Perhaps the hottest ticket on Broadway right now is to the starry revival of Lorraine Hansberry’s play “The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window,” starring Oscar Isaac and Rachel Brosnahan. Should you be lucky enough to score that ticket, you will find an unusual credit in the Playbill: scenic design by dots. Barely two years old, dots is a collective of three talented international designers who decided soon after earning their MFA’s at NYU to create a unique partnership. They are Andrew Moerdyk, who hails from South Africa; Kimie Nishikawa, born in Japan; and Santiago Orjuela-Laverde, a native of Colombia. Their partnership, truly unique in the American theater, is clearly paying off. Not only are they about to make their Broadway debut at a very early stage in their respective careers but their work has also been seen in some of the highest-profile theatrical projects of recent months, including “Dark Disabled Stories” at the Public Theater and Elevator Repair Service’s “Seagull.” In this episode, the three designers explain how they developed the initial idea for their partnership during the pandemic lockdown and describe how the stability the collaboration provides more than makes up for no longer seeing their individual names in the production credits. https://designbydots.com/ Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Theater director Sean Daniels has outstanding credits to his name. He co-founded the company Dad’s Garage, which is now a cornerstone of Atlanta’s theatrical scene, and then went on to lead Merrimack Repertory Theatre in Massachusetts. He also spent four years as associate artistic director at Actors Theatre of Louisville where he oversaw the sadly now-defunct Humana Festival of New American Plays and directed many of its world premieres over five years. The credit that brings him the greatest pride, however, is just a tad more recent, however: person in long-term recovery. For almost two decades as he charted his remarkable artistic path, he was also increasingly hobbled by his addiction to alcohol, and as is so common for people with substance-abuse disorders, it took him several tries before he was finally able to manage his disease. Sean detailed his painful, absurd and often surprisingly hilarious journey to sobriety in his play “The White Chip,” which enjoyed a successful Off-Broadway run in 2019. Now, over a decade into his sobriety, he has added a new credit to his resume: advocate. After a widely lauded stint as artistic director of Arizona Theatre Company, Sean recently became the associate director of Florida Studio Theatre. At FST not only will he head the theater’s new-play-development program, but he will also work as the inaugural director of his brainchild, The Recovery Project. The Recovery Project is an initiative working to heal the stigma of addiction and recovery through the development of new plays, theatre-education programs and outreach. In this interview, Sean explains why those working in the performing arts are especially vulnerable to substance-abuse disorders and details how he hopes his advocacy will establish new support systems to catch struggling artists long before they fall as far as he once did. https://www.floridastudiotheatre.org/ Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

J Chong was a well-respected chef in her community of Asheville, NC for years before she suddenly acquired a national profile thanks to her participation in HBO Max’s cooking-competition show, “The Big Brunch.” Suddenly J, who only recently had decided to strike out on her own by creating J Chong Eats, had a new platform on which to extol the flavors of her bedrock cuisine, traditional Cantonese. She also had a platform on which to express her unique perspective as a Canadian Asian queer woman making food and creating a business in the American South. In “The Big Brunch,” her talent, honed from years of working in some of the finest kitchens in foodie-destination Asheville, is on full display, as are her resourcefulness and kindness. Watching her at work, it is easy to understand why her craft is known as a culinary art. Furthermore, her vision for J Chong Eats, which relies on pop-ups rather than a bricks-and-mortar restaurant to sell its creations, bespeaks a nimbleness and commitment to community outreach that are hallmarks of so many of the artists we feature on “Art Restart.” Which is why it was surprising to discover that J, upon receiving an invitation to appear on “Art Restart,” did not initially consider herself an artist. In this interview, J takes a deep dive into her artistry and explains her unique take on how she intends to share her talent with her community. https://www.instagram.com/jchong_eats/ https://www.hbomax.com/series/urn:hbo:series:GY0WzfASbP4OEqQEAAACX Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Anthony Hudson might have earned the tongue-in-cheek title of “Portland OR’s premier drag clown” even if he were not Portland’s – and perhaps even the country’s -- only drag clown. He has delighted and terrified Portland audiences in equal measure as his alter-ego Carla Rossi for over 12 years, performing carefully honed satire in a variety of venues, including the Portland Institute of Contemporary Art. At Portland’s historic Hollywood Theatre, both Anthony and Carla program and host “Queer Horror,” the only LGBT horror screening-and-performance series in the country. Anthony also co-hosts with writer Stacie Ponder the queer feminist horror podcast “Gaylords of Darkness.” A member of the Confederated Grand Ronde Tribes, Siletz, he recently was one of four Indigenous artists to present work in an exhibit titled “Always Here” at The Arts Center in Corvallis, OR. In the exhibit, he and