Gilliam received his B.A. degree in speech and drama from the University of Northern Iowa, and an M.F.A. degree in scene design from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor. Describing himself as “classically trained,” he explains the changes that technology has brought to his field.

“I did all my drawings with paper and pencil, drafting tools and watercolor renderings, dry pigment paint, all of that. Now I am completely computerized.” He still draws and uses watercolors, “but then I can scan into the computer and go in with Photoshop. It’s incredible what you can do.”

Visiting his self-described “substantial” website – an understatement if there ever was one – reveals a mind-boggling collection of countless designs from a roster of shows that reads like a history of the theater. Everything from Amadeus to Annie, Madame Butterfly to Mame – drops and sets beautifully depicted in sketches and drawings in black and white and color – right down to the props, like the magic mirror in Beauty and the Beast, and the portable jail partitions in Chicago.

If Gilliam has a signature piece, it’s Fiddler on the Roof, calling it their “most famous tour,” opening in 2000 with Theodore Bikel and touring for three years, followed by a production at the MUNY in 2008, and more tours with Topol and then Harvey Fierstein in the role of Tevye. The challenge of taking an iconic show built for drops – impossible at the outdoor MUNY – meant Gilliam had to find a way “to make the scenery move in a way that maintained the pacing of the show,” revealing the scenery in a choreographic style “like a dance.” It worked. “We love ‘Fiddler.’ We made enough money from it to put my daughter through graduate school.” Gilliam has two children from a former marriage: Rafael, 38, and Monica, 35.

20 On The Town | January-February 201320 On The Town | January-February 2013

That level of expertise comes from meticulous preparation, and Gilliam has it down to a perfect combination of science and art. First, he learns the play inside and out, has multiple discussions with the director, works to establish the tone, and then dives into research. Days in the library lugging and poring over stacks of books have been replaced by Google searches. “By the end of the week, I’ll have 20,000 to 30,000 images collected in various folders.”

Technology has given Gilliam the best of all worlds – researching and creating in his “man cave” studio in San Antonio, complete with loft, drafting tables and “car racing in the background,” and communicating with theatrical professionals all over the world. “I’ll design and post things on the Internet, and then you can have a producer in New York and a director from Los Angeles and somebody else is in Europe. That, plus Skype, has created a wonderful way [to work].”

The couple spends two months every summer in St. Louis

working on shows for MUNY – this year Spamalot, June 17-23; Nunsense, July 1-7; and Les Miserables, July 15-21. He credits the long-running gig to the small-world nature of theatre: “One of my best friends from graduate school was the lighting designer, and they had just fired their scenic designer.” The Gilliams’ first show was Ain’t Misbehavin’ in 1994, “and we’ve been going out there ever since.”

Closer to home, Gilliam is excited about a whole new world where the “divas” are easier to work with – two spring shows at the Texas State Aquarium in Corpus Christi and the new Pets Ahoy production slated for Sea World next summer. (If you’ve seen The Cannery Row Caper sea lion show with Clyde and Seamore, you’ve seen Steve and Sam’s design work.) “I’m having the most fun right now,” Gilliam says. “I am loving retirement.”

For a peek at Steve and Sam Carter Gilliam’s remarkable portfolio, go to http://www.trinity.edu/sgilliam/showlinks.html.

Scenic designs shown are from the national tour of Fiddler on the Roof

http://www.trinity.edu/sgilliam/showlinks.html

http://www.trinity.edu/sgilliam/showlinks.html


http://artssa.org


THE INFAMOUS DR. BRINKLEY FOCUS OF NEW MUSICALStory and Photography by Jasmina Wellinghoff

Thomas Nyman and Kevin Parman met in July 1989 and within five minutes of saying hello found themselves talking about Dr. John Brinkley, the infamous surgeon from the Depression era who became a wealthy celebrity by promising to restore men’s virility through implantation of goat gonads into their bodies.

As it happened, both young men had childhood memories of visiting Brinkley’s widow back in the 1970s when she was living in a dilapidated Del Rio mansion that Nyman describes as “perfect for a haunted house but so inviting.”

Now San Antonio residents, Nyman and Parman have written an original musical based on Brinkley’s credulity-defying life, titled Roads Courageous, which will have its world premiere at the Playhouse San Antonio Feb.22 through March 17 under the direction of Tim Hedgepeth. In fact, the musical’s title was adopted as the banner

name for the entire 2012-13 season, which focuses on “Stories of America.”

Brinkley’s story probably belongs in the category of “Only in America.” With dubious medical credentials, this ambitious “smooth-tongued charlatan,” as the American Medical Association called him, performed thousands of operations, built his own radio stations to advertise his services and won fame and fortune working out of a clinic in Milford, Kan. After the state’s authorities finally revoked his license and the Federal Radio Commission shut down his station, he first tried to reinvent himself by running for governor but eventually relocated to Del Rio and built an even more powerful radio transmitter right across the border in Mexico. Called XER, the station could be heard as far away as Canada. By the late 1930s, however, his luck was running out. Though he set up a new clinic in a Del Rio hotel, Brinkley died in 1942, a discredited and bankrupt man.



Nyman remembers hearing sympathetic tales about the doctor from his rancher grandfather, who lived in Del Rio not far from the Brinkley mansion. His curiosity aroused, the boy found a way to be invited to the big house where the still-imposing rooms and old-world furniture as well as the aging, friendly Mrs. Brinkley made an indelible impression on him. Parman, too, visited the mansion multiple times as a young boy in the company of his parents and played the piano for the lady of the house. Eventually his father purchased that piano in 1978 when the widow and her granddaughter had to sell the property.

“Mrs. Brinkley loved to tell stories from her past,” said Parman, who composed the music for Roads Courageous. “She spoke grandly about her life and always maintained that her husband was a brilliant surgeon and a heroic man that one day science would validate.”

With their shared fascination with the Brinkley saga, Nyman and Parman moved from New York to Del Rio in the 1990s, purchased the vacant manse and lived there for eight years. It was also during this period that

they first got involved with theater, working in various capacities with the local community troupe. Still, Nyman had a hard time convincing Parman to work on Roads Courageous until one day he brought up the subject of the Brinkleys’ son’s suicide. Known as Johnny Boy, the Brinkleys’ adult son shot himself one day while speaking to his mother by phone. He had asked her for money but she had none to give.

“We started talking about that, and Kevin went straight to the piano and started playing. In his head, he heard the music for that scene,” Nyman said.

That music became the show’s theme, Parman said, “a beautiful but broken sound that combines major and minor chords to create dissonance.” The completed score of about 20 songs was later orchestrated by Stephen Ferri and Andrew Fox, winners of the 2012 Outstanding Orchestration award at the New York Musical Theater Festival.

Written by Nyman, the play opens with the suicide moment and then reverts to telling the story as a long



flashback, starting from 1915. The cast includes top talent, such as Roy Bumgarner as Brinkley, Sherry Gibbs Houston as his wife and Karl Roach in the role of Johnny Boy as a boy. Byrd Bonner will portray Morris Fishbein who, as the editor of the Journal of the American Medical Association, was the adventurous surgeon’s nemesis. Also incorporated in the story are the Lonesome Cowboy (Chris Berry), whose songs were broadcast by XER, and Rose Dawn, a radio psychic played by Anna Gangai.

When the Brinkleys’ granddaughter, Johnny Boy’s daughter Angela, came to see Roads Courageous during a workshop performance last year, “she bawled,” Nyman said. “She was so touched by how accurately Sherry captured her grandmother’s persona.”

Though the two co-creators have other musicals in the works, they are not likely to turn their backs on the Brinkley story anytime soon. They live and work surrounded by the “goat-gland doctor’s” mementos. They have tracked down and bought the walnut table that used to sit in the Del Rio mansion’s music room and the grandfather clock

that stood behind the grand piano, as well as multiple other artifacts, photos and periodicals.

Writing about his experiences and connection to the old residence, Nyman wrote the following on the show’s website: “We would eventually leave Del Rio, but the heart of that house will always be inside us both. The story of Brinkley would live through us.”

For tickets for Roads Courageous, call the Playhouse at 210-733-7258 or visit its website, www.theplayhousesa.org.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •


Photo Credits:

Page 22 Kevin Parman and Thomas Nyman

Page 23Dr. Brinkley’s tonic bottles

Page 24Parman and Nyman with Brinkley artifact

Portrait of Mrs. Brinkley

www.theplayhousesa.org


http://boerneperformingarts.com


Events Calendar

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Events Calendar

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January-February 2013 Events CalendarMusic NotesCamerata San AntonioPersonal Expressions1/3, Thu @ 7:30pmKerrville First Presbyterian1/4, Fri @ 7:30pmBoerne First United Methodist1/6, Sun @ 3pmChrist Episcopal San Antonio

Almost Patsy Cline Band1/4, Fri @ 6pm (doors open)Leon Springs Dancehall

JB & The Moonshine Band1/4, Fri @ 7pm (doors open)Cowboys San Antonio

Brauntex PresentsDoc Severinsen and the San Miguel Five1/4-5, Fri-Sat @ 8pmBrauntex Performing Arts TheatreNew Braunfels

Rockbox Theater - Fredericksburg1/4-2/24, Fri @ 8pm,Sat @ 4:30 & 8pm, Sun @ 2pm

Jody Nix1/5, Sat @ 6pm (doors open)Leon Springs Dancehall

Country Rewind Concert Series: Doug Stone & Rick Trevino with Nick Lawrence Band1/5, Sat @ 7pm (doors open)Blue Bonnet Palace

The Pink Floyd Laser Spectacular1/5, Sat @ 8pmMajestic Theatre

The Gourds1/5, Sat @ 9pmGruene Hall

Nick Lawrence1/11, Fri @ 6pm (doors open)Leon Springs Dancehall

Aaron Watson1/11, Fri @ 7pm (doors open)Cowboys San Antonio

San Antonio SymphonyGarza Plays Mozart1/11-12, Fri-Sat @ 8pmJeff Garza, hornEvan Rogister, conductorMajestic Theatre

Rocky King1/12, Sat @ 6pm (doors open)Leon Springs Dancehall

Mario Flores & The Soda Creek Band1/11, Fri @ 9pmJohn T. Floore Country Store

Justin Bieber1/12, Sat @ 7pmAT&T Center

Symphony of the Hills From Broadway to Hollywood1/12, Sat @ 7:30pmDr. Jay Dunnahoo, conductorKathleen C. Cailloux TheaterKerrville

Johnny Cooper1/12, Sat @ 9pmJohn T. Floore Country Store

Kyle Park1/12, Sat @ 9pmGruene Hall

Musical Bridges Around the World Musical Gifts – Judy and Jefferson Crabb Musical Evenings at San Fernando Cathedral1/13, Sun @ 6:30pmJerryn Crabb, sopranoMichael Schneider, pianoElena Gorina, piano

Cactus Country1/18, Fri @ 6pm (doors open)Leon Springs Dancehall

Pat Green1/18, Fri @ 7pm (doors open)Cowboys San Antonio

Musical Bridges Around The World Igudesman & Joo: A Little Nightmare Music1/18, Fri @ 7:30pmMcAllister Auditorium - San Antonio College

Jason Eady1/18, Fri @ 9pmJohn T. Floore Country Store


http://musicalbridges.org

15 Season2012 / 2013

Judy and Jefferson CrabbMusical Evenings at

San Fernando Cathedral

History, Spirit and Music Meet.

