PILLOW PROJECT PRESENTS “URBAN EXPERIMENT”
Saturday, July 4, 2009 - Sunday, November 8, 2009
Inanimate public art is a fact of urban life that either garners attention or is barely noticed, while dance is regarded as a theater art with inherent audience-performer boundaries. Choreographer Pearlann Porter, Pillow Project’s artistic director, and her team of “urban scientists” offer dance as public art in “Urban Experiment,” a series of non-proscenium presentations on downtown sidewalks, in neighborhood cafés and on public transit vehicles. “We’re testing the threshold of how stylized we can get outside the theater,” she says. The performances, ranging in length from eight minutes to two hours, are built from approximately 20 choreographed movement phrases and are overlaid with improvisational elements aimed at meshing with the environment without compromising the integrity of the surroundings. Porter cautions that the happening-style events, which use ambient sounds, are not meant to amass crowds. “They are much more subtle,” she says, noting, “I’ve been practicing on the bus. The degree of involvement is up to the spectator. If someone talks to a performer, it won’t ruin the moment—that is the moment.” (Dates and times vary.) - Karen Dacko
Tickets: Free
(Selected venues; see the Web site for a complete listing.
Event phone #: 412/225-9269
Event Website: pillowproject.org)
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SUMMER PARKS CONCERTS
Saturday, July 4, 2009 at 08:00PM
Sunday, July 5, 2009 at 07:30PM
The Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra will play for free in the great outdoors with two concerts for the July 4 weekend. Cellist Adam Liu, who was born in China, is now an American citizen and fresh from a successful tour of his homeland with the orchestra in May. Liu will play the Cello Concerto by the Irish-American composer Victor Herbert. Herbert was the famous music director of the PSO from 1898 to 1904. Resident conductor Daniel Meyer will conduct the star-spangled favorite, Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture. (Sat., July 4, 8 p.m.: Hartwood Acres, Hampton and Indiana townships. Sun., July 5, 7:30 p.m.: Buffalo Drive, South Park.)   - Jim Cunningham
Tickets: Free
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Event phone #: 412/392-4900
Event Website: pittsburghsymphony.org)
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19TH-CENTURY INDEPENDENCE DAY
Saturday, July 4, 2009 at 12:00PM
Celebrate Independence Day the way they did in the 1800s, with old-fashioned summer games, open-hearth cooking demonstrations and, of course, a pie-eating contest at Meadowcroft Rockshelter and Museum of Rural Life, which is part of the Sen. John Heinz History Center. - Roberta Mintz Levine
Tickets: Free with admission: adults, $10; ages 4-17, students with valid ID, $5.
(Meadowcroft Rockshelter and Museum of Rural Life, 401 Meadowcroft Road, near Avella, Washington County
Event phone #: 724/587-3412
Event Website: heinzhistorycenter.org)
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FOURTH OF JULY PICNIC AT WESTMORELAND MUSEUM
Saturday, July 4, 2009 at 12:00PM
Still considering options for this Fourth of July weekend? How about a get-together on the grounds at Westmoreland Museum of American Art? From noon-3 p.m. on Sat., July 4, you can partake in an old-fashioned ice cream social, kids and families can go on a scavenger hunt in the museum and guests can enter to win a prize package. While there, you can stop into the air-conditioned comfort of the museum, where you can stroll through the permanent collection or peruse special exhibits “Modern Masters From the Smithsonian American Art Museum” and “Daniel Bolick: Resurrected.” - Mike May
Tickets: Free
(Westmoreland Museum of American Art, 221 N. Main St., Greensburg.
