A Tap Dancing Vagina

"V" is for Vagina in the A to Z Challenge

Ok.. I'm a day early. But I couldn't think of a U post for today, and this one is worth having top billing for two days on my blog.

I live just outside of the small town of Ashland, Virginia. I lived dead in the heart of Ashland for six years. Ashland has got railroad tracks running straight down the center. Apparently this was one of the few stretches of tracks not destroyed during the Civil War (War Between the States, War of Northern Agression, yadda, yadda, yadda) so when they rebuilt the rail systems, a lot of it was tied into the extisting tracks. Ashland gets a LOT of rail traffic.

Photo by R. W. Dawson

Here's the music video Transmit Dopamine (I keep telling you it is Parkinson's Awareness Month!) which was shot primarily in Ashland:

Ashland bills itself as the "Center of the Universe". This is something Ashlanders... ites... tend to be quite proud of. From a certain perspective, Ashland does feel like it is the center of something. There is a college (RMC) smack in the middle of town, and if you live right there near the tracks you can walk to the post office, the grocery store (Cross Brothers, celebrating it's 100th year!), hear fantastic national acts at Ashland Coffee and Tea, get a nice dinner at the upscale Iron Horse, have your choice of bars to sit at with the Iron Horse, Trackside Grill, or Andy's, have some jewelry custom made, get a morning cup 'o Joe at either AC&T or The Caboose, shop at Train Town Toy and Hobby, one of the best stocked train and hobby stores in the southeast, attend a Friday wine tasting at the Caboose, which has one of the best beer selections I've ever seen, and hang out at the Libarary. All these places are within several hundred feet of each other. The Strawberry Faire and Train Day are huge draws.

The name Center of the Universe was apparently dubbed by a former mayor, Dick Gilis. As it was explained to me, when Dick heard at a lecture by a professor of astronomy at RMC that there was no objective center of  the unverse, Dick said "then Ashland could be the center!". And so it is.

(My own personal take on it is that it is I, me, myself is the center of the universe, and every step I take sends the universe in rotation under my feet. Try it!)

Well, lately there has been a lot of talk about making central Ashland an "arts and culture district".

This is from http://www.vaartsandculture.blogspot.com/

"HB1735, initially sponsored by Chief Patron Delegate Shannon Valentine, proposed that all Virginia localities have the authority to create arts and cultural districts without individual authorization from the Virginia General Assembly.

The localities will have the authority to grant tax incentives and provide certain regulatory flexibility in the arts and cultural districts. The tax incentives include, but are not limited to, reduction of permit fees, reduction of user fees, and reduction of any type of gross receipts tax. The regulatory flexibility includes, but is not limited to, special zoning, permit process reform, and exemption from ordinances.

Arts and cultural districts are an increasingly popular economic development tool for local governments across the country. When theatres, performing arts centers, museums, art galleries, and artist studios are encouraged to locate in the same neighborhood, the neighborhood becomes a magnet for the general public."

I think this is pretty fantastic. I'd love to see working artist studios that are open to the public in the center of Ashland. Sort of like you see glass blowers and candle makers in Colonial Williamsburg.

There are a lot of other things I'd like to see. For one thing, a functional performing arts space. (you know... one with wings, fly space, adequate power, a green room)

However, in my book you can't just call something an "arts and culture district" without having an arts and culture district. It is sort of a cart and horse thing. The thought I guess is that if you build it, they will come. Make the area more friendly to artists, and artists will come. But there's the key phrase.

You have to make the area friendly to artists. And that doesn't just mean zoning. It means paying attention to what artists create. And what artists create isn't always comfortable. It isn't always safe.

An arts and culture district is the proverbial genie bottle. Once you uncork it, there is no putting that genie back in. What am I talking about?

How about a tap dancing vagina.

Yep... a tap dancing vagina. See, when I was doing my stint as prop shop manager at the Contemporary American Theater Festival in Shepherdstown, WV, one of the shows we did was the wonderful, quirky, Eelwax Jesus 3D Pop Music Show. It is set in a near dystopian future, where 3D holographic technology can bring entertainment right into your living room. Folks living in a communal home gather in the central room each night to watch the Eelwax Jesus 3D Pop Music Show. It has musical and variety acts with thought provoking songs such as this:

One of the costumes we had to make for the show was a tap dancing vagina. The talented Michael McKowen spearheaded the project, and there were a number of hands involved in its construction.

Here are some process photos:

One of our talented interns adding finising touches

Hanging up to dry

And here is it in the show, dancing(  in a commercial break from the projected holographic show) along side a gynecologist, singing about... gynecology. (I guess the thought is that if we once had dancing cigarette packs hawking cancer, and we can advertise erectile disfunction drugs on prime time television, why not a tap dancing vagina to promote your local OBGYN in some not too distant future?)