Tickets - $25. Discounts for seniors, students, and military with ID. Children 12 and under are always free. “Meet the Artists” Chocolate Fountain reception to follow the concert.

Main Stage Series at McAllister AuditoriumSan Antonio College l 1300 San Pedro Avenue

Fantasia for CelloRussian virtuoso cellist Boris Andrianov and concert pianist Karolina Syrovatkova of the Czech Republic will dazzle us with a romantic program.“Meet the Artist” Dessert Reception catered by Giovanni to follow the concert.

115 Main Plaza, in the Oldest Cathedral in the United States,in the Heart of Downtown San Antonio

Sponsor a school bus to transport70 kids to a Main Stage Concert!

Musical Bridges.org l (210) 464-1534 Visit our website for more information.

Sunday, February 24 l 3 p.m.

Sunday, April 28, 6:30 p.m.

FREE and Open to the Public

Musical Generations

Lilya Zilberstein, famous concert pianist from Germany, is joined by her gifted sons Anton, 16, and Daniel, 19. The Youth Orchestra of San Antonio will accompany the trio in a virtuoso performance, bringing a colorful program to the stage that includes Mozart Concerto for Three Pianos and Brahms for one, twoand three pianists.

Image ©

Roman D

rits

The Russell Hill RogersFund for the Arts

Carol Lee Kloseand Carolyn A. Seale

Part of the

Sponsored by

2:00 p.m. - Box Office opens2:40 p.m. - General seating

http://musicalbridges.org


Baroque 2: Italian Baroque1/19, Sat @ 7pmUTSA Recital Hall

Landon Dodd1/19, Sat @ 8pmAnhalt Hall

Max Stalling1/19, Sat @ 9pmGruene Hall

Musical OfferingsBrahms and Beyond1/20, Sun @ 3pmTimothy Jones, baritoneAkiko Fujimoto, conductorChrist Episcopal

Fredericksburg Music ClubAva Pine, vocalist1/20, Sun @ 3pmFredericksburg United Methodist

San Antonio SymphonyPassione: Italian Baroque1/20, Sun @ 7pmKenneth Freudigman, celloAkiko Fujimoto, conductorSan Fernando Cathedral

Tuesday Musical ClubJoyce Yang1/22, Tue @ 2pmLaurel Heights Methodist

University of Texas San Antonio Faculty and Friends Concert1/22, Tue @ 7:30pmRecital Hall UTSA Main Campus

Alamo Chapter of the American Guild of Organists Works of Johannes Brahms1/25, Fri @ 7:30pmParker ChapelTrinity University

San Antonio SymphonySymphony Espagnole1/25-26, Fri-Sat @ 8pmKaren Goymo, violinKaren Kamensek, conductorMajestic Theatre

Roger Creager1/25, Fri @ 9pmJohn T. Floore Country Store

6th Annual Luckenbach Blues Festival1/26, Sat / 2-10pmLuckenbach Dancehall

Opera Piccola and Alamo Arts Ballet Theatre1/26, Sat @ 7pmThiry AuditoriumOur Lady of the Lake University

Doug Moreland1/26, Sat @ 9pmJohn T. Floore Country Store

Jonathan Tyler & The Northern Lights1/26, Sat @ 9pmGruene Hall

San Antonio SymphonyInside Symphony The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra1/27, Sun @ 2:30pmAkiko Fujimoto, conductorLaurie Auditorium – Trinity

San Antonio Chamber Music SocietyMiro String Quartet1/27, Sun @ 3:15pmTemple Beth-El

Music at the Museum XIII1/28, Mon @ 6:30pmSan Antonio Museum of Art

Diana Ross1/29, Tue @ 8pmMajestic Theatre

Matchbox 20 with Phillip Phillips1/30, Wed @ 7:30pmMajestic Theatre

Camerata San AntonioBrahms Festival Special Concerts #1: String Sextets1/31, Thu @ 7:30pmJun Yi Ma & Bonnie Terry, violinAllyson Dawkins & Emily Freudgiman, violaKen Freudigman &David Mollenauer, celloChrist Episcopal Church

Brauntex PresentsJoni Morris1/31, Thu @ 7:30pmBrauntex Performing Arts TheatreNew Braunfels

San Antonio Choral SocietyThe Choral Works of Brahms1/31, Thu @ 7:30pmFirst United MethodistBoerne2/3, Sun @ 4pmLaurel Heights United Methodist

Mario Flores & The Soda Creek Band2/1, Fri @ 6pm (doors open)Leon Springs Dance Hall

San Antonio SymphonyPops Goes to the Movies2/1-2, Fri-Sat @ 8pmCarl Topilow, conductorand clarinetMajestic Theatre

Rance Norton2/2, Sat @ 6pm (doors open)Leon Springs Dancehall

Mid-Texas SymphonySuperbows2/2, Sat @ 7:30pmCraig Sorgi, violinEliza Thomason, violaDavid Mairs, conductorBrauntex Performing ArtsTheatre – New Braunfels

San Antonio International Piano Competition Piano SeriesAndrea Lam2/2, Sat @ 7:30pmRuth Taylor Recital HallTrinity University



http://theplayhousesa.org


Joe Ely Band2/2, Sat @ 9pmGruene Hall

Bleu Edmondson2/2, Sat @ 9pmLuckenbach Dancehall

Bart Crow2/2, Sat @ 9pmJohn T. Floore Country Store

Russian Folk Festival featuring Nikolai Massenkoff, baritone2/3, Sun @ 3pmKathleen C. Cailloux TheaterKerrville

San Antonio Choral Society Choral Works of Brahms2/3, Sun @ 4pmLaurel Heights United Methodist

Musical Bridges Around the WorldBrahms – Judy and Jefferson Crabb Musical Evenings at San Fernando Cathedral2/3, Sun @ 6:30pmCarolyn Sproule, mezzo-soprano,Emanuel Borok, violinMark Cheikhet, viola,Elena Portnaya, piano

Fingers and Cords2/4, Mon @ 6pmSan Antonio Museum of Art

Camerata San AntonioBrahms Festival Special Concerts #2: featuring Kirill Gerstein, piano2/7, Thu @ 7:30pmAnastasia Storer & Matthew Zerweck, violinEmily Freudigman, violaKen Freudigman, celloChrist Episcopal Church

San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo2/7, Thu @ 7pm – Clay Walker2/8, Fri @ 7:30pm – Eli Young Band2/9, Sat @ 1pm – Lee Brice2/9, Sat @ 7:30pm – Toby Keith2/10, Sun @ 1pm – Austin Mahone2/11, Mon @ 7pm – Reba McEntire2/12, Tue @ 7pm – Casting Crowns2/13, Wed @ 7pm – Gary Allan2/14, Thu @ 7pm – Thomp-son Square2/15, Fri @ 7:30pm – On-eRepublic2/16, Sat @ 1pm – Lady Antebellum2/16, Sat @ 7:30pm – Lady Antebellum2/17, Sun @ 1pm – Kip Moore2/17, Sun @ 7pm – La Original Banda el Limon2/18, Mon @ 7pm – Dierks Bentley2/19, Tue @ 7pm – Jerrod

Neimann2/20, Wed @ 7pm – The Band Perry2/21, Thu @ 7pm – Brant-ley Gilbert2/22, Fri @ 7:30pm REO Speedwagon2/23, Sat @ 1pm – Justin Moore2/23, Sat @ 7:30pm – Dari-us RuckerAT&T Center

San Antonio SymphonyBrahms Festival 12/8, Fri @ 8pmKirill Gerstein, pianoSebastian Lang-Lessing, conductorMajestic Theatre

Alejandro Escovedo2/8, Fri @ 8pmGruene Hall

Nick Lawrence2/9, Sat @ 6pm (doors open)Leon Springs Dancehall

Brauntex PresentsThe Rat Pack Now2/9, Sat @ 7:30pmBrauntex Performing Arts TheatreNew Braunfels

Boerne Performing Arts The 5 Browns2/9, Sat @ 7:30pmChampions HS AuditoriumBoerne

Carver CommunityCultural CenterChristian McBride & Inside Straight2/9, Sat @ 8pmJo Long Theatre

San Antonio SymphonyBrahms Festival 22/9, Sat @ 8pmKirill Gerstein, pianoSebastian Lang-Lessing, conductorMajestic Theatre

James McMurtry2/9, Sat @ 9pmJohn T. Floore Country Store

Turnpike Troubadours2/9, Sat @ 9pmGruene Hall

San Antonio SymphonyDISCOVER Brahms 22/10, Sun @ 3pmSebastian Lang-Lessing, conductorMajestic Theatre

Romancing Brahms… a Golden Finale2/11, Mon @ 5:30pmSan Antonio Museum of Art

Youth Orchestras of San Antonio and The Children’s Chorus of San Antonio Brahms Re-imagined2/11, Mon @ 7:30pmMajestic Theatre




http://artssa.org


Voci di SorelleLove Letters: Music of the Heart2/12, Tu @ 7pm2/16, Sat @ 7pmCowden GallerySan Antonio Museum of Art

SOLI Chamber Ensemble and Ballet San AntonioLove Triangle2/12, Tue @ 7:30pmRuth Taylor Recital HallTrinity University

Brauntex PresentsAlex Meixner2/12, Tue @ 8pmBrauntex Performing Arts TheatereNew Braunfels

Brauntex PresentsAlter Eagles2/14, Thu @ 7:30pmBrauntex Performing Arts TheatreNew Braunfels

Camerata San AntonioBrahms Festival Special Concerts #3: featuring Vadim Gluzman, violin2/14, Thu @ 7:30pmIlya Shterenberg, clarinetRenia Shterenberg, violinEmily Freudigman, violaKen Freudigman, celloAngela Yoffe, pianoChrist Episcopal Church

Meyer Anderson Band2/15, Fri @ 6pm (doors open)Leon Springs Dance Hall

Voci di SorelleLove Letters: Music of the Heart2/15, Fri @ 7pmThe Union Church BuildingKerrville

Bellamy Brothers2/15, Fri @ 7pm (doors open)Cowboys San Antonio

San Antonio SymphonyBrahms Festival 32/15, Fri @ 8pmVadim Gluzman, violinKian Wang, celloSebastian Lang-Lessing, conductorMajestic Theatre

