Category Archives: We Love Arts

Adventures, Downtown, Entertainment, Fun & Games, Special Events, The Features, We Love Arts
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National Geographic Live: February 2010

Photo courtesy National Geographic Society

Chimps of Goualougo; Photo courtesy National Geographic Society

The spring season of National Geographic Live – a series of dynamic lectures, concerts, films and more – kicks off next week.

This year, the National Geographic Society has graciously offered some event tickets to our readers. If you’re interested in winning a pair of tickets to any of the events below, simply remark in comments which two events – in preferred order – you’d like to attend. We’ll do a random drawing on Tuesday afternoon (Feb. 2nd) after 1pm and we’ll get the winners set up with their first (or second, if your first choice is full) selection. Keep in mind that tickets are for single events only, not multi-part series or showings, unless otherwise indicated. (The kung-fu film festival is an exception; you can win tickets for all three movies!)

Okay, enough about rules. Check out the February offerings after the jump. Continue reading →

Entertainment, History, Special Events, The Features, We Love Arts
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Celebrate Lincoln’s Birthday at Ford’s Theatre

Robert Parsons as Abraham Lincoln, Rick Foucheux as Stephen Douglas and Sarah Zimmerman as Adele Douglas in the Ford’s Theatre Society production of Norman Corwin’s The Rivalry, directed by Mark Ramont. Photo by T. Charles Erickson.

Robert Parsons as Abraham Lincoln, Rick Foucheux as Stephen Douglas and Sarah Zimmerman as Adele Douglas in the Ford’s Theatre Society production of Norman Corwin’s The Rivalry, directed by Mark Ramont. Photo by T. Charles Erickson.

Ford’s Theatre Society and the National Park Service celebrates Abraham Lincoln’s birthday with special February programming. On February 5th, 12th, and 19th, Washington-area youth will present a selection of Lincoln’s greatest speeches as part of the Target Oratory Festival. On February 12th at 8:45 a.m., National Park Service Park Rangers will commemorate President Lincoln’s birthday with a Wreath-laying Ceremony on the historic steps of Ford’s Theatre. On February 13th, 15th, and 20th, visitors are invited to explore the many legends surrounding Abraham Lincoln’s life in Tales of the Lincoln with storyteller Jon Spelman.

Visitors can tour the recently renovated Ford’s Theatre Museum and experience an interpretive program about the events that led up to and include the assassination of President Lincoln. Visitors can also visit the Petersen House (the “House Where Lincoln Died”), dependent upon schedule. Through February 14th, check out a performance of “The Rivalry,” which explores the famous Lincoln-Douglas debates. And to further enhance the visitor experience, park rangers and volunteers will be dressed in Civil War-era period clothing throughout the month of February.

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The Features, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: Three Sisters

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Nanna Ingvarsson, Amy Quiggins and Catherine Deadman in Constellation Theatre Company's "Three Sisters." Photo credit: Daniel Schwartz

It’s been over 100 years since Russian playwright Anton Chekhov’s death. We’re still struggling against a traditional view of how to perform, and indeed experience, a genius that straddled two very different centuries. Last year, Theater J attacked some sacred cows with a lively production of The Seagull. I expected a young company like Constellation Theatre to be able to blow away some of the same cobwebs with their take on Three Sisters. I certainly loved the gusto with which they attacked Feydeau’s A Flea in Her Ear.

However, this is a very respectful production, full of talented actors making safe choices. The love of the play is evident, but with a few notable exceptions, no one seems willing to break their established view of how Chekhov should be done. If you’re new to Chekhov’s work, then this is a fine place to start. But if you’re looking for any risk-taking, you won’t really find it here. There’s just too much reverence for that.

