This week on Theater Talk, Village Voice columnist Michael Musto, playwright Mart Crowley and actor Laurence Luckinbill look back at the impact of William Friedkin’s landmark film of the gay experience, “The Boys in the Band” (1970). The film opened a year and a half before the Stonewall riots. Check local listings to see when Theater Talk airs on THIRTEEN.

(View full post to see video)
©Theater Talk Productions/CUNY TV

On July 1st, WIDE ANGLE returns to television for another season of thought-provoking, in-depth international news coverage that you won’t see anywhere else. WIDE ANGLE is anchored by former CNN and ABC journalist Aaron Brown, and for this edition of Inside Thirteen, he writes about what we can expect in the upcoming season.

Hello again,

I am sitting in my office at home, the jet lag from a two week WIDE ANGLE trip to Africa finally clearing.

I am so excited about the season ahead and the nature of the films we have. I should write here how they are important pieces of international reporting and that WIDE ANGLE is the only program devoted to exploring international issues in long form pieces on TV. I could go on and write about the shrinking world we live in which makes our attention to international issues all that more important. The events in Iran this week, I could add, make that point so clearly. And all of that is true. WIDE ANGLE takes great pride in the fact that long form international journalism pretty much belongs to us alone. There may be the odd piece here or there on American TV, but no program so thoughtfully and carefully looks at the world beyond our borders. The film makers we work with come from across the globe — we worked with a young British filmmaker in Ethiopia and a Swede in Mozambique; a South Korean team will begin our season. It is the combination of their perspective and that of the WIDE ANGLE staff — a pretty varied group as well — that makes the program what it is. I could go on about that, about the importance of the season that begins July 1st in this changing and complicated world and it would all be true. But it would miss the real point of my excitement about the season ahead and why I think you will fall in love with the pieces as well.

They are simply great stories. The season opens with a thriller about the escape from North Korea to the South through China. Setting aside all the “big issues,” it is a great story of perseverance and risk with a bit of daring journalism thrown in for good measure.

And there are others like it. In truth — and I hope this doesn’t disappoint any regular viewers — there isn’t a wonkish piece on the list. Which isn’t to say that they aren’t substantive. They are. But you could easily miss “importance” for the depth of the characters, their hearts or courage and often their sacrifice. It is going to be a fabulous season.

And I can’t tell you how excited and blessed I feel to be a part of it again this year. And I hope we can find new and better ways to use this space this season as well. See you July 1st.

Aaron Brown
Wide Angle
New York

Watch a preview of “Crossing Heaven’s Border”, premiering July 1st on Thirteen.

(View full post to see video)

by Debbie Adler
Director of Online Marketing, WNET.ORG

Sharing a live music experience can be one of those times you bond with perfect strangers. Inspiring music, a captivating performance, a stunning venue… everyone in the room feels connected by being present for the moment. I’ve had that feeling with 40,000 people at huge festivals when everyone is singing along, and in a room of 50 when the audience is perfectly silent.

The Artists Den started when founder, Mark Lieberman, realized that he wanted to take that feeling and bring it to life for small audiences around the country. The live show has hosted musicians like Aimee Mann, Regina Spektor, Josh Ritter, Crowded House, KT Tunstall and so many more. Each one possess a magical feeling that also gets captured on a multi-camera HD film shoot and edited for the public television program, Live From the Artists Den. Read More …

This June, THIRTEEN is spotlighting the unique stories and experiences of the LGBT community with programs that document issues from gay parenting to gays in the military.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009
10 p.m.: INDEPENDENT LENS: ASK NOT
As wars rage in the Middle East, the U.S. military is eager for more recruits –– unless they happen to be openly gay. “Ask Not” explores the tangled political battles that led to the infamous “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy and reveals the personal stories of gay Americans who serve in combat under a veil of secrecy. A film by Johnny Symons.
Watch a clip.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009
3 a.m.: INDEPENDENT LENS: ASK NOT
As wars rage in the Middle East, the U.S. military is eager for more recruits –– unless they happen to be openly gay. “Ask Not” explores the tangled political battles that led to the infamous “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy and reveals the personal stories of gay Americans who serve in combat under a veil of secrecy. A film by Johnny Symons.

4 a.m.: INDEPENDENT LENS: BILLY STRAYHORN: LUSH LIFE
As Duke Ellington’s co-composer, arranger, and right-hand man, Billy Strayhorn wrote some of the greatest American music of the 20th century. But as a gay man in the ’40s and ’50s, Strayhorn had to lead a discreet existence, while Ellington played to thunderous applause on center stage. BILLY STRAYHORN: Lush Life tells the story of the unheralded man who changed jazz and popular music forever, maintaining artistic and personal integrity, while challenging prejudice along the way.

Friday, June 19, 2009
10 p.m.: FATHERHOOD DREAMS
This documentary film follows four fathers through a private journey through fatherhood that forces them to deal with much larger issues that affect gay fathers, including the legal aspects of surrogacy, the complexity of “open adoption”, and the battles concerning the official recognition of LGBT and multi-parent families. A film by Julia Ivanova.
Watch a clip.

