Filmmaker Jacob LaMendola, who lacks a sense of smell: “For all of my 24 years, part of the human experience has been a mystery to me. I made Anosmia in order to explore this sensual puzzle. The film was a rare chance for me and some fellow anosmics to get a few things off our chests. We admit what we don’t understand, what we find exciting and strange and what makes us cry.”
Author: Matthew Westphal
York Restages Its Medieval Mystery Plays After 12-Year Hiatus
Putting on the cycle of 14th-century biblical dramas, the only set of its kind to have survived complete, had been a high point of the community’s summer since the 1950s. But until this year, the people of York hadn’t performed the plays since a big millennium production in 2000.
Chatbot Theatre – A Play With 84 Million Possible Variations
Annie Dorsen’s Hello Hi There “is, among other things, an attempt to ‘take the mystique out of language’ by removing the human element” and replacing it with a pair of chatbots generating dialogue. “Because each line of dialogue can be followed by numerous possible responses, there are more than 84 million ways the production can unfold, Dorsen says, referring to the new art form as ‘algorithmic theatre’.”
Voters Come To The Rescue Of Detroit Institute Of Arts
“A crucial millage for the Detroit Institute of Arts passed easily in Wayne and Oakland counties – but was approved by the slimmest of margins in Macomb County as the final votes were tallied. … The property tax millage promises as much as $23 million for the DIA for 10 years.”
Film Critic Judith Crist, 90
“In a field of measured criticism, Mrs. Crist was a howitzer. She sought to puncture the dull, the pretentious and the bloated – anything that squandered talented performers and directors and would waste moviegoers’ time and money.”
Remembering Judith Crist As (Fearsome) Journalism Professor
“There is a sizable Crist contingent working in journalism today – critics, essayists and writers who were driven to write savvier, and think bigger, by this professor’s blunt assessments. Nothing stung more than her red scrawl in the margins, but nothing was more rewarding than her appraisal that you had taken a commanding stance and argued your point persuasively.”
In Syria’s Civil War, Ancient Sites Are Being ‘Pulverised’
“The priceless treasures of Syria’s history – of Crusader castles, ancient mosques and churches, Roman mosaics, the renowned ‘Dead Cities’ of the north and museums stuffed with antiquities – have fallen prey to looters and destruction by armed rebels and government militias as fighting envelops the country.”
Synchronized Swimming: Both Sport And (Rather Odd) Water Ballet
“Even when you have seen it on television, it is hard to appreciate the full experience of live synchronized swimming. For one thing, the swimmers do everything synchronistically, including walking to the edge of the pool, which they do in an oddly exaggerated way, like mimes in bathing suits. Then, when they get there, they affix their nose plugs and perform short dance routines – this is called deck work – that generally end in a kind of unexpected tableau vivant, with them posing together in an artistic flourish.”
Is Ballet Dancing Getting Too Spectacular?
“Unfortunately, in these days of what appear to be an Olympian approach to ballet, such ballet artists [as Cynthia Gregory] are hard to find. And sadly, many ballet schools and major companies do not seem to be doing enough to preserve ballet’s greatest asset – its ability to transcend words and transport an audience into their world. Ballet technique that explodes with meaning instead of fireworks is vastly lacking.”
After 20 Years, New Philip Marlowe Novel To Be Published
Philip Marlowe is making another comeback. Henry Holt & Company said on Tuesday that Raymond Chandler’s creation, one of the world’s most famous private eyes, will star in a novel written by John Banville to be published in 2013.”