#youth theater arts scotland

[helpagirlout-lander]

Hot DANG, does our main man have some stellar work under his belt...ed kilt. This dude was GOIN PLACES long before Outlander came upon his radar and it simply ROCKETED into areas and projects one could have only dreamed of before. Batman! Live in 2011 to Bloodshot nine years later in 2020? Goodness GRACIOUS, hot Scots a workin’! 

Tennent’s Lager, 2010: A Madman’s Dream / The New Firm / Hugh’s Pride / Too Loud / Can Monkeys / Tents / Original Export

Photoshoots: Nobleman / DaManTV / Men’s Health 2017, Two

Barbour: Q&A, IG Q&A 2016 / Autumn 18 / Christmas Barbour / Spring Summer 2017 Barbour /  AW2017, Two / Harper’s Bazaar /Aug 2017 Ad / AW16 / GQ Spring 2017 AD / “Showing Collection” / GQ Autumn 2016 / SS19 / SS2018, Two / AW18 / AW17

Sassenach Spirits & Whisky: Ads: Aug2019 / Aug2020 / Nov2020 / Dec2020, NewYear // Social Media: Great Glen Company / 03/15/2020 / 12/2/2020 / 10/21/2020 / 10/27/2020 // Interviews: Cigar & Spirits / Whiskey Neat Eps One & Two

Plague Over England (2008 or 9): Clip / Interview w/ Author, Includes Clips

Batman Live (2011-2): The Team / Meet Batman / Crew / Rehearsals/ TV Spot & Interview / Promo / Live: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Finale / FoxNewMexico / World Arena Tour / Honda Center, Two / West End

Royal Conservatoire / wPrince Charles

Edinburgh Steiner School

Small Moments (Short Film) 2001: Full Film

Island at War (Mini Series) 2004: Philip Dorr, 5 episodes: Clip, Two, Three (no Sam) / Full Eps w/ Portuguese Subtitles: EpOne (no Sam), EpTwo, EpThree, EpFour, EpFive, EpSix

River City (TV Series) 2005: Andrew Murray, 4 episodes: Ep 12/18/2005 & Ep 12/23/2005

The Wild West (Mini Series) 2006: John Tunstall, 1 episode: Full Ep

Midsomer Murders (TV Series) 2007: Ian King, 1 episode: Full Ep / Trailer

Party Animals (TV Series) 2007: Adrian Chapple, 2 episodes: Ep7 Full Ep / Ep8 Full Ep

A Very British Sex Scandal (TV Movie) 2007: Edward McNally: Full Film

Breaking the Mould (TV Movie) 2009: Charles Fletcher: Full Movie

Doctors (TV Series) 2009: Scott Neilson, 21 episodes: 11x114 Guilty Party / 11x115 Billy Boy / 11x117 Reflected Windows Pt1 / 11x118 Reflected Windows Pt2 (maybe sam?, not listed on IMDb) /  11x120 Bundle of Joy / 11x121 Mr Jelly / 11x122 I’ll Keep Holding On / 11x123 A Manny About The House / 11x124 The Romantics / 11x125 The Great Escape / 11x126 Leaving God / 11x130 The Informant / 11x135 Love All / 11x136 Dead Honest / 11x137 Family Values / 11x138 Blind Faith / 11x141 Dr Who? / 11x143 Shackled / 11x145 Up the Garden Path / 11x146 Cold Light of Day / 11x147 Bully For You / 11x152 New Dawn (maybe sam?, not listed on IMDb) / 11x153 Duality

First Light (TV Movie) 2010: Geoffrey ‘Boy’ Wellum: Full Movie / Full Movie (w/ Portuguese Subtitles)

Young Alexander the Great (Film) 2010: Alexander: Trailer, Two

A Princess for Christmas (TV Movie) 2011: Ashton, Prince of Castlebury: Full Movie / BTS / Promo, Two / On Location

Heart of Lightness (Film) 2014: Lyngstrand: Trailer, Two (no Sam?) / Interview

Emulsion (Film) 2014: Ronny Maze: Trailer, Two, Three / Clips, Two, Three, Four / Q&A / Scottish Premiere

Outlander (TV Series) 2014-: Jamie Fraser, 67 episodes: Season One / Season Two / Season Three / Season Four / Season Five / or Series Master Post

When the Starlight Ends (Film) 2016: Jacob: Full Film One, Two /Red Carpet, Two (w/Spanish Subs) / Trailer / ETCanada

The Adventure Show (BBC Scotland) 2018: Himself: Clip / More Clips

The Spy Who Dumped Me (Film) 2018: Sebastian:  Trailer, Two, Three, Four / Teaser / Full Movie / TV Spot (Brief Sam) / DynamicDuo Featurette / BTS / Bloopers //  Premiere, Two, Three, Four / Red Carpet // Press: FLAAWSOME / JimmyKimmel / KG / Loves Sam / TodayShow /  IMDb / AO3 / On Set / CBSMiami / ScreenRant / MyShow (w/SpanishSubs) / Weird Trivia / ENTAffair / MovieTimes / ET, Two / MTV /  ETCanada / Access / Q&A / XYZ / CineMovie / MG / WWD / ODE / Fandom / HeyUGuys / HollywoodFirstLook / E!

Clanlands / Men In Kilts: See Master Post

Bloodshot (Film) 2020: Jimmy Dalton:  Trailer, Two / Full Movie, Again / Clip, Two / Deleted Scene / BTS, Two, Three / Sam Featurette  // Press: Collider / JamesCorden -  Emily’s Bit, Two /  WMTV / Harper’s Bazaar / SyFyWire / CinemaBlend / MG / ExtraTV / Bloopers / In Studio / ExtraButter / ScreenRant / ETCanada / MTV / BHL / HollywoodInsider / Hoyts / WatchMojo / Q&A / ComicBook

SAS Red Notice (Film) 2020/1: IG Video

To Olivia (Film) 2021: Paul Newman: Trailer

Text 4 U (Film) 2021: Russell Tovey about being on set

Unable to find his spots on TV/Mini Series: Rebus (2007), Any Human Heart (2010), and Homeland (2012)

National Trust

Youth Theater Arts Scotland: STV 2016 / LiveAtFive 2016 /  Chrysalis Festival 2016 / Dram4Sam2016 / National Festival of Youth Theater 2017 / OutlanderAdorbs 2019

United Voices Rally

Bloodwise: Amy Carmichael / Burns Supper / Thank You to Runners/ Jibland

Edinburgh Marathon 2018

MyPeakChallenge: Galas: 2019 , 2020 // 2014: Intro // 2015: Intro / Challenge Weekend / Anglophile PaleyFest / Message // 2016: Join / Trailer // 2017: Message // 2018: Challenge #1 / Challenge #2 / Message Behind MPC / Visits Marie Curie (w/Russian Subs) / Munro Step Challenge / Bloodwise & MPC (no Sam) / One Million // 2019: Registration // 2020: Promo / Registration / Marie Curie Cycling (no Sam) / Jogging Message / End of Year Message

Honorary Doctorates: University of Sterling, June 2019: Intro and Receiving / Commencement Speech / Interview / Message to Students // University of Glasgow, July 2019: Speech About Him /  ITV

OneWorld: Together At Home

[quindolyn]

hi can i request the maurauders going to see the reader do a musical like heathers or mean girls and they are just confused and turned on bc they didn't expect it to be this dirty (can lead to smut or not). luv you and hope you are taking care of yourself, if not go get something to eat, drink some water, take a nap, or do somthing you enjoy. or dont not trying to be pushy :)

Creature of the Night || Poly!Marauders

Word Count: 3029 (excluding song lyrics)

A/N: I think I liked how this turned out? I didn’t make it smut but it’s certainly suggestive, I went with Rocky Horror, I know that the musicals mentioned in the request are more modern but I fucking love Rocky Horror and I think it works with the request. When I first read this request I smiled so much because I love live theater, I don’t perform as much as I used to because as I progress with my education I’m focusing more on the stuff I can use to pad my resumes for college and stuff but I still love going to see productions. One of the worst parts of the pandemic for me has been not being able to go see shows, I miss it so much.

Warnings: theatre enthusiast reader, erections, suggestive material, song lyrics, slight teasing, wearing very little clothing in front of an audience, I believe that that is it

Masterlist

500 follower celebration

antici-

The magic of the stage was second to none. Sure, Hogwarts may have had witches and wizards, subjects like Transfiguration and Defense Against the Dark Arts, and ghosts that spent their time meandering about the halls but there was always a part of you that looked forward to the summer between your years at Hogwarts. Because no matter how magical Hogwarts was, the theater always made you feel completely and utterly alive. 

Every summer since the one after your first year at what all of your muggle friends thought to be a very prestigious boarding school up in Scotland, you’d taken part in your local youth theater’s productions. Your parents both being muggles thought that it would be a great way for you to be able to stay in touch with your muggle origins. 

The first year you’d been far too nervous to actually audition for a role, the very thought causing bile to churn in your stomach and threaten to make you sick all over your kitchen floor when your father first pitched the idea. So instead you’d done costumes and it was the most wonderful experience of your life. 

Who needed drugs when you had live theater? The hustle and bustle behind the scenes was electrifying but after two summers of costuming, of quick changes in the wings, learning how to use the ancient sewing machines they stored in the depths of the storage rooms, and pulling pieces for the actors to try on you decided that you wanted to try something more.

The moment you had stepped onto the stage it was like you’d come to life and you cursed yourself for not taking the risk earlier. You belonged on the stage, with the harsh stage lights on you and pounds of makeup plastered onto your face you could feel the magic thrumming through your veins and it was addicting.

If it was possible, you were even more excited to perform this summer, the previous school year you’d finally gotten together with your long time best friends the Marauders, turning them from friends to your boyfriends.

When your mother had sent word of the production being put on this summer you’d squealed while seated next to James and across from Remus, who had Sirius hanging off of his side. After explaining to them, mostly Sirius and James really, just what live theater was their first reaction was to ask if they could come see you perform.

“I don’t even know if I’m going to be cast,” You had explained gently, not wanting to get their hopes up in case you weren’t cast this year.

“Bull shit of course you’re going to be the cast,” Sirius had contested through a mouthful of jam and toast, waving his hand theatrically through the air, watching him that day was not the first time you’d considered how the way he acted often reminded you of an over enthusiastic theatre major.

Remus, the only one with any knowledge on muggle theatre had snorted, wrapping an arm around Sirius’ waist to pull him closer to his body, “She’s not going to be the cast Pads, she’s going to be casted,” He’d corrected gently, pressing a kiss into his long, dark tresses.

“Whatever,” The smaller boy had grumbled, taking a sip of pumpkin juice.

Which brought you to where you were right now, five minutes to curtain touching up your make up in the mirror of the shared make-up room.

“Hey (L/N),” One of your cast mates called settling into the makeup chair next to you as she plucked a tube of dark red lipstick from the small canary colored makeup bag she had previously abandoned on the counter, “Your boyfriends coming tonight?” She asked, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

“Yeah, they are,” You responded, applying mascara to your lashes.

“Excited to meet them, that photo you showed us,” She smiled, fanning her face with her hand, “Smoking,” She smiled, making eye contact with you in the mirror.

Rolling your eyes you ignored her comment, “It’s five minutes to curtain, you’re just now doing your make-up?” You chuckled, noticing her black face.

“Oh, shove it,” She laughed as you pushed yourself from your chair, traipsing out of the room, giving her the middle finger on your way out.

“Break a leg!” She called after you as the door latched shut.

You weren’t usually this nervous before a performance but knowing that your three boyfriends were sitting out there somewhere in the audience had you pacing back and forth backstage wondering what they were going to think of the whole production.

“Rocky Horror?” Sirius’ confusion evident in his voice as he plopped down in his seat next to Remus, throwing his arm around the werewolf’s shoulders, drumming his fingers on his clothed shoulder hidden behind his knitted cardigan.

“Yeah,” James collapsed into his chair on the other side of Remus, tucking one leg under his body, “No clue what it’s about but I’m sure our angel will be wonderful. Can you guys see her?” He straightened himself up in his seat, craning his neck in attempts to catch a glimpse of you.

Remus being the only one with any ties to the muggle world knew a bit about the show and had to do his very best to suppress a smirk from overtaking his face as he knew exactly what he and your other two boyfriends were getting themselves into. 

“Just hush up you two, the show’s gonna start any moment,” He scolded, patting his large, scarred hand on James’ thigh, giving it a gentle squeeze.

“Rem,” Sirius whined, puckering his lips and closing his eyes, signaling to his boyfriend that he wanted a kiss.

“My needy baby,” He crooned, leaning in to connect his lips with Sirius’ in a quick liplock before pulling back, allowing Sirius to drop his forehead to smear against his shoulder.

“That’s mean,” Sirius murmured discontentedly.

“Poor baby Pads,” James cooed mockingly.

“Both of you,” Remus hissed as the lights in the theatre dimmed, “The show’s about to start, be good for me and be quiet yeah?”

Their response came in their silence as the crowd started settling down and the music from the orchestra pit began a voice coming from somewhere out of sight as it was played through the speakers,

“Michael Rennie was ill

The day the earth stood still

But he told us where we stand”

Not 20 minutes into the show all three of them were as hard as rocks, James had already made Remus check the playbill for the name of the character you were playing, not being able to remember what you’d told them as all of his concentration was focused on a certain place.

Janet Weiss.

Remus couldn’t remember either, but he was almost certain that’s the name he could make out in the dark theatre, printed next to a picture of your smiling face.

When you’d stripped down to your underwear the boys could barely focus on the plot line of the show, only being able to watch the way your bare skin shone under the harsh light of the spotlights. Watching as sweat glistened on your skin, making you shine as you moved about the stage. 

Enchanted by the melodic cadence of your voice they all felt a certain jealousy burning deep in the pits on their stomachs at the thought that there were dozens of other people packed into that theater, all observing you in your vulnerable state of under dress. Only they got to see you like that.

Sirius missed much of the first act glaring at members of the audience who he deemed as looking at you for too long for his liking, but if you were being honest a 4th year smiling at you in the hallway was sometimes too long for his liking.

It wasn’t like any of them had never seen you naked before, in fact they’d all seen you naked more than their fair share of times but something about you on that stage in a white bra with a matching slip was driving them all crazy.

Especially Remus, whose ultimate weakness was seeing you in anything white which was one of the reasons you’d been so excited to invite them in the first place, knowing that they would be horny messes the entire time.

On stage you did your very best not to look out into the audience looking for them, knowing that you wouldn’t be able to stop a ginormous grin from forming on your face and you couldn’t afford to break character. Not if you wanted the night to go your way.

As the opening notes to “Touch-A, Touch-A, Touch Me”, rose from the orchestra pit you had trouble stopping a small smirk from pulling at your lips as you opened them, inhaling deeply before singing the first words of the song,

“I was feeling done in, couldn't win

I'd only ever kissed before”

Despite yourself you caught a glimpse of long dark hair in the audience, quickly taking a glance at Sirius’ face, eyes glazed over in lust, legs shifting uncomfortably with his mouth hanging wide open. 

Out of the corner of your eye you noticed another raven-haired boy’s mouth dropping as you shrugged off of your robe

“I thought there’s no use getting, into heavy petting

It only leads to trouble and, seat wetting

Now all I want to know, is how to go

I've tasted blood and I want more”

It was impossible to miss the way Remus’ jaw clenched as you laid your palm against Rocky’s chest, he was being played by your good friends who’d been working with the same theatre company as you since forever, he was like a brother to you. But that didn’t mean you couldn’t lay it on extra thick tonight with your boyfriends in the audience.

Tracing a dainty finger down Rocky’s chest you pushed your body against his singing out the next lyrics of the song,

“I've got an itch to scratch, I need assistance”

You turned you and your cast mate so that looking over his shoulder you were able to meet Remus’ eye, sending him a quick wink before focusing back in on Rocky.

“Toucha, toucha, toucha, touch me

I wanna be dirty

Thrill me, chill me, fulfill me

Creature of the night”

Pressing your back up against Rocky’s chest you guided his hands with yours to your breasts, squeezing them as you followed the choreography you knew by heart.

You ripped your slip from your body with the help of Rocky leaving you in only your white bra, matching panties and a pair of small heels as you paraded around stage, belting the suggestive lyrics into the theater.

“Then if anything grows, while you pose

I'll oil you up and rub you down (down, down, down)

And that’s just one small fraction, of the main attraction

You need a friendly hand, oh i need action”

You smirked, thinking about all of the action you’d be on the receiving end of later that night as you sunk to your knees in front of Rocky, your hands grasping his thighs. Deciding to tease them perhaps a little more than necessary as you went through the number, curling your leg around his and pressing your bodies together so that there was no space between your two questionably clothed bodies.

As the number was brought to a close it was impossible for you to ignore the excitement bubbling up inside of you as you continued your way through the show you kept throwing glances at your boyfriends, always finding their eyes already trained on you. More often than not, on some body part other than your face.

If your boyfriends thought that they had a bit of a problem before that song they were in a terrible predicament now.

Remus caught Sirius on multiple occasions trying to move the hand that he was holding to grope at his crotch as he tried to buck up into his boyfriend’s hand. And much to his own dismay, Remus would pull his hand away, thinking it probably wasn’t the best idea to give his boyfriend a hand job in a crowded theater. Knowing that he wouldn’t have to worry about James touching himself because he would never dream of disobeying him, Remus divided his attention between you on the stage and keeping Sirius in check.

Each of the boys were counting down the seconds until the show came to an end and they could get out of there and relieve some of their tension.  As the curtains were pulled closed they all breathed a sigh of relief before they reopened, leaving all three of them bewildered and slightly annoyed, even more so when they noticed everyone around them standing as they applauded the actors.

