Shoegaze

Shoegaze (originally termed shoegazing and sometimes conflated with "dream pop") is a subgenre of indie and alternative rock characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion and effects, feedback, and overwhelming volume. It emerged in Ireland and the United Kingdom in the late 1980s among neo-psychedelic groups who stood motionless during live performances in a detached, non-confrontational state with their heads down. This was because the heavy use of effects pedals meant the performers were often looking down at their pedals during concerts.
My Bloody Valentine's album "Loveless" (1991) is often seen as the genre's defining release, with other prominent shoegaze groups including Slowdive, Ride, Lush, the Boo Radleys, and Chapterhouse. A loose label given to the shoegaze bands and other affiliated bands in London in the early 1990s was "the Scene That Celebrates Itself". Most shoegaze artists drew from the template set by My Bloody Valentine on their late 1980s recordings, as well as bands such as Dinosaur Jr., the Jesus & Mary Chain, and the Cocteau Twins. The genre has often been used interchangeably with dream pop, but shoegaze may be distinguished by a harsher, louder and more distorted sound.
In the early 1990s, shoegaze was pushed aside by the American grunge movement and early Britpop acts, forcing the relatively unknown bands to break up or reinvent their style altogether. In the 2000s, there was renewed interest in the genre among "Nu gaze" bands.
Characteristics.
Shoegaze combines ethereal, swirling vocals with layers of distorted, bent, or flanged guitars, creating a wash of sound where no instrument is distinguishable from another. The genre was typically "overwhelmingly loud, with long, droning riffs, waves of distortion, and cascades of feedback. Vocals and melodies disappeared into the walls of guitars." According to Allmusic, most bands drew from the music of My Bloody Valentine as a template for the genre, as well as groups such as Cocteau Twins, Dinosaur Jr., and The Jesus and Mary Chain. British duo A.R. Kane have also been credited with producing a template for the genre in the late 1980s.
Etymology.
The term originated in a concert review in "Sounds" for the newly formed band Moose in which singer Russell Yates read lyrics taped to the floor throughout the gig. The term was picked up by "NME", who used it as a reference to the tendency of the bands' guitarists to stare at their feet—or their effects pedals—while playing, seemingly deep in concentration. "Melody Maker" preferred calling it "The Scene That Celebrates Itself", referring to the habit that the bands had of attending gigs of other shoegaze bands, often in Camden, and often playing in each other's bands.
According to AllMusic: "The shatteringly loud, droning neo-psychedelia the band performed was dubbed shoegaze by the British press because the band members stared at the stage while they performed". According to some, the term was used to describe dream pop bands.
Slowdive's Simon Scott found the term relevant:
The term was also considered pejorative, especially by a part of the English weekly music press who considered the movement as ineffectual, and it was disliked by many of the groups it purported to describe. Lush's singer Miki Berenyi explained: "Shoegazing was originally a slag-off term. My partner [K.J. "Moose" McKillop], who was the guitarist in Moose, claims that it was originally leveled at his band. Apparently the journo was referring to the bank of effects pedals he had strewn across the stage that he had to keep staring at in order to operate. And then it just became a generic term for all those bands that had a big, sweeping, effects-laden sound, but all stood resolutely still on stage". Ride's singer Mark Gardener had another take on his group's static presentation: "We didn't want to use the stage as a platform for ego ... We presented ourselves as normal people, as a band who wanted their fans to think they could do that too."
History.
Origins and precursors.
The most commonly cited precursors to shoegaze are Cocteau Twins, The Jesus and Mary Chain, and My Bloody Valentine, although My Bloody Valentine's "Loveless" is often referred to as the greatest album the genre has produced. Each band's music bridged the styles of garage rock, 1960s psychedelia and American indie bands like Dinosaur Jr. and Sonic Youth. Other artists that have been identified as direct influences on shoegaze include The Velvet Underground, Hüsker Dü, and The Cure. Siouxsie and the Banshees was also a major influence initially on Cocteau Twins. Slowdive named themselves after a Siouxsie and the Banshees song of the same name and took inspiration from the group at their beginnings. Lush, a shoegaze contemporary, were originally called "The Baby Machines", a line from a Siouxsie lyric. Other bands who have been cited as exploring proto-shoegaze sounds and textures include Spacemen 3 and The House of Love.
My Bloody Valentine emerged in the wake of their 1988 breakthrough with the "You Made Me Realise" EP and album "Isn't Anything". "The Trouser Press Guide to '90s Rock" mentions that "A.R. Kane, the London duo ... (who dubbed their music 'dreampop') exerted a profound sonic influence on the legion of trippy shoegazer guitar bands that would emerge a few years later in the UK". Michael Azerrad's book "Our Band Could Be Your Life" cited an early 1990s Dinosaur Jr. tour of the United Kingdom as a key influence.
Whereas contemporary alternative rock movements of the time period were extremely male-dominated (Britpop, grunge), My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, Lush, Cocteau Twins, and many other popular shoegaze acts had at least one prominent female musician who contributed key vocal elements and/or integral writing components to the music. Kevin Shields noted that there were as many women as men in the shoegaze community.
The Scene That Celebrates Itself.
The Scene That Celebrates Itself was the social and musical scene in the early 1990s within London and the Thames Valley area. The term was coined by "Melody Maker's" Steve Sutherland in 1990 in a near-contemptuous gesture, focusing on how bands involved in the scene, rather than engaging in traditional rivalries, were often seen at each other's gigs, sometimes playing in each other's bands, and drinking together.
Bands lumped into the 'scene' by the press included several of the bands that were branded with the shoegazing label, such as Chapterhouse, Lush, Moose and other (mainly indie) bands such as Blur (prior to the release of their single "Popscene"), Thousand Yard Stare, See See Rider and Stereolab. A prime example were Moose, who often swapped members with other bands on a given night. Moose's Russell Yates and Stereolab guitarist Tim Gane would often trade places, while "Moose" McKillop often played with See See Rider. Gane and his Stereolab colleague Lætitia Sadier even played on the 1991 session by Moose for John Peel's BBC Radio 1 show.
The bands, producers and journalists of the time would gather in London and their activities would be chronicled in the gossip pages of the music papers "NME" and "Melody Maker". The most famous club and focal point was Syndrome, which was located on Oxford Street and ran weekly on Thursday nights. The "NME", in particular, embraced the scene, and the unity of the bands was probably advantageous to their careers, because when one band had a successful record, the other bands could share the publicity. The scene was extremely small and revolved around fewer than 20 individuals.
The first stirrings of recognition came when indie writer Steve Lamacq referred to Ride in an "NME" review as "The House of Love with chainsaws".
The shoegaze genre label was quite often misapplied. As key bands such as Slowdive, Chapterhouse and Ride emerged from the Thames Valley, Swervedriver found themselves labelled shoegazers on account of their own Thames Valley origins, despite their more pronounced Hüsker Dü-meets-Stooges stylings.
Decline.
The coining of the term "The Scene That Celebrates Itself" was in many ways the beginning of the end for the first wave of shoegazers. The bands became perceived by critics as over-privileged, self-indulgent, and middle-class. This perception was in sharp contrast with both the bands who formed the wave of newly commercialized grunge music which was making its way across the Atlantic, as well as those bands who formed the foundation of Britpop, such as Pulp, Oasis, Blur and Suede. Britpop also offered intelligible lyrics, often about the trials and tribulations of working-class life; this was a stark contrast to the "vocals as an instrument" approach of the shoegazers, which often prized the melodic contribution of vocals over their lyrical depth. Lush's final album was an abrupt shift from shoegaze to Britpop, which alienated many fans; the 1996 suicide of their drummer signaled Lush's dissolution. Following a long gap from My Bloody Valentine since "Loveless", aside from their 2008 reunion tour, the band released "m b v" in February 2013. Shields explained their silence by noting, "I never could be bothered to make another record unless I was really excited by it."
Post-movement directions.
Slowdive eventually morphed into the country-infused Mojave 3 and the dream pop Monster Movie, while other shoegaze bands either split or moved in other directions. The use of electronic dance and ambient elements by bands such as Slowdive and Seefeel paved the way for later developments in post-rock and electronica. Several former members of shoegaze bands later moved towards post-rock and the more electronica-based trip hop. Adam Franklin of Swervedriver released lo-fi albums under the moniker Toshack Highway.
While shoegaze briefly flared and then faded out in the UK, the bands of the initial wave had an immense impact on the development of regional underground and college rock scenes in the US. In particular, a Lush and Ride tour of the US in 1991 directly inspired the spawning of American shoegaze groups including Half String and Ozean. Columnist Emma Sailor of KRUI in Iowa City opines:
About DC-based Velocity Girl's 1991 single "My Forgotten Favorite", Sailor goes on to note, "Could anything be more different — and yet so similar — to [Slowdive]? The hazy [production] and dreamy, high pitched female vocals are there, but the outlook is entirely different." Other notable American shoegaze influenced bands of the early- to mid-1990s included Lilys, The Swirlies, The Veldt, and Medicine.
A resurgence of the genre began in the late 1990s (particularly in the United States) and the early 2000s, that helped usher in what is now referred to as the "nu gaze" era. Also various heavy metal acts were inspired by shoegaze, which contributed to the emergence of "post-metal" and "metalgaze" styles. Particularly in the mid-2000s, French black metal acts Alcest and Amesoeurs began incorporating shoegaze elements into their sound, pioneering the blackgaze genre.


The Topography of the Lungs

The Topography of the Lungs is an album by saxophonist Evan Parker, guitarist Derek Bailey and percussionist Han Bennink which was recorded in London on 13 July 1970 and became the first release on the Incus label. It is considered a milestone of the free improvisation genre.
Background.
Incus Records was founded by journalist Michael Walters, who approached drummer Tony Oxley who brought in guitarist Derek Bailey and saxophonist Evan Parker who had played in the Spontaneous Music Ensemble to oversee the music policy. Original copies of the album came with a typed letter that stated:
The bulk of the revenue from any Incus recording will go directly to the musicians...

Once the basic cost of each record is recovered,

thus providing the finance for the next,

the vast bulk of all income will be paid in royalties to the artists.

