Of course you do, or at least you will once you go see them! They are only the most amazing Gender Performance group ever to hit Ann Arbor! DKR, or Drag King Rebellion, uses the power of music and dance expression to entertain and educate. Each dancer brings their own unique character to the performance and provides us with many different gender identities, experiences, and all around awareness.
The troupe isn’t all serious though. They use a diverse range of music to deliver joy, sorrow, comedy, and energy to the audience. If you’ve never seen them, you really should go to their show this Friday night.
They are performing twice, first at 7:00 pm and then at 10:00 or 11:00 pm. I keep getting mixed messages about the times, since DKR had to switch venues recently due to the Blind Pig’s discriminating guests. I will be attending the later performance with a few friends, and we are so exited! We’re getting to Sh/AUT around 10:00 just to be safe. You should definitely come and enjoy yourself!
Venue: Sh/AUT
315 Braun Court
Ann Arbor, MI 48103
734-994-3677
Cover Price: $5.00/person
For more information, or to learn about any of the individual members of DKR, or even to find out how to become a part of the group, visit http://dragkingrebellion.webs.com/
Love at first Wit, some would say. What we would call a "Lover’s Quarrel"
Well if you do (or even if you don’t), you should go see “Love’s Labour’s Lost” performed by a cast all the way from London. Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre of London delivered a remarkable portrayal of Shakespeare’s classic comedy. Even those who have trouble with Shakespearean terminology will laugh through the entire performance. The play is full of sexual allusions and innuendos, insults, puns, and jests. The actors and actresses have obvious talent and present the atmosphere of a true Shakespearean age. And if that’s not enough, just look at all their awesome outfits!
See, fantastic outfits! And you should see the girls' dresses!See, here they are
Before writing more about the show, I’d like to explain an interesting fact I learned when buying a ticket. I was purchasing a ticket over the phone (which would have been $36.00 for a balcony seat) when the woman helping me explained one of our many fantastic student advantages. Did everyone know that Student Rush tickets are only $10.00? As long as you purchase them before the box office closes, you get them cheaper, and I got a much better seat than if I would have paid over the phone. So when you do go see this play (because I know you will), make sure to buy a Rush ticket for $10.00 (get to the Box office before 5:00 for this price. I was also told that tickets can be purchased at the show for $15.00).
Ok, back to the play. I’ll give you a general summary and then you can go see it. King Ferdinand of Navarre and his three companions, Berowne, Longaville, and Dumaine, all take an oath that they will swear off all pleasures for three years and focus on their studies. These pleasures include women, adequate food and sleep, and all-around fun. The Princess of France and her ladies, Rosaline, Maria, and Katherine, arrive and soon the boys are breaking their vows as they fall head-over-heels in love. Literally, the four suitors are seen climbing trees, rolling around on the ground, and acting as benches to hide the love sicknesses that have caught each of them.
Some classic Shakespeare tricks and an outrageously funny peasant couple help spice up the play, while a Spaniard with extremely broken English keeps the laughter rolling. An excellent performance by Christopher Godwin, who played Holofernes, a School Master, is not forgotten as he insults the other characters and trails off in his old age. I don’t want to give anything away, so you should go see the play. It is so funny that at one point some of the actors laughed on stage! I loved it, and I’m sure you will too. In fact, I enjoyed myself so much that I want to see the play again, but I’m busy with so many other events. I would definitely pay the money again. So I urge everyone else to go see it. How many times in life are you going to be able to see a world renowned cast perform one of Shakespeare’s funniest and wittiest comedies? Not very often.
When: Tuesday, October 20, 8 pm
Thursday, October 22, 8 pm
Friday, October 23, 8 pm
Saturday, October 24, 8 pm
Sunday, October 25, 2 pm Where: UofM Power Center for the Performing Arts What: Shakespeare’s “Love’s Labour’s Lost”
Really though, I had so much fun Tuesday night. It always takes me that time to switch over to Shakespeare language, but once it clicks, the rest of the play is amazing (and I walk away talking like that. Usually I’ll greet people with elaborate old English sentences after a play and they’ll look at me funny, but whatever). I really do love Shakespeare. Whether it’s sad, funny, or historic, it is always well written and acted. Seeing the plays live also makes the plays better. Reading them is ok, but seeing them allows you to differentiate the characters and actually see why something might be funny (especially since we don’t always understand puns that are centuries old). Even if you don’t go to this one, everyone should see a live Shakespeare play sometime in their life. And for $10.00, why not? What else do you have to do on a Tuesday? Come on, I know you’re just sitting in your room wishing something were happening. Guess what, something is, and it is Shakespeare’s “Love’s Labour’s Lost” by his Globe Theatre of London!
What if aliens came to earth, not fearsome and hell-bent on destroying humans, not super-powerful and prepared to enlighten the ignorant citizens of our planet, but rather sick and malnourished, in a broken spaceship? This is the premise of science fiction movie District 9, directed by Neill Blomkamp. The film has the feel of a documentary, beginning with a montage of interviews and news reports. My initial reaction during those first few minutes was that I was in for a movie-used-as-mouthpiece-for-political-opinions. But I was wrong. District 9 raises challenging questions, but does not attempt to answer them in any sort of pat manner. In fact, the primary question I found myself pondering as I walked out of the theater was “Could that really happen? Would people really do that? And if so, what does that say about human nature?”