Remus forced both of them up when you rushed to the front of the stage, curtsying as the crowd went wild, your boyfriends most notably. As you took your bow you blew a kiss to your boyfriends taking note of the uncomfortable way they all stood, trying to adjust their erections to make them less noticeable while simultaneously applauding you.

As you cleared the stage after curtain call you took your time, doddling towards the dressing rooms where you had left the clothes you’d arrived at the theater in along with a special outfit you’d brought for after the show. Usually you were one of the first actors to clear the theater after a show but tonight you took your time. Hanging up your costume with more care than anyone really should treat any garment with and certainly more than what it needed. 

You smirked mischievously as you pulled the you’d brought outfit from your bag and shimmied it up your legs before slipping the delicate straps up your shoulders. You glimpsed yourself in the mirror, the red satin of the dress clinging to your curves in an attractive manner, short enough to display miles of legs and low cut enough to show off a decent amount of cleavage and perhaps a sighting of the matching red bra you were wearing beneath it.

Slinging the back of your black heels over the heel of your feet you snatched your purse from the armchair in your dressing room before striding out to go meet your boyfriends in the lobby, where you’d told them to wait for you.

Their heads all turned as they heard the clacking of your heels against the tile of the floor, “Boys,” You greeted as they unabashedly took in your new appearance.

As he most often was, Remus was the first one to collect himself, “Puppy, you were wonderful,” He praised, walking to meet you as you approached him, leaning down to smear a kiss against your cheek, “You did amazing up there, so proud of you,” He threw his arm around your waist as you walked towards Sirius and James.

“We got something for you,” He explained, his grip on your waist tightening, “Jamie give it to her, yeah?” 

“Oh yeah,” The smaller boy grinned, remembering the bouquet he held cradled in his arms as he handed it over to you, “Here you go angel.”

“Thank you Jamie,” You said as you took it from him, closing your eyes as you buried your nose in the sweet smelling flora. As you opened your eyes you made eye contact with Sirius, who stood across from you, practically drooling as he took in your appearance without any shame, “They smell wonderful.”

“You okay Si?” You asked, looking up through your eyelashes, batting them innocently.

“Like you don’t know exactly what you did up there to us (Y/N/N),” Remus whispered in your ear, pressing his nose into your temple.

“You guys are the ones who wanted to come,” You lilted, rubbing one of the velvety petals between the pads of your thumb and forefinger.

“Could’ve warned us,” James mumbled, his eyes not leaving your thighs as he licked his lips, if it were anyone else you would’ve been uncomfortable but you couldn’t help but feel flattered whenever any of them ogled you. 

“And what’s with the dress Pup?” Sirius nodded his head appreciatively towards your dress, obviously admiring the way it hung on your body.

“What, you don’t like it?” You asked with fake hurt in your voice, knowing that he more than liked it, he fucking loved it. 

“S’not that,” Remus mumbled, nosing at your jugular, “Just that whole show, got us a little bit worked up. We didn’t expect it to be so sexual Puppy,” He nodded towards James and that’s when you noticed the erection he was still sporting. 

“Got us really worked up, can we go home now?” James asked, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, trying to distract himself from his little problem.

“Jamie,” You whined, smiling wickedly, “I wanted to celebrate, I was thinking we could go eat somewhere, I was thinking maybe Thai food?”

You watched as Sirius ground his teeth, conflicted between needing to get home and not wanting to deny you from what you wanted. 

“Having fun teasing us Bunny?” Remus asked you with a sly smirk, knowing exactly what you were doing.

“M’not teasing,” You insisted, turning indignantly to your other boyfriend.

“Sure you aren’t,” He chuckled, “Thai sounds great (Y/N), wanna talk with you about the show,” The idea of teasing Sirius and James even longer was very appealing to Remus and he was ready to make the sacrifice of being teased himself, knowing that he’d be able to get back at you later that night.

“But-” James began.

“You wanna argue with me Jamie?” Remus challenged, raising a singular eyebrow.

“No,” He moped, “Of course not.”

“Good,” Remus said, nodding his head approvingly, “We wouldn’t wanna deny our Princess would we?”

James shook his head, eyes pleading, desperately seeking Remus’ approval.

“Pads?” Remus challenged, turning his attention to the other raven haired man.

“What? Oh um, of course not,” He agreed distractedly, dragging his eyes from your form to meet Remus’, his reluctance evident in his voice.

“Good,” Remus said pointedly, his eyes cold, daring Sirius to question him. When he didn’t the werewolf continued, “Let’s get going then, there’s a nice little restaurant a couple blocks away yeah?”

As you all hummed your consent you made your way to the exit, “Ten galleons if you can make James cum in his pants at dinner,” Remus whispered in your ear quietly enough so that  James and Sirius trailing behind you wouldn’t be able to hear you, you could hear the smirk in his voice as you exited the theatre.

“Deal.” This was going to be fun, you considered that you might have to invite them to come see the show again.

-pation

tagging: @randomoutsiders @weasleyposts @kittykylax @amourtentiaa @superbturtlemakerathlete

[obsessivesassenach]

Sam Heughan’s career and role before Outlander fame Sam Heughan in publicity shot for David Greig play Outlying Islands at the Traverse Theatre in 2002 - arguably his breakthrough role. ALISON CAMPSIE 14:3616:50Friday 30 June 2017

From appearing nude on an Edinburgh stage to advertising Tennent’s Lager, actor Sam Heughan grafted long and hard before reaching Outlander super stardom. 

Known to millions of fans as the show’s handsome rebel Highlander Jamie Fraser, the actor started out in theatres around the capital with a role in David Greig’s play, Outlying Islands, first staged at the Traverse in 2002, arguably the turning point of his career. 

Later nominated for a Laurence Oliver Award, Heughan became one to watch given his take on a Cambridge-educated ornithologist pushed to the limit of human experience on a far flung isle. 

This emerging talent caught the attention of critics and audiences alike. His bare bottom, on show in a sex scene, didn’t go unnoticed either. 

“Edinburgh theatre-goers will know him by his rather pert behind,” said a profile of the up-and-coming actor in The Scotsman in 2002, with other critics homing in on his striking looks and square jaw. 

Heughan was 22 and still a student at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland at the time of Outlying Islands. 

Originally from Balmaclellan in Dumfries and Galloway, he moved to Edinburgh to attend school and signed up to the Lyceum Youth Theatre. 

“I didn’t want to be one of those arty nutcases,” was the view of a young Heughan but after travelling for a while, he recognised that acting was his calling. 

Colin Bradie, founder and leader of the youth theatre, recalled the strong impression Heughan made on him the first time they met. 

He said: “We had a massive response of people wanting to join the youth theatre and we very quickly got 30 people together. About two days later, we got a phone call from Sam saying that he really wanted to join. 

“We were going to be hard and say ‘tough’ but he made the effort to come to speak to me in person. I always thought it was a very brave thing to do. He would only have been about 14 at the time. 

“Sam seemed really genuine, that this was something he really wanted to do. Sam became our number 31.” 

Sam proved to be a different kind of recruit. Mr Bradie added: “There are usually two kind of boys in youth theatre. You have the alpha male-type who are really trying to prove themselves in front of all the girls and then there are a lot of boys who are quite quiet. 

“Sam was very confident, but not annoyingly so. He was very polite and very genuine. He was there because he wanted to learn. A lot of people in youth theatre like the idea of being an actor but Sam knew it was something he would have to work for - and he worked incredibly hard.” 

The pair became good friends with Mr Bradie, former chief executive of Youth Theatre Arts Scotland, of which Heughan is now a patron, later asking him to return to star as Theseus in the opening scenes of a A Midsummer Night’s Dream. “

He had appeared in Outlying Islands by this point but agreed to come back and do this over the summer. The funny thing was, he came on stage and forgot his lines - they were whispered to him by a nine-year-old fairy. I still have a laugh about that.”

He added: “I always had a bit of a joke with Sam that I was going to become his manager - I suppose I always knew he was going to be big.” 

In 2002, Heughan starred in A Christmas Carol at Glasgow’s Citizens Theatre with the actor returning to the Gorbals institution five years later to play Guildenstern in Hamlet. 

From the stage, Heughan made strides into television with a part in River City as smooth-talking Livingston FC footballer Andrew Murray. 

After leaving Shieldinch in 2005, parts in Midsomer Murders, Rebus and Doctors followed with time on the small screen split with parts in Scottish theatre productions of Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth and King John. 

Advertising work was offered and in 2010 his series of madcap adds for Tennent’s Lager swept the board at the Scottish Advertising Awards. 

The US then called for Heughan with his part in Outlander secured a couple of years after his larger commercials. From there he stepped on the “rollercoaster” of the smash hit show, as he described it. 

Back in The Scotsman’s profile in 2002, Heughan, then 22, was described as “always on the go and a real flirt.” 

“It’ll be hard to keep track of this one,” it concluded. 

For now, at least , Sam Heughan is right where the world can see him. Where he will go after the time travelling fantasy of Outlander comes to a rest is, as yet, unclear. 

Mr Bradie added; “Sam is a real quality actor. I hope he will still find a chance to do some hard work and perhaps more theatre work, things that will really test him.”

Read more at: http://www.scotsman.com/news/sam-heughan-s-career-and-role-before-outlander-fame-1-4491326

[ravnlghtft]

Alvin Ailey born on January 5th 1931, in Rogers, Texas, at the height of the Great Depression in the violently racist and segregated south, during his youth Ailey was barred from interacting with mainstream society. Abandoned by his father when he was three months old, Ailey and his mother were forced to work in cotton fields and as domestics in white homes—the only employment available to them. As an escape, Ailey found refuge in the church, sneaking out at night to watch adults dance, and in writing a journal, a practice that he maintained his entire life. Even this could not shield him from a shiftless childhood spent moving from town to town as his mother sought employment, being abandoned with relatives whenever she took off on her own, or watching her get raped at the hands of a white man when he was five years old.

Looking for greater job prospects, Ailey’s mother departed for Los Angeles in 1941. He arrived a year later, enrolling at George Washington Carver Junior High School, and then graduating into Thomas Jefferson High School. In 1946 he had his first experience with concert dance when he saw the Katherine Dunham Dance Company and Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo perform at the Los Angeles Philharmonic Auditorium. This awakened an until then unknown spark of joy within him, though he did not become serious about dance until 1949 when his classmate and friend Carmen De Lavallade dragged him to the Melrose Avenue studio of Lester Horton.

Ailey studied a wide range of dance styles and techniques—from ballet to Native American inspired movement studies—at Horton’s school, which was one of the first racially integrated dance schools in the United States. Though Horton became his mentor, Ailey did not commit to dancing full-time; instead he pursued academic courses, studying romance languages and writing at UCLA. He continued these studies at San Francisco State in 1951. Living in San Francisco he met Maya Angelou, then known as Marguerite Johnson, with whom he formed a nightclub act called “Al and Rita”. Eventually, he returned to study dance with Horton in Los Angeles.

He joined Horton’s dance company in 1953, making his debut in Horton’s Revue Le Bal Caribe. Horton died suddenly that same year in November from a heart attack, leaving the company without leadership. In order to complete the organization’s pressing professional engagements, and because no one else was willing to, Ailey took over as artistic director and choreographer.

In 1954 De Lavallade and Ailey were recruited by Herbert Ross to join the Broadway show, House of Flowers. Ross had been hired to replace George Balanchine as the show’s choreographer and he wanted to use the pair, who had become known as a famous dance team in Los Angeles, as featured dancers. The show’s book was written and adapted by Truman Capote from one of his novellas with music from Harold Arlen and starred Pearl Bailey and Diahann Carroll. Ailey and De Lavallade met Geoffrey Holder, who performed alongside them in the chorus, during the production. Holder married De Lavallade and became a life-long artistic collaborator with Ailey. After House of Flowers closed, Ailey appeared in Harry Belafonte’s touring revue Sing, Man, Sing with Mary Hinkson as his dance partner, and the 1957 Broadway musical Jamaica, which starred Lena Horne and Ricardo Montalbán. Drawn to dance, but unable to find a choreographer whose work fulfilled him, Ailey started gathering dancers to perform his own unique vision of dance.

Alvin Ailey, a.k.a. Alvin Ailey Jr., founded the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT). He created AAADT and its affiliated Ailey School as havens for nurturing black artists and expressing the universality of the African-American experience through dance. His work fused theatre, modern dance, ballet, and jazz with black vernacular, creating hope-fueled choreography that continues to spread global awareness of black life in America. Ailey’s choreographic masterpiece Revelations is recognized as one of the most popular and most performed ballets in the world. In this work he blended primitive, modern and jazz elements of dance with a concern for black rural America. On July 15, 2008, the United States Congress passed a resolution designating AAADT a “vital American cultural ambassador to the World.” That same year, in recognition of AAADT’s 50th anniversary, then Mayor Michael Bloomberg declared December 4 “Alvin Ailey Day” in New York City while then Governor David Paterson honoured the organization on behalf of New York State.

Ailey loathed the label “black choreographer” and preferred being known simply as a choreographer. He was notoriously private about his life. Though gay, he kept his romantic affairs in the closet. Following the death of his friend Joyce Trisler, a failed relationship, and bouts of heavy drinking and cocaine use, Ailey suffered a mental breakdown in 1980. He was diagnosed as manic depressive, known today as bipolar disorder. During his rehabilitation, Judith Jamison served as co-director of AAADT.

Ailey died from an AIDS related illness on December 1, 1989, at the age of 58. He asked his doctor to announce that his death was caused by terminal blood dyscrasia in order to shield his mother from the stigma associated with HIV/AIDS.

Choreography

Cinco Latinos, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, Kaufmann Concert Hall, New York City, 1958.

Blues Suite (also see below), Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, Kaufmann Concert Hall, 1958.

Revelations, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, Kaufmann ConcertHall, 1960

Three for Now, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, Clark Center, New York City, 1960.

Knoxville: Summer of 1915, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, Clark Center, 1960.

(With Carmen De Lavallade) Roots of the Blues, Lewisohn Stadium, New York City, 1961.

Hermit Songs, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., 1963.

Ariadne, Harkness Ballet, Opera Comique, Paris, 1965.

Macumba, Harkness Ballet, Gran Teatro del Liceo, Barcelona, Spain,1966, then produced as Yemanja, Chicago Opera House, 1967.

Quintet, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, Church Hill Theatre, Edinburgh Festival, Scotland, 1968, then Billy Rose Theatre, New York City, 1969.

Masekela Langage, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, American Dance Festival, New London, Connecticut, 1969, then Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York City, 1969.

Streams, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, Brooklyn Academy of Music, 1970.

Gymnopedies, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, Brooklyn Academy of Music, 1970.

The River, American Ballet Theatre, New York State Theater, 1970.

Flowers, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, ANTA Theatre, 1971.

Myth, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, New York City Center, 1971.

Choral Dances, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, New York City Center, 1971.

Cry, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, New York City Center, 1971.

Mingus Dances, Robert Joffrey Company, New York City Center, 1971.

Mary Lou’s Mass, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, New York City Center, 1971.

Song for You, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, New York City Center, 1972.

The Lark Ascending, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, New York City Center, 1972.

Love Songs, Alvin Ailey City Center Dance Theater, New York City Center, 1972.

Shaken Angels, 10th New York Dance Festival, Delacorte Theatre, New York City, 1972.

Sea Change, American Ballet Theatre, Kennedy Center Opera House, Washington, D.C., 1972, then New York City Center, 1973.

Hidden Rites, Alvin Ailey City Center Dance Theater, New York City Center, 1973.

Archipelago, 1971,

The Mooche, 1975,

Night Creature, 1975,

Pas de “Duke”, 1976,

Memoria, 1979,

Phases, 1980

Landscape, 1981.

Stage

Acting and dancing

(Broadway debut) House of Flowers, Alvin Theatre, New York City, 1954 – Actor and dancer.

The Carefree Tree, 1955 – Actor and dancer.

Sing, Man, Sing, 1956 – Actor and dancer.

Show Boat, Marine Theatre, Jones Beach, New York, 1957 – Actor and dancer.

Jamaica, Imperial Theatre, New York City, 1957 – Actor and lead dance.

Call Me By My Rightful Name, One Sheridan Square Theatre, 1961 – Paul.

Ding Dong Bell, Westport Country Playhouse, 1961 – Negro Political Leader.

Blackstone Boulevard, Talking to You, produced as double-bill in 2 by Saroyan, East End Theatre, New York City, 1961-62.

Tiger, Tiger, Burning Bright, Booth Theatre, 1962 – Clarence Morris.

Stage choreography

Carmen Jones, Theatre in the Park, 1959.

Jamaica, Music Circus, Lambertville, New Jersey, 1959.

Dark of the Moon, Lenox Hill Playhouse, 1960.

(And director) African Holiday (musical), Apollo Theatre, New York City, 1960, then produced at Howard Theatre, Washington, D.C., 1960.

Feast of Ashes (ballet), Robert Joffrey Company, Teatro San Carlos, Lisbon, Portugal, 1962, then produced at New York City Center, 1971.

Antony and Cleopatra (opera), Metropolitan Opera House, Lincoln Center, New York City, 1966.

La Strada, first produced at Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, 1969.

Leonard Bernstein’s Mass, Metropolitan Opera House, 1972, then John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington, D.C., and Philadelphia Academy of Music, both 1972.

Carmen, Metropolitan Opera, 1972.

Choreographed ballet, Lord Byron (opera; also see below), Juilliard School of Music, New York City, 1972.

Four Saints in Three Acts, Piccolo Met, New York City, 1973.

Director

(With William Hairston) Jerico-Jim Crow, The Sanctuary, New York City, 1964, then Greenwich Mews Theatre, 1968.