Incus has no intention of making profits in the conventional sense.
The album's back cover consists of a collage of encyclopedia pages and brief phrases such as "Frederick Rzewski writes about free improvisation and makes sense" and "If you like to draw or paint, this booklet could help change your life."
The album was reissued in 2006 by Evan Parker's label Psi, with two bonus tracks ("Found Elsewhere 1" and "2"). In addition to the old cover art, the new front cover establishes that this date was under Evan Parker's leadership.
Reception.
The Allmusic review by Dan Warburton called it "one of the landmark early albums of English free improvisation" and states "Despite the music's furious energy -- verging at times on the downright violent, thanks in no small part to the irrepressible Bennink -- proceedings do not lack a sense of humor".
Henry Kuntz wrote that "the importance of a record such as "Topography of the Lungs" can now be heard as an intuitive first leap in the direction of independent expression, of the players stepping forward and taking a fully assertive role in the making of the music rather than one of mainly responding to/interacting with the environment around them".
Track listing.
All compositions by Evan Parker, Derek Bailey and Han Bennink.


Taking The Next Step

Taking The Next Step is a British/Irish TV programme on CBBC. It is a competition of young dancers competing for a cameo on The Next Step,teenage a tCanadian dance drama. The show is presented by Lindsey Russel and Sam and Mark. The three judges are Kimberly Wyatt, Jonny Labey and Marlon ‘Swoosh’ Wallen.


Spontaneous Broadway

Spontaneous Broadway is an advanced long-form improvised performance, based on audience suggestions. The audience typically submits titles of songs that have never been written, and the performers choose suggestions to create songs, the audience votes through acclamation on their favorite song, which is then used as the core of a brand new Broadway musical.
The format received a favorable review from The "New York Times" when it premiered in New York in 1995.
Though not required or necessarily encouraged by improv professionals, elements of humor inevitably surface in the performance because of the surprising and playful nature of improvisation and its use of typical Broadway stereotypes. The performers' songs are supported by an onstage musician or band that improvises the music, generally in the style of typical show tunes.
The format was created in New York City at Freestyle Repertory Theatre and has been performed by a number of different companies around the US. Currently, it is performed by BATS theatre in San Francisco, The Mop & Bucket Co. in Schenectady NY, and at several colleges around the country, including Stanford.
The Spontaneous Broadway format was created by Kat Koppett in association with Freestyle Repertory Theatre in New York. Koppett is a 25-year improv veteran, having worked with Freestyle Repertory Theatre) and San Francisco's BATS Improv. She is currently co-director of the Mop & Bucket Company, an improv troupe based in the Capital District of New York State. Koppett also runs a consulting business, appropriately named Koppett. In 1995, TheaterWeek Magazine named Kat one of the year's "Unsung Heroes" for her creation of Spontaneous Broadway, which is now performed regularly by teams of actors all over the world. Significant contributions to the development of the format at Freestyle Rep. were made by Kenn Adams, Laura Livingston, and Samuel D. Cohen.
At the 2000 Melbourne Fringe Festival, the show began its life in Australia and immediately won a special Fringe Award. Produced by musical director John Thorn (who secured the Australian licence from Kat Koppett) and hosted by Russell Fletcher, many of Australia's finest comic improvisors have since performed the show around the country, including sell-out performances at the Sydney Opera House, The Famous Spiegeltent, and at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, receiving rave reviews and legions of repeat attendee fans.


Corey Baker (choreographer)

Corey Baker is a New Zealand classical and contemporary choreographer, and former dancer.
Early life.
Baker was born in Christchurch, New Zealand June 6th 1991. He attended a rural primary school in Canterbury.
At age fourteen, he was aspiring to be a musical theatre actor in high school. His English teacher, who ran a ballet class in the center of town, saw him tap dancing in the corridor because of his interest and said, “Ballet will help with that.” Baker left high school at fifteen to join the International Ballet Academy (IBA) in Christchurch; he danced full time for a year. His lead teacher at IBA was Carl Myers.
Career.
In 2017, Baker became Resident Choreographer at Royal New Zealand Ballet.
In 2018, Baker created the first professional dance performance in Antarctica, which was filmed for Channel 4 (UK) and aired on Earth Day 2018.
Personal life.
Since early 2018, Baker has been dating American actor Jonathan Groff, whom he met while both were teaching at Christchurch International Musical Theatre Summer School (CIMTSS), a biennial programme bringing professional musical theatre training to Christchurch.


Funniest Wins

Funniest Wins is an American reality television competition on TBS show hosted by Marlon Wayans, in which comedians compete to be judged the funniest. The series ran from June 20 to August 15, 2014. The series holds a TV-14 rating, though some episodes are rated TV-MA. The series was later on cancelled on August 15, 2014.


Carmen Beuchat

Carmen Luz Beuchat Leiva (born 27 December 1941) is a Chilean artist, choreographer, and dancer recognized for her development of postmodern dance in the United States during the 1960s and 1970s.
Biography.
Carmen Beuchat was born in Santiago, Chile in 1941. She began her career in classical and modern dance as a student of Yerka Luksic, at four years of age. She continued her studies at the Dance School of the University of Chile with professors such as , Joan Turner, and Sigurd Leeder.
In 1964 she formed Trío 65, the first Chilean independent dance company, with dancers Gaby Concha and Rosa Celis. Towards the end of the same decade, she migrated to the United States, actively participating in the New York art scene. A founding member of the collective The Natural History of the American Dancer, Carmen Beuchat developed a link between her visual and choreographic work with a strong emphasis on spatial composition, incorporating the use of mobile structures in her choreography, presenting her work in spaces such as the 112 Greene St. Gallery, Whitney Museum, The Kitchen, Judson Church, Everson Museum of Art, and the Bronx Museum, among many others.
During her life, Carmen Beuchat has collaborated with artists such as Juan Downey, Gordon Matta-Clark, Richard Nonas, and Enrique Castro-Cid. She was an assistant to Robert Rauschenberg, danced in the first company of Trisha Brown, and in Kei Takei's Moving Earth Dance Company. She participated in projects with Jaime and Alfonso Barrios and photographer Marcelo Montealegre.
In Chile she is recognized as the originator of contact improvisation and other postmodern dance techniques. In the midst of the military dictatorship, during her trips to Chile in 1977 and 1985, she conducted dance workshops promoting an aesthetic transformation in the local scene, promoting a philosophy of democratization around the body in movement.
In the 1990s she settled in Chile, serving as director of the Dance School of University ARCIS, and generating a series of creative and educational projects in Santiago and Valparaíso.
She currently lives in Quetroleufú, Araucanía Region, where she receives constant visits from students, dancers, and creators.


Guinness is good for you


Suchitra Mitra

Suchitra Mitra (19 September 1924 – 3 January 2011) was an Indian singer, composer,artist exponent of Rabindra Sangeet or the songs of Bengal's poet laureate Rabindranath Tagore, professor, and the first woman Sheriff of Kolkata. As an academic, she remained a professor and the Head of "Rabindra Sangeet Department" at the Rabindra Bharati University for many years. Mitra was a playback singer in Bengali films (and acted in some as well) and was associated for many years with the Indian People's Theatre Association.
Mitra studied at the Scottish Church College, the University of Calcutta and at Visva-Bharati University in West Bengal, India. She was also the Sheriff of Kolkata (2001). After prolonged illness Mitra died of a cardiac ailment on 3 January 2011, in Kolkata.
Early life.
Mitra's father, the celebrated littérateur, Saurindra Mohan Mukherjee, was a close associate of the Tagore family of Jorasanko. Suchitra Mitra's natural aptitude in music was recognised by Pankaj Mullick, who gave her a first lesson in Rabindra Sangeet. From her childhood, as the youngest member of her family, Suchitra cultivated her love for the songs and poetry of Tagore. She had an unerring ear for music and a natural gift of voice and expression. She was born in a running train near station Gujhandi, so her nickname was Goju.
Musical career.
In 1941, Suchitra Mitra received a scholarship to Sangit Bhavana in Santiniketan, where she learnt Rabindra Sangeet from some of the greatest teachers - Indira Devi Chaudhurani, Santidev Ghosh, and Sailajaranjan Majumdar. Having obtained her diploma from Santiniketan, Suchitra Mitra returned to Calcutta in 1945. In 1946, she earned her degree from Scottish Church College of the University of Calcutta. In the same year, she co-founded "Rabitirtha" along with Dwijen Chowdhury (the name Rabitirtha was coined by renowned historian and Tagore scholar Professor Kalidas Nag). Under Suchitra's leadership, Rabitirtha emerged as one of the leading schools of Rabindra Sangeet (in Kolkata). Founder and Principal, Suchitra Mitra was an active figure and inspiration behind this establishment. Her dedication, sincerity and comprehension of the subtle nuances underlying Tagore's songs is indeed praiseworthy.
Suchitra was an exponent and an interpreter of Tagore's musical compositions. Her other interests included performing arts, including theatrical performances, film-acting, painting, etc. Mitra produced Rabindra Nritya Natyas (or Tagore's dance dramas); she had acted and danced in many of them. She also acted in stage-plays/dance-drama like "Valmiki Pratibha" and in films like "Dahan" directed by Rituparno Ghosh. Her other intellectual pursuits included: reciting poetry, writing short stories, poems and children's rhymes, publishing essays and books on more thought-provoking subjects, such as the grammar and techniques involved in rendering Rabindra Sangeet or on the aesthetics of the music of Tagore. Her greatest achievements may have been her ability to immortalise Tagore's songs both at home and abroad to people of all ages. Invited to the USSR and Hungary, Mitra spread the message of Tagore to the western audience. With the "Rabitirtha" troupe, she performed Tagore's dance dramas in the USA and Canada. She was the author of many books in Bengali on Rabindra Sangeet, and had recently directed her efforts towards compiling an encyclopaedia of Tagore's songs for students and researchers. Suchitra Mitra's repertoire and expertise, coupled with her ability to inculcate in others the love of Rabindra Sangeet, establishes her as one of the notable names in the world of performing arts in India. Ustad Amjad Ali Khan recognises her as his guide into the world of Rabindrasangeet.
Suchitra was considered to be one of the most versatile exponents of Rabindra Sangeet, and in recognition thereof she was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 1974. Together with Kanika Bandopadhyay, Debabrata Biswas and Hemanta Mukhopadhyay, she formed the Golden Quartet of Rabindrasangeet who popularised the compositions of Rabindranath Tagore and left an indelible impression in the fields of arts and culture.
Recognition.
Her reputation as a successful artiste resulted in her appointment as lecturer in Rabindra Bharati University, where she held the prestigious office of Head of the Department of Music. She also succeeded Pankaj Mullick in Sangeet Sikshar Asar - a very popular programme of Akashvani - a tutorial on Rabindrasangeet that was broadcast live. In recognition of her creative talents, Suchitra Mitra received numerous accolades. Some of Mitra's notable awards included.
She was conferred 3 honorary D.Litt. degrees by the Rabindra Bharati University, the University of Burdwan and Jadavpur University. As aforementioned, Mitra was also the recipient of the Desikottama (or honorary D.Litt) of the Visva-Bharati University, which is regarded as the pinnacle of recognition in the genre of Rabindra Sangeet.
She retired in 1984 from Rabindra Bharati University as a professor and the Head of Rabindra Sangeet Department.
Her presence has been an inspiration to younger generations of artists who wish to master the art of Tagore.
In popular culture.
She has been the subject of multiple biographic documentary films. One of them, titled "Suchitra Mitra" (1993) by Raja Sen, went on to win the National Film Award for Best Cultural Film.
She was awarded Rabindra-Tattwacharya by Tagore Research Institute, Kolkata.
She became the first female Sheriff of Kolkata in 2001.


