John Gushue . . . Dot Dot Dot

A thought on acting

"The stage is actor's country. You have to get your passport stamped every so often or they take away your citizenship."
- Vanessa Redgrave

A thought on being irresponsible

"Irresponsibility is part of the pleasure of all art; it is the part the schools cannot recognize."
- Pauline Kael

Sleepwalk with Me

I was cleaning up my desk at home the other day (I do this every six months or so) and came across the playbill for Sleepwalk with Me, a one-man show featuring standup comedian Mike Birbiglia, now playing in Greenwich Village in New York. (You may know Birbiglia from appearances on This American Life.) At the time we saw it, last October, it was in previews; we got in via my wife's cousin, who knows the director. Even though it wasn't quite finished at that point, it was really funny. Funny, as in your jaw is a bit sore by the time you leave. It's not all fun and games though. The play chronicles Birbiglia's too-true encounters with sleepwalking, which can pretty perilous when you find yourself, as he did, going through windows. Here's the New York Times review.

The show is still running at the Bleecker Street Theatre. I'd recommend it. In the meantime, here's a bit of Birbiglia, the standup.

Wally Brants, Dawning

Wally Brants, a Latvian who made his home in St. John's, painted it often. This 1970 painting, Dawning, is among a small set that can be seen through the Art Gallery of Newfoundland and Labrador collection. Brants died in 1998.

Paying (tribute to) Rent

On Sunday, the final show was held on Broadway of Rent, which upended musicals in 1996. The New York Times has a slideshow on images from the launch of the musical, from a downtown hit to a Broadway mainstay. The commentary is by the photographer, Sara Krulwich, who focuses on how the sudden death of playwright-composer Jonathan Larson, who died just before the show's first preview. 

Oooh, spoooky: A Dale Jarvis ghost story

Last night, I missed out on Dale Jarvis reading some of his trademark stories at the Newman Wine Vaults in downtown St. John's; we had a barbecue invitation that kept us from going. Kudos to Dale, though, for posting some audio from the reading as a podcast on his blog. This particular story, the Lady at No. 16, involves a haunted house in Malta.

You can stream the audio here; you can download it by clicking here, looking for the link, and right-clicking on it to save to your computer. Look there also for instructions on subscribing to his podcast.

Continuity

I can't draw a straight line, let along a long, complicated one that forms a work of art. So, naturally, I admire stuff like the above, which adapts a line into three dimensions. Click here to see more, which is where I found this video about one Sharpie, a lot of wall space and a good bit of talent.

A thought on painting

"If you could say it in words there would be no reason to paint."
- Edward Hopper

A bookish art project

Here's an online archive of an interesting project: four artists (in New York and Belfast) collaborated on a group project using the same sketch book. After one finished a spread, the book was mailed to the next artist, who responded to the preceding piece. It's fascinating to see it unfold.

A thought on plays

"Rehearsing a play is making the word flesh. Publishing a play is reversing the process."
- Peter Shaffer