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<?xml version='1.0' encoding='UTF-8'?><rss xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:openSearch="http://a9.com/-/spec/opensearchrss/1.0/" xmlns:blogger="http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008" xmlns:georss="http://www.georss.org/georss" xmlns:gd="http://schemas.google.com/g/2005" xmlns:thr="http://purl.org/syndication/thread/1.0" version="2.0"><channel><atom:id>tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6435428168724644341</atom:id><lastBuildDate>Thu, 14 Mar 2024 05:53:41 +0000</lastBuildDate><title>World Oceans Arts</title><description></description><link>https://worldoceansarts.blogspot.com/</link><managingEditor>noreply@blogger.com (James Gibson)</managingEditor><generator>Blogger</generator><openSearch:totalResults>28</openSearch:totalResults><openSearch:startIndex>1</openSearch:startIndex><openSearch:itemsPerPage>25</openSearch:itemsPerPage><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6435428168724644341.post-1489667582128413452</guid><pubDate>Thu, 21 Jan 2021 17:09:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2021-01-21T09:09:33.788-08:00</atom:updated><title></title><description>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;ARISE, PEOPLE ! &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;As an artist who is also an American, I feel a tremendous new energy and inspiration today. I also marvel at the enormous collision of values and unexpected twists and turns that become evident when one is a citizen of the world. I stagger at today's unveiling of the fact that my country has no&nbsp;plan for covid vaccine distribution.....yet another lie...The collision of values seems to almost overwhelm the straightforward and simple needs of all people everywhere. This all reminds me so much of the late '60's when, for example, I proudly defended my country and helped fight a war against which I protested....when women and minorities and homosexuals and radical thinkers were often treated as criminals....when the very definitions of God,&nbsp;human,&nbsp;love&nbsp;were debated everywhere.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;But enough philosophy.....if you want more, watch our movie 1969&nbsp;when it is released later this year. For right now, World Oceans Arts has work to do, and a tremendous opportunity to include many new people, new projects, new dreams in that work. We are crossing landmark milestones and we are launching what is essentially a new, bigger and better company. WOA is now fully international...we welcome many new artists and audiences around the world. We now have active projects in every field that is traditionally considered to be the arts. All of this is happening because of the dreams, hard work and ideas of many dozens of people. In another blog we will name and praise all of them; you can also find them in the credits of all our projects.&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;This is a call to action for every person who loves the arts. If you believe, as I do, that the arts have always been and will always be one of the best tools for bringing people together and for celebrating life, then there is a place for you in what we do -- on camera or onstage, or backstage or behind the camera, or in a front row seat or a studio or online. This is an opportunity for you to express yourself, to hatch your dream, to share in ours, to talk to the world.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;The inspiration for this huge move forward comes from many, many sources. I would like to recognize a few personal favorites -- new heroes who have moved me and inspired all of us; and favorite quotes from the media and from our leaders. I hope that someone or something from this list will inspire you, give you voice, and move you forward toward better things. The time is NOW...As the monumental filmmaker/historian Ken Burns said, "Last night was New Year's Eve; we just got the date wrong!"&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Some of my new heroes:&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Shriners Hospitals for Children&nbsp; &nbsp; damerced.org&nbsp; &nbsp;Amanda Gorman&nbsp; &nbsp; Griffin James&nbsp; &nbsp;Officer Eugene Goodman&nbsp; All First Responders&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Healthcare &amp; Medical professionals/volunteers everywhere&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;A few recent words of wisdom to change the world:&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;The world is two generations learning to talk to each other&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; We don't deny the pain..but we do not let the pain have the last word&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;We must end this uncivil war..Don't tell me that it is impossible&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; We will make friends of our enemies&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; WE ARE ALL IN THIS TOGETHER&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; We will never again sow division..merge mercy with might, might with rightThe Arts can bring the world together, soothe the wounds, repair broken spirits&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;********&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Please make the new World Oceans Arts part of your world&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;We invite you to become part of oursTRUTH&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; MUTUAL RESPECT&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; HELP EACH OTHER&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;LOVE&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;PEACE &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;---James Gibson, D.M.A., Director&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; World Oceans Arts &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;</description><link>https://worldoceansarts.blogspot.com/2021/01/people-as-artist-who-is-also-american-i.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (James Gibson)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6435428168724644341.post-4163622499806421387</guid><pubDate>Thu, 02 Jul 2020 14:41:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2020-07-02T07:41:56.794-07:00</atom:updated><title>FINDING DEEP BEAUTY</title><description>&nbsp; &nbsp; I suppose what has always struck me -- and so many others --the most about the arts is simply the mindblowing beauty that can be achieved. Things happen in music, visual arts, words, acting, movement that seem impossible in any other context. I still feel chills and an inability to speak when I hear or see the myriad miracles which come from artistic expression. The heart-pounding thrill when I heard a Beethoven concerto or watched a thrilling circus act or glimpsed a famous person as a child is still there and it still feels just as overwhelming. Maybe that is why I think we artists are the luckiest people alive. Not only do we get to experience the same astounding highs of the arts, but we get to be an inner part of it.
 
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;That is also why we feel the deepest pain, the length of frustration and sadness, the sharpness of division and misunderstanding and jealousy which have wracked the human world since it began. So in times like the present, when the worst public health crisis in my memory becomes so complicated by human ignorance and tragedy and frustration, the only thing I can think of that will help is to find the deepest beauty....to escape the madness for a moment......to remind myself that there is a world full of love and healthy existence and hope. As a member of that very privileged class of people who are called artists, I realize there is an opportunity to find that indescribable beauty once again, and to share it with as many others as possible.
 
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;This does not need to be complicated. It does not require a lot of money or an insane level of genius to find the saving beauty and share it with someone who may be suffering. We do not need Beethoven or Andrea Bocelli or Monet or the power of a great Broadway musical to give us hope. For example, I found it over and over again in the past few weeks, just in the routine of my daily work and existence as an artist. I was able to reach out to a handful of gifted younger artists and offer them an opportunity which could prove to be the turning point, and perhaps the highest moment, they have ever experienced in their profession. I watched people dancing and singing spontaneously on the street or in a shopping center, blissful because they enjoyed the freedom and the passion that enables them to perform wherever and whenever they choose. I found it in a poem by Carl Sandburg, not even a well known poem or a profound declaration -- but simply a few lines which captured the essence of being a person on a planet full of people: to love, to be loved, to observe, to appreciate and understand.
 
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;We get so ridiculously spoiled by excess that we often lose sight of its magic. If we have a house full of beautiful possessions, or an electronic connection to the world that can show us billions of pretty pictures, we easily forget that what is most beautiful of all may be sitting in a chair across from us, or it may be couched in a tiny memory from our own distant past. But these tiny memories, these shreds of deep beauty, might just be enough to pull us out of depression, to free us from overwhelming grief, to give us a relaxing fresh breath which can still our fear.......if you are a spiritual person you probably believe, as I do, that when you extend a tender hand to someone else, you win back good and beautiful things a hundredfold. Even if you believe in nothing at all, you know somewhere deep inside that if you seek and find a tiny deep beauty, somewhere, you will emerge from that glimpse a stronger, better, more fulfilled and healthier person.
 
James Gibson&nbsp; </description><link>https://worldoceansarts.blogspot.com/2020/07/finding-deep-beauty.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (James Gibson)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6435428168724644341.post-761231182567641383</guid><pubDate>Fri, 17 Apr 2020 16:39:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2020-04-17T09:42:03.115-07:00</atom:updated><title>BREATHING WITH WOA</title><description>Hello everyone, If you are able to read this, we are grateful that you are alive and hopefully doing what is needed to remain healthy. To begin with the most important thing: it is only by the world acting as a community, a family, that everyone will survive and prosper and move ahead of the current pandemic. If we each place the lives and interests of others higher than our own desires, this will succeed.
 
Please consider supporting Artists at the Bottom, Friends at the Top.&nbsp;This fund helps creative and performing artists who face dire circumstances. At present ALL funds received will go directly to help people who are negatively affected by the corona virus. Just email us if you can make a donation. 
 
Bundles&nbsp;are one way that we at World Oceans Arts can raise funds to help those in need, while also providing work for our own artists, and providing a steady stream of entertainment and learning. Our bundles consist of things like films, music recordings and videos, written poetry and fiction and essays, educational videos like our Exploring with Shakespeare series, photos and memorabilia from our dancers and singers and actors and others. Soon we will announce all the items that can be included in a bundle. When a person purchases a WOA bundle, he/she may choose what items will be included. The price is always low, compared to what one would spend to purchase the same or similar items individually on the market.
 