In 1968 Ailey was awarded the Guggenheim Fellowship for Creative Arts, US & Canada. In 1977 he received the Spingarn Medal from the NAACP. He received the Kennedy Center Honors in 1988, was inducted into the National Museum of Dance and Hall of Fame in 1992, inducted into the Legacy Walk in 2012, and posthumously received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama in 2014.

In August 2019, Ailey was one of the honorees inducted in the Rainbow Honor Walk, a walk of fame in San Francisco’s Castro neighborhood noting LGBTQ people who have “made significant contributions in their fields.”

A crater on Mercury was named in his honor in 2012.

Daily inspiration. Discover more photos at http://justforbooks.tumblr.com

[letterboxd]

Survival Mode.

In ten recent coming-of-age films, Ella Kemp finds the genre thriving—and looking very different than the 1980s might have predicted. Film directors and Letterboxd members weigh in on the specific satisfactions of the genre, especially in a pandemic.

There have been jokes, some more serious than others, about the art that will come out of this time. How many novels about a fast-spreading disease are you betting on? Will Covid-19 be better suited to documentary or fiction? But the art I’m most looking forward to, and revisiting now, is the art made about teenagers going through it.

Physical school attendance, so central to the John Hughes movies of the 1980s, is up in the air for so many. Sports practice, theater clubs, mall hang-outs; the familiar neighborhood beats of a teenager’s life are more confined than ever. All of us have had to tweak our reality to make the best of invasive changes forced upon us during the pandemic. In a sense, it feels like we are all coming of age.

Teenagehood, though, is a particularly tricky time of transition, and we don’t yet know the half of how the pandemic is going to impact today’s young adults—and, by association, tomorrow’s coming-of-age films. But in the last two years alone there have been enough brave new entries in the genre, about young people so enlivening, that there’s both plenty for young film lovers to lose themselves in, and plenty for us slightly older folks to watch and learn from.

So I sought out ten recent coming-of-age films (and several of the directors responsible) to see what these stories teach us about teenagers, and how we might empathize with them. The list—Jezebel, Beats, Zombi Child, Blinded by the Light, Selah and the Spades, The Half of It, Dating Amber, Babyteeth, House of Hummingbird and We Are Little Zombies—is by no means exhaustive. But it allows us to look at several things.

Firstly, that the genre is thriving, considering these titles barely scratch the surface. Secondly, these ten films look a whole lot different than their 1980s counterparts. Six are directed by women. Four tell queer stories or, at least, feature queer characters in a prominent subplot. Seven tell stories about Black people, Asian people, Pakistani people. Only three are from the US.

And: they’re really good. They understand teenagers as angry, energetic, passionate, confused, desperate and deeply intelligent beings, echoing the nuances that we know to be true in real life, but that can often get watered down on the screen.

Blinded by the Light (co-written and directed by Gurinder Chadha) We Are Little Zombies (written and directed by Makoto Nagahisa) Beats (co-written and directed by Brian Welsh)

The protagonists in these first three films use music to feel their way through panic, brought on by both internal and external circumstances. Screaming another’s lyrics, furiously composing their own anthems, dancing along and sweating out their fear to the beat, the ongoing beat, and nothing more. It’s salvation, it’s release—when you’re left with your own thoughts, the only way to fight through them is to drown them out.

Music acts as a source of enlightenment in Blinded by the Light, directed by Gurinder Chadha (who made 2002’s coming-of-age sports banger Bend it Like Beckham). In Thatcher’s Britain, Pakistani-English Muslim high schooler Javed discovers the music of Bruce Springsteen, and his world bursts wide open. The wisdom and fire of the Boss helps Javed to make sense of his own frustrations; that the film is based on a real journalist’s autobiography makes it all the more potent.

Meanwhile, in Beats, a real-life law enacted in Scotland in the 1990s temporarily banned raves: specifically, the gathering of people around music “wholly or predominantly characterized by the emission of a succession of repetitive beats”. As the UK struggles to contain a youthful, exuberant new counter-culture, the central characters face what it means to enter adulthood. The answer to both: a forbidden rave.

“I have to say, there’s probably no such thing as teenagers without complicated emotions,” We Are Little Zombies writer-director Makoto Nagahisa tells me. The Japanese filmmaker—who loves the genre, known as ‘Seishun eiga’ in Japan—wrestles with the frustration and hopelessness of the world by giving his film’s four orphaned teens the tools, and the permission, to find solace in something other than their everyday life. Following the deaths of their parents, the quartet create their own catchy, cathartic, truth-bomb music; it’s an instant hit with kids across Japan, but the adults miss the point, of course—that the cacophony of superstardom is filling the silence of their mourning.

Nagahisa-san’s film is named after a fictional 8-bit Nintendo Game Boy game that the main character is addicted to. “I used to get through my day relatively painlessly by pretending I was a video game character whenever bad shit happened to me,” he explains. Teenagers “are constantly feeling crushed by reality right now… I want them to know that this is a valid way to escape reality. That reality is just a ‘game’. I want them to know they don’t need to face tragedies, they can just survive. That’s the most important thing!” Who else needed to hear that right now?

Jezebel (written and directed by Numa Perrier) Zombi Child (written and directed by Bertrand Bonello) Selah and the Spades (written and directed by Tayarisha Poe) House of Hummingbird (written and directed by Kim Bo-ra)

Our next four films turn to technology, mythology, hierarchy and education to animate their protagonists’ lives with a greater purpose. In Jezebel, nineteen-year-old Tiffany finds her way through mourning with a new job, earning money as a cam girl and subsequently developing a bond with one of her clients. There’s a magnetic aura, one that harnesses grief and turns it into something more corrosive as this teen puts all her energy into it. Similarly there’s mysticism in the air in Zombi Child, in which Haitian voodoo gives a bored, heartbroken teenage girl a new purpose as she searches for a way to connect with the one she lost—and with herself.

Selah and the Spades and House of Hummingbird understand the third-party saviour as more of a structure, that of a school or an inspiring teacher. Selah finds herself by doing business selling recreational drugs to her classmates in a faction-led boarding school. Nothing mends a sense of aimlessness like power. This same framework lets Hummingbird’s Eun-hee, a schoolgirl in mid-90s South Korea whose abusive family invest their academic focus in her useless brother, search for love and find connection in her school books—and from the person who’s asking her to read them.

The films on this list are not perfect; some might be criticized for specifically following a formula, the tropes of the coming-of-age film, a little too well. Jezebel lets its protagonist rise and fall with familiarity, while Selah suffers the consequences of her extreme actions, and even Eun-hee reckons with a few recognizable pitfalls. But still, the fact that these films exist is “innately radical”, says Irish writer-director David Freyne, whose queer Irish comedy Dating Amber is covered below. The filmmaker describes the coming-of-age genre as mainstream, but in the best possible sense: “It’s a broadly appealing film,” he says.

This is why, to see these stories reframed with minority voices, with queer voices, is so quietly revolutionary. “The more you see them, the more broadly we see them being enjoyed—the more producers and financiers will realize these stories don’t have to be niche just because they happen to frame a minority voice. Everyone can enjoy it.”

Film journalist and Letterboxd member Iana Murray, a coming-of-age genre fan, echoes Freyne’s thoughts. “Representation is absolutely not the be-all end-all, but I’d love to see more coming-of-age films that reflect my experiences growing up as a woman of color,” she says, before introducing what I’d like to call the Rashomon Effect. “I see it as like one of those films that tell the same events from different perspectives, something like Rashomon or Right Now, Wrong Then,” she explains. “A story becomes even more vibrant when told through a different set of eyes, and that’s what happens when you allow women, people of color, and LGBT people to create coming-of-age narratives.”

Dating Amber (written and directed by David Freyne) The Half of It (written and directed by Alice Wu) Babyteeth (directed by Shannon Murphy, written by Rita Kalnejais)

Which brings us on nicely to our last three: wildly different titles, each with young protagonists at war with themselves, trying to make sense of their bodies and minds as best they can. In this context, companionship is everything. Finding a platonic soulmate in Dating Amber, a sexual awakening in The Half of It, a first love to make a short life worth living in Babyteeth. Each film is directed with a verve and passion that you know must be personal.

The story of a frustrated boy in the closet in Dating Amber aches with care from Freyne behind the camera, while Alice Wu directs Ellie Chu, the main character in The Half Of It, with patience and the kind of encouragement that quiet girls who live a life between two cultures are rarely given. And with Babyteeth, Shannon Murphy returns Australian cinema firmly to the center of the movie map, with a quintessentially Australian optimism and sense of humor, which Ben Mendelsohn called “delightfully bent”.

These perspectives are specific to each teen, but the intensity transcends genres and borders. It manifests musically, verbally, visually, aesthetically. These teens connect with their favorite music and means of entertainment, but also simply to their favorite clothes and accessories—blue bikinis and green wigs, red neck-scarves and floaty white dresses. These details give the characters ways to reinvent themselves while standing still, which certainly feels apt for a life lived, for now, at home.

‘Pretty in Pink’ (1986), written by John Hughes and directed by Howard Deutch.

Many argue that the coming-of-age genre peaked with John Hughes, who defined the framework in iconic 1980s films that have his stamp all over them, whether he wrote (Pretty in Pink, Some Kind of Wonderful) or also directed them (The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Sixteen Candles). Hughes’ world view was of a specifically suburban, white, American corner of the world, which he filled with misfits and ultra-hip soundtracks. “John Hughes was to the genre what The Beatles are to rock and roll,” confirms Letterboxd member Brad, maintainer of the essential coming-of-age movie list Teenage Wasteland.

After Hughes, the genre tumbled, Dazed and Confused, into the 1990s—notable voices include John Singleton with his seminal Boyz n the Hood, and Gus Van Sant’s My Own Private Idaho and Good Will Hunting. This was also the decade of Clueless, which informed the bright, female-forward fare of the 2000s, like Mean Girls, The Princess Diaries and the aforementioned Bend it Like Beckham. The last decade has seen new American storytellers step into Hughes’ shoes, including Greta Gerwig (Lady Bird and Little Women), Olivia Wilde and the writers of Booksmart, and the autobiographical voices of Jonah Hill (mid90s) and Shia LaBeouf (Honey Boy, directed by Alma Har’el).

It’s interesting to note—whether it’s the 1860s or the 1980s—that many coming-of-agers from the past decade take place in an earlier period setting. Social media has demanded the upheaval of entire lives, but it seems some filmmakers aren’t yet ready to grapple with its place on screen.

The audience, on the other hand, is far more adaptable. The way we’re watching coming-of-age films has shifted, and it’s more appropriate for the genre than we could have imagined. On the last day of shooting Dating Amber, Freyne recalls one of the young actors asking, “So, is this going to be on Netflix or something?” This is when cinemas were still open.

“That’s often how younger people are devouring content now,” Freyne reasons. His film, in the end, was snapped up by Amazon (a US release date is yet to be announced). “It’s creating a communal experience with the intersection of social media: live streams, fan art, daily messages… It’s made us feel incredibly connected, moreso than I think we would have got with a cinematic release.”

Streaming platforms also cater to one key habit of a younger film lover: the rewatch. The iconic teen films of the 80s embedded their reputations thanks to the eternal allure of the Friday night video store ritual, and constant television replays. These days, it’s only with a film finding a home on Netflix, on Amazon or on Hulu, that a younger person (or, in times of global crisis, any person) can both financially and logistically afford to devote themselves to watching, again and again, these people onscreen that they’ve immediately and irrevocably found a connection with.

It’s always felt hard to be satisfied with just one viewing of a perfect coming-of-age film—observe how many times Iana Murray has logged Call Me By Your Name. What is it about the slippery, universal allure of the genre? It’s possibly as simple as the feeling of being seen in the fog of intergenerational confusion. Says Nagahisa-san: “Grown-ups think of teenagers like zombies. Teenagers think of grown-ups like zombies. We’re never able to understand what others are feeling inside.”

“The reaction is always emotive rather than intellectual,” adds Freyne. “There’s something quite visceral and instinctive about coming-of-age films; it’s an emotional experience rather than an analytical one.” That emotional experience is tied up in the fact that we often experience coming-of-age movies just as we ourselves are coming of age, establishing an unbreakable connection between a film and a specific period in our lives. MovieMaestro Brad explains it best: “There is a bit of nostalgia in a lot of these films that take me back to my younger days, when life was simple.”

But that’s not to say only those coming of age can appreciate a coming-of-age film. On her favorite coming-of-age film, Mike Mills’ 20th Century Women, Murray explains, “It doesn’t see coming-of-age as exclusive to teenagers, because that process of growth is really about transition and change.” (In a similar vein, Kris Rey’s new comedy I Used to Go Here, in select theaters and on demand August 7, meets Kate Conklin, played by Gillian Jacobs, in a sort of quarter-life-crisis, needing to grow down a bit in order to grow up.)

Natalia Dyer in ‘Yes, God, Yes’ (2019), directed by Karen Maine.

There is endless praise, conflict and wonder to be found in the ten films mentioned above—and all the ones we haven’t even gone near (Karen Maine’s orgasmic religious comedy Yes, God, Yes, now available on demand in the US, deserves an honorary mention, as does Get Duked!, Ninian Doff’s upcoming stoner romp in the Scottish Highlands). The thing about this genre is it’s raw, it’s alive, and it’s always in transition. Just when you might think it’s gone out of fashion, it emerges in a new and fascinating form. And yet, there are still so many filmmakers who haven’t tackled the genre. I asked my interviewees who they’d like to see take on a story of teens in transition.

“I’d love to see Tarantino’s take on a coming-of-age tale,” says master of the genre himself, MovieMaestro/Brad. Murray gives her vote to Lulu Wang, saying, “I love the specificity she brought to The Farewell, I think it would transfer well to a genre that needs to escape clichés.” Freyne, meanwhile, wants to see if Ari Aster might have another story about young people in him. Maybe something a bit less lethal next time.

Ultimately, “you write from empathy, not from experience,” says Freyne. I think the same goes for watching, too. It won’t be tomorrow, and it might not be this year, but eventually, the world will emerge from Covid-19. What will we have learned from the films that we watched while we were waiting? From the sadness, the angst, the determination, the rage and the passion?

Nagahisa-san already knows, and his advice is everything we need right now: “You don’t need others’ approval of who you are, as long as you understand and approve of yourself. Do whatever pops up in your mind. Live your life without fear or despair. Just survive.”

Related content

See where most of the recent releases mentioned here are virtually screening, in our Art House Online list.

Shannon Murphy talks to us about Babyteeth, and shares a list of her favorite Australian films.

Makoto Nagahisa’s 25 favorite teen movies

David Freyne’s 25 favorite LGBTQIA+ films

Growing Pains: The Ultimate Coming of Age Movie Challenge

(Happy) Queer Coming of Age Movies

Coming of age—but make it diverse

[theawkwardterrier]

Chill Book Recs

It’s a tense time (obvious) and for all those who are social distancing (which should be as many people as possible!!) as well as those who are out there keeping essential services running and caring for those who need it (thank you!!), sometimes we need a chance to relax with a book that’s somewhat low stakes. So I’ve put together some of my faves which are light and funny (and, not coincidentally, often romantic and/or tropey - not sorry!) for you to download as ebooks or audiobook, or order from a bookstore (especially recommend that you check if your local indies are still shipping, or look at Biblio, or the Bookstore at the End of the World collective). Not saying that all the selections below are without obstacle or issue, but I’ve tried to keep it pretty upbeat and noted what I can. Feel free to add your own faves like this, and happy reading!

(Sorry for the abundance of parentheses.)

(No, I’m not.)

