EDUCATIONAL PUBLIC PROGRAMS & FILMS
To schedule any of these please contact:
Anna Canoni
E: acanoni(at)woodyguthrie.org
T: (914) 241-3844
WOODY GUTHRIE PROGRAMS |
THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND: The Woody Guthrie Story |
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This biographical program details Woody's life through the eyes of his daughter, Nora Guthrie. Nora shares the ideals and stories passed down from her parents. Juxtaposing Woody's lyrics, artwork, and prose with historic and personal family photographs, Nora gives us insight into who he was.
Time: 1½ hours followed by Q&A |
I AIN'T DEAD YET: New Songs from the Woody Guthrie Archives |
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For over 20 years, Nora Guthrie has invited special artists to put music to Woody Guthrie's previously unpublished songs. This program is an exploration through the many artists and genres of music that Nora has worked with bring Woody's unpublished lyrics to life!
A screening of "Woody Guthrie: Legacy", a 16 minute documentary short directed by John Paulson and created specially for the "This Land Is Your Land: The Life & Legacy of Woody Guthrie Exhibit" which toured around the U.S. from 1998-2001. Not available for view anywhere else, this documentary short features Billy Bragg, Wilco, Ani DiFranco, U2, Bob Dylan, and many more special guests.
Following the screening, the program includes a presentation of original lyrics by Woody Guthrie paired with the contemporary artist that Nora Guthrie invited into the Woody Guthrie Archives.
Time: 1½ hours followed by Q&A |
HOLY GROUND: Woody Guthrie's Yiddish Connection |
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*Presented by Nora Guthrie
In this program, Nora Guthrie discusses the artistic implications of Woody's relationship with his Jewish mother in law, Yiddish poet Aliza Greenblatt. The program includes a presentation of photographs, music excerpts (from the Klezmatics 2 disc project Wonder Wheel and Happy Joyous Hanukkah), writings, and artwork that illuminate their personal and creative relationship.
Time: 1½ hours followed by Q&A |
MY NAME IS NEW YORK: 1940 - 1967 |
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Although Woody Guthrie hails from Okemah, OK, his travels took him right across the country: From California to the New York Island!
My Name Is New York - our newest program - explores the lofts, apartments, and couches where Guthrie lived and wrote some of his most well-loved songs.
This multi-media presentation uses archival photographs, historic audio, and rare film footage to recreate Guthrie's life in 1940s through 1960's New York City, providing a glimpse into the many places Guthrie called home.
Time: 1 hour followed by Q&A |
HOWJI DO: Woody Guthrie's Children's Music |
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*Presented by Anna Canoni
Who better to introduce Woody Guthrie's life and legacy to our youngest citizens than Woody's own granddaughter, Anna Guthrie Canoni! Especially designed for elementary grade school students, Anna introduces Woody to the next generation. Working with family photographs, Woody's art and children's songs, and personal anecdotes, Anna brings Woody's story to life for young children. Anna works with small groups of students for 30-40 minute gatherings. Teachers are invited to view our online Teacher's Curriculum as preparation for this program.
Time: 30-45 minutes
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FILMS ABOUT WOODY GUTHRIE |
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1913 MASSACRE Documentary
Produced and Directed by: Ken Ross & Louis V. Galdieri / 2011
Inspired by a Woody Guthrie Song – A Story of Greed and the Ruin It Brought to an American Town. 1913 Massacre follows singer/songwriter Arlo Guthrie to the town of Calumet, a once-thriving mining town on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula still haunted by the tragic events that inspired Woody Guthrie’s ballad, ’1913 Massacre.’
On December 24, 1913, the striking copper miners of Calumet were gathered with their wives and children for a holiday party at the Italian Hall. After the festivities had begun, someone — to this day, no one knows who — yelled Fire!
Despite efforts to keep the Hall under control, panic took hold of the crowd. The miners, their wives and children made a mad rush for the stairs. In the ensuing chaos, seventy-four people were crushed and suffocated to death on the stairway. Fifty-nine of the dead were children. There was no fire.
In the version of events that found its way into Woody Guthrie’s song, the “copper-boss thug-men” had plotted to yell Fire! and were holding the door of Italian Hall shut, so that the miners and their families could not escape.
The town itself is still divided over exactly what happened. And no one can explain why they tore down the Italian Hall in 1984.
1913 Massacre captures the last living witnesses of the 1913 tragedy and reconstructs Calumet’s past from individual memories, family legends and songs, tracing the legacy of the tragedy to the present day, when the town –out of work, out of money, out of luck — still struggles to come to terms with this painful episode from its past.
Time: 65 min.