Event phone #: 724/837-1500, ext. 33
Event Website: wmuseumaa.org)
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JENNY LEWIS
Sunday, July 5, 2009 at 08:00PM
Music fans may recognize the name Jenny Lewis as the lead singer of the indie band Rilo Kiley, but she also rocks as a solo artist, too, already having put out two albums—Rabbit Fur Coat and Acid Tongue— without the band, albeit with some help from friends. (Even bigger fans will know she’s a former child actor who starred in kids’ movies and short-lived sitcoms in the 1980s and early ’90s.) Her sound is a mix of indie rock, pop, folk and country, and comes across, if it’s possible, as soft and powerful at the same time, with lyrics raw with emotion. Lewis is also quick to lend her vocals to other artists’ projects, including electronic indie pop band The Postal Service and singer/songwriter Elvis Costello, who made an appearance on her second album.   - Nicole DiMario
Tickets: $19.50
(Mr. Small’s Theatre, 400 Lincoln Ave., Millvale
Ticket phone #: 866/468-3401
Tickets online: mrsmalls.com)
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STRINGS WITHOUT BOUNDARIES
Sunday, July 5, 2009 - Friday, July 10, 2009
Violinists, violists, cellists and bassists: Rock On! The Strings Without Boundaries workshop for kids of all ages and teachers who play string instruments opens ears and broadens skills in jazz, fiddling, blues, rock and world music, and it’s taught by world-renowned faculty. There are also jam sessions and classes on improvisational playing.  Note this is for students with an intermediate level of skill. (8:30 a.m.-5 p.m.  Registration is required.)     - Roberta Mintz Levine
Tickets: $475
(Duquesne University, Mary Pappert School of Music, 600 Forbes Ave.
Event phone #: 800/934-0159
Tickets online: music.duq.edu/summer)
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GEMINI CHILDREN’S THEATER SUMMER CAMPS
Monday, July 6, 2009 - Friday, July 24, 2009
Half- and full-day week-long workshops for children ages 4 to 14 provide hands-on experience with each group creating, writing, producing and performing its very own show on the last day of the program. (Mon.-Fri., full day, 9 a.m.-4 p.m.; half-day, 9 a.m.-noon, 1-4 p.m.) - Roberta Mintz Levine
Tickets: Full-day session, $450; half-day session, $225.
(7501 Penn Ave., Point Breeze.
Ticket phone #: 412/243-6464
Tickets online: geminitheater.org)
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ULTIMATE MANILOW: THE HITS
Monday, July 6, 2009 at 07:30PM
You either already know this from your favorite Barry Manilow blogs, or you don’t really care. But Barry Manilow is coming to sing his songs. That’s all that needs to be said.   - Mike Lee
Tickets: $10.49-$125.99
(Mellon Arena, 66 Mario Lemieux Place, uptown
Ticket phone #: 800/745-3000
Tickets online: ticketmaster.com)
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KID ROCK AND LYNYRD SKYNYRD
Tuesday, July 7, 2009 at 06:30PM
Alternative/Southern rocker Kid Rock is probably known just as well for his love life (e.g. his three-month marriage to Pamela Anderson) and scuffles with other musicians (e.g. Anderson’s ex-husband, Tommy Lee) as he is for his music. Well here’s something else that will make news: This summer, the composer of songs such as “Bawitdaba,” “Cowboy” and “Picture” is teaming up for a nationwide tour with rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, well known for the hits “Sweet Home Alabama” and “Free Bird.” The pairing is spurred, I’m assuming, because of Kid Rock’s 2008 song “All Summer Long,” in which he sampled parts of Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama,” along with the late Warren Zevon’s “Werewolves of London.” The song, an ode to an old summer fling, is from Kid Rock’s ninth studio album and climbed the music charts upon its release, making it the biggest commercial success of his career. In fact, people liked it so much that Rolling Stone magazine named it one of the “100 Best Songs of 2008.”   - Nicole DiMario
Tickets: $25-$75
(Post-Gazette Pavilion, 665 Route 18, Hanover Township, Washington County
Ticket phone #: 877/598-8497
Tickets online: livenation.com)
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EMPOWERING YOUNG GIRLS THROUGH FAIRY TALES WORKSHOP
Tuesday, July 7, 2009 - Thursday, July 30, 2009
This four-week program is for girls in grades four to six who want to learn the art of storytelling with the goal of becoming “Savvy Cinderellas” in a fun and creative environment. Participants develop critical thinking skills while learning how to be brave, powerful and resourceful. Participants choose between two locations. (Northland Public Library, 300 Cumberland Road, McCandless. Tues., Thurs., 9:30-11:30 a.m. North Hills Youth Ministry Counseling Center, 802 McKnight Park Drive, Ross. Tues., Thurs, 2-4 p.m. Registration is required.)   - Roberta Mintz Levine
Tickets: $120
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Ticket phone #: 412/366-1300, ext. 25
Event Website: nhymcc.org)
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