The first time or maybe many other times that you went to downtown Houston, did you wonder what that building was with towers and turrets that looked like a castle? And then, as you were passing by, you saw banners pronouncing The Carpetbagger’s Children (2000-01), a premiere by famous Texan Horton Foote commissioned by the Alley Theatre, or maybe Leading Ladies (2004-05), or if you’ve been here longer maybe The Civil War (1998-99), or even Tennessee Williams’s Not About Nightingales (1997-98). For the last year, the Alley Theatre has been hidden by scaffolding and shrouded by tarps. What is in store for this iconic building that saw the worst of Houston flooding and our sub-tropic climate and the theater company that fleshes out the building with plays and events?
Do join us to hear Dean Gladden, the Alley Theatre Managing Director, about the Alley’s construction and the first season back at the Alley Theatre, next Thursday, April 23, 2015, at 6:30 p.m. at the Red Cross Building, 2700 Southwest Freeway, Houston, TX 77098.
Dean Gladded will also discuss a project the Alley will be doing with the German artist collective Rimini Protokoll called Remote Houston. Wikipedia calls Rimini Protokoll the “label for the works of artists Helgard Haug (female, German, born 1969), Stefan Kaegi (Swiss, b. 1972) and Daniel Wetzel (German, b. 1969) in various team constellations related to theatre, live art, radio plays and installation. They are often mentioned as inventors of a new wave of documentary theatre.”
Dean Gladden describes the Remote Houston project as follows:
“Hordes of people who have never met in the real world swarm out on virtual treasure hunts when playing online games. In “Remote X” we’re a horde of people wearing radio headphones, swarming out into the real city.
“A synthetic voice in our headphones (of the kind familiar from GPS navigators or airport announcements) directs the movements of our swarm. Binaural recordings and film scores turn the cityscape into a personal film; artificial Intelligence explores unknown territories, mustering human activity from a remote perspective. And yet the voice sounds ever more human to us as we progress, while in the eyes of passers-by our remotely controlled horde starts to look like a kind of alien entity.
“How are joint decisions made? Are we all hearing the same words? As 50 individuals observe each other the swarm breaks down into ever-smaller units, before re-forming as a collective in which decisions are ultimately taken individually. Might this be the beginning of a movement?”
Do join us for what promises to be a fascinating event. We’ll have our customary food and beverage reception at 6:30 p.m. Registration will begin at 6:15 p.m., the talk at 7:00 p.m. Meeting fees are $10 for members, $5 for students, and $15 for nonmembers, regardless of whether you participate in the reception. The American Red Cross Building is located at 2700 Southwest Freeway on the north-side feeder; exit Kirby from 59 and come along the north-side feeder. Ample parking is available at the American Red Cross Building without charge. Please respond now to let us know that you’ll be attending on Thursday, April 23: angelika@houstonleipzig.org.
Bring a neighbor, bring a friend, and let’s have fun together at the Houston-Leipzig Sister City Association!