Casting&nbsp;is underway! It never really stops here, and right now we have several worthy projects on the horizon. We need actors, writers, singers, instrumental musicians, crews, dancers, researchers, and lots of others. Among our projects for the next year are an AcquaTroupe documentary video which we will help produce; speculative commercials for some of the largest companies in the world; educational videos, sound recordings and written material; music and dance videos; and much more. We are also working with AcquaTroupe to complete filming of many of their activities, as well as finishing production of our big movie 1969. If you want to be considered for a job or role with us, just send an email to world.oceans7@gmail.com or acquatroupe@gmail.com.
 
Live events? Sure, they are not possible right now in 'normal' ways in most of the world. But we will soon begin making live performances available to you online. We are also talking about truly live events for the late summer and fall, where a limited audience will be present, albeit spatially separated from one another. Watch this website for announcements! 
 
Miniconcerts&nbsp; &nbsp;Please enjoy our miniconcert #1 (the link is on the welcome page of this website.) We will be posting a second concert of music, theatre, spoken word and written gems next week! 
 
We wish you all healthy, safe and increasingly joyous days ahead! 
 
---James Gibson, Artistic Director</description><link>https://worldoceansarts.blogspot.com/2020/04/breathing-with-woa.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (James Gibson)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6435428168724644341.post-158355252961475310</guid><pubDate>Wed, 25 Mar 2020 15:11:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2020-03-25T08:11:46.257-07:00</atom:updated><title>IMPORTANT UPDATES & OUR 2020</title><description>Hello everyone! I would like to provide you with an update on what has been happening with World Oceans Arts -- and even more importantly, what is going to happen during the rest of this year. This update is the result of many ideas, meetings, communication from our artists and audiences, and more. It is also, unavoidably, an update on where we are as a result of the virus pandemic sweeping the globe. The good news is that at WOA we are moving forward with vigor, new ideas and projects, new resources and new audiences.
 
For those who may be new to us or confused by all our memos and blogs and announcements: World Oceans Arts is the production company sibling to AcquaTroupe, which is a live performance ensemble. James Gibson Arts is an adjunct to both entities which links my own professional activities to both those organizations. Collectively and humorously we are known as JAW. 
 
World Oceans Arts is currently in the recording studio and we have been for some time! We began a series of CDs of music by living composers which is moving forward rapidly. As we speak, Ellena Hogrefe and I are recording a release of new art songs; soon WOA/AcquaTroupe will be producing the first recording ever of two operas by Lawrence Moss. Our recordings projects will also include other styles of music such as rock, folk, jazz, pop and more, as well as audio books and poetry. 
 
Our video series Exploring with Shakespeare&nbsp;is beginning to take shape, and by this summer we will be able to announce the release of several new episodes. One of the best and most important projects we ever did was the public service video for the American Behcets Disease Association. Because JAW is as much about helping people as it is about creating and producing art, we are now aggressively seeking and planning other video projects which will generate support for some very worthy causes.
We will also create videos for our fund called Artists at the Bottom, Friends at the Top. ABFT was created to provide financial and practical assistance to gifted artists who cannot move their careers forward because of difficult personal circumstances. For the time being, ABFT is directly linked to the worldwide virus pandemic. That means that every dollar which is donated to the fund will be used to help people in the arts who have contracted covid-19, or whose families or colleagues have been affected by the disease. Funds will also be used to help artists who are temporarily out of work because of the pandemic.
 
There are two important announcements regarding what we intend to do from now through the end of 2020: 
 
&nbsp; &nbsp; ---We are going to begin aggressively compiling and selling bundles&nbsp;of&nbsp; our products. These will vary in content, e.g. a collection of all our CDs, or a dvd of a movie combined with short video clips from our artists; or some of our published music and literature, along with photos of our writers and composers. Bundles may also include autographed items, props or costumes used in our productions, and on and on....the possibilities for an individualized bundle are endless.
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;All funds received from the sale of our bundles will be split between production costs (especially paying the artists who produced them), and the ABFT fund. 
 
&nbsp; &nbsp; ---We are going to be greatly expanding our online visibility. This will feature a new and wider presence on youtube, facebook, instagram, linkedin and numerous other social media and arts sites. 
 
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;All of this is beginning to happen now. Not only will we not slow down because of the pandemic; it is inspiring us to move forward more rapidly and in more ways than before. 
 
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Our covid-19 calendar: We will continue to be very busy making recordings, getting written works and visual arts into publication, and putting together our bundles for distribution. We are also entering a film editing phase&nbsp;so we can re-release Sing to the Stars&nbsp;after some editorial upgrades; edit and release Litany;&nbsp;complete filming and editing of 1969&nbsp;for release before the end of the year; and assist AcquaTroupe with production of its first documentary film. Finally, we are now booking events and performances throughout the USA and Europe to begin approximately&nbsp;June 1st.
 
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;We are now holding worldwide auditions and we are making contact with promoters and venues everywhere. We have already committed to joint appearances with AcquaTroupe in New York, Washington DC, San Francisco, Cleveland, Atlanta, North Carolina, Ann Arbor, South Dakota,&nbsp; Chicago, Mississippi, Louisiana, and St. Louis. In Europe, we are finalizing plans to appear with films and live performances in France, England, Austria, Slovenia, Italy, Germany and several other countries. We will announce these events as soon as dates and details are confirmed.&nbsp;&nbsp;Finally, our worldwide auditions and interviews, online for now and in person soon, will help us build a strong and diversely talented staff and roster of artists for the future.
 
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; We will adjust to whatever the world pandemic brings; we will always place health and safety and peace of mind ahead of our work and dreams. But we will not ever stop or give up because of a crisis! Thank you for your support and love and prayers. We hope you, the artists and our fans, will join us in some capacity as we move forward with strength and conviction. 
 
&nbsp; &nbsp; --James Gibson, Artistic Director&nbsp; &nbsp; 
 
 
</description><link>https://worldoceansarts.blogspot.com/2020/03/important-updates-our-2020.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (James Gibson)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6435428168724644341.post-5399026339041582215</guid><pubDate>Fri, 01 Nov 2019 15:43:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2019-11-01T08:43:01.474-07:00</atom:updated><title>WIDENING OUR REACH</title><description>Every so often it is healthy for people working together to assess where they are and what they have done. We are affectionately known as JAW (James Gibson Arts, AcquaTroupe and World Oceans Arts). For all practical purposes, we are one unit. We are several hundred people in contact with one another, most of us creative or performing artists. We are trying to use artistic expression to make the world a little better, to inspire and fulfill people, to offer our interpretations of life and the universe in meaningful ways.
 
AcquaTroupe is rapidly filling up the calendar with future performance commitments and projects throughout North America and Europe. World Oceans Arts is steadily moving through the huge mission of bringing two new movies to the screen: 1969&nbsp;and Litany,&nbsp;both of which will offer broad commentary on our world today and on who we are as people. Our artistic director is finding the time to publish, record and distribute his 300+ original creations and to mentor some of the most promising artists of the future. Things are busy around here!
 
An essential ingredient in our recipe of work is to reach out to those in need, to seek ways in which we can not just perform and create, but by which we can actually help people improve their lives. To that end we would like to announce a few favorite humanitarian recipients of benefits from our work. We have already supported these and we will continue to do so: American Behcets Disease Association, Isaiah House in Rochester NY, Shriner's Hospital, St. Jude's Hospital for Children, Alzheimers Association and several cancer prevention/treatment organizations. We urge you to support these and to support us, so we can share the wealth with those who are desperate for help.
 
Recently we began an ongoing drive to help artists who are frustrated in their career dreams -- by poverty or isolation, or lack of training or disability. These Artists at the Bottom&nbsp;are beginning to receive help from our Friends at the Top:&nbsp;people like you who care about the arts. Maybe you can do without a couple of lattes or an extra purchase that you don't really need, and support this effort instead. Even with just a few dollars, you could make a huge difference in the life of an artist who has something important to say to the world. If you would like to help, please write us at world.oceans7@gmail.com.
 
Even as AcquaTroupe aims to bring its performances to many small towns, out of the way places and artistically hungry communities, World Oceans Arts is making a commitment to share our talents and projects with audiences who may not enjoy the best access to art. When we release our screen projects, as well as the literature we publish and the CDs we are recording, we will make a special effort to put them into the hands of people who miss out on much of the best the arts have to offer. We think reaching out is the best way to bring together a world of people who fervently want peace and prosperity, lasting happiness and fulfillment. Thank you.
 
---World Oceans Arts</description><link>https://worldoceansarts.blogspot.com/2019/11/widening-our-reach.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (James Gibson)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6435428168724644341.post-7938208724218436836</guid><pubDate>Mon, 23 Sep 2019 13:06:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2019-09-23T06:06:37.383-07:00</atom:updated><title>Moments of Heroism</title><description>We are all drawn toward heroic figures, perhaps in part because they teach and impress us in extraordinary ways; and perhaps because they allow us to imagine ourselves bigger and more powerful than we think we are. People who act heroically come in all shapes and sizes. They may even escape our notice until the effects of their heroism spread widely. My spiritual belief is that every human is potentially heroic; but I also think we should praise and emulate those whose heroism is huge and astonishing.
 
