Spent the week giving a talk to clowns, playing for MoMA’s Pola Negri series, and “christened” a new venue out in Sag Harbor (L.I.).
9/17 – BROOKLYN, NY – Did my talk on silent film comedian’s adapting their performance work to motion pictures at the NY Clown Theater Festival. Program was well-attended and enthusiastic. Showed Hamilton, Keaton, Langdon and Lupino Lane. Showed, as a more contemporary example, the Kovacs Nairobi Trio; had also hoped to include the Pierre Etaix Happy Anniversary but ran out of time.
9/18, 21 & 22 – MoMA – NYC – accompanied the Negri films Madame DuBarry and Woman of the World. Prints were 35mm, from MoMA’s collection, and were good. We ran DuBarry at 24fps because it had to fit the schedule and it actually looks alright at that speed, although ideally 22 or 21 would be the way to go. Woman seemed a tad slow (Chester C’s business didn’t get the laughs it should have); not sure what speed we were running at but it looked like 22-ish. Will request 24 at the repeat Monday if I can. But–
Biggest MoMA news is that MoMA had Steinway completely rebuild the action of the piano in the Titus 2 theater (the one with the chrome legs), something I had been asking about for quite some time; the instrument is a delight to play now.
9/23 – SAG HARBOR, NY – a gig on this date in another theater had been cancelled a few weeks ago (due to that venue’s financial challenges) opened my calendar up for an unexpected booking at the Bay Street Theater for the same night. Bay Street had been interested in doing silents for a while at their classic film series, and this show of SBJ was a success. Stay tuned for future dates at this beautiful theater out in the Hamptons.
Coming next post — NYTOS to the rescue at Vassar, the Fall Cinesation, and more…