Kyle Park2/15, Fri @ 9pmJohn T. Floore Country Store

San Antonio SymphonyBrahms Festival 42/16, Sat @ 8pmVadim Gluzman, violinSebastian Lang-Lessing, conductorMajestic Theatre

Jon Wolfe2/16, Sat @ 9pmJohn T. Floore Country Store

Micky & The Motorcars2/16, Sat @ 9pmGruene Hall

Gary P. Nunn2/16, Sat @ 9pmLuckenbach Dancehall

San Antonio SymphonyDISCOVER Brahms 42/17, Sun @ 3pmSebastian Lang-Lessing, conductorMajestic Theatre

Fredericksburg Music ClubSan Antonio Brass2/17, Sun @ 3pmFredericksburg United Methodist

Cactus Pear FestivalJohannas Brahms Complete Violin Sonatas2/17, Sun @ 7:30pmStephanie Sant’Ambrogio, violinJames Winn, violinChrist Episcopal

Almost Patsy Cline Band2/12, Fri @ 6pm (doors open)Leon Springs Dance Hall

Bob Schneider2/22, Fri @ 8pmGruene Hall

Monte Goode2/23, Sat @ 6pm (doors open)Leon Springs Dancehall

Brandon Rhyder2/23, Sat @ 9pmJohn T. Floore Country Store

Boerne Performing Arts Celtic Nights2/23, Sat @ 7:30pmChampions HS AuditoriumBoerne

Musical Bridges Around The WorldMusical Generations2/24, Sun @ 3pmLilya Zilberstein, Anton Zilberstein and Daniel Zilberstein, piano2/24, Sun @ 3pmMcAllister Auditorium - San Antonio College

Copperleaf QuintetMiserere: Reflections for Lent2/24, Sun @ 3pmMission San Jose

Children’s Chorus of San AntonioProject Sing! Winter Concert2/27, Wed @ 6:30pmThiry AuditoriumOur Lady of the Lake Uni-versity

On StageCameo TheatreCats1/1, Tue @ 2:30pm1/4-13, Fri-Sat @ 8pmSun @ 3:30pm

The Overtime TheaterHell and Back1/3-5, Thu-Sat @ 8pmGreg Barrios Theatre

Arts San Antonio PresentsShatner’s World: We JustLive In It1/9, Wed @ 7:30pmMajestic Theatre


http://bellaontheriver.com


Boerne Community TheatreRabbit Hole1/10-19, Thu @ 7L30pmFri-Sat @ 8pmSun @ 2:30pm

Geniuses of the American Musical Theatre: Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah VaughanLecture/Concert featuring Herb Keyser and Bett Butler1/14, Mon @ 7:30pmJosephine Theatre

Harlequin Dinner TheatreMurder is a Game1/17-2/16, Thu-Sat @ 8pm(Dinner @ 6:15pm)

The Playhouse San AntonioRed1/25-2/17, Fri-Sat @ 8pmSun @ 2:30pmCellar Theater

Boerne Performing ArtsDrumline Live!1/30, Wed @ 7:30pmChampions HS AuditoriumBoerne

Circle Arts Theatre – New BraunfelsDirty Rotten Scoundrels1/31-2/24, Thu-Sat @ 8pmSun @ 2pm

Playhouse 2000Girl in the Freudian Slip2/1-17, Fri-Sat @ 7:30pm, Sun @ 2pmKathleen C. Cailloux TheaterKerrville

Sheldon Vexler TheatreGlengarry Glen Ross2/7-3/3, Thu & Sat @ 8pmSun @ 2:30pm (No shows on Friday – one additional performance on 2/24, Sun @ 7:30pm)Barshop JCC

Woodlawn Black Box Neil Simon’s Chapter 22/8-24, Fri-Sat @ 7pmSun @ 3pmWoodlawn Theatre

http://bellaontheriver.com


The Classic Theatre San AntonioPainting Churches2/8-24, Thu-Sat @ 8pmSun @ 3pmSterling Houston Theatre @ Blue Star

San Antonio College Theatre DepartmentThe Underpants2/9-17, Thu-Sat @ 7:30pmSun @ 2:30pmMcCreless Theatre

Hill Country Arts FoundationLove, Loss, and What I Wore2/14-3/2, Thu-Sat @ 7:30pmSun @ 2pm (2/17 only)Elizabeth Huth Coates TheatreIngram

Trinity University Theatre DepartmentArcadia2/15-16, Fri-Sat @ 8pm2/17, Sun @ 2:30pm2/20-21, Wed-Thu @ 7pm2/22-23, Fri-Sat @ 8pmStieren Theater

The Renaissnce Guild A Raisin in the Sun2/15-24, Fri-Sat @ 8pmSun @ 4pmJo Long Theatre at the Carver

Woodlawn TheatreThe Full Monty2/15-3/17, Fri-Sat @ 7:30pmSun @ 3pm

Cadillac Broadway in San Antonio Memphis2/19-24, Tue-Fri @ 8pmSat @ 2pm & 8pmSun @ 1pm & 6:30pmMajestic Theatre

Andrew Lloyd Webber’sTell Me on a Sunday2/21-24, Thu-Fri @ 7:30pmSat @ 2pm & 7:30pmSun @ 2pmBrauntex Performing Arts TheatreNew Braunfels

S.T.A.G.E. A Time to Heal2/21-3/10, Thu-Sat @ 8pm(Dinner optional @ 6:30pm)Sun @ 2:30pm (Lunch optional @ 1pm)Kraus Haus – Bulverde

UIW Theatre ArtsThe Memory of Water2/22-3/2, Fri-Sat @ 8pmSun @ 2pmCoates Theatre

Boerne Community TheatreFunny Valentines2/22-3/9, Thu @ 7L30pmFri-Sat @ 8pmSun @ 2:30pm

Fredericksburg Theater CompanyA Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum2/22-3/10, Fri-Sat @ 7:30pm, Sun @ 2pmSteve W. Shepherd Theater

The Playhouse San AntonioRoads Courageous2/22-3/17, Fri-Sat @ 8pmSun @ 2:30pmRussell Hill Rogers Theatre

Opera

The Metropolitan OperaSeries: Les Troyens(Live on screen)1/5, Sat @ 11amCielo Vista 18, Huebner 14 & McCreeles Cinema

The Metropolitan OperaSeries: Un Ballo In Machera(On screen encore presentation)1/9, Wed @ 6:30pmCielo Vista 18, Huebner 14 & McCreeles Cinema

The Metropolitan OperaSeries: Aida(On screen encore presentation)1/16, Wed @ 6:30pmCielo Vista 18, Huebner 14 & McCreeles Cinema

Hill Country Opera & ArtsOpera-Pasta-Pizza(with singers from Texas State University Opera Department)1/17, Thu / 6:30pm-8:30pmBroken Stone PizzaBoerne

The Metropolitan OperaSeries: Maria Stuarda(Live on screen)1/19, Sat @ 11amCielo Vista 18, Huebner 14 & McCreeles Cinema

The Metropolitan OperaSeries: Les Troyens(On screen encore presentation)1/23, Wed @ 6:30pmCielo Vista 18, Huebner 14 & McCreeles Cinema

Opera Piccola of San Antonio Brahms Festival Gypsy Lover1/26, Sat @ 7pmThiry AuditoriumOur Lady of the Lake

The Metropolitan OperaSeries: Maria Stuarda(On screen encore presentation)2/6, Wed @ 6:30pmCielo Vista 18, Huebner 14 & McCreeles Cinema

The Metropolitan OperaSeries: Rigoletto(Live on screen)2/16, Sat @ 11amCielo Vista 18, Huebner 14 & McCreeles Cinema

DanceCarver Community Cultural CenterTU Dance1/18, Fri @ 8pmJo Long Theatre


January-February 2013 | On The Town 37March-April 2011 | On The Town 37

http://vexler.org


Texas State University Encore Performing Arts SeriesBallet Folklorico from UT Pan American2/17, Sun @ 7:30pmEvans AuditoriumSan Marcos

Children’sWoodlawn TheatreDisney’s Little Mermaid, Jr.Youth Cast 1/11, Fri @ 7pmSat-Sun @ 3pmTeen Cast1/12-14, Sat-Mon @ 7pm

Woodlawn Theatre13 The MusicalTeen Cast1/18-19, Fri-Sat @ 7pm1/20, Sun @ 3pm

The Performing Arts Academy of New BraunfelsDisney’s Aladdin, Jr.1/18-20, Fri @ 7pmSat @ 2pm & 7pmSun @ 2pmBrauntex Performing Arts TheatreNew Braunfels

The Magik TheaterDr. Seuss’s The Cat in the Hat and Other Tales1/9-2/16, Thu @ 9:45am & 11:30am, Fri @ 9:45am, 11:30am & 7pmSat @ 2pm

The Magik TheaterRapunzel2/27-3/30, Tue-Thu @ 9:45am & 11:30am, Fri @ 9:45am, 11:30am & 7pmSat @ 2pm

Comedy

Laugh Out Loud Comedy ClubJim David1/2-6, Wed-Thu & Sun @ 8pmFri-Sat @ 8pm & 10:15pm

Rivercenter Comedy ClubErik Rivera1/2-6, Wed-Thu & Sun @ 8:30pm Fri-Sat @ 8:30pm & 10:30pm

Rivercenter Comedy ClubMark Sweeney1/9-13, Wed-Thu & Sun @ 8:30pm Fri-Sat @ 8:30pm & 10:30pm

Laugh Out Loud Comedy ClubRich Vos1/16-20, Wed-Thu & Sun @ 8pmFri-Sat @ 8pm & 10:15pm

Rivercenter Comedy ClubMike Yard1/16-20, Wed-Thu & Sun @ 8:30pm Fri-Sat @ 8:30pm & 10:30pm

Laugh Out Loud Comedy ClubHannibal Buress1/23-26, Thu@ 8pmFri-Sat @ 8pm & 10:15pm

Rivercenter Comedy ClubTom Clark1/23-27, Wed-Thu & Sun @ 8:30pm Fri-Sat @ 8:30pm & 10:30pm

Lisa Lampanelli 1/25, Fri @ 8pmLila Cockrell Theater

Laugh Out Loud Comedy ClubAndrew Kennedy1/30-2/2,, Wed-Thu@ 8pmFri-Sat @ 8pm & 10:15pm

Rivercenter Comedy ClubCarole Montgomery1/30-2/2, Wed-Thu @ 8:30pm Fri-Sat @ 8:30pm & 10:30pm

Laugh Out Loud Comedy ClubPeyton Clarkson2/6, Wed @ 8pm

Rivercenter Comedy ClubTommy Blaze2/6-10, Wed-Thu & Sun @ 8:30pm Fri-Sat @ 8:30pm & 10:30pm

Laugh Out Loud Comedy ClubChristian Finnegan2/7-10, Thu & Sun @ 8pmFri-Sat @ 8pm & 10:15pm