Analee, In Real Life by Janelle Milanes (fake dating, MMORPG, Latinx MCs, own voices, family drama, YA)

Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins (boarding school, friends to romance, Paris, cancer cw, YA)

The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge by M.T. Anderson (humor, fantasy, enemies to friends, fantasy political intrigue, illustrations, confusion!, middle grade)

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell (semi epistolary, company approved spying, early 2000s, newspaper, best friendships, Getting Yourself Together, very good food descriptions, miscarriage cw, romance, adult)

Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie (enemies to romance, chicken marsala, a familial yikes but very good friends, did you adopt the cat or did the cat adopt you, snow globes, shoe descriptions, fat MC, this is my favorite romance tbh, adult)

The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan (Scotland, power of books, side romance, small town, precariously balanced large vehicle, running your own small business, misunderstanding the role of libraries but I’ll overlook it, job loss cw, adult)

Bossypants by Tina Fey (humor, short chapters, memoir, “Mrs. Fey's change of life baby,” Jimmy Fallon getting owned, adult)

Boy Meets Girl by Meg Cabot (epistolary-ish, baking, complaining about NYC real estate, labor disputes, eating disorder cw, romance, adult)

The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal (historical fiction/alternate history, math/physics/science, supportive husband, Jewish MC, awesome women, worldwide catastrophic event cw [I know but try it], side romances, adult) 

A Countess Below Stairs/The Secret Countess by Eva Ibbotson (historical fiction, WWI/Russian Revolution trauma cw, eugenics cw, quirkier Downton Abbey, romance, YA/adult) 

A Curious Beginning by Deanna Raybourn (historical mystery, side sexiness, butterflies, I keep talking about this series, adult)

Don't Date Rosa Santos by Nina Moreno (Gilmore Girls but make it Florida, Latinx MC and LI, bi MC, family curses, own voices, character death cw, romance, YA)

Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine (fantasy/fairy tale retelling, classic, curses, you’re allowed to like the movie I guess but read the book for real, romance, middle grade)

Evvie Drake Starts Over by Linda Holmes (small town Maine, overcoming past trauma, spousal death cw, depression cw, The Yips, friends to romance, adult) 

The Extremely Inconvenient Adventures of Bronte Mettlestone by Jaclyn Moriarty (fantasy, cool aunts, journeys, middle grade)

Faking It by Jennifer Crusie (con men/people, messy family, murder?/fleeing the scene/technically I’m homeless, delicious sounding muffins, art theft, romance, adult)

Field Notes on Love by Jennifer E. Smith (train journeys, sextuplets, romance, YA)

The First Rule of Punk by Celia C. Pérez (zines, music, Latinx MC, middle grade)

Heartstopper by Alice Oseman (graphic novel/available as a webcomic [@heartstoppercomic], cute, gay MC, bi MC, school uniforms, bullying cw, romance, YA)

How Not to Ask a Boy to Prom by S.J. Goslee (fake dating, gay, bad boy?, YA)

I Wanna Be Where You Are by Kristina Forest (dance, road trips, Black MC and LI, dog, parental death cw, own voices, enemies to romance, YA)

The Kiss Quotient by Helen Hoang (statistics, autism/Asperger’s, escort, Asian/biracial MC, family owned restaurant, own voices, romance, adult)

Louisiana's Way Home by Kate DiCamillo (quirky small town, funnier than she knows narrator, a little bittersweet, middle grade)

Lucky Caller by Emma Mills (radio programming, family drama, neighbors, banter, contest mistakes, romance, YA)

The Morning Gift by Eva Ibbotson (marriage of necessity, Holocaust/WWII cw, Jewish MC, scientific sheep, paleontology, quirky side characters, romance, YA/adult)

My Most Excellent Year by Steve Kluger (epistolary-esque, Boston, gay MC, Asian MC, Latinx MC, musical theater, friendships!, baseball, romance, YA)

The Next Great Paulie Fink by Ali Benjamin (multiple POV/semi-epistolary, new girl in school, contests, small town, middle grade)

The Prince and the Dressmaker by Jen Wang (graphic novel, fake fantasy but make it fashion, genderfluid MC, middle grade)

The Princess Bride by William Goldman (uncategorizable, funny, classic, fake politics, satiric genius is at its fullest flower, fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles, etc., YA/adult)

Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston (politics, royal family, Texas, Latinx/biracial MC, bi MC, gay LI, everyone’s already talking about it but I listed it anyway, enemies to romance, adult)

The Readers of Broken Wheel Recommend by Katarina Bivald (pen pals, small/rural town, translated, character death cw, power of books, side romance iirc, adult)

Roller Girl by Victoria Jamieson (graphic novel, roller derby, friendship, finding yourself, middle grade)

Sorcery & Cecelia, or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot by Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer (historical fantasy, Regency, cousins, side romances, estates, The Season, epistolary, middle grade/YA)

The Summer of Jordi Pérez (And the Best Burger in Los Angeles) by Amy Spalding (fashion, burger bros, lesbian MC, fat MC, queer LI, Latinx LI, own voices, romance, YA)

To All the Boys trilogy by Jenny Han (fake dating, baking, sisters, Asian MC, own voices, romance, YA [I mean, if you’ve seen the movies...])

To Night Owl from Dogfish by Holly Goldberg Sloan (epistolary, enemies to friends, matchmaking youth, gay dads, sleepaway camp, middle grade)

[early20thcenturynerd]

Today, 171 years ago, Princess Louise was born.

“The better known bio by Lucinda Hawksley is entertaining, yet hugely based on gossip, falling short because it presents unsubstantiated hunches and rumors as truth. In biographies, all conclusions must be backed up with credible sources and solid evidence. Unfortunately after 100 years, the rumors stick to a historical figure as if they were true facts, which is certainly the case here. In my review, I feel compelled to confront a few of the rumors and misconceptions. 

Princess Louise Caroline Alberta was intelligent, inquisitive and artistically gifted. Like her siblings, she received a strict academic education, becoming fluent in several languages, music, art and theater, as well as, acquiring practical skills like cooking, baking, sewing and gardening. However, her childhood was marred by the early death of her father, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coberg-Gotha and her mother's prolonged period of mourning. It was a traumatic period that engulfed the entire family and country for more years then it should have.

Princess Louise was the first royal offspring to enroll in a public school, the National Art Training School, at the same time as she was required to fill the role as her mother's private secretary (1866-1871). Louise was successful at both endeavors due to dedication and many hours of hard work. The Princess was a talented sketcher, painter and sculptress and accepted commissions for her art in an era when women were only supposed to have hobbies inside the home. Her sculpture of Queen Victoria at the age of her coronation sits outside of Kensington Palace today.

Queen Victoria, who sometimes considered her daughter argumentative, had to admit the statue was a great likeness and Louise was an excellent private secretary, writing to daughter Vicky: ‘She is (and who would have some years ago have thought it?) a clever dear girl with a fine character, unselfish and affectionate.’ Unlike the Queen, Princess Louise (like her elder sister, Vicky, i.e. Crown Princess Victoria of Prussia) supported women's rights. She secretly met with ‘radical' Elizabeth Garrett, the first woman medical doctor in Britain.

Over a lifetime, Princess Louise supported liberal and forward-thinking social causes, spearheading the education of women, lending her name to get programs and institutions up and running. Likewise the Princess initiated public works and opened wings of hospitals. Not content with merely showing up at the end, she contributed her ideas and was involved in all the phases of planning and implementation right up to the openings.

Many at court, as well as, the public thought Princess Louise was the Queen's most attractive daughter. She was the tallest and slender and as an early proponent of exercise, remained shapely and youthful throughout her life. She bicycled and walked habitually.

Princess Louise was also unconventional in choosing a spouse -- an aristocrat, John Campbell, the Marquis of Lorne, heir to the Duke of Argyll and a Liberal Member of Parliament over a foreign prince. Since he was active in politics and wasn't royal, it was controversial. In 1871, she became the 1st daughter of a Sovereign to marry a commoner since the 16th century. Queen Victoria favored the match as a way of keeping her daughter in Great Britain, and too, of introducing new blood into the family. Also, the Queen always let her children marry for love.

Which brings us to Louise and Lorne's relationship. There's little truth to what is often written, namely: the couple was unhappy and childless because Lorne was homosexual. The marriage began happy and lasted for over 40 years. During these years, Lorne was devoted, supportive and protective of his wife, and they were very much together up until the early 1880s. He never stopped thinking she was beautiful; nor weaned in thinking of and mentioning her in conversations and letters to his family, etc.

And although Louise could be temperamental, she too was loving, thoughtful, respectful and devoted. Apparently the couple tried to have children as Louise went to Germany over the years for cures in the effort. Although she lived to be 91 years old, the Princess suffered from ill health throughout her life (including severe headaches, neuralgia, vomiting and insomnia, especially after a serious sledging accident (on February 14, 1880) in Canada that also gave her a concussion and tore her ear lope in two). 

Jehanne Wake's book makes a good case that probably the real reason the couple remained childless was due to illness or infertility (possibly complications from meningitis which Louise contracted at the age of 16). Moreover in Victorian England, no one thought to consider Lorne's fertility. Both spouses hoped to have children and no doubt the disappointment put a strain on their marriage. Louise became depressed. Furthermore, the evidence that the Princess' husband was gay is very weak based mainly on the couple's close association with Lorne's homosexual uncle and friend, Lord Ronnie Gover (his mother's brother), who although innocent, was drawn into a scandal by a gay con artist. [...]

According to the book, Princess Louise cared for Lorne deeply, but needed to take breaks from him in mid-marriage. Queen Victoria was exceedingly understanding of her daughter's frail emotions, ‘while feeling much for Lorne.’ Lorne, too, was patient and understanding of his wife. As the author notes, ‘At the height of Princess Louise's unhappiness,’ husband and wife ‘kept in close contact and wrote daily.’ Divorce was never considered as neither party desired it.

They stayed together and became close again in later years. When Lorne's father died in 1900 making him the 9th Duke of Argyll, Louise accompanied him to Scotland. Together the couple also lived in Kent House on the Isle of Wight and at Kensington Palace in London. Unfortunately, as Lorne aged, he developed dementia and lost the easygoingness of youth, but Louise was very devoted to nursing him until his death from bronchitis that developed into double pneumonia in 1914. Again, Princess Louise was devastated. She felt dreadfully lonely without the Duke still feeling as she did when becoming engaged, there was no one quite like him! And despite the rumors, her biographer thinks it unlikely that Princess Louise ever had sexual relations with anyone other than her husband. No solid evidence suggests otherwise. The author argues Princess Louise could be chatty, friendly and flirty, and like Queen Victoria, she loved beauty in everything, especially in the form of a good looking man. But the the book states, it would have been too risky and highly unlikely that she ever crossed the line as she never forgot Her Royal Highness status, nor her sense of duty. At any rate, says the author, ‘It was the maternal, domesticated hausfrau which predominated in her character.’ In other words, yes, she flirted, but expressed it as glee and by mothering a man. And, I agree with the biographer! In later years Princess Louise continued some public appearances, often visiting hospitals unscheduled. She lived in Scotland and Kensington Palace next to her sister, Princess Beatrice's apartment. Although the sisters had their differences, they were a close family. Louise spent summer vacations with Prince Arthur at his house on the French Riviera and sketched up until age 90. She died on December 3, 1939 and because of the war was cremated with her ashes buried at Frogmore near Windsor. Had she died in Scotland, she would have been buried next to her husband. In Canada, the province of Alberta, Mount Alberta and Lake Louise are all named after Prince Louise.”

- https://thesavvvyshopper.blogspot.com/2018/09/princess-louise-duchess-of-argyll.html

[oliviacomedy-blog]

The Singing Acupuncturist performs in Europe.

Diamond Wave Productions is delighted to present a stand-up Comedy, Adventures of the Singing Acupuncturist 6: Big O makes it in New York, or does she?  A world premiere, it has been presented at the Edinburgh Arts Festival in Scotland in August 2018. Written and Performed by Olivia Rhodes.  Directed by Sophia Charalambous.

Adventures of the Singing Acupuncturist 6:  Big O makes it in New York, or does she?  is a stand-up comedy show.

Have you never been able to fit into a box? Not a physical box… a mental box… a box in your mind.  As a Korean-American Olivia knows all too well about trying to fit in -when Kimchi, aka: "Fire-Breathing Garlic Dragon Breath", is your culture’s most famous export, how are you ever going to blend into a normal life in the land of burgers, fries & ketchup?  As an acupuncturist, who fixes people for a living, this is frustrating… why can’t she fix herself?  Adventures of the Singing Acupuncturist 6: Big O makes it in New York… Or, does she? is an hilarious hour of comedy where Olivia entertains you with her Korean-American wisdom, and you’ll leave with a transformed mind, bigger eyes, and an open heart… a heart that is open to explore new experiences…like French Fries with Kimchi (she calls it....Korean Ketchup).  A world premiere, this was her 6th solo show at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and now is touring in Europe.  The first musical show, Adventures of a Singing Acupuncturist: Olivia in Caledonia, was premiered in 2010 at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.  

Olivia Rhodes has been writing one-woman shows since studying at New York University.  Her professional debut, Who Knows? An Emotional Journey through the Eye of I, was well received by New York audiences in 2000.  And in her Cabaret performance, New York Times: The Best and the worst of It, before leaving New York in 2001, she brought her audience to happy tears.  She has also delighted audiences with her Cabaret show, An Evening of Songs with Olivia, in San Diego, California in 2003, which celebrated the release of her 2 CDs.

Olivia is excited to be performing her 11th new solo show, Adventures of the Singing Acupuncturist 6:  Big O makes it in New York, or does she?, at her European Tour in January/February 2020.

Sophia Charalambous (Director) is a qualified NQJ journalist, writing for regional and national UK publications including the Independent, Mirror, Mail Online and the Daily Star Online. Theatre, film and comedy feature writing was part of her role as Deputy Entertainment Editor at the Essex Chronicle newspaper. Prior to this, she was a writer and director at Nottingham's New Theatre from 2007 to 2010. Sophia began directing stand-up comedy in 2016, and her directorial debut show IlluminArchie was transferred to Soho Theatre after its run at Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2017.

Barry Lamm (Script Supervisor) originally hails from Nebraska, where he utilized his degree in theater and communications as a teacher and active member of the Omaha community and professional theater scene. He has lived in New York City for the past 19 years and now works as a professional development, training and process coordinator for an online software company. Barry is proud to be working with Ms. Rhodes again after directing her in New York in her production of Who Knows? and the past 5 shows at Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Troy Sanford (Costume & Make-up Consultant) hails from Nebraska also and has worked in fashion for over 22 years (although with prolonged use of Botox retains his youthful look and presence).  He’s worked for companies like Ralph Lauren as a production manager overseeing blue label and the Wimbledon Launch of the Big Pony campaign as well as the uniforms for the Olympics in China for Ralph Lauren.  He also helped with the re-Launch of GAP with Patrick Robinson and the CFDA as well as the re-Launch of Ann Taylor several years back.  Not only has Troy helped other friends launch their own fashion labels, he also launched his own fashion line.  He has worked with Olivia on costume, hair and makeup for her past (5 shows).  Always ready with fashion advice and costume quick-change suggestions to help transform her from a mere mortal to a living goddess.  Modesty being one of his strong suits, he loves doing what he does and likes giving back to the community.  Just ask him how great he is and he’ll tell you himself.

Special thanks go to: Timo @ No Stress Bar, Janne @ Stockholm Comedy Club, and the Power Comedy Club in Stockholm; Shebeen-International Pub; and Dragos C., Kirk S., and Juan G-C.

And more special thanks to:  

Olivia would like to thank the following for help with her project:  God, SAM, mom & dad, my brother Chris, my sister Sandy, Tamra M, Barry Lamm, Troy Sanford, Sophia Charalambous and all my aunts, uncles, and cousins. My teachers: Tom Burke Voice Studio, including Jen DeRosa & Robert Sussuma, my comedy teachers Philip Peredo and Jerry Corley. To all my comedy friends who have supported me in Scandinavia/Dublin/Edinburgh/Berlin/Europe:  Dragos C., Juan & Eugenia G-C., Rene & Charlotte A., Patrik L., Line N., Chris O-N., Joe R., Tom W., Larry B., Vinny D., Martin A., Frank B., Brian O-T., Seamus S., Ted L., Gerard J., Margaret McH., Lizzy W., Christina McM., Seosamh P., Barry M., Duane D., Alan H., Kevin O-S., Apollo Sessions, Jay P. Hardy, Adam B @ Hardy Har Comedy club, Unhinged Comedy club, Battle of the Axe Comedy club, the International Comedy Club, Jonathan H., Thom E., & Chris D., Dharmander S. & Neil N. @ Cosmic Comedy Club.

And my friends in the USA:  Joe D., Alex H., Hans K., Steve & Carla M., Jonathan S., Manfred H., Travis R., Kirk S., Adam S-W., Laughing Buddha Comedy Club, Dylan F., Sean F., Paul S., Matt S., Jordan H., Neil P., Barry B., Bobby S., Mike S., Don B., Joe F., Jerry K., Jeff R., Chris S, Mia A., Wanda & Brian M., Diane B., Emme L., Joey I., Mick M., Alex S., Ian R., Garrett H., Ryan B., and other new friends I have met since this website went live…

My friends in England and Scotland:  Lucy G, Jenny L, Peter S, Gerard L, Colin H, Lynda P, Gill L, Johnny F, Paul H, Mark M., Tim R., Owen F., Clare H., Julia, Martyn H., David V-J., Tom S., Lucy F., & etc.

My production crew: Dave George (Graphic Designer: www.GeorgeCreative.uk) Christopher Johnstone (headshots/photography/flyers in NY) Troy Sanford (costume/makeup) Woon-Sun J-C (make-up in NYC) Mary L. (video in NYC).

And everyone else who has helped me in one way or another.  To everyone, I am grateful from my love of kimchi and comedy, as I could not have endured the struggles of writing a 60-minute comedy show without all of you…

“A tragedy is a tragedy, and at the bottom, all tragedies are stupid. Give me a choice and I'll take A Midsummer Night's Dream over Hamlet every time. Any fool with steady hands and a working set of lungs can build up a house of cards and then blow it down, but it takes a genius to make people laugh.”   ― Stephen King

“Tragedy is when I cut my finger. Comedy is when you fall into an open sewer and die.”  ― Mel Brooks

“Thankfully, persistence is a great substitute for talent.” ― Steve Martin, Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life

“Comedy is the art of making people laugh without making them puke.” ― Steve Martin

“What is in your way?  It’s not in your way… Get it out of the way.” – Marinda, dance teacher/choreographer

“Kimchi is not for sissies… it’s an acquired taste, but it is delicious and good for your health (i.e. improves your immune system like acupuncture / herbal medicine)”  – Olivia Rhodes

Upcoming shows in Europe:

I.  Full One-hour shows:

- 29 January 2020 (Wednesday): at No Stress Bar, Norregade 26, Copenhagen, 1165 Kbh K  

Time: 20:00 – 21:30 (8 pm – 9:30 pm) Duration: 1.5 hrs (with one 15- minute intermission)  Tickets:  https://ti.to/copenhagen/oliviacomedy

- 3 February 2020 (Monday):  at Sodra Sallskapet c/o Power Comedy Club, Asogatan 111, 116 24 Stockholm, Sweden Time: 20:00 – 22:00 (8 pm – 10 pm)  Duration: 2 hrs (incl. support comedians and intermission at half-time).  Tickets: https://ti.to/stockholm/oliviacomedy

- 5 February 2020 (Wednesday): at Shebeen – International Pub, Lerchenfelderstrasse 45, 1070, Vienna, Austria   Time:  20:00 – 21:30 (8 pm – 9:30 pm)  Duration: 1.5 hrs (including one 15 minute intermission)  Tickets: https://ti.to/vienna/oliviacomedy

II.  A 6- minute Preview:

- 31 January 2020 (Friday) (6 minute Preview- Guest slot; with two other comedians, Ann Westin (3 time winner at the Swedish – Standup Gala) and the YouTube sensation, Viktor Klemming) at:  Stockholm Comedy Club, First Hotel Norrtull, St. Eriksgatan 119, 11346, Stockholm, Sweden.  Time: 20:00 – 22:00 (8 pm – 10 pm) Duration: 2 hrs.  For info and tickets:  www.billett.se

Or, Link for All tickets:   http://showsnear.by/OliviaComedy2020

For all press inquiries please contact: Olivia Rhodes

Email: OliviaRhodesComedy@gmail.com Website: http://OliviaComedy.tumblr.com http://oliviarhodescomedy.weebly.com (for bio info) Phone: (in UK / Europe in January 2020):  +44(0)(7981) 010343 Social Media: Twitter:  @OliviaComedy   Instagram: olirhodescomedy Facebook Page:  Olivia Diamond Comedy

[jafreitag]

Grateful Dead Monthly: Melkweg – Amsterdam, Netherlands 10/16/81

On Friday, October 16, 1981, the Grateful Dead played a concert at Melkweg in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Melkweg is a legendary venue. From the Wiki:

“In the 19th century a sugar refinery was established on Lijnbaansgracht. In 1920, the milk company OVVV bought the factory and used it until closing in 1969. The building was closed for a year, but reopened as a cultural centre in 1970. It was only open for the summer; it featured a café, a restaurant and one hall for music and theatre. This was a success: Melkweg reopened in the summer of 1971 and 1972 before becoming a permanent venue since 1973.

