for more go to callaninlife.blogspot.com
30 Oct 2010
Interviews
I was interviewed at work by NBC New York, and someone managed to come off
incredibly ditsy. Oh well, can't complain too much they linked my section to my
website, so I'll take it. Here's the link back to NBC The Feast.
26 Oct 2010
I don't speak Russian
However, I was writing travel articles for a site that was about to launch. I finally
found the work I did. Low and behold, it's been translated into Russian. I know
this, because, well clearly it's in Russian, but google translate reverts to the
English text I actually wrote. It's kind of funny to think of myself as being published
in Russian.
travelsort.ru/places/europe-united-kingdom-london/views
7 Jan 2010
On Writing
In the day sun light illuminates the world and I write comedy, because when one
can see everything, there is nothing left to do but laugh. At night when I'm left
alone to my own thoughts, and they have spent the day running themselves
ragged about my brain, I can write tragedy, because all the world is silent from its
loss of laughter.
27 Sept 2009
Dear Blog,
Oh, I'm so sorry I have ignored you. I have been much too wrapped up, I in other
types of words. You see, I discovered reading for pleasure. It's this thing people
do when they don't have books forced upon them. They read whatever they
want. As fast or slow as they please. I'm having the most marvellous time. But,
dear Blog, I promise, I will return to you. I have so many wonderful thought that
this reading for pleasure has sparked in my brain. Soon I'll need to share them
with someone. And, sweet Blog, why not you?
7 Sept 2009
Falling in Love
Wandering around New York City I'm falling in love all over again. It's like waking
up in the morning next to your husband who you've been cheating on for a year
and then realizing that you're actually truly in love with him. And you haven't only
been cheating on him, you've been cheating on yourself.
The other thing I am only just now noticing about the city: NYC is so fucking hip. I
probably didn't notice before because I was from LA - which despite my protests
is pretty hip - so it all felt like normal. But after returning for a little tiny city, which
is not particularly hip, it's like seeing NYC through the eyes of all those people
who move here from the Midwest with their eyes full of dreams, their hearts full of
hope and their heads full of naivety.
6 Jan 2009
Hedda Gabler
By Henrik Ibsen, adapted by Christopher Shinn
With Mary Louise Parker, Michael Cerveris, Paul Sparks, Peter Stormare, Lois
Markle, Ana Reeder and Helen Carey
Roundabout Theatre Company
Despite the fact that I’m a playwright I’ve never read Hedda Gabler. I probably
shouldn’t admit that in public. I know the play, I mean who doesn’t in this
business, but I’ve never read it. Sure it was on class reading lists and there were
about 5 other productions in New York last year that I should have seen, but I
didn’t. That aside, I know what happens at the end, but not really how they get
there (I suppose Brecht would approve).
I have been told that Heddatron, a new adaptation of the play performed with
robots was absolutely amazing. Unfortunately, I didn’t see it – this is starting to
sound repetitive. So, Hedda done with robots – GOOD. Hedda done with the
actors impersonating robots –BAD.
Maybe I’m being harsh. It was the first preview, and I probably shouldn’t even be
reviewing it, but none-the-less. Parker’s deadpan delivery of every single line got
a little monotonous, after it stopped being drôle somewhere in the first act. And
maybe its my modern day prejudice, but I felt like Hedda was trapped because
she put herself there, it wasn’t anyone else’s fault, which made her suicide seem
overly melodramatic. And everyone’s reactions to it were rather mundane, ‘oh,
there goes Hedda again, trying to be the center of attention’.
I have seen both Lois Markle (Berte, the maid) and Ana Reeder (Mrs. Thea
Elvsted, Hedda’s competition/companion) before in other plays. I enjoyed
Markle's performance in The American Dream and The Sandbox at the Cherry
Lane. There’s something about Ana Reeder that makes me feel like she was the
wrong choice for everything I’ve seen her do. Except for No Country for Old Men,
she worked for that role. I wish I could explain how I feel about her as an actress,
but I lack the words, or thought process.
I hope that the production improves. I know the TV stars put not-regular-theater-
goer-butts-in-seats, but I’d like the plays to still be worth seeing for people who
know what they’re looking at.
4 Jan 2009
The Cripple of Inishmaan
By Martin McDonagh
Atlantic Theater Company
I have never seen a Martin McDonagh play before due to numerous unfortunate
circumstances that I will not elaborate here. I also almost didn’t see this one. But
the gods of theatre relented and I got a last minute ticket. It was completely worth
the wait.
McDonagh is hysterical. Although he is know for his scary plays The Pillowman
and The Lieutenant of Inishmore, this one is really funny, but doesn’t lack its own
unexpected twists and seat gripping tension.
The cast was stellar. They hit every beat and sang every note. Kerry Condon
was a delight as the rough talking women of desire of the lead. Condon brought
an earthy rawness to the character that made her hard not to love.
No one likes to read good reviews, so I’ll stop. Just go see it.
30 Dec 2008
SPEED-THE-PLOW
By David Mamet
With Raúl Esparza, Norbert Leo Butz and Elizabeth Moss
The scandal around this production is that it originally opened with Jeremy Piven
(who received generally mixed reviews from my friends who saw him) and he
dropped about due to rather dubious medical reasons. The rumor circling
through New York theatre people is that we was bored doing the same thing over
and over, and sitting around backstage. Although I can’t image he did more
backstage-sitting during this show than he does behind-camera sitting on his TV
show. The rest of the rumor is that because of his bored he became a stage
managers nightmare, but all of this is unconfirmed.
Not that I saw Piven on stage, but all I can say is ‘Thank goodness he dropped
out’. Norbert Leo Butz is amazing. I saw him after he was off book (he performed
the first evening, at least, on book due to the miniscule rehearsal period). Butz
brought a sarcastic vitality to the role of newly made TV mogul Bobby Gould, you
would have thought Butz had grown up in Hollywood.
The vibrancy of the relationships between Butz and Raúl Esparza, and Butz and
Elizabeth Moss was outstanding. A good play show by like a good game of tennis.
You keep hitting the ball back and forth for as long as possible, slowly pushing
your opponent to the limits of their ability, but not going any further, and they are
teasing you in just the same way. Slowly drawing them out, enjoying the cat-and-
mouse game of it. You could see that in the three relationships between Butz,
Esparza and Moss.
Unfortunately Butz is only standing in until William H. Macy (a veritable Mamet
scholar) is fully rehearsed and ready to join the cast, which is unfortunate. Butz is
superb, I fear Macy might be too old to properly meld with Esparza and Moss and
that poor understudy who thought he got his big break when Piven left. To him
my heart goes out (Jordon Lage, for anyone who is interested). It will be
interesting to hear from someone who sees all three of the actors, if nothing else
this is definitely a lesson in how an actor shapes a play.