his fellow artists separately and collaboratively created conceptual pieces that upended perceptions of what Native art can or should be. Anthony also wrote the solo autobiographical play “Looking for Tiger Lily,” which he has performed in theaters all over the country and has toured internationally, from Melbourne to Vancouver. He is currently adapting the play into a book. In this interview with Pier Carlo Talenti, Anthony explains how he developed Carla Rossi and her particular flavor of drag performance and describes the joys and dangers of being an outspoken queer clown when drag in particular has become such a dangerous cultural flashpoint. https://www.thecarlarossi.com/ https://theartscenter.net/always-here/ https://www.grandronde.org/history-culture/culture/chachalu-museum-and-cultural-center/ Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Last summer, bassoonist Brian Petkovich lost his job and then got a job that had never existed before. Not long after the San Antonio Symphony, with whom Brian played for 25 years, shut its doors, he became the inaugural president of the nascent San Antonio Philharmonic, which as of this writing is seven months old. For a brief moment in 2022, it seemed like San Antonio, the nation’s seventh-largest city, might not have a major orchestra. The musicians of the San Antonio Symphony, protesting significant personnel and salary cuts demanded by the Board, had gone on strike in September of 2021, and nine months later, on June 16, 2022, the Symphony Society of San Antonio declared it was shutting down the 83-year-old institution for good, declaring a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. The musicians had not been idle throughout this tumult, however. They had founded the Musicians of the San Antonio Symphony (MOSAS) through which they raised private funds that allowed them to perform through the spring and early summer of 2022 in venues throughout the city. When the Symphony’s demise was finalized, they set about creating a new permanent ensemble, appointing Brian as its president, and on September 16, 2022, the brand-new San Antonio Philharmonic played its first concert to a rapt audience at First Baptist Church of San Antonio. In this interview with Pier Carlo Talenti, Brian reveals some of the assumptions and miscalculations that led to the Symphony’s dissolution and discusses his and his fellow musicians’ dreams for how their new classical-music ensemble will serve San Antonio for years to come. https://saphil.org/team/brian-petkovich/ Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

For sound artist and ethnographer Brian Harnetty, listening is perhaps even more important than composing. He is passionate about capturing the essence of a place through his creations, and his work therefore involves venturing into towns and landscapes armed with his microphone and recording everything from ambient sounds to oral histories. It also involves in-depth research in archives and libraries to discover a community’s often forgotten history, images and archival recordings. The geographic area to which he is most devoted is Appalachian Ohio. His parents and their forebears hail from those mountains, and though he currently lives a 90-minute drive away in Columbus, OH, over the years he has spent enough time in the area not only to gain a deep understanding of its landscape and people but also to earn the community’s trust, an essential component of his work. He wishes his compositions — sound collages might be a better description — to have a social impact. Not only do those who listen to his creations gain a rich appreciation for a region that for decades has been marked and scarred by extractive industries, but the community members who contribute their memories hear the richness of their culture and history echoed back to them. Brian, who is currently a Faculty Fellow at Ohio State University’s Global Arts and Humanities Discovery Theme, has released nine albums. The influential music magazine MOJO gave two of his most recent albums, “Shawnee, Ohio” and “Words and Silences,” five stars out of five, and “Wire” magazine placed “Words and Silences” at position number five on its top 10 list of 2022’s modern-composition albums. In this interview with Pier Carlo Talenti, Brian explains how he arrived at his sonic ethnography practice and what strategies he uses to make his work with the utmost integrity.  https://www.brianharnetty.com/ Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Sukanya Mani’s works seem light as air, intricate and mesmerizing paper sculptures that can move and twirl with the slightest breeze. What may not be immediately apparent, however, is that Sukanya has made each irreversible cut in her material with the intention of representing — albeit abstractly — a weighty story or theme she’s explored in depth. The way gravity affects light; the relationship between physiological, psychological and cosmological time; how clothing and adornment affect how a woman’s sexuality is perceived: These are just a few of the themes Sukanya has researched before picking up her scissors and utility knives to start her next site-specific project   In recent years, the self-taught artist has made quite an impression on her hometown of St. Louis, Mo and the region around it. She has been commissioned to create public works for several Missouri cities — including Poplar Bluff, Lee’s Summit and Brentwood. Last year a piece of hers was displayed in St. Louis’ international airport, and she was commissioned to create a piece for Florissant Performing Arts Center. After a lengthy research-and-interview process, she’s currently completing “The Beside Between Beyond Project,” an installation that explores domestic abuse, particularly as it impacts immigrant and refugee populations. In this interview with Pier Carlo Talenti, Sukanya explains how her immigrant story led to her picking up the utility knife and what might make it easier for other newcomers to the country to express their artistic selves.  www.sukanyamani.com https://camstl.org/exhibitions/teen-museum-studies-presents-sukanya-mani-weight-of-shadows/ Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