In the years that followed, Melkweg became one of the most important pop venues of Amsterdam and the Netherlands. A meeting place for hippies in the 1970s and 1980s, the Melkweg embraced all music styles and has evolved into a multidisciplinary center for all music styles.”

Melkweg has several performance spaces, including the Max and the Old Hall (Oude Zaal), where the Dead played. The venue also features a cinema, a restaurant, and an art exhibition space. Melkweg has been run by a nonprofit organization since 1970.

Melkweg, Amsterdam; Avondopname met nieuwe zaal

When I said legendary, I meant it. Melkweg has hosted a plethora of famous bands over the past 50 years. I searched this a bunch of ways and couldn’t find a definitive list, but (trust me here) such a list would be long and distinguished. Here’s a start: The Ramones, Nirvana, Fugazi, U2, Prince, The Byrds, Hawkwind, David Byrne, The Cure, Ween (hey, BH), Rage Against the Machine, and Sonic Youth. (Sonic Youth rules. And, yes, Lee Ranaldo loves the Dead.)

And, of course, the Good Ol’ Grateful Dead. Ja veneer! (Google Translate tells me that that means ja wohl in Dutch.) In 1981, the Dead were in Europe again after a nine-year absence. After a sorta-typical, left-coast summer tour that included a Las Vegas date at the Alladin, as well as three nights at the Greek Theater in Berkeley, the band headed east for shows Bethlehem, PA (Lehigh University); Buffalo, NY; and Landover, MD before jumping across the pond to Edinburgh, Scotland on 9/30. From there, they headed to London for four shows at the Rainbow Theater, then to Copenhagen, Denmark. Then Bremen, Munich, and Russelsheim, West Germany.

The next show was supposed to be in France. It wasn’t. I’m gonna tap out and let the boss explain. Ladies and gentlemen, a hearty LN Grateful Deaditor, ECM…

[Some Dutch artist’s rendition of ECM circa 1981 when he was a young wizard with a hella strong beard game.]

The OOPS Concert. The Grateful Dead. Playing an acoustic and electric set. With instruments that were bought, rented and/or borrowed. In a tiny, 1,500-person-capacity nightclub that was once a milk factory (Melkweg = Milky Way). In Amsterdam, the hashish capital of the world. On Bobby’s 34th birthday. Oh yeah, and the band busted out the first and only “Hully Gully,” the first “Gloria” since the 60’s and the first “Lovelight” since 1972 – a sacred Pigpen song that nobody thought the band would ever play again. It doesn’t sound real. But it was….on this day [tomorrow, actually] 40 YEARS AGO! 

[Happy Birthday, Bobby. Does that digital watch have a calculator?]

There are a handful of shows that are so epic and legendary that we all wish we could have attended. Veneta, Cornell and the closing of Fillmore East & Winterland are a few that quickly come to mind. This show at the famed Melkweg Club in Amsterdam falls in that elite category. Rock Scully wrote that this was the Dead’s “last great adventure.” He probably is right.

But before we get into this legendary show at the Melkweg, let’s acknowledge the band’s storied history with The Netherlands. They played two legendary shows there on the great Europe ’72 tour. The May 10th show in Amsterdam has an otherworldly 35+ minute “Other One” with “Bobby McGee” sandwiched in between and the May 11th show in Rotterdam has a massive 47+ minute Dark Star that is probably the longest version ever played. To put the headiness of that show in perspective, here is what one reviewer had to say on headyversion.com: “If u put me on the show, “Naked and Afraid,” Let’s say in the Amazon…and I can take one item…knife…fire starter…etc. I’m bringing 5/11/1972.”

Nearly a decade later, the band returned to the Netherlands for these shows in 1981 at the Melkweg. Unlike the shows in 1972 with marathon-long, mind-bending psychedelic jams, these shows at the Melkweg have virtually no jamming which is surprising when you consider that the Melkweg is a hash bar. By the way, am I the only one who thinks that the band missed a huge opportunity to play “High Time?” Anyway, perhaps the reason for the lack of jamming had something to do with the fact that they didn’t feel comfortable getting “weird” because they were not playing their own instruments. We will get to the music soon.

From a historical perspective, this would be the last time the Grateful Dead ever played in the Netherlands. Here is the backstory of how the Melkweg shows happened.

With a day off between the gigs in Bremen and Munich, Bobby and Jerry played a short, seven-song acoustic set at the Melkweg on October 11th. A 17-minute video of the first four songs can be viewed on YouTube. They had so much fun that they were eager to return with the rest of the band. As luck would have it, the planets aligned and an opportunity arose. Flooding rains cancelled the band’s two shows in the south of France, so after the show in Russelheim on October 13th, they now had a few free days open in their tour schedule. Jerry and Bobby, with Scully’s help, talked the rest of the band and their crew into returning to Amsterdam to play two impromptu gigs at the Melkweg. The one condition the crew had was that they travel light, leaving their heavy load of instruments and equipment behind. That is the reason why the band played with different equipment. According to photographer Bob Minkin @minkinphotography, who attended this concert, Jerry and Bobby bought guitars in Amsterdam for these shows. For the gear nerds out there, Jerry was on a Yamaha SC1200 (looks like a Stratocaster), and Bobby on a Fender Telecaster. Phil apparently brought his own bass guitar with him to these gigs. I am assuming that the drums were rented/borrowed. I can’t tell from the video whether Brent is playing a baby grand piano or an electric piano. Given the small stage, I’m guessing that it was an electric piano that was also probably rented/borrowed.

Since these shows were put together at the last minute, there was very little notice to the public other than the scattered “OOPS” posters in Amsterdam’s Leidplein district and there were no advance ticket sales. It was first come, first serve at the door. The ticket price worked out to be about $7 USD(!). Back in the late 80s, a tape-trader friend of mine told me that his sister was one of the lucky fans who attended this legendary concert, while she was in college studying abroad for a semester. Gosh, talk about feeling jelly!

Fortunately, like Veneta, the Melkweg show is well documented. Good copies of a soundboard audio source have been in circulation for a long time. I had a low-generation cassette that I acquired sometimes in the mid-80’s when I started my collection. To my surprise, I recently discovered that a video of this legendary performance now circulates! What we have looks like a single-camera house shoot. The only downside is that the lighting is very poor. A single spotlight shines down on the middle of the stage which illuminates Bobby only. Jerry and the rest of the band are largely in the shadows. Finally, famed Dead photographer Bob Minkin (@minkinphotography on Instagram) attended this show, took many of the pictures featured here, and even wrote an incredible review of his experience in the Taping Compendium Vol. 2, some of which I used in my write-up.

[The Grateful Seconds blog has a post about the two Melkweg shows, featuring pics of the Compendium reviews and even better pics from the shows. Worth a peek.]

Now let’s get into the music…

Cindy Peress, an acoustic blues guitarist opened the show at about 10:00 PM. Her set was well received. At 11:00 PM, the Dead came onstage after squeezing through the audience to get there. As the band takes the stage and is tuning up, Phil starts clowning over the PA saying “Oooooops, Oooooops” and that this was an informal evening. The audience sings “Happy Birthday” to Bobby who is celebrating his 34th birthday and serenades him with a bouquet of daisies to which Jerry replies, “touching, touching.” None of this is on the video. The video picks up as the house PA system is turned on.

The first set is a delightful eight-song acoustic set with the full band. It is very much like the ones they played in the fall of 1980 at the Warfield Theatre in San Francisco and Radio City Music Hall in New York City (the acoustic live album Reckoning from those run of shows had been released on April 1, 1981). It’s a fun, feel-good set of music that is highlighted by splendid versions of “Bird Song,” “Oh, Babe it Ain’t No Lie, “and of course, “Ripple.” Speaking of “Ripple,” this is the second to last time the Dead would ever play it. The final performance was seven years later (played electric) at the Capital Centre on September 3, 1988. And speaking of final performances, this was the last time the full band performed an acoustic set like this. It is interesting to note that the band’s last official acoustic set until the acoustic/electric shows in 1980 was played on November 8, 1970 at the Capitol Theatre. That show has a similar magical vibe as the Melkweg show in that both shows had unusual setlists that included songs the band performed only once – “Mystery Train” and “My Babe” (11/8/70) and “Hully Gully” (10/16/81). That leads us to the Melkweg’s second set.

[Photo credit: Bob Minkin]

The second set, which is electric and does not include the usual Drums/Space segment, clocks in at just a little more than 70 minutes. Instead of playing long, weird jams, the band opts mostly for straight-ahead, garage-band rock and roll which works perfectly. Also notable is the fact that the band turns in a set of mostly old-school, classic Dead songs from their repertoire. Other than “Samson & Delilah,” which entered the repertoire in 1976, the rest of the set consists of songs that have a vintage no later than 1971 (I consider “The Wheel” to be part of Garcia’s first solo album which was recorded in 1971). In addition, the set includes unusually placed jams and some exciting bust-outs that either were never performed before or had not been performed in a long time.

The set opening, “Playing in the Band,” which is one of the band’s pinnacle songs for stretching out seems like a promising start but it clocks in at only a meager 11 minutes(!). Jerry is without his effects pedal and Brent is without his B-3 organ so it’s interesting to hear how they work around it throughout the set.

[Photo credit: Bob Minkin]

As things in “PITB” begin to wind down we get the first surprise of the evening when Bobby somewhat abruptly leads the band into the first and only performance of The Olympics’ 1960 hit, “Hully Gully.” It is loose and is probably an unrehearsed birthday indulgence…but it is also big fun for sure.

Next up, making a rare appearance in the pre-“Drums” slot of the show, is an equally rare stand-alone version of “The Wheel.” A luscious introduction followed by some nice three-part vocal harmonies help serve the intended purpose of slowing things down so that everybody can catch their collective breath in the packed, sweaty club. As the last chords wash out, Bobby turns to the drummers to signal “Samson & Delilah.” This is a tight, speedy version.

On the soundboard recording (not the video, which is edited) you can hear a band discussion in the background leading to the next surprise – “Gloria,” the garage rock song written by Van Morrison for his band, Them in 1964. You can hear the crowd going nuts as they recognize the classic 3-chord riff. The band played a loose, instrumental-only version of “Gloria” during a long jam out of “He’s Gone” on December 1, 1979 in Pittsburgh but this was the first full version with vocals since the 1960’s (1965?), This is balls-to-the-wall rock. Jerry’s guitar is cranked up with distortion, Bobby is growling the lyrics, Billy’s shaking maracas(!) and the audience is screaming the chorus. 

As “Gloria” slows down, there is a little free-form jam that follows where Phil becomes more prominent and appears to be leading the band. At one point he suggests the “Lovelight” riff which is taken up by all and leads to a magical transition into the first post-Pigpen version (last played on the Europe ’72 tour – May 24, 1972). For years, I thought the band accidentally stumbled into “Lovelight” based solely on repeated listenings of the audio recording. But with the video now circulating, we can see how casually Bobby walks to the microphone to sing the first verse leading me to believe that this was probably planned. Either way, it takes nothing away from this incredible moment in Grateful Dead history. It is also worth noting that this performance of “Lovelight” was a one-off at the time. Aside from two “special” performances played with guests (Boz Scaggs on 5/28/82 and Etta James on 12/31/82), it didn’t become part of the band’s repertoire again until 1984.

[Photo credit: Bob Minkin]

The Melkweg performance of “Lovelight” is an interesting hybrid that has vestiges of the way they used to play it with Pig and the way they would play it in the future. One thing is for sure – this version is speedy! Garcia’s fingers are flying during his smoldering solo at the end. And by the way, that’s THREE “Bobby songs” in a row for those who like to keep track of that sort of thing. Certainly not a common occurrence but then again, nothing about this show is ordinary. Perhaps the extra songs were the band’s gift to the Birthday Boy.

As “Lovelight” comes to an end, the final chord sustains but the drummers keep chugging along. Jerry starts picking the notes to “GDTRFB.” This version is so speedy that it threatens to derail at any moment.  “Playin’ Reprise” and “Black Peter” provide a much needed breather for a collective cool-down from the high energy that preceded it.I mentioned it earlier, but it is interesting to hear the difference in how Brent plays these two songs on the piano as compared with the usual B-3 organ. Garcia’s outro heavy solo in “Black Peter” conjures up images of a smokey blues bar.

Bobby leads the band into a celebratory, show-closing “Sugar Magnolia” that brings down the house. Brent takes a rare solo in this song and lays down some of his finest barrelhouse, honky-tonk piano before handing it off to Jerry who brings it on home in the best way possible. 

Although the rabid audience was calling for more, there was no encore that night. None was needed. The house lights came on at 2:00 AM and Rock Scully stepped onstage to make an announcement that does not appear on the video: “The band had a wonderful time here in Amsterdam and this was a very special treat for them and a gift to us from you guys and we’re very sorry but we are beat and we’re playing in the middle of a tour and we’re really pleased that we could do this. So, thank you!”

[Ed mentioned that parts of his listening notes are excerpted from the 2016 edition of the Unofficial 31 Days of Dead, and were posted on December 29, 2016. Dude even footnotes himself. Dayum, respek.]

Transport to the Charlie Miller remaster of the soundboard recording HERE. And transport to a matrix recording HERE. Oh, and the aforementioned YouTube…

Finally, Bob Minkin has a Kickstarter for a new photo book called JUST BOBBY, featuring tomorrow’s b-day boy. Definitely worth a peek!

More soon.

JF  

from WordPress https://ift.tt/3aKKbb6 via IFTTT

[architectnews]

David Kordansky Gallery Expansion, Los Angeles

David Kordansky Gallery Expansion, Los Angeles Building Extension, California Architecture Images

David Kordansky Gallery Expansion in Los Angeles

Sep 23, 2020

David Kordansky Gallery Expansion

Architects: wHY

Location: Los Angeles, CA, USA

wHY’s new expansion for David Kordansky Gallery, opened 19 September 2020

Two new exhibition spaces and a landscaped sculpture courtyard transform the gallery into an integrated arts compound wHY designed the original building for David Kordansky Gallery in Mid-City Los Angeles in 2014, and the 12,818 square foot expansion adds two new exhibition spaces and a landscaped courtyard for a range of new programming, including performance, film, and outdoor sculpture.

“In LA, so many great moments of cultural exchange happen in backyards where people feel at home,” said wHY’s Creative Director, Kulapat Yantrasast. “We felt that the David Kordansky Gallery environments should highlight this unique aspect of the city’s cultural life. The art scene in LA is very down-to-earth and personal, and I think exhibition spaces should reflect that rather than trying to appear commercial or corporate.”

As in the case of the original gallery building (a former martial arts center), the expansion repurposes existing structures on the busy La Brea corridor. In contrast to the dramatically scaled 15,000 square foot original gallery building, with its vaulted bow truss roof and expansive halls for art installations, the 2000 square foot exhibition spaces are proportioned to encourage a sense of intimacy and contemplation. The new exhibition spaces provide the ideal opportunity for displaying smaller scale works and holding private viewings, allowing for new and varied programming across the different buildings.

The expansion will launch with an exhibition of paintings by Linda Stark, the first show of work by the Los Angeles-based artist at the gallery.

The palette of materials for the new exhibition spaces is consistent with the original gallery: concrete floors, a timber roof structure, and white walls. However, the detailing creates a softer, chapel-like atmosphere, heightened by the sculptural coved ceiling. In keeping with wHY’s emphasis on the use of natural light in galleries, the exhibition spaces are illuminated by skylights; designed to contrast with the smooth coved perimeter of the ceiling, the skylights are installed to reveal the raw structural elements of the roof.

The structure of the repurposed buildings was simplified and clarified, creating a coherent formal logic throughout the site. Together, the unconventional arrangement of the different buildings generated an opportunity for a 3768 square foot landscaped sculpture courtyard designed by wHY’s Landscape Workshop. The gallery’s signature minimal aesthetic and asphalt grey exterior walls are accentuated by a landscape of drought-resistant plants and vines, setting the scene for new sculptures by Rashid Johnson and Will Boone. The courtyard is reached via a flowing terraced-stair corridor which leads the visitor into the new space from the original gallery, connecting the different areas of the site together as a whole.

