CONTEXT: The Price of Fame

By Teresa Rende, Education and Community Engagement Associate

On July 24th, 2011, the morning after singer Amy Winehouse died, I and my colleagues were having a discussion about young artists and their propensity to fall into drugs, alcohol abuse, depression and addiction. I had just read Red the day before, and I remembered a scene in which Rothko’s conversation with Ken turns toward the death of artist Jackson Pollock. The two discuss a crucial element of Pollock’s personality, and point to the fact that, while Pollock died in a car accident, his extreme fame and alcoholic history may have been a contributing factor to his demise. With that scene fresh in my mind, the conversation that morning led us to think about the many famous musicians, actors, artists, and comedians we loose rather young, and to ask, “Is there a price to fame?”



Next Monday, October 10, at 7pm, the Goodman's Education Department will kick off the 2011/2012 Season’s CONTEXT series with our first event around Red. During this event we'll explore that question I had back in July—the price of fame—with our audiences. We’ve crafted an interactive experience with the help of our friends at Collaboraction, during which we'll examine the cost of fame and what happens when artists become commodities. The atmosphere will be that of a red-carpet event, in which each attendee is essentially fulfilling the role of a celebrity—forced to make their way past a throng of paparazzi just to get in. Once inside, panelists Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot of WBEZ’s Sound Opinions will discuss fame and how it plays out—in both good and bad ways—in today’s music industry. They’ll also discuss the price of fame in comedy and performance with Charna Halpern of Chicago’s own iO. Time will be allotted for questions and conversation with our panelists and the Collaboraction artists.

The CONTEXT series intends to illuminate our productions, act as catalysts for deeper exploration, and offer a public space for debate and discussion. We’re hoping the evening will not only place attendees in the spotlight, but help us all look at just how glamorous that spotlight truly is, and is not.


CONTEXT: The Price of Fame is Monday, October 10 at 7pm in the Goodman lobby. Call 312.443.3800 or click here to reserve tickets to this FREE event.


Photo by Rubenstein.