Episode 52: Gary Glassman - Smooth Walk to Providence

Who would have thought that running away with the circus could lead to a career as a successful filmmaker. Gary Glassman's path to filmmaking also, includes, street theater, teaching, prison work, and media technology. The through-line for Gary's creative adventure has been asking questions and, what else, telling stories. 

Gary Glassman believes television can change the world. He comes to television through street and circus performing – clowning, fire-eating, tight rope and stilt walking. His earliest media work is participatory projects with prisoners and the criminally insane, hospitalized children, and developmentally challenged adults. Prisoners, his first documentary, is in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the National Gallery, and the Pompidou Center in Paris. He started Providence Pictures in 1996 and as executive producer/director makes films for the world’s leading broadcasters including PBS, Discovery, History, National Geographic, BBC, and Arte. His films consistently achieve the highest ratings and have won and been honored with nominations for the industry’s most prestigious awards including seven Emmys, two Writers Guild Award, the AAA Science Journalism Prize, the CINE Golden Eagle, and the International Archaeology Film Festival Award. Glassman received a BA from Goddard College, and an MFA in Directing from UCLA.

Spalding Gray (June 5, 1941 – January 11, 2004) was an American actor and writer. He is best known for the autobiographical monologues that he wrote and performed for the theater in the 1980s and 1990s, as well as for his film adaptations of these works, beginning in 1987. He wrote and starred in several, working with different directors. Theater critics John Willis and Ben Hodges called Gray's monologues "trenchant, personal narratives delivered on sparse, unadorned sets with a dry, WASP, quiet mania."[1]: 316 

Providence Pictures: “Since 1996, Providence Pictures has been collaborating with the world's leading broadcasters on more than fifty films seen by millions of people around the globe and honored with television's most prestigious awards.Providence Pictures is building on our foundation of innovative premium documentaries, expanding our repertoire with feature films that stir hearts and inspire action, and venturing into the ultimate sci-fi dream with an augmented reality time travel app. We believe stories can change the world.”: 

Building the Wonders of the World: A Providence Pictures series that explores the secrets of the Parthenon, Riddles of the Sphinx, Building the Great Cathedrals, Colosseum Roman Death Trap, Hagia Sophia Istanbuls Ancient Mystery, Petra Lost City of Stone. The series received nominations for Outstanding Writing, Outstanding Science and Technology Programming, Outstanding Cinematography, Writers Guild of America Award, Best Film of the International Archaeological Film Festival, CINE Special Jury Award

Native America: is a four-part PBS series that challenges everything we thought we...

Who would have thought that running away with the circus could lead to a career as a successful filmmaker. Gary Glassman's path to filmmaking also, includes, street theater, teaching, prison work, and media technology. The through-line for Gary's creative adventure has been asking questions and, what else, telling stories. 

Gary Glassman believes television can change the world. He comes to television through street and circus performing – clowning, fire-eating, tight rope and stilt walking. His earliest media work is participatory projects with prisoners and the criminally insane, hospitalized children, and developmentally challenged adults. Prisoners, his first documentary, is in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the National Gallery, and the Pompidou Center in Paris. He started Providence Pictures in 1996 and as executive producer/director makes films for the world’s leading broadcasters including PBS, Discovery, History, National Geographic, BBC, and Arte. His films consistently achieve the highest ratings and have won and been honored with nominations for the industry’s most prestigious awards including seven Emmys, two Writers Guild Award, the AAA Science Journalism Prize, the CINE Golden Eagle, and the International Archaeology Film Festival Award. Glassman received a BA from Goddard College, and an MFA in Directing from UCLA.

Spalding Gray (June 5, 1941 – January 11, 2004) was an American actor and writer. He is best known for the autobiographical monologues that he wrote and performed for the theater in the 1980s and 1990s, as well as for his film adaptations of these works, beginning in 1987. He wrote and starred in several, working with different directors. Theater critics John Willis and Ben Hodges called Gray's monologues "trenchant, personal narratives delivered on sparse, unadorned sets with a dry, WASP, quiet mania."[1]: 316 

Providence Pictures: “Since 1996, Providence Pictures has been collaborating with the world's leading broadcasters on more than fifty films seen by millions of people around the globe and honored with television's most prestigious awards.Providence Pictures is building on our foundation of innovative premium documentaries, expanding our repertoire with feature films that stir hearts and inspire action, and venturing into the ultimate sci-fi dream with an augmented reality time travel app. We believe stories can change the world.”: 

