Performer Resources
This page has information for festival performers, and also performance location addresses, for performers and attendees alike. The sections:
We're concentrating the 2007 festival activity in a particular area: on or near G street between 7th and 12th streets in Northwest DC. Other locations nearby are fair game, but we encourage you to tend towards this area. This map shows that area (legibly, if you click on the puny version on the right) with some potential peformance sites indicated. To get directions and see the map in context (but lacking some of the site indicators), visit the active google map of the area.
You'll find photos and details of these prospects below the next few announcements...
Some sites may require permits, but use of public sidewalks often does not.
Performing on DC city streets falls under the jurisdiction of DC Public Space Management. As long as artists don't erect anything or use major props, the event can occur without any permits, though the agency really urges that performers ensure enough room for passersby to, well, pass by. (10 feet of extra space is ideal.)
If structures are used, a permit is needed. Getting a permit for sidewalk or park dancing is tricky - an application is available online at www.ddot.dc.gov, but the agency will also need a "site plan" that shows existing conditions, where certain structures such as parking meters will be, and outlining how passersby will get by. For more information, call Enforcement at 202-645-7050.
The Metro is actually a privately owned entity, and performing on trains and platforms is prohibited. However, past Festivals have included work set on Metro platforms and trains
Arts on Foot inviting performers, too
Arts on Foot 2007 is just around the corner! And this year we – that is the Downtown BID (Claire Carlin, Ashley Neeley, and Tammi Robinson, their intern) and the Penn Quarter Neighborhood Association (that’s me) – would love for you to participate and “preview” the DC Improv Festival. The last two years were blockbusters and we’re looking forward to yet another great celebration of the arts this year.
Contact joann@pennquarter.org and Ashley@downtowndc.org as soon as possible if you would be interested in participating. (Their base application deadline is past, but they can continue to add performances, within limits.) If you need inspiration, go to www.artsonfoot.org, click on the Schedule of Events link on the left, and see all that you did last year!
Magazine and newspaper coverage is critical for us to reach those who would like to attend. If you have any good digital, sharp images in jpg format of people who will participate/perform, email them to us. We love having the publications select our images to go with their write-ups.
MudPie seeking dancers to join their improv festival performance
MudPie is a solo group and doesn’t generally look for dancers to perform with us. However, because of the nature of this festival/venue, we would be open to the possibility of performing with dancers. Please visit our website. It contains pictures, free mp3 audio downloads, and video.
The group was formed in the year 2000 to be a unique venue of expression for musicians needing to be freed from the restrictions of traditional music. We put our creative energy into perfecting a system of music which contains four fundamental concepts - conviction, articulation, pulse, and the sphere of influence. In the interim between 2000 and 2007, we have created 92 albums (CD's), which are cataloged and available to the public. Our live performances have included such events as art shows and galleries, clubs, universities, and open-air festivals. Contact: Carlos 202-329-0194 email: mudpiemusic@comcast.net or twelvetonetriads@msn.com
Now for the sites - remember that you the pics here are links to larger (some more, some less) copies. We start from the east (7th street) and move west along G street to 10th, then north one block to H street.
|
7th street |
|
 |
Plaza on east side of 7th, across from G: promising location, a protected area with a lot foot traffic - but we'd need to be careful to avoid obstructing thoroughfare. |
 |
Lobby of Regal Cinema (property manager: Akridge Company 202 682-5343 - 800 K Street, NW): interior space - looks like a great site, spacious and protected. Prospect may depend on timing of performance, assuming the property manager would allow access. Lobby would be crowded during show changes. |
 |
Woodward and Lothrop's Storefront (property manager: Tichman Speyer 202 628-5800, 701 13th Street, NW): Looks like a great open space with a clean, polished marble floor and huge windows. Good street traffic. The entry/guard station is located to the rear of the space, in front of the elevators. |
|
G street |
|
| G street -700 block | |
 |
Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery and Museum of American Art (Eighth and F Streets, NW):
|
 |
Church on 8th street (Calvary Baptist?) |
| G street - 800 block | |
 |
Sculpture plaza on corner of 9th and G: a dramatic sculpture provides a fine backdrop. There's also a wide brick sidewal at this busy corner. |
 |
Garden and brick sidwal in front of Zatinya Restaurant (701 9th St NW): essentially the same space as the corner but to the east in front of a stand of trees and the restaurant outdoor dining area. |
 |
Edison Place Gallery (702 8th Street, NW): looks like a fine prospect from the outside. |
| G street - 900 block - North side | |
 |
Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library - Interior: good space with arrangements for public seating. Chairs are not normally there - there was going to be a lecture the day the photo was taken. We have contact info, need to fill it in here. |
 |
Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library (901 G Street NW) - Exterior: good large protected area - we would need to be careful to encroach on/displace vagrants who hang out at the edges here. |
| G street - 900 block - South side | |
| Flasphoint Gallery and Studio (916 G Street, NW): no photo yet. They're an active progressive arts organization, and would be a prime colleague in our endeavor. | |
| G street - 1000 block - South side | |
 |
Metro station entry: 11th and G street entry to Metro Center Station |
 |
725 10th street: plaza in front of Williams and Connolly Building (Hines Management, 202 393-7001) |
| Other possibilities within a few blocks | |
| National Museum of Women in the Arts (H street at New York Avenue): great space with twin balconies on sides and mezzanine above marble floor. | |
| Pension uilding: National Building Museum: huge interior space on F at 5th | |