Rivercenter Comedy ClubJoey Vega2/13-16, Wed-Thu @ 8:30pm Fri-Sat @ 8:30pm & 10:30pm

Laugh Out Loud Comedy ClubMaryellen Hooper2/14-17, Thu & Sun @ 8pmFri-Sat @ 8pm & 10:15pm

Rivercenter Comedy ClubKris Shaw2/17, Sun @ 8:30pm

The Second City Touring Company2/19, Tue @ 7:30pmJackson Auditorium Texas Lutheran UniversitySeguin

Rivercenter Comedy ClubJack Mayberry2/20-24, Thu & Sun @ 8:30pm Fri-Sat @ 8:30pm & 10:30pm

Laugh Out Loud Comedy ClubKevin Nealon2/22-23, Fri-Sat @ 8pm & 10:15pm

Laugh Out Loud Comedy ClubChris Bliss2/28-3/3, Thu & Sun @ 8pmFri-Sat @ 8pm & 10:15pm



http://ticketmaster.com


On ExhibitARTPACE

International Artist-In-ResidentNew Works: 12.3Dor GuezDavid Benjamin SherrySarah SudhoffHeidi Zuckerman-Jacobson, curatorThru 1/13

Window WorksLeigh Anne LesterCultivated Divergence1/10-4/28

BIHL HAUS ARTS

Journey to the Underworld & Other Forbidden Places Before the End of TimeThru 1/26

On & Off Fredericksburg Road Studio Tour2/16-17

BLUE STAR CONTEMPORARY ART CENTER

Dirty DozenThru 2/16

Lines & Other CurvesThru 2/16

Justn Randolph Thompson – Meet Me in the BottomsThru 2/16

INSTITUTE OF TEXAN CULTURES

Texas Contemporary Art-ists Series: Ana FernandezThru 1/20

Bantu Eyez: Somali Bantu of TexasPhotography by Cristina J. Sanchez Thru 3/3

Arte ChihuahuaThru 5/5

Asian Festival2/16, Sat 10am-5pm

McNAY ART MUSEUM

For Jerry: Masterpieces from the Lawson BequestThru 1/13

Prints of the People: The Taller de Grafica PopularThru 1/20

Estampas de la Raza: Contemporary Prints from the Romo CollectionThru 1/27

America’s Finest: RecentWorks by Vincent ValdezThru 1/27

Cecilia Condit: WorldThru 1/27

Fiesta, Fete, Festival1/16-6/9

Printed in San Antonio1/23-5/12

Majority Rules: A Decade of Contemporary Art Acquisitions1/23-9/15

Leonard Brooks of San Miguel de Allende1/30-5/19

Real/Surreal: Selections from the Whitney Mu-seum of Modern Art2/13-5/19

The Human Face and Form2/13-5/19

SAN ANTONIO BOTANICAL GARDEN

Art in the Garden 2012(In conjunction with Blue Star Contemporary Art Center)Thru 3/1

SAN ANTONIO MUSEUM OF ART

Aphrodite and the Gods of LoveThru 2/17

Rostros de Maria: The Virgin as Archetype and InspirationThru 2/20

SOUTHWEST SCHOOL OF ART Justin Boyd: Days and DaysThru 2/10

Anita Valencia: Sun She Rises, Sun She Set, And You Ain’t Seen Texas YetThru 2/10

Juan De Dios Mora: Laters12/6-2/10

Mock/Bite2/21-4/28

Julie Speed: Solo Exhibition2/21-4/28

Tracy Lynch: Kindred Gestures2/21-4/28

WITTE MUSEUM

Texas Performers Under the Big TopThru 1/13

Artists on the Texas FrontierThru 5/27

Mummies of the WorldThru 1/27

Threads of South America:2,000 Years of TextilesThru 3/31

Witte Through Time:85 Years and Still GrowingThru 8/13

Dinosaurs Unearthed2/23-9/2

Miscellaneous



http://thecarver.org


U.S. Army All-American Bowl1/5, Sat @ 12pmAlamodome Advance Auto Parts Monster Jam1/12-13, Sat @ 7pmSun @ 2pmAlamodome

San Antonio Cocktail Conference1/17-20

Harlem Globetrotters1/31, Thu @ 7pmAT&T Center

San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo2/7-23AT&T Center

JCC 12th Annual Jewish Film Festival2/9-13Santikos Embassy 14

Cine Festival en San Antonio2/23-3/2Guadalupe TheaterGuadalupe Cultural Center

Photo CreditsPage 28 (L-R)

Camerata San AntonioPhoto by Greg Harrison

Doc Severinsen and the San Miguel FiveCourtesy Brauntex Per-forming Arts Theatre

Mario Flores and the Soda Creek BandCourtesy liveatfloores.com

Pat GreenCourtesy liveatfloores.com

Page 30 (L-R)

Igudesman and JooCourtesy ingudesmanand-joo.com

Max StallingCourtesy maxstalling.com

Akiko FujimotoCourtesy San Antonio Symphony

Ava PineCourtesy Fredericksburg Music Club

Page 32 (L-R)

Joyce YangCourtesy pianistjoyceyang.com

Karen GomyoCourtesy San Antonio Symphony

Karen KamensekCourtesy San Antonio Symphony

Roger CreagerCourtesy liveatfloores.com

Page 34 (L-R)

Miro String QuartetCourtesy themiroquartet.com

Matchbox TwentyCourtesy matchboxtwenty.com

Carl TopilowCourtesy carltopilow.com

David MairsCourtesy Mid-Texas Symphony

Page 35 (L-R)

Kirill GersteinCourtesy San Antonio Symphony

Andrea LamPhoto by Greg Barrett

Bart CrowCourtesy liveatfloores.com

Lady AntebellumCourtesy ladyantebellum.com

Page 36 (L-R)

The Band PerryCourtesy thebandperry.com

REO SpeedwagonCourtesy Majestic Theatre

The Rat Pack NowCourtesy Brauntex Per-forming Arts Theatre

The 5 BrownsCourtesy Boerne Perform-ing Arts

Page 38 (L-R)Troy PetersCourtesy Youth Orchestras of San Antonio

Voci di SorelleCourtesy benissimomusic.org

SOLIPhoto by Kemp Davis

Alex MeixnerCourtesy alexmeixner.com

Page 40 (L-R)

Vadim GluzmanCourtesy San Antonio Symphony

Gary P. NunnCourtesy liveatfloores.com

Stephanie Sant’AmbrogioPhoto by Liz Garza Wil-liams

Brandon RhyderCourtesy liveatfloores.com

(L-R)

Lilya SilbersteinCourtesy schmidtart.com

William ShatnerPhoto by Joan Marcus

Felicia Boswell and Bryan FenkartNational Tour of Mem-phisPhoto by Paul Kolnik

Maryellen HooperCourtesy Maryellenhop-per.com



http://jccsanantonio.org

44 On The Town | January-February 2013 November-December 2012 | On The Town 44

http://cappysrestaurant.com/

http://cappyccinos.com/

http://lafondaonmain.com/


Culinary Arts46-54

Culinary Arts46-54


Boiler House Texas Grill & Wine Garden Now at PearlBy Jonathan Horowitz Photograpy Shane Kyle

Boiler House Texas Grill & Wine Garden, now open at Pearl Brewery, offers something unique to San Antonio’s culinary scene. Located in the original

boiler house built in 1894, which powered the brewery during its heyday, many of the building’s significant architectural features have been incorporated into the design of the restaurant, including two of the enormous coal-powered boilers that frame the bar and form the walls of Boiler House’s kitchen.

The restaurant offers a high-energy venue, mixing urban and industrial to honor the feel of the old boiler house and, while infusing a Texas-style chic, creating the perfect watering hole to gather with friends, family or colleagues for lunch, dinner, weekend brunch or an evening out.

“It’s definitely the most unique kitchen environment I’ve been a part of. The first time we toured the building, I was in awe of the structure and the boilers. I love the design and am excited to be a part of the new chapter at Pearl,” said James Moore, formerly the chef at MAX’s Wine Dive (Boiler House’s sister restaurant) and now the executive chef at Boiler House.

“Our concept and menu fit the uniqueness of the building,” Moore said. The new concept from Lasco Enterprises, parent company of both MAX’s and Boiler House, is a wine-centric, Texas-style restaurant featuring grilled delicacies from local farms and markets and extraordinary wines from around the world.

“Boiler House is Texas-inspired, but that doesn’t mean we’re doing chicken fried steak and mashed potatoes,” Moore said. “We’re taking Texas flavors and twisting them, presenting ingredients people know, but mixing it up to present combinations that reflect an international influence on Texas tastes. My career has allowed me to work across a number of cuisines — the Boiler House menu reflects those influences.”

The foundation of the menu is “small plates” ideal for sharing, perfect for the relaxed wine garden atmosphere and communal picnic tables featured in Boiler House’s unique outdoor space, the wine garden. Playing off a traditional European beer garden, the space includes custom-made picnic tables designed to keep wine (or beer!) chilled while people enjoy spending time with friends and family noshing on contemporary Texas fare.

“The proteins and prime cuts are designed to be the centerpieces of the meal so that diners can then build around those to create a meal for sharing,” Moore said. “Or guests can do a mix of small plates and proteins, adding breads or something from the market. We’re really letting our customers build their meal by choosing the ingredients that appeal to them.”

With a culinary passport that includes Japanese, Italian, Mediterranean, classic American comfort food and more, it’s not hard to see that Moore likes to explore the world through food. Is he ready for the challenge? “I’m excited to see the doors open. I outlined the first concept menu


48 On The Town | January-February 201348 On The Town | January-February 2013

in summer 2011 and have worked to refine it and create dishes that fit this amazing space and distinctive design. It’s great seeing it all come together,” he said.

“I love a challenge. I love to innovate, so sinking my teeth into a new concept and being a part of bringing Boiler House together has been fun. I’ve opened restaurants before, but this is the first time I’ve been involved conceptually. And of course, Lasco has a history of success, so being a part of the team putting Boiler House together has given me the opportunity to work with the best.”

Jerry Lasco, founder and CEO of Lasco Enterprises, said, “One of chef Moore’s biggest talents is his ability to create new dishes and menus. Chef Moore’s leadership and talent have led MAX’s in San Antonio to win not only the hearts of SA food lovers, but dozens of culinary awards and contests since its opening. The most comfortable position to be in when opening a restaurant is to be opening with a chef that has gained everyone’s respect and confidence. Chef Moore has built a reputation as one of Texas’ most creative and consistent talents.”

In addition to the two years Moore spent crafting gourmet comfort food at MAX’s, the chef brings more than 22 years of restaurant experience, world travel and knowledge of numerous styles of cuisine to the Boiler House kitchen.

