Creating a Show on a Shoestring

Laura and I had extensive photos of the Bobili Gardens, but not enough substance to sustain a 60 minutes TV show. I began to research the gardens and found substantial information about the history, and some of the great personalities who made their mark with regard to this topic. I still lacked the substance for an hour show. I decided to also focus on the great Palazzo Pitti as well which fronts the gardens. The history and development of the building, how it changed hands during the 16th century, how it was enlarged, and eventually turned into museums is quite fascinating. Also I planned to concentrate on each gallery especially the most famous, the Palatine Gallery which houses some of the great art of some very well known artists such as Raphael, Corregio, Caravaggio, and Titian. It turned out to not only be long enough to sustain a show, but very interesting and informative as well. A great deal of research went into the creation of the show as I studied the history and art, and obtained several photos off the internet. The result, Show # 64: The Pitti Palace and Boboli Gardens, is a great guide for anyone wishing to have a fun and fruitful day in Florence. The production of the show in the studio was flawless, so all in all, this was a wonderful experience.

On other fronts my teaching at the New Paltz Lifetime Learning Institute comes to a close this coming Wed, May 15. It was a wonderful experience, and I owe a great deal to the organizers and my very enthusiastic participants. Although the number of students varied from week to week, all in all it has been fabulous and I hope to do it again someday.

I have set up an interview with the organizers of the Palazzo Bembo exhibit known as Personal Structures, a Collateral Event of the 55th Venice Biennale. Now that I have been granted Press Credentials, I have free reign to create as many interesting topics and ideas for shows as I want. Along those lines my interview with the spokespeople and newly elected representatives of the Movimento Cinque Stelle in Italy appears to be coming to fruition as we have set up a time, date, and pace for our meeting in their hometown (and oddly also my friend Luca's) of Figline Valdarno. It is my wish to return with as many interviews with people as possible, including of course the directors of the synagogues in both Florence and Venice, which have already been scheduled. The ideas as almost endless, and with any luck, I can return with 25 or more potential shows.

The trip now gets very close and next week I will start to pack, create lists of last minute things to do, and the worst job of all, confirm my flight reservations with Alitalia. They are a bit unpredictable and it is always a challenge using their services.

Next week's show, # 65, will focus on the Gardens of Italy, many of the most famous I have personally seen, plus I will talk about my trip, and the shows I intend to bring back with me. Then that's it until June 7 when I do show # 66 - Pathways of Italy which focusses on roads, streets, alley ways, and any other method getting from point A to point B in Italy, whether big cities, or small towns, or country roads. I will begin with a history of Italian roads with some of the most famous Roman Roads.