EXTRA CRITICUM

The Root of all Comedy: Specificity

Just had the unenviable pleasure of a virtually-private screening in a public movie theatre this evening when I went to see Smother, which I can only describe as a film desperately in search of laughs but failing to obtain any. It suggests a reverse-Pirandello; here we have: Six Authors in Search of a Character.

As David Licata has so aptly pointed out in his previous post, Blogworthy?, some things we see simply don't warrant a post. And this would be one.

Still, seeing the film did make me wonder what it is that makes some things funny. And it occurred to me that even a stick figure I'd recently seen online presented a more human and specific character than any of the ones I'd just seen on screen, so I figured I should share with y'all this absolutely brilliant bit of digital slapstick. It serves as a perfect tutorial in the value of detail in making us laugh.

It's called Animator vs. Animation and it's the brainchild of one Alan Becker.

p.s. for more of my musings on the sorry state of comedy today, see Splenda Comedy: Built on Prat Falls and Spit Takes Alone.

Give 90 seconds of your life — Take the IT Awards Survey

The folks who bring us the New York Innovative Theatre Awards need 6,000 theatre artists working in the Off-Off-Broadway world to take their survey. It only takes about a minute and a half. Answers will be used to help make the case for the diversity of the Off-Off-Bway scene.

So, please, just do it now.

Here's the link.

Quotables: "William Trevor"

"There's no celery in theatre."

Quotables: Maggie Flanagan

The following from Maggie Flanagan:

Cleveland Plain Dealer to Music Critic: You're Too Critical!

An incredible story on the front page of today's New York Times Arts Section. [See: Music Critic vs. Maestro: One Loses His Beat]

In an astonishing development, the Cleveland Plain Dealer has just removed their top music critic Donald Rosenberg from the symphony beat because of his somewhat harsh view of the Cleveland Symphony's conductor, Franz Welser-Möst.

This raises serious questions, to put it mildly.

Stage Presence is a Universal Language — Part 2

After Western Night, Heather and I decided we had to go back to every show for the duration of our stay. The next night was the haunted house thingy and when we got to the teatro we saw the handsome gent from the night before at the back of the house, getting ready to start the show. He gave us high-fives and seemed pleased to see us. The show that followed, this time, had no audience participation. What it did have were special effects, pyrotechnics, all those talented dancers, and oh – that choreographer? Turns out he’s not just “not half bad,” he’s really damn good. The whole thing was a festival of cheese but we ate it up and licked the plate. After the show I went to the ladies room and returned to find Heather chatting with handsome gent’s handsome friend, Jery. Handsome gent himself soon joined us and we learned his name was Rodolfo and that they’d all be heading over to the resort’s disco for some obligatory dancing with the tourists. We went and spent the night dancing merengue, a little salsa, and learning bachata. We also got to meet a number of the other cast members. Rodolfo and Jery spoke a little English and there was one lovely young lady, Pippa, who is actually from England (she and her mum went on vacation and stayed) but the rest of the gang didn’t really speak much inglés, if at all. It didn’t matter. Language barrier? Bah. They were performers – we had found our people!

Quotables: Glenn Close

Glenn Close to Michael Douglas in Fatal Attraction:

"I will not be ignored, Dan!"

Quotables: George C. Wolfe

From time to time, Extra Criticum authors will post a quote from someone we admire, something that has stuck with us over the years and is, as they say, quotable.

The following from George C. Wolfe:

Quotables: David Lewin

From time to time, Extra Criticum authors will post a quote from someone we admire, something that has stuck with us over the years and is, as they say, quotable.

The following from David Lewin:

The Sorry State of (most) Film Festivals Today

Most film festivals promote themselves with some variation on the following sales pitch:

Come to the Brand X Festival where you can discover a wealth of cinema from all over the world, the likes of which rarely, if ever, grace the screens of your local multiplex.

Trouble is, the come-on's no longer true.

David Foster Wallace - RIP

One of the problems with a death by suicide is that it colors everything that came before it. It’s a black screen through which all of the person’s previous life and work are viewed. There is a good chance now that David Foster Wallace will be known by many as “that writer who committed suicide.” If that happens, it will add a new level of loss to an already tragic occurrence.

David Foster Wallace was an extraordinary mind and an extraordinary writer. I confess that his fiction was often too postmodern for my taste, but his journalism was nothing short of astounding. Sent to cover the Maine Lobsterfest for Gourmet magazine, he sent back 10,000 (amazing) words about the morality of boiling lobsters. He wrote about Dostoyevsky and the Adult Video Awards with equal aplomb and insight, taking both with the utmost seriousness, and pulling gems of humor and insight from each.

Quotables: Michael Wright

This is a new feature we're trying out.

From time to time, Extra Criticum authors will post a quote from someone we admire, something that has stuck with us over the years and is, as they say, quotable.

Oh Writer, Where Art Thou? — A Look Back at the Emmys

I love television, really I do. But why isn’t the annual celebration of the medium better written than last night’s Emmys? It wasn’t merely dull (a bad enough offense) but it was far worse: it was unfunny and not entertaining.

Really though, are the writers still on strike?

Op Art: PALIN-PUTIN

Closer than you think: Governing with huge budget surpluses stemming from the high price of oil, unparalleled popularity, and open hostility toward democracy and freedom of the press.

click here to buy the sweatshirt or T-shirt

GERSHWIN EMPLOYMENT SERVICE

I recently spent a few days in Hamburg visiting my friend Chauncey, a classical tenor who frequently tours with “The New York Harlem Theatre,” a non-union production company that has been bringing its staging of Porgy and Bess to European cities off and on for more than a decade. Last summer I spent a couple of days in Hannover with Chauncey and his colleagues in the ensemble and had such a good time that I decided to connect with them again on this trip.

The 100-member company, including 50 chorus members and an orchestra of Bulgarian musicians, travels in several buses from city to city and this year alone they have performed in France, Germany, Switzerland, Luxemburg, Italy and Spain. Most of the singers, like Chauncey, have their primary residence in the US; others have been living for years as expatriates in Europe; and a handful are currently under contract with a national opera company and are flown in once a week to sing one of the principal roles.