Briefly Noted

Fans of theatre photography may have a surprise in store when they look through the shutter of Jerry Vezzuso. Unlike most other theatre photographers, Vezzuso refuses to see a production before shooting it, shoots during the performance, and works with only the stage lighting. Vezzuso’s photos can be seen in a month-long exhibit that opened La Mama’s new Gallery for Art at 6 E. Ist St. in New York on Jan. 13.

The third annual Commercial Theatre Institute, to be held April 12-14 in New York City, will zero in on the methods by which two commercial and artistic successes (Sunday in the Park with George and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom) made the transfer from their not-for-profit birthplaces to Broadway. CTI was established by the Foundation for the Extension and Development of the American Professional Theatre (FEDAPT) and Theatre Development Fund (TDF) as a training ground for new generations of producers. Participants in this year’s CTI will include Stephen Sondheim, Gerald Schoenfeld, James Lapine, Benjamin Mordecai and Andre Bishop. Applications for the conference should be addressed to FEDAPT, Suite 310, 165 W. 46th St., New York, NY 10036. The conference fee is $200 until March 1, and $235 thereafter.

Black History Month will be observed by a potpourri of weekend events throughout February at New York’s American Museum of Natural History. Lectures, multi-media and musical presentations will combine with dramatic performances like Nat Turner: Alias the Prophet, written and directed by Clifton Powell. Contact the American Museum of Natural History, Education Department, Central Park West at 79th St., New York, NY 10024.

The black image in America and the intention of Black protest drama will be but two of the arresting topics scrutinized at the Morgan State University of Baltimore’s April 18-19 national conference “Black American Protest Drama and Theatre, 1816-1964.” For information contact Samuel Hay, Department of Theatre, Morgan State University, Baltimore, MD 21239.