HWGA


Make Me a Star (film)

Make Me a Star is a 1932 American pre-Code romantic comedy film directed by William Beaudine and starring Joan Blondell, Stuart Erwin and ZaSu Pitts. The film is a remake of the 1924 silent film "Merton of the Movies", based upon the 1922 novel of that name, and the 1923 play adapted from the novel by George S. Kaufman, and Marc Connelly. It was remade again in 1947.
Plot.
A small-town delivery boy Merton Gill (Stuart Erwin) arrives in Hollywood, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and complete with a diploma from the National Correspondence Academy of Acting. Crashing the gates of Majestic Pictures Merton manages to fumble his one line bit in the latest Buck Benson (George Templeton) western and is fired on the spot.
Cast.
Cameo appearances (as themselves)
References.
Notes
Bibliography


Aida (album)

Aida is a live album of solo acoustic performances by guitarist Derek Bailey which was recorded in Paris and London in 1980 and released by Incus.
Reception.
The Allmusic review by Brian Olewnick states ""Aida" is a remarkably beautiful entry to one of the world's masterful musicians. Indeed, he sounds like no one else".
Track listing.
All compositions by Derek Bailey.


In-yer-face theatre

In-yer-face theatre is a term used to describe a confrontational style and sensibility of drama that emerged in Great Britain in the 1990s. This term was borrowed by British theatre critic Aleks Sierz as the title of his book, "In-Yer-Face Theatre: British Drama Today", first published by Faber and Faber in March 2001.
An adjunct faculty member in Boston University's London graduate journalism programme, and co-editor of TheatreVoice, Sierz uses "in-yer-face theatre" to describe work by young playwrights who present vulgar, shocking, and confrontational material on stage as a means of involving and affecting their audiences.
Etymology.
Origin of the phrase "in-your-face".
Aleks Sierz has written about the origin of the phrase "in-your-face":
Origin of the term "in-yer-face theatre".
Sierz has been mistakenly cited as coining the term “In-yer-face theatre”, saying that “Although I certainly was the first to describe, celebrate and theorise this kind of new writing, which emerged decisively in the mid-1990s, I certainly did not invent the phrase.” In his piece “A brief history of in-yer-face theatre” Sierz outlines a number of instances where the phrase was used directly or indirectly by others prior to him popularising the label.
In 1994 Paul Taylor in his review of Philip Ridley’s "Ghost from a Perfect Place" described the violent girl gang in the play as “the in-yer-face castrating trio”.
In response to "Trainspotting" being performed at the Bush Theatre, critic Charles Spencer wrote that “You may not like these in-your-face productions; but they are quite impossible to ignore.” Later that year when the play transferred to the West End, "The Times"’s Jeremy Kingston remarked that the previous two productions of the play had brought “actors within inches of the audience, and such in-yer-face realism”.
During an interview in November 1995 the playwright Anthony Neilson remarked that “I think that in-your-face theatre is coming back — and that is good.” Sierz has stated that “As far as I know, this seems to be the very first coinage of the term “in-your-face theatre”.”
About a month after this interview the critic Ian Herbert started using the phrase “in-yer-face” in various columns of the publication "Theatre Record", for which he was the editor. Sierz Remarked that Herbert "chose the more direct “in-yer-face” formulation over the more staid “in-your-face”". After Herbert's writings in "Theatre Record" the phrase began to be used by other critics and, according to Sierz, "By the time Mark Ravenhill’s "Shopping and Fucking" opened at the Royal Court in October 1996, the expression was spreading rapidly".
Sierz has stated that "the idea of writing a book about in-yer-face theatre was originally Ian Herbert’s" as he originally spoke about the concept to Peggy Butcher, who was the drama editor of Faber and Faber. Herbert also decided to name the book ‘In-Yer-Face Theatre’ and was asked by Butcher to write an outline for it. However, Herbert was unable to provide an outline, jokingly stating that "I realised that [writing] a book would mean actual work, something to which I am not accustomed." Sierz however states that Herbert "was too busy to embark on a book" due to his many work commitments. As a result Herbert pulled out of writing the book and told Butcher that it should be written by Sierz instead because his "interest in new writing at the time made [him] an obvious candidate for the job". Early during the development of the book Sierz considered renaming it to "Cool Britannia" but Sierz says that this was vetoed by Butcher "on the grounds that in a couple of years no one would have any respect for that label - and how right she was." Sierz finished writing the book in January 2000, and it was published by Faber and Faber in March 2001 under the title "In-Yer-Face Theatre: British Drama Today".
History.
Aleks Sierz's 'five mighty moments'.
In his lecture entitled "Blasted and After: New Writing in British Theatre Today" Sierz cites "five mighty moments in the history of the 1990s" that shaped in-yer-face theatre. Outside of this lecture Sierz has gone into greater detail about the importance of these moments:
Ian Brown at The Traverse and provocative plays from North America and Scotland
Sierz first cites Ian Brown, artistic director of Edinburgh's Traverse Theatre, who during the late 1980s started looking "for provocative plays from Canada and America" to be staged at the theatre, namely those written by Brad Fraser and Tracy Letts. Brown described himself as "a risk-taker; I had a taste for doing plays that are a bit between-the-eyes: most London theatres didn't dare put on Brad Fraser['s plays] because of the explicit sex". Fraser has been hailed by director Dominic Dromgoole as "the early prophet, the John the Baptist of the brutalist school that flourished in the mid-nineties. A lot of tricks that tired by the end of the Nineties, the rimming, the sadism, the antibodies, the sexual frankness, the cool irony in the face of outrage, began with Fraser". Brown also developed "Scottish work with Scottish actors" such as the "provocative" 1992 play "The Life of Stuff" written by "local actor" Simon Donald. Sierz has said that Brown unknowingly was "opening the long road that led to Anthony Neilson, to Mark Ravenhill (who was influenced by the work of Canadian Brad Fraser) and to that 1990s youth anthem, "Trainspotting"".
Sierz also claims that Brown's programming was part of a broader "Scottish theatricality" that "kick-started" the in-yer-face theatre of London (such as Jeremey Weller's Edinburgh-based company the Grassmarket Project, which influenced the work of Sarah Kane) and that "Scottish playwriting [had] a profound effect […] on the in-yer-face sensibility".
The Young British Artists and Philip Ridley's "The Pitchfork Disney"
The second "mighty moment" that Sierz cites is Philip Ridley’s play "The Pitchfork Disney" being performed at the Bush Theatre in 1991. Sierz has declared that "The Pitchfork Disney" "is not only a key play of the 90s; it is "the" key play of that decade... Its legend grew and grew until it became "the" pivotal influence on the generation of playwrights that followed. It is a foundation text; it separates then from now.” Sierz goes on to write that the play "introduced a totally new sensibility into British theatre [that] signalled a fresh direction for contemporary playwrighting: one that eschewed realistic naturalism, political ideology and social commentary, and turned auditorium's into cauldron's of sensation", adding that the play was "an agenda setting work: the era of experiential theatre began here." The artistic director of the Bush Theatre, Dominic Dromgoole, wrote that "The Pitchfork Disney" "was one of the first plays to signal a new direction for new writing. No politics, no naturalism, no journalism, no issues. In its place, character, imagination, wit, sexuality, skin and the soul."
Ridley started writing the play during the 1980s while he was an art student at St Martin's School of Art, with the play evolving out of a series of performance art monologues he had created in his final year of study. Ridley identifies himself as a contemporary of the Young British Artists (also known as the YBAs). These artists are regarded to have started with Damien Hirst's exhibition "Freeze" in 1988 and have been described by Sierz as "the in-yer-face provocateurs of the art scene [whose] 1997 "Sensation" exhibition was an immensely influential example of that 1990s sensibility". Ridley has claimed that he knew "most of the people that went on to be in the controversial "Sensation" show". Although Ridley's early plays were produced years before this exhibition, he states that his plays share the same "sensibility" as "Sensation", particularly in the plays’ use of imagery. Sierz in part attributes Ridley's originality as a playwright from him training at an art school instead of attending a drama school or a theatre's 'new writing programme'. Sierz therefore feels that the history of new writing during the 1990s should not start with The Royal Court Theatre, but "perhaps, more accurately" should look instead at "St Martin’s College of Art and Goldsmiths College. Culturally, there’s clearly a nexus between the YBAs, Cool Britannia and Brit Pop."
The murder of James Bulger
Another "mighty moment" that Sierz attributes to the development of in-yer-face theatre is the real-life murder of James Bulger, who was only two-years-old when he was abducted, tortured and killed by two ten-year-old boys in 1993. Sierz states that this was "arguably a key event" of 1990s culture.
In 2004 the playwright Mark Ravenhill gave a lecture entitled 'A Tear in the Fabric: the James Bulger Murder and New Theatre Writing in the 1990s'. In this lecture Ravenhill explained how the Bulger murder prompted him to make his "first attempt at writing a play". Ravenhill believes that the murder may have inspired other playwrights from the 1990s: "I wonder if I was alone? I doubt it. I wonder how many other people there were who started to write with that CCTV picture of the boy led away somewhere in their head? […] How many of the young British playwrights of the 1990s — the so-called in-yer-face playwrights — were driven, consciously or unconsciously, by that moment?"
Sierz also states that the murder "resulted in calls for the censorship of films, of television and of art works" because "in 1994 the judge in the boys’ trial explained the murder by speculating that they had been exposed to a violent video, ‘Child's Play 3’, this created a media storm which, I would argue, is the cultural context for the media uproar over "Blasted"".
Stephen Daldry's programming at The Royal Court Theatre
Sierz cites the programming by artistic director Stephen Daldry at The Royal Court Theatre as another "mighty moment" for in-yer-face-theatre. Sierz says that Daldry "not only enjoyed shocking people, but was skilled at getting funding for new projects", while being "Adept at playing the media, he not only programmed provocative plays, but defended them vigorously in public". Appointed as the theatre's artistic director in 1992, the first play that Daldry programmed was "Weldon Rising" by Phyllis Nagy, which Sierz states “sent a signal, influencing other young writers”.
Sierz credits a turning-point for the theatre when Daldry remodelled his programming policy in 1994 from focusing on American work and "gay physical theatre to text-based drama [where] he decided to stage a large number of first-time dramatists". Daldry said that "From autumn 1994, the Court doubled its amount of new productions in the Theatre Upstairs and focussed on young writers". Daldry’s first season of work by new writers in 1994-95 included a number of in-yer-face plays, such as "Some Voices" by Joe Penhall, "Peaches" by Nick Grosso and "Ashes and Sand" by Judy Upton.
Sierz notes "the key play" of this season being "Blasted" by Sarah Kane. Sierz says that "one of the lynchpin moments of the 1990s was the script meeting [at The Royal Court] that decided to stage Sarah Kane’s "Blasted". Although promoting new writing was a deliberate policy, this meeting might have chosen to pass on "Blasted", and the history of the rest of the decade might have been so very different." When "Blasted" premiered some critics were so offended by the play's depiction of horrors (including physical violence, defecation, rape and cannibalism) that they contacted news outlets to voice their outrage. This caused a media frenzy which resulted in the play being at "the centre of the biggest scandal to theatre since Mary Whitehouse tried to close Howard Brenton’s "The Romans in Britain" in 1981." Sierz says that "Within days after its opening […] "Blasted" became the most talked about play for years, the hottest show in town. Pretty soon, it became clear that it would be the most notorious play of the decade". Sierz also states that "the resulting media furore of the shocking content and unsettling form of the play put British new writing on the map", with the controversy becoming a "significant cultural moment" and that with "Blasted" "a new exciting sensibility arrived". While away on a fundraising trip to New-York Daldry was called back to England to appear on Newsnight and The World at One to defend the play amid the controversy. Sierz says that with this "Daldry realised his new role. When he defended [Kane], he was also defending himself and rediscovering the Court's mission. The noise of controversy told him that provocation was the right method: as well as bringing in new audiences, it renewed his sense of identity. As the Court rediscovered its roots as a controversial theatre, Daldry became the impresario if in-yer-face drama."
