/ January 11, 2014 by Michael Arthur

Animator/Designer Polly Robbins on Flickr.Ms. Robbins discussed her design and rendering work on the upcoming Laika film, Boxtrolls, and shared documentary footage on the stop-motion process. A fascinating presentation on the hand-made nature of the… — Animator/Designer Polly Robbins on Flickr.
Ms. Robbins discussed her design and rendering work on the upcoming Laika film, Boxtrolls, and shared documentary footage on the stop-motion process. A fascinating presentation on the hand-made nature of the movie.

/ January 10, 2014 by Michael Arthur

I’m still out in Saginaw, Michigan, enjoying the shows at The American College Theater Festival’s Region Three annual gathering. It’s both nostalgic and refreshingly new to be with a large group of young people exploring theater’s past and trying to move an art form in to the future—while at the same time, trying to figure out who they are as individuals. It makes me feel old and young all at the same time.

I went to school for theater in this general region, so maybe seeing college kids taking a swing at the classics while trying to assert themselves, resonates in particular with me. There’s a large part of who I am that is still the lost, idealistic child I was all those years ago. I hope that will be true for all the students here—except for the lost part. I mean, it’s always best to be a little lost. I guess I think the best way to live a life is to engage the past, stretch your understanding of the present and dream about the future—and to dismiss all rules, but only after you’ve learned them. Skepticism and idealism are perfect life companions.

/ January 9, 2014 by Michael Arthur

Andrew Lippa (composer) speaking at ACTF Region III opening night. on Flickr.

/ January 8, 2014 by Michael Arthur

/ January 7, 2014 by Michael Arthur

Here’s the story of this drawing.

I was supposed to fly to Michigan today. I’m headed there to be a guest artist at The American College Theater Festival. It’s ten degrees colder in Michigan than it is in New York, so it was a bad plan all around. … — Here’s the story of this drawing.

I was supposed to fly to Michigan today. I’m headed there to be a guest artist at The American College Theater Festival. It’s ten degrees colder in Michigan than it is in New York, so it was a bad plan all around. Because it’s only six degrees here.

On the cab ride to the airport I had to make it past two BQE road snarls at the Kosciuszko bridge. There was a stalled eighteen wheeler at the top in our lane and—on the other side— two eighteen wheelers had collided. No injuries, but bad traffic in both directions.

Anyways, I got to the airport and found out my flight had been cancelled and I’m now rebooked for tomorrow morning. Which meant I had to drive back past the eighteen wheelers that had collided.

Instead, I decided to hang at the airport and draw for a bit. I just figgered, how often do you get to hang out in an airport when you’re not actually going anywhere? So I sat near the TSA screening area, watching and listening and I drew this lady.

I’m never bored or restless with a pen and paper. And that’s my story.….

/ January 6, 2014 by Michael Arthur

joespub:

[Over the next several months leading up to the celebration of our 15th Anniversary in October, Joe’s Pub will be highlighting drawings from archival artist Michael Arthur who has captured the likes Amy Winehouse, Pete Townshend, Alicia Keys, Carly Simon and many more on our stage. Read about Michael’s story, and stay tuned for details on how you might earn the opportunity to work with Joe’s Pub as an archival artist by submitting your artwork via Tumblr.]

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ADELE

Like Amy Winehouse, Adele had her American concert debut at Joe’s Pub, and—also like Amy Winehouse—I got to sit in on the sound-check and draw. Adele and her two accompanists were very gracious about having me around and it’s one of the singular pleasures in my life that my first experience with Adele’s voice was just hanging out with her while she sang a bunch of unknown songs that were about to become monstrously huge. My sister in law happened to be in town that day and I invited her to the show saying something like, “I dunno. She’s got a lot of positive buzz and I thought she sounded good at soundcheck.”

PAM ANN

I’ve encountered so many artists for the first time on the Joe’s Pub stage. I had never heard of Pam Ann and I happened to be nearby the Pub, so I wandered in and caught her show with absolutely no idea who she was. It didn’t hurt that the first evening I saw her happened to be a winter night right after a plane had crash-landed in the Hudson river after hitting a flock of geese, leading to the sudden stardom of Captain Sullenberger. Pam Ann started the evening by shouting “What about the geese??!” Pam Ann’s audience is pretty evenly weighted between professionals from the airline industry and passengers and the place erupted.

NELLIE MCKAY

When I began drawing at the Pub, Nellie used to play there a lot and her concerts were always compelling and great while also perilously dangerous. It was not unusual for her to stop a song suddenly or move in a completely different direction or really to just put her head down and leave the stage (she almost always came back). She seemed to present a mesmerizing musical combination of absolute confidence and rattling insecurity. My favorite Nellie McKay moment was a night when she was struggling on stage and suddenly broke in to an impromptu version of “Anything I Can Do, I Can Do Better”, which she presented as a passionate duet with herself.