22 Dec 2008
London
I was in London on 22 Dec and went to the Tate Modern, because I wanted to
mindlessly stare at their Rothko's. Lucky me, there were having a special exhibit
on Rothko and their were a whole bunch more of his "late work" to stare at. That
was good.
Rothko reminds me of quantum mechanics, specifically the ability of light to act
like a wave AND like a particle. Light can be in two places at once. Stare at one of
Rothko's rectangle paintings and think about that.
12 Dec 2008
Dans La Nuit, Des Images
A collection of video art ranging from the words of 'le charte des droits
fondamentaux de l'Union européenne' (Charter of Fundamental Rights of the
European Union) projected across the building to long videos including 'Étude de
Danser' housed in Le Grand Palais.
The lights of le Grand Palais were off and the inside was as dark and cold as Les
Champs Elysees outside. Except its the end of December. Les Champs Elysees
is filled with strings of blue lights dancing in the trees and reflecting on the
pavement. Le Grand Palais is similarly filled with the flickering light of more than a
hundred projection screens.
The video art of various artists from all over the globe celebrates the end of
French Presidency of the European.
But I'm not going to discuss the art- the art ranged from great to puzzling to bad- I
wanted to talk about looking at art, how people do it and why, maybe, video art is
a viewing experience more like the way art was viewed in the premodern world.
Lets face it, visual art is cheap. No that doesn't mean everyone can now afford a
Vermeer, nor does every street corner have a Rodin sculpture, but the work
available in the world labelled as "original art" is so wildly available- even if it is
crap- most people could say they have an original piece of crap. I do. Its a glittery
fairy from the Venice Beach board walk and it looks amazing in my bedroom
decorated by a 16 year old me.
So what's my point? Video art is different. Nowhere have I ever seen available
DVD's of an artist's video installation - and Le Grand Palais is not the first video
art installation I've seen.
The only place you can now see a video art installation is at a gallery, a museum
or special event. Isn't this the way art used to be view?
Not to be unnecessarily pessimistic, but with the way the economy is going (and
energy costs) entrance fees to video art projects are going to be incredibly high
and possibly only affordable to the rich. Didn't art used to be only for the rich?
However in a more interesting vein of thought: How people view art.
On my first trip to Paris almost four years ago now I saw La Jaconde (the Mona
Lisa). It was August, peak tourist season and the gallery was jam packed with all
the languages of the world bouncing off all four walls and the glass box of the
painting. And the snapping of pictures. It was almost impossible to actually see
the painting through the glare of flashes, my eyes could adjust as the light was
constantly changing, and ultimately, I had a panic attack. My own personal
problems aside - I was disappointed that viewing art had been reduced to taking
photos of it. It doesn't make sense, you're better off buying a gallery print, the
quality of better. I suppose though you can't "prove" you've "actually seen it" with
a gallery print, anyone could order one online. But that's the point of
interrogation; do you "actually see" a piece of art when only looking at it through
the lens of a camera?
Maybe the photo lets the person feel that some how they too possess that piece
of art. Maybe for them possession is more important than experience- maybe for
everyone. Possession is nine tenth of the law. But I don't think art can be a
matter of possession, and I find the term "public art" rather oxymoronic. I don't
think you can ever possess art. It is the artist's no matter who buys it, or displays
it. The artist doesn't "own" it then, but the art is still the artist's. And maybe that's
why I like theatre - or performance art - so much, it is impossible to truly possess
the complete realization of the art. It is only an experience, and it will only ever be
experienced. But then the question of film and cinema arises, but we'll get to that
soon.
The debate's been argued before and by better artistic thinkers than myself, and
I will leave their thoughts uncommented on, but personally I don't think you can
"see" art through a camera lens.
I finally got my time with La Jaconde, less than a year later. And it is possible to
see why its amazing, something I never did see when looking at prints and
photos. The same went for Michelangelo's David. The beauty of the actual statue
is some thing a picture could never rival.
How does this relate to video art? At the exhibition at Le Grand Palais I saw a
man taking a photo of one of the video screens. I found this odd. How can you
take a photograph of a video? A photograph of video art art represents the entire
work of art even less than a photo of La Jaconde. There is absolutely no way to
take the art with you. Yes, you can "prove" you "saw it" with a photo, but maybe
you only saw that frame - or a blur of frames. The viewer of video art can never
possess a piece of the art. They can only experience it. And in only being able to
experience it the viewer returns to a time before photography even existed.
Funny how technology turns the table on itself with each new invention.
Projected video on buildings gives the artistic experience to the people, whether
they want it or not. The viewer can no longer possess the art any more than they
have to chooce to go see it. Perhaps the 'le charte des droits fondamentaux de
l'Union européenne' is the perfect piece to display in this way.
Scholars use the term 'mediation' to discuss how something is viewed. Before the
camera everything was seen 'unmediated'. I find it ironic that with multimedia
video art the viewer can once again "see" the art without mediation- that is, of
course, when the video is the art: video of art is completely different.
30 Sept 2008
American Nerd: The Story of My People
by Benjamin Nugent
"As fun as all of [debate contests] might be, debate is also something nerds do in
order to meet other nerds they can hit on" (106).
I was going to say more, but one second thought I think that about covers it.
25 July 2008
Baka Beyond
Last night I saw the group Baka Beyond perform at the Skirball Cultural Center in
Los Angeles. They are a Afro-Celtic fusion group. Pretty trippy. I've really gotten
into World Music in the last year and a half. I find that most of it has so much
depth and history you can just hear it in the very tone of the music. It is way
beyond anything that modern pop music could ever attain. Its too bad it is often
considered "weird" or "strange".
The best songs had a great rhythm line and AMAZING reel riffs on the fiddle. It
was like nothing I'd ever heard before. The tunes with lyrics were either Irish
ballads in Irish or the "bird-singing" of the Baka Forest People from the Congo.
I think my favorite part was the fiddler. He was this old Irish (?) guy with crazy-all-
over-the-place-hair, a gold earring and a bright red smoking jacket. And man
could he rock that fiddle. He also played the tin whistle and the a horn of some
type.
They were able to get the whole crowd dancing towards the end of the concert. It
was difficult because the audience was predominately older (over 50) Jewish and
white people. They were all snappily dressed in their coordinated track suits. It
was cute watching them attempt to move to the beat as instructed by the African
dancer who accompanied the group.
