Renewing her vision
How ART’s Diane Paulus finds inspiration – at home
Think your arts options are limited to Adam Sandler films on Netflix? Open your eyes and you might find inspiration in items hidden in your house.
Stuck at home like the rest of us, Diane Paulus has discovered little pieces of magic on her own shelves. The artistic director of the American Repertory Theater at Harvard University, Paulus shared her finds with the Boston Herald. The first installment in a new series profiling how the leaders of arts organizations are spending their time during our safer-at-home age, Paulus provided for us a window into what has given her joy and what has inspired introspection.
Seeing things she has “seen, but not seen”
Recently, Paulus came across a small bronze statue of the Buddhist goddess Tara buried behind a stack of books and papers. Given to her by legendary playwright Eve Ensler (“The Vagina Monologues”), the goddess now has a home on a small marble table stand by a window — “And I look at her every day,” Paulus said. She’s also reconsidered something even more personal. “Years ago, my sister sent me a thousand origami cranes which she handmade, an homage to our Japanese mother and a symbol of good luck,” she said. “The colors somehow seem to shimmer more brilliantly now, and I think about my mother.”
The roots of “1776”
Paulus’ revival of the musical “1776,” which was scheduled to be the cap on the theater company’s intense, epic 2019-2020 ART season, will now be part of the organization’s 2020-2021 calendar. But the postponement hasn’t stopped Paulus from preparing for the show (and other works). “I have finally found the time to read the books that I have been meaning to study for research for upcoming projects,” she said. On the list: “The Great Derangement” by Amitav Ghosh, “Ida, A Sword Among Lions” by Paula J. Giddings, “American AntiSlavery Writings: Colonial Beginnings to Emancipation”
published by the Library of America and edited by James G. Basker, and plenty more.
Yo-Yo Ma’s Instagram feed and free-spirited jazz
“While I have been reading more than ever, I have found that listening to music is providing the most comfort,” she said. “Perhaps because words do not always feel adequate to express what we are experiencing, as we race to keep up with the changing circumstances. I follow Yo-Yo Ma on Instagram and listen to his offerings of playing his cello, and the amazing #SongsofComfort movement he has started. I am also listening to Keith Jarrett. … Listening to Keith Jarrett play the piano somehow puts me in the present, perhaps because he is such a master at improvisation. It has been maybe 20 years since I have listened to his music, strange how this crisis is taking us back to things we have forgotten.”
During this tough time, arts organizations need all the help they can get. Discover what the American Repertory Theater has to offer at americanrepertorytheater.org.