“It is all about attention to the integrity of the products and the simplicity of the foods,” Moore said. “It is letting the quality of the ingredients speak for themselves. And it’s a concept that definitely influences what we’re doing with Boiler House — letting quality ingredients shine.”

Boiler House servers will walk diners through the menu, and offer wine suggestions to pair with the food, or conversely, the right food pairing for a favorite wine.

“Our servers know the menu and know our wines,” Moore said. “Like at MAX’s Wine Dive, we’re not wine snobs. We want the wine experience to be fun and definitely not intimidating. We don’t take ourselves too seriously or look down on anyone who asks questions about wine or the food. We want to talk to our customers and share information to help them enjoy their experience even more.”

To learn more, visit www.boilerhousesa.com.


www.boilerhousesa.com


http://brauntex.org


http://zoccariverwalk.com


The Junior League of San Antonio is celebrating the return of Fête du Cuvée Fine Wine Auction, a must-attend event for San Antonio wine enthusiasts.

The event’s name is a play on the term “tête de cuvée,” the top of the line from any Champagne house. Fête du Cuvée celebrates the best of the best, featuring fine wine, fabulous food from fantastic chefs and unique auction items sure to excite wine enthusiasts.

An elegant black tie affair, this amazing wine-centric event features the opportunity to bid on exclusive lots in a remarkable silent auction that includes unique offerings, large format bottles, libraries and allotment wines; as well as a live auction that offers one-of-a kind packages and fabulous wine-related experiences.

Junior League’s Fête du Cuvée Celebrates Second YearBy Dawn Robinette



Acclaimed San Antonio chefs create unique dishes for Fête du Cuvée, pairing each with wines they feel best accentuate their dish. Each chef prepares their dish at food stations around the ballroom and personally serves the dish to Fête du Cuvée patrons, making the event an opportunity to interact with some of the hottest names on the San Antonio culinary scene. The featured chefs for 2013 include: Jeffery Balfour, Executive Chef, Hotel Valencia Riverwalk; Stefan Bowers, Executive Chef, FEAST; John Brand, Executive Chef, Ostra at Mokara Hotel & Spa and Las Canarias at Omni La Mansión del Rio; Geronimo Lopez, Executive Chef, NAO – New World Flavors; James Moore, Executive Chef, Boiler House Texas Grill & Wine Garden; and John Russ, Executive Chef, Lüke San Antonio.

The chefs were announced over hors d’oeuvres and wine at a special event hosted by Frost Bank, Fête du Cuvée’s presenting sponsor. An exclusive preview party featuring catering by Executive Chef Clint Connaway of MAX’s Wine Dive will be held for Fête du Cuvée patrons at Porsche of San Antonio, giving patrons the opportunity to enjoy another food and wine experience while learning about the auction items available during the March event.

Net proceeds from Fête du Cuvée benefit the community programs and projects of the Junior League of San Antonio. Relying on fundraisers such as Fête du Cuvée to provide funding to support its efforts, the Junior League of San Antonio impacts

more than 60 San Antonio-area non-profits and agencies each year, contributing more than 10,000 volunteer hours, project management and funding, making it a valued partner to worthy organizations throughout the city.

The corks will be popping as event attendees raise their glasses at the second annual Fête du Cuvée on March 2. While tickets are limited, custom sponsorships and underwriting opportunities for this exclusive event are still available. To learn more about the event, sponsorship opportunities and how you can enjoy this fabulous evening designed for true wine enthusiasts, visit www.sanantoniowineauction.com.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Photo Credits


Page 52-53 (L-R)

Jeffrey Balfour Hotel Valencia

John Brand Las Canarias / Ostra

Geronimo Lopez NAO – New World Flavors

James Moore Boiler House Texas Grill & Wine Garden

John Russ Luke San Antonio

Clint Connaway Max’s Wine Dive

www.sanantoniowineauction.com

www.sanantoniowineauction.com


http://coushattacasinoresort.com


Visual Arts56-68

Visual Arts56-68


Twenty-thirteen is poised to be a great year for San Antonio. The city is bustling with new business, new resttaurants, new ideas and happily, new art.

Galleries and museums both large and small bring the very best in arts and culture. From found art to animatronic dinosaurs, there’s something for everyone to enjoy on the town!

Blue Star Contemporary ArtsAfter reviewing over 100 submissions, Catherine Anspon, the Fine Arts and Social Editor at PaperCity Magazine in Houston, selected seven artists from San Antonio and five artists from Houston to be shown in Dirty Dozen, on display at Blue Star Contemporary Arts through Feb. 16.

Participating Artists from San Antonio include Esteban Delgado, Gabriel Diego Delgado, Claudio Dicochea, Michele Monseau, Ethan Moore, Ivan Salcido and Gary Schafter. Participating Artists from Houston include Ann Wood, Susan Plum, Nancy Douthey, Jon Leach and Liza Littlefield.

“Dirty Dozen is about obsessive artists who individually explore themes of nature, the supernatural, architecture, socio-politics, community, pop culture, cloning and baroque ornamentation through painting, video, sculpture,

performance and audience participation,” says Anspoon. She notes the recurring theme of the supernatural present in many of the works.

Also on display at Blue Star is In Lines and Other Curves, an exhibition presenting the separate but related directions artists Matt Irie’s and Dominick Talvacchio’s solo practices have taken since their latest collaborative work in 2009.

Irie’s paintings question what can happen when the starting point is a “finished” paint drip. The drip, removed from its ordinary context as a house painting mistake, is a fully formed object that has an inherent movement of its own. When applied and layered repeatedly in a modular fashion, the movement of discrete drips can complement, contradict, and confound one another in opening up spaces that are as illusionistic as they are inviting. In considering the way that the material process is front and center in experiencing these paintings, Irie likes to think of that process as one of using the uncanny drip to simultaneously create and solve a puzzle.

Talvacchio’s recent work shares with Irie’s an aesthetic sensibility and an interest in the dynamics and tension of repetition. Here, the original movement is one that could be called the eros of mathematics, the creation and play of


New Art in the New Year!by Cassandra Yardeni


the objects that belong to it. The material presence given to this eros, this life force, becomes subtly erotic, and the works invite an experience of losing oneself not in chaos, but rather in the order so created. Many of these works on paper and video pieces are referred to as “palpations,” suggesting the art of touching a body in order to sense a mysterious presence within it. At their core, both bodies of work share a spirit of surprise, an obsession with the unexpected and often mesmerizing outcomes of the movement of seemingly simple parts. In Lines and Other Curves is on view through February 16.

Finally, Blue Star presents Justin Randolph Thompson’s Meet Me in the Bottoms, also on view through Feb.16. The provocative installation addresses dismantled hierarchies through the lens of the architecture of theatre space, the propagandic employment of sound and the socio-political implications associated with the shoeshine trade. The work revolves around a social pact formed by shoe shiners, the concept of putting our best things away awaiting deliverance, the subversion of sound as background and the elevation of the viewer.

Southwest School of ArtThrough Feb. 10, the Southwest School of Art hosts three captivating exhibits. Justin Boyd’s Days and Days; Anita

Valencia’s Sun She Rise, Sun She Set and You Ain’t Seen Texas Yet; and Jaun De Dios Mora’s Laters are free and open to the public and offer a veritable feast for the senses, and media and content will captivate art enthusiasts of all types.

Bihl Haus ArtsBihl Haus Arts presents Journey to the Underworld and Other Forbidden Places before the End of Time, an installation and exhibit of new works by artist Jane Madrigal, a cosmic journey through time and collective consciousness. The exhibit is on view through Jan. 26.

The installation features a temple to Coyolxauhqui, goddess of the moon, and artworks dedicated to other indigenous feminine deities revered before the Conquest. These works honor the ancient belief that held sacred the feminine principle and equated it with spiritual power and reverence. This is a journey through time in which women are goddesses and warriors rather than wives or bed maidens.

Bihl Haus is also a part of the On & Off Fredericksburg Road Studio Tour that takes place Feb. 16-17.

Institute of Texan CulturesBeginning Feb. 22, it’s all about girl power at the Institute



of Texas Cultures. Come celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Girl Scouts with this special exhibit that highlights the organization’s history from its early years to today through compelling stories and memorabilia.

San Antonio Museum of ArtCurrent exhibits at SAMA are Rostros de Maria: The Virgin as Archetype and Inspiration which concludes on Jan. 30 and the very popular Aphrodite and the Gods of Love on display through Feb. 17. Organized by the Museum of Fine Art in Boston, the exhibit features 125 statues, vases, terracotta and bronze figures, mirrors and jewelry.

Witte Museum Mummies of the World continues at the Witte thru Jan. 27. After that, Dinosaurs Unearthed makes a return visit to the museum beginning Feb. 23 and runs through Sept. 2. It carries with it the promise of being bigger, better and more feathered than ever and features advanced electronic technology that brings animatronic dinosaurs to virtual life. Complete skeletons, hands-on interactives and a paleontology dig site where kids search for fossils enhance the overall experience.

Dinosaurs Unearthed: Bigger. Better. Feathered. puts forth evidence suggesting that some dinosaurs are the ancestors of modern day birds rather than modern reptiles. The story of feathered dinosaurs is an interactive visual spectacle that visitors of all ages can enjoy. And keep an eye out for “Patty” the Apatosaurus, who at 60 feet long, greets you in the Witte front yard.

McNay Through Jan. 27, the McNay hosts Estampas de la Raza: Contemporary Prints from the Romo Collection, the most comprehensive survey of the contributions of Latino artists of post-1960 American printmaking to date. The exhibition chronicles the late 1960s at the outset of the Chicano Movement to the confident expressions of the 2000s.

Estampas de la Raza introduces recent gifts to the McNay from San Antonio collectors Harriett and Ricardo Romo. More than 60 prints by 44 artists reveal the richness of a mixed cultural heritage, with depictions of Frida Kahlo, lowriders, a quiceañera, the Statue of Liberty, tattoos, and the Virgin of Guadalupe.

“Estampas de la Raza is a celebration of the achievements of Latino printmakers, their rich and vibrant culture, and the incredible generosity of Harriett and Ricardo Romo,” says Lyle Williams, exhibition curator and McNay Curator of



Prints and Drawings. “Thanks to them, we are all able to enjoy these great works of art that chronicle the Latino experience in the U.S.”

Organized thematically in five sections, the exhibition focuses on aspects of the Latino experience in the United States: the identity of individuals striving to define themselves; the Chicano Movement’s struggle to achieve economic, political, and personal equality; tradition, memory, and culture in the everyday lives of Latinos; icons that represent guideposts or social and political causes; and other voices revealing the complex and ever-changing directions Latinos choose. Many images are larger than life, serving up a colorful, visual feast.

Next up at the McNay is Real/Surreal: Selections from the Whitney Museum of Modern Art in NewYork City. Dates for this exhibit are Feb. 13 through May 19.