Sunday, June 21, 2009
12 p.m.: SUNDAYARTS: WRESTLING WITH ANGELS: PLAYWRIGHT TONY KUSHNER
The famed playwright Tony Kushner (Angels in America) is profiled in this program. Kushner, a gay progressive who grew up in the South, has earned a Pulitzer, an Emmy and two Tony Awards — and a reputation that runs the gamut from charming to demanding to unpredictable.
Watch a clip.

11:30 p.m.: EMILE NORMAN: BY HIS OWN DESIGN (originally aired June 23, 2008)
Emile Norman: By His Own Design is a portrait of the self-taught California artist, Emile Norman, who at age 90 is still working with the same passion for life, art, nature and freedom that inspired him through seven decades of a changing art scene and turbulent times for a gay man in America.

Monday, June 22, 2009
10 p.m.: IN THE LIFE: 40^TH ANNIVERSARY OF STONEWALL
In recognition of the 40th Anniversary of the Stonewall riots in June 1969, this one-hour special looks at the growth of the LGBT community and movement over the past forty years.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009
4:30 a.m.: ANYONE AND EVERYONE
ANYONE AND EVERYONE tells the stories of families from Utah to North Carolina and Wyoming to New York, all connected by a common thread — a gay child. During the film, parents of homosexual teens and young adults eloquently recall their initial reactions to their child’s coming-out and their sometimes difficult journeys to acceptance. A film by Susan Polis Schutz.
Watch a clip.

Friday, June 26, 2009
5 a.m.: EMILE NORMAN: BY HIS OWN DESIGN (originally aired June 23, 2008)
Emile Norman: By His Own Design is a portrait of the self-taught California artist, Emile Norman, who at age 90 is still working with the same passion for life, art, nature and freedom that inspired him through seven decades of a changing art scene and turbulent times for a gay man in America.

Tuesday, June 30, 2009
10 p.m.: P.O.V.: BEYOND HATRED
In September 2002, three skinheads were roaming a park in Rheims, France, looking to “do an Arab,” when they settled for a gay man instead. Twenty-nine-year-old François Chenu fought back fiercely, but he was beaten unconscious and thrown into a river, where he drowned. The acclaimed French vérité film Beyond Hatred is the story of the crime’s aftermath; above all, of the Chenu family’s brave struggle to seek justice while trying to make sense of such pointless violence and unbearable loss.

1:30 a.m.: AMERICAN MASTERS: ANNIE LEIBOVITZ: LIFE THROUGH A LENS (originally aired 10/30/2008)
Annie Leibovitz has produced some of the most iconic images of the last 30 years and is, arguably, America’s most influential woman photographer. The program documents her losses as well as her grand successes.

by Jared Lipworth
Executive Producer, The Human Spark

For the past few years, Alan Alda and our production team have been traveling the world, speaking to experts who have shared their visions about what make humans unique from all other animals. Different experts have different views, and they don’t all necessarily agree, but each new interview we’ve done has provided a little bit more insight into the evolutionary and neurological abilities that only we have.

You’ll see all this insight in the programs and the web-only video on the Human Spark site, but we’re also hoping that you’ll tell us what being human means to you. Drawings, photos, videos or text are all welcome, and we’re hoping for some really thoughtful and interesting responses. Do our brains make us human? Our language? Our imaginations or our belief? Visit the Share Your Spark submission page to get started.

Your responses will be posted on the web site and a selection of the best will appear on-screen when the series airs. For kicks, I’ll start things off with a Haiku:

Chimps show a few signs
Neanderthals never did
Insight defines us

Subscribe to WIDE ANGLE’s new video podcast on iTunes! You’ll see clips from recent WIDE ANGLE episodes, in-depth interviews hosted by Aaron Brown, and short documentaries from the Focal Point series, exploring global issues through human stories.

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewPodcast?id=318782930

The 2009 Parents’ Choice Award winners for Television have been announced, and PBS received a total of 15 awards; eight of them are THIRTEEN productions for WNET.ORG. The awards recognize quality children’s media and media for all ages. Read More …

from: Neal Shapiro, President & CEO, WNET.ORG

In this economy everyone’s looking to save money. I know I sure am. And that includes clipping coupons. ‘Clip and save’ is the slogan of our day.

When it comes to public television, there are no coupons. But instead of ‘clip and save’ you can click and save.

In case you don’t know, New York State has proposed a 50% cut to funding for public television.

A cut of this size is unprecedented and will take New York’s public television stations to a level of state operating aid equal to what we were receiving a decade ago!

If this cut stands, Thirteen and WLIW21 here in New York City will feel the pain.

These severe cutbacks will put many of our educational and local programming efforts in jeopardy – including the annual Celebration of Teaching and Learning (which we just held so successfully this month), our new local series It’s the Economy, New York, and other vital initiatives, as well.

What can you do?

Just visit www.savenypbs.org. This website, created by the Association of Public Broadcasting Stations of New York (APBS), gives you a quick and easy way if you live in New York State to email your local legislators and the governor to let them know how you feel about the proposed budget cuts.

At www.savenypbs.org, you can also find the information you need to call your state representatives and the Governor’s office, if you wish.

It’s quick. It’s easy. And best of all it won’t cost you anything . . . except a minute or two of your time.

But one little click could add up to big, big savings for public television in New York.