more at kansascity.com
Saturday, April 30, 2011
KC Jazz Orchestra review by Libby Hanssen
more at kansascity.com
12th Street Jump on "The Local Show"
Unicorn "Ruined" review by Paul Donovan
more at Camp
KC Symphony "Creation" review by John Heuertz
more at kansascity.com
Shakespeare Festival discussion on Week in Review
Guitar maker Leo Posch interview by Mark Fagan
more at the Lawrence Journal-World
Friday, April 29, 2011
KC Symphony "Creation" preview
F. J. Haydn "The Representation of Chaos" from The Creation
Milhaud La création du monde (The Creation of the World)
Avner Dorman Frozen in Time, Percussion Concerto (US premiere)
Dvořák Symphony No. 8
Join Michael Stern and the Symphony in a celebration of the Earth beginning with Haydn's "The Representation of Chaos" from The Creation, a gripping musical account of the primordial bedlam that reigned before the birth of the world. Milhaud takes a different vantage point with a jazz-inflected ballet based on an African creation story. Percussionist Martin Grubinger performs Avner Dorman's Frozen in Time, a work the composer calls "an imaginary snapshot of the Earth's geological developments from prehistoric times to the present day." Dvořák's thrilling and masterful symphony provides a capstone to this titanic program.
Milhaud La création du monde (The Creation of the World)
Avner Dorman Frozen in Time, Percussion Concerto (US premiere)
Dvořák Symphony No. 8
Join Michael Stern and the Symphony in a celebration of the Earth beginning with Haydn's "The Representation of Chaos" from The Creation, a gripping musical account of the primordial bedlam that reigned before the birth of the world. Milhaud takes a different vantage point with a jazz-inflected ballet based on an African creation story. Percussionist Martin Grubinger performs Avner Dorman's Frozen in Time, a work the composer calls "an imaginary snapshot of the Earth's geological developments from prehistoric times to the present day." Dvořák's thrilling and masterful symphony provides a capstone to this titanic program.
newEar, Owen/Cox Dance interview by Laura Spencer
listen at KCUR
Organist Sharee Thompson interview by Sarah Henning
more at the Lawrence Journal-World
Topeka Symphony Orchestra preview by Bill Blankenship
more at the Topeka Capital-Journal
Upcoming CinemaKC shows
more at CinemaKC
"Cassarole Club" preview
Steve Balderson's new film, "The Casserole Club" focuses on a group of mod 1960's era suburban housewives. Close-knit and neighborly, they are all bent on one-upping each other, trying to prove that each is "the hostess with the mostess." They begin a recipe club, and hold dinner parties, testing out their new casseroles. But when the gatherings become increasingly focused on boozy flirtation, and more than recipes start getting swapped, the story moves swiftly from stylized and campy to a drama about irresponsibility, selfishness, and damaged people.
"The Casserole Club" is an intricate landscape of desolation, unspoken desires, and empty lives laid bare. Raw and uncompromising, it is evocative of classics like "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" and the more contemporary "American Beauty." Set in America during the NASA moonwalk, the moon, is a metaphor for the film's tragic heroines, who are filled with mystery, secrets and the untapped potential of people who exist without really living.
Starring Susan Traylor, Kevin Richardson, Daniela Sea, Mark Booker, Starina Johnson, Garrett Swann, Pleasant Gehman, Hunter Bodine, Michael Maize, and introducing Jennifer Grace.
"The Casserole Club" is an intricate landscape of desolation, unspoken desires, and empty lives laid bare. Raw and uncompromising, it is evocative of classics like "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" and the more contemporary "American Beauty." Set in America during the NASA moonwalk, the moon, is a metaphor for the film's tragic heroines, who are filled with mystery, secrets and the untapped potential of people who exist without really living.
