Museum of Performance + Design

10/04/2025

Long-time MP+D friend and supporter Janice Ross is back with some upcoming appearances in support of her most recent book "The Choreography of Environments: How the Anna and Lawrence Halprin Home Transformed Contemporary Dance and Urban Design " (Oxford, 2025).

Ross’ book features more than a dozen images from Anna Halprin’s personal archive housed at MP+D. Anna is MP+D’s most researched subject, with inquiries coming from museums, publishers, scholars, and students from around the world. She began donating her archive to MP+D in 1994 and continued to donate materials until her passing in 2021.

For more information about Anna Halprin or Janice’s upcoming appearances click:

MP+D’s Anna Halprin Digital Archive
https://annahalprindigitalarchive.omeka.net/

Saturday Oct. 11, 11am Book Passage, Corte Madera
https://www.bookpassage.com/event/janice-ross-daria-halprin-choreography-environments-corte-madera-store?
Janice Ross in conversation with Daria Halprin about the Halprin home in Marin.

Sunday Oct. 12, 2pm UC Berkeley Art Museum https://bampfa.org/visit/calendar
Lecture by Janice Ross, Object Lessons: How the Objects in the Anna and Lawrence Halprin home shaped Art Innovations

Monday Oct. 13. 11am The Lodge at Sea Ranch, Gualala, CA
https://www.thesearanchlodge.com/programming/
Book Talk by Janice Ross, The Ghost House of Sea Ranch, How the Marin home of Anna and Lawrence Halprin influenced the architecture of Sea Ranch

10/04/2025

We are pleased to share that on Thursday October 16, the Museum of Performance + Design will be honored with the Ralston Award at the San Francisco Historical Society’s Annual Awards Luncheon held at the Mark Hopkins Hotel. The Ralston Award is given to those individuals or institutions who make substantial contributions to the city. Jonathan Moscone will be providing the keynote address at the beginning of the luncheon, and the program will include a live performance by the San Francisco Pride Band accompanied by "Countess Lola Montez" and "Emperor Norton."

Click this link to register online:
https://givebutter.com/c/SFHSLuncheon2025

To find out more about sponsoring the luncheon or if you would like to provide payment via mail or over-the-phone, please contact SFHS Deputy Director Lana Constantini (email: [email protected]; phone: 415-537-1105, ext. 2)

04/01/2025

IMPORTANT UPDATE ABOUT HALPRIN PRESENTATION

From Todd Mayberry, Executive Director of the SF Historical Society:

“To Everyone Who Registered for Tomorrow’s History Live! Presentation:
Due to this unforeseen circumstance, we are making some last-minute changes with the format of tomorrow evening’s Shaping San Francisco’s Urban Design: Anna and Lawrence Halprins’ Artistic Legacy.

Our presenter, Janice Ross, will need to deliver her talk remotely rather than in-person at our museum.

Those of you who signed up for the livestream will still be able to attend online. The presentation will begin at 6:30 pm on the same page that you used to register for this event: https://givebutter.com/Halprin. Janice will be available for a live Q & A after the presentation

Those of you who registered for in-person attendance are also invited to join the online presentation using the link above. If you are unable to attend online, you’re welcome to come to the SFHS Museum at 608 Commercial Street and watch Janice’s remote presentation with us. We’ll be showing Janice’s presentation on our large screen.

We’re sorry for any inconvenience this change has caused. However, this will still be a wonderful evening.”

Janice Ross is Professor Emerita of Dance Studies at Stanford University, where she taught for 34 years. She has degrees from UC Berkeley (BA) and Stanford (MA & PhD) and is a recipient of Guggenheim and Fulbright Fellowships. She is the author of five books, including Anna Halprin: Experience as Dance. Janice's personal papers are a part of MP+D's collection.

Ross’ latest book features more than a dozen images from Anna Halprin’s personal archives housed at MP+D. Halprin (1920-2021) began donating her archive to MP+D in 1994 and continued to donate materials over the next 27 years. Anna is MP+D’s most researched subject, with inquiries coming from museums, publications, scholars, and students from around the world.

Use code AUFLY30 to receive 30% off a copy of the book via the publisher at https://tinyurl.com/kefe5myr

For more information about the Halprin or Ross materials at MP+D, click on the links below.

Halprin Digital Archive - https://tinyurl.com/Halprin-Digital-Archive

Halprin Finding Aid - https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c86q24bh/

Ross Finding Aids - https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c86h4qpq/

https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c8ft8txw/

03/26/2025

Current onsite exhibit: "The Music of Bert Williams", now through July 3, 2005

This exhibit takes visitors on a musical journey through the career of Bert Williams (1874-1922), showcasing MP+D's collection of his sheet music and photographs, along with a selection of original recordings of some of Williams' most well-known hits.

To learn more, visit https://www.mpdsf.org/news/bertwilliams

Visit the complementary online exhibit at https://www.mpdsf.org/music-of-bert-williams

03/26/2025

Friends of MP+D use code AUFLY30 for 30% off of "The Choreography of Environments: How the Anna and Lawrence Halprin Home Transformed Contemporary Dance and Urban Design" (Oxford, 2025), the latest book from long-time MP+D supporter Janice Ross.

To purchase a discounted copy of the book, please visit https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-choreography-of-environments-9780197775622?facet_narrowbyproducttype_facet=Digital&sortField=8&facet_narrowbybinding_facet=Ebook&facet_narrowbytype_facet=Academic%20Research&lang=en&cc=us

06/28/2024

Join us MP+D's Professor William Eddelman presentation for the SF Historical Society. Presenting SF History Live! Curtain Going Up: Objects and Images from the Rich Mosaic That Has Defined Performances in SF.