Other notable in-yer-face plays that The Royal Court programmed while Daldry was artistic director include "Penetrator" (1994) by Anthony Neilson, "Mojo" (1995) by Jez Butterworth, "The Beauty Queen of Leenane" (1996) by Martin McDonagh, "Shopping and Fucking" (1996) by Mark Ravenhill and "The Censor" (1997) by Anthony Neilson.
Martin Crimp's "Attempts on Her Life"
Sierz included Martin Crimp's play "Attempts on her Life" as one of the "mighty moments" in the development of in-yer-face theatre. Performed in 1997 at the Royal Court, Sierz described the premiere production as "an event that secured [Crimp]'s reputation as the most innovative, most exciting and most exportable playwright of his generation." Presented by Crimp as "seventeen scenarios for the theatre", the play has been cited as a pioneering work for its unconventional form and structure. Sierz has described the play as "a postmodernist extravaganza that could be read as a series of provocative suggestions for creating a new kind of theatre. The recipe was: subvert the idea of coherent character; turn scenes into flexible scenarios; substitute brief messages or poetic clusters for text; mix clever dialogue with brutal images; stage the show as an art installation. The playtext doesn't specify who says which lines, but Tim Albery's production brought out the acuity and humour of Crimp's writing, with its characteristic irony, and its pointed comments on the pointlessness of searching for a point." Sierz has called "Attempts on Her Life" "one of the most influential pieces of contemporary theatre" and has lauded the play as being "Crimp's masterpiece", "the best play of the [1990s]" and stated in 2005 that the play "has a good claim to be considered one of the very best British plays of the past 25 years".
Decline.
Towards the end on the 1990s there were declining numbers of new in-yer-face plays being performed in Britain.
In January 1997 Stephen Daldry said that "When I first arrived [at the Royal Court] there were a lot of gay plays, then came violent plays like "Mojo" and "Shopping and Fucking". I feel that trend is on the way out now."
Sierz credits three events, which for him "suggested that the tide was turning and that an era of confrontation had come to an end", signalling the decline of in-yer-face theatre:
The first is "the enormous success of Conor McPherson’s "The Weir"", which premiered at The Theatre Upstairs at The Royal Court in 1997 before it "transferred to the West End for almost three years, then Broadway" with "its box-office success being crucial to the [Royal Court] theatre’s fragile finances". Sierz has said that "[the play] – despite that unpleasant episode about paedophiles in one of the ghost stories and the emotionally fraught aspect of the final story about losing your child – has got a very redemptive feel which most ‘in-yer-face’ plays don’t have" and that the play's "immense success suggest[ed] that the public’s taste for shock has been superceded by a desire for a calmer aesthetic."
The next event that Sierz cites is "the failure of Irvine Welsh’s shock-fest "You'll Have Had Your Hole"" which "received deservedly terrible reviews when it opened at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in 1998 and on its arrival in London in early February 1999".
The last key event Sierz cites is the death of Sarah Kane in February 1999 which he has referred to as "a convenient end point".
David Eldridge wrote that "Perhaps, 'in-yer-face' only really lasted from 1994 to 1997", likewise citing "The Weir" as "signalling a change of direction" and stating that "by the time Ben Elton was mocking the form in a novel ["Inconceivable" published in 1999] it was over."
Sierz has said that "After 1999, you still get individual plays that have that [in-yer-face] sensibility, but it’s no longer the norm" as "By 2000, there were signs that the heady days of outrage were numbered". Sierz has said that by the time his book "In-yer-face Theatre: British Drama Today" was published in March 2001 "the brash phenomenon of in-yer-face theatre […] loses not only much of its intensity, but also becomes less central to the British New Writing scene." He therefore feels that his book "is inevitably something of a backward glance". However, Seirz says that "although by 2001 the new wave has broken, one of the reasons for this is that in-yer-face theatre has done its job — it has kicked down the door of complacency in the theatre, and, where it led, others have followed. In-yer-face writers give theatre the oxygen of publicity, and help inspire the diverse New Writing culture that has emerged since."
In 2004 Sierz hosted a debate on New Writing, which featured the playwrights Mark Ravenhill, Simon Stephens and Richard Bean as panellists. An audience member asked the panel if they thought that in-yer-face theatre "was now no longer at the forefront" of new writing. Bean responded by saying "I think it’s quite true that things have moved on". He explained how it no longer is seen as shocking or cutting edge to have sex scenes in plays, stating that "I suppose there came a point where if you went to The Royal Court and somebody got their knob out and spat in their hand, and you think 'oh here we go again'". Sierz added to this comment by jokingly remarking how previously "there was a time in the 1990s that if you didn’t see an anal rape on stage, you asked for your money back". Bean pointed out how his 2004 play "Honeymoon Suite" contained "two fucks and a wank" yet critics felt it was a "very commercial play" and thus wondered why it was "being put on on the main stages of The Royal Court?" Bean felt that this reaction from critics demonstrated how "obviously all that kind of gross behaviour is now perfectly acceptable" in plays. Stephens, who has tutored at The Royal Court's Young Writers' Programme, responded to the question by saying that: "It’s fascinating now giving copies of "Blasted" to a group of young writers in The Young Writers Programme, and they find it completely alien and completely tedious and completely disinteresting. […] They’re responding to it with anger, which I find really bracing." He went on to say that he thought this anger towards the play was because "in the wake of ["Blasted" and] that initial rush of very strong [in-yer-face] plays, an awful lot of lesser plays were written by pale imitators so that images of anal rape became tedious and became kind of signatures. And I think they’re maybe not distinguishing between the people who are original with those plays and their imitators, and they just find it a little bit gratuitous […] not gratuitous because it’s offensive, but gratuitous because it’s boring now."
In an essay published in 2008, Sierz wrote that "Although some playwrights, such as Philip Ridley, debbie tucker green and Dennis Kelly, use some of the techniques of in-yer-face theatre, the general scene has moved on".
Process of critical categorising.
The process of appropriating and applying such a pre-existing phrase or concept to describe new theatrical works provides a critical means of "categorizing" or "labelling", and some critics have stated, "pigeonholing", or "domesticating" ("taming") them. The creation of "in-yer-face theatre" parallels the history of more-prevalently accepted literary-critical coinages by critics like Martin Esslin ("Theatre of the Absurd"), who extended the existential philosophical concept of the Absurd to drama and theatre in his 1961 book of that title, and Irving Wardle ("Comedy of menace"), who borrowed the phrase from the subtitle of "", by David Campton, in 1958 reviews of productions of Campton's play and of "The Birthday Party", by Harold Pinter, applying Campton's subtitle to Pinter's work.
"In-yer-face theatre" has often been mistakenly categorised as being a 'movement' which Sierz has disputed:
2002 conference on "in-yer-face theatre".
"In-yer-face theatre" was debated at a two-day conference at the University of the West of England, held in 2002, at which Sierz was a keynote speaker. Sierz's own report on the conference is archived on his website.
In summarising the results of the conference, co-conveners Graham Saunders and Rebecca D'Monté observe that Sierz acknowledged that by 2002 "in-yer-face theatre" had already become an historical phenomenon (a trend of the past; hence, passé), going on to state:
Another conference report, published by "Writernet", states: "to be shackled to a specific era or genre places a responsibility on a play and creates expectations before a reading or performance. In essence, it disrupts the artistic integrity through preconceived notions of a play because of a simplified label. Plays and playwrights risk being annexed or 'ghetto-ised' when given a superficial monolithic focus."
"Writernet" adds: "This problem was reflected in number of papers from all over the world, which primarily explored the works of Sarah Kane and Mark Ravenhill through theoretical lenses of postmodernism, metaphysical theatre, Artaud's Theatre of Cruelty, and Lacan. Through no fault of the organizers – this was apparently an accurate reflection of the conference submissions."
Yet, this report observes also that, "In his own defense, Sierz stipulated that 'in-yer-face' was not a movement, but an 'arena' or 'a sensibility'," and that "In-yer-face theatre describes only a part of the body of works during the 1990s." It notices, moreover, that Sierz "accepted the limitations of his book and the label, acknowledging it as both London-centric and limited in its scope."
Nevertheless, it cites "Max Stafford-Clark (founder of Out of Joint and Joint Stock theatre companies and ex-artistic director of the Royal Court Theatre and the Traverse in Edinburgh)," who, "when asked about plays in the 1990s," reportedly observed that "Everybody’s looking at the same view, so the paintings are bound to have similarities."
Notable people who have been associated with "in-yer-face theatre".
According to Sierz, "The big three of in-yer-face theatre are Sarah Kane, Mark Ravenhill and Anthony Neilson"; in listing 14 "Other hot shots" in "Who?" on his website, Sierz adds the following qualification: "Of course, some writers wrote one or two in-yer-face plays and then moved on. Like all categories, this one can't hope to completely grasp the ever-changing reality of the explosive new writing scene."
References to In-yer-face theatre in artistic media.
In David Eldridge's 1996 play " A Week With Tony" the character of Nicholas says that "I got taken along to a play in Chelsea and I was quite shocked. All eye-gouging and buggery and not five minutes from the King's Road!" This is likely a refence to the play "Blasted" which was performed at the Royal Court, which is close to King's Road.
In Ben Elton's 1999 novel "Inconceivable", a character says that they saw a play at The Royal Court called "Fucking and Fucking" and remarks "at the Royal Court they positively insist on having rude words in their [plays'] titles and anal sex by the end of scene one."
In Simon Gray's play "Japes" Michael Cartts, a middle-aged author, rages against a new kind of writing that he describes as "in your face". After watching a new play by a young playwright, Cartts describes the stage characters as follows:
In the 2006 film "Venus" the elderly actor Maurice Russell takes the young woman Jessie to see a play at The Royal Court Theatre Upstairs. The play features a scene with three girls in their late-teens speaking to one another with explicit language. Although the published screenplay written by Hanif Kureishi featured swearing in this scene, the dialogue used in the film is more explicit, with a line delivered by one of the stage actors being changed from "silly cow" to "stupid cunt".
In-yer-face theatre is parodied in one episode of the mockumentary BBC Radio programme "Incredible Women". In the episode Jeremey Front presents a fictional radio documentary about the controversial theatre maker Bella Hayman. Hayman, whose breakout play was "Hysterectomy 5-9-1", is described as the "Les Enfant Terribles of British theatre" with "a reputation for staging the unstageable or what some would call the unwatchable" and is "famous for repulsing and occasionally hospitalising audiences". Jeremey attends a play of Hayman's called "Razor F**K", which is described as a "site-specific, cross-platform, multi-media, immersive experience containing strong language and explicit violence". The play features two male actors who are naked, except for wearing buckets on their heads, being beaten by a woman in uniform wielding a bullwhip. The performance also has the naked actors crawling on a floor awash with stage blood and features a scene where the Chancellor of the Exchequer is castrated. The episode has Maureen Lipman playing herself as an actress appearing in an ill-fated West End revival of Noel Coward's "Present Laughter", which Hayman re-stages with scenes of violence. Jeremey concludes the documentary saying that "there is no question that Bella Hayman is a visionary. One of our most innovative directors with tremendous style and a great eye. It's just a pity that eye has to be gouged out with a grapefruit spoon."