They have videos of their performance and more about their group on their
website (www.bakabeyond.net).
24 July 2008
sad side of "Glow"
(as published in the Santa Monica Daily Press July 24th 2008 and the Santa
Monica Mirror)
Dear Editor,
Saturday night Santa Monica city hosted “glow,” an all night event focused on
artistic vision expressed through light. “Glow” took over the Santa Monica pier,
the surrounding beach and the Palisades Park. “Glow” promised to be a great
celebration of all the beauty that could be California, a huge public art event
exploring and glorifying light on the beach we are so lucky to have. After I
received the first email describing the event I knew I could not miss this. Judging
from the massive attendance, I was not alone in this feeling. It was heart warming
to see the Pier crawling with all members of the Angeleno community, swarming
across the beach to the luminescent art installation and otherwise enjoying the
perks that living beach side affords us. I myself was almost glowing with the
community spirit that was pulsing through the event.
Yet in the midst of this celebration, the ugliness of the Angelenos reached the
height of its grotesque parody of itself tonight. The beach and artistic vision
soured when the glow sticks of one artist sprawling across the beach in imitation
of the tide shift of the ocean was destroying by Angelenos tearing the glow sticks
from their arrangement in the sand and stealing them away into the night or
perverting their natural geometry with lewd shapes. The visionary artist was left to
beg his glow sticks – his art – back from the thieves, many who simple refused.
Where was the event staff to protect the project? I small band of preteen girls ran
past me yelling at each other “Quick. Some guy’s collection them. Hide them.”
They were each carrying an arm full of glowing sticks. Where were the parents to
teach their children simple decency? Hours later as I left, disappointed that Frank
Rozasy’s “Illumination Migration” was unable to be recreated, I still saw people
carrying away these glow sticks. They were designed just for this event, and were
easily differentiated from the slender glow sticks for sale. And where were the
police when this all fell apart to at least aid this artist in retrieving his scattered
art? I did not see them.
Unfortunately I did not see the art either. Not the way the creator intended. I saw
the glow sticks mimicking the movements of the crowd instead of “mimicking both
the movements of the tide and more specifically the grunion’s coming ashore and
returning to sea.” All I saw was the ugliness of the people of Santa Monica and
Los Angeles. And it made me sick.
As an artist myself, although a very different kind, I can understand the
wrenching pain that tears deep into the stomach when a creative endeavor of this
magnitude or of any size, is destroyed by the very people it was meant to inspire.
I know it is too much to ask every single person involved in this travesty is
apologize to Frank Rozasy. But I am asking that all pilfered glow sticks be
returned to him. And I ask the entire Angeleno community to think next time
before they so selfishly destroy the creativity of an individual and the opportunity
for others to share in the experience of artistic expression.
21 June 2008
reasons to be pretty
by Neil LaBute
My dear friend recent treated me to Neil LaBute's new play "reasons to be pretty"
at the Lucille Lortell theater on Christopher street. The theater has a very
unassuming presence on the street and it always made me wonder about the
quality of their productions. However, they have given LaBute a home and I have
heard good things about his writing.
The play was so very freshing. After multiple behemoths that clunked along at a
pace less than ideal, this modern four character play clipped along at a fast
pace, but gave you time to enjoy and understand what was going on. The
production value was the highest I've seen in a long time, even from larger
theaters. It was a good feeling.
Neil LaBute is a graduate from the same writing program as I and he has become
fairly notorious in regards to his writing style. Although, I'd estimate about 10
years older than me but likely more, he is famously "edgy" and "dangerous" in a
theatrical sense. All the comments from my friends about the other plays of his
that played while I've been in NYC lead me to believe that LaBute's plays were
dirty, crude and violent. And while this play had a smattering of dirt, a hand full of
crude and its fair serving of violence, none of them really overwhelmed the heart
of the play. And I think that was the point.
I play did have its faults, but compared to my recent viewings they were relatively
minor. I wish Stephanie's (played by an incredible Alison Pill) anger had more
range. Which I'm positive is a script issue, but an actor issue. The other female
character, played by Piper Perabo, is generally less well defined, but is a more
minor character. However, she does have a monologue that has the potential to
be stunning, falls a little short. Somehow LaBute isn't exactly able to grasp the
fear and sometimes frustration, of being followed through grocery stores or down
street by men who only want to oogle you. It is something I understand fairly well
and the monologue could have been riveting, but it wasn't. Maybe its because
Mr. LaBute has never had the problem, since he's not really attractive, nor is he
a women.
I recommend seeing this production. The good things definitely outweigh the bad.
18 June 200808
What do a man dressed as a rabbit and uncle sam have in
common?
They both appear in the MacBeth currently playing at St. Ann's. I didn't think it
made any sense either.
A friend of my (or my parents) once quoted a professor of their's and said that a
play must be a "of a piece". The friend didn't know what that meant at the time by
as they accumulated experience in theater they came to understand what was
implied. This production was absolutely not "of a piece" all the disparate parts did
not add up to a whole.
Aside from the rabbit, other audience members asked each other as I ran out of
the theater "what was going on with Lady MacBeth, what she like a geisha or
something?" I think the answer is NO. She was attempting to performing in a
highly stylized way that did not fit in with the rest of the cast, except that they were
just as stiff, but with less purpose. The costumer also mistakenly put her in a
kimono.
The show ran 2 hours which is usually short for MacBeth. But if they had been
able to cut out the unnecessary pauses they could have cut out another half
hour and made the evening only a torturous 90 minutes. I'm not sure if it was the
cultural differences in acting style or if they were just bad, but everyone's idea of
acting involved standing very still and whispering very intensely without and
variation in volume or prosody. I don't think I've ever seen a more boring
MacBeth.
If you want to see a good highly nuianced MacBeth go see the one with Patrick
Stewart. Or even go ahead and rent a movie version, doesn't matter which one
they're all better than this play.
15 June 2008
Sketch Comedy as its...um...best
On Friday night I saw the sketch comedy group FUCT. A group I'd probably not
be aware of unless I had a few friends performing in the troupe. And now all of
them are my friends.
Their tag line "Sketch comedy so funny, it hurts" is probably the best way to
describe them. Their show is a combination of fairly tradition sketch comedy
material, although they are edger than your average, run of the mill sketch
comedy group. For FUCT, nothing is sacred, nothing.
I would include in the highlights of the evening the acrobatic curtain dance
sketch. They had a guest acrobat who performed a routine on a set of hanging
curtain's. So did one of the members, who actually did quite well, but the humor
arose from his struggle to master the curtain, which the acrobat performed with
ease and grace. And of course, they wore matching skin-tone unitards with
sequence and ribbons in their hair. The acrobat was a female, the FUCT member
was a male. That was funny.
Their use of video for this show was particularly good. Their handle on the
medium and how it works for their particular brand of humor has drastically
improved over the last few shows. They truly out did themselves with four shorts,
styled like commericials to fit with the title of this show "FUCT as seen on TV".
The low point of the night, in glorious FUCT tradition, was the spitting contest.
However, this is no ordinary spitting contest. In this one, each of the three
contestants was required to spit as much saliva into a little cup for one minute.
When I minute was up the person with the most spit in their cup won. The person
with the least spit in their cup lost and had to drink everyone else's spit. I couldn't
sit through that, so I went to the bathroom after they announced the winner.
I'd say the ideal audience for this show is frat boys and the members of FUCT
say gay men. Although, there doesn't seem to be a limit on who likes it or who
they make fun of. Everyone can go.
The show runs for three more weekends.
12 June 2008
My Weekend in Review
Since I work in a restaurant my "weekend" is a little different than the calendar. I
get Tuesdays and Wednesdays off. Due to the scorching heat, I worked very
hard to put myself in entertaining air conditioned situations. And what better way
to do that than see a movie or a play, or four. This "weekend" I saw 2 movies and
2 plays.
Iron Man
Despite my abhorrence of Robert Downey Jr. personally and the rather foppish
beard he was sprouting in this film, its hard not to love super gadgets or robots
with personalities, or men who talk to their robots.
The one hiccup that made me squirm in my seat, was the fact that despite Tony
Stark's (Downey) loads and loads of money, his personal workshop was still in his
garage. Also in his garage was a bevy of very expensive cars. Why would he risk
it? Does he just have so much money he doesn't need to worry about putting little
dings in his customized Porsche? Or do American film audiences actually enjoy
watching muscle cars get pulverized? I don't. And yes, the cars do get pulverized.
Everything you could possibly want from an action film. Sit through the credits for
a sneak peak at what the future holds.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Aside from the aliens, pardon me "transdimensional beings," the movie is fine.
I think people forget that the first three movies were relatively corny. By
Shakespearean standards it is a comedy because it ends with a wedding.
Although it does seem like it tries to hard most of the time. There was an
obviously concerted effort to bring in "big things" about the first three movies. For
example, the way they worked in Indy's fear of snakes was both rather contrived
and detoured the forward motion of the plot. But who doesn't like a good quick
sand pit? (Pardon me, it wasn't actually quicksand, it was a dry version, but I
stopped listening to Indy's explanation).
The action sequences are good, except pieces of the plot get in the way of
making it really great. However, its pretty cool that it is set mostly in South
America, particularly in the Amazon jungles since they are getting a bit of
attention right now regarding their inhabitants.
I do recommend seeing it, we have been waiting a long time for this movie and
despite the downfalls, or the rather many tumbles the actors take off cliffs, its fun.
Who doesn't like hear that theme song play over and over, and over, again.
Top Girls
By Carol Churchill
Even at her most lucid Carol Churchill is a nut job. The play on stage was nothing
like the play described in the playbill notes. Although, I did know what I was
getting into to begin with. Many women in the audience, however, did not and a
great many of them left at the first intermission and more left at the second.
However, this production did prove to me that Martha Plimpton actually is a
talents actress. Also in the production was a very versatile Marisa Tomei and Ana
Reeder, who I was supposed to have worked with on "Secret Agenda of Trees"
by Colin McKenna at the Cherry Lane theater Spring 2007. But Ms. Reeder
dropped out of the production half way through the rehearsal process because
she had contracted a parasite while in India before rehearsal. You can also catch
her in the swimming pool scene of "No Country for Old Men".
Anyway, the set was pretty cool.
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
By Tennessee Williams
Starring: James Earl Jones, Felicia Rashad, Terrence Howard and Anika Noni
Rose.
Ms. Rose was stunning. I don't think I actually heard most of the exact words she
was saying throughout the first act, but I understand exactly what she meant and
what she wanted. Her desires oozed out of her body like juice from crushed
grapes. Maggie the Cat (not an actual cat), was being crushed harder than any
vinter would dare press their grapes for fear of bruising.
James Earl Jones has a stunning voice, but somehow he didn't quite shine the
way I wanted him to. The role is not a huge role, although it does demand some
range. He played it subtly.
Sitting in the audience I wondering if any of the dialogue was changed from the
original during the rehearsal process because everything fit so well. Performing
"Cat on a hot tin roof" with an all African American cast just makes sense. The
only reason I ask if they changed some of the words, is because I know
Tennessee Williams (although, not this particular play) and I don't think he would
use the word "poon-tang". For those of you who don't know what that means, I
suggest looking it up. Actually don't look it up, if you don't already know what it
means I can promise you don't want to know what it means.
However, after a bit of research Tennessee Williams did write those words into
the script. But he was asked to take them out when the play originally premiered
in 1954. Now it all makes sense. The words made sense in context, people have
been saying them in private for decades, but not in public. When private is made
public on stage, in 1954 you had to abide by the rules of public decency. Things
are a little different now. Maybe we got rid of the idea of public decency.
Although, if the words are original keep them. I'm just against altering a writer's
work. No alteration, no foul, err... no error, as the words are foul.
The bothersome thing about the entire evening however was the over zealous
house staff. They felt the need to make announcements at the beginning and
end of each intermission (there were two). They alerted us to such things as the
need to take our ticket with us if you went outside to get a breathe of hot air or to
turn off our cells phone before the new act started. Unfortunately the over
abundance of announcements did not curb the abundance of phones ringing
during the performance. I counted ten times and all from different phones.
Other than that, its a good show, that is scheduled to close soon. I'd saw there's
a 40% chance the run extends.
In Other News
I also hit up the Cooper-Hewett museum's Roccoco exhibit. While I'm not the
hugest fan of the decorative arts and I always have a great desire to sit on the
fancy chairs and chaise lounge, but I know the museum staff wouldn't like that.
However, now I can definitively say that I pick out a Roccoco design in the antique
shop. What I did like about the exhibit was that it also traced newer forms that
have been influenced by Roccoco, particularly Art Nouveau. Art Nouveau is a
calmer version, with longer lines. The curator classified some of the Tiffany vases
as Art Nouveau. I would include the Tiffany vases on display as the highlights of
the exhibit. I really like Tiffany glass, there is something so absolutely
transcendental about their form and colouration, but since they are made of
glass they also capture the essence of human frailty and mortality.
30 Oct 2010
Interviews
I was interviewed at work by NBC New York, and someone managed to come off
incredibly ditsy. Oh well, can't complain too much they linked my section to my
website, so I'll take it. Here's the link back to NBC The Feast.
26 Oct 2010
I don't speak Russian
However, I was writing travel articles for a site that was about to launch. I finally
found the work I did. Low and behold, it's been translated into Russian. I know
this, because, well clearly it's in Russian, but google translate reverts to the
English text I actually wrote. It's kind of funny to think of myself as being published
in Russian.
travelsort.ru/places/europe-united-kingdom-london/views
7 Jan 2010
On Writing
In the day sun light illuminates the world and I write comedy, because when one
can see everything, there is nothing left to do but laugh. At night when I'm left
alone to my own thoughts, and they have spent the day running themselves
ragged about my brain, I can write tragedy, because all the world is silent from its
loss of laughter.
27 Sept 2009
Dear Blog,
Oh, I'm so sorry I have ignored you. I have been much too wrapped up, I in other
types of words. You see, I discovered reading for pleasure. It's this thing people
do when they don't have books forced upon them. They read whatever they
want. As fast or slow as they please. I'm having the most marvellous time. But,
dear Blog, I promise, I will return to you. I have so many wonderful thought that
this reading for pleasure has sparked in my brain. Soon I'll need to share them
with someone. And, sweet Blog, why not you?
7 Sept 2009
Falling in Love
Wandering around New York City I'm falling in love all over again. It's like waking
up in the morning next to your husband who you've been cheating on for a year
and then realizing that you're actually truly in love with him. And you haven't only
been cheating on him, you've been cheating on yourself.
The other thing I am only just now noticing about the city: NYC is so fucking hip. I
probably didn't notice before because I was from LA - which despite my protests
is pretty hip - so it all felt like normal. But after returning for a little tiny city, which
is not particularly hip, it's like seeing NYC through the eyes of all those people
who move here from the Midwest with their eyes full of dreams, their hearts full of
hope and their heads full of naivety.
6 Jan 2009
Hedda Gabler
By Henrik Ibsen, adapted by Christopher Shinn
With Mary Louise Parker, Michael Cerveris, Paul Sparks, Peter Stormare, Lois
Markle, Ana Reeder and Helen Carey
Roundabout Theatre Company
Despite the fact that I’m a playwright I’ve never read Hedda Gabler. I probably
shouldn’t admit that in public. I know the play, I mean who doesn’t in this
business, but I’ve never read it. Sure it was on class reading lists and there were
about 5 other productions in New York last year that I should have seen, but I
didn’t. That aside, I know what happens at the end, but not really how they get
there (I suppose Brecht would approve).
I have been told that Heddatron, a new adaptation of the play performed with
robots was absolutely amazing. Unfortunately, I didn’t see it – this is starting to
sound repetitive. So, Hedda done with robots – GOOD. Hedda done with the
actors impersonating robots –BAD.
Maybe I’m being harsh. It was the first preview, and I probably shouldn’t even be
reviewing it, but none-the-less. Parker’s deadpan delivery of every single line got
a little monotonous, after it stopped being drôle somewhere in the first act. And
maybe its my modern day prejudice, but I felt like Hedda was trapped because
she put herself there, it wasn’t anyone else’s fault, which made her suicide seem
overly melodramatic. And everyone’s reactions to it were rather mundane, ‘oh,
there goes Hedda again, trying to be the center of attention’.
I have seen both Lois Markle (Berte, the maid) and Ana Reeder (Mrs. Thea
Elvsted, Hedda’s competition/companion) before in other plays. I enjoyed
Markle's performance in The American Dream and The Sandbox at the Cherry
Lane. There’s something about Ana Reeder that makes me feel like she was the
wrong choice for everything I’ve seen her do. Except for No Country for Old Men,
she worked for that role. I wish I could explain how I feel about her as an actress,
but I lack the words, or thought process.
I hope that the production improves. I know the TV stars put not-regular-theater-
goer-butts-in-seats, but I’d like the plays to still be worth seeing for people who
know what they’re looking at.
4 Jan 2009
The Cripple of Inishmaan
By Martin McDonagh
Atlantic Theater Company
I have never seen a Martin McDonagh play before due to numerous unfortunate
circumstances that I will not elaborate here. I also almost didn’t see this one. But
the gods of theatre relented and I got a last minute ticket. It was completely worth
the wait.
McDonagh is hysterical. Although he is know for his scary plays The Pillowman
and The Lieutenant of Inishmore, this one is really funny, but doesn’t lack its own
unexpected twists and seat gripping tension.
The cast was stellar. They hit every beat and sang every note. Kerry Condon
was a delight as the rough talking women of desire of the lead. Condon brought
an earthy rawness to the character that made her hard not to love.
No one likes to read good reviews, so I’ll stop. Just go see it.
30 Dec 2008
SPEED-THE-PLOW
By David Mamet
With Raúl Esparza, Norbert Leo Butz and Elizabeth Moss
The scandal around this production is that it originally opened with Jeremy Piven
(who received generally mixed reviews from my friends who saw him) and he
dropped about due to rather dubious medical reasons. The rumor circling
through New York theatre people is that we was bored doing the same thing over
and over, and sitting around backstage. Although I can’t image he did more
backstage-sitting during this show than he does behind-camera sitting on his TV
show. The rest of the rumor is that because of his bored he became a stage
managers nightmare, but all of this is unconfirmed.
Not that I saw Piven on stage, but all I can say is ‘Thank goodness he dropped
out’. Norbert Leo Butz is amazing. I saw him after he was off book (he performed
the first evening, at least, on book due to the miniscule rehearsal period). Butz
brought a sarcastic vitality to the role of newly made TV mogul Bobby Gould, you
would have thought Butz had grown up in Hollywood.
The vibrancy of the relationships between Butz and Raúl Esparza, and Butz and
Elizabeth Moss was outstanding. A good play show by like a good game of tennis.
You keep hitting the ball back and forth for as long as possible, slowly pushing
your opponent to the limits of their ability, but not going any further, and they are
teasing you in just the same way. Slowly drawing them out, enjoying the cat-and-
mouse game of it. You could see that in the three relationships between Butz,
Esparza and Moss.
Unfortunately Butz is only standing in until William H. Macy (a veritable Mamet
scholar) is fully rehearsed and ready to join the cast, which is unfortunate. Butz is
superb, I fear Macy might be too old to properly meld with Esparza and Moss and
that poor understudy who thought he got his big break when Piven left. To him
my heart goes out (Jordon Lage, for anyone who is interested). It will be
interesting to hear from someone who sees all three of the actors, if nothing else
this is definitely a lesson in how an actor shapes a play.
22 Dec 2008
London
I was in London on 22 Dec and went to the Tate Modern, because I wanted to
mindlessly stare at their Rothko's. Lucky me, there were having a special exhibit
on Rothko and their were a whole bunch more of his "late work" to stare at. That
was good.
Rothko reminds me of quantum mechanics, specifically the ability of light to act
like a wave AND like a particle. Light can be in two places at once. Stare at one of
Rothko's rectangle paintings and think about that.
12 Dec 2008
Dans La Nuit, Des Images
A collection of video art ranging from the words of 'le charte des droits
fondamentaux de l'Union européenne' (Charter of Fundamental Rights of the
European Union) projected across the building to long videos including 'Étude de
Danser' housed in Le Grand Palais.
The lights of le Grand Palais were off and the inside was as dark and cold as Les
Champs Elysees outside. Except its the end of December. Les Champs Elysees
is filled with strings of blue lights dancing in the trees and reflecting on the
pavement. Le Grand Palais is similarly filled with the flickering light of more than a
hundred projection screens.
The video art of various artists from all over the globe celebrates the end of
French Presidency of the European.
But I'm not going to discuss the art- the art ranged from great to puzzling to bad- I
wanted to talk about looking at art, how people do it and why, maybe, video art is
a viewing experience more like the way art was viewed in the premodern world.
Lets face it, visual art is cheap. No that doesn't mean everyone can now afford a
Vermeer, nor does every street corner have a Rodin sculpture, but the work
available in the world labelled as "original art" is so wildly available- even if it is
crap- most people could say they have an original piece of crap. I do. Its a glittery
fairy from the Venice Beach board walk and it looks amazing in my bedroom
decorated by a 16 year old me.
So what's my point? Video art is different. Nowhere have I ever seen available
DVD's of an artist's video installation - and Le Grand Palais is not the first video
art installation I've seen.
The only place you can now see a video art installation is at a gallery, a museum
or special event. Isn't this the way art used to be view?
Not to be unnecessarily pessimistic, but with the way the economy is going (and
energy costs) entrance fees to video art projects are going to be incredibly high
and possibly only affordable to the rich. Didn't art used to be only for the rich?
However in a more interesting vein of thought: How people view art.
On my first trip to Paris almost four years ago now I saw La Jaconde (the Mona
Lisa). It was August, peak tourist season and the gallery was jam packed with all
the languages of the world bouncing off all four walls and the glass box of the
painting. And the snapping of pictures. It was almost impossible to actually see
the painting through the glare of flashes, my eyes could adjust as the light was
constantly changing, and ultimately, I had a panic attack. My own personal
problems aside - I was disappointed that viewing art had been reduced to taking
photos of it. It doesn't make sense, you're better off buying a gallery print, the
quality of better. I suppose though you can't "prove" you've "actually seen it" with
a gallery print, anyone could order one online. But that's the point of
interrogation; do you "actually see" a piece of art when only looking at it through
the lens of a camera?
Maybe the photo lets the person feel that some how they too possess that piece
of art. Maybe for them possession is more important than experience- maybe for
everyone. Possession is nine tenth of the law. But I don't think art can be a
matter of possession, and I find the term "public art" rather oxymoronic. I don't
think you can ever possess art. It is the artist's no matter who buys it, or displays
it. The artist doesn't "own" it then, but the art is still the artist's. And maybe that's
why I like theatre - or performance art - so much, it is impossible to truly possess
the complete realization of the art. It is only an experience, and it will only ever be
experienced. But then the question of film and cinema arises, but we'll get to that
soon.
The debate's been argued before and by better artistic thinkers than myself, and
I will leave their thoughts uncommented on, but personally I don't think you can
"see" art through a camera lens.
I finally got my time with La Jaconde, less than a year later. And it is possible to
see why its amazing, something I never did see when looking at prints and
photos. The same went for Michelangelo's David. The beauty of the actual statue
is some thing a picture could never rival.
How does this relate to video art? At the exhibition at Le Grand Palais I saw a
man taking a photo of one of the video screens. I found this odd. How can you
take a photograph of a video? A photograph of video art art represents the entire
work of art even less than a photo of La Jaconde. There is absolutely no way to
take the art with you. Yes, you can "prove" you "saw it" with a photo, but maybe
you only saw that frame - or a blur of frames. The viewer of video art can never
possess a piece of the art. They can only experience it. And in only being able to
experience it the viewer returns to a time before photography even existed.
Funny how technology turns the table on itself with each new invention.
Projected video on buildings gives the artistic experience to the people, whether
they want it or not. The viewer can no longer possess the art any more than they
have to chooce to go see it. Perhaps the 'le charte des droits fondamentaux de
l'Union européenne' is the perfect piece to display in this way.
Scholars use the term 'mediation' to discuss how something is viewed. Before the
camera everything was seen 'unmediated'. I find it ironic that with multimedia
video art the viewer can once again "see" the art without mediation- that is, of
course, when the video is the art: video of art is completely different.
30 Sept 2008
American Nerd: The Story of My People
by Benjamin Nugent
"As fun as all of [debate contests] might be, debate is also something nerds do in
order to meet other nerds they can hit on" (106).
I was going to say more, but one second thought I think that about covers it.
25 July 2008
Baka Beyond
Last night I saw the group Baka Beyond perform at the Skirball Cultural Center in
Los Angeles. They are a Afro-Celtic fusion group. Pretty trippy. I've really gotten
into World Music in the last year and a half. I find that most of it has so much
depth and history you can just hear it in the very tone of the music. It is way
beyond anything that modern pop music could ever attain. Its too bad it is often
considered "weird" or "strange".
The best songs had a great rhythm line and AMAZING reel riffs on the fiddle. It
was like nothing I'd ever heard before. The tunes with lyrics were either Irish
ballads in Irish or the "bird-singing" of the Baka Forest People from the Congo.
I think my favorite part was the fiddler. He was this old Irish (?) guy with crazy-all-
over-the-place-hair, a gold earring and a bright red smoking jacket. And man
could he rock that fiddle. He also played the tin whistle and the a horn of some
type.
They were able to get the whole crowd dancing towards the end of the concert. It
was difficult because the audience was predominately older (over 50) Jewish and
white people. They were all snappily dressed in their coordinated track suits. It
was cute watching them attempt to move to the beat as instructed by the African
dancer who accompanied the group.
They have videos of their performance and more about their group on their
website (www.bakabeyond.net).
24 July 2008
sad side of "Glow"
(as published in the Santa Monica Daily Press July 24th 2008 and the Santa
Monica Mirror)
Dear Editor,
Saturday night Santa Monica city hosted “glow,” an all night event focused on
artistic vision expressed through light. “Glow” took over the Santa Monica pier,
the surrounding beach and the Palisades Park. “Glow” promised to be a great
celebration of all the beauty that could be California, a huge public art event
exploring and glorifying light on the beach we are so lucky to have. After I
received the first email describing the event I knew I could not miss this. Judging
from the massive attendance, I was not alone in this feeling. It was heart warming
to see the Pier crawling with all members of the Angeleno community, swarming
across the beach to the luminescent art installation and otherwise enjoying the
perks that living beach side affords us. I myself was almost glowing with the
community spirit that was pulsing through the event.
Yet in the midst of this celebration, the ugliness of the Angelenos reached the
height of its grotesque parody of itself tonight. The beach and artistic vision
soured when the glow sticks of one artist sprawling across the beach in imitation
of the tide shift of the ocean was destroying by Angelenos tearing the glow sticks
from their arrangement in the sand and stealing them away into the night or
perverting their natural geometry with lewd shapes. The visionary artist was left to
beg his glow sticks – his art – back from the thieves, many who simple refused.
Where was the event staff to protect the project? I small band of preteen girls ran
past me yelling at each other “Quick. Some guy’s collection them. Hide them.”
They were each carrying an arm full of glowing sticks. Where were the parents to
teach their children simple decency? Hours later as I left, disappointed that Frank
Rozasy’s “Illumination Migration” was unable to be recreated, I still saw people
carrying away these glow sticks. They were designed just for this event, and were
easily differentiated from the slender glow sticks for sale. And where were the
police when this all fell apart to at least aid this artist in retrieving his scattered
art? I did not see them.
Unfortunately I did not see the art either. Not the way the creator intended. I saw
the glow sticks mimicking the movements of the crowd instead of “mimicking both
the movements of the tide and more specifically the grunion’s coming ashore and
returning to sea.” All I saw was the ugliness of the people of Santa Monica and
Los Angeles. And it made me sick.
As an artist myself, although a very different kind, I can understand the
wrenching pain that tears deep into the stomach when a creative endeavor of this
magnitude or of any size, is destroyed by the very people it was meant to inspire.
I know it is too much to ask every single person involved in this travesty is
apologize to Frank Rozasy. But I am asking that all pilfered glow sticks be
returned to him. And I ask the entire Angeleno community to think next time
before they so selfishly destroy the creativity of an individual and the opportunity
for others to share in the experience of artistic expression.
21 June 2008
reasons to be pretty
by Neil LaBute
My dear friend recent treated me to Neil LaBute's new play "reasons to be pretty"
at the Lucille Lortell theater on Christopher street. The theater has a very
unassuming presence on the street and it always made me wonder about the
quality of their productions. However, they have given LaBute a home and I have
heard good things about his writing.
The play was so very freshing. After multiple behemoths that clunked along at a
pace less than ideal, this modern four character play clipped along at a fast
pace, but gave you time to enjoy and understand what was going on. The
production value was the highest I've seen in a long time, even from larger
theaters. It was a good feeling.
Neil LaBute is a graduate from the same writing program as I and he has become
fairly notorious in regards to his writing style. Although, I'd estimate about 10
years older than me but likely more, he is famously "edgy" and "dangerous" in a
theatrical sense. All the comments from my friends about the other plays of his
that played while I've been in NYC lead me to believe that LaBute's plays were
dirty, crude and violent. And while this play had a smattering of dirt, a hand full of
crude and its fair serving of violence, none of them really overwhelmed the heart
of the play. And I think that was the point.
I play did have its faults, but compared to my recent viewings they were relatively
minor. I wish Stephanie's (played by an incredible Alison Pill) anger had more
range. Which I'm positive is a script issue, but an actor issue. The other female
character, played by Piper Perabo, is generally less well defined, but is a more
minor character. However, she does have a monologue that has the potential to
be stunning, falls a little short. Somehow LaBute isn't exactly able to grasp the
fear and sometimes frustration, of being followed through grocery stores or down
street by men who only want to oogle you. It is something I understand fairly well
and the monologue could have been riveting, but it wasn't. Maybe its because
Mr. LaBute has never had the problem, since he's not really attractive, nor is he
a women.
I recommend seeing this production. The good things definitely outweigh the bad.
18 June 200808
What do a man dressed as a rabbit and uncle sam have in
common?
They both appear in the MacBeth currently playing at St. Ann's. I didn't think it
made any sense either.
A friend of my (or my parents) once quoted a professor of their's and said that a
play must be a "of a piece". The friend didn't know what that meant at the time by
as they accumulated experience in theater they came to understand what was
implied. This production was absolutely not "of a piece" all the disparate parts did
not add up to a whole.
Aside from the rabbit, other audience members asked each other as I ran out of
the theater "what was going on with Lady MacBeth, what she like a geisha or
something?" I think the answer is NO. She was attempting to performing in a
highly stylized way that did not fit in with the rest of the cast, except that they were
just as stiff, but with less purpose. The costumer also mistakenly put her in a
kimono.
The show ran 2 hours which is usually short for MacBeth. But if they had been
able to cut out the unnecessary pauses they could have cut out another half
hour and made the evening only a torturous 90 minutes. I'm not sure if it was the
cultural differences in acting style or if they were just bad, but everyone's idea of
acting involved standing very still and whispering very intensely without and
variation in volume or prosody. I don't think I've ever seen a more boring
MacBeth.
If you want to see a good highly nuianced MacBeth go see the one with Patrick
Stewart. Or even go ahead and rent a movie version, doesn't matter which one
they're all better than this play.
15 June 2008
Sketch Comedy as its...um...best
On Friday night I saw the sketch comedy group FUCT. A group I'd probably not
be aware of unless I had a few friends performing in the troupe. And now all of
them are my friends.
Their tag line "Sketch comedy so funny, it hurts" is probably the best way to
describe them. Their show is a combination of fairly tradition sketch comedy
material, although they are edger than your average, run of the mill sketch
comedy group. For FUCT, nothing is sacred, nothing.
I would include in the highlights of the evening the acrobatic curtain dance
sketch. They had a guest acrobat who performed a routine on a set of hanging
curtain's. So did one of the members, who actually did quite well, but the humor
arose from his struggle to master the curtain, which the acrobat performed with
ease and grace. And of course, they wore matching skin-tone unitards with
sequence and ribbons in their hair. The acrobat was a female, the FUCT member
was a male. That was funny.
Their use of video for this show was particularly good. Their handle on the
medium and how it works for their particular brand of humor has drastically
improved over the last few shows. They truly out did themselves with four shorts,
styled like commericials to fit with the title of this show "FUCT as seen on TV".
The low point of the night, in glorious FUCT tradition, was the spitting contest.
However, this is no ordinary spitting contest. In this one, each of the three
contestants was required to spit as much saliva into a little cup for one minute.
When I minute was up the person with the most spit in their cup won. The person
with the least spit in their cup lost and had to drink everyone else's spit. I couldn't
sit through that, so I went to the bathroom after they announced the winner.
I'd say the ideal audience for this show is frat boys and the members of FUCT
say gay men. Although, there doesn't seem to be a limit on who likes it or who
they make fun of. Everyone can go.
The show runs for three more weekends.
12 June 2008
My Weekend in Review
Since I work in a restaurant my "weekend" is a little different than the calendar. I
get Tuesdays and Wednesdays off. Due to the scorching heat, I worked very
hard to put myself in entertaining air conditioned situations. And what better way
to do that than see a movie or a play, or four. This "weekend" I saw 2 movies and
2 plays.
Iron Man
Despite my abhorrence of Robert Downey Jr. personally and the rather foppish
beard he was sprouting in this film, its hard not to love super gadgets or robots
with personalities, or men who talk to their robots.
The one hiccup that made me squirm in my seat, was the fact that despite Tony
Stark's (Downey) loads and loads of money, his personal workshop was still in his
garage. Also in his garage was a bevy of very expensive cars. Why would he risk
it? Does he just have so much money he doesn't need to worry about putting little
dings in his customized Porsche? Or do American film audiences actually enjoy
watching muscle cars get pulverized? I don't. And yes, the cars do get pulverized.
Everything you could possibly want from an action film. Sit through the credits for
a sneak peak at what the future holds.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Aside from the aliens, pardon me "transdimensional beings," the movie is fine.
I think people forget that the first three movies were relatively corny. By
Shakespearean standards it is a comedy because it ends with a wedding.
Although it does seem like it tries to hard most of the time. There was an
obviously concerted effort to bring in "big things" about the first three movies. For
example, the way they worked in Indy's fear of snakes was both rather contrived
and detoured the forward motion of the plot. But who doesn't like a good quick
sand pit? (Pardon me, it wasn't actually quicksand, it was a dry version, but I
stopped listening to Indy's explanation).
The action sequences are good, except pieces of the plot get in the way of
making it really great. However, its pretty cool that it is set mostly in South
America, particularly in the Amazon jungles since they are getting a bit of
attention right now regarding their inhabitants.
I do recommend seeing it, we have been waiting a long time for this movie and
despite the downfalls, or the rather many tumbles the actors take off cliffs, its fun.
Who doesn't like hear that theme song play over and over, and over, again.
Top Girls
By Carol Churchill
Even at her most lucid Carol Churchill is a nut job. The play on stage was nothing
like the play described in the playbill notes. Although, I did know what I was
getting into to begin with. Many women in the audience, however, did not and a
great many of them left at the first intermission and more left at the second.
However, this production did prove to me that Martha Plimpton actually is a
talents actress. Also in the production was a very versatile Marisa Tomei and Ana
Reeder, who I was supposed to have worked with on "Secret Agenda of Trees"
by Colin McKenna at the Cherry Lane theater Spring 2007. But Ms. Reeder
dropped out of the production half way through the rehearsal process because
she had contracted a parasite while in India before rehearsal. You can also catch
her in the swimming pool scene of "No Country for Old Men".
Anyway, the set was pretty cool.
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
By Tennessee Williams
Starring: James Earl Jones, Felicia Rashad, Terrence Howard and Anika Noni
Rose.
Ms. Rose was stunning. I don't think I actually heard most of the exact words she
was saying throughout the first act, but I understand exactly what she meant and
what she wanted. Her desires oozed out of her body like juice from crushed
grapes. Maggie the Cat (not an actual cat), was being crushed harder than any
vinter would dare press their grapes for fear of bruising.
James Earl Jones has a stunning voice, but somehow he didn't quite shine the
way I wanted him to. The role is not a huge role, although it does demand some
range. He played it subtly.
Sitting in the audience I wondering if any of the dialogue was changed from the
original during the rehearsal process because everything fit so well. Performing
"Cat on a hot tin roof" with an all African American cast just makes sense. The
only reason I ask if they changed some of the words, is because I know
Tennessee Williams (although, not this particular play) and I don't think he would
use the word "poon-tang". For those of you who don't know what that means, I
suggest looking it up. Actually don't look it up, if you don't already know what it
means I can promise you don't want to know what it means.
However, after a bit of research Tennessee Williams did write those words into
the script. But he was asked to take them out when the play originally premiered
in 1954. Now it all makes sense. The words made sense in context, people have
been saying them in private for decades, but not in public. When private is made
public on stage, in 1954 you had to abide by the rules of public decency. Things
are a little different now. Maybe we got rid of the idea of public decency.
Although, if the words are original keep them. I'm just against altering a writer's
work. No alteration, no foul, err... no error, as the words are foul.
The bothersome thing about the entire evening however was the over zealous
house staff. They felt the need to make announcements at the beginning and
end of each intermission (there were two). They alerted us to such things as the
need to take our ticket with us if you went outside to get a breathe of hot air or to
turn off our cells phone before the new act started. Unfortunately the over
abundance of announcements did not curb the abundance of phones ringing
during the performance. I counted ten times and all from different phones.
Other than that, its a good show, that is scheduled to close soon. I'd saw there's
a 40% chance the run extends.
In Other News
I also hit up the Cooper-Hewett museum's Roccoco exhibit. While I'm not the
hugest fan of the decorative arts and I always have a great desire to sit on the
fancy chairs and chaise lounge, but I know the museum staff wouldn't like that.
However, now I can definitively say that I pick out a Roccoco design in the antique
shop. What I did like about the exhibit was that it also traced newer forms that
have been influenced by Roccoco, particularly Art Nouveau. Art Nouveau is a
calmer version, with longer lines. The curator classified some of the Tiffany vases
as Art Nouveau. I would include the Tiffany vases on display as the highlights of
the exhibit. I really like Tiffany glass, there is something so absolutely
transcendental about their form and colouration, but since they are made of
glass they also capture the essence of human frailty and mortality.
