On Site, Methods for Site-Specific Creation by Stephan Koplowitz received two more positive reviews in 2023 from the journals Theater Topic and Choice. You can read all of the reviews at this LINK
Here are two excerpts from the reviews:
A review of On Site in Theatre Topics, Volume 33, Number 1, March 2023, pp. 57-58 (Article) Published by Johns Hopkins University Press: Excerpt : (For a longer excerpt, click here) On Site is a strongly written, well-organized reference manual for the early to mid-career creator-producer. Koplowitz’s clarity of prose interwoven with other well- respected artists’ observations and advice makes On Site well poised to become a foundational practical text for future site-specific choreographers and directors. It offers concise information on potential pitfalls and ethical considerations for the artist. In addition, Koplowitz includes many philosophical and thoughtful asides on important contemporary subjects such as land use in colonized Indigenous territory, capacious notions of accessibility, and reflections on the democratizing and politically engaged effects of site work. Parts I and II offer introductory information on site work that could be useful in studio and criticism classes wishing to impart some basic concepts to students. Parts III and VI cover business and documentation issues valuable to all independent artists, not only those creating site-specific work. These parts could be assigned in arts management courses. Parts IV and V are useful to artists who already have some site-specific experience and wish to deepen that practice and/or artists who are parlaying a more traditional professional background into site work. The case studies and collaboration primer provide both inspiration in the form of examples but also detailed learnings that might prevent future catastrophe. On Site provides much insider knowledge and documentation of both Koplowitz’s and his interviewees’ work, which could be beneficial for scholars of site-specific work as well. KT SHORB (THEY/THEM) Macalester College
Choice, an academic review journal published a review of On Site (With more than 2,400 institutions served worldwide, Choice is the premier review journal of new academic titles.) May, 2023 Humanities Performing Arts - Theater & Dance Koplowitz’s On Site is a fantastic book for seasoned veterans, novice collaborators, and all those in between. Call the book an encyclopedic how-to textbook; call it a thoughtful methodological study; call it a thorough guidebook; call it a template. It qualifies as any or all of those. Organized in seven parts, the 19 chapters are marked by Koplowitz's candid, clear prose, which communicates the confidence and the humility one would expect from an artist with more than three decades of experience on which to draw. One of Koplowitz's more impactful ruminations comes in chapter 14, "Creating for Physically Integrated Casts and Accessibility," in which Koplowitz recounts the personal journey he took in creating Occupy (2017) alongside AXIS Dance Company. One of the chapter's closing thoughts is that public site work “is about many things, including accessibility, and what better way to communicate that concept than with a cast that reflects all parts of [the] community and society” (p. 223). The $40 price point of the paperback makes the volume easily available to contemporary students and working performers alike, which is a great thing to see with such a vital resource. This excellent volume will be an invaluable tool for those interested in the vast stage, film, and site repertoire Koplowitz has amassed during his career. --S. R. Irelan, Western Michigan University Summing Up: Essential. Lower-division undergraduates through faculty; professionals.