Live Ideas: Frequently Asked Questions

1) What is Live Ideas? • Taking place each spring at New York Live Arts, Live Ideas is an annual festival that will concentrate on a different theme every year; the given theme will be explored through conversation and artistic presentations over several days.

2) What is the theme of the inaugural festival? • The first Live Ideas festival is themed The Worlds of Oliver Sacks. This year’s inaugural festival falls during the eightieth year of a veritable giant of the sort of body-generated thinking we intend to celebrate annually: the eminent and eminently well-beloved neurologist, chronicler and polymathically curious Dr. Oliver Sacks.

3) When and where will the first Live Ideas festival take place? • The inaugural festival will take place Wednesday, April 17th through Sunday, April 21st, 2013, in the theater and studios at New York Live Arts, 219 W 19th St. between 7th and 8th Avenues, in Chelsea.

4) Is Oliver Sacks participating in the festival? • Yes. Dr. Sacks will be participating in the Opening Keynote Conversation: Bill T. Jones in Conversation with Oliver Sacks (April 17, 8:00pm), the Screening of Yorkshire Television Documentary “Awakenings” (April 20, 11:30am), and the festival’s final event, Robert Krulwich of Radiolab Celebrates Oliver Sacks (April 21, 8:00pm).

5) Who curates the festival? • The inaugural festival is curated by celebrated non-fiction writer Lawrence Weschler (Director of NYU Institute for Humanities, former director of the Chicago Humanities Festival from 2006 - 2011), in collaboration with Bill T. Jones, New York Live Arts’ Executive Artistic Director.

6) Who are some of the featured participants? • Participants include philosopher Alva Noë, directors Karen Kohlhaas (Pinter’s A Kind of Alaska – Spoken) and Kim Weild (Pinter’s A Kind of Alaska – ASL), neuroscientists Joseph LeDoux, Aniruddh D. Patel and V.S. Ramachandran, Nobel Laureate Roald Hoffman (Nobel Prize in Chemistry, 1981), astronaut Marsha Ivins (retired NASA 2010), writer Wendy Lesser, Radiolab’s Robert Krulwich, NYC Councilman (Brooklyn) Juumaane Williams, Composer Tobias Picker and many more.

7) What are the Re: Awakenings events? • The Re: Awakenings events include Re: Awakenings (Dance), Re: Awakenings (Theater) and Re: Awakenings (Music). All Re: Awakenings events feature a newly commissioned short film by award-winning filmmaker Bill Morrison, created by repurposing original archival footage of Dr. Sacks working with patients. Re: Awakenings (Dance) features a newly commissioned dance-theater work by acclaimed choreographer Donna Uchizono that draws upon the themes of perception central to Sacks’ work; Re: Awakenings (Theater) features fully-staged productions of Nobel Laureate Harold Pinter’s play, A Kind of Alaska, based on Sacks’ book Awakenings, performed both in American Sign Language and spoken word; and Re: Awakenings (Music) features a performance of a ballet score, also based on Awakenings, by renowned composer Tobias Picker with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, as well as an excerpt from the Michael Nyman opera, The Man Who Mistook His Wife For a Hat , featuring the orchestra and vocalists.

8) How many events are there? • There are 20 (twenty) events including discussions, panels, performances, films and more.

9) How do I get tickets? • Tickets may be purchased online at newyorklivearts.org/liveideas, by phone at 212-924- 0077 and in person at the box office (at 219 W 19th St. between 7th and 8th Avenues, in Chelsea). Box office hours are Monday to Friday from 1 to 9pm, and Saturday and Sunday from 12 to 8pm.

10) How much are the tickets? • Prices range from $10 to $60. Additionally, there are seven free events (reservation required), and an all festival pass for $250. A wait list is available for sold-out events.

11) Will any of the events be live streamed on line? • Yes. The Opening Keynote Conversation: Bill T. Jones in Conversation with Oliver Sacks will be streamed live on newyorklivearts.org, April 17, at 8:00pm EST. Additionally, Podcasts from all panel discussions will be posted on our website and iTunes.

12) Will Dr. Sacks do book signings at the festival? • Yes. McNally Jackson, the festival’s official bookseller, will provide signed copies of Dr. Sacks’ books, available for purchase both on-site and online. Dr. Sacks will sign books at the VIP reception following the Opening Keynote Conversation: Bill T. Jones in Conversation with Oliver Sacks.

13) Who are the festival sponsors? • Live Ideas is made possible by the Ford Foundation. Additional support is contributed by The Rockefeller Foundation NYC Cultural Innovation Fund, The JJC Foundation, The Opaline Fund, Daniel and Joanna S. Rose, The Samuel M. Levy Family Foundation, Judith Zarin, Mort B. Zuckerman and the Theatre Development Fund. Our media partners are the New York Observer and WNYC.

14) What if I am visiting from out of town? • Visiting festival attendees receive a special rate on hotel accommodations at the festival’s hotel partner, the Standard Highline. Mention the “social rate” upon reservation.

15) How can I support Live Ideas? • To donate visit donate.newyorklivearts.org. To volunteer email [email protected].

16) Are media tickets available for the festival? • Yes, a limited number of media tickets are available. To request tickets please click here and fill out the form.