Starring Susan Traylor, Kevin Richardson, Daniela Sea, Mark Booker, Starina Johnson, Garrett Swann, Pleasant Gehman, Hunter Bodine, Michael Maize, and introducing Jennifer Grace.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Heartland Men's Chorus performs "They Sang to Me"
HMC performs "They Sang to Me" (Don White, soloist) as guests of the Turtle Creek Chorale in Dallas, TX, June 2006. For more information about HMC, visit http://www.hmckc.org
Kickstarter fundraiser for the KC Fringe Festival
In the crazy rush to the theaters to see all of the amazing performing art that the Fringe Festival offers, it's easy for the Visual Arts to get overlooked. While we may not have the actors and stages we certainly have plenty of action and even trucks! Trucks? Yup! Trucks! You may have heard of the Lost Horizons Night Market, where renegade artists in rented trucks create amazing experiences to share (http://www.wired.com/underwire/2010/05/lost-horizon-night-market/). Well, it's time to bring that energy to Kansas City. I can't think of a better way to do that than through this 11 day extravaganza! Your donation will support the foundation of the Night Market revolution in KC. Our artists are creating funky, art-without-boundaries workshops (imagine a figure drawing class run by burlesque models, a paper-mache costume creation workshop, or getting down and dirty with some clay and a throwing wheel, on the spot!) while offering a beautiful blend between traditional and non-traditional “Fringey” gallery spaces. In addition to all of the collected artists, we'll engage the public by giving them the tools to create a piece of work (perhaps for the first time), surrounded by the energy of other artists, participants and "Fringers". Then, we'll provide the means for them to display it for everyone to see (inside of one of our Community Trucks none-the-less. What a debut to share with friends! )
Your donation along with our creativity will help us rent the trucks, buy insurance (so crucial), purchase some supplies, tell everyone we know and then some and throw open the doors and supply our Fringe-goers with deliciously free interactive experiences!
There is an artistic, creative community out there just waiting to be engaged. You can help spread the word by donating and getting our project off the ground! Visit www.kcfringe.org for more information.
more at Kickstarter
More details on Shakespeare Festival fundraising woes
more at Infozine
Encore Theatre "Every Little Crook and Nanny" preview by Adrianne DeWeese
more at The Examiner
A look at KU Filmworks
more at the University Daily Kansan
KC Jazz Orchestra gets new leader
David Schweizer "Peer Gynt" interview by Robert Trussell
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
"The Little People" short film by Lisa Marie Evans
A collaboration with Maura Michelle Garcia, Soumitra Dasgupta, and myself. Dasqupta paints on video, I edit the video and Garcia dances with the video as background to her piece The Little People.
Live theatre at the cinema?
Sidonie Garrett speaks about Shakespeare Festival financial woes
listen at KCUR
Unicorn "Ruined" review by Grace Suh
more at The Pitch
Cody Choraliers win top honors in Central States District
more at the Leavenworth Times
KC Rep "Peer Gynt" preview
This is a preview video of Peer Gynt at the Kansas City Repertory Theatre. This show is a co-production with La Jolla Playhouse. Peer Gynt is written by Henrik Ibsen and this production is adapted and directed by David Schweizer. The cast is comprised of Danny Gavigan, Birgit Huppuc, Luis Moreno, Kate Cullen Roberts and Evan Zes. Scenic design is by David Zinn, costume design by Christina Wright, lighting and projections by Darrell Maloney, sound design by Ryan Rumery and Mary Honour is the stage manager.
"Spotlight on Kimberly Cowen" by Angie Fiedler
This article is from the March 2011 issue of KC Stage
“The time on stage, where it’s like you’re not you anymore: you’re transformed to a different place. You can be completely free, you know? There’s just something really enlightening about it that so far in my life I haven’t found anything that comes to that level. The hard work is definitely hard work, but when you have those moments on stage, it makes it all worth it.” So says Kimberly Cowen, one of two ballerinas playing the leading lady in the Kansas City Ballet’s production of Giselle, about why she does ballet.
Cowen should know — she’s been dancing since she’s been four, and been performing on stage since the age of nine. “There wasn’t a lot of dance exposure on television when I was young. There is now, but there wasn’t when I was young,” she says with a wry smile. “But ice skating was on quite often. And I used to try to imitate the ice skater in the family room, and I guess I just one day I said to my mom that I wanted to be a dancerella, and so she enrolled me in like an after school program at the local elementary school.”
She grew up in the West County area of St. Louis, attended the Nathalie Le Vine Academy of Ballet, graduated early from high school, and moved to Kansas City to join the ballet. That was 19 seasons ago.
