About This Show
The 10th annual International Festival of Arts & Ideas showcases artists in the fields of theater, music, dance and visual art, as well as today’s leading thinkers, writers and speakers.
THEATER EVENTS
Constantinople by Christos Hatzis: The Festival kicks off with an assortment of international artists in this US premiere of a “music as theater” piece in which worlds meet and ancient and modern cultures meld in a multimedia crossroads.
How to Live by Bobby Baker: Lurk no more in the self-help section. Succumb to the lure of the therapist’s couch. Bobby Baker delivers the goods, the holy grail of mental health, wisdom in twelve easy steps in the latest of her one-woman shows.
Throat directed by Flick Ferdinando: Anyone who thought circus was just for kids will have to reconsider after witnessing the US Premiere this acclaimed, witty, and sexy fusion of circus, physical comedy and dance. Harnessing the effects of light and water, it explores issues of masculine identity and vulnerability, and the nature of performing — for oneself, a partner, an audience.
Michael Feinstein: From smoky jazz clubs and intimate cabaret rooms to the world’s major concert halls and symphony stages, Michael Feinstein has been a household name since the success of his 1988 one-man Broadway show Isn’t It Romantic. He is renowned for his commitment to popular song and the great American songwriters — the Gershwins, Harold Arlen, Yip Harburg, and all of the greats of 20th century Tin Pan Alley.
Opera Ebony: Opera returns to the New Haven Green. In a special collaboration, the critically-acclaimed African-American opera company, Opera Ebony, will perform a free outdoor concert with the New Haven Symphony on New Haven Green. For more than 30 years the company has performed at such venues as Lincoln Center, Carnegie Hall, and international stages throughout the world.
Project Bandaloop: Instead of performing on a horizontal stage, the artists dance vertically while hanging off the sides of buildings, cliffs and towers. Since 1991, they’ve performed at — and on — such venues as the New York Stock Exchange, Seattle Space Needle, Pacific cliffs in California’s Marin County, the Vasco da Gama Tower in Portugal, and above David Letterman’s marquee for an appearance on the late night talk show last fall.
Slammin’ Nor’easters: The hip-hop dance and spoken word spectacle that has become one of the sell-out highlights of past festivals returns with a new curator. Baraka Sele, award-winning hip-hop producer, joins Arts & Ideas to select the brightest talents in New England dance and choreography for some funky, edgy dance and even edgier slam poetry.
Planet Play: A highlight of 2004, it dazzled hundreds of kids and families by turning the New Haven Green into a giant, fun-filled playground of circus, theater, music-making, science fun, nest-building, and even an interactive robot with a sense of humor. It returns this year with a host of new experiences: shadow puppet-making, jazz-a-matazz workshops, cookery for kids, and science secrets.