Greta Thunberg is an amazing small young woman from what she terms a small country (Sweden), but she has awakened several billion people to the fact that so many still refuse or fail to recognize: we have overheated our planet to a point of real danger. At age sixteen she shows herself to be much wiser and bolder than so many older people who should be leading our way. 
 
Stephen Hawking, who passed away last year, was as overwhelming an example of mind over matter as one could ever imagine. He changed science forever, but he also changed our perceptions of disability and limitation. People like him cause us to re-think the very process of thinking. He and others who overcome enormous hurdles inspire us to never give up, never settle for less than what we know we can contribute to our world. 
 
Ask any performer what an artistic life is like...if they are honest, they will tell you it requires a degree of heroism and a lot of determination. For most, the hurdles are huge. A world which craves the arts so often fails to reward its artists in even the smallest ways. When I heard and learned about the Choir of Gonville and Caius College at Cambridge, who just concluded a wonderful U.S. tour, I was reminded about Stephen Hawking. I was also reminded how admirable it is that a group of young adults, whose lives are undoubtedly challenging and complicated as most are, could sing a daunting repertoire with a level of power and beauty that we rarely hear. They emerged from their most recent exhausting performance with smiles and boundless energy. They renewed once again the hope of every composer and musician and audience member that somehow, the sheer heroism of the arts in the face of peril and trials will carry civilization on to the next generation.
 
Not everyone needs to overcome huge odds or perform miracles in order to be heroic. Extending a helping hand to a person in need, or congratulating someone on an unnoticed but remarkable deed accomplished, can be just as heroic. If each of us shared just a tiny bit of heroism every day, imagine what an idyllic world this would be! 
 
--James Gibson</description><link>https://worldoceansarts.blogspot.com/2019/09/moments-of-heroism.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (James Gibson)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6435428168724644341.post-7989581078039560776</guid><pubDate>Fri, 10 May 2019 17:00:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2019-05-10T10:00:08.830-07:00</atom:updated><title>Composing, Collaborating, Compact Discs</title><description>&nbsp; &nbsp; Warning: This is a thread of a composer's rambling thoughts......if I make generalizations about people who create music and other arts, it is usually because I learned the hard way that some generalized behaviors are self-defeating. People cannot perform the arts if people do not create the arts. One of my favorite lines in an old movie is from All About Eve: 'When will the piano learn that it did not write the concerto?'
 
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;I have always been energized and proud that I could write music and also play the piano and sing. I seem to do everything in multiples: not being satisfied with a film and theatre production entity called World Oceans Arts, my friends and I also created AcquaTroupe. We gave AT the mission of bringing the arts into live performance.The late great composer Karel Husa once told me I was most fortunate in being able to perform my own music. Many composers sing badly and cannot play any instruments. This does not mean they cannot compose great music, but for some it makes the journey more difficult.
 
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Unless a creative artist makes art solely for his or her own enjoyment and never shares it, art is always a collaborative effort. Artists need inspiration, they need an audience, and they need a support group. Being a composer or writer or photographer or sculptor can be very lonely, unforgiving, and exhausting.....or at least they need massive intervention from a greater power. So for a composer, collaboration must always be part of the equation. Even though I am a pianist and reasonably good singer, if I write music for any other instrument I most often need to bring one or more performers into the mix.
 
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Compact discs, i.e. recordings of any sort, are very much on my mind right now. The percentage of new classical pieces which have actually been recorded for the world to hear is extremely small. In this age of easy and astounding technology, this might surprise many people. If you write a piece of music, just record it! After all, good recording technology is cheap and even the composing part can be done by a computer. Well, that is true.......but most composers want the best possible recording of their piece, the best performers they can find, and a result they can be proud of. Not many people are able or willing to work for free; since artists usually have to work especially hard just to earn a reasonable income, the recording process gets expensive really fast.
 
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Why not just put all of our compositions online and never have to pay for studio time and hard copy CDs and advertising and all the rest? Every composer asks these questions........and this leads a composer to think about legacy, about the future. Will anyone a hundred years from now hear my music? This is a profound question which may not matter at all to some composers, but it terrifies others. A composer's legacy consists of his/her letters and journals and selfies and memoirs written by friends....but above all, it consists of the composer's music. If that music is not preserved in sound, it eventually disappears.&nbsp;
 
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Soon I will blog about the difference between a composer and a songwriter (if there is one). I have been asked about this many times. Other queries from friends and fans has led me to start creating vlogs which are available online for just pennies, about what it means to be a composer in today's world. I love pouring out my thoughts and sharing them in this fashion. You can email me at jamesgibsonallarts@gmail.com if you want to know more about the vlogs.
 
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;I am thrilled that we at World Oceans Arts and AcquaTroupe are sewing ties among composers and collaborators, and sharing those efforts in our series of CDs. Elsewhere on our sites you will find ads for "Living Piano Music", the newly released compact disc of some of my piano pieces. Profits from that project all go toward helping support developing artists in music, film, theatre and more as they build their careers against heavy odds. I invite you to add that CD to your collection....and if you have already decided that you don't need more CDs because 'everything' is on youtube, consider this: long-playing records and typewriters and costumes from previous eras and hard cover books and ancient coins are all earning far higher profits on the collectors' markets than ever before......so if you think technology is replacing our need to own any physical items, think again.....and you just might help preserve a poor composer's legacy in the process.
 
--James Gibson</description><link>https://worldoceansarts.blogspot.com/2019/05/composing-collaborating-compact-discs.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (James Gibson)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6435428168724644341.post-290961577519167684</guid><pubDate>Tue, 22 Jan 2019 17:33:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2019-01-22T09:33:19.287-08:00</atom:updated><title></title><description>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;ALL PEOPLE, ALL THE TIME, NO EXCEPTIONS
 
&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;If we were required to state one theme that World Oceans Arts and I would raise on our banner for 2019, I think it would be Respect for the Dignity of All People. Most organized religions on our planet proclaim that the Supreme Being(s) will always insist that people choose kindness over cruelty, life over death, respect over mockery, help over dismissal, generosity over selfishness, peace over violence. Even most people who claim to have no spiritual beliefs would echo these choices, at least in theory. Unfortunately, we as a world society often forget these choices and exhibit the wrong behavior towards one another.
 
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;As I heard Greg Cole state recently, non-violence must be an action of both the body and the soul or spirit. We cannot proclaim to love others if our physical actions proclaim hatred. We cannot truly exhibit physical respect for others if, in our minds, we allow ourselves to hate them enough to taunt them. Greg is Executive Director of Emmaus House in Atlanta, one of many worthy organizations who try to help people in severe need to raise themselves up. Poverty, ignorance, persecution and crime will never go away if we allow people on the lower rungs of society to be trapped there in despair. Even those of us who cannot afford a single dollar or an hour of our time to help others can certainly afford a moment to ask whether our minds are in the right place.
 
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;I experienced a pinnacle of the quest for mutual respect in 1963 on the National Mall, in the words of&nbsp; Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. When I see young people make fun of Native Americans, or hear people who feel wronged wish for death or retribution toward their adversaries, it makes me sad. We have had thousands of years -- or probably more like two million&nbsp;years -- to learn to get along with one another, to not only pretend respect but to actually feel it and live it. If&nbsp;there is one thing the arts can always do, and always has done, it is to wake people up. We learn much of what we know about love, beauty, dignity, cooperation and truth from the arts. Very few humans have never been inspired by a song or a book, a painting or a dance or a photo or a ceremony.
 
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Perhaps this is the time for us to think about oceans. The oceans belong to everyone, because they are not specifically owned by anyone. At World Oceans Arts, let's think of mutual respect in the same way. Everyone has a right to be respected and live in dignity, because those values do not belong only to certain people. 
 
----James Gibson, Artistic Director</description><link>https://worldoceansarts.blogspot.com/2019/01/all-people-all-time-no-exceptions-we.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (James Gibson)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6435428168724644341.post-7231911768135424705</guid><pubDate>Wed, 12 Dec 2018 01:43:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2018-12-11T17:43:30.243-08:00</atom:updated><title></title><description>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; COOL CONNECTIONS
 
At World Oceans Arts we have been talking for some time about getting into circus arts, physical theatre, and blending dance with gymnastics and acrobatics. It is all part of our objective of performing hybrid arts, and breaking some boundaries while maintaining traditions. We are a step closer to that with an invitation to Natalie Fields to collaborate with us. This weekend, those of you in Georgia have an opportunity to see some of her excellent work in aerial arts at The Sky Gym in Sandy Springs. On Friday and Saturday the 14th &amp; 15th at 8 pm, their show "Introspection" will be performed! This could be the most exciting event of your holiday season! The show is at 6780 Roswell Rd NE, Studio D100, Sandy Springs 30328. More information is at theskygym.com.
 