“I was lucky,” Cowen says about her time at the Academy, “because besides just being a ballet school, she had a small company that once I was nine, I believe, I got to start performing — which I think makes a big difference. Some schools, the only chance {the kids} get to perform is maybe once at the end of the school year, or some of them just do studio workshops and things like that. And then they turn 18, and they’re trying to find a job. Yes, they’ve trained to do it, but to have the real experience ...” she trails off wistfully. “And so I feel lucky — I think that that’s probably one of the things that helped me the most, because I feel at home on the stage, because I’ve been on the stage since I was nine. And when you’re a kid, you don’t have the same fear, you know?”
You’d think being involved in dance since the age of four that perhaps Cowen’s parents were the stereotypical ‘stage moms’, pressuring her to dance. Not so, she says. “Since it was a small school and a small company, parents had to volunteer to help you know with costumes and fundraising and all kinds of things like that,” she says. “My parents were very involved and I told them that they could be involved with helping it be successful, but I didn’t want them hanging around, I didn’t want them watching. I was like, ‘If I ever hear you talking to another parent about, “Well, my Kimberly does blah blah blah,”, I will quit,’” she says with a laugh.
“My parents have always been extremely supportive,” she’s quick to add. “They kind of had to be. I mean, all the shoes over the years and sending me away to summer programs and things like that — it was definitely dedication on their part.”
In her 19 seasons at the Ballet, this is Cowen’s third time performing the role of Giselle. “The first time we did Giselle,” she says, “I didn’t really think it was going to be quite the experience that it ended up being. I knew I was going to love it,” she’s quick to continue, “I knew that it’s a big deal: it’s a classic, it’s been around forever, it’s something that all these ballerinas have done over the years that establishes who they are. I tend to be more powerful when I dance,” she continues with a smile, “like that’s my natural instinct, and in Giselle, she’s very fragile, and so I didn’t know that I would connect with the steps. The first time we did it, it really was a career-altering experience for me. And the second time around, I was just so nervous. But I was older, so I approached some things differently. So, this time around, it’s going to be really interesting, because I feel like I’ve experienced so much more and the whole approach to it.
“In ballet, we spend so much time perfecting perfect arm movements and our placement and our turnout, and for me, personally, I always feel like I dance better when I have a storyline. It gives me purpose behind the steps that I’m doing and then the steps actually have emotion and feeling and that kind of takes you out of that mind frame of trying to be perfect, you’re just dancing. And it really takes you through a broad range of emotions and even dance styles and everything all within one ballet, which just doesn’t happen very often.”
Ballet’s an unusual artistic challenge for dancers, as you have prior performances of the production that the staging usually is based on, combined with the fact that the dancers are double-cast. Cowen talks about how she manages to still make the role her own while still maintaining consistency with both the staging of the ballet mistress Karen Brown and what the other Giselle is doing.
“A dancer in general — I mean, it’s kind of bad to say this, but we do kind of like to be told what to do within a certain degree,” she says with a smile. “Dancers don’t like to just kind of go out and have no idea what’s going to happen: we practice, practice, and practice and we like that consistency. So when it comes to the acting, you really feel exposed, because it’s a different realm than what we do every day.
“We spend a lot of time trying to figure out those little subtleties. And you can even think through it a million times on your own at home, and then you’ll do the scenes with your partner, and something that he does can change what your reaction should be. It’s a fun experience, because we don’t do that all the time in ballet. So, I love doing that. Not every dancer does, but that to me makes it so much more complete.
“I think that it’s kind of like a quiet atmosphere, just a few people in the room and we try out some things, and if you all of a sudden you feel like, ‘You know what? I really like this moment when we do this.’ If you share that with your partner, you can kind of start to solidify some things. In some cases, it’s just the relationship you have with your partner, too.
“And it’s interesting, because sometimes you just try something and it does not work, and you just kind of have to stop. You’re like, ‘Okay, well, that doesn’t work.’ But it’s constantly a learning experience, and watching the other people in the room try it sometimes, you’re like, ‘Wow — that wasn’t anywhere where my brain was going.’ But that works, you know, and it makes you think about it differently. But it’s mostly just we communicate as much as we can at the beginning, and then at a certain point it does kind of solidify, and then there might be little subtleties, but the timing always has to be the same.”