What I have covered in this writing is but a tip of the arts’ iceberg. Explore the museums and art centers of the city in 2013. Make it a resolution you keep.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •Photo Credits:


Page 56George C. Ault, Hudson Street, 1932. Oil on canvas. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase 33.40. McNay Art Museum

Page 57Statuette of Aphrodite emerging from the sea.Greek or RomanEastern Mediterranean1st Century BC – 1st Century ADMarbleH 16 15/16” (43 cm) x W 11 7/16” (29 cm)Museum of Fine Arts, BostonFrank B. Bemis Fund, 198620San Antonio Museum of Art

Page 58Howler MonkeyMummies of the World ExhibitCourtesy American Exhibitions, Inc.Witte Museum

Sonia Romero, Bee Pile (Found ‘Em), 2010. Screenprint. Collection of the McNay Art Museum, Gift of Harriett and Ricardo Romo.McNay Art Museum


DINOSAURS UNEARTHED: BIGGER. BETTER. FEATHERED.February 23 - September 2 at The Witte MuseumBy Shannon Huntington Standley



D inosaurs Unear thed is back at the Witte but this time they are bigger, better and more feathered than ever! They stomp into the

Witte’s Kathleen and Curtis Gunn Gallery February 23 through September 2.

Allow curiosities to soar and step back in time to discover the most fascinating creatures to have roamed the Earth. Experience the world’s largest and most advanced life-sized animatronic dinosaurs, complete skeletons, fossils, hands-on interactives, a paleontological dig site where visitors can unearth fossils as well as the opportunity to explore the most current scientific findings.

Walk amongst a life-sized Allosaurus, Dilophosau-rus, Microraptor, Protoceratops, Angustinaripter-us, Stegosaurus, Yangchuanosaurus, Omeisaurus, Tuojiangosaurus, Yangchuanosaurus, Tyranno-saurus Rex and keep an eye out for “Patty” the Apatosaurus, who at 60 feet long, will meet you in the Witte frontyard!

This exhibition highlights the latest discoveries in paleontology, including evidence suggesting some dinosaurs are the ancestors of modern day birds rather than modern reptiles. The story of feathered dinosaurs is an interactive visual spectacle that visitors of all ages can enjoy.

The discovery has drawn the fascinating connection between ancient dinosaurs and modern birds. Scientists have found that feathers first evolved as a means of warmth and display and later became specialized to the extent that flight was possible. Don’t miss the feathered Juvenile Tyrannosaurus Rex, Gigantoraptor, Velociraptor, Sinosauropteryx and Confuciusornis.

Additionally, the Witte is presenting the Louis A. and Frances B. Wagner Lecture Series Beasts and Bones: New Dino Discoveries. Adults and children alike can step back in time to the Mesozoic Era and encounter the beasts that roamed the planet for more than 180 million years. The enlightening series of presentations by expert scholars include Cretaceous Coastal Creatures: New Findings from Texas on April 10 by Derek J. Main, Ph.D., Research Team with the Arlington Archosaur Site; Sea Dragons of the Triassic on May 8 by Dan



Lehrmann, Ph.D., Pyron Distinguished Professor of Geological Science, Trinity University ; and Feathered Dinosaur Discoveries on June 12 by Julia Clarke, Ph.D., Associate Professor and John A. Wilson Fellow in Vertebrate Paleontology in the Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas at Austin.

Plus, don’t let the kids miss Spring Break with the dinosaurs March 11-15. The Witte again presents Spring Break Adventure Camp, and this year is Dig Into Dinosaurs! The day-long dinosaur adventures are geared for children in grades 1-2 and 3-5. Each day features a different, exciting theme including Deep Time, Dino or Dino Not?, Paleontological Processes, Forever Fossils and Dino-mite Discoveries. The best part is, children can sign up for the whole week or just a day.


Photo Credits:

Pages 60-61

Omeisaurus skeleton

Page 62

(Above)Gigantoraptor

(Below)Feathered Juvenile T Rex

(Above)Allosauras


Real/Surreal Paints New Way of Looking at American Art By Mauri Elbel



R eal/Surreal: Selections From the Whitney Museum of American Art is teeming with visual treasures that encourage a new way

of viewing iconic American works from the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s.

Drawn from the deep holdings of the Whitney Museum of American Art’s permanent collection and expertly organized by Whitney curator Carter Foster, Real/Surreal focuses on the tension and overlap between two strong currents in 20th century art: realism and surrealism.

“Real/Surreal provides new insight into the tension in American art during the first half of the 20th century between realism and surrealism, a tension that has not been adequately shown in an exhibition before,” said Dr. William Chiego, director of the McNay Art Museum.

Real/Surreal will be on display at the McNay from Feb. 13 through May 19, featuring a vivid array of

paintings, drawings, photographs and prints that elucidate how various artists developed qualified degrees of reality where imagination held more or less sway — depending on intention and influence. Charles Burchfield, Paul Cadmus, Joseph Cornell, Philip Guston, Edward Hopper, Man Ray, Ben Shahn, Charles Sheeler, Yves Tanguy, George Tooker and Andrew Wyeth are among the more renowned artists featured in this exhibit; however, lesser-known artists and works from this time period are not overshadowed.

“Two works that capture the essence of the exhibition are Edward Hopper’s Cape Cod Sunset, a seemingly ordinary but eerily quiet and un-peopled view of a house, and George Tooker’s The Subway, where anxious people inhabit a frightening labyrinth of modern transit,” Chiego said.

While a basic connection to the observable world underlies realist works, the term realism has many facets. Subverting reality through imagination and



the unconscious rests at the heart of surrealism. Yet convergences found in these different — sometimes oppositional — approaches encourage a new kind of interpretation of art from this time period in America.

Integral to the paintings of Edward Hooper, widely known for chronicling New York urban life, are his own subjectivity and imagination. Charles Sheeler is among a multitude of artists who developed imagery based on the new conditions of industrial America. Abstract painters like Yves Tanguy relied on techniques from traditional, realist art to create strange worlds, while Mabel Dwight and Helen Lundeberg distorted these techniques to undercut the viewer’s sense of stability using recognizable objects and settings.

In addition to the 65 works from the Whitney, Real/Surreal will offer visitors the opportunity to view other works by artists represented in the McNay’s own permanent collection. The McNay is contributing six paintings from Edward Hopper, Paul Cadmus,

Ben Shahn, Eugene Berman, Miklos Suba and Pavel Tchelitchew, some of which include singular examples from this period as well as others created by the same artists in the Whitney’s collection. For example, the McNay’s drawing Fantasia on a Theme by Paul Cadmus is a study for the Whitney’s Cadmus painting Fantasia on a Theme by Dr. S, both of which will appear in the San Antonio exhibit.

With Time Out New York recently naming Real/Surreal one of the best exhibitions of the fall season, and Ken Johnson of the New York Times comparing it to visiting your grandmother’s attic and finding it loaded with forgotten treasures, no one will want to pass on this spectacular display of American art locally.

“The McNay is excited to present Real/Surreal because it is a rare opportunity, thanks to the Whitney’s deep collections, to see a crucial period of American art in depth,” Chiego said. “Museum-goers will see iconic works that are seldom seen outside New York City.”

For more information, visit www.mcnayart.org.


www.mcnayart.org

January-February 2013 | On The Town 67January-February 2013 | On The Town 67

Photo Credits:

Page 64

Edward Hopper. Cape Cod Sunset, 1934. Oil on canvas. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; Josephine N. Hopper Bequest 70.1166. © Heirs of Josephine N. Hopper, licensed by the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York.

Page 65

Federico Castellón, The Dark Figure, 1938. Oil on canvas. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase 42.3.Permission courtesy Michael Rosenfeld Gallery LLC, New York.

Pages 66-67 (L-R)

George Tooker, The Subway, 1950. Egg tempera on composition board. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase, with funds from the Juliana Force Purchase Award 50.23.Courtesy of the Estate of George Tooker and D. C. Moore Gallery, New York.

Jared French, State Park, 1946. Egg tempera on composition board. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; gift of Mr. and Mrs. R. H. Donnelley Erdman 65.78.

Edward Hopper, Seven A. M., 1948. Oil on canvas. Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; purchase and exchange 50.8. © Whitney Museum of American Art, New York.


http://santikos.com


Eclectics70-90

Eclectics70-90


On the grounds of Santa Anna’s battlefield stands a building once touted as the tallest skyscraper west of the Mississippi, named for

a servant whose actions helped Texas win its battle for independence at the Battle of San Jacinto, that a variety of friendly ghosts call home. Not sure you know which San Antonio icon fits that bill? Then it’s time for you to check into The Emily Morgan Hotel — A DoubleTree by Hilton.

Built in 1926, The Emily Morgan Hotel originally was the San Antonio Medical Arts Building. Its 1920s Gothic style and location on Alamo Plaza make it one of the most recognizable buildings downtown. Home to The Emily Morgan Hotel since 1985, the historic property is putting the finishing touches on a $4 million renovation making the interior as memorable as its fascinating façade.

General manger Chris Johnson helms the historic property. “You get Texas when you come to The Emily Morgan,” he said. “Iconography is a sense of place, and we deliver that better than any other location in the city. We’re neighbors with the Alamo — our view into and

over the Alamo is unparalleled. If you want to really feel San Antonio, you stay at the Emily Morgan.”

A Chicago native whose hotel management career has taken him around the country, Johnson is also a former stand-up comic who excels at finding ways to leave a mark. The walls of his office are lined with awards, recognitions and news articles featuring Johnson and his work at a variety of hotels. He’s been featured in publications including The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal and the Los Angeles Times. “I always try to look at things differently. It’s not looking outside of the box; it’s never seeing the box in the first place,” Johnson said.

Johnson uses that perspective to make everything at The Emily Morgan Hotel stand out. During the hotel’s renovation, he hosted an event with the San Antonio Conservation Society that allowed guests to leave their mark on history: guests could write on the walls of one of the hotel’s floors. The messages and a time capsule are now a part of the hotel.

Inspired by the building’s architecture and its proximity to the Alamo, the hotel renovation reflects the rich

A Fresh Take on HistoryChris Johnson Breathes New Life intoThe Emily Morgan Hotel with Passion and FunBy Dawn RobinettePhotography Greg Harrison



culture and regional style of San Antonio. With a blend of Texas influences of pattern, texture and color, the renovation bathes the hotel in warm colors and tones, welcoming guests to stay and relax. The design features an upscale, muted Texas style: You won’t find cowboy boots and spurs lining the walls, but you’ll certainly be comfortable kicking up your heels or kicking back with your feet up, no matter what shoes you’re wearing.

“People are influenced by their environment. When guests stay at The Emily Morgan, we want them to feel embraced by a Texas classic with a current feel. The renovation honors the story of this fabulous building and our proximity to Texas history, yet gives the hotel a fresh twist,” Johnson said.