Last week I had the opportunity to chat with Tod Machover, a well known composer who is widely known for blending electronic media with opera and other classical music. He and his colleagues at MIT are coming up with some pretty exciting stuff! Over the next few years, we anticipate bringing similarly innovative projects to audiences, in partnership with AcquaTroupe. On that note, AcquaTroupe is joining the ranks of a dozen or more ensembles and performance groups who are known for melding tradition with experimentation in performance. The arts are found in&nbsp;every&nbsp;aspect of life on earth and in the universe.
 
We at WOA are going to have a great time proving that in the months ahead. We are also proud of how we build on tradition while exploring new ground. We love to connect the past, the present and the future. A shining example of those bridges will be our dual opera recordings of Lawrence Moss' The Brute&nbsp;(based on a Chekhov story) and his newly orchestrated version of Pergolesi's La Serva Padrona.&nbsp;Our recording of those operas on CD will happen early in 2019. They will be the first of many artistic projects where we reach back several hundred years, while we simultaneously reach forward into the future of music.
 
*Random shoutouts: Tatiana Zappardino, who is featured in our film Litany (scheduled for release in 2019) has just done a great commercial for NewDayUSA.....Hayley Noelle Hudson and Kalicia Shelton, who have just been cast in AcquaTroupe's Outer Edge, a hybrid arts theatre piece to be performed soon in Atlanta......&nbsp;Early in 2019, we will be announcing an elite group of artists in early stages of their careers who we feel will be known around the world before too long....watch them blossom and shine as we work with them!
 
Christmas and the New Year are all about sharing and joy. We are especially joyful to launch the first in a series of Share the Arts events January 12-13, 2019 in OREGON&nbsp;!&nbsp; We will be sending examples of our music, theatre, film video, dance, writing, visual art and more to artists and organizations all over that magnificent state. At the same time, a number of Oregon artists will share their work with us, and with each other. It will probably be the most widespread and unique arts-festival-online in Oregon's history! Other states are clamoring to get in on the fun, so watch for us to announce additional Share the Arts weekends as the new year progresses. If any of you have a special interest in Oregon, or have resided or performed or traveled there, please don't miss this opportunity to get involved! There is no cost to share your art or to be part of the audience. Just write us at world.oceans7@gmail.com and we will give you all the information!
 
As they say in the job-hiring world, it's all about the networking. We love to connect, and we encourage all of you to do so. Connections bring new friends, new ideas, and new inspiration -- especially in hidden corners. HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!! 
 
--James Gibson, Artistic Director</description><link>https://worldoceansarts.blogspot.com/2018/12/cool-connections-at-world-oceans-arts.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (James Gibson)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6435428168724644341.post-1298172245930041658</guid><pubDate>Thu, 14 Jun 2018 13:13:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2018-06-14T06:13:44.031-07:00</atom:updated><title>Introducing AcquaTroupe!</title><description>&nbsp; &nbsp; As a creative artist, I love to create anything new, or help others form a new venture or project or plan. I fondly remember making the insane decision to compose an opera based on one of Shakespeare's least known and most difficult plays; the impulse that told me I should find ways to incorporate my varied interests into every piece of original music; and the realization that if I wanted to depict one of the most important years in modern history (1969) -- which was coincidentally one of the more significant years of my life -- I should simply make a movie about it.
 
&nbsp; &nbsp; Such grand artistic gestures are not for the faint-hearted or the weak. I do not recommend making such gestures unless you are absolutely sure of what you want to achieve. But one of the greatest feelings we can experience is the launching of a huge project which feels right, sounds right, looks right and is in tune with what we have dreamed all along. 
 
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;As a composer of classical music, I am part of a small minority of some of the least understood and most ignored people in society. The average person on the street will tell you that classical composers died out after Tchaikowsky. Schoolchildren may all recognize the 'Blue Danube Waltz' but most of them listen to it without realizing they are experiencing classical music. 
 
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;I am obsessed with geography and travel. For a long time I have wanted to find ways to take my devotion to the music of fellow composers and put it on a grand tour -- as much to wake the world up to contemporary classical music, as to serve any other purpose. But no grand scheme succeeds without a strong multifaceted team. So a couple of years ago, I began talking with fellow artists of all ilks about how to disseminate the classical music of today worldwide. We found all kinds of wonderful role models, such as Yo Yo Ma and Paul McCartney. These and many others are people who showed that by opening classical music to the other musics and other arts of the world, and by opening the classical music window to dance and sports and literature and games and religion, a composer could reach schoolchildren and uneducated peasants and rednecks and disabled people -- even animals (whales and dolphins and birds!).
 
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Thus AcquaTroupe was created. Even as it emerges from its infancy, this ensemble/concept/artistic gathering has gone beyond classical music. AcquaTroupe is the live performance wing of James Gibson Arts. It is a partner to World Oceans Arts. AcquaTroupe is a legion of performers and creators and supporters who will come together as the need arises; who bring enormous professional credentials and talent; who come together to share concerts, recordings, visual and literary arts, theatre, dance, film and more with a hungry world.
 
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Over the next two years, AcquaTroupe will hold at least one event -- and record or film at least one project -- in each and every U.S. state and Canadian province, and each and every country in Europe. This type of artistic collage has perhaps never happened before on this scale. We are excited beyond measure to make plans and launch the many fascinating missions of this venture. 
 
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Although AcquaTroupe will go far beyond classical music and composers and traditional concerts, those are still at the root of why this project is important. Composers typically spend many years struggling to find the time and space to create beautiful music, and struggle even more to find someone who will listen to their music. Trying to make a living as a classical composer is a joke, which is why most of us teach college or write books or hold down day jobs we'd rather not have. A lucky few of us are able to work full time in the arts, piecing together an improbable combination of opportunities and resources in order to pay the bills. As much as anything else, it is my hope that the grand success of AcquaTroupe in the coming months and years will brighten the lives of many hardworking composers. After all, somewhere among them are the Mozarts and Beethovens and Rossinis that the twenty-second century will look back on and say, "he/she was one of the greatest composers ever".
 
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Please contact us if you would like to receive newsletters and our plans for travel and performance and recording. If you would like to be part of AcquaTroupe or support us in some way, we will be thrilled to hear from you. 
 
James Gibson 
jamesgibsonallarts@gmail.com 
acquawow2017@gmail.com&nbsp; &nbsp;</description><link>https://worldoceansarts.blogspot.com/2018/06/introducing-acquatroupe.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (James Gibson)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6435428168724644341.post-489954971323727697</guid><pubDate>Wed, 23 May 2018 19:36:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2018-05-23T12:36:14.362-07:00</atom:updated><title>2018 International Behcets Disease Awareness Day</title><description>
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It is truly amazing
to watch something you would love and dream of doing, come to life.
 
 
As you guys already know, World Oceans Arts released a
PSA this past Friday, May 18th highlighting a rare disease
that desperately needs more attention and research. As a Behcets
disease sufferer, who waited 8+ years for a diagnosis and didn’t
know that Behcets existed until the day I was diagnosed, this is
something that is in my face on a daily basis. 
 
The
process we went through to create this PSA taught me so much. We
loosely started planning to do the PSA years ago, but then officially
started to put it together Fall of 2017. We filmed it in late March,
and that experience was amazing in and of itself. Being one of the
leaders of the project, including the writer, plus being the lead
actress in it caused me to be in this awe that we had so many people
there working super hard to produce an amazing product. Then when we
actually had an edited version, it was surreal! 
 
When we
released the PSA this past week, I was hoping to at least get it
shared across the Behcets community. That in and of itself was a huge
goal for me, because one of the main reasons I worked so hard on this
was to give the BD community something they could share with their
friends and family. I wanted them to be able to share this with
people who don’t understand what its like to have Behcets, so that
maybe they get it just a little bit better. Like I explain in the
video, BD is primarily invisible to the people around us, so they can
easily assume we are doing just fine when we are actually suffering
quite badly. Sometimes, if we try to vocalize what we are going
through, especially without being asked, the people around us can
take it as attention seeking or exaggeration. Its a hard situation to
be in, so I saw this video as a great in between so that there was
more understanding between BD survivors and their loved ones. 
 
I
personally posted the video on my Facebook page, twitter, and
instagram, as well as put it up on the World Oceans website Friday
morning. I had to leave my house (for another World Oceans project
actually) before I got to sharing it through the Behcets community,
but it started making its way through anyway before I started on my
own “look what we have made!” endeavors. By Friday night, it had
been shared by many of my personal friends, BD friends, and work
colleagues, not to mention all of my fellow BD patients that were
sharing it. The ABDA (American Behcets Disease Association), the
organization we are raising awareness/money for, shared it on the
actual awareness day, as did a lot of other people. Seeing that kind
of support was hard to describe, in a good way! 
 
All in
all, I am so happy how much impact this video has made, in the less
than a week that it has been online. We are at over 19,000 views so
far on my original post on my FB page alone, and almost 1,000 views
on my personal Youtube. I wonder how many people have heard of
Behcets for the first time because of our PSA...I just can’t
imagine! 
 