Cowen loves being a ballet dancer, but readily admits it’s a hard job. “Some of the things that can be hard as a dancer — and really, it’s true with everything in life, but for some reason I feel like maybe we take it more personally — but most of our feedback in the day is negative in nature, because you’re trying to get better at what you do. You don’t have someone patting you on the back all the time telling you do a good job, because they want you to get better. So they’re always telling you what you’re doing wrong. And sometimes that can really take it out of you, like, ‘Oh, my gosh — can I do nothing right?’” she says with a laugh. “So, I think the important thing is that to remember that that’s what you’re there for, that’s what they’re for is to help you get better, and that for every one thing that you’re doing wrong you probably did five things right, but it’s a building process and at any age, you’re still learning in the field.
“The other thing is to just be open to different ways of approaching things, different styles, because you never know when something might work to your advantage if you had followed that path. I’ve known a lot of people over the years who don’t want to branch out, they want to kind of stick to their little niche what they’re good at, and they end up not having as many opportunities because of it, so it’s better to be open to it and it’s okay if it doesn’t work out, at least you know instead of holding back.
Being open to new experiences is also how Cowen would approach breaking the stereotype attached to ballet.
“It’s interesting, because there are a lot of people in Kansas City who’ve been to The Nutcracker but have never seen any other ballet. And I think it’s great that they come to The Nutcracker, but I think they’d be surprised at how much they would enjoy one of our regular season shows. There are people out there that love the tutus and like the classic, ideal image of the poised ballerina on the stage and that sort of thing, and other people love to come to the ballet because they want to be challenged artistically.
“And that’s one of the things that I think Kansas City Ballet specifically does a really good job of trying to make sure there is a broad variety of styles and movement qualities and to kind of try to appeal to every dance lover out there — and even maybe some who aren’t dance lovers, to make them realize that they would enjoy ballet, it’s not all about pink tights and pointe shoes. For example, our spring show, we’re doing a piece that’s all David Byrne music {“The Catherine Wheel Suite”} and very rockin’ the house, it’s just fun and crazy and free, so we do all kinds of stuff. We were just talking about it today, actually, how after doing Giselle where we’re all going to be pulled up,” she says, subconsciously pulling her arms into a tight embrace, “and trying to be perfect, and then we’re going to be like, ‘ahhhh!’” she continues, waving her hands around frantically.
And why should people go to the ballet and try something challenging? “Well, the other thing that’s hard, too, is back when ballet first was in its heyday, going to the theatre was the thing to do,” Cowen says. “Now, our society has changed so much and there’s so much stimulation out there, you know? People aren’t content with sitting in the doctor’s office waiting to go in to see their doctor, they have to be on their phone doing something. Everyone is multitasking all the time, and maybe over-stimulated. And there are so many special effects in movies these days, and so the stage is a much simpler presentation. And to be able to still captivate people and make them want to come out is our challenge. But I know for myself, watching with someone in person is a totally different experience than anything you see on any screen: even if it’s 3-D, it doesn’t matter. It can really touch you in a different way. I mean, I watch films all the time that help me with different time periods and things that we’re working on, all of those things are great, but if you get an opportunity to see something in person, you should, because it’s live like that and raw in the moment, anything can happen. It’s really a special thing, I think.
Giselle will be performing at the Kansas City Ballet March 10-13. For more information, visit www.kcballet.org.
Online-only Extended Interview
Was it ballet from the beginning, or did you go into other dance styles as well?
When I first started, I did ballet and tap. Then once I joined an actual ballet school, I really only did ballet until maybe I was 11 or 12 in the summertime we would start to branch out and do some other styles. Now, it's so different. I mean, kids grow up now with a lot of different styles. So I feel pretty fortunate because I really had a strong base in the classical ballet technique, but I think coming here at a young age and being exposed to so many things helped me be able to be versatile, which is really what you need now. There's no company out there that really just does one thing anymore.
First time on stage - tell me a little bit more about that.