Johnson also wants locals to enjoy the hotel and has created events such as a monthly Psychic Happy Hour, as well as a Vegas night featuring Phil Yamin and the Bellagio Band. He also established a “Local VIP” card that provides a 25 percent discount at the hotel and can be used at Oro Restaurant and Bar, the hotel’s award-winning hot spot. And valet parking at The Emily Morgan is free for locals enjoying Oro, making it even easier to have a great time.

A self-described history nerd, Johnson said he enjoys working in a property steeped in history and interesting quirks, like an office housed in an area that was once a morgue. “We have an amazing mix of history both above and below ground. It’s fun to think about all that happened here. From the battleground to the medical building, it’s part of the personality of the building,” he said.

Part of that personality includes the Alamo, just 14 steps away from the hotel. The Emily Morgan Hotel is the official hotel of the Alamo.

“Our relationship with the Alamo helps set the Emily Morgan apart, and it is a natural fit,” Johnson said. “Our goal is to make the Emily Morgan the jewel of Texas — the place to stay in San Antonio and the place that locals enjoy. Every market has an iconic hotel, one that everyone stays in or everyone aspires to visit. There are some great hotels here, but nothing stands out as the iconic must stay for San Antonio. We have the opportunity to create that with the Emily Morgan. Everyone knows us on the San Antonio skyline and now everyone will know us as the destination to stay.”

For more information, visit www.emilymorganhotel.com.72 On The Town | January-February 2013

www.emilymorganhotel.com


COUSHATTA CASINO RESORT BRINGS VEGAS FUN NEXT DOORby Michele Krier


I f Louisiana seems like a different country to you, wait until you visit the Sovereign Nation of the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana, a federally

recognized Native American Tribe. You don’t have to fly to Las Vegas to get your game on! Right next door in Louisiana is one of the nation’s most popular Indian Casinos, owned and operated by the Coushatta Native American Tribe.

David Sickey, a Council Member of the Coushatta Tribe, says, “Our history pre-dates Spanish Explorer Fernando Desoto’s explorations in the U. S. in the 1540s. The Coushatta people have lived here in the piney woods of Southwest Louisiana now for more than a century. This is our history.” He’s equally proud of the Tribe’s modern accomplishments. “We’re the fourth -largest private employer in this region.”

A short drive from Lake Charles, Louisiana, the Coushatta Casino Resort offers more than 100,000 square feet of gaming at the premier casino destination serving Texas and Louisiana.

Games from Blackjack, Roulette, Craps and Live Poker, to off-track betting from Saratoga to Louisiana Downs, attract guests each year to test their skills on the Vegas-sized gaming floor. Thousands of reel and video slot machines and giant progressives with dream jackpots add excitement to the colorful casino.

A walk around the casino floor brings to mind energetic casinos similar to Atlantic City. Mini-Baccarat, live Bingo and high stakes gaming salons, in addition to 2,800 slots and 70 table games, provide plenty of playtime. A shiny new Cadillac car graced the lobby over the holidays and inspired players to think of literally driving away with their winnings. But the resort is known for large cash prizes and exciting promotions throughout the year.

Add in several lovely hotels, including an upscale luxury hotel with a lobby that will make you think you’re on the Vegas Strip, and you have a vacation plan to fit every budget. The Top of



the line recently opened Seven Clans Hotel is arguably the most elegant of the properties--featuring luxurious bedroom accommodations, upscale spa bathrooms and an elegant lobby with a well-stocked gift shop, snack bar, lounge and easy access to the casino. The Coushatta Grand Hotel and the Coushatta Inn are family priced and popular with travelers enjoying Vegas-style entertainment just a short drive from home. And the Coushatta complex happily hosts reunions and business conferences.

You don’t even have to leave the property to enjoy nine dining options--Gumbeaux for Louisiana’s famed seafood, Big Sky Steakhouse for, yes, steaks, but also for unbelievably delicious crabcakes, and a great wine menu. Choices from the Seven Clans Buffet to the Corner Bar and Deli give options for every appetite. And those who are 55-plus enjoy a pocket-pleasing $5.50 lunch buffet every Tuesday.

Entertainment is everywhere--from The Mikko Live Lounge featuring comedy, touring bands and

shows, to national headline acts like Larry the Cable Guy who performed to a sold -out crowd of 4,000 in The Pavilion in December. Age 16 and younger must be accompanied by a parent or guardian to attend events at The Pavilion. Age requirement for the Mikko Live lounge is 21.

And how can you top these entertainment options?

Round out your visit with a round of golf on a beautiful course surrounded by sky-reaching pine trees and the loveliest manicured greens you can imagine. The Koasati Pines18-hole, par 72 championship layout has earned a great reputation among golfers. A visit to the French-Quarter style restaurant at the golf clubhouse and the well-stocked pro shop are a great way to top off your stay at the Coushatta Resort.

Visit the website: www.coushattacasinoresort.com

And Free mobile APP: at the Android store or iphone store



YEAR OF THE SNAKEDiverse Asian communities celebrate heritage, identity at the Institute of Texan CulturesBy James M. Benavides


When the Asian Festival began 26 years ago, it was a family program at the San Antonio Museum of Art, marking the Lunar New

Year. The festival quickly took on a life of its own, with a diversity of Asian cultures coming together to celebrate their unique identities and to announce their presence to the San Antonio community. The 26th annual Asian Festival will be from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Feb. 16 at the Institute of Texan Cultures.

The festival has welcomed a range of unique cultures to join in the celebration, including nations such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Thailand, Vietnam and a variety of Pacific Islands. This year, Sikh Dahrmsal will represent San Antonio’s growing Sikh community.

“We have been trying to find ways to let people know about the Sikhs and Sikh religion,” said Sikh community leader G.P. Singh. “This seems like a good opportunity.”

Singh, believed to be the first Sikh to come to San Antonio, believes that in consideration of events happening around the United States, this is the time to introduce the city to its Sikh neighbors. He estimates that some 150 to 200 Sikh families have made their home in San Antonio.

Sikhism is believed to be the fifth-largest religion in the world. In a historic context, Sikhism is a relatively new religion, founded in the late 1400s. While a clash of beliefs between Islam and Hinduism was taking place,

Guru Nanak Dev Ji challenged both religions with a new way of thinking. Sikhism acknowledges one universal god and strives for equality in all things: religion, caste, race, gender.

The word “Sikh” translates as “student,” and “guru,” the title for prophets, means “one who brings light to darkness” or “one who takes from ignorance to enlightenment.” In addition to its monotheistic belief system, Sikhism embraces two premises of social responsibility: Honest labor and work are the approved way of living one’s life, and sharing with others is a social responsibility.

One of the customs that outwardly identifies a Sikh is the wearing of a turban. Hair is seen as a gift from god, and therefore is not cut. The turban is, in part, a matter of practicality to contain the hair, in addition to being a spiritual symbol.

Singh will offer a lecture on Sikh life-ways, including the turban, at the festival. Guests will have the opportunity to wear a turban and have a photo taken.

Turbans may be worn by either gender, and while it is optional for women, they typically wear headscarves, tied in an Indian fashion. Young men usually start wearing a turban between the ages of 14 and 17. Boys start wearing a patka, a small piece of cloth with a topknot, at ages 3 to 4. Singh said that almost everyone who wears a turban in the United States is a Sikh.



“This is such a great opportunity to meet our neighbors and experience a part of their daily lives,” said Jo Ann Andera, Asian Festival director. “It is a pleasure to welcome the Sikh community to the Asian Festival. This event has been such a success and so well-received because of the authenticity of participants and the participation of so many diverse cultures. It is a privilege to gather these Texans together and celebrate with them.”

In addition to the presentation by the Sikh community, the festival will be a day filled with cultural observances, displays and demonstrations. At opening ceremonies, the San Antonio Lion Dance association leads a parade across the festival grounds, chasing away evil spirits. They are followed by performers from several organizations: costumed dancers, uniformed martial artists and other festival participants.

During the day, guests will be able to sample foods from Bangladesh, China, Japan, Thailand, Pakistan, India and others, including the Bombay Salsa Co. The festival is an opportunity to seek out Asian crafts and gifts such as silks and clothing, décor, and other items. Cultural presentations such as cooking demonstrations, mah-jongg games and Kamishibai storytelling will be available. For children, the H-E-B crafts tent will have a variety of free craft activities. The festival grounds feature several demonstration and performance areas. Martial arts organizations will offer demonstrations of their styles, from “hard” forms, such as karate, to “soft” forms, such as tai chi chuan; plus the swordsmen’s arts of kendo and iaido. Various forms of dance are performed throughout the day, from classical Okinawan, to India’s folk and contemporary Bollywood styles.

The 2013 Asian Festival will be from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Feb. 16 at the Institute of Texan Cultures. For more information on the Asian Festival, advance tickets and the Institute of Texan Cultures, visit TexanCultures.com.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •


Photo Credits:

Page 782012 Asian Festival “Year of the Dragon”

Page 79 Tai Chi Chuan demonstration

(Above)Foods from many Asian Cultures

(Below)Demonstration of Kendo swordsmanship

http://woodlawnapa.com

http://woodlawnapa.com

January-February 2013 | On The Town 83November-December 2012 | On The Town 83

JCC Prequel Kicks Off Jewish Film Festival with Hava Nagila (The Movie) By Lauren Ross

Celebrating its 12th Annual Jewish Film Festival, the JCC presents Hava Nagila ( The Movie) at 7 p.m. Jan. 5 in the Holzman

Auditorium on the Jewish Community Campus at N.W. Military Highway and Wurzbach Parkway.

The 2012 feature-length documentary is a funny, deep and unexpected romp through the history, mystery and meaning of the great Jewish standard. Featuring interviews with Harry Belafonte, Connie Francis, Glen Campbell and Leonard Nimoy, Hava Nagila ( The Movie) follows the song from Eastern Europe and Israel to the cul-de-sacs of America. Included with the film screening is a reception and Israeli dancing.

Feb. 9-13, the Jewish Film Festival will present 10 films at Santikos Embassy 14, U.S. Highway 281 North and Bitters Road, beginning Saturday night featuring Melanie Laurent in The Day I Saw Your Heart, a touching French comedy-melodrama that tackles thorny father-daughter relationships. On Sunday, the festival presents three films, including the recent release Roman Polanski: a Film Memoir, a documentary recorded during his 2009 Zurich house arrest. The conversations are illustrated with clips from Polanski’s films, news footage and exclusive photos, all chronicling the filmmaker’s extraordinary life. Preceding is A Bottle in the

Gaza Sea, a lovely and hopeful film of teen virtual penpals, one Israeli and one Palestinian, which avoids any sentimentality or easy answers. Finishing Sunday is Naomi, an Israeli thriller of a May-December romance of a professor and his young wife whom he suspects of having an affair.

