State of the Arts

State of the Arts: October 29, 2010 Archive

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Weekend outlook: freaky fabulous

Posted at 9:30 AM on October 29, 2010 by Marianne Combs (2 Comments)
Filed under: Events

EvilDead.jpg
Minneapolis Musical Theatre presents "Evil Dead: The Musical"

Your Halloween experience doesn't have to be limited to handing out free candy and going to a costume party; read on for artsy haunted house tours, creepy dance and spooky theater...

BareBones invites you to Carnetheria, a puppet spectacle that plumbs the deep and darkest depths of a dreamlike Carnival for all ages. Using larger-than-life puppets, shadow puppets, bike puppets, costumes, masks, song, dance, stilting, aerialism, fire artistry, and original music by a live orchestra, the BareBones Halloween Outdoor Puppet Extravaganza runs Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Hidden Falls Regional Park

Ever been to Soap Factory's Haunted Basement in Minneapolis? It's the haunted house tour of your youth, but this particularly brand of scary has some real artistic flair. Be prepared to sign a waiver at the door saying you won't sue anybody for the horrors you are about to experience. And we won't blame you if you end up crying "uncle!"

Dark, dank, and filled with dramatic history... there's nothing like the underbelly of a theater to get you to believe in ghosts. Music Box Theatre presents "The Haunted Theater," billed as a haunted house tour/theater performance. Performances run 30 minutes. Check out the creepy video trailer on their website for a taste of what to expect.

Ballet of the Dolls choreographer Myron Johnson give the holiday a twist with "Whatever happened to... Swan Lake?" at Ritz Theater in Minneapolis. Continuing his pursuit of high drama and larger-than-life personalities, Johnson has created his own mash-up of "Whatever Happened To Baby Jane?" and "Swan Lake." It's billed as a dark tale of two sisters who let jealousy and career ruin their lives.

Love zombies? Minneapolis Musical Theater presents: "Evil Dead, The Musical." It's a campy horror/comedy featuring such delightful numbers as "Look who's evil now" and "Do the Necronomicon."

Minnesota Orchestra celebrates the 50th anniversary of Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho" this Saturday with a live soundtrack. Cue the violins for the shower scene!

Looking for a different type of haunting? Mixed Blood Theatre presents The House of the Spirits/La Casa de los Espíritus, based on the novel by Isabel Allende. This production continues Mixed Blood's tradition of presenting bilingual shows, and is directed by the Guthrie Theater's Marcela Lorca.

So how are you going to celebrate All Hallow's Eve?

(2 Comments)

News and reviews

Posted at 10:48 AM on October 29, 2010 by Marianne Combs
Filed under: News and reviews

Here are the top arts stories in Minnesota this morning...

Fans, family mourn Eyedea in St. Paul - Chris Riemenschneider, Star Tribune
Thousands attended the public wake for rapper/poet Micheal Larsen, 28, including many musician friends.

El Día de los Muertos honored with powerful student work at the MIA - Sheila Regan, City Pages
​For the third year in a row, The Minneapolis Institute of Arts has partnered with El Colegio, a Minneapolis charter school that teaches Latino culture and traditions, to present a special El Día de los Muertos (The Day of the Dead) exhibition featuring the work of 20 student artists.

Dancing on Ballet's living edges- Lightsey Darst, mnartists.org
Dance critic Lightsey Darst weighs in on two recent ballet performances - Crystal Pite/Kidd Pivot Frankfurt RM's "Dark Matters" at the Walker, and Minnesota Dance Theatre's ambitious, two-weekend fall dance festival, "Enduring Prescience."

Darkness at the edge of town - Mason Riddle, Star Tribune
In "Bogusville," former Minneapolis artist T.L. Solien evokes classic Americana with psychologically fraught works.

Alec Soth: The Loneliest Man in Minnesota? - Frank Bures, mnartists.org
Writer Frank Bures reflects on the Walker's new retrospective of work by Twin Cities-based photographer Alec Soth, and on the artist's resonant depiction of a "pervasive, long in coming, and widespread" emptiness at the heart of our culture.