The Nutcracker was the first thing I did, which I think is a great introduction for kids, because there's an opportunity to do some dancing and then also roles that do require you to have personality, and they get to mingle with the adults and see what it's going to be like. I know for me, the adults, they really can leave like a big impression on you, so ... it's fun when we do shows now with the kids, because you just see it in their eyes: they're having the times of their lives.
Tell me what a typical day. Obviously, it's a much more rigorous schedule than most people.
Well, we work five days a week. We usually start around the nine o'clock hour, and we go 'till 5:30. We have an hour for lunch in the middle of the day. We start off our day with what we call class, and it's basically serves two purposes: one, to warm up all your muscles in your body accurately so you don't injure yourself during rehearsals; and two, to continue to work on your technique and your craft. We start off our day with that, that's an hour and a half long. And then usually, we have two hours of rehearsal in the morning and three hours after lunch and it depends on where we are in the process of the show. In the beginning stages, you might do a lot of standing around or waiting for your turn, or you might have a day where you're learning, so you are constantly repeating over and over and over and over and over again to get it to sink in. And then later on in the process, you're just running sections of it or even the whole ballet, just to start to get that continuity and everything.
And whenever it's not your turn, since we do have two casts, you know, especially in a ballet like Giselle, there's so many details that everyone will be in the back thinking through different things that they could do, that arm gesture this way or whatever, just without having to exert yourself too much, being able to think a little bit more about what you want to accomplish when it is your turn.
You know, it's interesting, because we go through periods of time where the show will be really difficult and you're dancing your butt off, and then we'll go through a period of time that the creative process sometimes is a little bit slower than when someone already knows what it is and they just teach it to you real quick compared to, 'Well, let's see, what if we try this,' and you have to be open to just kind of not being worried about what you're going to look like, but just kind of try something and see what happens. And then the choreographer and the dancer kind of bounce back off of each other, so those are some of the different types of days that we could have.
I know for me personally, the days go by a lot faster when I'm really working hard, you know? You look up at the clock and you can't believe that you've been in there for two hours already. And strangely enough, it feels better on your body, too, when you just keep dancing. If you stop and take a break, at least for me anyway and maybe that's my age talking, but when you stop and take a break, then it's like, 'oh, boy, I don't know if I can get back up and do it again.' You just want to kind of keep going, even if you keel over at the end.
Getting close to the end of female dancers' ability.
Definitely. I mean, what's interesting is that it kind of depends on the individual, how your body holds up to it, maybe the opportunities you're given at the right times, the size of the company, and the type of repertoire you do. In a small company like this in Kansas City, it's going to be a little bit harder to generate the whole star quality, you know? In New York City Ballet or American Ballet Theatre, they have their really established stars and people go to see those specific dancers, so they can probably dance a little bit longer because their name and their history and everything can carry them, but here in Kansas City, there are so few dancers. So yeah, it's closer to the end than it's ever been before.
Planning on staying in Kansas City? Any future plans?
You know, Kansas City really has felt like home to me. You know, it really has. Growing up in St. Louis, Kansas City is similar in some regards. They're still very different cities, but - and my parents would hate for me to say it - but it does feel like home because I've been here for a long time. And it's changed a lot since I've been here. The arts have really grown in the amount of time I've been here, and I feel like it's a great city, it has a lot of things to offer, so I can very easily see myself sticking around, and I like the Midwest.
Have you thought about what you're going to do when you do have to retire from ballet?
I feel like I think about it every day, and I just don't exactly know yet, you know? I'm pretty sure that in some capacity I'll definitely want to stay attached to the ballet, because it's just something that I've been doing for so long, and it's part of who I am.
Have you thought about yourself choreographer at all?
I don't know about choreography, but I do teach in the school. And I've been teaching, strangely enough I started teaching in the summer after we did Giselle the first time. That's kind of funny, I never really thought about it. I really enjoy teaching the kids and watching their growth and being able to just help build their confidence, because that's a huge part of whether or not you're successful.
Do you feel there's a lot of new stuff going on in the world of ballet?
