Are you curious to see a movie which deals with a brother and sister who deal with the skeletons of their past? Or are you eager to see Kristen Wiig and Bill Hader totally immerse themselves in dramatic roles- far from the comedic resumes? If so then Skeleton Twins is the movie for you. This is a movie which digs into the back story of its characters while at the same time has moments of comedy disbursed in it. The film also uses the talents of Modern Family’s Ty Burrell, who takes a dramatic departure from playing the lovable –yet- hopeless- Phil. The film also stars Luke Wilson who actually does play someone lovable! Anyway, Skeleton Twins is a must see for those interested in the complex weave of human familial relationships which grow amidst the context of tragedy.
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REVIEW: Buccaneers, Robots, Yetis and Other Agents of Social Change
In a typical week, Robot Supply and Repair in Ann Arbor, receives a number of people with Rumbas (robot vacuums) looking to have them repaired. Robot Supply and Repair is no robot repair shop but actually an extension of 826 National, a writing support group co-founded by Dave Eggers. Dave Eggers is the author of What is the What and A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius. The first is an autobiographical work about one of the Lost Boys of Sudan. The second is a memoir based off his own life and dealing with the passing of both his parents while he was in college, and the responsibility of raising his younger brother.
Dave Eggers is not only a good writer, but he is an eloquent speaker. He doesn’t speak with too many words, but he is eloquent and precise all the same. The story he told tonight is about the beginnings of 826 National. Dave Eggers and educator Ninive Calegari saw there was a need for a support system for teachers in San Francisco with the overwhelming number of students needing help with writing, so they decided to begin a writing tutoring group. The puzzle was that the space they were looking at was a retail space, so the logical reaction was that they needed to sell something. Initially they thought about selling hot dogs in the store front, and offering a writing lab space in the back. This idea was exchanged for a pirate supplies store, inspired by the ship like outer facade of the store. So 826 Valencia was born, its address in San Francisco giving it it’s namesake. They became the one and only pirate supplies store in the area. At first it was slow running, but today the nonprofit serves 6,000 students each year thanks to the help of 1,700 volunteers.
Other cities have wanted to share in the success of the idea, and now 826 has expanded to have locations across the country, each with a unique store front idea. For example, the Boston location operates under the store front ‘Boston’s Bigfoot Research Institute.’ And the local 826 Michigan in Ann Arbor features robot supplies. It is a clever idea which eliminates any stigma a student might associate with an after school writing tutoring center. The space hides the tables and tutoring in the back, clearly separated from the store. The space is meant a new community conduit, where educational workshops take place, poetry readings, publishing, along with writing tutoring. 826 also offers traveling tutoring services where schools can request a certain number of tutors to assist in the classroom. School tour groups are also are invited and given a very special opportunity to tell their own stories and get their work published. Kids write a story in the store, illustrate it themselves, and have it formally published all in the course of one event. It reminded me of when I was in kindergarten they published our first stories in a bound book. I felt proud bringing my book home to show my parents and dedicating the book to them. It is a validating experience for a young person to have their work published and is an innovative tool of encouragement.
Eggers idea for a nonprofit is something that crosses boundaries between tutoring spaces for young people and opening up to a unique form of community engagement through spatial appearances. The last half of the talk was dedicated to Eggers acting as moderator to a group of three panelists, each involved in starting their own nonprofits in Detroit. One was the founder of an elementary school, another was a founder of a jewelry-making business that employed women who have been in abusive relationships. The talk was very encouraging to hear not only because of all the current social change and engagement going around in the community and the successes they have, but also the new ways people are looking at social engagement and education. The audience’s resounding support made me excited for the ideas that are coming from future generations and the impacts they will have.
REVIEW: Ryoji Ikeda in Conversation
Truly an artist that lets his work speak for itself, Ryoji Ikeda discussed his innovative approach to art and the messy meaning of his work during last Thursday’s Penny Stamps lecture. One of three stops on his American tour, the Power Center presented Ikeda’s superposition this past weekend. Although Ikeda mentioned his distaste for talking about his work several times throughout the lecture, he managed to offer a basic explanation of the premise behind the complicated and often confusing art he creates. Essentially, Ikeda transforms the overwhelming amount of data that constantly permeates the modern world into art by forming it into a pattern, syncing it with unconventional digital sounds, then projecting it onto an enormous stage through myriad screens varying in size. Infusing bold and often political statements into his work, such as “Religion is a boundary condition” and “Science is a diffusional complicity,” Ikeda pushes his audience to question their current understanding of the world; however, he wants his audience to draw their own conclusions from these questions, which is part of the reason why he rarely talks about his art. This concept constitutes the messy meaning of Ikeda’s art: instead of expressing a single, clear cut meaning of his work, he validates everyone’s unique interpretation.
In addition to this messy meaning, Ikeda’s innovative approach to art is also defined by how he chooses to present his work. Both Ikeda and teachers use data as their medium; however, Ikeda’s creative presentation of data transforms it into art, whereas the way teachers present data foregoes this transformation, so the data remains purely academic. This central aspect of Ikeda’s work manifests the idea that a creative presentation can transform anything into art.
REVIEW: Band-O-Rama: Let’s Go BOO!
The School of Music, Theatre, and Dance here at Michigan is renown for their fantastic faculty and wonderful performing ensembles. Band-O-Rama, an annual showcase of the School’s wind ensembles gave us a mouthful of praise for these ensembles.
