Tuesday, October 30, 2018

"Little Shop of Horrors" at Kennedy Center

"Little Shop of Horrors" was part of Kennedy Center's Center Stage program, so minimally staged. It's a popular show with community theaters since its a small cast and a well known product due to the movie versions. The cast was wonderful. Whether due to the last minute casting change or other reasons, much of the cast had notebooks for parts of the show. 
Much like "Grease" and other shows, the musical differs in parts from the movie, although the biggest change is the end. In this verson, Audrey 2 looked human the whole time, although claw gloves and an increasingly grand wardrobe hinted at Audrey 2's growth. 
In some versions the original Audrey is played as super breathy, only fully unleashing a powerful voice in "Suddenly Seymour". In my opinion that would be a waste of Megan Hilty, and was pleased to see they relied on the story to do the work of Audrey's growth. 
But enough about changes. The show was fun, the cast was wonderful, and I left humming the songs. 

Monday, October 29, 2018

More Than Thoughts and Prayers

I wrote a year ago, in the wake of another mass shooting, that your church is not a safe space. I know many synagogues knew this even before the last few years saw a rise in antisemitism and actual Nazis marching in the streets. We cannot fix this with more punishment after the fact.  And we cannot fix this with more police in everyone's house of worship.  Or the grocery store.  The Kroger shooting got a little less coverage because there was so much violence to choose from last week, but let's talk about how when the shooter tried to access a nearby church where the congregation is predominately Black. (Warning: That link contains a photo of the shooter which I do not think shooters deserve. I could not find a link without one sadly.)  
So, securing our places of worship, making them hard to enter, which is counter to their very purpose, is not the solution.  People who want to kill lots of people will still do it.  And we cannot secure all the places.  Nothing we can do can make it so no one ever encounters no one who might cause harm.  But, we can work to level the playing field. I have just about wrapped up my voting research for the mid-term elections.  I am voting for folks who want less of this.  Whether that's with smaller or less guns, pricier bullets, better health care and minimum wage, and more speaking out against the various flavors of bigotry that many elected officials claim they can keep spouting with no ill effects, I hope you will do the same if you are of voting age.  
And of course, I will continue to volunteer, to organize, and to assist others working towards these goals.  

Thursday, October 25, 2018

Three Interesting Things

1. Lee and Low did a quick review of the whiteness (and straightness) of the results of PBS' Great American Reads.  To me the list looked heavily tilted towards things we all read in school, which would mean a larger portion of the population had read it than say your average thriller, but I'm having a Facebook convo where some folks are not recognizing their school reading, so perhaps my siblings and my went to schools with good reading lists.  Regardless, I do think this series from PBS has been interesting, but large group voted things are often going to get skewed, and often skewed in my opinion towards blandness.  
2. This look at "Coco" and representation and how we look to fiction for the mirages we need is short and wonderful. 
3. This interview with Steven Yeun was fascinating.  

Tuesday, October 23, 2018

"Aida" at Constellation Theatre

The Elton John and Tim Rice version of "Aida" hit Broadway at a time when my access to Broadway was entirely through cast albums.  I knew a small local version was going to have challenges living up to the spectacle in my brain, even before you get to the amazing original cast.  
This show fits neatly alongside some of Rice's work with Andrew Lloyd Weber like "Joseph and the Amazing Techinicolor Dreamcoat" in that it speeds through give the cast and the audience little time to transition through Aida's capture, becoming a slave in Egypt, Radames' attraction to her a random slave (or so he thinks), his gift of her to his betrothed Amneris, Mereb and other enslaved Nubians recognizing Aida as their princess, her decision that her love for Radames cannot outweigh her duty to her country, and the two of them being captured and sentenced to death together. (Spoiler alert.)  
The Constellation cast showed lots of glitter and glam, there were lots of triangles in the set, and they made use of the small stage.  Amneris is such a tough role, she starts off sweet, and ballady, and then moves quickly to a more rock style all in the very first song.  There were some characters in the show who slipped into  almost British accents in parts.  (And yes, I am aware that "Aida" exists in a non-specific time, possibly after British colonization of Africa.)  Radames went for more of a croony style than the edgey rocker style. Zoser was delightfully evil.  Mereb was funny in all the right ways.  And of course, a show where the title character is singing in about half the songs, is going to ride or die on Aida, and she was wonderful.  "The Gods Love Nubia" made me a little misty.  
Yes, a show where the central love story involves a character that has enslaved another is tricky at best, but this show does not ignore that.  In fact, when Aida tries to tell her dad that Radames is one of the good Egyptians, her dad asks if he had somehow not participated in the fighting and capturing of Nubians.  (This led one audience member to mutter, "Mm-hmm, this is what I am saying.")  
The smaller staging did mean some things, like the fact Radames helps Aida's dad escape by freeing the boat (which is also why Aida is unable to escape with him) and the original version's idea that the lovers meet again in a future life are left a little unclear. 
Overall, I think it can still be great fun to see a beloved (to me at least) production actually staged, so enjoyed this chance.  

