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

A thought on art

"The essence of all art is to have pleasure in giving pleasure."
- Mikhail Baryshnikov

A thought on diction

 

"Critics search for ages for the wrong word which, to give them credit, they eventually find."
- Peter Ustinov

On exhibit

I've met photographer Scott Walden;  I interviewed him in 2001, about an exhibit of work then being shown, at the former Memorial University gallery, about resettled communities. Some of the images of that show have already gone on their way to becoming iconic. I was not aware, though, until this week that I actually appear in his latest work ... even though I had glanced through the work before.

All the Clubs from Holyrood to Brigus is a collection that pretty much speaks for itself. This is a section of Conception Bay that is dear to my heart, as my father's family comes from the region, and I still have relatives living there. The images are curious: they basically show the clubs as they truly are, without any gussying up.

This is the eighth image in the series:

If you squint - as my dad did, when this image was reprinted a couple of weeks ago in both the Telegram and the Independent - you'll see yours truly (the bald guy at the back) in the doorway. I missed both of the papers as we were on the road, deep into vacation territory.

Last summer, I was attending, as the sign declares, the party at the Legion in Holyrood to celebrate the 50th wedding anniversary of my uncle George and my aunt Mary. I (and I would imagine others) were oblivious that Scott was outside with his camera! I would definitely have asked him in.

Oddly enough, I had looked at the online series of pictures weeks ago, and browsed through them quickly - without a) noticing the sign about George and Mary and b) noticing myself. So much for that eagle-eyed reputation...