Canuck

"Canuck" is a slang term for a Canadian. The origins of the word are uncertain. The term "Kanuck" is first recorded in 1835 as an Americanism, originally referring to Dutch Canadians (which included German Canadians) or French Canadians. By the 1850s, the spelling with a "C" became predominant. Today, many Canadians and others use "Canuck" as a mostly affectionate term for any Canadian.
Origin.
Although its etymology is unclear, possible origins include:
Usage and examples.
Canadians use "Canuck" as an affectionate or merely descriptive term for their nationality.
If familiar with the term, most citizens of other nations, including the United States, also use it affectionately, though there are individuals who may use it as derogatory term.
Usage of the term includes the following.


IYDMMA


The Great Man (novel)

The Great Man is a 2007 novel by American author Kate Christensen. It won the 2008 PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, beating nearly 350 other submissions and earning Christensen the $15,000 top prize.
Plot.
The story takes place five years after the death, at 78, of celebrated painter Oscar Feldman, the "great man" of the title. Two competing biographers, both working to document the life and times of a man who made his fortune painting nude women, turn for information to the women who had shared his life: his wife, his mistress, and his sister, who is also a painter.
Oscar Feldman was married to Abigail, the daughter of a rich Jewish family. They have a son who has autism.
For many years Oscar had an affair with Teddy. Together they have twin daughters, Ruby and Samantha. Ruby never married whereas Samantha is married and has children.
Oscar´s sister Maxine was quite successful as a painter earlier, but later was almost forgotten by the art community. Her brother had always been more famous than Maxine, which was quite ironic: Oscar became well known in the art world for a diptych of two female nudes, "Helena" and "Mercy". "Helena" was actually painted by Maxine. It was a picture of then lesbian lover.
Reception.
Janet Maslin, writing in "The New York Times", calls "The Great Man" "mischievous" and found it "a gentler book than "The Epicure’s Lament." .. It’s also a wise and expansive one, and it allows its characters to flourish in unexpectedly rewarding ways." The "San Francisco Chronicle", on the other hand, found it "a regular catfight of unlikable characters." and concluded "Without a doubt, Christensen has a knack for the piquant turn of phrase. Unfortunately, she wields her wands far too frequently and suffocates her characters before they've had a chance to earn our sympathies. In the end, the verbal burlesque is simply too much."
"The Great Man" has also been reviewed by "Library Journal", "Booklist", "The Austin Chronicle", "Kirkus Reviews", and "Publishers Weekly",


Hollywood a Go-Go

Hollywood a Go-Go was a Los Angeles-based music variety show that ran in syndication from 1965 to 1966. The show was hosted by Sam Riddle, with music by The Sinners and dancing by The Gazzarri Dancers. It was filmed at the KHJ-TV studios in Los Angeles. Rights to surviving footage of the show (preserved on kinescope film) are now represented by Research Video.
History.
The program originated as a local series, "Ninth Street West", on KHJ-TV (Channel 9) in 1964, which proved to be such a success that it transformed into the nationally syndicated "Hollywood a Go-Go". Its original syndicator was Four Star Television. The first episode of "Hollywood a Go-Go" aired in March 1965 and ceased production in 1966, with some television stations airing the show as late as the summer of 1966. In its brief run (52 episodes), the show featured various well-known acts. The Sinners were the house band featuring Eddie Kaplan on lead guitar.
After viewing the debut episode in 1965, a "Billboard" reviewer wrote: One gets the feeling of being amidst a Zulu uprising or witnessing a contemporary interpretation of Dante's Inferno. Host Sam Riddle...introduces his guests shouting at the top of his voice to the accompaniment of jungle drums (there must be a message in there somewhere). The set is reminiscent of a speakeasy or a prison yard with its stone wall backdrop...During the lip-synched performances of the guest artists, members of the Gazzari [sic] dancers swing, sway, weave and gyrate with flailing arms from a postage stamp sized stage, step ladders and other lofty perches...The tempo is mostly upbeat with the emphasis on the driving, breast-beating sounds. With more than half of this nation's population seen to be under 25 years of age, there is much practical economics in this programming.


Dreams of Joy

Dreams of Joy is a 2011 novel by Lisa See. It debuted as #1 in the New York Times list of best selling fiction. In this book See completes the circle she began in "Shanghai Girls". The former novel ends with the suicide of Pearl's husband Sam and the shattering discovery by Joy that May is really her mother, Pearl is her aunt, and Z.G., the famous Chinese artist, is her father. Joy's guilt-driven journey to China to find her father and Pearl's loving pursuit are placed in the context of the tumult and suffering of Mao's China—especially in the context of the horrific famine caused by Mao's misguided Great Leap Forward. Frank Dikotter writes that “at least 45 million people died unnecessarily between 1958 and 1962. . . As famine spread, the very survival of an ordinary person came increasingly to depend on the ability to lie, charm, hide, steal, cheat, pilfer, forage, smuggle, trick, manipulate or otherwise outwit the state.” See's novel uses Mao's China as her background, but her story focuses on the change and growth of her main characters – Pearl, Joy, Z.G., and May. Susan Salter Reynolds suggests that “it’s a story with characters who enter a reader’s life, take up residence, and illuminate the myriad decisions and stories that make up human history.”
Plot.
"Dreams of Joy" is organized in four sections—The Tiger Leaps, The Rabbit Dodges, The Dog Grins, and The Dragon Rises. Joy is the Tiger – romantic, artistic, rash, and impulsive. In this novel, unlike "Shanghai Girls", Joy and Pearl are both narrators. Driven by anger at Pearl and May for lying to her about her identity and filled with guilt because of her role in Sam's death, Joy hastily leaves Los Angeles Chinatown to find her biological father Z.G. and to join the new Chinese society. Finding her father rather quickly in Shanghai, Joy goes with him to a village collective where he is forced to teach art to the peasants. Joy throws herself enthusiastically into the life of the collective and into a hasty marriage with Tao, a peasant artist. Only through motherhood and terrible suffering is Joy able to find her true identity and to exorcise her inner demons. See has written about the difficulty she faced in developing Joy's character: “At first, Joy was hard to write about because she’s so naïve and stubborn. She makes such terrible mistakes, which, as a mother and her writer, I found hard to watch. . . But what an experience it was to watch her go through all the terrible things she experiences and see her grow up to be a wonderful artist and courageous mother.”
Z.G. is the Rabbit, frequently hopping away from danger. Although close to Mao himself, the Chairman can't trust the artist because of his individualistic streak and Western influences. Z.G. has to go to the country as a form of punishment for his subversive tendencies. What brings Z.G. through in the end are his art, his growing love for Joy and his granddaughter Samantha, his friendship with Pearl, and his devotion to May.
The Dog is Tao, the village artist who Joy marries. As Pearl sees it, the question is what kind of Dog will Tao turn out to be. “’A Dog can be violent. . . Is he the kind of Dog you can trust and love, or will he bite you’”. Unfortunately Joy’s passionate view of Tao as a good Dog turns out to be false. Tao is a poor husband, an indifferent father, and a young man devoted to seeking the main chance, no matter who he has to step over to reach his goals. Even surviving the most desperate of circumstances does not change Tao's character.
Pearl is the Dragon. She is the second narrator of "Dreams of Joy" and the character See found easiest to write. “I was already so familiar with Pearl’s strengths and weaknesses from "Shanghai Girls". Her words just flowed, because I’ve now lived with her every day for over four years. In "Shanghai Girls" Mama speaks frequently of Pearl's Dragon nature -- and does so even when she is dying: "'There was a typhoon the day you were born... It is said that a Dragon born in a storm will have a particularly tempestuous fate. You always believe you are right, and this makes you do things you shouldn't... You're a Dragon, and of all the signs only a Dragon can tame the fates. Only a Dragon can wear the horns of destiny, duty and power'". Mama's mother love in giving up her life for her daughters becomes the standard by which Pearl judges herself.
If "Dreams of Joy" is the story of Joy's coming of age, it also describes Pearl's growth through love, courage, and self-sacrifice. She pursues Joy to a China she never knew, living in her old Shanghai home as just another boarder, earning a living by collecting papers, and trying desperately to reconnect with her daughter. If such a pursuit requires painful patience and hard work at a collective farm, so be it. Like her mother before her, Pearl is willing to give up everything to save Joy and her granddaughter Samantha from death. Despite such trials, Pearl endures to the end to find joy in her daughter and granddaughter, friendship in Z.G., a new love with Dun the professor, and reaffirmation of her enduring bond with May. Little wonder that Pearl is radiant at novel's end.
As for May the Sheep, See keeps her offstage for almost the entire novel. She is constantly present, however, through her letters to Pearl and the money and gifts she sends to her sister and Joy. At home May endures much hardship -- especially in the context of the death of her husband Vern. Only when Vern dies does May understand the suffering Pearl experienced after Sam's death. She is also tormented by Pearl's refusal to tell her the state of her relationship with Z.G. Nevertheless, in the end May finds the love she has been seeking her entire life.
Themes.
Of See's themes, Jane Glenn Haas writes: "Basically, Lisa See writes about families. Love themes. Mothers and daughters. Children and parents. Romance. Love of country. Of place. The story itself must be so strong, so enthralling, the history helps it to play out." See herself adds: "One of the things I'm most proud of in this book is that it is a real coming-of-age novel. . . Joys grows up and gets to know herself." One of the ways Joy finds herself is through her art, inspired in part by her father Z.G., a famous painter. According to Malena Watrous, "This is a novel about living with the consequences of bad decisions, which we all make, about how both forgiveness and growth arise from mistakes." It deals with "people who often take wrong turns to their own detriment but for the good of the story, leading to greater strength of character and more durable relationships."
Development.
Although not originally intending to write a sequel to "Shanghai Girls", See is now glad she did. "I got to continue the story of Pearl, May, and Joy. I learned so much about them and about myself in the process. Most important, I got to give the characters a happy ending. I loved that!"