Harry Potter Quidditch tournament scheduled for this Sunday at the U of M - Shelby Meyers, City Pages
​Just when you thought Harry Potter fans had reached their limit, there's more: This Sunday afternoon, the University of Minnesota's Quidditch team will host their first Halloween tournament featuring a Harry Potter bake sale, prizes, a raffle, and the chance to watch teams compete to be the first Fall Champions.

Pillsbury House Theatre hosts late night series - Ed Huyck, City Pages
Looking for a different theatrical experience? Do you want food with that? For the 13th year, curators Laurie Carlos and e.g. bailey bring Non English Speaking Spoken Here: The Late Night Series to the Pillsbury House Theatre in Minneapolis. The program, presented over the next month on Saturdays, features an exciting mix of writers, performers and musicians from New York and Minnesota.

This 'Girl' is a bit of a trial - Colin Covert, Star Tribune
As Lisbeth Salander recovers from injuries and faces trial for murder, she can't save a movie that's overloaded with plot.

Theatrical scares abound for Halloween - Ed Huyck, City Pages
​There's something special about a well-produced tale of terror on stage.

Stars shine too brightly at First Avenue - Jay Gabler, TC Daily Planet
As frontman Torquil Campbell acknowledged on Wednesday night, it's intimidating to be a band called Stars arriving at First Avenue, a club decorated in stars "with the names of bands a lot better than us."

The mezzo sings like chocolate - Graydon Royce, Star Tribune
Roxana Constantinescu makes her debut on the American opera stage in "Cinderella" at the Ordway.

Roger Waters brings "The Wall" crashing triumphantly down at the Xcel Energy Center - Kyle Matteson, TC Daily Planet
For a music fan, writing about Pink Floyd's The Wall (1979) is a bit like a theater fan writing about Shakespeare. What more could you possibly say that hasn't already been written thousands of times before?

A Willie Nelson wish list - Jon Bream, Star Tribune
Since Mystic Lake doesn't serve booze, he should skip his drinking songs this weekend and sing these tunes instead.

Bruce in the USA prove it all Tuesday night at Bunker's - Jay Gabler, TC Daily Planet
Bruce Springsteen fueled my dreams when I was a teenager, but since then I've accumulated enough life experience to have tense imaginary conversations with him.

MN Original episode #212

Posted at 12:37 PM on October 29, 2010 by Marianne Combs
Filed under: Media, Television

If you missed last night's edition of MN Original on TPT, here it is:

Photographer Wing Young Huie celebrates a University Avenue neighborhood with hundreds of images in his public art installation.

Tom Nechville's custom banjos are designed to improve tone and projection using fewer parts than traditional models.

Plus, dancer Carl Flink and jazz singer Christine Rosholt performs.

Ready, set... write!

Posted at 3:41 PM on October 29, 2010 by Marianne Combs (1 Comments)
Filed under: Books, Writing

According to National Novel Writing Month organizers, in November 2009 more than 30,000 writers completed a 175-page (or 50,000-word) novel by midnight November 30.

Why? Because sometimes you need to stop obsessing over the details and just write, write, write.

On the NaNoWriMo website it states:

...The ONLY thing that matters in NaNoWriMo is output. It's all about quantity, not quality. The kamikaze approach forces you to lower your expectations, take risks, and write on the fly.

Make no mistake: You will be writing a lot of crap. And that's a good thing. By forcing yourself to write so intensely, you are giving yourself permission to make mistakes. To forgo the endless tweaking and editing and just create. To build without tearing down.

As you spend November writing, you can draw comfort from the fact that, all around the world, other National Novel Writing Month participants are going through the same joys and sorrows of producing the Great Frantic Novel. Wrimos meet throughout the month to offer encouragement, commiseration, and--when the thing is done--the kind of raucous celebrations that tend to frighten animals and small children.

Of course, few of these novels actually get published, but close to 60 have made it to bookstore shelves.

Tonight NaNoWriMo participants in the Twin Cities are heading to Nina's Cafe in Saint Paul for a kick-off party. People are asked to bring gently used books to donate as part of this year's fundraiser.

A while back MPR's Euan Kerr attended a couple of NaNoWriMo meet-ups in the Twin Cities and had this lovely story.

So, are you ready to take on the challenge?

(1 Comments)
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