Director Allison Arkell Stockman makes two great choices from the start. She uses the Lanford Wilson translation, nicely accessible while retaining some lovely poetic phrases. She also has the play performed in the round, which gives the illusion of our eavesdropping on the lives of the Prozorov family – three sisters Olga, Masha and Irina and their brother Andrei. Her direction highlights the trap closing around the family as one by one their dreams of a meaningful, rewarding life are trampled on. Pretty depressing stuff, thankfully lightened by humor (Chekhov billed it as a comedy, after all).

The plot is a journey through several years with the Prozorov family, who live in a provincial garrison town with their daily routines enlivened by the soldiers. All they have is a dream of moving to Moscow and finding meaningful work (both metaphors would be humorous to an audience at the time, now they are symbols for any childhood dream held dear). Little by little, they lose their illusions, and become adults in a drab world. Continue reading →

The Daily Feed, We Love Arts
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DC Seeks Vision for Dupont Underground


Old Entrance by M.V. Jantzen

Decades after the trolley system was shut down at Dupont Circle, the city is still looking for a viable use for the abandoned underground space.  The last attempt was a food court, creatively named “Dupont Down Under”, however it failed miserably and was only open for a year.  In 2007 a proposal to create some adult strip clubs was circulated but not surprisingly it was shot down.

The Post is reporting that the city will be putting out a request for proposals next month to solicit possible uses for the 100,000 square foot space.  Council Member Jack Evans  (D-Ward 2) says, “It needs to be a destination place that people will come to.”  What a novel idea.

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Dupont Circle, The Features, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: Object as Subject

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Eugen Wiškovský, "Šrouby (Bolts)" Gelatin silver print, printed c.1932. Courtesy of Kicken Berlin OHG, Berlin / Howard Greenberg Gallery, NYC

I’ve never been a particular fan of still lifes. But The Phillips Collection’s current exhibit Object as Subject: Photographs of the Czech Avant-Garde might just change my mind. It’s a small showing, highlighting some thirty photographs from the 1920’s and ’30’s. Apparently Prague was second only to Paris as a major center of surrealism, and that movement’s influence is strong in the exhibit. Heavy on striking geometric shapes, these photographs provide mini-lessons in composition and light.

Not to mention, everything looks kind of like a crazy industrial album cover. I kept thinking – I really need to visit Prague someday!
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Penn Quarter, The Features, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind

The Neo-Futurists in "Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind" at Woolly Mammoth. Photo credit: Colin Hovde

The Neo-Futurists in "Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind" at Woolly Mammoth. Photo credit: Colin Hovde

Thirty plays in sixty minutes. That’s the goal, anyway – a race against the onstage clock for five performers to present pieces based on their own life experiences. The catch? They have no idea what order the mini-plays will be performed. A long clothesline of hanging numbers lines the stage, and it’s up to the audience to determine the order by calling out the number on the spot. Frantically running into place, the actors launch into piece after piece as the clock ticks on. Some nights they make it, some they don’t. And at the end of every night, an audience member rolls a die to see how many plays get subbed out for new ones the next night.

A recipe for chaos? That’s the Neo-Futurists. Continue reading →

The Features, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: Dana Ellyn, Divinely Irreverent

"Bull in a China Shop" by Dana Ellyn. Courtesy of the artist.

"Bull in a China Shop" by Dana Ellyn. Courtesy of the artist.

What’s most shocking about Dana Ellyn’s paintings?

That they’re truthful.

Opening this past weekend at the Evolve Urban Arts Project in the Atlas District, Divinely Irreverent is an audacious exhibit delivering some hard slaps to myths of many kinds – from religion to what it means to be a woman. These are thought-provoking pieces – sometimes outright painful to process – but always rooted firmly in honesty. They are also at times downright funny.

Dana fell in love with the city as a junior in high school, and has been a DC resident for the past twenty years since attending George Washington University. She now has the luck of living and working in a studio in Penn Quarter. It’s a natural partnership with Evolve, whose mission is to promote local talent in a low-key atmosphere, and her exhibit will run there until January 30, 2010.

