From September 24 through October 8, I will be visiting cities in the Midwest (Wichita, Kansas City, Des Moines, Rochester, Twin Cities, St. Croix Falls, Sioux Falls, Omaha) in search of visual artists and writers who live and work there. I’ll be bringing my podcast gear and scouting for interviews to post on this blog.

The goal is to highlight the work of some talented artists, and to collect stories about the opportunities and challenges of working artists in “little cities” (outside the top 20 metropolitan areas). Yes, I realize the Twin Cities are #16. I am also traveling to places I lived and reconnecting with my artistic roots—the Pillsbury House, Masque Youth Theatre, the …

…well. As I am writing this, I thought I would link to the Sioux Falls Community Playhouse, but I see it closed in 2002. And the Jeune Lune, where I had my first professional audition, closed this summer.

Philanthropy is changing, demographics are changing, economics are changing. What does this mean for artists in little cities? If you know a working artist who lives in one of these cities, send me their name, contact info, a link to their website or images of their work … or have them contact me directly at lex@lexleifheit.com.

And please, pass this on!

Interview with musician and visual artist Gary Panter about “Gary Panter: Daydream Trap,” his solo museum exhibition at the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum.

In this interview, Panter talks a little about a lot of things: drawing, painting, working with curators, creating a monograph, making music, making light shows, the meditative feel of drawing, making noises while drawing, drawing inspiration from a particular place, how to jump-start a small town art space, and more.

Interview excerpted from The Art Agenda. Broadcast on 88.1fm, WESU, Middletown on August 15, 2008.

Interview excerpted from The Art Agenda. Broadcast on 88.1fm, WESU, Middletown on August 7, 2008.

Designed by Carrot Creative , the website includes video instructions on how to create and upload your own video "role," and offers several scripts to choose from.

Since the site’s launch in May, it has been a challenge to get non-company members to post their videos online. But another feature of UBRSTAR, the "sound-offs," is brilliant. One of the joys of live theater is the chance to see how people around you respond to the play in front of them. In today’s on-demand culture, the opportunity to get a taste of what that post-show conversation might be like, through a sound-off video, is far more authentic than a review or e-group hyperbole.

NHTC are not the only theatermakers exploring what open source means for the performing arts. http://www.opensourcetheater.org is linked to Richard Foreman’s Bridge Project, but upon a cursory review of the project it seems that videotaped performances are only being shared "openly" with people who attended a series of workshops.

Charles Mee’s (re)making project is a form of open source theater, but it has no social networking or video capability … which would allow for the participants to easily connect with one another.

Last but not least, if you don’t want to make open source theater, but you are an arts advocate, you can participate in Andrew Taylor’s open source PSA project .

More information about the creation of UBRSTAR is included in this week’s Art Agenda, originally broadcast on 88.1fm, WESU, Middletown on July 10, 2008.

Interview excerpted from The Art Agenda. Broadcast on 88.1fm, WESU, Middletown on July 3, 2008.

Faced with so many choices, I ended up interviewing Mike Donahue about his production of The Who’s Tommy at Yale’s Summer Cabaret. Donahue, a fellow Volksbuehne fan, is heading to Berlin this fall on a Fulbright.

Interview excerpted from The Art Agenda. Broadcast on 88.1fm, WESU, Middletown on June 26, 2008.

As an added bonus, Rebecca is a trained life and leadership coach. This means that I also got to pester her with my friends’ (ahem) career conundrums, all in the name of journalism.

Seriously though, Rebecca gives some good advice, comments on Richard Florida, shares her must-read list, AND points out the bright lights of the leadership track at Convention.

Interview excerpted from The Art Agenda. Broadcast on 88.1fm, WESU, Middletown on June 12 2008.

He will be participating in a Dirty Words literary reading at Real Art Ways in Hartford on June 23 at 7:45pm, and at the Green Street Arts Center in Middletown on June 24 at 7:30pm.

Interview excerpted from The Art Agenda. Originally broadcast on 88.1fm, WESU, Middletown on June 12 2008.

Interview with Rob Ruggiero, Associate Artistic Director of Theaterworks in Hartford.
Interview excerpted from The Art Agenda. Originally broadcast on 88.1fm, WESU, Middletown on May 29, 2008.

Ruggiero’s new play, Rabbit Hole by David Lindsay-Abaire, runs June 6 through July 20 at Theaterworks.

Interview with Joseph Smolinski, New Haven-based artist and one of twenty participants in the upcoming Badlands exhibition at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art.Joseph talks about his tree turbine, thinking about art on a grand scale, provoking discussion about contemporary issues through the creation of art, his potato battery, spying on people at gallery openings, and more …

Interview excerpted from The Art Agenda. Originally broadcast on 88.1fm, WESU, Middletown on May 1, 2008.

Badlands opens Saturday, May 24, 2008.