For Screening Permissions contact: Producers@1913Massacre.com
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THIS MACHINE KILLS FASCISTS Documentary
Director: Stephen Gammond /
2005
Narrated by Billy Bragg, this film includes the definitive history of the life & times of Woody Guthrie, with historical and rare documentary photos and footage, excerpts from over 40 Guthrie compositions and contemporary interviews with friends, family and musicians, including his son Arlo, his daughter Nora, his sister Mary Jo, close friends Pete Seeger and Jimmy Longhi, manager Harold Leventhal, biographer Ed Cray, and Guthrie scholars such as Guy Logsdon, Loralee Cooley, Henrietta Yurchenco, Phil Buehler and Jorge Arevalo.
Time: 160 min.
For Screening Permissions contact: Snapper Music
Johnny Wilks
E:
johnny@snappermusic.co.uk
T: UK + 44-20-7563-5500
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MAN
IN THE SAND Documentary
Billy Bragg & Wilco /
1999
Woody
Guthrie's recorded output represents a mere 10% of the songs he
wrote. The rest he carried with him on his travels; words he scribbled
down in numerous notebooks and tunes humming in his head. When he
died in 1967, those tunes were lost forever. Thirty years later
his daughter, Nora, went looking for somebody to write new music
for these "lost" lyrics. She found Billy Bragg. Man in
the Sand is the story of how together they brought Woody's words
back to life and created the acclaimed album Mermaid Avenue. Union
Productions – filmed in 1999
“Beautiful to listen to and beautiful to look at.” Time
Out Union
Productions
Time: 90 min.
For Screening Permissions contact: Juliet Wills | Sarah Wills
E: office@braggcentral.com |
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VISION SHARED
Documentary Director: Jim Brown / 1988
Various
artists: Bruce Springsteen, U2, John Mellencamp, Emmy Lou Harris
and others
This incredible
collection of artists and songs features powerful new versions of
Woody Guthrie and Leadbelly's most important and influential music.
In interviews and performances musicians of today pay tribute to
these two legendary folk heroes through classic songs such as, Deportee,
Goodnight Irene, Union Maid, Vigilante Man, and others. Performances
by John Cougar Mellencamp, Bruce Springsteen, Emmylou Harris, Willie
Nelson, U2, and Bob Dylan, to name a few.
Sony
Music EntertainmenT
Time:
72 min.
For
Screening Permissions contact: Jim Brown Productions
T: (212) 505-0138
E: JimBrownProductions@gmail.com
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HARD
TRAVELIN' Documentary
Director: Jim Brown / 1984
Starring: Arlo Guthrie
Woody Guthrie
wrote and sang more than 1,000 songs that charged a unique mixture
of blues and country music with a social consciousness that cam
straight from the heart. His distinguished career inspired Joan
Baez, Pete Seeger, Judy Collins, and a host of other folk luminaries
who pay tribute to him here. This revealing program traces Guthrie's
life through the eyes of his son Arlo Guthrie. Woodrow Wilson Guthrie's
life was truly Hard Travelin', but he lived it to the fullest and
his songs remain a gift to the world.
MGM
/ UA
Time:
74 min.
For
Screening Permissions contact: Mermaid Media
16 West 23rd Street, New York, NY 10010
E:
gngrbrwn@gmail.com
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ROLL ON COLUMBIA
Documentary
Directors: Michael Majdic & Denise Matthews / 2000
In early May
of 1941, an unemployed Woody Guthrie and his wife, Mary, packed
their three children into a battered Pontiac and left southern California
for Portland, Oregon. All he had waiting for him in the Northwest
was the vague possibility of writing songs for a documentary film
about the dams being built on the Columbia River.
When Guthrie arrived with his guitar and family, the Bonneville
Power Administration (BPA) took pity and gave him a thirty-day contract
as a temporary employee, paid at the rate of $266.66 per month.
Guthrie was expected to write a song a day--which he nearly did,
producing 26 songs in 30 days, including American folk classics
Roll on Columbia, Jackhammer Blues, Pastures of Plenty, and Grand
Coulee Dam.
University
of Oregon
Time:
56 min.
For Screening Permissions contact: Michael Majdic
1299 University of Oregon
Eugene, Oregon 97403-1299
E: majdic@uoregon.edu
T: (541) 346-1945
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BOUND FOR GLORY
Feature Film
Director: Hal Ashby / 1976
Starring: David Carradine & Ronny Cox
Winner of 2 Academy Awards, Woody's story of his book set against the Great Depression. Academy Award nomination for best film. Rated by movie critics as "4 Stars."
Academy Award - Cinematography, Original Song Score and/or Adaptation
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award - Cinematography
National Board of Review Award - Actor: David Carradine
National Society of Film Critics Award - Cinematography MGM UA
Time: 149 min.