I was lucky to have a private tour with the artist and curator Eric Hope, and I have to say – if you like your art to reach out and rattle you, get over there now. You’ll love it. And if you prefer your art to be pretty and decorous, well, go anyway. Open your mind to something different.
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The Features, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: A Christmas Carol

02h_Marley_Scrooge

Tiny Tim has always had the striking ability to make me shed a few tears. Wednesday night’s presentation of A Christmas Carol at Ford’s Theatre was no exception.

If you’re looking for a true holiday treat this season, get your tickets to see A Christmas Carol as soon as possible. Not only were Christmas carols stuck in my head for the 48 hour period following the show, but my desire to give to those in need this season was completely rekindled.

The Ford’s Theatre cast was full of youth and passion that was easily apparent during the numerous musical sequences throughout the show.  Director Michael Baron of the Signature Theatre undertook this timeless tale with the intention of creating “a world that evokes the spirit and time period of the Charles Dickens story but with a touch of fancy to celebrate the holiday season.” His use of music and dancing allows for a certain degree of audience involvement — because it’s hard to not sing along to the classic caroling songs this time of year.

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Dupont Circle, The Features, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: Intersections

Still from Brain Storm, by Jennifer Wen Ma. Photo courtesy of the artist.

"Brain Storm" by Jennifer Wen Ma, still from video projection. Courtesy of the artist.

There’s something about the approach of the winter season that always makes me want to drift away in a museum, quieting my mind by reflecting on art. A recent sojourn to the Phillips Collection to see the Intersections series did just that, and I encourage you to check it out.

Too often art collections can become hidebound and resistant to change. But this museum’s founder Duncan Phillips referred to his collection as the “experiment station,” welcoming artist interaction with radical installations unusual for their time. Intersections seeks to revisit Phillips’ vision by engaging modern artists to create unique works inspired by permanent pieces in the collection. Utilizing physical space that might otherwise be overlooked, these works will help you look at the surrounding pieces with a fresh eye.

There are currently three works on display as part of this series. Let’s start with a bunch of granite suspended on plain black cord.
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Entertainment, Penn Quarter, The Features, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: As You Like It

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The cast of the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s production of William Shakespeare’s As You Like It, directed by Maria Aitken. Photo by Scott Suchman.

For the first thirty minutes of Shakespeare Theatre Company’s production of “As You Like It,” I was entranced. The characters were on a journey through the history of American cinema, and the first scene’s send-up of a silent film had the audience delighted. Director Maria Aitken’s evocation of that era was perfect, from the stylized acting and Basil Rathbone-ish villians to the exquisite design elements. Then, we jumped ahead in time. She still had me with the move from Puritan England to Valley Forge America, the exiled duke and his men becoming George Washington and his ragtag soldiers.

But when we arrived at Tara and saw Scarlett O’Hara, my eyes began to hurt. By the end of some three hours of constant location and time changes through the Reconstruction, Wild West and up to a Busby Berkeley musical, I had a migraine. There was a faux movie director on stage occasionally calling “cut!” – but what this production really needed was a better editor.

I normally don’t object to Shakespeare productions that take sweeping liberties or use radical conceptualizations. After all, these are plays that have been done repeatedly for centuries, and they need a face-lift sometimes. But I do object when concepts don’t serve the purpose of the story. And this one, as beautiful as it is, does not.

It also must’ve cost a bundle, as one audience member muttered under her breath when a large neon sign shone for just one scene.

I don’t fault Aitken’s ambition, merely the execution. It’s a testament to her skill that the acting is top-notch. Continue reading →

Downtown, Special Events, The Features, We Love Arts
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First Look: the Terra Cotta Warrior Invasion

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Yesterday was the opening of “Terra Cotta Warriors: Guardians of China’s First Emperor” at the National Geographic Museum. A rare treat, the exhibit is on the final stop of a four-city US tour and closes on March 31, 2010.