In-person/Livestream Tue. 7/9 @ 6:30PM

Join us as Professor Eddelman presents treasures from the Museum of Performance + Design and the stories they represent about the history of performing arts in San Francisco.

Tickets here: https://givebutter.com/CurtainGoingUp

05/24/2024

Special Collections: Chinese Opera

During the California Gold Rush, Chinese immigrants were not allowed to attend whites-only performance houses. This prompted them to carry on their own theatrical traditions by importing touring groups. The 123-member Tung Hook Tong Company performed the first Chinese Opera in 1852 at the American Theater. Men played both the male and female roles, and featured a traditional sampling of historical music and drama.

While the traditions of Chinese theater were originally criticized and ridiculed by the press, the genre expanded during the late 19th century. Popularity grew for Chinese opera by westernizing some of the techniques, such as providing translated synopses of the scores, cutting out culturally objectionable scenes, and by introducing the final bow to performing groups.

The first permanent Chinese theater, the Hing Chuen Yuen Theater (translated as "Prosperous Complete Origin"), was opened on Jackson Street in 1868. It quickly became a center for cultural life to Chinese-Americans, as well as a popular tourist attraction.

Image: Mah See Don strikes heroic pose as a general at the Mandarin Theater, 1932.

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At MP+D, our mission is to keep the unfolding history of performing arts in the San Francisco Bay Area alive.

Learn more about our collections and work on our website. Link in bio.

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05/21/2024

Collection Spotlight: Lotta Crabtree

In 1875, Lotta presented San Francisco with an ornate drinking fountain situated at the bustling crossroads of Market and Kearny Streets. Starting her career as a child star in San Francisco, she eventually ascended to become the most highly compensated actress in the entire nation. Her heartfelt gesture was a testament to her enduring gratitude for the city that had propelled her to stardom.

Lotta's Fountain, which miraculously survived the Great Earthquake and Fire of 1906, still stands.

Image 1: View of fountain, down Market Street from Geary, circa 1920�Source: wnp30.0307, Emiliano Echeverria/Randolph Brandt Collection.

Image 2: Current Google Street View of the fountain.

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At MP+D, our mission is to keep the unfolding history of performing arts in the San Francisco Bay Area alive.

⬇️ Learn more about our collections and work on our website via the link below ⬇️
https://www.mpdsf.org/collection-highlights

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05/21/2024

Collection Spotlight: Lotta Crabtree

A true child of the Gold Rush, Lotta Crabtree was raised in California's gold country and performed in San Francisco's vaudeville houses. She became the most popular comedienne of her era and the highest paid performer on the Broadway stage. Lotta's Fountain, an ornate drinking fountain which miraculously survived the Great Earthquake and Fire of 1906, still stands at Market near Kearny Streets in San Francisco: her gift to the city she always loved and returned to frequently.

Images: Lola Crabtree

_________________________

At MP+D, our mission is to keep the unfolding history of performing arts in the San Francisco Bay Area alive.

⬇️ Learn more about our collections and work via the link below ⬇️
https://www.mpdsf.org/collection-highlights

_________________________

03/04/2024

02/20/2024

🏅 An Unforgettable Evening with John Adams 🏅

We are thrilled to share the highlights of the 17th San Francisco Arts Medallion event, an unforgettable evening that unfolded on February 7, 2024. This year, we celebrated the incomparable composer John Adams (Composer) and his profound impact on the city's performing arts culture.

Guests were treated to a mesmerizing piano performance of Adams's "China Gates" by the talented Sarah Cahill, creating an enchanting atmosphere.

Jeremy Geffen, Executive and Artistic Director of Cal Performances, Peter Pastreich, former Executive Director of the SF Symphony and Matthew Shilvock, General Director of the SF Opera delivered heartfelt remarks, expressing the profound impact of John Adams on themselves, and the city's artistic landscape.

The event was held at the Saint Joseph’s Arts Society as it has been since 2019, a meticulously renovated church founded and designed by Ken Fulk.

Thank you to everyone who contributed to making this evening truly unforgettable. Your support ensures the continued vibrancy of the Bay Area's performing arts scene.

Image 1, from left: John Adams (Honoree), and co-hosts Michael Tilson Thomas and Joshua Robison

Image 2: Sarah Cahill performing Adams's "China Gates".

Image 3, from top: John Adams with MP+D Board President Pattie Lawton
Bottom, from left: Shelby Gans, John Adams, Deborah O'Grady, and Shinji Eshima.

Image 4, from left to right: Jeremy Geffen, Executive and Artistic Director of Cal Performances, Peter Pastreich, former Executive Director of the SF Symphony and Matthew Shilvock, General Director of the SF Opera.

Image 5, from left to right: Mauro Aprile Zanetti, Matthew Shilvock and Maria Manetti Shrem.

Image 6, from left to right: Jordan Auleb, Will Gaines

Image 7: Top: Matthew McKenna, MP+D Board members Naomi Calderon and Jamie Calderon. Bottom Left: MP+D Board President Pattie Lawton and Alison Mauzé. Bottom Right: Lisa Dolby Chadwick, Sierra Nguyen and Sally Ward.

Image Credits:
Drew Altizer Photograph

02/20/2024

SFHS is celebrating the City's Performing Arts with a new exhibit featuring highlights from collection!

FREE and open to the public this Friday!