Monday, October 22, 2018

Gender was Never Binary

Humans like categories. We like things to be this or that. At some point in time some cultures decided that gender and biological sex were linked things and that there were just two of them. Now lots of cultures, particularly those indigenous to North America had words that accepted a little more nuance than that. Hawaiian has the word mahu*, to represent something in between. 
I bring this up because whenever these discussions come up they tend to follow a couple of paths. Some people argue that being transgender is a new-fangled modern thing, despite the mountains of evidence that it is not. Similarly I see a lot of allies bringing up intersex folks. And intersex folks do, and it looks likely always have, existed. Where I get a little antsy is I personally am not cool limiting gender to biological determination, not the least because what's in my underwear is the business of a very limited set of people. So if I want folks in various places to stay out of my pants, then saying we'll stick with biology is not how we achieve this. Yes, sticking to a gender binary screws over more people than trans folks. And not even nature is using the binary is part of that argument, but the world I am fighting for is the one where the state of my sex organs is between me and a small group of people that I decide on. Not the TSA, not the DMV, not random person outside a public bathroom, so the argument I am making is that legislation to "undefine" trans people is harmful to us all. It isn't a trend we can get rid of, but I also will keep fighting to maintain the protections people, especially trans people need to stay safe. 
And those of you arguing that you are keeping little old me safe from the trans people, nope. Nope, as we saw with recent hearings, y'all aren't trying to keep me safe from assault, you are protecting the assaulters. So my safety is intrinsically tied to the continued safety of trans folks. They have always been here, and they deserve continued and in fact increasing protections. 

*This resource looks at quite a few Pacific Islander cultures and their words for folks along the gender identity and sexuality spectrum. 

Thursday, October 18, 2018

Three Interesting Things

1. A man who had some of his first acting experience locally is planning for his off Broadway debut
2. In light of recent news, it's clear that a lot of folks don't understand the historical reasons blood quantums were imposed on native tribes.  Also, one of the Massachusetts tribes is fighting for the right to retain what little reservation land they have.  
3. And this story about a man who was imprisoned as a teen, and who worked to become a lawyer later is a fascinating look at many things. 

Monday, October 15, 2018

Two Different Book Events

Tuesday, Benj Pasek, Justin Paul, and Val Emmich were in conversation with Ari Shapiro from NPR about the novelization of "Dear Evan Hansen". I enjoyed the show tremendously when I saw it at Arena. Certainly it is a show that deals with a tough subject, and also that deals with a lie. Shapiro asked about that, as they discussed wanting to show consequences, and they said, well, yeah, but he pays for the lie. There were some singing breaks, which were great. Shapiro asked if they have ever thought about stepping out onstage, pulling a Bareilles, they said no. 
Emmich talked about the challenge of taking this story and expanding it. There was some discussion of the need to handle the subject of suicide carefully, especially when going deeper into additional backstories. 
I confess, when movie novelizations were popular, I read a bunch and I would love for this to become a thing with musicals. And, ahem, I feel especially qualified to do so for "Legally Blonde", "Bring it On", and "Moulin Rouge". Oh and "Dave".

Sunday I went to One More Page to see the magic YA panel with Pintip Dunn, ** Sarah Glenn Marsh, and Lisa Maxwell. I was a smidge late (metro) so missed the mad libs but they talked about standalones versus series, and if simplifies were more fun than trilogies since it got rid of the middle book. Also an audience member asked if your book was a knitted object, what would it be which was certainly not a usual question. Maxwell said ski mask which was a fun answer. 

