Friday's A to Z: the "Stinky" Edition

a - agism.
b - black friday.
c - comic sans.
d - "don't ask, don't tell." repeal this already!!!
e - education in this country.
f - feet. stinky feet, literally. blech.
g - glenn beck. there's even a comprehensive glenn-beck-sucks blog.
h - halitosis.
i - ice cream. actually, i love ice cream, but it stinks that i can't have it after every meal.
j - jealousy.
k - ken buck. he recently received the douchebag decree over at bitchmedia's blog.
l - legalese.
m - model minority myth.
n - neo-nazi's. my friends at circle a radio did a program about the rise of fascism in portland.
o - outsourced, the tv show. hear our commentary on the next apa compass fri dec 6th.
p - pickles. eew.
q - queer-bashing. aka homophobia.
r - racism.
s - sarah palin. here's a recent blog from huffington post with leaks from her forthcoming book.
t - trafficking, of humans.
u - unemployment.
v - vermin.
w - war.
x - xenophobia.
y - yanni.
z - zealots. of any kind.

eclosion

I finally had a chance to catch up reading my friend Sarah's blog avventure. She's a professional clown who is in Florence as a pedagogical knight (read more about that on her blog) for a brand new international clown school Helikos, founded by her mentor Giovanni Fusetti. Not only is she blogging wonderfully about her own process as a teacher in training and a witness to the "emergence" of a new school, she's sharing a lovely portrait Florence.

In one of her posts - giocavamo [we have been playing (imperfect)] - she shares one of the teacher's lessons on LeCoq's Twenty Movements. The one that resonated with me was "eclosion" or the verb "eclose"

Definition: "Emerge as an insect from the pupa case, or of a larva from the egg."

I love that essence of emergence. And as a concept for movement... very interesting. I'll be checking out more LeCoq.

how did I become such a dance geek?

Doh. I did not get to post yesterday. So, I'm going to have to cheat a bit on my NaBloPoMo and post twice today....

I, myself, do love to dance. What's more I've been thrilled with the extreme success of dance in pop culture today. It's one of the "hot" things right now that I actually think is worthy, recognizing dancers as the incredible artists and talents that they are and bringing them to the forefront when they are most traditionally relegated as a backdrop.

Anyhoo, my current dance phenomenon obsession is The LXD - Legion of Extraordinary Dancers. It's a web-only series on hulu, the most successful one existing. The story is somewhat simplistic: dancers as superheroes and super villains whose power is the dance itself; good vs. evil; recruiting and training of new team members. What makes the series super freaking awesome is the dance. The LXD includes so many genres of dance, from krumping to poi to popping to contemporary to tap. The other thing I love about it is that the series is filled with people of color, both in front of and behind the scenes. I think it could use more women. Regardless, it's a hip hop ballet circus that kicks ass. I can't wait for the next episode!

Here's Season 1, Episode 1 (they are currently in the midst of Season 2, with new episodes released on Wednesdays):

Tina and Twain

Thanks to my pal Sarika for pointing me to this! (She's part of the APA Compass crew and also writes for Hot House.)

Last week, Tina Fey received the venerable Mark Twain Prize for American Humor. Whoohoo! Though, I've been rather disappointed with 30 Rock of late, I still do ♥ Tina Fey, a most righteous and deserving recipient for this stuffy (Kennedy Center/PBS, represent!), yet impressive award.

A little background on the Mark Twain Prize : The Kennedy Center established the award "to recognize those who create humor from their uniquely American experiences." Past honorees the prize, which was first awarded in 1998 to Richard Pryor, include other amazing comics, Carl Reiner, Whoopi Goldberg, Lily Tomlin and Steve Martin.

On a side, statistical note: 3 of the 12 awardees have been African American, and 3 have been women. Not, too shabby. However, only 2 prize winners were given the award when they were age 50 or under, Tina being the youngest at age 40. Due to the "American" nature of the prize, I'm guessing it will be a long time before we see anyone of any other ethnicity honored with this prize (Margaret Cho? Cheech Marin? Mindy Kaling?), especially given the current climate towards immigrants in this country.

Back to the brighter note of Tina Fey's awesome achievement, here's her spot-on acceptance speech from this year's presentation:

Watch the full episode. See more Mark Twain Prize.

The full program:

Watch the full episode. See more Mark Twain Prize.

dinner theatre for families!

For those of you in the Portland area with school age children, there's a great family event benefiting a great children's theatre company (admittedly I'm biased, as I'm on Portland Theatre Brigade's board of directors - but really it is wonderful!).



Details:
Sunday, November 21
4:00pm
Curious Comedy Theater, 5225 NE MLK, Portland
Tickets: Kids under 16 $7, Adults $12
Pre-purchased tickets include grilled cheese and tomato soup! Purchase tickets here.
Sponsors: Curious Comedy Theater, The Waterbrook Studio, CheezyFlicks.com, Dave's Killer Bread

The performers include two local actors and three professionals from across the country who all specialize in story theatre, having studied with the venerable Paul Sills, son of the godmother of improvisation Viola Spolin.

More details about the company and the dinner theatre event on the Portland Theatre Brigade website.

