From: W. C. Swofford (email suppressed)
Date: Sat Jun 21 2008 - 12:31:31 PDT
"nothing is ever the same"
Universal Mutant & Arthur Magazine Present
Paradise Now: a collective creation of the Living Theatre
DVD ANTHOLOGY
More info:
http://www.arthurmag.com/store/dvds.php
*****
In remembrance of Hanon Reznikov, 1950-2008
Sunday June 22, 2008 @ Zebulon Cafe Concert
258 Wythe Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11211 USA
L TRAIN TO BEDFORD AVE
J,M,Z TRAIN TO BROADWAY
Starts at 8PM
*****
Readings
*****
Steve Ben Israel
Ira Cohen
Allan Graubard
*****
Films
*****
PARADISE NOW: THE LIVING THEATRE IN AMERIKA (1969)
A film by Marty Topp, produced for Universal Mutant by Ira Cohen
http://www.arthurmag.com/store/dvds.php
International Premiere: The Permanent Revolution: Change! (2008)
A film by W. C. Swofford and Georg Gatsas
*****
Improvisation
*****
Kevin Shea, drums
W. C. Swofford, swaramandal + electric organ
Daniel Carter, saxophone + winds
Tom Blancarte, bass
*******
MORE ABOUT THE DVD ANTHOLOGY
NEW FROM ARTHUR: PARADISE NOW: THE LIVING THEATRE IN AMERIKA DVD
LIMITED EDITION OF 1,000 - ORDER NOW!
http://www.arthurmag.com/store/dvds.php
PREVIEW ON YOUTUBE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jF7_BdHi_NA
"Life, revolution and theater are three words for the same thing:
an unconditional NO to the present society." - Julian Beck
"Paradise Now ... more relevant now because we're closer
to now than we ever have been." - Hanon Reznikov
Arthur Magazine proudly presents our newest release PARADISE NOW: The
Living Theatre in Amerika DVD featuring rare, never-before-distributed
films and a bacchanal of revolutionary multimedia documents from The
Living Theatre's historic and influential '68-'69 American tour. A
fulminating art-meets-life installation as collected by Will Swofford
and brought to you in collaboration with The Living Theatre and
Universal Mutant, Inc.
WHAT IS PARADISE NOW?
In 1968 The Living Theatre, led by Julian Beck and Judith Malina,
triumphantly returned to America from years of self-imposed exile in
Europe with their theatrical breakthrough Paradise Now. The play
introduces the practice of collective creation, dissolving the
boundaries of human interactions and forging a harmony between the
actors and audience. Of this process, Julian Beck writes, "Collective
creation is the secret weapon of the people... This play is a voyage
from the many to the one and from the one to the many. It's a
spiritual voyage and a political voyage, a voyage for the actors and
the spectators. The play is a vertical ascent toward permanent
revolution, leading to revolutionary action here and now. The
revolution of which the play speaks is the beautiful, non-violent,
anarchist revolution. The purpose of the play is to lead to a state of
being in which non-violent revolutionary action is possible."
The result of this shared voyage is the spontaneous creation of a
temporary anarchist collective- free from the enslavements of war,
violence, the State, money and the self.
CRITICAL PRAISE FOR MARTY TOPP'S PARADISE NOW
"Paradise Now is possibly The Living Theatre's greatest achievement
... unsurpassable!" -- Ira Cohen
"This past spring, in a group art show at New York's Swiss Institute,
an old black-and-white television played a grainy print of bodies
writhing to the tune of distant drumming. 'As long as you have people
working for money and not love, there will be violence,' intoned a
tall, angular man on the screen. The bodies- women in scant bikinis
and men in what looked like loincloths-piled together in an orgiastic
tribal dance, some simulating (or perhaps actually having) sex as the
voice continued: 'Psycho-sexual repression is impeding the
revolution.' What looked like an underworld-of the 1960's
counter-cultural variety, in this case- is the Living Theatre's
Paradise Now, as documented in the 1969 Ira Cohen-produced film
Paradise Now: The Living Theatre in Amerika ... soon to be released on
DVD from Arthur Magazine." -- CAN THEATER STAGE A REVOLUTION? - Traci
Parks, Fall '07 Preview, V MAGAZINE
"Joyous, brutal, exploding with the kinetic energies of psychic
catharsis... Marty Topp's PARADISE NOW: The Living Theatre in Amerika
has captured the essence of this extraordinary theatrical experiment.
It is unquestionably one of the finest artistic documentaries to come
out of the United States cinema. It's heartfelt sincerity should be
sheer inspiration to the many young people throughout the country who
are struggling to make meaningful and influential work. It is the
reverberation of a crucially important message that must not be
neglected, for the consequences are too terrible to endure. Marty
Topp's achievement is not just in the making of a great film, but in
making us remember again, Paradise as a reality." - PARADISE ON FILM -
Don Snyder, July 1970, East Village Other
"Like an astonishing portion of the country's popular music, the
spectacles of The Living Theater proved to be in content and form
outside the social system- not structured by it nor, except as outlet,
implementing it: liberated territory." -- Revolution at the Brooklyn
Academy - Stefan Brecht, The Drama Review number 43: Spring 1969, The
Living Theater Issue
MORE ABOUT THE LIVING THEATRE
Founded in 1947, The Living Theatre has staged more than 80
productions performed in eight languages in 25 countries on four
continents - a unique body of work. Visit their new space on Clinton
St. in NYC - more info:www.livingtheatre.org
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For info on FrameWorks, contact Pip Chodorov at <email suppressed>.