Did you realize that the Brontë sisters (and their brother, Branwell) wrote fantasy stories about a group of imaginary countries called the Glass Town Federation back when they were kids? Neither did we. Branwell and Charlotte invented the kingdom of Angria, while the younger two, Emily and Anne, created a world called Gondal. The resulting sagas, hand-written in incredibly tiny script, featured a mix of fictional and real-life characters, like the Duke of Wellington.
“The Brontës are well known authors with no apparent association with science fiction but their tiny manuscript books, held at the British Library, are one of the first examples of fan fiction, using favoritism characters and settings in the same way as science fiction and fantasy fans now play in the detailed imaginary ‘universes’ of Star Trek or Harry Potter,” explains Andy Sawyer, guest curator of the British Library’s Out of this World: Science Fiction exhibition. “While the sense of fantasy is strong, there are teasing examples of what might be called the beginnings of science fiction.” Click through to see some of the literary artifacts currently on display.
Saul Bass. While the famed graphic designer is best known for creating some of film’s most beloved opening titles (see: The Man with the Golden Arm, North by Northwest, Vertigo, Psycho, West Side Story, and Goodfellas) he was also responsible for dreaming up a handful of iconic logos for brands like AT&T, Continental Airlines, and the Girl Scouts. In fact, as Christian Annyas points out, the average lifespan of a Bass-designed logo is 34 years — which is pretty impressive in the grand scheme of things. So, did the companies who decided to ditch his designs make a wise decision? Click through, as we investigate.
Writer Heather Woodbury takes on the day’s most pressing issues, from the environmental crisis to Christian fundamentalism and crazy TV lust, in As the Globe Warms, her serialized video “performance novel” and avant-soap digest.
As with previous works What Ever and A Tale of 2Cities, ATGW is written live on stage in real time, with plenty of audience advice and online chronicling. The new, expanded production picks up with Episode 25, but the vaguely circus-like energy and freshly baked character-driven nature of her narrative collages make it easy to dive right in.
The more advanced graphic design gets, the more we appreciate amazing work that was done with no computers, no special tools, no handholding, and the more we like images to look a little rough around the edges. Plus, we admit we’re always suckers for a good mixed-media collage or manic scribble. These program covers, designed for the Comedy Theatre in Romania in the ’60s and ’70s, have an organic charm and bizarre sense of whimsy that is often hard to find in our slick modern world, and what’s more, they kind of make us want to see these 50-year-old Romanian plays. Go figure. Click through for more images, and check out an expanded collection on butdoesitfloat.
PBS has always been the go-to TV channel for the arts, and now its PBS Arts website is providing an equally stellar cultural experience online.
Featuring curated web exhibitions, PBS Arts covers the realms of visual art, dance, theater, film, and music. Current exhibitions include a look at contemporary artists responding to themes in the news, a tour of New Orleans five years after Katrina with artist Thomas Mann, and an overview of the sounds of Brazilian Samba singer Seu Jorge.
One-man interdisciplinary mash-up Rodney Graham tackles photography, filmmaking, acting, and music as elements of his artistic practice.
The Vancouver-based artist has shown all over the world, in galleries from Chicago to Mexico City, and in blockbuster exhibitions at MOCA and the Whitney Biennial. He’s also known for the occasional intimate club performance. But it’s not just genres Graham splices together; a master of lush production values, he’s capable of communicating compelling, comedic, and politically salient messages with a single charismatic gesture.
That Face, a play by a 23 year-old British playwright (who wrote it when she was even younger), just snagged a 2010 production at Manhattan Theater Company, in an announcement where the New York Times ArtsBeat blog trumpeted her as a “wunderkind.” Elizabeth Marvel, who was in the stellar MTC revival of Caryl Churchill’s Top Girls, is to star. British critics compared her to Tennessee Williams. Should you be excited? Is this going to be next year’s hot ticket? And is there a British Invasion of New York’s theater scene on the rise? An insider’s take, below the cut.
As the geek in us waits with bated breath for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, we find ourselves in desperate need of a wizardly fix. (Seriously, did you see this post? We’re obsessed.) We remember hearing a while back about a University of Michigan group putting up a Harry Potter musical, but now you can watch the whole thing (complete with Lord Voldemort’s tap number!) online. If you’re a Potter purist who’s freaking out right now, don’t worry. It’s not a page-to-stage kind of thing; it’s more of a homage/parody with awesome results.
Watch the opening scenes above, or we’ll put a Cruciatus curse on you! [via Popsense]
It seems that “in this economy” (we’re going to start putting that in quotes from now on. Apparently it’s now a requisite lead to any cultural news story), theatre-goers are looking for more perks on Broadway than just an overpriced souvenir program to take home at the end of the night. So why not get them sloshed? Perhaps in the spirit of St. Patrick’s Day (erm, or not), producers of Rock of Ages have announced that they’re starting to serve drinks to patrons during the show. We can foresee just a few problems with this. Read More »
We just came across a post on the New York Times Arts Beat blog that explained that due to a ruling by the Tonys committee, the three boys who rotate the role of Billy Elliot “would be considered jointly for a single nomination for leading actor in a musical.” They are not eligible as individuals.
Our reaction? Well, that just doesn’t seem fair. There’s no way David Alvarez, Trent Kowalik, and Kiril Kulish — aka the three Billys — deliver the exact same performances, even if they are treated as equals by the producers and the creative team. Note: if they win all three will get their own statue.
