Forwards Lateral

Empathy for the Devil

Tue, 26 May 2009 17:47:33 -0400

I’m catching up on posting old clippings. This one, from Buzzine hit me at the time and, as I reread it and reflect, I find it contains a great deal of truth:

Sympathy and empathy are also…

Quote of the Day

Sun, 21 Dec 2008 17:41:55 -0500

Quote of the Day:

“An actor on the stage need only to sense the smallest modicum of organic or physical truth in his action or general state and instantly his emotions will respond to his inner faith in the…

"I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your President too."

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 12:49:21 -0500

"I hear your voices, I need your help, and I will be your President too.":

While, to a degree, I understand the concerns of some in the community of sportsmen and women regarding last nights election results, I post both the video and the full text of this speech not to…

A Confident Theatre

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 16:32:19 -0400

A Confident Theatre:

Today much of what is produced in the theatre - especially that done at the community level - is presented to the public as an apology from apologists: “We’re sorry this isn’t a film, with one of…

DFW on Life and Education

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 14:31:49 -0400

DFW on Life and Education:

I’m reprinting this commencement address from Kenyon College in 2005 by David Foster Wallace for two reasons:

It has some profound truths in it which require digestion and reflection
Since this…

Question of the Day: Should You Major In Drama?

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 14:31:49 -0400

Question of the Day: Should You Major In Drama?:

Isaac over at Parabasis posed an important question yesterday which I think deserves response: Should you major in drama:

I ask you dear readers to weigh in on this. I was a drama major, and…

You & the Needs of Your Audience

Fri, 26 Sep 2008 17:16:17 -0400

You & the Needs of Your Audience:

Another thought-provoking and relative post from Laura Axelrod, You & the Needs of Your Audience:

Some people might mistake my call for cultural relevance as an urging for agit-prop. Nothing…

Engaging Arts - In the Classroom

Thu, 18 Sep 2008 10:04:19 -0400

Engaging Arts - In the Classroom:

I’ve been reading the excellent book Engaging Art - The Next Great Transformation of America’s Cultural Life, edited by Stephen Tepper and Bill Ivey, former head of the NEA. Though I’m only…

Money, The Arts Etc.

Tue, 16 Sep 2008 00:49:52 -0400

Money, The Arts Etc.:

David Cote touches on a tough subject: what happens to the arts in an economic crisis:

Obviously, the most direct impact will be financial. I was speaking a friend who works for an…

Quote of the Day

Sun, 14 Sep 2008 16:48:44 -0400

Quote of the Day:

…if there are minor arts and major arts, the latter being the ones that contain the former, there will be therefore a sovereign art, which will contain all of the other arts and sciences, and whose…

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf - First Read

Sun, 14 Sep 2008 16:48:44 -0400

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf - First Read:

Technically this was my second read of the play since my first was back in the early nineties. The script has stayed with me through four states and countless moves, but when a list of seven…

Quote of the Day

Sat, 13 Sep 2008 19:46:25 -0400

Quote of the Day:

I am skeptical of artistic institutions and national artistic movements to call on us to create good theatre. Institutions are dedicated to self-preservation: Theatre is temporary. National…

The Butterfly Effect

Sun, 24 Aug 2008 12:23:42 -0400

The Butterfly Effect:

A neat and, in some ways, inspiring story from WaPo about a man and his…butterfly:

I decided to get the butterfly something to eat at the Smith & Wollensky steakhouse across the street. My…

Telephones and Tootise Pops

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 17:19:08 -0400

Telephones and Tootise Pops:

by Jonathan Clausen

This is a poem to my Grandmother, Vivian
who I have not called nor written on time
for most of these thirty-five years on this earth.
You’d wear purple someday,
that’s what…

Ranch Style

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 17:19:07 -0400

Ranch Style:

by Jonathan Clausen

There is familiarity in this house,
as if I’ve lived here before.
It is perfectly imperfect
in its infinite impossiblity of glory,
yielding, instead, to a prarie-style…

Sonnet to An Old Flame

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 17:19:07 -0400

Sonnet to An Old Flame:

by Jonathan Clausen

Even now as years provide me distance,
and thunder, bolts of lightning, are replaced
by new relationships, loves, lives and children
at times, I find my thoughts return to…

Murmur to This Body

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 17:19:07 -0400

Murmur to This Body:

by Jonathan Clausen

Breathe deeply of clean air
when you find it.
I must have it to turn
blue to crimson,
to bring life back to
dying members of this host,
allowing myself once again to
…

Publicity Hounds

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 17:19:06 -0400

Publicity Hounds:

by Jonathan Clausen

Zebras get a great deal of free publicity. They are funny looking and who, off the tip of their tongue, knows of another animal that starts with the letter “Z”? They do,…

Puzzle

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 17:19:06 -0400

Puzzle:

by Jonathan Clausen

Deliver me in a box of many colors.
Empty this image atomized
to the pleasure of your gaze.
Inspect my jagged edges toward this
decoration of your achievement.
My garments…

End of Study Break

Sat, 23 Aug 2008 17:19:06 -0400

End of Study Break:

by Jonathan Clausen

It’s as if I am aging in reverse.
Rekindled passions, dormant for many seasons,
speak to me now and ask questions:
was what once seemed right, instead
necessary protection…