Feeling a Little Silly Today

I'm Feeling Silly Today You're right, Header Title. I am feeling silly today. We've spent far too much time in News and Notes recently getting into serious, somewhat depressing topics that make me want to dive to the bottom of a bottle of bourbon. I think we're all reaching that point in the winter where the lack of sun and warmth makes life feel like a Lars von Trier movie. So, let's get silly together! Let's find fun, weird, unusual things to talk about so that we can beat back the darkness for another day. If the only hope we have is to briefly forestall the inevitable gloom of the world, then we- Hey! Tell Them About the Maritime Theater Thing! The what? The Thing in Mumbai Oh, right. Thanks again, Header Title. So, if you are sitting in despair in the the Western world over the slow decline of theater into irrelevance and obscurity, I give you Chavittu Natakam (or Chavittu Nadakam). This Indian form of dance theater from the southern state of Kerala traces its roots back to the maritime theater of Portuguese Catholic colonizers, so, even though this is India, all of the accepted chavutis are about European royalty and biblical figures, while the costuming is a Baz Luhrmann-level mashup of medieval European and traditional Indian dance costuming. This ancient art is only handed down orally, and it is rarely performed outside of Kerala; but if you happened to be in Mumbai recently, you could have seen an entire festival of Chavittu Nadakam. Not that any of this is making anyone a living. All of the current practitioners of this ancient art are manual laborers by day. One of the master choreographers of the art said, "We survive on daily wages but most of the time we have to skip work mainly to practise." So, really, not too different from most of here in the US. Yes, no matter the genre or country, you'll still be poor and frustrated if you decide to go into- You're Getting Sad Again Sorry. Give Them Something Hopeful OK. Hey there, liberal arts majors! Remember when you went off to college and your parents said they would support you no matter what you decided to do, even though they actually thought your English major was a first-class ticket to a surprising career in fast food? Well, fret no more! This guy says the oft-derided liberal arts graduates are not a collection of wasted potential. And this is coming from a guy who majored in economics. Which means something, because economics is totally a science. See? Isn't This Better Than Moping Around? Yes! I feel good! I feel like I could take on the world! Where's my bourbon?! YES! Um, You're Probably Shouldn't... Don't interrupt me, Header Title. I'm on a roll now. I can do anything! I could confront the Actor's Nightmare! No, not the Christopher Durang play, the real thing: that recurring nightmare all actors have about being onstage and not knowing any lines or blocking. Well, now you can have that experience for real, because Iranian playwright Nassim Soleimanour has given you the chance with White Rabbit, Red Rabbit. The playwright, who is currently not allowed to leave Iran, has written a play that the actor is not allowed to read before performing it. Or I could take the meager improvisation training I have to the limit and become a medical actor. Leslie Jamison has an article for explaining the weird world in which actors fake sickness and emotion in order to teach doctors real empathy. OK! No Breakdowns There, Let's Just Move On To- But what makes anyone qualified to tell a story like that? It's not like those plucky 20-something medical actors really know what a herniated disc feels like. And how can a bunch of American actors truly perform a personal script by an artist who is trapped and oppressed in his own land? Where Are You Going With This? Over at HowlRound, the conversation- NO! HOWLROUND ONLY MAKES YOU MAD! DON'T! SHUT UP, HEADER TITLE! Over at HowlRound, the conversation has swung back around to race. Last summer, the Goodman Theatre in Chicago debuted a new musical version of The Jungle Book, that charming Disney movie that also happened to be based on the works of Rudyard Kipling, who himself expressed some views on race and imperialism that seem (to put it as gently as possible) a little outdated today. Adapting the Jungle Book today is just inviting yourself for accusations of cultural appropriation and/or outright racism and the director of Goodman production (Tony award winner Mary Zimmerman) stepped right into the crosshairs, igniting a feud between her and Jamil Khoury, Founding Artistic Director of Chicago's Silk Road Rising. This "discussion" (the polite term for "we're punching each other with words!") has moved away from The Jungle Book over to HowlRound in a series of articles about race and representation in American theater. You can wade into it if you want to find someone to make you mad about something. For my part, two articles in the series posed questions that I find interesting: (1) "What makes an artist qualified to tell a story?" and (2) "Does it matter that it was written by a white guy?". By the way, the Goodman's Jungle Book sold well and was well-reviewed. Either Zimmerman did a good job threading the needle in adapting it, or the Miss Saigon syndrome is still in full effect. You Didn't Have to Bring Up Miss Saigon Yes, I DID! Because audiences want things from us! And they're saying with their dollars that they want things like that. Or do they? I don't know! I put some cough syrup in my bourbon, and now everything is a hazy dream. The sun is shining! It must be warm outside now! It's Not. You're Not Wearing Shoes. Don't Go Outside- You see, Header Title, it is only in the purifying cold that one can truly see the truth. I am losing all fear. I am fearless enough to ask audiences what they want. And what do they want? The cold, my friend, whispers in my ear, "They want to stay home." Yes. It makes sense. Virtual reality has always worked! What else? They want you to digitally "fix" live sound. They want geeky theatre about the kinds of things that used to get them beaten up as children, because the winter has taught me that pain is a harsh mistress and suffering is the natural state of man. We Should Go Back Inside THEY WANT NEIL PATRICK HARRIS IN EVERYTHING! Even in their PUDDING! I Don't Think You Read That Last Article Right But there's so much more! Would you like to read an article in which the writer descends into incoherence over her hatred of award shows like the Golden Globes? Seriously, Let's At Least Put Down That Drink It's called a Nyquilada, and it's my friend! Hey, did you know that there hasn't been a chairperson of the NEA since Rocco Landesman retired in 2012? Seriously, there's a petition out there just to get the president to nominate someone. Anyone. Or that someone actually had to make a study to disprove the conservative talking point that the NEA is somehow a giant program designed to suck money from the poor and give it to the rich? I Thought Conservatives Were Generally OK With Programs That Do That Oh, snap! Ha ha ha HAHAHAHAHAHA! Header Title, you're funny! You Like That? Then Check This Link Out A list of the best 25 college theatre buildings in America? Oh, look, the University of Minnesota's Rarig Center is number 4! A brutal concrete bunker that looks like it was designed as a level in a first-person shooter is the fourth best college theater building in the country?! It Gets Better. Read The Entry About Rarig. "Each of these spaces provides an ideal performance space for students and caters to all of the visual and performing arts genres at the University of Mississippi." HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Come On Inside, Buddy. Let's Warm Up Is this winter almost over, Header Title? Yes You're lying, aren't you? Yes