Building the Wonders of the World: A Providence Pictures series that explores the secrets of the Parthenon, Riddles of the Sphinx, Building the Great Cathedrals, Colosseum Roman Death Trap, Hagia Sophia Istanbuls Ancient Mystery, Petra Lost City of Stone. The series received nominations for Outstanding Writing, Outstanding Science and Technology Programming, Outstanding Cinematography, Writers Guild of America Award, Best Film of the International Archaeological Film Festival, CINE Special Jury Award

Native America: is a four-part PBS series that challenges everything we thought we knew about the Americas before and since contact with Europe. It travels through 15,000-years to showcase massive cities, unique systems of science, art, and writing, and 100 million people connected by social networks and spiritual beliefs spanning two continents. The series reveals some of the most advanced cultures in human history and the Native American people who created it. 

Goddard College: is a liberal arts college with campuses in Vermont and Washington with Bachelors and Masters degrees. Explore our full program offerings and learn how Goddard College is different. We blend remote learning and real life experiences. 

1973 Chilean coup d’état: was a military coup in Chile that deposed the Popular Unity government of President Salvador Allende. On 11 September 1973, after an extended period of social unrest and political tension between the opposition-controlled Congress and the socialist President, as well as economic war ordered by U.S. President Richard Nixon,[9] a group of military officers led by General Augusto Pinochet seized power in a coup, ending civilian rule. The Nixon administration, which had worked to create the conditions for the coup,[11][12][13] promptly recognized the junta government and supported it in consolidating power.[14]

UCLA ArtsReach Susan Hill: Change the Story / Change the World: Episode 30: Artsreach, is a UCLA Extension programs that has served a wide variety of community constituencies and the range of arts disciplines. Artsreach worksites have included youth and adult prisons, service agencies for seriously developmentally challenged adults, community centers in marginalized areas of South Central, Watts and East Los Angeles. 

Traveling Energy Band was comprised of Gary Glassman, his brother Steven, and friend, Eugene Palmer. The Band created large environmental spectacles, site-and specific performance pieces used stilts and puppets and masks. 

 Video Home System, is a standard for consumer-level analog video recording on tape cassettes. 

Jonathan Borofsky: is an American sculptor and printmaker who lives and works in Ogunquit, Maine.[1] His most famous works, at least among the general public, are his Hammering Man public art sculptures. Hammering Man has been installed in various cities around the world. The largest Hammering Man is in Seoul, Korea and the second largest is in Frankfurt, Germany. Other Hammering Man sculptures are in Basel, Switzerland, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York City, Seattle, Gainesville, FL, Washington, D.C. and Lillestrøm, Norway. With Gary Glassman, he created the documentary film Prisoners. 

Prisoners is a one hour documentary exploring the lives of 32 inmates in San Quentin State Prison for men and the California Institution for Women. The documentary was co-directed and produced by Jonathan Borofsky and Gary Glassman (Providence Pictures) in 1985. Based on 48 hours of interviews, the work focuses directly on the personal lives of each prisoner before they were incarcerated, while incorporating Borofsky's dream imagery and music alongside relevant facts and statistics. The documentary was screened at the American Film Institute's 1985 National Video Festival, and is part of the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art and Centre Georges Pompidou.

Arts in Corrections: In 1977, after serving on the California Arts Council, Eloise Smith and her husband, historian Charles Page Smith, created the Prison Arts Project through a pilot program at the California Medical Facility in Vacaville. She secured funding by the San Francisco Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, California Arts Council, and the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration.

The pilot was a huge success, spurring support and funding from the state Legislature and the Governor. The Prison Arts Project served as the model for what would come to be known as Arts in Corrections. It was the first program of its kind, eventually expanding to all institutions across the state of California.

 Walking Smooth: Selections from the Prison Video Workshop directed by Gary Glassman, Sept. 1986 - June 1989

University of Florida's Shands Arts in Medicine program: “From humble beginnings, UF Health Shands Arts in Medicine has grown into one of the largest comprehensive arts in healthcare programs in existence.Starting with two volunteer visual artists working on the Bone Marrow Transplant Unit, Arts in Medicine now has 16 paid artists in all art disciplines working in six separate buildings throughout the UF Health system, covering the Gainesville and Jacksonville communities. Our programs are designed to transform the hospital experience for patients, visitors, caregivers and staff and to promote health and wellness through the arts within the community.”