I want to thank EVERYONE who has helped us with
this project. This includes RonVanLife, our DP, and his crew, plus my
husband Stuart Erkes (my personal assistant...but is that different
than any other day?), my best friend Trevis Elser(Best Scripty Ever),
Tess Williams (our Barista!), and our coffee shop extras including
Kirsten Johnson, Hayley Hudson, and Paul Bray. And of course, thank
you to everyone who has either shared the video or bought a tshirt
from our CustomInk campaign! If you haven’t yet, go over to our
Print/Commercials page to a link to the campaign. Tshirts must be
bought by the 31st, so do it now before you forget! 
 
Alisa
Erkes 
Webmaster/Actress/WOA Extraordinaire
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</description><link>https://worldoceansarts.blogspot.com/2018/05/2018-international-behcets-disease.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Alisa)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6435428168724644341.post-6593407827360874090</guid><pubDate>Mon, 14 May 2018 17:24:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2018-05-14T10:24:54.691-07:00</atom:updated><title>HEROES</title><description>&nbsp; &nbsp; They stand out in bold print......we admire their ability to do what seems impossible, to do what we cannot or will not do. There are many heroes, and we derive inspiration and moral guidance from them. But I wonder if perhaps we often relax in the knowledge that they exist. Do we sometimes fail to follow through with our own little bits of heroic action?&nbsp; With a huge number of heroes from whom to choose, I would like to single out just a handful. It is my hope that at World Oceans Arts, we will use our special talents and opportunities to take the baton from them and help show the way to the world:
 
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;LUKE TERRY&nbsp; is a Tennessee teen who plays baseball, using only the one arm he has. He follows in the footsteps of major league players of the past including Jim Abbott and Pete Gray. They proved that a major disability, which affects everything a person does in life, does not have to make their greatest passion an impossibility. 
 
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;JULIA MUNSLOW, outgoing Editor-in-Chief of The Emory Wheel&nbsp;in Georgia. Her excellent Senior Reflection in the April 25 issue details how she had to face uphill battles in order to do what every journalist should do: find the truth. In these times of rampant deception and misleading information from every direction, her persistence and integrity are to be greatly admired. 
 
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;DAVID HOGG and so many other students, teachers, staff and families in Parkland, Florida. Barely an adult (for only a month!), David has already galvanized worldwide attention and a call for action in a horrible situation which no child and no family should ever have to face. This brave community of heroes has awakened the conscience of a nation where we proclaim ourselves to be the shining light for the world, yet we kill and terrorize more of our own people and communities than does any other affluent, well-educated nation.
 
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; BEHCETS DISEASE VICTIMS -- as many as twenty thousand in North America, and hundreds of thousands in Turkey and many countries. They suffer from a disease whose unpredictability, painful effects and invisibility in the world make their plight much more challenging than just being chronically 'sick'. World Oceans Arts reaches out to every one of you to inform yourself about Behcet's. Please tell your friends and followers about how important it is, and use Behcet's Awareness Day (May 20) to do whatever you are capable of doing, in order to make life a bit easier for a Behcet's patient, or to support those who work hard to find treatments and cures. Do any of us really have the right to avoid helping out, when so many fellow humans are suffering in silence? Please read more on our front page and follow the link to make your own contribution to this highly important cause.
 
--James Gibson</description><link>https://worldoceansarts.blogspot.com/2018/05/heroes.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (James Gibson)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6435428168724644341.post-6901173928233842424</guid><pubDate>Sat, 24 Mar 2018 12:08:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2018-03-24T05:08:22.304-07:00</atom:updated><title>ACTION, LOVE, PEACE, SUMMITS</title><description>The Alps are among the most spectacularly beautiful features of our planet...I will never forget the moment I first saw them. My mind goes to the many ways in which we people must climb mountains to achieve what should be automatic and universal. Several dozen of us at World Oceans Arts are about to go into production of a feature film, 1969. As a person who was alive in the 1960s, I have a flood of memories of peace and war, violence, protest and the rights of people.
 
This morning the mountaintops of our society are crowded with thousands of brave and mentally brilliant young students and others, who will march through our streets today to remind us that the preservation of life and dignity and freedom must always be at the top of our summit of goals. I salute the many students in Florida and elsewhere who have woken us up to what our priorities must be. 
 
At WOA we are also just days away from production of a public service video about Behcet's disease. One thing I learned in the '60's was that the most enduring enemies are often those which are invisible. Behcet's is a debilitating disease which has few or no outward symptoms, no known cause or cure, and little recognition among the general public. Conquering this kind of enemy must begin with knowledge, awareness and caring....just as conquering an enemy like mental illness (the kind that can lead to the slaughter of innocent kids) must begin with knowledge, awareness and caring.
 
&nbsp;No matter how many guns, alarm systems, hospitals, protective measures and declarations of good intent we have, no hidden enemy can be defeated if we lose ourselves in blame games and angry accusations. We must all march together to achieve universal dignity, safety, freedom and peace. As we learned -- or should have learned -- in the 1960s, these lofty goals will never be achieved if we continue trying to control each other and surpass each other. They will only be reached when we dig deep inside ourselves and find better ways to care about each other.
 
--James Gibson</description><link>https://worldoceansarts.blogspot.com/2018/03/action-love-peace-summits.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (James Gibson)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6435428168724644341.post-6103498883358848060</guid><pubDate>Mon, 12 Feb 2018 12:24:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2018-02-12T04:24:05.780-08:00</atom:updated><title></title><description>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;SCATTERED RAMBLINGS AND LINKS TO COHESIVENESS
 
Like all artists...for that matter, like all people...I claim the right on occasion to get lost in conflicting thoughts, cloudy question marks, worlds apart from so-called everyday reality. In that vein I invite you to read my latest blog at jamesgibsonarts.com. I ask you to listen to my piano piece Threshold on Youtube&nbsp;if you have not already done so. I recommend you listen to the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds&nbsp;album, or maybe Keith Jarrett's Koln Concert. Allow yourself to get lost in music, perhaps music unfamiliar to you. Put away your cell phone and your day planner for a while, stare out the window and just listen.&nbsp;Finally, to all my fellow composers and performers of classical music, may I urge you to do as I have done -- let us shed our pseudo-sophistication, our contention that music has to be complicated or intellectually dense in order to be 'classical'....that music&nbsp;has no lasting value if it does not challenge the listener at multiple levels. I suggest, rather, that music is thought, music is impulse, music is emotion, music is the breathing of our souls. Complexity and sophistication have little to do with the greatest gift music gives to us. Just let your music flow, in whatever voice and temperament it emerges. The listener will do the rest.
 
James Gibson&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</description><link>https://worldoceansarts.blogspot.com/2018/02/ramblings-and-links-to-cohesiveness.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (James Gibson)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6435428168724644341.post-4871291625159078601</guid><pubDate>Fri, 22 Dec 2017 17:06:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2017-12-22T09:06:12.460-08:00</atom:updated><title></title><description>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; HOLIDAY MESSAGES TO THE WORLD
 
As with almost anyone, we at World Oceans Arts and AcquaTroupe find this to be the perfect time for reflection, for rest, for planning for a new year, and for pondering new challenges and opportunities. Under one name or another, we have been creating and sharing artistic works as a production consortium for more than two decades. We are proud to have launched major projects in a host of genres and styles -- music, theatre, dance, educational video, print, film, circus, visual arts, poetry and more. These efforts have attracted the attention of a significant body of artists, educators, entertainment professionals and 'regular folks' all over the world. We are excited about entering 2018 with new ideas and projects and goals, which will help us strengthen the body and results of that outreach.
 
We hope this new impetus will especially focus on what is good&nbsp;-- not just good quality, but good intent. In other words, we want to help people. We want to bring smiles and understanding, hope and excitement, to anyone who encounters our work. Our times and our world are often daunting. We are seeing lightning speed changes in technology, communication and the sharing of information. We Americans hear a daily litany of the polarity and sometimes chaos in our federal government. 2017 has brought the world too many examples of terrorism, cataclysmic natural disasters, and betrayals of trust. At times like these, the arts can help people understand, help them feel safe and hopeful, help them dream and sort out the many options in daily life.
 
At WOA and AcquaTroupe, we look forward to our All 51/The Big 102 project, which will result in establishing new personal connections in every U.S. state and every European country. We will perform or record or film or exhibit our work in every one of those places over the next two years. As we thus sweep the bulk of the northern global hemisphere, we look forward to helping many deserving artists move from anonymity to fulfillment in their careers. We can't wait to produce modern-day operas by Lawrence Moss and yours truly, to unveil the range of storytelling possible in film and video (Shakespeare, 1969,&nbsp;reality in the arts world, and more), and to provide support and recognition for some of our selected and most important targets for humanitarian and charitable sharing: Behcet's disease, prejudice, hunger, homelessness, terrorism, cancer, etc.
 