Thursday, October 11, 2018

Three Interesting Things

1. I did some digging on this story of an emotional support squirrel causing a flight to be deplaned, in part because I have known people who used sugar gliders as emotional support animals and they are often referred to as squirrels but essentially aren't.  They are still, I imagine going to fall under the classification of rodents, so not allowed on most airlines as emotional support, but most articles were using fox squirrel pictures, which, well, are just a different kind of squirrel pet.  Nonetheless, it's a different reason of sorts, for your plane to be delayed. 
2. This piece (warning: from a religious source) about the utility of cold anger, spoke to me. 
3. And I loved this interview with the two creators of "Crazy Ex Girlfriend" talking about the upcoming final season. 

Tuesday, October 09, 2018

The Hate U Give Movie

I read the book. Movies and books are different things. So I always go in expecting changes and hoping that the essence of it remains the same. "The Hate U Give" is the story of Starr who lives in Garden Heights - a majority black neighborhood that gets described on the news as crime ridden and goes to a private school that is majority white, and majority, let's say kids who get cars when they turn 16. She feels divided, one person at home and one at school. Things come to a head when she witnesses a police officer shooting her childhood best friend and has to grapple with how coming forward might change things both at home and at school. 
I had heard some describe the ending as powerful if overly neat and I think that's fair. The movie doesn't pretend to have all the answers for how to fix things and it raises way more issues than it attempts to resolve. 
I feel there are parts of the movie that go a tiny bit deeper than the book, ratchet the tension a little tighter but a lot of that is seeing the things. The movie did a nice job of balancing funny moments so you could let out a little, breathe a little, it's alot. It should be a lot. 
I had read the book and so knew exactly what was coming in some key moments and still jumped in my seat. I have a friend who found the book had her feeling so much deja vu for high school, wasn't sure she could finish. The gunshots surprised me, the teargas canisters surprised me, so it is not going to be a movie I would recommend for anyone with flash bang PTSD. 
It is a great movie. It does justice to the book. There were a few changes I am less certain of, including one that made the book ending seem a little less neat in comparison, but these are the tiniest of quibbles. 

Thursday, October 04, 2018

Three(ish) Interesting Things

1. This article talking to Holton alums about their own memories of sexual assault I think mirrors a larger thing that has been going on, as folks whether survivors themselves or not, grapple with the idea that these things happened so regularly we all heard stories.  
2.  Allison Leotta wrote about the historical reasons that victim testimony used to not be considered sufficient in sex crime cases, and how the echoes linger beyond the legal requirement having changed. (Note: link autoplayed an ad, so be ready to hit off if you don't have ad blockers set up.) 
3. Radiolab switched up their format last week and did four stories about bears.  Including one about how podcasts might protect you from bears. 

