All Entries in the "ponderings" Category
The Thursday Thought
“I’ve heard people say that you should have watched 800 dance performances before you begin as a critic. I’d only seen about 250 when I began. I’ve heard other people say you should have been watching dance for twenty years. I’d been going frequently for less than two. A friend of mine said the other [...]
Shoplab
This is an interesting idea. It’s called SHOPLAB. And as usual a PRIVATE company, Pepsi, is the one promoting the innovation. Yeah, definitely don’t trust those big nasty corporations, folks, they’re all evil! Are they still hocking their goods and their brand? Certainly. But helping the world, inspiring the next generation of thinkers and innovators [...]
Head East, er, West, Young Man
Tom Loughlin had this interesting challenge for me from a recent post: And I have a post suggestion for you if I may be so bold. Lately I have been directing students who ask me what city they should move to to begin their career to go to LA. Not NYC, but LA. I have [...]
The Monday Moment
Flash Theatre. Some people have way too much time on their hands. And thank God they do. Remember these words of wisdom “Moar Puppets!” Enjoy.
Stats, Stats, Stats
Tom Loughlin over at his A Poor Player site has compiled an interesting and somewhat scattershot compilation of statistics about performing artists, skewing mostly towards the theatre artist. He’s drawn the information from a variety of sources and is using it as a starting point for a presentation he hopes might inspire his fellow faculty [...]
“Then why do you do it? Because we’re black?”
Joshua Morrison, Editor of Fine Arts LA, has written an interesting post, finding much to identify with in the currently running Matrix production of Neighbors: A Play with Cartoons. Here’s Josh: I used to be a volunteer teacher for underprivileged youth in a lower-class neighborhood in Boston—easily one of the most segregated cities in America. Most [...]
The Thursday Thought
Tim Conway is and always has been a hero for me. There’s not many people I would want to meet before they die, but he is one of them. He and Carol Burnett. I grew up watching the Carol Burnett Show, Johnny Carson, Hill Street Blues, MASH, Taxi, Mary Tyler Moore. Here’s an old outtake [...]
Los Angeles Women’s Theatre Festival 2011 Submissions Deadline Approaching
The Los Angeles Women’s Theatre Festival (LAWTF), a multicultural festival of solo artist, is accepting submissions for its Eighteenth Annual Festival on March 24-27, 2011. LAWTF is seeking female solo performers of all ethnicities and ages with original performance pieces: actors, performance artist, dancers, comedians, storytellers, singers, and performance poets from throughout the world. Send [...]
“1 tsp raw sugar, 1 tsp lemon juice, 1 shot espresso=The Bitter Lemon?”
Hey, it was a tweet from Fee Doyle via @feliciousdoyle. We of course re-tweeted. It just cracked me up…and kinda worked at the same time… What a crazy time we’re livin’ in, huh, Lemon Heads? Carry on.
The Monday Moment
There is so much fear and self-censorship in the critics’ ranks in America today. There are so few full-time salaries. You can smell the caution and paranoia in too many reviews weighed down by generalities and a stenographer’s devotion to “objectivity,” which isn’t what this endeavor is about at all. It’s about informed, vividly argued [...]
An Actor-Critic Responds – Travis Michael Holder
I grabbed this from the comment section. Travis Michael Holder, longtime Los Angeles actor and critic wanted to set things straight in response to Rick Culbertson’s post entitled LADCC published way back in May. Interesting stuff. Travis has asked me to tell you, Lemon Heads, to please disregard the typos. Typos Schmypos, we’re just a [...]
Bums on Seats – Dan Sullivan, 1988
Thanks to Sandra Zeitzew for sending me this “ancient” article Are Critics Emptying Theaters? It’s a Bum Rap from Dan Sullivan when he was a critic for the Los Angeles Times back in the day, 1988 to be exact. Reading it reminds me that that more things change, the more they stay the same. Even with [...]
Boy Meets Coil
I know I’ve been getting a little “off-topic” lately – but this video reminds me of all the “Spiderman: The Musical” type of theatre productions that keep trying to pass themselves off as “innovation” these days. Just too damn funny. And too damn real. Enjoy.
The Thursday Thought
Uh, I have a feeling the marketing guy on this campaign is currently looking for a new job. Or maybe not! Does the old adage work for marketing like it does for press? Hmmm.