Oh, all the time. I mean, it's kind of amazing to me, since I don't really consider myself a choreographer, the fact that people can still come up with new things. I'm like, 'Are you sure it hasn't already been done before?' Just because ballet's been around for a very long time. But different body types move in different ways, you know? People who are very long have maybe a more languid and slower approach to things, and they start experimenting with their bodies and it can bring out something completely different than someone who's maybe a little bit more athletic and shorter in stature - they're going to do powerhouse moves. So, to me, the people who can really come up with this great art and like have it stand the test of time, it's just beyond me. Yes, it's difficult to do things accurately when you're told what to do, but to be the one who's making it up? I mean, that takes a special skill, that's for sure.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
UMKC Spring Dance Concert review by Nicole English
more at University News
Metropolitan Chorale raising funds for Habitat for Humanity
more at The Examiner
KC Ballet "Moves" promo
There's something for everyone -- experience an exciting, eclectic evening of dance with three great ballets. The Catherine Wheel Suite by Twyla Tharp, the award winning creator of the smash hits Nine Sinatra Songs and Billy Joel's Movin' Out. A world premiere by Kansas City Ballet Artistic Director William Whitener... Mercy of the Elements set to music by Rimsky-Korsakov, and the Kansas City premiere of the ballet Moves by the legendary Jerome Robbins... creator of West Side Story.
Shakespeare Festival facing budget crisis
KC Chamber of Commerce proposing need for arts festival
Barn Players taking applications for summer internship
APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS
Currently be currently enrolled in a high school or college theatre program, and be from the Metro Kansas City area
- Have a minimum GPA of 2.75
- Provide a letter of recommendation from an instructor or counselor at the school that he/she attends
- Provide a cover letter of introduction by describing his/her interest in the performing arts
- Provide a current theatrical resume listing his/her experience in the performing arts
HOW TO APPLY
Send a resume, recommendations and letter of application to Eric Magnus, Artistic Director, The Barn Players, emagnitude@me.com. Deadline for application is April 30, 2011. Interviews will be held at The Barn Players at 6219 Martway, Mission, KS 66202. Announcement will be made by May 15th, 2011.
KC Symphony, Martin Grubinger preview
His shows represent extreme physical exertion: marathon drummer Martin Grubinger.
Monday, April 25, 2011
History of the Jazz Commission
more at kcjazzlark
and here is part 2
KC Actors Theatre 2011-2012 Season
Erin Thompson reflects on the Lyric Theatre
more at the Lyric Opera
Shawnee Mission East grad to star in reality show
more at the Prairie Village Post
Unicorn "Ruined" review by DeborahBuckner
Ruined
Rating: 4
Ruined
Unicorn Theatre
It has been a while since a theater completely carried me to another world, but such is the case with The Unicorn's production of Ruined. Lynn Nottage received the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for this play of war-torn Africa and its dual story of brutality toward women and the land.
Scenic Designer Erin Walley and Sound Designer Ryan Matthew Hall make Mama Nadi's establishment a "character" itself, a little place of escape for miners and soldiers alike. With a deliberate casual-looking placement of tables and chairs and the central bar, the setting is inviting as a gathering place, respite from an outside where sounds include both jungle birds and occasional gunfire,.
Mama (Nedra Dixon) is a spitfire, fully in command of her place and her people. She deals shrewdly with the shrewd trader, Christian (Walter Coppage), and the two display good chemistry of two people who know each other and know how to work with and around each other. In addition to the requested goods, such as lipstick, Christian shows up this trip with two young women, hoping Mama will take them. Salima (Samra Teferra) has been abducted from her village, raped by soldiers and witness to her baby's brutal murder; Sophie (Caroline Gombe), Christian's niece, has faced similar brutality, and was, ultimately, "ruined" (genital mutilation) by her captors. Mama is willing to take Salima who can be put to use entertaining the miner and soldier customers, but she balks at the seemingly useless Sophie. Bribed with Belgian chocolate and Christian's charms, she finds a place for the girl with a sweet singing voice and a good mind for arithmetic.
The girls make a place at Mama's, along with feisty whore Josephine, who dreams of a life of grandeur when regular client, Mr. Harari (John Rensenhouse) will take her away to "the city." Their daily work brings them in contact with military leaders from both sides of the ever-present conflict, Commander Osembenga (Mykel Hill) and Jerome Kisembe (Damron Russel Armstrong). At times, it is difficult to distinguish these two leaders—each is determined, ruthless and merciless in approaching the fight This is either a weakness of character differentiation or a grand anti-war statement, demonstrating that war is only about the fight itself with no real care or concern for the cause.
