There is perhaps no event quite like the FirstWorks Festival that over the years has brought to Providence some of the most eclectic, cutting-edge performances ever seen in the Ocean State and, fans will be happy to hear, 2010 should prove to be no exception.
Starting Saturday, Sept. 25, the festival runs for seven weeks at various times and places centered in Providence, presenting a distinctive and thought-provoking array of theater, dance, music, visual arts and new media. “See, hear, feel, move, share – this is a festival that connects audiences to experience the art of what’s new,” said Kathleen Pletcher, festival founder and executive artistic director of FirstWorks.
The festival is the first since Peter Bramante, former executive director of the Arts & Business Council of Rhode Island, moved to FirstWorks this summer as the first-ever managing director of the arts organization. But Bramante played no role in planning the festival because, Pletcher said, he is in charge of day-to-day operations at the office.
Asked how she decides what acts to book, Pletcher said the decision-making is a matter of “looking for a mix of what we think Providence will respond to.” FirstWorks nurtures a vision, based on the fundamental idea that the arts “can transform our city,” she said, and the festival is “the crown jewel” of the group’s annual efforts. Admission is charged to most events and as many as 15,000 people have attended.
While many nonprofit groups are in fiscal trouble because of the dismal economy, Pletcher reported that FirstWorks in general is doing well, largely due to the strong partnerships the group has formed and nurtured over the years with such core corporate sponsors as Textron Inc., the Providence Department of Art, Culture and Tourism, Taco Inc. of Cranston, Amica Inc. and Bank of America.
As an example of how diverse festival offerings are, Pletcher pointed to the two events that are “book-ending” this year’s program: Pilobilus on opening night Sept. 25 at the Providence Performing Arts Center and Sweet Honey in the Rock to end the festival Nov. 13 at Veterans Memorial Auditorium Arts and Cultural Center.
Sweet Honey in the Rock is a Grammy award-winning a capella ensemble of six women who have been performing for more than 30 years with a varied repertoire that covers blues, gospel, jazz and even hip hop. Pletcher noted that the Providence performance will include the New England premiere of “Indaba,” a musical dialogue between youth and elders that will be sung with the Junior Providence Singers.
In between these two shows are eight separate events, including: the Rhode Island-based Aurea presenting a “soundscape” of music and the spoken word with Pawtucket designer Morris Nathanson; Heather Henson’s IBEX Puppetry; La Excelencia, a 12-piece New York City orchestra that plays “salsa dura” (hard salsa); Irish actor Gare St. Lazare in a one-man performance of a Samuel Beckett novella; and pianist Christopher O’Riley, combining classical music with alternative rock.
Also running from Sept. 30 through Oct. 10 from noon to 8 p.m. daily at various locations in Providence and Pawtucket is Pixilerations, a new media fringe festival that presents the newest work in digital media, music and art.
Rebecca Blunk, executive director of New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA) based in Boston, said FirstWorks deserves a lot of credit for “smart planning” because it pulls together artists from disparate places in new and vibrant ways designed to engage Providence and the surrounding community in the artistic experience. The arts foundation provides some funding for the festival. •