Claude Meunier

Claude Meunier (born September 4, 1951) is a Canadian actor, dramaturge, comedian and film director.
Meunier was born in Montreal, Quebec and studied law at the Université de Montréal.


NotMyHeffleys


Cool Japan

 refers to the aspects of Japanese culture that non-Japanese people perceive as "cool". The Cool Japan strategy is part of Japan's overall brand strategy, aiming to disseminate Japan's attractiveness and allure as a unique culture throughout the world. The target of Cool Japan "encompasses everything from games, manga, anime, and other forms of content, fashion, commercial products, Japanese cuisine, and traditional culture to robots, eco-friendly technologies, and other high-tech industrial products".
Cool Japan has been described as a form of soft power, with the ability to "indirectly influence behavior or interests through cultural or ideological means".
Origins.
Starting in 1980, following the emergence of the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), Japan began to increase its nation branding efforts through the release of a television series titled , a Japanese soap opera. was distributed at no cost outside of Japan, and was well-received in 46 countries. Through the success of and multiple other television shows, Japan successfully established the idea of "Cool Japan" as a method of establishing and improving the country's cultural perception.
In a 2002 article in Foreign Policy titled "Japan's Gross National Cool", Douglas McGray wrote of Japan "reinventing superpower" as its cultural influence expanded internationally, despite the economic and political problems of the "lost decade". Surveying youth culture and the role of J-pop, manga, anime, video games, fashion, film, consumer electronics, architecture, cuisine, and phenomena of ("cuteness") such as Hello Kitty, McGray highlighted Japan's considerable cultural soft power, posing the question of what message the country might project. He also argued that Japan's recession may even have boosted its national cool, due to the partial discrediting of erstwhile rigid social hierarchies and big-business career paths.
Adoption.
Taken up in the international media, with "The New York Times" running a retrospect "Year in Ideas: Pokémon Hegemon", an increasing number of more reform-minded government officials and business leaders in Japan began to refer to the country's "gross national cool" and to adopt the unofficial slogan "Cool Japan". In a 2005 press conference, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs linked the idea to Bhutan's concept of Gross National Happiness.
The phrase gained greater exposure in the mid-noughties as NHK began a series entitled "Cool Japan" , which by the end of 2009 had reached over 100 episodes. Academic initiatives include the establishment of a "Cool Japan" research project at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, while some western universities have reported an increase in the number of applicants for Japanese Studies courses due to the "cool" effect.
The adoption of Cool Japan has also spurred changes in culture studies. As a result of the fascination of Cool Japan with Japanese youth culture and schoolgirls, a new wave of studies called 'girl studies' focuses specifically on the experience of girls and the girls-at-heart. Previously a subject of adolescent psychology or feminism, girl studies emerged from Cool Japan to include an interdisciplinary analysis of girl culture.
Creative Industries Promotion Office.
The Japanese government has identified the culture industry as one of five potential areas of growth. In June 2010, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry established a new Creative Industries Promotion Office to promote cultural and creative industries as a strategic sector "under the single, long term concept of "Cool Japan", to coordinate different government functions, and to cooperate with the private sector". The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry announced that Japanese pop culture is one of the key elements for Cool Japan and that pop culture includes idol, anime, and .
The deputy director described its mission as to "brand Japanese products with the uniqueness of Japanese culture", with a budget of ¥19 billion for 2011 alone. In the fiscal year 2008, public spending on cultural activities was ¥116.9 billion in South Korea, ¥477.5 billion in China, and ¥101.8 billion in Japan, forming 0.79%, 0.51%, and 0.12% of total government spending respectively. The fund was launched in 2013, and the Japanese government committed to the Cool Japan Fund ¥50 billion ($500 million) over 20 years, with a target of ¥60 billion ($600 million) via private investor partnerships. However, "Nikkei Asian Review" reported that within five years the fund "suffered pretax losses totaling 10 billion yen ($88.9 million)", and that many projects failed to deliver earnings. Since June 2018, the management has been led by former Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) CEO Naoki Kitagawa.
Criticism.
A 2010 editorial in the argued that the government was not doing enough to advance the country's business interests in this sphere, allowing South Korea to emerge as a competitor. The editorial highlighted structural inefficiencies, with the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry promoting "Cool Japan", the Ministry of Foreign Affairs responsible for cultural exchange, and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in charge of Japanese foods. Lecturer Roland Kelts has also suggested that a failure to fully distinguish, brand and engage the overseas audience and market may mean that "Cool Japan" is "over". In 2011, Laura Miller has critiqued Cool Japan campaign as exploiting and misrepresenting youth subcultural fashion and language. In 2013, Nancy Snow referred to Cool Japan as a form of state-sponsored cultural retreading she calls Gross National Propaganda. Japanese singer-songwriter Gackt criticized the government in 2015 for having set up a huge budget, yet "have no idea where that money should go. It's no exaggeration to say it has fallen into a downward spiral of wasted tax money flowing into little known companies", and that such lack of support is causing Japan to "fall behind its Asian neighbors in terms of cultural exports". In 2016, Benjamin Boas pointed out that Cool Japan-branded efforts are often promoted without participation of foreigners, leaving out the perspectives of the very foreigners that they are trying to target.
In 2017, a senior executive and several other senior male employees of Cool Japan Fund Inc. were accused of sexual harassment targeting female employees of the fund. The employees formed a labor union in order to fight against sexual harassment. In the same year, "Nikkei Asian Review" journalist Yuta Saito criticized fund's ambitions because their "lack of strategy, discipline gives rise to unprofitable projects", and there's possible conflict of interest by the executives. In 2018, "Japan Today" reported that it was too soon to consider it "grossly incompetent or corrupt", but was at least "under-performing" for now.


T,FTFY


CRUMBS

CRUMBS is an improvisational theatre duo based in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
The comedy duo formed in Winnipeg in 1997 and has since toured the world. They have toured in Europe more than any other improv act. The duo consists of two actors, Stephen Sim and Lee White. CRUMBS also performs with musical accompanist Dj Hunnicutt, who is known to improvise not only a soundtrack, but also with live video elements. Other members include videographers, musicians, photographers, webmasters, illustrators, producers, agents, publicists, graphic designers, costume designers and hair and make-up artists. Since forming in 1997, they have been to festivals and shows in North America and Europe. CRUMBS has performed across the world, including multiple appearances at the Berlin International Improv Festival, as well as winning tournaments in Vancouver, Toronto, Winnipeg, Edmonton and elsewhere. They also perform regularly in the Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival and with Edmonton's Rapid Fire Theatre. CRUMBS specializes in longform improvisation.


Fag stag

Fag stag and fruit fly are slang terms for a heterosexual man who either enjoys, prefers the company of (or simply has numerous friends who are), gay or bisexual people.
The latter term comes from the derogatory term for homosexuals (fruit).
The term, which originated in the United States in the 1990s, is the male equivalent of the more common slang - "fag hag", a term which is part of "hag"-ism; the identification of a person with a group—usually united in terms of sexuality, gender identity, or shared sex—of which he or she is not a member.
The term can be used as a pejorative or as a term of endearment within LGBT communities.
Usage.
The colloquialism is used, albeit rarely, primarily within the LGBT communities.
Mainstream shows, such as "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy", "Queer as Folk", "Will & Grace" and others, often explore the mainstreaming of friendships where differing sexualities play a complement rather than impediment to friendships and social situations.
In addition, homophobia has become less prevalent, and efforts to confront violence and hostility towards sexual and gender minorities, such as gay-straight alliance has helped lift some of the stigma attached to having LGBT people as close friends.
A 2002 episode of the MTV series "Undressed" was titled "Fag Stag" and centered on a gay wedding.
When Radar magazine debuted, its founder and editor-in-chief, Maer Roshan, called competitor Details' editor-in-chief Dan Peres, a "professional fag stag," stating, "Let's get one thing straight, Peres is not gay. But, his magazine sure seems to be."
In regards to heterosexual males, the term fag stag is not to be confused with the term gay icon. The term gay icon is used to describe a celebrity (gay or straight) who is highly regarded by the gay community. While one can be both a fag stag and a gay icon concurrently, the terms are not mutually inclusive.