Tuesday, October 02, 2018

A Week of Reader Events

Last Monday I went to East City Bookshop for their combined event with One More Page to launch Heidi Heilig's A Muse of Fire.  As I told Heidi, A Girl From Everywhere ended up being a book I recommended to a ton of people - people who liked time traveling pirates, people who liked adventure, people who liked unusual fantasy.  There are very few books I would give to both my sister and my mom, and this was one.  There was bookish karaoke, cookies, and of course book discussion. Ellen Oh chatted with Heidi about how she re-wrote A Muse of Fire after the election, deciding the focus of the story needed to change, even if the concept of a world based on the Asian diaspora, starring a bipolar protagonist with the ability to necromance shadow puppets remained.  She talked about the use of ephemera from the world, to help ground the reader.  
Thursday I went to One More Page for their first romance panel.  I ran into a fellow romance book group bud, as well as reader/writer friends. Angelina Lopez moderated, and the panel had Lori Ann Bailey, Mia Sosa, and Sharon Wray.  Because they write very different things, it was a fun panel as they talked about writing journeys, who does and does not use their spouses to help with blocking for certain scenes, who has a playlist called woodworking so their kids will not suspect it's true nature, and how they all agreed the happily ever after was important.  
Saturday I went to Baltimore Book Festival.  I waved at the Maryland Romance tent before running over to the Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA) tent to catch the short fiction panel with Sarah Pinsker, AT Greenblatt, KJ Kabza, Sam J. Miller, Irette Y. Patterson, and Karlo Yeager Rodriguez. They talked about who did and did not write multiple short stories in the same world, touched on how it was less common these days for folks to write novels that basically combined shorts.
Then they had the YA panel with Kosoko Jackson, Justina Ireland, Zoraida Cordova, Vera Brook, and Gwendolyn Clare. They talked about writing for teens, staying current, and how the diversity push has affected (if at all) what they write.  
Back at the Maryland Romance tent, there was a contemporary panel with Shelly Ellis/Stratton, Shirlee McCoy, Priscilla Oliveras, and Christi Barth. They talked about keeping things current, determining how steamy to get, and research. 
I went to the Radical Bookfair Pavilion next to see William C. Anderson and Mariame Kaba (known as #prisonculture on Twitter) talking about the book William co-wrote called Black as Resistance. Kaba is notoriously picture shy, but she loves children and the children had designed a shirt that contained her likeness to sell at the festival.  Anderson had the shirt display next to him for the panel.  
Then I went to the Enoch Pratt Free Library tent for Nisha Sharma and Brigid Kemmerer talking about their contemporary YA's.  They talked about parental pride and whether that means your mom will actually read your book, and writing fun but realistic fiction. 
I went back to Maryland Romance for another contemporary panel with Stoni Alexander, Christi Barth, Andie J. Christopher, Nancy C. Weeks, and Kate Clayborn.  They talked about making sure your protagonists are interesting but also believable, and how to make sure the reader believes in the happy ending.  They also talked about how keeping secrets from the reader is tough in a book where you are deep in the character's head. 
The final panel of the day was strong female characters and had Kini Allen, Kate Clayborn, Stoni Alexander, L. Penelope, J.L. Lora, Melinda Valentine. They talked about how strong female characters are often matched with strong love interests, who love that they are strong.  
Sunday I headed back up to Baltimore.  I tent hopped less, although I did hop over to the Enoch Pratt tent to see Nic Stone.  She talked about how going to Israel helped her realize there are stories we just aren't hearing, and she came home and wrote a book.  That book got her an agent, although it was not in good shape and she and that agent ended up parting ways.  But she wrote another, got another agent, and that time, had an editor say, well, not this, but what else does she have.  She did not have anything else, so sat down and wrote up a quick proposal, which that editor bought.  They went through a lot of revisions, and ended up with this great book, Dear Martin.
In the Maryland Romance tent I saw writer's life, with Jamaila Brinkley, Robyn Neeley, Robin Covington, Alexa Jacobs,  Lori Ann Bailey, and Jessica Ruddick .  They talked about tips and tricks for squeezing writing in, and what planners people do or do not use.  
And the business of publishing panel had Christi Barth, Priscilla Oliveras, Andie J Christopher, Robin Covington, and Donna Alward.  They talked about how to keep it going and find a good balance.  
It was a great week and whew, I am glad to get some time to read all these fun books. 

Monday, October 01, 2018

Bait Girl - Or How I Ended Up with a Short Story That Reflected the News Cycle

I wrote this story a few years ago with a different plan for how it was going to go out into the world. As a writer my job is often to write what I know, and to imagine variations of that. I attended a fancy prep school in Bethesda. I was not much of a party person but I went to school Monday (and the other weekdays) with folks in the days before social media. I've been saving up stories, particularly shorts that I had written, with a plan to do something with them, eventually. 
Well, the news cycle caught up to this one when a woman, who turned out to have attended the same high school I did, became the center of a media storm. 
I have made a donation to RAINN, and if this story makes additional monies, I will donate those as well.  This was the story I needed to tell. 

Bait Girl - By day Lucy is just a normal student trying to get through her final year of high school and figure out what's next. 
By night, Lucy dons her party girl persona Zoe, gathering info and intervening to help other girls who might be in trouble. She's the bait girl. It's amazing how some eyeliner and some giggles make you blend in. 
Well, to everyone except this one boy. Will Lucy let him distract her from her mission?

Content warning: This story contains descriptions of drunken partying, and references to off page assault. It also contains a reference to an off page death due to depression. 
Please take care of yourself. I hope this story leaves you feeling empowered but if it triggers you please stop. I can recommend stories with puppies for you instead. 

If you need help, RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network), is available in the US by phone - 800.656.HOPE (4673) and online at online.rainn.org.

The suicide prevention lifeline is available in the US by phone:  1-800-273-TALK (8255) and they have chat available at https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org.

Buy links: 

Kobo: https://bit.ly/2P1cLsi

Amazon: https://amzn.to/2OjHO5N

Nook: https://bit.ly/2OhPXHZ

Smashwords: https://bit.ly/2QjgZMg

Universal link:  books2read.com/u/mlez1P