The night started off with the University Concert Band, led by Courtney Snyder, as they played a Sousa-esque march in ‘Michigan on Parade,’ ‘Blues for a Killed Kat,’ and Mackey’s Redline Tango.’ The University Symphony Band soon took over. Under the direction of longtime Director of Bands, Michael Haithcock, The Symphony Band played a few excerpts from works such as Tchaikovsky’s ‘The Snow Maiden,’ and Puccini’s ‘LeVilli.’ To finish it off, they played a rousing rendition of the great ‘Victor’s Valiant.’
Intermission
The crowd came to a hush as the drumline entered the stage. They were standing in their traditional set when the lead snare started giving taps, signaling that the band was about to enter.
Soon after, around 300 disciplined Michigan Marching band men and women rushed onto the stage from the aisles, in a style in which their thighs were parallel with the ground (this style is usually referred to as ‘entries’). The aerobic exercise these people were getting could be deduced from the visible sweat pouring from their faces. It was impressive to say the least. A seemingly grueling two and a half minutes went by, as all of the members made their way onstage. After everyone was in their calculated spot, director John Pasquale gave a large motion downbeat, signaling the band to play the M Fanfare. Audience members that were aware of the tradition associated with the playing of the M Fanfare raised their right fist in a reverent salute, while the unaware soon followed suit. The culmination of the last fermata led right into a playing of The Victors, thus fully grabbing and engaging the audience for the rest of the night. Over the course of the MMB’s performance, they played songs from their recent halftime shows, such as Kesha’s ‘Timber,’ Lady Gaga’s “Edge of Glory,’ swing tunes such as Christina Aguilera’s “Candyman,” Tchaikovsky’s ‘1812 Overture’ (yes, that one!), and the traditional ‘Little Brown Jug.’ A real treat, as always, was when the Drumline came center stage to play their cadences and specific repertoire. In addition to giving the brass a break for their embouchure’s sake, the Drumline cranked out highly impressive performances of their parade cadence and step show, showcasing their high level of talent and expertise to an eager audience. The event then closed off with the standard combination of ‘Temptation’ and ‘Hawaiian War Chant,’ “because you can’t have one without the other,” and a beautiful rendition of the Alma Mater followed by ‘The Victors.’
PREVIEW: Madame Butterfly
Who: Michigan Opera Theatre
What: Puccini’s Madame Butterfly
Where: Detroit Opera House, 1526 Broadway St, Detroit, MI 48226
When: 11/15 at 7:30, 11/19 at 7:30, 11/21 at 7:30, 11/22 at 7:30 and 11/23 at 2:30
Madame Butterfly is an opera in three acts written by Puccini between 1903 and 1904. Set in Japan during the early 20th century, Madame Butterfly follows the marriage of Lieutenant B.F. Pinkerton of the U.S. Navy and a geisha wife named Cio-Cio-San. A young girl of 15, Cio-Cio-San became a geisha after her family lost their prominent position and has agreed to convert to Pinkerton’s religion of Christianity. Denounced by her family and later abandoned by Pinkerton, Cio-Cio-San faces a life a shame with her and Pinkerton’s child.
The Michigan Opera Theatre will be presenting Madame Butterfly at the Detroit Opera House from the 15th – 23rd of November.
REVIEW: Annapurna
In the Michigan premier of Sharr White’s Annapurna, the Purple Rose Theatre brought their usual finesse to the production. An intense 80 minute drama performed with no intermission, Annapurna follows the first reunion of Emma (MichelleMountain) and her ex-husband Ulysses (Richard McWilliams) after 20 years of separation.
Performed on a thrust stage, the set was visible to the audience from the moment the doors opened. Bratley Bauer’s set was aptly designed and was able to survive the additional scrutiny which such a set up invites. Complete with a shower and sink (both of which used running water) Ulysses’ trailer was depicted in a state of squalor including stained carpets and a dingy couch which, upon Emma’s arrival, was covered with a towel to allow for her to sit on a cleanly surface.
A two person play, Annapurna requires two strong actors in order to maintain the interest of the audience throughout the entire performance. Veterans of the theater Mr. McWilliams and Ms. Mountain were well up to the task. The relationship between Ulysses and Emma is extremely complicated, resulting in seemingly calm conversations exploding into yelling matches almost instantaneously. These immediate switches were, in general, very natural and motivated – an impressive accomplishment on the part of both of the actors.
As lines were tossed back and forth in quick succession Mr. McWilliams shined. His pacing was spot on, delivering his lines with a naturalistic bent and allowing the audience just enough time to comprehend the contextual meaning before moving on to the next thought. His performance suffered only one misstep in the delivery of his monologue while Emma was in the shower. During this monologue Mr. McWilliams lost control of the pacing, resulting in unrelated thoughts to be strung together and added a rushed quality to the scene. Ms. Mountain strength lied in her delivery of her monologues but occasionally suffered from bad diction when her character became agitated resulting in one or two dropped lines.
Often, the quality of theater can be determined by the effect which a performance has on its audience. By this measure, Guy Sanville’s production of Annapurna was a superbly directed show which truly earned the applause of the audience. While I did not personally connect with the story of Annapurna, there were many in the audience who did and I was one of the few patrons that left the theater without reaching for a tissue. Annapurna will run until December and I highly recommend that you make time to see this remarkable production.