Friday's A to Z: the "Boundary" Edition

Keeping with a theme from earlier in the week, a list of words from A to Z. I'm working with the loose theme of "boundary," a little research for possible exploration in improvisation. I actually broke out an old-fashioned printed dictionary book for this one: Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, published in 1990. Wow, it's hard to believe 1990 was 20 years ago. That'll have to be a whole other list (the A to Z list of things that makes me feel old)... also consulted my Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus from 1993.

abut vb 1) to touch along a border or with a projecting part; 2a) to terminate at a point of contact b) to lean for support / vt 1) to border on; touch; 2) to cause to abut

boundary n something that indicates or fixes a limit or extent; a bounding or separating line, point, or plane

compass n 1a) boundary, circumference b) a circumscribed space c) range, scope; 2) a curved or roundabout course; 3) a device for determining directions by means of a magnetic needle or group of needles turning freely on a pivot and pointing to the magnetic north

door n 1) a usually swinging or sliding barrier by which an entry is closed and opened, also, a similar part of a piece of furniture; 2) doorway; 3) a means of access

edge n 1a) the cutting side of a blade b) the sharpness of a blade c) penetrating power d) a noticeably harsh or sharp quality; 2a) the line where an object or area begins or ends, border b) the narrow part adjacent to a border c a point near the beginning or the end d) a favorable margin, advantage; 3) a line or line segment that is the intersection of two place faces (as or a pyramid or of two planes

freestyle n a competition in which a contestant uses a style of his choice instead of a specified style

game n 1) activity engaged in for diversion or amusement, play; 2) a procedure or strategy for gaining an end, tactic; 3a) a physical or mental competition conducted according to rules with the participants in direct opposition to each other b) organized athletics c0 a situation that involves contest, rivalry, or struggle

husk n 1) a typically dry or membranous outer covering of a seed or fruit; 2a) an outer layer, shell b) an emptied shell, remnant c) a supporting framework

ictus n the recurring stress or beat in a rhythm or metrical series of sounds

jalousie n 1) a blind with adjustable horizontal slats for admitting light and air while excluding sun and rain; 2) a window made of adjustable glass louvers that control ventilation

kern n a part of a typeset letter that projects beyond its side bearings

latchkey n a key to an outside and especially a front door

myopia n 1) a condition in which the visual images come to a focus in front of the retina of the eye resulting in defective vision of distant objects; 2) a lack of foresight or discernment, a narrow view of something

né adj 1) used to indicate the original, former, or legal name of a man; 2) originally or formerly called

obstruction n 1a) an act of obstructing b) the state of being obstructed, especially a condition of being clogged or blocked; 2) something that obstructs

pattern n 1) a form or model proposed for imitation; 2) something designed or used as a model for making things; 3) a model for making a mold into which molten metal is poured to form a casting; 4) an artistic, musical, literary, or mechanical design or form; 5) a natural or chance configuration; 6) a length of fabric sufficient for an article; 6) the distribution of shrapnel, bombs on a target, or shot from a shotgun; 8) a reliable sample of traits, acts, tendencies, or other observable characteristics of a person, group, or institution; 9) the flight path prescribed for an airplane that is coming in for a landing; 10) a standard diagram transmitted for testing television circuits 11) discernible coherent system based on the intended interrelationship of component parts; 12) frequent or widespread incidence

quay n a structure built along the bank of a waterway for use as a landing place

regimen n 1a) a systematic plan, especially when designed to improve and maintain the health of a patient 2) a regular course of strenuous training; 2) government, rule

symmetry n 1) balanced proportions; 2) the property of being symmetrical, especially correspondence in size, shape, and relative position of parts on opposite sides of a dividing line or median place or about a center or axis; 3) a rigid motion of a geometric figure that determines a one-to-one mapping onto itself; 4) he property of remaining invariant under certain changes

transparent adj 1a) having the property of transmitting light without appreciable scattering so that bodies lying beyond are entirely visible, pellucid b) fine or sheer enough to be seen through, diaphanous; 2a) free from pretense or deceit, frank b) easily detected or seen through, obvious c) readily understood

unbridle vt to free or loose from a bridle, to set loose, free from restraint

village n 1a) a settlement usually larger than a hamlet and smaller than a town b) an incorporated minor municipality; 2) the residents of a village; 3) something suggesting a village; 4) a territorial area having the status of a village

wall vt 1a) to provide, cover with, or surround with or as if with a wall b) to separate by or as if by a wall; 2a) immure b) to close with or as if with a wall

xenophobia n fear and hatred of strangers of foreigners or of anything that is foreign

yielding adj 1) productive; 2) lacking rigidity or stiffness, flexible; 3) disposed to submit or comply

zenith n 1) the point of the celestial sphere that is directly opposite the nadir and vertically above the observer; 2) the highest point reached in the heavens by a celestial body; 3) culminating point, acme

Small Space, Big Stories tonight

I've been directing three improvisors for a show we're calling Small Space, Big Stories. Our venue is a very small, intimate space (hence the title), Nisus Gallery. Tonight we'll explore themes of place, relationship and constraints, in the first of what we hope will be regular improvised theater performances at Nisus. There is just the tiniest amount of seating so get there early (doors open at 7:30) to ensure you've got a spot.

More details about Small Space, Big Stories here.

You'll also get to see the visual art exhibit up at Nisus, "Barbie" by Claudia Porter.