For Screening Permissions contact: Latanya Taylor
T: (310) 449-3348
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WOODY GUTHRIE EXHIBITS |
Exhibitions curated by the Woody Guthrie Foundation are made available as a public service. Exhibit fees provide support to the Foundation in the areas of new research and public programs.
For booking information on all exhibits contact: Anna Canoni
T: 914-241-3844 / E: acanoni(at)woodyguthrie.org
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WOODY AT 100!
This 17 panel traveling exhibit was created in 2012 for Woody Guthrie’s centennial. It follows the narrative of Woody Guthrie’s life-story as well as the creative legacy he left behind and the many contemporary artists he has inspired.
Each colorful panel includes a vast collection of high quality reproductions of photos, Guthrie’s original lyrics, artworks, cartoons, illustrations, and writings. Curated by members of the Woody Guthrie Foundation and Archive – Jorge Arevalo, Tiffany Colannino, Michael Kleff and Guthrie’s daughter Nora Guthrie – the panels are constructed of light weight laminated paper making it convenient to package and inexpensive to ship.
17 Panels
Dimensions: 33.5” width x 76.8” height
*Available in English, French and German languages.
Click here for more information and exhibition details |
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STROKES OF ELECTRICITY: The ArtWorks of Woody Guthrie
This is an exhibition of selected visual works by renowned American folk musician and activist Woody Guthrie. Curated and designed by Steven Brower and Nora Guthrie, fifty-two high-quality reproductions of political cartoons, pen and ink illustrations, watercolors, children's art, and oil paintings represent various stages and developments in Guthrie’s life as a visual artist. With images and text drawn from the eponymous publication, “Woody Guthrie Artworks, The Journals, Drawings, and Sketchbooks of an American Original” (Rizzoli 2005), the exhibit unveils a previously unexplored aspect of this American icon.
Click here for more information and exhibition details |
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HARD TRAVELIN': Woody Guthrie's Lyrics & Photographs
This exhibit is comprised of 12 pieces; 6 photographs of Woody Guthrie dated from 1939-1954 and 6 lyrics from his collection of songwritings.
Click here for more information
and exhibition details |
MUSICAL & THEATRICAL PERFORMANCES |
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WOODY GUTHRIE'S AMERICAN SONG
Adapted by Peter Glazer
An exuberant musical celebration of America, Woody Guthrie's American Song tells the life of the rambling folk singer through his words and music. After its debut in 1989, the musical has traveled all over America to rave reviews.
The New York Times said it "manages to find both the high beauty and the earthly humor of Guthrie's love affair with America." (12/9/98)
The musical follows Guthrie as he travels from the Dust Bowl to California and east to New York City. It includes over two dozen songs, including THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND, SO LONG IT'S BEEN GOOD TO KNOW YUH, PASTURES OF PLENTY, HARD TRAVELIN', and BOUND FOR GLORY.
For Booking Information contact:
T: 510-643-4342
E: wgasong@gmail.com
*This production is available to license for local theaters to produce.
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Painting by Charles Banks Wilson. Usage courtesy of Mr. Wilson and the Oklahoma State Senate Historical Preservation Fund, Inc.
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WOODY SEZ: The Words, Music and Spirit of Woody Guthrie
David Lutken with Darcie Deaville, Helen Russell & Andy Teirstein
A celebration of the music and words of America 's greatest ballad-maker. Woody's songs and history are combined with articles he wrote for the newspaper The People's World, to create a portrait of a real American hero who fought for the underdog. Broadway veteran David Lutken is supported by three multi-instrumentalist actors who bring Guthrie's music to life with twin fiddles, viola, guitars, bass, harmonica, banjo, mandolin, dulcimer, dobro and beautiful folk harmonies.
For booking information contact:
David Lutkin
E: wfmdml@yahoo.com
E:
www.WoodySez.com
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PASTURES OF PLENTY: A Celebration in Music and Dance
The Vanaver Caravan
Hitch a ride with Woody across the landscape of America’s music and dance traditions. His songs are used as the basis of the journey. We feel the rhythms and the moods of Woody’s people in their dances: Southern Appalachian clog dancing, Western style squares and Virginia reels, New England contra dancing, Harlem’s lindy hop and New York’s modern, interpretive styles. This is a wonderful and innovative way of introducing Woody’s music to audiences of all ages. Workshops in all the instrumental and dance styles and school residencies are also available.
For Booking Information / Press Kit contact:
Livia and Bill Vanaver / Vanaver Caravan T: 845-256-9300 / F: 845-256-9400
W: www.vanavercaravan.org
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