Act I of the play is energy-charged, moving instantly from scene to scene as all the characters populating Mama's world are introduced. Act II began to lose focus and might benefit from tightening and editing. Each character seems to have a turn with an obligatory monologue that slows the action and, sometimes, confuses the flow of the play.
Gombe and Teferra, as Sophie and Salima, demonstrate important moments, but sometimes exhibit a lightness of mood that would seem impossible for young women who have endured so much. Outstanding performances by Dixon, Coppage, Anyanwu and Rensenhouse clearly define their characters and make them real and believable.
The overall result is a feeling of transportation to another world, certain to provoke lingering thought and questions.
read the review at KC Stage
Sunday, April 24, 2011
"Winter's Bone" ends KC theatrical run
KC Symphony "Creation" preview by Patrick Neas
Topeka Jazz Workshop awards scholarships
more at the Topeka Capital-Journal
Unicorn "Ruined" review by Jennifer Bhargava
more at the Vignette
Saturday, April 23, 2011
Boom! interview by Jen Harris
more at The Vignette
David Schweizer "Peer Gynt" interview by Paul Horsely
more at The Independent
George Wendt, Tim Kazurinsky "Odd Couple" interview by Steve Kraske
listen at KCUR (mp3)
River City Community Players "Mixed Nuts" preview by Tim Linn
more at the Leavenworth Times
Ben Vereen returns to Topeka Performing Arts Center for 20th anniversary
more at the Topeka Capital-Journal
Unicorn "Ruined" preview by Steve Walker
listen at KCUR
Friday, April 22, 2011
SM East Chansonettes make annual Day Tour
Members of the SM East Chansonettes — a choir made up primarily of sophomore girls — made their annual Day Tour yesterday, performing at three healthcare facilities and the Power & Light District.
more at the Prairie Village Post
more at the Prairie Village Post
A look at the KC FilmFest winners by Jerry Rapp
more at Review
Kansas City Jazz Summit preview by Joe Klopus
Heidi Van, David Wayne Reed receive Arts KC Inspiration Grants
Actor/creator Heidi Van, co-founder of the Fishtank Performance Studio, will use her $950 Inspiration funding to purchase a portable professional sound system for a new production, “Window Play.” The sound system will enhance the production values of this show and others that debut at the Fishtank and make it easier for them to be toured to other sites, such as the New Orleans Fringe Festival.
Playwright and author David Wayne Reed will use is $1000 grant to help bring cult-favorite Late Night Theatre back to life with a production of “Mother Trucker 2,” a sequel to Reed’s original drama “Mother Trucker” that debuted in 2004. ArtsKC funding will support production costs for the scenery for the play, which features an on-stage pickup truck.
more at ArtsKC
CinemaKC, KC Art Institute animators preview by Justin Gardner
more at CinemaKC
Bethel AME Church "Living Last Supper" preview by Tim Linn
more at the Leavenworth Times
Unicorn "Ruined" review by Paul Horsely
more at The Independent
Thursday, April 21, 2011
Starlight 2011 season promo
2011 Kansas City Starlight Theatre Broadway Season:
The King and I - June 6 - 12
9 to 5 The Musical June 21 - 26
Guys and Dolls - July 12 - 17
Cinderella - August 2 - 7
Xanadu - August 15 - 21
Kauffman Center taking donations for Children's Wall
This is a $1,000 donation, which is fully tax-deductible and payable over multiple years. Handprints submitted by May 1, 2011 guarantees your child's hand will be in place for the inaugural season. RSVP for the final handprint-making event at our construction site office: Sunday, May 1, from 2:00-4:00 p.m. by replying to this email. Or call Jennifer Lapka Pfeifer at 816-994-7238 if another date and time is more convenient to you.
End of an era for the Crossroad's Film Row
more at KC Confidential
Bassoon reed maker Leigh Miller Muñoz interview by Brenna Hawley
more at the Lawrence Journal-World
UMKC Professor Zhou Long wins Pulitzer Prize
more at UMKC
and at kansascity.com
and at NBC Action News
and at KCTV-5
and at the New York Times
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