Step Up (TV series)

Step Up (previously titled Step Up: High Water) is an American drama television series, based on the "Step Up" film series created by Duane Adler, that premiered on January 31, 2018 on YouTube Red. The series was created by Holly Sorensen, who also serves as an executive producer alongside Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan. In May 2018, it was announced that YouTube had renewed a second season; which premiered on March 20, 2019.
In August 2019, the series was cancelled after two seasons. In May 2020, Starz picked up the series for a third season.
Premise.
The series follows the students and faculty of "High Water”, Atlanta’s most cutthroat performing arts school. When twins Tal and Janelle relocate from Ohio, they find themselves thrust into a world where every move is a test. As they attempt to navigate their new world— on and off the dance floor— they’ll discover just how deep they’re willing to dig to realize their dreams and seize their moment."
Production.
Development.
On June 23, 2016, YouTube announced at the annual VidCon conference in Anaheim, California that they were developing a new drama series based on the "Step Up" film series with Lionsgate Television producing alongside Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan.
On June 23, 2017, YouTube announced that it had officially given "Step Up: High Water" a first season order consisting of ten episodes, each running about 45 minutes in length. The series was described as YouTube Red's first "big-budget, Hollywood-produced television drama" and that its arrival would end up "moving it into more direct competition with players like Netflix and traditional cable networks." In the announcement, it was revealed that each episode of the series would cost several million dollars to produce. A few days later, members of the series' creative team were announced. Original songs for the series were set to be written by singer/songwriter Jason “PooBear” Boyd and “Jingle” Jared Gutstadt. The films series’ choreographer Jamal Sims was expected to choreograph the first episode after which subsequent episodes would be choreographed by Jamaica Craft. The pilot episode was set to be directed by Adam Shankman. It was later reported that Debbie Allen had directed the show's second episode.
On May 22, 2018, it was announced that YouTube had renewed the series for a second season. On January 24, 2019, it was reported that the second season would premiere on March 20, 2019. On August 16, 2019, YouTube Premium cancelled the series after two seasons. On May 28, 2020, Starz picked up the series for a third season. Following filming restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic, Blackhall Studios reopened for production on several films and the series, which was being written at the time, on July 13, 2020. Production was immediately paused on the same day when lead actress Naya Rivera was found dead following a boating accident several days prior. Rivera's character had been set to appear; in August 2020 it was announced that a re-worked season will begin filming in January 2021.
Casting.
On June 28, 2017, it was announced that Ne-Yo, Naya Rivera, Faizon Love, Lauryn McClain, Petrice Jones, Marcus Mitchell, Jade Chynoweth, Carlito Olivero, Terrence Green, R. Marcos Taylor, Eric Graise, and Kendra Oyesanya had been cast in the series' main roles. On January 19, 2018, it was reported that Savion Glover would make a guest appearance in the series as a teacher at High Water. On August 28, 2018, it was announced that in season two Ashley Greene and Jeremy Copeland were joining the cast, that Rick Ross and Todrick Hall would appear as themselves, and that JaQuel Knight would make a cameo appearance in addition to choreographing episode three.
Release.
Marketing.
On July 12, 2017, YouTube released a video introducing the show's main cast. On August 13, 2017, the cast of the series, including Jade Chynoweth and Kendra Oyesanya, performed at the 2017 Teen Choice Awards with a highly-choreographed dance routine.
On December 19, 2017, YouTube released the first trailer for the series and announced that the show would premiere on January 31, 2018 with all ten episodes released at once. On January 24, 2019, the official trailer for season two was released.
Premiere.
On January 30, 2018, YouTube partnered with Fathom Events for special screenings of the first episode of the series at more than 750 movie theaters. The event also included a screening of the original 2006 "Step Up" film that launched the five-film franchise, and a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the television series.
Reception.
In a positive review, Sonia Saraiya of "Variety" offered the series praise saying, "This YouTube Red original has found an intriguing way to blend the mediums of dance, film, and soapy teen television, with an energetic, conscious new installment in the series that is a lot of fun to get sucked into." In another favorable critique, "Decider"s Kayla Cobb described the series as "a genuinely compelling and dramatic story that very well may stand as the best narrative installment of the "Step Up" universe."


Impro League

Impro League (also Improvisation League; in Slovene: "Impro liga") is the oldest among Slovenian theatresports championships. It has taken place since 1993 with participants from all over the country. In recent years, over hundred participants have competed in a number of disciplines in each season, culminating in finals. Other Slovenian championships that are limited to younger age groups, include "School Impro League" ("ŠILA") for high school teams, while "Impro club" is dedicated to regular Slovenian performers who have international impro experience with mentors, such as Daniel Gray Goldstein from the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, New York City; Randy Dixon from the Unexpected Productions, Seattle, and Andreas Wolf from Munich, Germany.
Finals Venues.
In its 17th incarnation the finals occurred at the Ljubljana Slovene National Theatre Drama venue and since the 20th season they have been hosted by "Spanish Fighters Culture Centre" venue.
Seasons.
1993–2004.
In early 1990s, the concept of theatresports was introduced in Slovenia by the Ana Monró Theatre, founded in 1980s as the first street theatre group in Titoist Yugoslavia. Nowadays well-known performers, including its co-founder Andrej Rozman – Roza, were among the participants in the league' early years.
Since 2005.
Since 2005, under Juš Milčinski management, 19 matches were organized throughout each season between the teams, with 80 participants in 2005/2006, fifteen teams in the 2006/2007 season, and 17 teams in the consequent two seasons.
Winning teams by season


ImprovBoston

ImprovBoston is a nonprofit improvisational theater, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It offers shows five nights per week at its theater in Central Square and training programs in improvisation, stand-up comedy and sketchwriting.
History.
Founding and the Early Years (1982–1993).
In 1982, Ellen Holbrook, a former student at The Second City in Chicago and a producer of the Chicago Improv Olympic, moved to Boston with the idea to found an improvisational comedy troupe similar to Second City. Holbrook had the encouragement of former members of The Proposition, an earlier improv-comedy troupe, and Director David Shepherd, the founder of the Compass Players and the Improv Olympic. In the beginning, she assembled and trained several loosely knit bands of improvisers into teams that competed in the Boston "Improv Olympic" at Reilly's Beef and Pub near Government Center. Holbrook also arranged for David Shepherd and Second City's Michael Gellman to come to Boston to teach improv workshops to local performers. In 1983, Holbrook, along with Nicholas Emanuel and Katy Bolger, co-founded ImprovBoston, as the organization evolved. With their contacts, the group moved to Satch's near Copley Square, owned by former Boston Celtic Satch Sanders. In 1984, ImprovBoston officially became a not-for-profit corporation and moved to Ryles Jazz Club in Cambridge at Inman Square, where they remained for several years. Show formats varied but often included several improv games based on audience suggestions, set sketches based on improvs from past shows, musical improvs and song parodies. ImprovBoston troupe members often took turns directing shows, but other ImprovBoston directors during this time included David Thibodeaux, Jack O'Connor, Leslie Curtin and Brad Jones.
Back Alley Theater (1993–2000).
In 1993, under the leadership of Artistic Director Nancy Howland Walker, ImprovBoston acquired a lease to the Back Alley Theater in Inman Square - ImprovBoston's first dedicated theatre space. The ImprovBoston Mainstage cast performed late night weekend shows for several years, eventually expanding to prime time slots. Walker was just as instrumental in obtaining the New England franchise of Theatersports, which eventually became a regular Thursday night show at the theater. During Walker's tenure, the cast grew from five to well over 20 members. Larry Pizza became Artistic Director in 1995 and, in 1997, the artistic leadership again transferred, this time to Ron Jones, a former cast member from the early 1990s. It was under Jones' leadership that the theater began to extend its reach to further aspects of improvisation, creating new formats and shows beyond the traditional shortform game format the theater used for their Friday and Saturday night shows.
Early 2000s and The Move (2000-2008).
In 2000, former cast member Will Luera returned to ImprovBoston as the new Artistic Director, bringing with him several show concepts and forms he had established under the banner of Bluescreen Productions (a different improv theater he had established in Davis Square). This merger saw a third cast added to the ImprovBoston line-up, as ImprovBoston was granted the rights to Keith Johnstone's Micetro format. The theater's cast was again expanded in 2005 when the ensemble "Wrong Kind of Funny" was brought into what eventually formed IB's Family Show. In February 2008, ImprovBoston moved to a new venue in Cambridge's Central Square, where it continues to operate today.
Luera was responsible for the theater's most aggressive expansion, with several new shows, concepts, and formats established; and for keeping the theater doors open on five nights each week. The Hump on Wednesday nights (improv fringe), The Great and Secret Comedy Show late Thursdays (stand-up comedy hosted by the Walsh Brothers), bi-monthly Showcase Shows in the early Friday night slot (newly created and designed improv shows in various genres or formats), and the Sgt. Culpepper Improvisational Jamboree on Sunday nights (two short shows featuring independent and college troupes from around the area, followed by an audience-participation "Open Jam").
ImprovBoston also established new annual productions including GoreFest (a scripted horror musical every October that involves copious amounts of fake blood and special effects), The ImprovBoston Holiday Spectacular (a holiday-themed sketch show), the Comedy Beanpot (an improv tournament hosted by ImprovBoston that involves college troupes from around the New England area).
In the past, ImprovBoston has also hosted The, Geekweek, Comedy Beanpot (now College Comedy Festival)
In 2010, the theater created an audio department with the intention of producing weekly free podcasts among other audio-only endeavors under the banner of "ImprovBoston Radio". This resulted in the flagship, and also Fireside Improv, a more instruction-oriented look at the comedic form with a panel of improv pupil, professor and philosopher.
Since 2012.
The current management staff is in a transition period led by Leslie Walstrom, Elyse Schuerman, Will Luera and Emily DiPietro.
Other ventures.
No longer strictly a theater of improvisation, ImprovBoston now hosts weekly shows, classes and workshops for standup, sketch, and other facets of the comedy arts.