We hope each of you has a fulfilling, joyful and beautiful holiday season! Every religion and every wholesome philosophy advocates the importance of renewal, of rest, of hope and positive thinking. We wish all of those things for you in your daily lives. We hope we can help you find that bounty through the arts. Thank you for your support and interest and friendship. 
 
---James Gibson</description><link>https://worldoceansarts.blogspot.com/2017/12/holiday-messages-to-world-as-with.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (James Gibson)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6435428168724644341.post-4292345808378923195</guid><pubDate>Tue, 28 Nov 2017 21:33:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2017-11-28T13:33:29.584-08:00</atom:updated><title></title><description>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;ACQUATROUPE, ALL 51 and THE BIG 102<div>
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In less than five weeks we will officially launch three projects, all of which are already underway, all interlocked, all quite exciting! Here is the short version of what they are, what our aim is, and who/what we are seeking:</div>
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AcquaTroupe&nbsp;is a movie, a performing ensemble with fluid and rotating membership, and an umbrella for all of WOA's live performance and recording projects in music, theatre, film/video, dance, spoken word and other performing arts. The movie is already being shot. It is a unique combination of fictional stories and true-life adventures among a group of performers.</div>
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The ensemble known as AcquaTroupe is made up of whoever is performing, creating and recording live arts for us at any particular time. Because we have multiple projects underway, spread over a huge geographical area, we are always in need of new people. Actors, writers, musicians, dancers, storytellers, narrators, photographers/videographers, staff, crew, makeup/wardrobe/scenic artists, assistants in every area, interns and more are always sought. Everyone who works with AcquaTroupe will share in the profits from our work together. Everyone will come away with great referrals and additions to their resumes, and with lots of memories.&nbsp;</div>
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All 51&nbsp;is our plan to take our arts and ideas to every U.S. state and D.C. in 2018. Through live performance, film/video shoots and screenings, recordings and other educational and artistic events, we will reach out to audiences all over the USA and leave them with memorable and unique experiences.&nbsp;</div>
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The Big 102&nbsp;is an international extension of our USA tour. It is the name for our presence not only in America, but in every European country by the end of 2019. Continent by continent, we are extending our artistic reach to the entire planet. We have memos, project summaries, detailed flyers and brochures we can send you about all of this. If all of this sounds intriguing and exciting, just ask to be kept on our mailing list! If you are not an artist or available to work with us, but would like to be part of our adventures, just ask how we can make that happen online or at a distance. Maybe you have a skill, or a few spare dollars, or a great idea to share with us. We are proud to help many artists build their careers, to bring innovative arts to audiences far and wide, and to support causes and organizations which seek to help people in greatest need. Please join us!&nbsp;</div>
</description><link>https://worldoceansarts.blogspot.com/2017/11/all-51-and-big-102-in-less-than-five.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (James Gibson)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6435428168724644341.post-8508566830811373128</guid><pubDate>Sat, 28 Oct 2017 14:42:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2017-10-28T07:42:34.057-07:00</atom:updated><title>Sing*Dance*Play* Music is What We Breathe!</title><description>***ANNOUNCEMENT for DANCERS!*** The deadline in our online Dancers competition has been extended to November 30th.&nbsp;If you love to dance, please consider entering this event and be rewarded with references and an evaluation, as well as the chance to win some great prizes and achieve wider recognition. Please write acquawow2017@gmail.com for details.
 
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;** 
 
At World Oceans Arts we have established ourselves as a theatrical and film production company which sometimes does beautiful visual arts projects and live multi-arts events as well. Those live events always include music -- and in 2018 we will watch AcquaTroupe, our live performance and recording entity, come into full blossom. Our rapid entry into the film and video world will continue as we release our dramatic flic Litany, and continue producing videos and documentaries about performers, Shakespeare, and the arts world. We will also film 1969&nbsp;just in time to chronicle the upheavals in our social and cultural world today, which are so reminiscent of the late '60s and early '70s.
 
But at the same time, we are energized and excited about a strong focus on music and dance in 2018. As we send performers to all 50 states and interact with ensembles and artists and organizations around North America, we will be providing opportunities for a lot of singers and dancers and instrumentalists and composers to emerge from their cocoons of anonymity. We will produce CDs and videos of music ranging from electronic to purely vocal, from hybrid rock-jazz-soul-ethnic collaborations to pieces which give new meaning to the terms 'symphony' and 'opera' and 'cantata'.&nbsp;
 
It may be hard to believe, but many people in the world still think that all classical composers died in the 19th century. We will be bringing the stunning music of many, many twenty-first century classical composers to a world which will doubtless be amazed. I will ask AcquaTroupe to help me celebrate three composers the world lost recently, who had a profound personal impact on my own career: Karel Husa, Leslie Bassett and Steven Stucky. In my own non-classical songs, and through the voices of many gifted 'rockers' and 'folkies'&nbsp; we will also remember some of my other heroes and friends who are gone but never forgotten: Carl and Dennis Wilson of the Beach Boys, John Stewart and Nick Reynolds of the original Kingston Trio, Mary Travers and John Lennon and George Harrison, Tom Petty and Dan Seals and so many others.
 
So it will be an extraordinary year for me personally; but even more importantly, it will be a year for singing and dancing and playing music in ways that we hope will enliven and teach and excite a much larger audience. As people groove to our live performances and listen to our CDs and watch our videos, we hope and predict that music will fill them with new breath, new ideas and new hope. These are the things that a complicated and often stressful world needs. Music has helped sustain people since the first caveperson imitated a bird song. It will always continue to do so. Please come and be part of our adventure in sound and movement and beautiful expression of all the things which are important to us!
 
--James Gibson 
</description><link>https://worldoceansarts.blogspot.com/2017/10/singdanceplay-music-is-what-we-breathe.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (James Gibson)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6435428168724644341.post-7843616108983467212</guid><pubDate>Tue, 17 Oct 2017 16:39:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2017-10-18T15:15:57.587-07:00</atom:updated><title>ANNOUNCING OUR CONTEST WINNERS!</title><description>Although we discourage aggressive competition in favor of teamwork at World Oceans Arts,&nbsp; we had a couple of contests recently to inspire the best artistry from some of our people. We are excited to announce the results, and also to give special recognition to a vocal group, and to an artist whom the world recently lost. Previously we had announced that CHARLOTTE BAPTIE and&nbsp;
RUTA MARCINKAITE were winners in our Summer all-around Performers Competition. You will be reading more about them soon. Now we are proud to announce a few winners in our SINGERS COMPETITION: 
 
 
 
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MOST PROMISING SINGER-SONGWRITER</div>
 
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ASPEN ANONDA</div>
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*****</div>
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 ARTIST ENCOURAGEMENT AWARD</div>
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ANNIE BELLA</div>
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SHOUT OUT AWARD</div>
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TEXAS ALL-STATE MEN'S CHOIR</div>
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*****</div>
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MEMORIAL AWARD 
 TOM PETTY 
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You will be hearing and reading much more about all of these&nbsp;great musicians on our site in the coming days.&nbsp;</div>
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CONGRATULATIONS!</div>
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&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;</description><link>https://worldoceansarts.blogspot.com/2017/10/our-contest-winners-although-we.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (James Gibson)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6435428168724644341.post-4594570696668149559</guid><pubDate>Mon, 09 Oct 2017 22:25:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2017-10-09T15:25:56.831-07:00</atom:updated><title>Put the World In Motion!</title><description>Most of us in the arts love movement: the tempo of music, the rhythm of an actor's speech, the thrill of a chase on screen or stage, the pulse of a chorus line. Putting things in motion does not always have to do with speed. It can refer to energy and impulse, such as helping victims in a hurricane or a mass shooting as they learn how to shed the heavy weight of despair and begin to move forward. Most of us take motion and movement for granted, but there are those who can only watch and enjoy from their seats, whose disabilities or limitations hold them back (see Alisa Erkes' excellent blog which follows this one, about the important project she is headlining for us in combatting Behcet's disease.)
 
At World Oceans Arts we decided to make dance and movement a big priority in 2018. Most of us have loved and been awed by those skills all our lives. My view of all the arts has been greatly enriched by the amazing people I have learned from in the dance and circus worlds, including Eliot Feld, Roclan Gonzalez and Caron Eule. Some are currently or recently featured in our projects here at WOA:&nbsp; Holly Lynn Gray Culpepper, Reece Ennis and others ("Sing to the Stars"), Kristin Guerin (a true Off Broadway star), Jake Clarke ("Cafe Playa Moon"), Charlotte Baptie (a winner of our recent Performer competition) and many others. I will be the first to tell you that I am not a dancer; but I learned how to be a choreographer, I was a good baseball/softball player when I was a bit younger, and I have always loved watching acrobatics and circus arts and gymnastics. There is a magic to movement, especially when it is backed by music or a good story, that cannot be matched!
 
