On Site

Description

On Site is a practical guide to creating site-specific dance performance work. Written by experienced artist Stephan Koplowitz, the book guides everyone from beginners to experienced creators through the work of performing on site.

• GGuides readers through the practical aspects of creating and producing site dance performances with accessible, easy-to-read chapters addressing both theoretical and pragmatic aspects of site specific creation
• Contains conversations with 24 practicing artists
• Details real-world scenarios from the author's decades of experience as a creator

About the Author(s)

Stephan Koplowitz, Director/Choreographer/Educator

Stephan Koplowitz is an award-winning director/ choreographer/media artist working on stage, film, and site. He has created 92 works produced in the US, Europe, and Asia. Awards include the Herb Alpert Award in the Arts, Guggenheim Fellowship, New York "Bessie" Award, six NEA Fellowships, and a Rockefeller Bellagio Fellowship. After 23 years in NYC working as an educator and artist, Koplowitz was appointed dean/faculty of dance at the California Institute of the Arts (2006- 2016). Koplowitz has a degree in music from Wesleyan University and an MFA in choreography from the University of Utah. He currently resides in NYC.

Table of Contents

Preface
Introduction: Motivations and Definitions
1. How Do We Start?
Chapter 1 What Motivates Site Selection
Chapter 2 Permissions, Permits and Insurance
Chapter 3 Designing the Event, Staging the Audience
Chapter 4 The Site as Inspiration for Your Work
3. Fueling Your Vision
Chapter 5 Staffing Key Production Roles
Chapter 6 Negotiating Fee and Contract
Chapter 7 Planning Your Planning Budget
Chapter 8 Fundraising for Your Artistic Plan: A Short Primer
4. Creating/Generating Content
Chapter 9 Staging, Placing Your Work in a Site (one method)
Chapter 10 Site Content and Process
Chapter 11 Collaboration and Collaborative Elements
5. Creative and Production Challenges
Chapter 12 Rehearsal Process
Chapter 13 Rehearsal Safety
Chapter 14 Creating for Physically Integrated Casts and Accessibility
6. More Challenges from the Real World
Chapter 15 Working with a Set Budget after Fundraising
Chapter 16 Promoting and Marketing the Work
Chapter 17 Documentation
Chapter 18 Assessment
7. Epilogue
Chapter 19 Last, Last Thoughts
Appendix
Acknowledgements
Index
About the Author

Reviews

"In this comprehensive, wonderfully organized volume, ... <Koplowitz> shares his extensive knowledge of a multi-faceted genre, and he does so with elegant logic, along with a spirit of generosity and care." - Ann Murphy, Wendy Perron

"On Site is no dry or abstruse tome. It's an homage, first and foremost, to performance in non-traditional spaces, and it is a stunning template that takes the reader step by step through the processes, beginning wide—with site visits—to constructing structures, gathering partners, participants, pr, money, budgets, tech, costumes, documentation and, at the end, designing and making assessments....And on a practical note, On Site is a good reason, if one is needed, for educators to build a class around creating site-specific work. It could even invite collaboration across disciplines, perhaps outside the arts." - Ann Murphy, Notable Dance Books

"The definitive new textbook on site-based work. He meticulously covers the logistics and artistic mindset needed for site-specific projects. Koplowitz lovingly shares his process from decades in the field, including staging large-scale site-specific works around the globe." - Jill Randall, Dance Teacher

"With the range of voices and approaches he discusses, Koplowitz is able to touch on the numerous ideas and creative practices involved in the form and utilize his extensive knowledge and experience." - Laura Stein, thINKingDance.net

"Among a wealth of practical advice for site work creation are Koplowitz's stimulating ideas for site selection and designing events for them, researching site histories and communities, and collaborations with associate artists." - Jonathan Stein, thINKingDance.net

"Koplowitz's On Site is a fantastic book for seasoned veterans, novice collaborators, and all those in between. Call the book an encyclopedic how-to textbook; call it a thoughtful methodological study; call it a thorough guidebook; call it a template. It qualifies as any or all of those. Organized in seven parts, the 19 chapters are marked by Koplowitz's candid, clear prose, which communicates the confidence and the humility one would expect from an artist with more than three decades of experience on which to draw...This excellent volume will be an invaluable tool for those interested in the vast stage, film, and site repertoire Koplowitz has amassed during his career." - Choice

"On Site well poised to become a foundational practical text for future site-specific choreographers and directors. It offers concise information on potential pitfalls and ethical considerations for the artist. In addition, Koplowitz includes many philosophical and thoughtful asides on important contemporary subjects such as land use in colonized Indigenous territory, capacious notions of accessibility, and reflections on the democratizing and politically engaged effects of site work." - KT Shorb, Theatre Topics