Series: New Television Workshop
Program: Secret of the Waterfall
Date: 1983-01-01
Subject: Modern dance; Readings

Clip Description
"Secret of the Waterfall," 1983, was created by video artist Charles Atlas and choreographer Douglas Dunn. The work features Douglas Dunn and dancers in various indoor and outdoor locations on Martha's Vineyard, performing Dunn's quirky, spirited choreography. A pair of poets, Reed Bye and Anne Waldman, enter the scenes, reading their work from clipboards, providing a score for the dancers and occasionally interacting with them physically. Movement is seen in a beach-house-style dwelling, in a country field, at a beach club, and a church or municipal building. Directed by Charles Atlas.

This work was created independently of any series and was probably broadcast as a special.

The "Television Workshop" created several shows that were broadcast on WGBH without being a part of a series sponsored specifically by the Workshop. Additionally, they were commissioned to create shows showcasing video art for national broadcast and created several shows in collaboration with existing series at other stations, such as WNET's "American Playhouse."

Program Description
"Secret of the Waterfall," 1983, was created by video artist Charles Atlas and choreographer Douglas Dunn. The work features Douglas Dunn and dancers in various indoor and outdoor locations on Martha's Vineyard, performing Dunn's quirky, spirited choreography. A pair of poets, Reed Bye and Anne Waldman, enter the scenes, reading their work from clipboards, providing a score for the dancers and occasionally interacting with them physically. Movement is seen in a beach-house-style dwelling, in a country field, at a beach club, and a church or municipal building. Directed by Charles Atlas.

This work was created independently of any series and was probably broadcast as a special.

The "Television Workshop" created several shows that were broadcast on WGBH without being a part of a series sponsored specifically by the Workshop. Additionally, they were commissioned to create shows showcasing video art for national broadcast and created several shows in collaboration with existing series at other stations, such as WNET's "American Playhouse."

Series Description
The New Television Workshop originated at WGBH, a public broadcasting station in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1974 to support the creation and development of experimental video art. This experimental programming included dance, drama, music, performance and visual arts on video and film. As early as 1968, WGBH was committed to the development of video art through residency programs, with artists such as Nam June Paik, and the "Rockefeller Artists-in-Television" project. Many of these early works (pre-1974) were broadcast both locally and nationally.

As an umbrella for arts related programming, the Workshop included "Artist's Showcase, " "Frames of Reference, " "Dance for Camera, " "Poetry Breaks," and "New Television," as well as acquired arts programming. Individual works were created for "Visions," a series produced by WNET (New York), and "Alive From Off Center," a series produced by KTCA (St. Paul - Minneapolis). The Contemporary Art Television (CAT) Fund was co-founded by the Workshop and Boston's Institute for Contemporary Art (ICA) in the 1980's, to commission works by video artists. In 1993 the Workshop ceased production at WGBH.

See also: http://main.wgbh.org/wgbh/NTW/FA/TITLES/Secret35.HTML