David Kordansky Gallery David Kordansky Gallery is one of the most dynamic venues for contemporary art in Los Angeles and is internationally regarded as a leading gallery of its generation.

Established in 2003 as part of a burgeoning artistic community in the city’s Chinatown, the gallery began as a cutting-edge incubator for emerging talent. It quickly grew into a widely respected voice in the international conversation surrounding new and recent art, and moved to its second home, in Culver City, in 2008. The gallery moved to its current home in Mid-City in 2014.

The gallery’s artists have been the subjects of solo exhibitions in acclaimed museums worldwide and regularly appear in landmark biennials and thematic group shows. They work in all media and styles, defined as a group by their heterogeneity and individuality rather than their allegiance to any single aesthetic position. The exhibition program is dedicated to presenting artists’ work with passion and intellectual rigor, and to bringing the utmost care and precision to the showcasing of their visions.

As the program has evolved, the gallery has broadened its scope, collaborating with artists at all stages of their careers so that various historical lineages can enter into dialogue with one another. What has not changed, however, is the desire to foster greater understanding of Los Angeles’ development as an important city for art since World War II. David Kordansky Gallery sees itself as an institution firmly rooted in its hometown and in California, even as it embraces cultural activity in the 21st century as a fully global phenomenon. As such, it also treats its participation in the major international art fairs as serious exhibition opportunities, often planning solo presentations and other special programming.

The gallery has long valued the role that publications play in the diffusion of ideas and as snapshots of moments in time. With each year it expands its efforts in this area, publishing an ever-growing range of exhibition catalogues and limited-edition artist’s books.

wHY Founded in 2004 by Kulapat Yantrasast, wHY is a multi-disciplinary design practice dedicated to strengthening connections between people, cultures, and place. The practice is based in Los Angeles and New York City, and the core team of 40 designers and architects expands to include a global network of collaborating artists, academics, urbanists, and activists. By working across disciplines to test new ideas and techniques, wHY questions conventions and proposes a radically holistic and humane approach to design and architecture – one which celebrates the diversity and multiplicity of lived experience.

The practice is organized into 5 interdependent workshops – Buildings, Landscape, Museums, Objects, and Ideas. The workshops enable wHY to work across sectors and combine different forms of expertise, generating unique and progressive solutions for projects ranging from museums to mixed-use developments, community arts centers to luxury residences. This creatively liberating approach to design has led to a number of important international projects: wHY has gained a reputation as a thought-leader in the fields of cultural and civic architecture, winning global competitions including the Ross Pavilion and West Princes Street Gardens in Edinburgh, Scotland, and taking on major cultural landmark projects such as the Tchaikovsky Academic Opera and Ballet Theater in Perm, Russia.

The arts play an important role in wHY’s thinking, and the team applies their experimental and human-centered approach to a broad spectrum of artistic projects. wHY’s first groundup building was the new Grand Rapids Art Museum in Michigan, the first museum in the country to achieve the certification of LEED Gold, and wHY’s commitment to environmental and operational sustainability has become a hallmark of their work with arts institutions worldwide. The firm is also known for its deep engagement with issues of cultural diversity and historic inequities, leading to commissions to renovate iconic spaces such as the Northwest Coast Hall at the American Museum of Natural History, and the galleries of Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

wHY’s capacity to work across scales and disciplines is fueled by a fundamental curiosity about people and places. Through close collaboration with clients and stakeholders, wHY reveals the creative opportunities of a brief, generating innovative solutions which are highly specific to the site and its social context. Instead of establishing a singular wHY aesthetic, the team seeks to create designs which reflect the energy and dynamism of life itself: the radical mash-up of the why and the why not.

Kulapat Yantrasast Founder and Creative Director, wHY Kulapat Yantrasast was born in Bangkok and trained in Japan, where he received his MA and Ph.D. degrees in architecture from the University of Tokyo. He subsequently worked for eight years as a close associate of the Pritzker Prize-Winning Architect Tadao Ando, leading several important US and European museum and culture projects including the Modern Art Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, The Clark Art Institute in Williamstown, Massachusetts, and Fondation Francois Pinault pour l’Art Contemporain in Paris, France.

Kulapat established wHY in 2004 with the intention of combining his experience in the art world with a deep commitment to cultural inclusivity and human flourishing. This founding ethos has informed a number of important community and civic projects, including the Grand Rapids Museum of Art in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the Speed Museum in Louisville, Kentucky, and EPACENTER Youth Arts and Music Center in East Palo Alto, California. Under Kulapat’s leadership, community input and outreach has become a central part of wHY’s design process – in the case of projects such as EPACENTER, the final design grew directly from insights developed in collaboration with local residents over the course of several months. Kulapat is also recognized for his attention to visually powerful detailing, while ensuring that construction is cost effective and easy to assemble. Environmental sustainability is an integral part of Kulapat’s holistic design philosophy, and projects such as Grand Rapids Art Museum have set new standards for the sustainability of large-scale cultural projects.

Kulapat is a frequent public speaker at leading institutions and organizations, discussing architecture through the lens of ecology, cuisine, and human sociability. He has been named as one of the art world’s 100 Most Powerful People, and he is the first architect to receive the Silpathorn Award for Design from Thailand’s Ministry of Culture. Kulapat serves on the board of a number of cultural institutions including the Artists’ Committee of Americans for the Arts and as trustee of the Noguchi Museum in New York City and the Pulitzer Arts Foundation.

Gregory Fischer Director, wHY Ideas Workshop Gregory Fischer joined wHY’s Los Angeles office in 2012 following several years as a design director for diverse projects at award-winning Los Angeles architecture firms. As wHY Ideas Workshop Director, he collaborates with Kulapat and the Buildings, Landscape, and Objects Workshop Directors to uncover and frame client and community driven needs, input and ideas as unique programming and design opportunities.

Recent projects include EPACENTER Youth Arts & Music Center, ICA LA, Marciano Art Foundation, the Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art, CalArts Student Lounge, 2nd & Vignes Mixed-Use Development and Pershing Green. In this role, Gregory also strategizes and oversees the handing over of projects from procurement to design, and maintains involvement to ensure original ideas and fully realized in execution.

Mark Thomann, ASLA Director, wHY Landscape Workshop

“The plantings complement the gallery, and the fig ivy will eventually cover the walls of the courtyard – as in the case of the exterior walls. Grays and greens, raw textures and surprising silhouettes against the industrial backdrop – the design will grow into an immersive sanctuary.”

wHY landscape was founded in 2014 by Mark Thomann, as part of wHY’s interdisciplinary architecture practice; the workshop collaborates with architects, urban planners, and artists to cultivate and program future ecologies and open space. Current initiatives include the Ross Pavilion and West Princes Gardens in Edinburgh, Scotland, Rees Street Park on the Toronto Waterfront, and an ongoing framework plan and sculpture project with Yoko Ono for a 542-acre park in Chicago. Mark’s experimental garden, “Float Flutter Flow,” was selected for the 2019 Chaumont-sur-Loire International Garden Festival.

Prior to joining wHY, Mark was a partner and landscape design director with Balmori Associates. He has led numerous international award winning projects and strategic plans, including the Campa de los Ingleses Park at the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, and the vision and masterplan for the city of Sejong in Korea.

Mark studied politics and conflict studies before receiving his MLA in Landscape Architecture and Regional Design from the University of Pennsylvania in 1999. He joined the landscape architecture faculty at University of Pennsylvania School of Design in 2010, and has been a studio critic, guest reviewer and lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania, Yale University, University of Toronto, Cornell University, Columbia University, Princeton University, the ASLA Awards, and Mildred’s Lane. His work is featured in numerous publications and books, and he regularly serves as a juror for international competitions.

Paulina Bouyer-Magaña Project Architect “We wanted to create a simple, unpretentious series of spaces which put the art center stage. The spaces are designed to subtly impact the visitor’s experience, creating a rhythm of openness and enclosure, public and private space, which brings variation and integration to the site and provide an ideal set of circumstances for contemplating art.”

Paulina Bouyer-Magaña joined wHY’s LA office in 2016. She is a graduate of Columbia University and has worked on projects from schematic design to construction management, ensuring project continuity throughout. Recent projects include East Palo Alto Youth Arts & Music Center, ICA LA, Marciano Art Foundation, and The Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art, Culture and Industry.

Photographer: Elon Schoenholz

David Kordansky Gallery Expansion, Los Angeles, CA images / information received 230920

Location: Los Angeles, Southern California, United States of America

Los Angeles Buildings

Contemporary Los Angeles Architecture

L.A. Architecture Designs – chronological list

Los Angeles Architecture Tours – architectural walks by e-architect

Los Angeles Architecture Designs

Los Angeles Houses

CHA:COL Architects is a Los Angeles-based architecture practice “championing design in every space, residential, educational, office and institutional. Principals Apurva Pande and Chinmaya Misra lead a well-knit team from their offices in Downtown Los Angeles.”

LA Residential Architecture

Mirror House, Beverly Hills Architects: XTEN Architecture photos : Art Gray Mirror House in Beverly Hills

The Wave House Venice Architect: Mario Romano photograph : Brandon Arant The Wave House, Venice

Contemporary LA Houses

More contemporary residences in the Los Angeles area:

Crossing Wall House Santa Barbara, California Design: Mobile Office Architects photograph : Tyson Ellis House in Santa Barbara

James Goldstein House in Beverly Hills photo © Tom Ferguson Photography James Goldstein House in Beverly Hills

New Californian Architecture

Los Angeles Architect Studios – design practice listings

Contemporary American Architecture

Comments / photos for the David Kordansky Gallery Expansion, Los Angeles Architecture page welcome

Los Angeles

The post David Kordansky Gallery Expansion, Los Angeles appeared first on e-architect.

[livinglikebritishroyalty]

𝐹𝓊𝓁𝓁 𝒩𝒶𝓂𝑒

Elizabeth Alexandra Mary George

─────── ღೋ 👑 ღೋ ───────

𝐹𝓊𝓁𝓁 𝒯𝒾𝓉𝓁𝑒

Her Majesty The Queen and Queen of the United Kingdom and the Other Commonwealth Realms

─────── ღೋ 👑 ღೋ ───────

𝐵𝓸𝓇𝓃

Wednesday, April 21st, 1926 at 17 Bruton Street, Mayfair, London, United Kingdom

─────── ღೋ 👑 ღೋ ───────

𝒟𝑒𝒶𝓉𝒽

Thursday, September 8th, 2022 in Balmoral Estates, Ballater AB35 5TB, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, United Kingdom 

─────── ღೋ 👑 ღೋ ───────

𝒫𝒶𝓇𝑒𝓃𝓉𝓈

Father: George VI King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth

Mother: Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother

─────── ღೋ 👑 ღೋ ───────

𝒮𝒾𝒷𝓁𝒾𝓃𝑔𝓈

Younger Sister: Her Royal Highness The Princess Margaret The Countess of Snowdon

─────── ღೋ 👑 ღೋ ───────

𝒮𝓅𝓸𝓊𝓈𝑒

His Royal Highness Prince Philip The Duke of Edinburgh (M. 1947 - 2021)

─────── ღೋ 👑 ღೋ ───────

𝒞𝒽𝒾𝓁𝒹𝓇𝑒𝓃

His Majesty King Charles III

Her Royal Highness Anne The Princess Royal

His Royal Highness Prince Andrew The Duke of York

His Royal Highness Prince Edward The Duke of Edinburgh

─────── ღೋ 👑 ღೋ ───────

𝒫𝓇𝑒-𝒟𝑒𝒸𝑒𝓈𝓈𝓸𝓇

George VI King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth

─────── ღೋ 👑 ღೋ ───────

𝒞𝓸𝓇𝓸𝓃𝒶𝓉𝒾𝓸𝓃

Tuesday, June 2nd, 1953 at Westminster Abbey in London

─────── ღೋ 👑 ღೋ ───────

𝑅𝑒𝒾𝑔𝓃

Wednesday, February 6th, 1952 through Thursday, September 8th, 2022

─────── ღೋ 👑 ღೋ ───────

𝐻𝑒𝒾𝓇 𝒜𝓅𝓅𝒶𝓇𝑒𝓃𝓉

His Majesty King Charles III

─────── ღೋ 👑 ღೋ ───────

𝐼𝓃𝓉𝑒𝓇𝑒𝓈𝓉𝓈

Animals: Animal Conservation & Cruelty, Birds (Conservation & Pigeon Racing), Breeding of Animals, Cattle, Dogs, Horses, Veterinaries, Wildlife, & Zoology

Education: African Studies, Alumni, Asian Studies, Colleges, Economics, French Language, Geography, Mental Health in Students, Reading, Research, Schools

Medical: Associations, Cancer, Children (Illness & Speech Developments), Diabetics, Dietitians, Dentists, Disabled (Learning, Blind, Hearing, Neuro, & Physically), Doctors, Education, Elderly, Epilepsy, Eye Disease, Heart Disease, Hospitals, Hygiene, Leprosy, Lung Disease, Nurses, Pathology, Pharmacists, Physicians, Physiotherapists, Radiology, Research, Strokes, Surgeons

Other: Automobiles, Boating, Coin History, Maritime, Retail Industry, Sailing, & Stamp History

Services: Fire-Fighters, Lifeguards, Military Service, Police, Veterans

Science: Aeronautics, Agriculture, Archaeology, Astronomy, Astrophysics, Botany, Chemistry, Conservation, Electricians, Energy Industry, Engineering (Gas, Managers, Mechanical, & Military), Entomology, Forestry, Geophysics, Horticultural, Manufacturing, Miners, Natural Science, Parks, Planetary Sciences, Research, Solar Physics, Technology

Sports: Air Sport, Archery, Bowling, Bowls, College Athletics, Cricket, Croquet, Curling, Cycling, Fencing, Golf, Horse Racing, Ice Skating, Olympics, Police Athletics, Recreational Spaces, Rowing, Rugby, Soccer, Table Tennis, Target Shooting, Tennis

The Arts: Architecture, Art, Bands, Choir, Cinema, Dance (Ballet & Scottish Country Dancing), Dramatic Arts, Education, Entertainment Industry, Fashion & Textile, Fine Arts, Hospitality Industry, Journalism, Music (Bag Pipe, Education, Orchestra, Organ, Philharmonic, &. Pipers), Music Competitions, Opera, Painting (Portrait & Watercolor), Performing Arts, Printing, Publishing Companies, Radio Streaming, Sculpting, Television, Theaters

The People: Child Care, Culture & History, Dependents, Economics, Family, Financial Services, Humanitarian Relief Organizations, Insurance Services, International Affairs, Justice, Men & Women (Abuse, Discrimination, Parenting, & Rights), Neighborhoods, Relations, Religion, Sales Representatives, Solicitors, & Youth Opportunities

─────── ღೋ 👑 ღೋ ───────

𝒫𝒶𝓉𝓇𝑜𝓃𝒶𝑔𝑒𝓈

Her Majesty The Queen is involved in over 100 different charities, organizations, associations, clubs, & military services. She is mostly a Patron of most groups but has positions like Patron In Chief, Joint Patron, Visitor, Honorary Freeman, Honorary Commodore, Sovereign Honorary Member, Sponsor, Governor, President, Master, Chief Patron, Honorary Member, Protector, & many other titles. As the Queen has stepped down from most groups, she has handed titles & charities over to other family members such as her husband, her children, and new family members like The Duchess of Cambridge.

Besides charities, the Queen is charge of all things military, veterans, and other service positions. She has many rankings & titles she uses depending on what branch or group of service she is visiting that day.

[blackkudos]

Kerry Washington

Kerry Marisa Washington (born January 31, 1977) is an American actress. Since 2012, Washington has gained wide public recognition for starring in the ABC drama Scandal, a Shonda Rhimes series in which she plays Olivia Pope, a crisis management expert to politicians and power brokers in Washington DC. For her role, she has been nominated twice for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series, and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Television Series.

Washington is also known for her roles as Della Bea Robinson, in the film Ray (2004), as Kay in The Last King of Scotland (2006), as Alicia Masters in the live-action Fantastic Four films of 2005 and 2007, and as Broomhilda von Schaft in Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained (2012). She has also starred in the independent films Our Song (2000), The Dead Girl (2006), Mother and Child (2009) and Night Catches Us (2010). In 2016, she portrayed Anita Hill in the HBO television film Confirmation and was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or a Movie.

In April 2014, Time magazine included Washington in its annual "Time 100" list.

Early life

Washington was born in the Bronx, New York City, the daughter of Valerie, a professor and educational consultant, and Earl Washington, a real estate broker. Her father's family is of African American origin, having migrated from South Carolina to Brooklyn. Her mother's family is from Manhattan, and Washington has said that her mother is from a "mixed-race background but from Jamaica, so she is partly English and Scottish and Native American, but also descended from African slaves in the Caribbean." Through her mother, she is a cousin of the former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell.

Washington performed with the TADA! Youth Theater teen group and attended the Spence School in Manhattan from her pre-teen years until graduating from high school in 1994. At age 13, she was taken to watch Nelson Mandela speak at Yankee Stadium upon his release from prison. She attended George Washington University, graduating Phi Beta Kappa in 1998 with a double major in anthropology and sociology. She also studied at Michael Howard Studios in New York City.

Career

1994–2008

Washington got her Screen Actors Guild (SAG) card as a requirement for a commercial that she starred in. Washington made her screen debut in the ABC telefilm Magical Make-Over (1994). She was in the cast of the 1996 PBS sketch comedy-style educational series Standard Deviants, and she appeared in the short "3D" and the feature film Our Song in 2000. She went on to appear in several movies, including Save the Last Dance (2001) and The Human Stain (2003). In 2002 she played Chris Rock's love interest in the spy thriller Bad Company, a film that represented a turning point for her, in that it was the first time in her career that she had made enough money annually to qualify for health insurance under SAG.

