ON AIR: I was silenced by laryngitis, so guests Tanya Calamoneri and Patricia Burgess of The Field interviewed each other

As I wrote in "ON TV: One monkey(wrench) don't stop no show - exhibit A is Jackie Warner," if you've really got the goods, you don't always have to flash them. Jackie - sans samples - muscled her way, verbally and conceptually, through what should have been a show-and-tell for her new clothing line.

In contrast, I was everything but verbal during yesterday's Lisa Tolliver Show on New York Radio WVOX 1460 AM and www.wvox.com. Silenced by laryngitis, I was a talk show host who couldn't talk. Nevertheless, I had the goods: one solid set of talking points and two great guests: Tanya Calamoneri and Patricia Burgess of The Field. Combining those critical ingredients made for a darned good show (if I say so myself).

The Lisa Tolliver Show listener who sent the following email message agreed. His subject line read: "Good Show!"

Hey Lisa. At least you had one chatterbox there. I could hear you but it was kinda painful to listen to. A good show all in all.

I appreciated the feedback. As painful as it might have been to hear the few lines I croaked out, it was more painful to speak. Talking was, for me yesterday, a classic case of "this is going to hurt me more than it hurts you."

About yesterday's featured guests and non-profit organization:

Tanya Calamoneri is a teacher, performer and choreographer. She is also the Co-Director and Manager, Sponsored Artist Program at The Field. Her bio at TheField.org shares:

Tanya Calamoneri came to New York after nearly a decade of working in the San Francisco Bay Area arts scene as an arts administrator and performer. Among her roles, she was Executive Director of Dancers’ Group, a Co-Director at 848 Community Space and Temescal Arts Center, Founding Faculty Member of the Experimental Performance Institute at New College, and a company member of InkBoat, a Butoh performance company, and Kim Epifano’s Epiphany Productions. In New York, she has helped found Studio 111, and is a member of The Fifth Floor, so.go.no. and CavEnsemble performance companies.

Patricia Burgess is a composer, saxophonist and multimedia artist. She is also Creative Director, Watermoon Arts, as well as Manager, Membership at The Field. (I first met her in March, when I attended Patricia's orientation for Sponsored Artists at The Field). Her short bio at Watermoon Arts.com shares:

Patricia Burgess is a composer, producer and musician. Her works include the opera, The Dream of the Four Directions, produced off-Broadway, and music for theater classics including Hamlet, Trojan Women, and The Seagull. Collaborations with theater writer and director Ariane Smith include an original score for Lysistrata-The Human Cartoon which played in New York for nine months and The Decameron, which ran on Theater Row for Toontheatre Co. She also scored The Venus Cycle, produced by the Tribeca Performing Arts Center. Burgess studied classical composition with Dominick Argento, jazz performance with Ruben Haugen and Joe Viola, world music with Jerry Granelli, and computer music with Charles Dodge and Brad Garton; she also worked with the Art Ensemble of Chicago in the study of new music. She served as Resident Composer for the Independent Theater Company of New York.

The Field is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is:

to serve independent performing artists on a completely non-exclusive basis. This means that everything we do is open to artists from all aesthetic viewpoints, cultural backgrounds, and levels of development. Our priority is to create a climate where risk-taking and originality are championed, and where the broadest range of voices are included. Field programs are affordable, accessible, and rigorous. To support independent performing artists, The Field's programs are directed toward the creation of new work and its dissemination.

In terms of creation, The Field: assists artists in making clear, cogent work through peer-oriented feedback groups;

• produces performance festivals focused on the exhibition of new work;
• sends artists on retreats at arts colonies such as White Oak (FL) and Earthdance (MA) to create new material and developnew collaborations;
• provides free rehearsal and performance space grants in the FAR Space, our new Chelsea gallery district studio.

Tanya and Patricia described the programs and resources offered by The Field, the benefits enjoyed by the organization's 600 or so members, the Field Network, and other organizations with which The Field has strategic alliances, e.g., Freelancer's Union, Fractured Atlas and Materials for the Arts.

According to my guests, these are some artist must-haves:

• a calendar to keep track of funding opportunties and residencies,
• a clear mission statement, artist's statement and boilerplate for use with proposals and promotional materials,
• and resources such as those listed here.

And now, some messages from our sponsors:

The May 9, 2007 Lisa Tolliver Show was made possible, in part, through the sponsorship of The Field, and with funding provided by 360 MERIDIAN (they're all around world class!), Dee Hargrove (she's the best!), and USPS (they deliver!).

The USPS messages shared in today's show addressed the USPS Help Stamp Out Hunger campaign, and Click 'N Ship options for Mother's Day.