Non-Obvious Thinking
One aspect of the Featured Sessions at SXSW this year has been the description of trends. For each of the sessions I have attended in the first three days, rooms…
Finding ET
An astronomer whose job it is to search for extraterrestrial intelligence made a bold proposal at SXSW in Austin. In an interview after his panel discussion, Dr. Franck Marchis explained…
“I Come from Old Stars”: U.S. Poet Laureate
Opening SXSW in Austin yesterday was the Poet Laureate of the United States. It was a perfect example of style, grace, artistry and science: the best SXSW opening one could…
Live Orchestral Magic and Harry Potter
At the turn of the 20th century, when silent films were all the rage in America and Europe, it was not uncommon for a pianist and another instrumentalist to perform…
Reading it Wrong
Image: Alexander Pope Dr. Abigail Williams, professor of eighteenth-century studies at the University of Oxford, makes a startling admission in this book. As a teacher of 18thC literature, she would…
World Premiere: Always a Boy
Ground Floor Theatre is proud to present the World Premiere of the gay/trans play Always A Boy. It was written by Jo Ivester and Jeremy Ivester. Jo is the chair…
The Light and Dark Sides of God
Photo: Jacob Boehme I take the title of this review from a book title of 1650. It appears near the end of this fascinating book by Kevin Killeen, Professor in…
The Taste of Bubblegum: Ballet Austin
Strike A Pose! Even though Madonna was not on stage at the Long Center this weekend, her spirit was there in the new ballet Bubblegum, created by Stephen Mills. Mills…
The Spitfire Grill
This musical play, adapted from a 1996 film, begins rather somberly but lifts the spirits in the end. Currently presented by Austin Playhouse, the music and book by James Valco…
Electropop Opera at the Zach
This electropop opera, which was first performed in 2012 (written by Dave Malloy) evoked distinctly divided opinions along the audience members. One told me he really wanted to leave at…