BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
X-WR-CALNAME:MyVU Content
PRODID:-//Sitemason, Inc//Sitemason Calendar//EN
CALSCALE:GREGORIAN
METHOD:PUBLISH
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:http://sitemason.vanderbilt.edu/element/a6yrypb/id/49143
SUMMARY:Albee\: Lack of arts education in America is ruining our culture
DESCRIPTION:Theater in America has become more and more commercial\, leading to bad audiences\, mediocre critics and a slew of &ldquo\;awful musicals infesting Broadway\,&rdquo\; according to playwright Edward Albee\, who spoke at Vanderbilt Nov. 26 as part of the Chancellor&rsquo\;s Lecture Series.\n\nSometimes called &ldquo\;American theater&rsquo\;s terrible child\,&rdquo\; Albee is a three-time Pulitzer Prize winner and three-time Tony Award recipient.&nbsp\; He is known for being a provocateur who explores taboos in his works. Best known for Who&rsquo\;s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?\, Albee's 28 plays form a body of work that is recognized as unique\, uncompromising and controversial.&nbsp\;\n\n&ldquo\;Arts hold a mirror up to ourselves\,&rdquo\; said Albee. &ldquo\;But audiences today do not want the tough truths that art wants to tell us about ourselves. We want to be lied to &ndash\; we want the message softened. We have become so passive as a society that we won&rsquo\;t take risks to reach our zenith.&rdquo\;\n\nHe attributes the public&rsquo\;s change in attitude about the arts to the &ldquo\;deplorable state and lack of education in the arts in public schools\,&rdquo\; which is leading to the public becoming a &ldquo\;civilization of well-informed barbarians.&rdquo\;&nbsp\;&nbsp\;\n&nbsp\;\nUneducated audiences\, says Albee\, start a cascade that leads to safe and commercially successful productions that are &ldquo\;awful.&rdquo\;\n\nSafe is not a word that describes his 2002 Tony Award-winning play The Goat\, Or Who is Sylvia?\, which is an unlikely story of love\, respect and family and will be performed by The Tennessee Repertory Theatre Jan. 31 &ndash\; Feb. 16\, 2008.\n\nAlbee continues to produce provocative works and prove they can be successful.&nbsp\; Currently four of his works are in production in New York\, including a new one entitled Me\, Myself and I.&nbsp\; He told the audience\, however\, that\, &ldquo\;The best play is the one I haven&rsquo\;t written yet. If you thought you had written your best\, why would you go on? I&rsquo\;m interested in finding out about the play stirring in the back of my head.&rdquo\;\n\nTo see a full video of Albee&rsquo\;s speech\, visit the Webcast later this week on VUCast\, Vanderbilt&rsquo\;s News Network at www.vanderbilt.edu/news.\n\nFor more information about the Chancellor&rsquo\;s Lecture Series\, visit www.vanderbilt.edu/chancellor/cls.\n\nTickets for The Goat\, Or Who is Sylvia? are $10-$40 (some restrictions apply). Group discounts are available. Tickets are available at the TPAC Box Offices\:&nbsp\; 505 Deaderick St.\, Downtown Nashville\, and Davis-Kidd Booksellers\, The Mall at Green Hills\, www.tennesseerep.org\, (615) 255-ARTS.\n\nContact\: Missy Pankake\, (615) 322-NEWS\nmissy.pankake@vanderbilt.edu
URL;VALUE=URI:
CATEGORIES:myvu
CLASS:PUBLIC
SEQUENCE:3
DTSTAMP:20080719T093138
CREATED:20071128T153156
LAST-MODIFIED:20071129T151838
DTSTART:20071128T152500
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR