Theme Post: Valentine's Day & Theatre

So today is Valentine's Day, not traditionally my favorite holiday, but I don't think I've ever dated a guy who did it right. Anyways, enough about my previously tumultuous love life. I'm talking about theatre, the thing we all love.

To be cheezy, and in theme, I'm asking you to tell me where do love & theatre intersect for you?

To be fair, I'll give you my interpretation...

To me when I think of love & theatre, I think about my senior year in college when I was directing Sweet Eros. An admittedly fitting title considering the holiday today, but it's about love on the dark side of the human soul. Do traumatic experiences bring us to love those who hurt us or is it just some mad man's delusions? That's for you to decide.

Your turn.

Photo credit: Photo snagged from here.

Unlocking the Imaginarium

I have a love/hate relationship with the work of Terry Gilliam. I love the visual delights he creates for me and I hate that most of his films I have seen on the small screen. Not this time though.

I had the chance to see The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus today with my dear friend Alex after it finally having it's release extended. The movie originally released on Christmas day, but the closest showings were in the NYC. If I had to, I would have made the trip, but am glad to see the brought it to Baltimore finally.

I was not disappointed by waiting though. I wish I had the artistic balls that Terry Gilliam has. I respect the fact that he takes us to a crazy world with no apologies, he does not bow to his audience, but challenges his audience to go where he takes them. His films aren't for everyone though, there were many people in the theatre who were silent while chuckles of pure joy rang out from the few who were willing to take the trip. I bet many will see this film because it was Heath Ledger's last film, though I suspect they will not enjoy it as much as those who go to delight in the journey.

Speaking of Heath's death... The thing I admired most about this film was the way that the death was handled. I don't want to ruin the surprise and delight you *should* experience when you see the choices Mr. Gilliam made, but I will say that it was a very respectful way to solve the problem. It celebrated the work that Heath did on the film and allowed other actors to pay homage at the same time. Very well done.

I'd recommend partaking should you enjoy being transported. This is not a film made to be seen at home, well not unless you own a gigantic projection screen, then you might be able to get away with it...

Tease your movie pallet with the trailer here:

New Year, finally a new post.

So I haven't been writing on this blog lately - why?

Honestly I've been too busy between work and working with the BTA Board. Plus I really haven't been doing any theater as of late, so not much to write about. I could write about my work with the BTA Board, but then what would I write about on the BTA blog?

Vicious cycle.

Anyways, I'm prompted to write only to share this brilliant post on the UK Guardian Theatre Blog about why theatre should quit the smoke habit. And for the record, the Guardian Theatre blog, is my fave out of all of the theatre blogs I read. They know how to do it write. (bad pun intentional)

Art & Politics

It's been while since I've written anything on this blog. Maybe I haven't been inspired, maybe life has been so busy it's hard to take the time to look back and reflect. Something inspired me though and I feel the urge to write about it...

A couple of nights ago I watched a film called Battle in Seattle; it is a fictional depiction of the WTO riots that happened in Seattle, cutting in actual footage & balancing that with the multi-character story to tell the story. It was amazing and really made me think about my roots in Seattle. I know I've mentioned it before, but I went to school in Seattle.

I've always had a passion for politics and the world I live in. Though living outside DC for the majority of my life, I surprisingly never actually got a chance to stand up & speak out before I lived in Seattle. When I was at Cornish, the Iraq war was just starting & people started speaking out; I decided to join them.

I don't know how many people know this, but Seattle is a protesters town. People are not afraid to go to the streets and speak out about the things they find wrong in the world. Living in a town like that empowers you to speak your mind, which I also feel is what an artist should do.

I protested the Iraq war many times while in school. There was one day my acting teachers knew a big protest was coming, and to be "politically correct" they said they couldn't allow us to miss class, but understood personally if as artists we felt we would need to. I ended up being the only junior in my department who missed class that day. We started on Capital Hill at SCCC and marched down Pine (I believe, but it might have been Pike) and over to Westlake Center. The same spirit I felt marching down the streets of Seattle was the way I feel when I making collaborative art. It's a beautiful feeling that washes over me. Maybe it's more about being engaged in what I'm doing, but for me the way I feel about art & politics are closely related.

I could go on & on about the link between art & politics, but for me that personal connection was really forged when I was in a place that both existed.