The festival continues each afternoon through Wednesday with feature films The Lying Game, Joanna, Kaddish for a Friend, God’s Neighbors and Yossi, and the documentary The Flat.

Full film descriptions, trailers, individual or festival pack ticket purchases are available online at www.jccsanantonio.org under Arts and Culture events, or by phone at 210-302-6820.

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • •Photo Credits:


Page 82:

(Upper Left)The Lying Game

(Lower Left)A Bottle in the Gaza Sea

(Upper Right)Roman Polanski: A Film Memoir (Lower Right)The Day I Saw Your Heart

www.jccsanantonio.org

www.jccsanantonio.org


Rob Kaufman and Marise McDermott


Witte Museum and New Balance San Antonio Team Up for Boot Scoot and 5K RunBy Laurie PickeiPhotography Greg Harrison

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 65.7 percent of Bexar County adults are overweight or obese. The CDC also

reports that approximately 12.5 million children and adolescents in the United States ages 2 to 19 years are obese.

To combat these growing statistics on a local level, the Witte Museum has partnered with New Balance San Antonio for the Witte Museum’s Annual Boot Scoot and 5K Run, set for April 13. Focused on fitness and fun for the whole family, the Boot Scoot and 5K Run will start and finish in front of the Witte Museum, with electronic chip timing as a new addition for this year’s event. Race proceeds directly fund student field trips to the Witte, and last year’s race provided $30,000 in scholarships. Through this effort — along with additional fundraising activities throughout the year — more than 11,000 school-age children were able to visit the Witte on scholarships.

“The Witte is very excited to partner with New Balance San Antonio. The Boot Scoot and 5K Run is not only an important well-being initiative for our community but benefits the youth of our community by providing scholarships,” said Marise McDermott, president and CEO of the Witte Museum.

“Additionally, the partnership is a perfect fit as the Witte embarks on the transformation of the H-E-B Science Treehouse into the H-E-B Body Adventure

— a powerful experience to inspire a balanced life all while getting the body up and moving,” McDermott said.

New Balance San Antonio has partnered with the museum on additional programs including gently worn shoe drives and fitness-focused initiatives such as Fit Nights at local New Balance stores and VIP tours of the H-E-B Science Treehouse. New Balance also will offer Boot Scoot and 5K Run participants (novices, avid walkers and runners alike) the opportunity to train on a team through its inMotion program leading up to race day.

“The health and well-being of the local community is a key component of the New Balance San Antonio business model, and thus partnering with the Witte Museum on its many initiatives is a very natural fit,” said New Balance San Antonio Owner Rob Kaufman.

“We want San Antonio to get motivated and moving, and the best place to start is with a proper in-depth fit analysis and shoe fitting to find the right athletic shoes for your needs. This will not only enhance your overall health but will also improve your fitness experience. After all, when your feet feel good, your whole body feels good,” Kaufman said.

More information about the Witte and the annual Boot Scoot and 5K Run can be found at www.WitteMuseum.org. For New Balance San Antonio store locations and more, visit www.newbalancesa.com.


www.WitteMuseum.org

www.WitteMuseum.org

www.newbalancesa.com


http://childrensfineartseries.org


Literary Arts88-92

Literary Arts 88-92


Book Talk:

Shelia Black, Poet and Executive/Artistic Director of Gemini InkStory and photo by Jasmina Wellinghoff


Following the departure of long-time director Rosemary Catacalos and a nationwide search for her replacement, Gemini Ink appointed Sheila

Black as its new executive/artistic director last summer. The combination of her literary accomplishments with her experience in nonprofit development made her an ideal candidate for the job. The author of multiple children’s books, Black is also a gifted poet with two poetry collections to her name, and the third Wen Kroy due in a month or so. Last year she was selected by the U.S. Poet Laureate Philip Levine for the 2012 Witter Bynner Award which comes with a $10,000 fellowship to support the recipient’s future work. The program is overseen by the Library of Congress. In the Library’s press release, Levine explained his choice in the following way: “She is a consummate poet of memory who seems able to inhabit all the various women she is and has been. The loves and losses of a child, the young woman and the mother are present in these rich lyrics and storied poems. Hers is a poetry of feeling, and the whole panoply of emotions – from love to rage – is present and earned.” Both her collections – House of Bone and Love/Iraq were published by Cincinnati, Ohio-based Custom Words. More recently, Black co-edited Beauty is a Verb: The New Poetry of Disability (with Jennifer Bartlett and Mike Northen), which was named a Notable Book of 2012 by the American Library Association. Her recent “day jobs” included serving as development officer with the New Mexico State University Foundation and as development director of the Colonias Development Council in Las Cruces, N.M. We talked to the new director at Gemini Ink in mid-November. Following are excerpts from our lively and multifaceted conversation.

JW: Let’s start with the obvious question: How did you find out about the job at Gemini Ink and why did you take it?

SB: I found out about it from the AWP (Association of Writers and Writing Programs) job list. I used to keep track of the jobs listed although I had a job with the New Mexico State University Foundation but I wanted a more poetry-driven one. So I was looking at teaching and arts administration jobs. I saw the posting on a Thursday and I threw together a cover letter and my resume on my lunch break and sent them off. The next morning I got a call on

my cell from Bill Dupont who was a Gemini Ink board member and he started chatting with me about coming to San Antonio the following Monday. He said mine was a “hot resume.” So it was a little bit like “she came, she saw, she conquered” (laughs).

JW: What impressed you about Gemini Ink?

SB: I knew about the organization but I hadn’t quite realized how unique and interesting it really was. Most literary organizations do either the writers-in-the-community type programs or the almost-university-level writing classes but not both. Gemini Ink had a history of doing both. Both the founder (Nan Cuba) and Rosemary Catacalos did a lot of creative and different things, and things that overlapped. The more I learned about the organization, the more interested I was in the job.

JW: You have been here several months. How has Gemini Ink lived up to your expectations?

SB: It’s my first executive director job so I am amazed by how busy I am. It’s a big job, and it can be rough trying to secure funds for a nonprofit in this economy. But I believe that arts and literary organizations are places where people can have their lives transformed by learning to express themselves through their craft. When I go to one of our classes and I see the joy in the room, or into one of our community writing residencies and see how engaged kids are, for instance, I think that’s the heart of what we do, and in that regard Gemini Ink has more than lived up to my expectations.

JW: Have you already become so busy that you don’t have time to write anymore?

SB: Too busy to edit myself (laughs)! But I have a rule -- I really try to write a poem a day. I don’t always write a good poem; in fact nine out of 10 days I write a bad one. I am an insomniac who wakes up at 5 a.m., and I always write a poem. In the old days, I had more time for rewriting and editing. Still, I use poetry as something that centers me in my life. And you have to write regularly and for a long time to get better, much longer than people realize. I am 51, and I am just beginning to feel that I am getting better (chuckles).

JW: Judging by the recognition you have been receiving, you are already “better.” How did it feel to be selected for the Witter Bynner Fellowship? That’s a big national honor and one that you can’t apply for.



SB: It totally came out of the blue, for me to be honest. I didn’t think I had a very high national profile as a poet. I was a late bloomer who decided to go study poetry at age 35. After I graduated from the M.F.A. program at the University of Montana, we moved to southern New Mexico where my husband attended graduate school. I was lucky that there happened to be many good writers there, one of whom was Tony Hoagland. Just being around him in a poetry group helped me to learn a tremendous amount. It was then that I entered my first book manuscript in a contest that Philip Levine was judging. I did not win but Philip wrote me a letter telling me how much he liked my poems. We corresponded for a while, so I sent him the book when it was published. Years later, I get this phone call from the Witter Bynner people telling me that I won this fellowship … It was the most astonishing moment of my life. I first thought the Library of Congress was calling me for a donation.

JW: What are your plans for the future of Gemini Ink?

SB: I would like to see our University Without Walls (UWW) program offer more multi-session classes. I want it to become more of a university-level creative-writing instruction program. I would also like to see the readings associated with UWW become more of an identifiable series. In the past, we had the faculty read almost as part of the classes. I would like us to develop that into a real reading series, to develop the brand of this reading series. I probably will be bringing in fewer outside writers but more high-profile ones, and I would like to turn the readings into public conversations about writers and their craft and experience. The market is getting saturated with plain readings, so I am more interested in creating a forum for discussion between writers and the public.

When I came here, there was a minor controversy going on: Were we a literary or a literacy organization? I saw it as a straw battle. The best way to seed literacy is to get people access to literature in its myriad forms. And what’s wonderful about literature is that there’s no one right way to do it. Voltaire said, “All styles are good except the boring.” So we have been rewriting our mission statement somewhat (to emphasize the literary role).

Mission Statement: We believe that human story in all its diverse, complicated forms and genres is essential to developing compassionate richness in both individual and community life. Our mission is to provide excellent creative-writing education and literary experiences for writers of all levels.


January-February 2013 | On The Town 91July-August | On The Town 91

It’s a fairly big tent! I have a few other goals, as well, such as expanding the reach of the Writers in the Community program especially in the San Antonio ISD, and resurrecting the mentorship program where well-known writers work individually with mentorees.

JW: You also teach in the UWW program. I saw the catalog description of your class that focuses on key elements of poetry writing. Could you discuss those?

SB: They are certainly not the only elements of the craft but they are nice, central ones to start with. I think that “image” is one of the first things you learn as a writer in any creative-writing genre. You need to create pictures in your reader’s mind. My No. 1 rule for writing better is to really pay attention to the sentence, and that means strong specific nouns and verbs that can bear the weight of your descriptive power. You are kind of like Adam and Eve in the garden: You are naming your world. And then you bring it alive with the verbs. A swing swinging to and fro in the breeze creates a more vivid picture in the mind than just “a swing.” So I start with that, how to create indelible images.

The second element, “metaphor,” kind of grows from that. The human brain is wired for metaphor. It brings two elements to the reader’s mind, and the mind instantly knits them together, which heightens the impression you want to achieve. And then we have form and tone. A poem is a little like a pressure cooker – you want tension to build up and then be released. Form is a strategy to help you accomplish that. Tone is more complicated, however. There are so many variations. Stephen Dobyns, author of Best Words, Best Order, defined it as the “speaker’s emotional distance from his subject.” It can be described as the writer’s attitude toward her subject, and the (poem’s) speaker’s feeling about what she is saying.

JW: You grew up with a disability and have written about it, including the poem What You Mourn that resonated strongly with the disability community. And now you co-edited a major poetry anthology of poets who are disabled. Tell us about its significance.

SB: It presented for the first time a disability-centered perspective in artistic terms, and it dealt honestly with living with a disability without presenting it as tragic. The writers included felt like the book was a coming-out for them as poets who use their experiences to spur poetic invention. The book’s done pretty well. It’s already being used in university-level courses.

http://thetwig.com


Out & About with Greg harrison

94-99

Out & About with Greg harrison

94-99


http://www.oncologysa.com/

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