It’s easy to imagine that if aliens showed up on earth, we would treat them with both curiosity and compassion. But what about years after they have arrived, when the burgeoning alien population is becoming a drain on the state’s resources? District 9 takes place 20 years after the aliens have arrived—after the novelty of having extraterrestrial visitors has worn off. The city of Johannesburg, where the spaceship originally appeared and where the aliens are housed (in a tightly packed district of shacks), is starting to buck against the aliens’ presence. The people of Johannesburg complain that the aliens are scavengers who will pull the shoes off a person, indeed strip them bare of anything profitable, and then kill them. Here the contentious questions begin. How should the aliens be treated? What rights belong to them? How should they be punished for their behavior? The “prawns,” as the aliens are derisively called, are supposedly the “workers” (implying some type of colony/hive queen structure to their society) of the species. Does that excuse their behavior? Or is their violence simply born out of poverty, desperation, and the misery of living so far from home? Does that excuse their behavior?
When MNU (Multi-National United) decides to relocate the aliens outside of Johannesburg, MNU officials go door to door demanding signatures (or rather, “scrawls”). One alien, Christopher, reads the document carefully and complains that his eviction is not legal. This raises yet more questions: what is “legal” in this situation? Should the aliens have any say in the matter? Since the aliens are essentially powerless to resist, why even bother to maintain such a poor semblance of legality? (At one point, an MNU official claims that he has obtained a scrawl when in reality the alien was knocking the clipboard out of his hands.)
I’m not going to disclose any more of the plot, but I do have to say that the list of questions is unending. And the ramifications of these themes extend far beyond the (arguably unlikely) scenario of aliens landing on earth. How should refugees be treated? Illegal immigrants? How much say do people who are entirely dependent on the government get about their living conditions? What are acceptable forms of population control? (One MNU official crassly compares the sound of burning alien eggs to popcorn popping.) How far can we go in the name of science? (The aliens, and even one human, are the unwilling subjects of scientific experimentation.)
This movie tackles tough issues, but doesn’t let them weigh down the plot. At times, fulfilling its role of summer blockbuster, District 9 adheres to the clichés of action films: there are chase scenes, (gratuitously) bloody shoot-outs, the requisite corny moment of alien-human solidarity (“No! We stick together!” one of the aliens says to a human), and the (actually very touching) portrait of a selfish, incompetent man who redeems himself in a key moment of self-sacrifice at the end. A movie well-worth seeing, not just for the action, but also for the thought-provoking, poignant questions about human nature it weaves in.
First of all I would like to say “Hello!” to everyone. My name is Danny Fob and I’m a new writer with [art]seen! I’m a freshman in LSA majoring in Italian and minoring in Art History. I’m trying to be as involved as possible here at the UofM, so I’m doing everything I can to stay busy with extra-curriculars. So far I’ve joined the Ballroom Dancing Team, LGBTQ Commission, attended two amazing poetry slams, watched movies under the stars, and seen countless performances of our amazing acapella groups on campus. I want everyone’s freshman year to be as interesting as mine, so I’ll try to suggest as many exiting events as I can. Always remember to check the Arts website (arts.umich.edu) for event calendars and information. Never stay in your residence hall on a Friday night!
For my first event, I will be attending an international performance of Shakespeare’s comedy “Love’s Labour’s Lost.” Shakespeare’s Globe Theater of London is touring in the United States until December, so don’t miss it. This week they are performing at the Power Center and I will be there. Would you like to join me? If yes, here are some more details, or you can just visit the Globe’s website at http://www.shakespeares-globe.org/theatre/annualtheatreseason/loveslabourslost/
When: Tuesday, October 20, 8 pm
Thursday, October 22, 8 pm
Friday, October 23, 8 pm
Saturday, October 24, 8 pm
Sunday, October 25, 2 pm Where: UofM Power Center for the Performing Arts What: Shakespeare’s “Love’s Labour’s Lost” Why: Becuase it’s amazing!
If you’ve never heard of or seen the play, that’s OK. Don’t worry about it. You’ll see that it’s actually a very funny and lively story full of strange and comedic characters. The play is about the King of Navarre and his courtiers. The four men have sworn of all pleasures and dedicated themselves completely to their studies, but these oaths are soon regretted when the Princess of France and her entourage arrive to mix things up! It’s sure to be a fantastic performance, and it had better be if they came all the way from London!
Everything was setting up for the perfect enjoyment of a crisp October night. It was fall break, I had no worries (albeit momentarily), and I was about to see one of my favorite bands perform live. After a very booked week, I had almost forgotten about the Halloween treat I had been waiting for since school started and if it wasn’t for some minor obstacles, it would have been a nearly perfect night.
I guess I can be grateful that after an hour of searching for my hidden tickets in a sea of papers, I found them. And I guess I could also be grateful that despite being eons away from the galactic center of Hill Auditorium, it still felt as if I was floating peacefully above the action. And yet even more, I must be grateful that although I haphazardly forgot my glasses, the miniscule blurs down below swirled to create a larger, more pleasing image. Most of all, I am grateful for my courage to “not wilco” in a move of utter defiance at a most crucial moment (read more to find out why).
Also, earlier that day, the art critic and social theorist Brian Holmes will discuss the film in the MLB Commons, 4th floor, 2-4 PM. (RSVPs need to be sent to Brian Whitener, bwhiten at umich.edu.)
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Brian Holmes has suggested as a basis for the discussion the opening section of his new book.
![Art students in Athens, December 2008: Towards a New Body. [Click to find out more.]](http://brianholmes.files.wordpress.com/2009/01/art-students-in-athens.jpg?w=409&h=273)