We encourage every person who loves to dance, or who is a good movement performer, to enter our new Dance Competition '17, Put the World In Motion!&nbsp;See the Opportunities page of this site for details. The next time you're bored or tired or discouraged, or just need a little spark in your energy ----MOVE!! 
 
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; --James Gibson, Artistic Director 
 
&nbsp; &nbsp;</description><link>https://worldoceansarts.blogspot.com/2017/10/put-world-in-motion.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (James Gibson)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6435428168724644341.post-8816588033474475168</guid><pubDate>Wed, 20 Sep 2017 19:06:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2017-09-20T12:06:34.382-07:00</atom:updated><title>Behcets made the New York Times - and possibly NBC Nightly News!</title><description>As you all probably already know, World Oceans Arts does pretty much everything it can in the world of art. From on screen, to on a stage, WOA thrives doing as many projects it can get its hands on. This is great because 1) It gives actors working with World Oceans opportunities to try new things, and 2) It bring new actors/performers into the WOA family. A couple years ago, World Oceans asked some of its performers, including myself, if there was any cause they would like to help create a PSA for. I immediately told them I would love to create a PSA about Behcets, an autoimmune disease of the blood vessels that I am afflicted with. They loved the idea, and we have been in pre-production of this PSA ever since. James and I actually met for coffee two weeks ago to really get the ball rolling: contact other Behcets patients/the ABDA, figure out what we wanted it to look like, etc. Coincidently, I had also been talking to the New York Times the past month or so about a small part of my Behcets journey. I have chronic pain due to nerve/blood vessel damage in the abdomen from a previous Behcets flare, for which I take pain meds daily. Earlier this year, my insurance decided that they, as a whole, would stop covering my long-acting pain medication patch, Butrans, and did not warn me of their decision. It put my life into a tailspin. I tried to fight their decision, but they stood by it, and I ended up paying for a couple boxes of meds out of my own pocket before my doctor and I decided it was time to give up and find another medication. After three months of trying similar medications, that ended up not helping my pain, we ended up settling on Morphine extended-release (the smallest dose). I was flabbergasted it had come to that, but was extremely grateful my doctor was willing to put me on it. I am only 28 years old, and every doctor in the past has been very against putting me on any opioid except for the schedule 3 ones. The New York Times wanted to talk to me about this because many chronic pain patients are being told more expensive, yet safer medications are no longer being covered and that they need to be on cheaper, yet riskier opioids. I have heard so many stories from others in my situation. Patients have ended up on possibly addictive medication, that doesn't actually help their pain as much as the medication they were on previously. After the New York Times article came out, I was contacted by NBC. I have given them an on-camera interview about my situation, and as I am writing this blog, it hasn't aired. One of the things I wanted to make clear, is that I support chronic pain patients being on opioids if it is needed. Yes, opioids carry risks, but long term pain that is not being controlled brings its own set of risks. Part of the NYT article that I did not like 100% is how they talked about my being worried about addiction. Sure, I am being extra careful on these meds. My husband, who has been my caregiver for years, knows how often I take my as-needed pain meds. If he is home, I say something about needing a pill before I take it. I also keep a pain pill diary to ensure I am 1)not taking too many and 2)ensuring I am not being prescribed too many. I also ask my doctor if there is any meds we can take off my list almost every appointment. But the bottom line is this: I need these meds. If you had seen me during the transition period where my pain meds were not helping, you would understand. I wasn't living, I was just surviving. I deserve the pain relief if it exists, correct? And so do many other chronic pain patients that end up trying every treatment out there, and end up on extended-release pain meds. The opioid crisis has caused a stigma on opioid medications, as if there is no good reason to be given them. It is unfortunately more complicated than that. Chronic pain patients do have a good use for these medications in certain circumstances, including mine. I have seen new regulations cause chronic pain patients to lose their pain meds, and they end up bedridden due to the pain. Chronic pain patients do not get "high" off of their medications, and the statistics of the amount of chronic pain patients getting addicted is actually lower than you think. Of course we need to be careful with these medications, but we do not need put patients in situations where they are going to suffer needlessly either. I could talk about this for days if you can't tell! Whats funny, is the things I have been talking about with the press is just a small portion of my Behcets journey. It doesn't include the other pains I have in my hip and neck, which I'm actually getting an injection treatment for tomorrow (cross your fingers that goes well!). It doesn't include how it took 8 years to get a diagnosis, and how that diagnosis happened overseas in Germany after many doctors in the US told me I was healthy. It doesn't include the Rheumatologist, OBGYN, and Fertility specialist appointments for the other symptoms. It doesn't include the OTHER fight I have had with my insurance provider about coverage of Humira, a medication known to help Behcets patients with GI involvement like me, yet there is no FDA approval because rare disease's don't get FDA approval. It doesn't include the days where I literally cannot get out of bed due to the insane fatigue and all over pain. It doesn't include how I feel about fighting all this for over 13 years now, wondering when remission will come and give me a break. I am so happy to be working with World Oceans Arts to produce a PSA that really shows every aspect of being a Behcets Disease Warrior. And I cannot wait for you all to see it. Most doctors and nurses don't know what Behcets Disease is, let alone the general public! That needs to change! I am certainly excited about the awareness brought on by the New York Times and NBC, and I cannot wait to see where this journey takes me and awareness as a whole. It is becoming more and more clear to me that I can use my chronic illness journey as a way to bring awareness to others, and I am so humbled that the universe chose me to do it. I hope I do all my fellow spoonies proud. -Alisa Erkes, Webmaster of WorldOceansArts.org New York Times, "Amid Opioid Crisis, Insurers Restrict Pricey, Less Addictive Painkillers":&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/17/health/opioid-painkillers-insurance-companies.html">https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/17/health/opioid-painkillers-insurance-companies.html</a>
New York Times, "Why Are Drug Prices So High? We're Curious Too":&nbsp;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/17/insider/insider-high-drug-prices-opioids.html">https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/17/insider/insider-high-drug-prices-opioids.html</a> ProPublica, "Amid Opioid Crisis, Insurers Restrict Pricey, Less Addictive Painkillers":<a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/insurers-limit-coverage-of-pricey-less-addictive-painkillers">https://www.propublica.org/article/insurers-limit-coverage-of-pricey-less-addictive-painkillers</a>
Learn more about Behcets Disease: <a href="http://www.behcets.com/">http://www.behcets.com/</a> </description><link>https://worldoceansarts.blogspot.com/2017/09/behcets-made-new-york-times-and.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (Alisa)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6435428168724644341.post-4358126278693808183</guid><pubDate>Mon, 18 Sep 2017 13:05:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2017-09-18T06:05:04.142-07:00</atom:updated><title></title><description>&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; REACHING OUT AGAIN
 
Let us remind ourselves that unless every single aspect of our lives is truly horrible, we are much better off than many, many people. In that vein, let's reach out a couple of more times.....so many people in Florida and the Caribbean have lost everything. There are many many ways to help that do not require you to write a huge check. Please take a few minutes to go online and figure it out, or write to us at world.oceans7@gmail.com and we will help you reach out to those in desperate need. More hurricanes are coming.....the crisis is not over.
 
We would like to recognize The Isaiah House in Rochester, New York. This magnificent house and organization has helped many people find the full richness, peace and joy of life even as they live through their final days. Isaiah House is presenting its annual Gala fundraiser on October 1, and I urge you to consider helping them out with a donation. If you are anywhere within reach of Rochester, or know someone who is, please buy tickets to this event. You will be supporting one of the most impressive and important humanitarian organizations around. &nbsp;Go to theisaiahhouse.org and read about how these heroic people have helped so many others for thirty years!
 
 
--James Gibson</description><link>https://worldoceansarts.blogspot.com/2017/09/reaching-out-again-let-us-remind.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (James Gibson)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6435428168724644341.post-9147156410134443649</guid><pubDate>Thu, 14 Sep 2017 21:21:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2017-09-14T14:26:15.027-07:00</atom:updated><title>Setting the Stage</title><description>I was practically born in the theatre. I was acting with a children's theatre company before I launched my 'main' career (music) by taking piano lessons at age eight. Years later, when I began teaching drama and directing shows, I understood why it came so easily to me, especially since my formal theatre education had only consisted of one high school drama class by the time I became an adult.
 
There is something about the spontaneity, the nerves, the thrill of the opening curtain, that sucks people in whenever a show is onstage. The dark corners backstage, where everyone is sweating or practicing breathing, or mumbling their lines for the last time, or touching up the makeup -- that is a magical, mysterious place unlike any other on earth. 
 
I'll never forget seeing my first Broadway show ("A Chorus Line"), not only because the show itself is so riveting -- but because everything was so perfect.&nbsp;I had never experienced anything so high-speed, precisely coordinated, powerful and perfect&nbsp;in my life. I am extraordinarily blessed in theatrical experiences -- seeing Julius Casear&nbsp;at the Old Vic in London, watching the elephants onstage in Aida&nbsp;at the Baths of Caracalla, watching Ingrid Bergman in person as she delivered lines by Shaw, and seeing Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton in Private Lives&nbsp;on Broadway.
 