In 2004, she played the female lead in Spike Lee's She Hate Me, and she received strong reviews for her performance. After 2004, she held parts in Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005), Little Man (2006), I Think I Love My Wife (2007), and as a wife of 1970s Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in the UK historical drama The Last King of Scotland (2006). Washington has also appeared in the recurring role of Chelina Hall on the ABC television series Boston Legal, and in several episodes of the A&E cable-TV series 100 Centre Street. In 2007, she co-directed and appeared in the music video for hip-hop artist Common's song, "I Want You", the fourth single from his album Finding Forever and became a spokesperson for L'Oréal, appearing in commercials and ads alongside fellow actresses, Scarlett Johansson and Eva Longoria, Gong Li, Michelle Yeoh, Dian Sastrowardoyo, Aishwarya Rai, Maya Karin and model Doutzen Kroes.

2009–2015

Washington narrated the critically acclaimed documentary about the New Orleans-based teenage TBC Brass Band, From the Mouthpiece on Back. She also appears in Maxwell's "Bad Habits" video. In 2009 Washington performed in The People Speak, a documentary feature film that uses dramatic and musical performances of the letters, diaries, and speeches of everyday Americans, based on historian Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States.

In 2010, she made her Broadway debut in David Mamet's Race, alongside James Spader (with whom she worked on "Boston Legal"), David Alan Grier, and Richard Thomas. She also appeared in Tyler Perry's 2010 film For Colored Girls. In October 2011, it was confirmed that she would star in Quentin Tarantino's film Django Unchained, which was released in 2012 and received widespread critical acclaim. She was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in June 2012 along with 175 other individuals.

In 2013, Washington ranked No. 2 in People magazine's 100 Most Beautiful people and was named Woman of the Year by Glamourmagazine. The same year, she ranked No. 20 on Forbes magazine's annual list of the highest-paid actors in television and was announced as the new face of Neutrogena skin care. Washington hosted Saturday Night Live on November 2, 2013, where she impersonated Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey in a cold opening sketch that satirized criticism of Saturday Night Live for not having had any black female cast members for many years.

Scandal

Since April 2012, Washington has starred in the ABC drama series Scandal, created by Shonda Rimes, as Olivia Pope, a crisis manager who runs her own crisis management firm called Pope & Associates in Washington, D.C.. In this position, she works for high-profile figures, most notably the President of the United States, who is also her lover. The show has been a commercial and critical success, and has been called one of the most talked about drama series on Facebook and Twitter by BuzzFeed. Its success has also drawn attention to racial questions in television, as Washington is the first African-American actress to lead an American network drama series since 1974, when Teresa Graves starred in the crime drama Get Christie Love! on ABC. Tanzina Vega of The New York Times has written that Washington's casting "has prompted discussion among academics and fans of the show about whether Scandal represents a new era of post-racial television, in which cast members are ethnically diverse but are not defined by their race or ethnicity."

Washington's performance has earned positive reviews, and in 2013, she won the award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series at the 44th NAACP Image Awards and was also presented with the NAACP President's Award. The same year, she was named "Favorite actress" and Scandal "Favorite Drama" of the year at TV Guide's Magazine Fan Favorite Awards and was also crowned 2013's "TV Star of the Year" by the editors of the magazine. For her work in the second season of Scandal, Washington was nominated for an Emmy at the 65th Primetime Emmy Awards and 66th Primetime Emmy Awards, becoming the first African-American woman to be nominated in the category of Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 18 years. She was also nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series as well as a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Television Drama Series.

In addition to Washington's acting, her costumes as Olivia Pope have attracted positive attention, prompting Vanity Fair to name the character one of "The Top Ten Best-Dressed TV Characters" in 2013. According to the show's costume designer, Lyn Paolo, the success of Olivia Pope's wardrobe is based on "this idea of having [her character] wear such soft, feminine colors in a man's world". In 2014, Washington and Paolo won the Influencer Award at the 2014 Ace Fashion Awards for Olivia Pope's stylish clothes on the show.

The Boston Globe ranked Scandal tenth place of its list of "Top 10 political TV shows" in 2015.

2016–present

In 2014, Washington announced her involvement in Malcolm D. Lee's Is He the One? a romantic comedy from MGM. She played the lead role in Confirmation, an HBO movie directed by Rick Famuyiwa about Anita Hill's testimony during Clarence Thomas Supreme Court nomination, which aired in 2016.

In August, it was announced that Washington would be producing a new ABC television show, Patrol, about female LAPD police officers.

For her role in Confirmation, Washington was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie at the 68th Primetime Emmy Awards, as well as the Critics' Choice Awards' equivalent the same year. Confirmationwas also nominated for the Emmy Award for Outstanding Television Movie at the Emmys, as well.

Personal life

Washington was engaged to actor David Moscow from October 2004 to March 2007. Washington married NFL player Nnamdi Asomugha on June 24, 2013 in Hailey, Idaho. They have a daughter, Isabelle Amarachi, born April 2014 and a son named Caleb Kelechi Asomugha, born October 5, 2016.

As a sort of souvenir or memento, she usually tries to keep something from every character that she plays, such as an item of wardrobe or a piece of furniture from the house the character lived in.

On May 19, 2013, she was the commencement speaker for her alma mater, George Washington University. Before giving her commencement address she was presented with an honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts.

Activism

In 2007, Washington and other celebrities joined for the 2007 Lee National Denim Day, supporting the Women’s Cancer Programs of the Entertainment Industry Foundation. In September 2012, Washington spoke at the Democratic National Convention in favor of re-electing Barack Obama with her speech focusing on addressing voter apathy.

Washington is also a supporter of gay rights. In August 2013, she was named an honorary chairperson of the GLSEN Respect Awards; and she received the GLAAD Vanguard Award on March 21, 2015. In June 2016, the Human Rights Campaign released a video in tribute to the victims of the 2016 Orlando gay nightclub shooting; in the video, Washington and others told the stories of the people killed there.

She is a member of the Creative Coalition; which is a board of actors, writers, musicians, and producers that explore issues that are at the forefront of national discourse. She is also a member of V-Day, a global movement that brings awareness to violence against women and girls.

In March 2016, Washington and fellow ShondaLand colleagues, Ellen Pompeo, Viola Davis and Shonda Rhimes, appeared in a commercial endorsing Hillary Clinton for President.

Wikipedia

[newyorktheater]

In a year that has ended so dramatically off-stage, and during which so many people talked dismissively about “political theater” — but they didn’t mean anything actually happening in a work of art —  it’s good to celebrate the memorable moments  that happened nightly on New York stages.

These were moments that were memorable as a visual spectacle or a verbal tickle or an emotional punch, moments that meant something because of off-stage events, or meant nothing but stayed with you nevertheless. Some moments were memorable because they were lovely; some because they were ugly. There were enough memorable moments this year in so many shows (even some one might not otherwise have cared for) that the gallery below is just a sample — as was the one  last year, and the year before that, and the year before that. I’m forced to focus largely on the moments with human actors — leaving out the unforgettable moments involving a live goat, a rabbit, and most of the puppets  (I do mention one.)

Click on any photograph to see it enlarged and to read the extensive caption that explains each moment, which are more or less in the chronological order of the shows’ opening. Some of the moments on stage were so special that the production didn’t provide photographs of them; in such cases, I use a different photograph from that show.

Ruthie Ann Miles as Immigration Judge Craig Zerbe presided over The Courtroom, a re-enactment by Waterwell theater company of actual deportation proceedings, using the transcript. What made this an especially memorable moment was that it marked the Miles first performance in New York after a reckless driver last year killed her four-year-old daughter and caused the loss of her unborn baby.

“4.48 Psychosis,” an opera based on Sarah Kane’s play about her mental illness, featured this exchange, the words projected onto the back wall as the performers sang them: Have you made any plans? With the words projected onto the back wall, the psychiatrist had the following exchange with the patient: Have you made any plans? Take an overdose, slash my wrists then hang myself. All those things together? It couldn’t possibly be misconstrued as a cry for help.

In “Alice By Heart,” the entire colorfully-clad cast turned into a single giant caterpillar

In “The Cake,” Debra Jo Rupp portrayed Della, a good-natured Christian baker in North Carolina who refuses to bake a cake for a lesbian wedding, and then feels guilty about it. Late at night, in bed with her husband Tim, she tries to explore her conscience with him as sounding board. Tim doesn’t want to hear it. He thinks she was right to turn down the lesbians. Tim: It’s – it’s just not natural. Della: Well, neither is confectioner’s sugar!

In “Ain’t No Mo’,” the play by Jordan E. Cooper, making his Off-Broadway debut as both a playwright and an actor, African-American are leaving the United States en masse on flights to Africa. In the final scene, Cooper as pink-garbed stewardess Peaches is left behind. The final stream-of-consciousness monologue, accompanied by the voices of famous black Americans –Bessie and Billie, James Brown, James Baldwin, and Malcolm X — is a metaphor for the black experience in America, as Peaches can’t uproot the bag of black history, and is left defeated, stripped down to a bare black man, shouting “Give it back, give it back.”

“Ashes,” a haunting work of theatre that told the real-life story of an arsonist, was peopled with dozens of characters — all but the narrator are puppets. In one of many astounding moments of magic, the narrator’s father (a puppet) who is dying smokes a cigarette, and exhales the smoke, which then curls up into the air and magically forms the text: “The last thing I did to my father was lie to him.”

Ali Stroker as the fun-loving, oversexed Ado Annie in “Oklahoma!”, teases and kisses, flirts with and sings to the dim Will Parker (James Davis), — and most memorably swings with him gleefully on her wheelchair.

Andre De Shields commands the stage in Hadestown from the get-go. The show begins in complete silence as the rest of the cast watches Hermes, in his elegant, grey silk suit, slide across the stage, pause, and open a button to show a loud and splendid vest, before trombone player Briane Drye lets out a blast from jazz heaven and De Shields launches into the get-down “Road to Hell.” It’s the quietest, and most mesmerizing, opening of any show on Broadway.

“Dragon Spring Phoenix Rise” a kung-fu musical that was the inaugural show in the mammoth McCourt Theater during the inaugural season of The Shed, the arts center that’s part of the gleaming and sterile new Hudson Yards neighborhood. The musical took advantage of the space, when the performers soared up 80 feet in the air for aerial acrobatics and then back down again.

“Moulin Rouge” was thrilling from the moment you entered the theater… until about ten minutes after it began. That’s because the brightest star in this stage adaptation of Baz Luhrmann’s 2001 movie musical is designer Derek McLane’s set. Before we even take our seats, it envelopes us in love, or at least in lots of red – a huge red neon “Moulin Rouge” sign above red lights in the shape of a half a dozen hearts nestled lovingly within each other, a full-sized, red windmill full of lights perched on the box seats above us to our left, a life-sized elephant (which, for variety, is purple) in the box seats to our right…

In an arresting moment in “Deluge,” a tall white dancer dressed in black tossed up a short black dancer dressed in red, accompanied by a score that included recordings of some of the most fulsome public comments by Donald Trump and other politicians (“These are animals…Pocahontas…legitimate rape…”) The dance company whose members wrote, choreographed and performed this remarkable piece is called Loco-Motion Dance Theater for Children, and they were performing as part of the 16th annual Rebel Verses Youth Arts Festival, an exciting and inspiring show presenting artists ages 13 to 19 from some dozen youth theater companies. The festival was almost as impressive for what was not on stage as for what was: There were no teenage cliques, no obsession with popularity. It was not the standard depiction of teenagers in even well-meaning shows on Broadway

“Sincerity Forever,” one of the five plays in Perfect Catatrophes, a festival of Mac Wellman plays, takes place in a fictional Southern town named Hillsbottom. Jesus H. Christ, a black woman, comes visiting and the town’s teenagers, dressed casually in Klu Klux Klan’s outfits, are oblivious. In the first of several memorable moments, two of the teens admit that they are ignorant – “I don’t know why the sky is blue, and I don’t know what ‘blue’ is, and I don’t know why I don’t know,” — but conclude that their ignorance must nonetheless somehow be God’s plan. “the most important thing is not what you know, but whether you’re sincere or not.”

At the end of “Novenas for a Lost Hospital,” which sweeps through the 161-year history of St. Vincent’s Hospital in Greenwich Village, focusing on the cholera and AIDS epidemics, Kathleen Chalfant as Mother Seton leads the audience down the narrow staircase to the street, and then the block and a half over to the so-called St. Vincent’s Triangle, a new park across the street from where the hospital once stood. It’s the site of the New York City AIDS Memorial. The audience stood in a circle for the epilogue, beneath the white steel triangle canopy of the memorial.

In “The Great Society,” which chronicles the final four years of LBJ’s presidency, we get out of the White House in just a handful of scenes. In the most memorable, Jimmy Lee Jackson, a 26-year-old Alabaman tries to register to vote, and is killed doing so, which leads to the confrontations between Civil Rights marchers and Alabama troops on the Edmund Pettus Bridge.

There is one spectacularly funny moment in “Scotland, PA” musical comedy version of “Macbeth,” which is based on Billy Morrissette’s 2001 movie, and is set in a fast-food restaurant in the “podunk town” of Scotland, Pennsylvania in 1975. After married couple Mac and Pat Kill Duncan, they take over his restaurant. All the fast-food workers are dressed in construction jumpsuits and the establishment is covered with canvas. Suddenly, all the workers strip off their outfit, and simultaneously all the canvas falls off, and we see red and gold costumes, red and gold décor, a huge yellow M sign, and the new name of the restaurant: McBeth’s. This is one of the two shows this year in New York that featured a funny scene involving McDonald’s. The other was Soft Power — which opened the same week!

At the end of Tina, The Tina Turner Musical, Adrienne Warner — dressed in trademark tight red leather mini-dress, highest of heels and tallest of wigs, ascending a staircase of flashing lights backed by a raucous band each in his own Hollywood Square — delivers Tina Turner’s greatest hits – Nutbush City Limits, Proud Mary ( “Rollin’, rollin’ rollin’ on the river…”) – and we all rise as one, ecstatic, and swoon.. I’m not sure what it says – but it says something – that this greatest moment in the musical’s nearly three hours occurs after the curtain call.

This sexy scene in The Inheritance is not actually the most memorable in the play. That comes at the end of the first part of this two-part play, when the young gay men who died during the peak of the AIDS epidemic walk from the back of the theater one by one to the stage to shake hands with the living.

In “You Oughta Know,” the exhilarating show-stopping number from Jagged Little Pill, Jo confronts her girlfriend Jackie, whom she had discovered in bed with a new boy in their high school named Phoenix: “Every time you speak his name, does he know how you told me you’d be there until you died. Til you died, but you’re still alive….you, you, you oughta know. You, you,you,you…” As Jo, Lauren Patten’s delivery of the song is so forceful and electric that it prompted a standing ovation.

Memorable Moments on Stage in 2019 In a year that has ended so dramatically off-stage, and during which so many people talked dismissively about "political theater" -- but they didn't mean anything actually happening in a work of art --  it's good to celebrate the memorable moments  that happened nightly on New York stages.

[oliviarhee]

The Adventures of the Singing Acupuncturist 6: Big O makes it in New York... or does she?

Diamond Wave Productions and Laughing Horse Comedy are delighted to present a stand-up Comedy debut, Adventures of the Singing Acupuncturist 6: Big O makes it in New York, or does she?  Another world premiere, it will be presented at the Edinburgh Arts Festival in Scotland in August 2018. Written and Performed by Olivia Rhee.  Directed by Sophia Charalambous.

Adventures of the Singing Acupuncturist 6:  Big O makes it in New York, or does she?  is a new stand-up comedy show.

Have you never been able to fit into a box? Not a physical box… a mental box… a box in your mind.  As a Korean-American Olivia Rhee knows all too well about trying to fit in -when Kimchi, aka: "Fire-Breathing Garlic Dragon Breath", is your culture’s most famous export, how are you ever going to blend into a normal life in the land of burgers, fries & ketchup?  As an acupuncturist, who fixes people for a living, this is frustrating… why can’t she fix herself?  Adventures of the Singing Acupuncturist 6: Big O makes it in New York… Or, does she? is an hilarious hour of comedy where Olivia entertains you with her Korean-American wisdom, and you’ll leave with a transformed mind, bigger eyes, and an open heart… a heart that is open to explore new experiences…like French Fries with Kimchi (she calls it....Korean Ketchup).  Another world premiere, this marks as her 6th solo show at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.  The first musical show, Adventures of a Singing Acupuncturist: Olivia in Caledonia, was premiered in 2010.  

Olivia Rhee has been writing one-woman shows since studying at New York University.  Her professional debut, Who Knows? An Emotional Journey through the Eye of I, was well received by New York audiences in 2000.  And in her Cabaret performance, New York Times: The Best and the worst of It, before leaving New York in 2001, she brought her audience to happy tears.  She has also delighted audiences with her Cabaret show, An Evening of Songs with Olivia Rhee, in San Diego, California in 2003, which celebrated the release of her 2 CDs.

Now a working Acupuncturist in Las Vegas, Nevada and New York, NY (USA), she is excited to be performing her 11th new solo show, Adventures of the Singing Acupuncturist 6:  Big O makes it in New York, or does she?, at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August 2018.

