December 2010
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How to master Baltimore and earn a thousand laughs... →
Martha Thomas of Baltimore’s Urbanite magazine talks to the writers (and producers) for The Second City Does Baltimore about how they put together their local spoof-cum-celebration for CENTERSTAGE.
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Second City alums reflect... →
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Check out this gorgeous and talented cast.... The... →
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If you love mysteries...
…we have not one but TWO theatrical mysteries coming up at CENTERSTAGE. Murder mysteries, no less: both SNOW FALLING ON CEDARS and CRIME AND PUNISHMENT (adapted from original literary sources) should qualify. Unconventional detectives, perhaps, but that’s as classic a convention as the conventional kind! Agree?
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"Chicago, Theater Capital of the World" →
A Columbia College (Chicago) International Theatre Symposium convening this spring.
Seems as much a postulate as an objective assessment, but it should be interesting.
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Dan Rodricks: You don't own me, hon →
Local columnist & commentator Dan Rodricks takes on the raging Hontroversy.
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Baltimoreans protest trademarking of 'Hon' →
Even the Trib—parent company of the maybe-soon-to-be-late, and certainly entering an eclipse, Baltimore Sun—gets in on coverage of the biggest local brouhaha brewing lately, the fracas over legal limits on use of the ‘hon’ term. Yes, this makes its way onstage in The Second City Does Baltimore, as you might expect. Along with plenty else. But it’s also just fun...
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Rally in Hampden protests trademarking of 'hon' →
Read all about it; then, come see The Second City of Chicago tackle this and other local…foibles in The Second City Does Baltimore at CENTERSTAGE…in Baltimore.
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Baltimore Traditions: Arrabers, Living Folk Art
If you’re not from Baltimore, you’ve probably never heard the term A-rab or Arabber, pronounced AY-rabbers. That’s a shame. Just like the terms Coney Island and Philly Cheesesteak conjure up delightful, nostalgic images for many, so does the term Arraber to Baltimoreans. They’re rare today, but back in the ‘50s and ‘60s, it wasn’t unusual to hear the clippity clop of horses, decked out in large...
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Can't make this $h!+ up...
While watching the Browns-Ravens game...
"Announcer 1: Joshua Cribbs has four dislocated toes right now...
Announcer 2: I can't even imagine what that feels like!
Announcer 1: It means he has only one located toe.
Announcer 2: I see."
--Can't make it up; but come watch The Second City Does Baltimore and see them try!
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“Pinter is part of a major shift in culture when first of all works of art do not...”
– Michael Billington, Pinter’s biographer
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Best in show.... →
Congratulations are in order: two very nice “awards” for ReEntry from an avid theatergoer in the region. One for the production, and one to Joe Harrell for, in the words of the citation, “creat[ing] a virtual space for the theatergoer to experience play’s truth realtime.”
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HON or noh? →
rebologged from chickpeas:
(image via Insane Baltimore)
I get that Denise Whiting needs to make a living. Hell, we all do. I do not begrudge creativity, tenacity, foresight, or even a little luck bringing good fortune to entrepreneurs. Business is business and all that. Whatever.
more…
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Chicago Improv Network →
Pretty much what it says. Series of forums on all things improv in Chicago, and much more from practical questions to anecdotes to theory and practice.
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WatchUSMC audience-member responds to the performance of ReEntry given by the cast, at Quantico, in November.
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my faith in theater as an important vehicle for...
Best theater production I have ever seen. As the mother of an almost 18-year-old son who is ready to sign his enlistment papers next month, this was an incredible experience for he & I to have together. As I struggle to understand my theater-loving son, so involved in his high school productions as an actor/director/lighting tech guy with one-time aspirations to attend NYU film school,...
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Warrior Culture →
Again, as ReEntry starts to fade in the rear-view mirror, some closing thoughts. In this case, a link to the online version of a program piece that ran with the show, generally inspired by the quotation in the text, taken from an interview, that summed up so much:
“I wish we were a nation at war, and not just a military at war.” -ReEntry
Figured the link was the better way to enjoy the...
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...really what theater should be about.
“I [saw ReENTRY on Friday and] stayed for the discussion afterward. There was a couple for whom it was their second time seeing the show — the first time, they had attended with their son, whose recent decision to enlist in the military was solidified after seeing the performance. His parents had returned to see the show again without him to better understand his decision as well as...
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Did Baltimore just get dissed?
Guess the Big Apple sang that siren song just a little too loud… From a Washington Post piece, picking up on Sun reports.
Posted at 3:30 PM ET, 12/12/2010
Jenna Bush and Henry Hager trade Baltimore for Manhattan
By The Reliable Source Jenna and Henry at an embassy party in 2008. (Tony Powell)
Why did Jenna Bush Hager and her husband Henry put their Baltimore home...
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WatchOriginal, historic film footage of the aftermath of the Great Baltimore Fire of 1904.
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Great Baltimore Fire of 1904 →
Given the somewhat grim historical event, this a rather fun, interactive site on the Great Baltimore Fire—as well as being quite informative, and full of great images.
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Homecoming for the Holidays
As families gather from near and far to celebrate the holidays, a reminder that it could always be worse. Some heartwarming family cheer from The Homecoming:
LENNY: What did you say? MAX: I said shove off out of it, that’s what I said. LENNY: You’ll go before me, Dad, if you talk to me in that tone of voice. MAX: Will I, you bitch?
Happy holidays, everyone!
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"I hope your flamingos turn on you." Brilliant...
sowideasea:
So apparently, the owner of the Hon Cafe in Hampden has trademarked the word “hon”? Newsflash here, sweetheart: “hon” is not your word; it’s part of the regional dialect. So get off your high horse & stop this dumb shit. I hope your flamingos turn on you.
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Views from Baltimore : American Brewery →
Somehow a very “Baltimore” story of urban reuse—since first it had to be preceded by 30 years of abuse, neglect, decay, and bird poop. Wonderful set of photographs accompany the account on “Ditty’s” very stylish and international blog, Pret a Voyager. Check it all out. (The picture, by the way, is the former American Brewery in Baltimore.)
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“A Pinter script contains all the bricks—all the straw and mud necessary to...”
– Paul Rogers, who originated the role of Max in Peter Hall’s 1965 production of The Homecoming.
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Pearl Harbor: December 7, 1941 LIFE: Photo Gallery →
In honor of the anniversary earlier this week, as well as its relevance to Snow Falling on Cedars, on stage in adaptation here at CENTERSTAGE this spring, a Pearl Harbor photo gallery from LIFE.
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Female Marines in Afghanistan - LIFE Photo Gallery →
http://www.life.com/image/107447326/in-gallery/53211/female-marines-in-afghanistan
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