When the devastating floods of July 2022 tore through the mountain communities of Southeastern Kentucky, visual artist Lacy Hale lost her studio and a trove of works in progress. Since that tragic and deadly night, though, even as many of her neighbors in Whitesburg have been forced to move away, one thing she has not lost is her determination to remain in the mountains where she grew up. They are in her blood, and they inspire her art, just as she intends for her art to inspire the people of her corner of Appalachia. Lacy has been making art in Whitesburg since returning from her studies at Pratt Institute in New York City in the early 2000s, and it has become her full-time occupation since 2017. In addition to being a painter and a muralist, she is also a printmaker and over the years has created and sold an array of items bearing her designs. One of her most recognized designs is “No Hate in My Holler,” a graphic she created in 2017 in response to a scheduled neo-Nazi gathering in a nearby town. “No Hate in My Holler” quickly appeared on billboards and T-shirts and also became a popular hashtag, garnering attention from national media outlets. Lacy’s murals can be seen in communities throughout Kentucky and Virginia. Among the honors she has received are the Eastern Kentucky Artist Impact Award as well as grants from the Kentucky Foundation for Women, Great Meadows Foundation and the Tanne Foundation Award. In 2016 she co-founded EpiCentre Arts, which supports and advocates for art and artists throughout the Appalachian Mountains. In this interview with Pier Carlo Talenti, Lacy explains why and how her artistry is inseparable from her community and the landscape in which it nestles. She also describes that devastating July night and what it’s taken to recommit to her art, her business and her home despite losing almost everything.      https://www.lacyhale.com/ Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Described by The New York Times as “one of America’s most peculiarly original dance poets,” choreographer Trey McIntyre has made a habit of defying expectations throughout his career. A graduate of UNCSA, he went on to the Houston Ballet Academy where upon finishing his training, he was given the position of Choreographic Apprentice at the Ballet, a post created specifically for him. As his freelance career started to take off, he did something completely unexpected. Rather than tether himself to a large coastal metropolis or a European capital, he decided to settle down in Boise, ID, where he created Trey McIntyre Projects, a vibrant dance company that quickly garnered the world’s attention, spending up to 22 weeks a year on national and international touring. Then 10 years later in 2014, at the height of the company’s success, Trey decided to fold the company and return to freelancing. He continues to be an in-demand choreographer around the world — just before the pandemic he created works for Queensland Ballet, San Francisco Ballet and The Washington Ballet — but lately he has also been diving into a new artistic passion. He has a photographic practice, creating kinetic and often erotic tableaux of the human body, that he supports through a network of fans via a Patreon account. In 2018 he also directed “Gravity Hero,” a documentary about his journey with his Boise-based dance company. In this interview with Pier Carlo Talenti, Trey discusses why and how he has always pushed himself past comfort zones in order to feed his voracious curiosity and wonders what it will take for dance companies to remain equally curious and nimble in the digital age. www.treycool.com  Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.

Siblings Crystal and Rico Worl have been making art together in Juneau, AK since they were children, and as adults, not only are they thriving as professional artists, they also co-own a successful online business, Trickster Company, whose mission is to promote innovative Indigenous art. Members of the Tlingit and Athabascan clans, Crystal and Rico continue to explore the cultural traditions of their heritage, studying at length with master craftsmen and artists, and the formline style prevalent in the Pacific Northwest lies at the heart of their practice. However, whether using new technology in their art or applying traditional design to everyday objects from basketballs to playing cards — Trickster Company is currently featuring the “Cards Against Colonialism: Western Expansion” set — they remain committed to keeping Indigenous art a living, breathing and evolving cultural touchstone. The scope and reach of their work continue to expand. In July of 2021, the U.S. Postal Service issued the Raven Story stamp bearing a Rico Worl design, and in the last year Crystal has painted two enormous murals – one in Anchorage, the other in Juneau — that with striking vibrancy counteract a long tradition of whitewashing Alaska’s history. In this interview with Pier Carlo Talenti, Rico and Crystal delve into the many ways they are working and playing together and apart to ensure that all Alaskans, as well as the millions of visitors to the state, learn to celebrate the value of authenticity. https://crystalworl.com/ https://ricoworl.com/ https://trickstercompany.com/ Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.