Sophia Charalambous (Director) is a qualified NQJ journalist, writing for regional and national UK publications including the Independent, Mirror, Mail Online and the Daily Star Online. Theatre, film and comedy feature writing was part of her role as Deputy Entertainment Editor at the Essex Chronicle newspaper. Prior to this, she was a writer and director at Nottingham's New Theatre from 2007 to 2010. Sophia began directing stand-up comedy in 2016, and her directorial debut show IlluminArchie was transferred to Soho Theatre after its run at Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2017.

Barry Lamm (Script Supervisor) originally hails from Nebraska, where he utilized his degree in theater and communications as a teacher and active member of the Omaha community and professional theater scene. He has lived in New York City for the past 19 years and now works as a professional development, training and process coordinator for an online software company. Barry is proud to be working with Ms. Rhee again after directing her in New York in her production of Who Knows? and the past 5 shows at Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Troy Sanford (Costume & Make-up Consultant) hails from Nebraska also and has worked in fashion for over 22 years (although with prolonged use of Botox retains his youthful look and presence).  He’s worked for companies like Ralph Lauren as a production manager overseeing blue label and the Wimbledon Launch of the Big Pony campaign as well as the uniforms for the Olympics in China for Ralph Lauren.  He also helped with the re-Launch of GAP with Patrick Robinson and the CFDA as well as the re-Launch of Ann Taylor several years back.  Not only has Troy helped other friends launch their own fashion labels, he also launched his own fashion line.  He has worked with Olivia on costume, hair and makeup for her past (5 shows).  Always ready with fashion advice and costume quick-change suggestions to help transform her from a mere mortal to a living goddess.  Modesty being one of his strong suits, he loves doing what he does and likes giving back to the community.  Just ask him how great he is and he’ll tell you himself.

Thanks go to Laughing Horse Comedy, director, Alex Petty and the Laughing Horse team.

And Special Thanks to:  Sem @ The Lantern and Tess Henry @ Under St. Mark’s Theatre for allowing me to Preview my show in New York City this July (see below for Preview show details).

And to: Chris O’Neill @ Jesters / Sin e Pub in Dublin, Ireland for allowing me to Preview my show in Dublin on 25 July (see below for Preview show details).

Olivia would like to thank the following for help with her project:  God, SAM, mom & dad, my brother Chris, my sister Sandy, Tamra M, Barry Lamm, Troy Sanford, Sophia Charalambous and all my aunts, uncles, and cousins.

My teachers: Tom Burke Voice Studio, including Jen DeRosa & Robert Sussuma, my comedy teachers Philip Peredo and Jerry Corley.

To all my comedy friends who have supported me in Dublin/Europe:  Chris O-N., Joe R., Tom W., Larry B., Vinny D., Martin A., Frank B., Brian O-T., Seamus S., Ted L., Gerard J., Margaret McH., Lizzy W., Christina McM., Seosamh P., Barry M., Duane D., Alan H., Kevin O-S., Spunkster., Apollo Sessions, Jay P. Hardy, Adam B @ Hardy Har Comedy club, Unhinged Comedy club, Battle of the Axe Comedy club, the International Comedy Club, Jonathan H., Thom E., & Chris D.

And my friends in the USA:  Joe DeSantis, Steve & Carla McInelly, Jonathan Smilowitz, Manfred Hein, Travis R., Kirk S., Adam S-W., Laughing Buddha Comedy Club, Dylan F., Sean F., Paul S., Kon., Matt S., Jordan H., Neil P., Barry B., Bobby S., Mike S., Don B., Joe F., Jerry K., Jeff R., Chris S, Mia A., Wanda & Brian M., Diane B., Emme L., Joey I., Mick M., Alex S., and other new friends I have met since this website went live…

My friends in England and Scotland:  Lucy G, Jenny L, Peter S, Gerard L, Colin H, Lynda P, Gill L, Johnny F, Paul H, Mark M., Tim R., Owen F., Clare H., Julia, Martyn H., David V-J., Tom S., Lucy F., & etc.

My production crew: Dave George (Graphic Designer: www.GeorgeCreative.uk), Christopher John-Stone (headshots/photography/flyers in NY), Abbie Glennie (lights/sound for 2016 show), Troy Sanford (costume/makeup), Woon-Sun J-C (make-up in NYC), Mary L. (video in NYC), Pegasus Sound and Light, And my past production crew: Nathan@completetours.co.uk and listed below in previous show info.

And everyone else who has helped me in one way or another.  

To everyone, I am grateful from my love of kimchi and comedy, as I could not have endured the struggles of writing a 60-minute comedy show without all of you…

“A tragedy is a tragedy, and at the bottom, all tragedies are stupid. Give me a choice and I'll take A Midsummer Night's Dream over Hamlet every time. Any fool with steady hands and a working set of lungs can build up a house of cards and then blow it down, but it takes a genius to make people laugh.”   ― Stephen King

“Tragedy is when I cut my finger. Comedy is when you fall into an open sewer and die.”  ― Mel Brooks

“Thankfully, persistence is a great substitute for talent.” ― Steve Martin, Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life

“Comedy is the art of making people laugh without making them puke.”― Steve Martin

“What is in your way?  It’s not in your way… Get it out of the way.” – Marinda, dance teacher/choreographer

“Kimchi is not for sissies… it’s an acquired taste, but it is delicious and good for your health (i.e. improves your immune system like acupuncture / herbal medicine)”  – Olivia Rhee

4 Preview shows in New York, NY:

The Lantern

When: 17 July 2018 (Tuesday): Time:  4:30pm (16:30). Where: The Lantern, 167 Bleecker St., New York, NY  10012.  Tickets: purchase one item minimum (a drink or one food item)

Under St. Mark’s Theatre

When: 18 July 2018 (Wednesday) Time: 9:00pm (21:00) Where: Under St. Mark’s Theatre: 94 St. Mark’s Place, New York, NY  10009, Tickets:  $10.00 ($5.00 for students, seniors, and comedians) http://www.horsetrade.info/under-st-marks

When: 20 July 2018 (Friday) Time: 8:00pm (20:00) Where: Under St. Mark’s Theatre: 94 St. Mark’s Place, New York, NY 10009, , Tickets: $10.00 ($5.00 for students, seniors, and comedians)  http://www.horsetrade.info/under-st-marks

When: 21 July 2018 (Saturday) Time: 7:00pm (19:00) Where: Under St. Mark’s Theatre: 94 St. Mark’s Place, New York, NY 10009, , Tickets: $10.00 ($5.00 for students, seniors, and comedians) http://www.horsetrade.info/under-st-marks

1 Preview show in Dublin, Ireland:

Jesters EDge Comedy

When: 25 July 2018 (Wednesday) Where: Jesters EDge Comedy @ Sin E Pub, 15 Ormond Quay Upper, North City, Dublin Time: 7:40 pm (19:40) Tickets: please purchase a drink at the Pub to show support.

*Main Shows at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival*

Venue:  Laughing Horse @ Espionage (The Bunker) (Venue 185), 4 India Buildings (Entrances on Victoria Street and Cowgate), Edinburgh, EH1 2EX

Time: 0:00 am (Midnight:  24:00) (Duration: 50 mins)

Dates: August 15-26, 2018

For all press inquiries please contact: Olivia Rhee

email: Olivia.Rhee@gmail.com

Web: http://www.oliviarhee.tumblr.com

http://oliviarhee.weebly.com (for bio info)

Phone:  (619) 606-0496

(in UK in August 2018):  (07981) 010343

Social Media:  

Twitter:  @OliviaRhee1

Instagram: olirhee

Facebook Page:  Olivia Diamond Comedy

[hollywoodages-blog]

Gugu Mbatha-Raw Height Weight Measurements

New Post has been published on http://hollywoodages.com/gugu-mbatha-raw-height-weight-measurements/

Gugu Mbatha-Raw Height Weight Measurements

Gugu Mbatha-Raw Biography

Gugulethu Sophia “Gugu” Mbatha-Rawborn 21 April 1983, is an English on-screen character, referred to for her part as Kelly in Black Mirror, Dido Elizabeth Belle in Belle, Noni Jean in Beyond the Lights, and Plumette in Beauty and the Beast. Working in British TV and stage creations, she started a repeating part in the Doctor Who arrangement as Tish Jones, sister of Martha Jones. She collected consideration in American creations, starting with a supporting part in the Tom Hanks satire Larry Crowne, and featuring parts on the brief TV arrangement Undercovers and Touch. She earned basic recognition for her exhibitions in the British time frame dramatization Belle (2013) and the sentimental show Beyond the Lights (2014), accepting various honor designations from pundits around the world. In 2015, Mbatha-Raw debuted the title part in Jessica Swale’s play Nell Gwynn, a performing artist and courtesan of King Charles II of England and Scotland. She was designated for an Evening Standard Theater Award for Best Actress for her execution. Her execution as Kelly in the widely praised “San Junipero”, a scene in season three of the treasury arrangement Black Mirror, was exceedingly applauded. Gugulethu Sophia Mbatha-Raw was conceived on 21 April 1983 in Oxford, the little girl of Patrick Mbatha, a South African specialist, and Anne Raw, an English medical caretaker. She experienced childhood in Witney. Her forename is the abbreviated rendition of “Gugulethu”, a compression of igugu lethu, which signifies “our pride” in Zulu. Mbatha-Raw went to the Henry Box School and partook in the National Youth Theater, having been keen on acting, move, and melodic auditorium from a youthful age. Her credits incorporate moving at the Judy Tompsett School of Dance, now known as the Marsh Tompsett School of Dance. In 2001, she moved to London to prepare at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Gugu Mbatha-Raw Height Weight & Filmography.

Gugu Mbatha-Raw Personal Info.

Full Name: Gugulethu Sophia Mbatha

Nick Name: Mbatha-Raw

Family Member: Patrick Mbatha (Father) Anne Raw (Mother)

Education: Gugu went to The Henry Box School in Witney, Oxfordshire. In 2001, she moved to London to prepare herself from Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts.

Date of Birth: 30th June, 1983

Birthplace: Oxford, Oxfordshire, England

Zodiac Sign: Cancer

Religion: Her religious beliefs are not known.

Ethnicity: Multiracial

Nationality: British

Profession: Actress

Measurements: 34-24-34 in or 87-61-87 cm

Bra Size: 32B

Height: 5′ 4″ (163 cm)

Weight: 119lbs (54 kg)

Eye Color: Brown – Dark

Hair Color: Brown – Dark

Dress Size: 4

Shoe Size: 7

Boyfriend/Dating History: Harry Lloyd and Gugu Mbatha-Raw had a relationship.

Known For: Doctor Who

Active Year: 2004 (present)

  Official Twitter Twitter

Official Instagram Instagram Film

Year Title 2007 Straightheads 2011 Larry Crowne 2012 Odd Thomas 2013 Belle 2014 Beyond the Lights 2015 Jupiter Ascending Concussion 2016 Free State of Jones The Whole Truth Miss Sloane 2017 Beauty and the Beast 2018 The Cloverfield Paradox Irreplaceable You A Wrinkle in Time Fast Color Farming TBA Motherless Brooklyn

Television

Year Title 2004 Holby City 2005 Walk Away and I Stumble 2006 Vital Signs Bad Girls Spooks 2007 Doctor Who Agatha Christie’s Marple 2008 Lost in Austen Bonekickers Trial & Retribution 2009 Fallout 2010 Undercovers 2012 Touch 2016 Easy Black Mirror

See Also : Hayley Atwell Body Measurements

Gugu Mbatha-Raw Height Weight Search Terms:

Gugu Mbatha-Raw Age. Gugu Mbatha-Raw And Husband. Gugu Mbatha-Raw Height Weight. Gugu Mbatha-Raw Actress. Gugu Mbatha-Raw Bio. Gugu Mbatha-Raw Birthday. Gugu Mbatha-Raw Education. Gugu Mbatha-Raw Father. Gugu Mbatha-Raw Height Weight. Gugu Mbatha-Raw Family. Gugu Mbatha-Raw Films. Gugu Mbatha-Raw Facebook. Gugu Mbatha-Raw Filmography. Gugu Mbatha-Raw Husband. Gugu Mbatha-Raw Height. Gugu Mbatha-Raw Height And Weight. Gugu Mbatha-Raw Love Life. Gugu Mbatha-Raw Height Weight. Gugu Mbatha-Raw Movies. Gugu Mbatha-Raw Mother. Gugu Mbatha-Raw Married. Gugu Mbatha-Raw Movies List. Gugu Mbatha-Raw Mom. Gugu Mbatha-Raw Height Weight. Gugu Mbatha-Raw Movies And Tv Shows. Gugu Mbatha-Raw Nationality. Gugu Mbatha-Raw New Movie. Gugu Mbatha-Raw Official Instagram. Gugu Mbatha-Raw Official Twitter. Gugu Mbatha-Raw Parents. Gugu Mbatha-Raw Partner. Gugu Mbatha-Raw Height Weight. Gugu Mbatha-Raw Religion. Gugu Mbatha-Raw Spouse. Gugu Mbatha-Raw Shows. Gugu Mbatha-Raw Series. Gugu Mbatha-Raw Twitter. Gugu Mbatha-Raw Tv Shows. Gugu Mbatha-Raw Height Weight. Gugu Mbatha-Raw Tv. Gugu Mbatha-Raw Upcoming Movies. Gugu Mbatha-Raw Wiki.

[showbizchicago]

Pride Films and Plays’ monthly festival of LGBTQ independent films, which was launched in October, will continue with its sixth monthly festival on Tuesday, March 13, 2018. The theme for this 95-minute program of eight films is “Social Issues Here and Abroad.” The screening will be held in The Broadway, Pride Arts Center, 4139 N. Broadway, Chicago, beginning at 7:30 pm.

The company previously announced a screening of EN ALGUN LUGAR, a full-length feature film featuring Pride Films and Plays Artistic Director Nelson Rodriguez, on Sunday, February 25.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Calvin’s Story – Directed by Quinn Wilson, USA, 4 min.

After coming out to his parents as gay, this young black man has been surviving homelessness on the streets of Chicago for years. We learn about his story, life, and aspirations to be a massage therapist.

Choice – Directed by Rafael Valerio, Italy, 10 min.

An empty park in the middle of the night. Inside a parked car, a young and an older man just had sex. They talk about their sexual preferences, until one of them shares something surprising to the other.

Fuego – Directed by Alice McKinney, Scotland, Poland, 10 min.

Don’t smother the truth: a Polish immigrant returns to visit home, after leaving for Scotland in search of a better life. On this childhood farm, a past life of taboo is uncovered, as well as the heart-breaking sacrifice made to find safety.

Into the Rainbow – Directed by Hasan Najmabadi, Iran, 15 min.

Two lesbian girls who want to escape smuggled from Iran.

Momo – Directed by Yun Joo Chang, South Korea, 16 min.

Sohee meets up with her ex-girlfriend Areum who is about to set off to live abroad in Germany. Sohee takes custody of Momo, the cat they once shared. But Sohee’s current girlfriend Yujin sees Momo as a reminder of Areum and becomes upset. The three women are forced to reexamine their relationships to each other as they become further entangled with Momo.

Naughty Amelia Jane – Directed by Risheeta Agrawal, India, 12 min.

This film is a satire on the hilarious hypocrisy of society towards anything that goes against the “conventional social order of things”, told through a story of two girls who may or may not have had a connection. This is a story about speculation.

Tristan – Directed by Sonam Larcin & Gaspard Granier, Belgium, 11 min.

Recently, Tristan and his husband had a little girl together. But when he arrives to the nursery, Tristan realizes that not everyone sees his paternity the way he does.

We Are Here – Directed by Nick Kinney, USA, 15 min.

A brief look into how trans men and their partners navigate through their lives.

  ABOUT PRIDE FILMS AND PLAYS

Pride Films and Plays changes lives through the generation of diverse new work (or work that is new to Chicago) with LGBTQ+ characters or themes that is essential viewing for all audiences. We accomplish this mission through fully-staged productions, writing contests and staged readings, film screenings, and special events. We foster long term relationships with artists to create programming that is as diverse, unique, and complex as the community we represent. In 2015, Huffington Post called PFP “A powerful and empowering entity.” The company acquired its two performance spaces at 4139 and 4147 N. Broadway in July 2016, renaming the spaces the Pride Arts Center.

Pride Films and Plays is supported by The MacArthur Fund for Arts & Culture at The Richard Driehaus Foundation, The Illinois Arts Council, City of Chicago’s City Arts Fund, the Elliott Fredland Charitable Trust, Proud to Run, the AmazonSmile Foundation, Arts and Business Foundation, Tap Root Foundation and Alphawood Foundation.

PFP is a member of the Smart Growth Program of the Chicago Community Trust. Pride Films and Plays is a member of the LGBT Chamber of Commerce of Illinois and The League of Chicago Theatres.

For more information, visit www.pridefilmsandplays.com or call 1.800.737.0984.

ABOUT PRIDE ARTS CENTER

Pride Arts Center (PAC), operated by Pride Films and Plays, opened in 2016 and consists of two performance spaces: The Buena at 4147 N. Broadway which has 50 seats and The Broadway at 4139 N. Broadway which has 85 seats. PAC has become an important part of the arts environment in the Buena Park neighborhood and beyond by hosting events including After Orlando, Bechdel Fest, SheFest and the 525,600 Minutes Cabaret. Additional tenants in 2017 include Walkabout Theater, New American Folk Theater, Cor Productions, Underscore Music Theater, 20% Productions, About Face Youth Theater, Another Door Productions, and of course Pride Films and Plays.

For more information about space at Pride Arts Center, visit www.prideartscenter.com, or www.pridefilmsandplays.com.

April PRIDE FILM FESTIVAL to focus on “LGBT Families” Pride Films and Plays’ monthly festival of LGBTQ independent films, which was launched in October, will continue with its sixth monthly festival on Tuesday, March 13, 2018.