One thing that strikes me about Liz and Richard is that they wanted to do that show. They didn't need to; they had already split up; what they got paid was probably pocket change compared to their bank accounts; and they were the most famous acting couple in the world. They did it because they wanted to come back to theatre. They wanted the live audience, the backstage magic, the special feel of bright lights in a dark house. Finally, they wanted to ensure that their astounding skills had not been dulled by years of movies and marriages and traveling the world.
 
&nbsp;Interestingly, most of the highly successful film actors I know about have made it clear that every actor should come back to theatre, again and again. Being on stage demands precision, timing and finely tuned response from an actor in ways that can sometimes be shirked when in front of a camera. When I look at actor resumes -- several thousand every year -- I nearly always study the theatre credits more closely than the film or music or education or anything else. 
 
It is so exciting to look ahead to World Oceans Arts on stage in 2018! We already are producing &nbsp;a Shakespeare video series, music videos, live showcases and more. But next year, we will take to the stage with Henry the Sixth Part 1, Swanwhite, Cafe Playa Moon,&nbsp;and hopefully a brand new play we have not even discovered yet. Best of all, these productions will be wrapped in "All 51", our mission of taking the arts to every state in the U.S. We are already getting excited letters from theatre directors and actors and audiences in tiny places, empty spaces, forgotten towns. Many of them have a surprisingly steady diet of theatre, but they want more. Most budding young film actors and comedians and dancers in the world practice everywhere they can -- shopping malls, parking lots, the shower, at parties and cafes and breaks from their jobs. Why? Because they hunger for a stage. They long for an audience which the camera does not provide.
 
A fairly decent playwright once said "The play's the thing". Theatres and stages are exalted spaces. If you haven't been to a play or musical or opera in months or years, please go. Just go see something on stage. Theatre has a very special treasure of its own: it is never exactly the same twice. There is always the thrill of the unpredictable. You don't watch it at home on your sofa while munching chips and talking. In the theatre, you are there.
 
--James Gibson</description><link>https://worldoceansarts.blogspot.com/2017/09/setting-stage.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (James Gibson)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6435428168724644341.post-5383542106858261257</guid><pubDate>Wed, 06 Sep 2017 15:12:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2017-09-18T05:52:50.531-07:00</atom:updated><title>MY FAVORITE MOVIES</title><description>Everyone should make a list like this! Well, okay, most of you probably already have done......at least mentally. For many years--in fact, ever since I started getting really excited about film -- people have been asking what movies are on my list of favorites. I have always avoided listing "greatest" anythings, because those kinds of lists are so subjective, so unique to the lister, even judgmental.
 
But I do have favorites -- many of them, all different types of films. Your comments and questions are welcome, and I'd love to see your&nbsp;list too! 
---James Gibson 
 
These are films I love and can watch over and over again. Where there is more than one version, I've given the date of my favorite. 'The' and 'A' are usually omitted from the titles. I recommend them all....and frankly, I think every actor and director should watch these! 
 
 
All About Eve - All the President's Men - Amadeus - Anna Karenina (2012) - August Rush - Beguiled (1967) - Ben Hur - Best Exotic Marigold Hotel - Book Thief - Casablanca - Cat's Meow - Center Stage - Center Stage On Pointe - Clear &amp; Present Danger - Closely Watched Trains - Crucible (1996) - Defection of Simas Kudirka - Doctor Zhivago - Emerald Forest - Falcon &amp; the Snowman - Far From the Madding Crowd (2015) - Flight of the Phoenix (1965) - Girl with a Pearl Earring - Golden Compass - Grease - Gone with the Wind - Grand Budapest Hotel - Great Gatsby (1974) - Horse Whisperer - Hunt for Red October - Inkheart - In the Land of Women - Interpreter - Jane Eyre (2011) - Key Largo - K19: The Widowmaker - Lawrence of Arabia - Les Miserables (2012) - Little Big Man - Maltese Falcon - Man in the Moon (1991) - Mamma Mia! - Master &amp; Commander: Far Side of World - Mistress of Spices - Murder on the Orient Express - Mutiny on the Bounty (1962) - My Big Fat Greek Wedding (and MBFGW2) - New World - Night of the Iguana - Now, Voyager - Other Boleyn Girl - Painted Veil - Patriot Games - Pearl Harbor - Perfect Storm - Phantom of the Opera (2004) - Reincarnation of Peter Proud - Robin Hood (2010) - Romeo &amp; Juliet (1968) - Sound of Music - Spy Who Came In from the Cold - Stealing Beauty - Tailor of Panama - 10,000 BC - Taming of the Shrew (1967) - Three Days of the Condor - Time Machine (2002) - Titanic - Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy (2011) - 2001: A Space Odyssey - West Side Story - Winter's Tale (2014)
 
and...Sequel Marathons &amp; TV series: 
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&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Downton Abbey &nbsp; &nbsp; Game of Thrones &nbsp; &nbsp; Harry Potter movies &nbsp; &nbsp; Indiana Jones movies 
Jason Bourne movies &nbsp; &nbsp; Lord of the Rings/Hobbit movies &nbsp; &nbsp; Pirates of the Caribbean movies 
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; Star Trek movies &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Twilight Zone &nbsp; &nbsp;..and sooooo many more! 
 
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;</description><link>https://worldoceansarts.blogspot.com/2017/09/my-favorite-movies-everyone-should-make.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (James Gibson)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6435428168724644341.post-4556334903166734847</guid><pubDate>Mon, 28 Aug 2017 12:27:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2017-09-06T14:29:21.805-07:00</atom:updated><title>URGENT NEED TO REACH OUT</title><description>At World Oceans Arts and AcquaTroupe, we understand the importance of the arts' ability to help people, to change the world, to respond to human need. In that vein we are thinking about Texas and the overwhelming devastation that so many of its people are witnessing in the aftermath of a hurricane. We urge all of our artists and friends and contacts to pray for Texas, to send a few dollars if you can, to think of a way in which you might lend moral or material support where so many people are left homeless or penniless or shattered.
 
In 2018 World Oceans/AcquaTroupe will embark on a huge project we call "All 51" -- at least one live performance and one day of filming or recording in each and every state of the USA plus the District of Columbia. The Texas segment of that exciting project will significantly feature ways in which we can use the arts to lift up the people living in the areas affected by this disaster. We welcome ideas and requests in that regard, and we look forward to making a visible contribution to the relief effort, an effort which will necessarily be prolonged and massive if it is to help all these people restore their lives and security.
 
Stay safe and healthy....and if you are already safe and healthy, please reach out to those in great need. 
 
World Oceans Arts/AcquaTroupe 
 
</description><link>https://worldoceansarts.blogspot.com/2017/08/urgent-need-to-reach-out-at-world.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (James Gibson)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item><item><guid isPermaLink="false">tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6435428168724644341.post-2615036886258603336</guid><pubDate>Wed, 23 Aug 2017 15:50:00 +0000</pubDate><atom:updated>2017-09-06T14:29:43.389-07:00</atom:updated><title> ***CASTING CALL NOTICE ! ***</title><description>Submissions are now being accepted for an extraordinary feature movie, "MOTION". This film will weave a story using all sorts of movement and momentum, music and captions, but with no spoken dialogue. Dancers, Silent Actors, Athletes and Models are sought for roles. All roles are paid and production will begin this fall. Filming will take place primarily in Atlanta, Boston, Washington DC and New York City. Please submit applications for roles and crew to world.oceans7@gmail.com.&nbsp;
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; -------------- 
 
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; SINGERS 
 
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;My life is full of singers. I cannot imagine a day without hearing songs. Decades ago my father, and later I myself, were proud members of the renowned University of Michigan Men's Glee Club. I still remember the thrill of learning and sharing beautiful music with dozens of other people who loved singing more than anything else in life. People have been singing throughout history, and animals have been singing for millions of years. 
 
&nbsp; &nbsp; Over the next month, AcquaTroupe is holding an online competition for singers in all styles of music. More important than choosing winners is the pure joy of getting to hear all kinds of singers and songs. It is great to see applications from old people who've sung all their lives but never thought of sharing their music widely; young singers unknown outside their small circle of friends, but who have the talent to build stellar careers; and lots of folks who just cannot resist the temptation to put a song online and share it.
 
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Don't shout when you are down and out 
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Don't swear anywhere 
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Don't whisper.....just SING !! 
 
For information on AcquaTroupe's Singers Competition please write acquawow2017@gmail.com 
 </description><link>https://worldoceansarts.blogspot.com/2017/08/casting-call-notice-submissions-are-now.html</link><author>noreply@blogger.com (James Gibson)</author><thr:total>0</thr:total></item></channel></rss>

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