Photo from catf.org

Anyway, my point is (I usually do have one, despite my meandering ways. Sue me, I'm a storyteller!) that if you want to have arts and culture, you have to have artists. And artists can be messy. In more ways than one.

"V" is for Vagina in the A to Z Challenge, and April is Parkinson's Awareness Month

Spotlight: Shepherdstown, WV

"S" is for Shepherdstown in the A to Z Challenge

There are many resources today for online networking besides the ubiquitous Facebook. I mentioned in yesterday's "R is for Role Playing Games" post how I was using Meetup.com to find local gamers, and to start an local arts alliance.

Another interesting resource is Yahoo Groups. If you go to yahoo.com and look in the lower left hand corner, you will see something that says "Groups"

Just above Health and International in the lower left is the "Groups" link

You can join an existing group, or you can create a group for any subject under the sun. Let's say you have a particular thing for Hummel figure collecting. I'm sure there's a group for that. In fact, I just did a search, and I found one called Hummelmania! Anyway... you get the idea. Groups can be national, or they can be local.

I joined a group that specifically focuses on technical theater in the Washington DC area. It is called DC-TheaterTech. There are job postings for stage managers, overhire carpenters, etc...

In 2010 I put up a message that I was available for work. I received an email within a couple of days that the Contemporary American Theater Festival in Shepherdstown, WV was in need of a prop shop manager. And that is where I spent six weeks of my Summer.

Shepherdstown is located about 90 minutes west of DC. It is in the eastern panhandle of West Virginia, close to Harpers Ferry and Charlestown. It is a delightful little town, full of old hippies that thought that DC was too conservative.

The main drag is German Street. It is on a long hill, and it reminds me somewhat of Carytown in Richmond, VA. Of course Carytown is a neighborhood, while German Street is basically the entire town.

German Street

One of the lovely things about the bars and restaurants is that they tend to have incredible back patios. These fenced in areas contain lush ancient trees and shrubbery, and are a wonderful place to catch an open mic night or a guest band. On other nights, it is just a great place to get away for a quite drink and a smoke.

The Mecklenburg Inn and the Blue Moon Cafe were two of my favorite hangouts:

Atrium to back patio at the Mecklenburg Inn

The Blue Moon Cafe has a delightful street side terraced patio.

Also not to be missed are tacos and burritos at Maria's Taqueria. Maria's fresh home made pico de gallo is out of this world.

Shepherdstown is home to Shepherd University, a state funded university. Shepherd University hosts the Contemporary American Theater Festival, an annual festival of a handful of new American plays running con-currently. In 2010, we did Breadcrumbs by Jennifer Haley, The Eelwax Jesus 3D Pop Music Show Book and Lyrics by Max Baker, Music by Lee Sellars, Inana by Michael Lowe, Lidless, by Frances Ya-Chu Cowhig, and White People by J.T. Rogers.

The shows covered Alzheimers Disease and loss if identity, existentialist angst featuring a musical duet of a gynecologist and tap dancing Vagina (I'm saving that for my "V" post!), the first Iraq war from the viewpoint of an Iraqi arts curator, rape as a means of prisoner co-ercement at Gitmo, and racism.

None of these were what you would call "main stream" shows. Yet the crowds that come out to Shepherdstown year after year are remarkable. According to Hagerstown magazine, in 2008 CATF generated 2.1 million dollars in patron spending, and another 1.1 million in corporate and organizational spending.

As a member of the crew, I stayed in the dorms at Shepherd University. My first impression of the white cinderblock walls was that they were not "un-prison-like". But the rooms were comfortable enough. As part of the management staff, I got my own room and there were only two of us in our dorm. Most dorms had 4 per dorm, and 2 per room.

Mornings were a short walk across campus to the prop shop. I had several interns working under me. After a long day of prop procurement, design, and construction, I'd take a stroll down German street, buy a beer, light up my  pipe, and listen to some local music on one of the outdoor patios.

The company took the entire crew for a rafting ride down the Shenandoah river. I was able to visit nearby Harpers Ferry, Charlestown, Hagerstown, and Martinsburg. One of the highlights was meeting the Sanders family and being part of the Fish Tales outdoor marionette show featuring Giant Ass Puppets. Click the links on Martinsburg and Giant Ass Puppets for more!

All in all, it was a great six weeks.

Partnerships between your town and a local college, university, or other organization could result in a symbiotic relationship that benefits both. And social media is a great way to find out about unusual opportunities. Check out Yahoo Groups to see what might interest you.

P.S. If you go to the Lost Dog to get a cup of coffee, don't ask for a lid.

"S" is for Shepherdstown, and April is Parkinson's Awareness Month