Taste Is King


Uzra Butt

Uzra Butt nee Mumtaz (22 May 1917 – 31 May 2010) was a theatre personality of the Indian Subcontinent, who moved to Pakistan in 1964. She was the sister of theatre and Bollywood film actress Zohra Sehgal, who, unlike her, lived in India.
Starting in 1937, breaking traditional barriers, she and her sister joined with Uday Shankar ballet company as actors and dancers and toured through Europe and the United States. When World War II ended their tour, she joined IPTA and subsequently remained the leading lady with Prithvi Theatre in the 1940s and 1950s.
Early life.
She was born as Uzra Mumtaz in Rampur, India in a land-owning Muslim family of Mumtazullah Khan and Natiqua Begum, belonging to Rohilla Pathans of Rampur, Uttar Pradesh. She was fourth of her seven siblings – Zakullah, Hajrah, Zohra (Zohra Sehgal), Ikramullah, Anna and Sabira, and grew up in Chakrata, near Dehradun. Author Kiran Segal is her niece and actress Samiya Mumtaz is her grand niece.
Career.
She began her stage career with Uday Shankar's ballet company in 1937 and went on to become the leading lady of the famous Prithvi Theatre in 1940s and 50s.
She entered Uday Shankar's ballet troupe as a dancer and also taught dance before joining the Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA) in 1944 as an actress. Here Khwaja Ahmad Abbas cast her as the lead in the play "Zubeda". Prithivi Raj Kapoor was impressed by her role and chose her as his lead heroine, Zohra too joined her. In the coming years, she played leading lady opposite Prithviraj Kapoor in Prithvi Theatre productions. She played a heroine's part in "Sakuntala" in 1944, partnering her sister in "Ghaddar" in 1948 and taking the lead role in "Kisan" and performed in 100 towns and cities all over India. Uzra Butt was also an art director of Prithvi theatre and worked for Prithvi theatre, till 1960, when it wrapped up.
In 1964 she migrated to Pakistan with her husband, Hameed Butt. Here she formed a dance troupe in Rawalpindi, acted on stage and television from time to time and served the Pakistan National Council of the Arts.
Later she moved to Lahore and joined the Ajoka Theatre in October 1985. Her inaugural group performance was 'Chaak Chakkar' and she went on to act in the plays: "Barri", "Dukhini", "Dukh Darya", "Takey Da Tamasha", "Talismati Tata", "Teesri Dastak", "Kali Ghata", "Adhuri" and "Surak Gulaban Da Mousam". She assumed the leadership role of chairperson of the group. She resumed acting after a forty-year hiatus in 1993 when she performed in "Aik Thi Nani" with her sister Zohra Sehgal. They played the lead roles and the cast included their grandniece, Samiya Mumtaz and niece, Salima Raza. The play opened in Lahore in 2003 and toured India, Pakistan and Britain, including a performance at the Prithvi theatre in 2004.
Uzra was presented the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in Acting (Urdu) in 1994 by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India's National Academy of Music, Dance & Drama; it is India's highest recognition that is presented to practicing artists.
Her last stage performance was in 2008. She died in Lahore, Pakistan at age 93.


Feminist Art Gallery

Feminist Art Gallery (or FAG) is an art gallery and collective based in Toronto, Ontario, described as a “geographical footprint” co-founded by artists Allyson Mitchell and Deirdre Logue in 2010.
History.
Allyson Mitchell and Deirdre Logue founded the Feminist Art Gallery (FAG) in 2010."
FAG provides a space for art exhibitions, and opportunities for artists who are emerging, and such as queer artists and People of color.
The gallery operates alternatively to traditional galleries in the sense that artists do not submit proposals, and Mitchell and Logue act as "feral curators", which means they look to friends and peers to suggest which artists to show. The art is also not for sale, rather the artists receive a fee from private donations raised through its "matronage program".
Their most notable project are a series of banners funded by the University of Brighton for an Exhibition called "Civil Partnerships-Queer & Feminist Art & Activism". The series of four banners made of crochet granny squares read: "WE CAN’T COMPETE", "WE WON’T COMPETE", "WE CAN’T KEEP UP", "WE WON’T KEEP DOWN". These slogans are central to FAG’s mandate in which they ask " "Why would you want to be a winner in this hierarchical structure?" and "How do we both resist and reconcile our participation in this oppressive system?".
FAG has collaborated with institutions such as SFMOMA, Tate Modern, and were the artists in residence in 2015 at The Art Gallery of Ontario. They have also done projects with the Whippersnapper Gallery, The Power Plant, The Gallery of York University, Access Gallery, and Artists Independent Archives .


Mannen weten waarom


TYVM


For the Last Time

For the Last Time is a British music show where long-running established bands perform one last time before saying goodbye to their most loved fans as they split up for good. Episodes were presented by Christine Bleakley. Since the show has aired, both bands have reunited: Simply Red in 2015, and Westlife in 2018.


The Bad Dog Theatre Company

The Bad Dog Theatre Company is an improvisational theatre company based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and established in 2003. The theatre is eclectic and broad in its production of shows, with a focus on short-form improv, but it has branched out to include the work of other schools of thought in improvisation.
While short form improvisation is still a mainstay as in the weekly Theatresports shows, the theatre has embraced long form improv with the weekly Harold Night at the Bad Dog, musical improv in the form of Show Stopping Number: The Improvised Musical and 'Troubadour' plus innovated parody shows in Toronto starting with Hairy Patter and the Improviser's Stone and including The Lord of the Things, A Twisted Christmas Carol and Dreadwood.
Several of the theatre's productions and co-productions have been nominated for Canadian Comedy Awards, and the theatre at 138 Danforth Avenue in Toronto has been twice-named 'Best Improv Theatre' in Toronto by NOW Magazine's annual 'Best of Toronto' awards.
History.
The Bad Dog Theatre Company was founded in 2003, but can trace its roots back to 1982 when it was known as Theatresports Toronto. The company's work was based around that of director and playwright, Keith Johnstone. The company performed weekly improvisational comedy shows at
Harbourfront in the Theatresports format. The show consisted of teams of improvisers competing with one another. Notable teams included Dangerous Poultry, The Parts, The Chumps and The Kids in the Hall. Some of these groups went on to greater fame.
Alumni from this period include Mike Myers, Tim Sims, Bruce Hunter ("Puppets Who Kill"), Pat McKenna ("Red Green"), Gary Campbell, ("MadTV" producer/screenwriter) Lisa Merchant ("Train 48"), Sandra Shamas (Playwright), Linda Kash ("A Mighty Wind"), Colin Mochrie ("Whose Line Is It, Anyway") Globe and Mail Columnist Andrew Coyne and actor Keanu Reeves. It was through their work with Theatresports as well as legendary live shows at The Rivoli that Lorne Michaels reputedly came down to recruit Bruce McCulloch and Mark McKinney of the Kids in the Hall to write for Saturday Night Live.
In the early 1990s Theatresports left Harbourfront, performing at a series of venues, including St. Paul's Church basement, Big City Improv, Solar Stage and Tim Sims Playhouse, becoming Toronto's longest continually running improv comedy show. Nevertheless, audiences and workshop attendance had dwindled from the levels seen at Harbourfront.
In 2003, Theatresports Toronto established a permanent home at 138 Danforth Avenue. A push to 'reinvent' the organization led by Co-Artistic Directors Kerry Griffin and Marcel St. Pierre and Workshop Director Ralph MacLeod (producer of the successful student performance showcase That Friday Show) led to Theatresports Toronto becoming The Bad Dog Theatre Company on May 1, 2003.
The Bad Dog Theatre Company, whose current artistic director is Julie Dumais, is now offering classes and shows at its venue at 875 Bloor Street West.


Julio Bocca

Julio Adrián Lojo Bocca (born March 6, 1967) is an Argentine ballet dancer. Bocca spent twenty years as a principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre. From 2010 to 2018 he served as artistic director of the National Ballet of Uruguay, administered by SODRE, the country's broadcasting and cultural authority.
Bocca has been called one of the most popular Argentine dancers of all time.
Early life and career.
Born in the Munro neighborhood of the Greater Buenos Aires, he started ballet lessons at the age of four, and at the age of seven entered the National School of Dance, progressing to the Teatro Colón's Advanced Arts Institute a year later. His mother was a dance teacher who encouraged his studies.
Bocca joined the Chamber Ballet Company at the Colón Theatre in 1981. A year later, he began performing as a soloist in a production directed by Danish choreographer Flemming Flindt. In 1985, aged 18, he won the gold medal at the International Ballet Competition in Moscow and was invited to join the American Ballet Theatre by Mikhail Baryshnikov, the youngest principal dancer ever hired. Although Bocca was a principal dancer, he was allowed to perform frequently as a guest artists with other companies. In 1987, he was named Dancer of the Year by the New York Times.
As a guest artist, Bocca has performed with companies such as La Scala in Milan, the Paris Opera, the Kirov of Saint Petersburg, the Royal Danish Ballet, the Cuban National Ballet and the National Ballet of Madrid, and the Bolshoi Ballet. A performance with the Royal Ballet in London prompted a reviewer with "Dance Magazine" to rave about "his irresistible combination of passion and gallantry."
Bocca achieved extreme popularity in his native Argentina, frequently filling up soccer stadiums during his performances
In 1990 he created his own ballet company, the Ballet Argentino, which performs regularly in theatres around the globe. Bocca often collaborates with the Argentine dancer Eleonora Cassano. From 1997 to 2001 Bocca's dance partner with the Ballet Argentino was Luciana Paris.
In 2000 Julio Bocca participated in the international "Millennium Day" event, dancing in Ushuaia with Cassano and the Ballet Argentino in a performance broadcast to the whole world.
Julio Bocca has also mixed ballet dancing with tango, a combination that has been very well received by the public. In 1998 he appeared in the film "Tango, no me dejes nunca" (English title: "Tango"), which gained him a new audience. In combining ballet with tango, he has often worked with the tango choreographer Ana Maria Stekelman. Bocca's repertoire with "Ballet Argentino" also includes contemporary, jazz, ballroom and modern styles of dancing.
In 2000, he appeared in "Fosse", a Broadway musical showcasing the work of choreographer Bob Fosse.
Bocca danced his farewell performance with ballerina Alessandra Ferri in the American Ballet Theatre's production of "Manon" on June 22 and 23, 2006. He continued to perform with his "Ballet Argentino" until his retirement from dancing at the end of 2007.
His biography, "Julio Bocca, La Vida en Danza", by the French journalist Angeline Montoya, was published in Argentina in March 2007 by the Spanish publisher Aguilar.
He was named director of the Ballet Nacional SODRE by Uruguay's president José Mujica in March 2010.
Bocca served as a president of the jury at the Prix de Lausanne ballet competition in 2016.
Awards.
The awards Julio Bocca has received include:


Malvina

Malvina is a feminine given name derived from the Scottish Gaelic "Mala-mhìn", meaning "smooth brow". It was popularized by the 18th century Scottish poet James Macpherson. Other names popularised by Macpherson became popular in Scandinavia on account of Napoleon, an admirer of Macpherson's Ossianic poetry, who was the godfather of several children of Jean Baptiste Jules Bernadotte, an officer of his who ruled Norway and Sweden in the early 19th century.
The Argentinian name for the Falkland Islands, "Las Malvinas", is not etymologically related to "Malvina", but is instead derived from the name of St Malo, a seaport in Brittany.