Fringe Fest production LA Lights Fire is back on stage
Since all Hollywood Fringe Productions get a mention here on Bitter Lemons, I’m giving a shout-out to the folks at the Coeurage Theatre. Hollywood Fringe Festival’s production LA Lights Fire is performing at the new Coeurage Theatre home on Melrose and Heliotrope, just across from Sacred Fools. I was lucky to catch LA Lights Fire [...]
Things are Starting to Look Up for the Arts – Except in LA
Was looking forward to reading Things are Starting to Look Up (from Arts Watch) written by Justin Knabb and was hopeful that the money will start rolling in for us artists soon. Knabb writes: I have noticed a new, encouraging trend developing in both large and small cities all across the country: the establishment and [...]
A Critic’s Mission Statement
This from Thomas Hampton’s newly revised “Thomas Hampton Reviews” site: My Macro Reviews provide you with the ideas and themes behind a performance. I think once you understand the big picture- the feeling, tenor, and tone of a show, you can make a more objective decision on whether or not to go. If my Macro [...]
News Flash: IPhone Users Have More Sex Than Android or Blackberry Users
I’m just sayin’… Actually they’re just sayin’… Of course the study was only done on 30 year olds. Then again, 40 IS the new 30. Heh.
The Monday Moment
Now would this be considered “ironic” or simply “absurd”? Or perhaps “absurdly ironic”? Whatever it is, it’s kinda like Life sometimes. Happy Monday, Lemon Heads!
“Quite simply, medium does not dictate the quality of the message.” – Sarah Taylor Ellis
Sarah Taylor Ellis attended the 2010 ATHE (Association for Theatre in Higher Education) Conference recently and writes an excellent recap on her blog here. And guess what they were talking about? Yup. Theatre Criticism and the New Media. And even more specifically, the Blogger-Critic and the Artist-Critic. Whaddaya know about that? Sarah has an interesting observation [...]
Interview: New one-woman show ‘Mulatto’ explores bi-racial marriage
Juliette Fairley is not a household name. Not yet, that is. The Los Angeles-based actress is out to change the status quo with her new one-woman show, “Mulatto: A Never Ending Saga,”which explores her parents’ troubled marriage and its impact on her as the offspring of an African American G.I. and a white French woman. [...]
Aerial dance sensations Catch Me Bird set to return to Hollywood’s Ford Amphitheatre August 13
Husband and wife dancers’ anniversary performance updates a marriage that began on-stage Catch Me Bird was performing at the 1st Annual Hollywood Fringe Festival this year and I’m glad I caught the performance in the intimate IDA Hollywood dance studio off Hollywood Blvd and I even got to interview Nehara and Derrick (scroll down for [...]
Voices From Chornobyl seeks interns
I’ve been involved with Voices From Chornobyl since its second performance downtown at the Edge Fest, performing around town, filming, marketing, doing the website and the social media elements of the production. This year I unfortunately have to step back and focus on other projects but I certainly hope to be part of the 25th [...]
Steven Leigh Morris Offers a Monologue After the “Dialogue”
Kudos to Steven for taking my response to the McNutly/Morris dialogue in the vein it was intended. I stand by the challenges, but was having a little fun at the same time. Basically, I wanted a stronger response from Steven to McNulty’s somewhat oblivious attitude towards the small theatre community. Here’s how Steven saw it: [...]
The Business of Actor v. Cancer
I have one week left before I’ll be going, let’s just say, “off the grid.” I’ve often gone on retreats, such as camping in the mountains or the desert or vacationing in remote locales, in order to ‘unplug’ and get back in touch with my true nature. This time, though, my retreat is forced. I’m [...]
The Thursday Thought
An interesting interview with Christopher Hitchens who is dying of cancer. Hitchens, if you don’t know, is an atheist. Not being an atheist, I find this to be a fascinating study – a man who believes he will simply cease to exist when he dies, dealing with the reality of that approaching day. Though I [...]
“A willing participant in the great chicanery that is LA theater criticism” – David Jette
Chicanery: The act of deceiving. This is the sad state within which David Jette, playwright/director and once-critic at LA Theatre Review has found himself. He has come to the conclusion that Los Angeles Theatre Criticism is an “act of deception”. In a recent post entitled Why I Stopped Writing Theatre Reviews David has – with [...]
Vote for Clerc’s Children Inc. at Pepsi’s Refresh Everything site
Pepsi’s program Refresh Everything is funding various projects each month, ranging from the Gulf to Education, Health, Arts and Culture, Neighborhoods and more, by listening to what the public wants via online and text voting. The public can vote each day for up to 10 different projects. I originally posted this on my site illuminateLA [...]