Promotion for this visit has been going on since spring of this year. The hype is justifiable, however. This particular exhibit features the largest number of terra cotta figures to ever visit the US. Fifteen figures from the tomb of China’s First Emperor Qin Shihuangdi (221 B.C. – 210 B.C.) are in a magnificent display that spans two galleries ans 12,000 square feet.

I only had an hour this past Wednesday to visit – SmithGifford and NatGeo had a special invitation-only event for local bloggers and photographers. I was too busy shooting photographs to really absorb the whole experience, but I definitely will be heading back to soak it all in. It’s well worth the cost. And there’s a special offer for WeLoveDC readers as well – I’ll spill the beans after you browse some photos from that evening; you can decide for yourself if you want to go. Continue reading →

The Features, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: Disco Pigs

Madeleine Carr and Rex Daugherty in Solas Nua's "Disco Pigs." Photo credit: Dan Brick

Madeleine Carr and Rex Daugherty in Solas Nua's "Disco Pigs." Photo credit: Dan Brick

The joy of being so entwined you can finish each other’s thoughts… the pain when those thoughts become dissonant.

For one hour in a small black box theater, Madeleine Carr and Rex Daugherty command your attention with these extreme emotions, in Solas Nua‘s production of “Disco Pigs.” It’s rare that I cry at the theater – having a drama background sadly numbs your reactions sometimes – but this was such a visceral experience I found myself deeply moved. Or perhaps it hit me on a profoundly personal level. Whatever the case, I urge you to spend the hour with them.

Enda Walsh’s play is densely verbal and the Irish accents are thick. This means for the first five minutes or so your brain is processing fast and wild, just like the characters. Pig and Runt are born at the same time at the same hospital and connected by the strong bond of outcasts. They celebrate their seventeenth birthday by terrorizing Cork (which they call “Pork,” snorting and eating like little pigs), their parents, pub denizens and disco dancers – until slowly they become terrorized themselves, by new emotions and challenges to their bond. Continue reading →

Penn Quarter, The Features, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: Full Circle

FULL_CIRCLE_-_M_Russotto,_S_Marshall,_D_Escobar,_J_Dukes,_credit_S_Barouh_8363

Michael Russotto, Sarah Marshall, Daniel Escobar, Jessica Frances Dukes in Woolly Mammoth's "Full Circle." Photo credit: Stan Barouh

Twenty years ago this week, the Berlin Wall fell. It seemed proof positive that an overwhelming force of people could make a change for good, a stand against government oppression, by sheer numbers and tenacity, forever dispelling the myth of public apathy. Still true?

Woolly Mammoth’s production of Charles L. Mee’s rather chaotic “Full Circle” pushes and pulls the audience, moving around multiple physical settings in an attempt to put you in that head space of the crowd at the falling of the Berlin Wall. Are we meant to be spectators or participants? Maybe both.

The play is a riff on the original Chinese myth of the chalk circle, which in turn inspired Bertolt Brecht’s “Caucausian Chalk Circle.” There are certainly Brechtian moments in this production. Brecht’s own Berliner Ensemble features in the play, with its later director Heiner Muller even a character. He’s performed by Woolly’s Artistic Director Howard Shalwitz. How’s that for full circle? It’s a classic piece of Brechtian detachment.

Do you need to know any of this deeper theatrical knowledge to enjoy the play? I’m not sure, because as I have that knowledge, it completely informed my experience. I have a feeling just as a participant in a crowd experiences different aspects, so will audience members here. Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Artist  – they’re all here. Every character is an archetype – we’ve even got Warren Buffet making a deus ex machina appearance!

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Essential DC, Life in the Capital, The District, We Love Arts
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FotoWeek DC 2009: What to See


FotoWeek Projections by coolmarie

Before last year there was a huge void in DC’s photography world.  Despite being the home of National Geographic, the Newseum, the Washington Post, and many award winning photographers, we were missing an event to bring everyone together, to celebrate photography.  Sure, some of the galleries in town would have a photography exhibit or two, Magnum and Pulitzer Prize winning photographers would occasionally talk about their work, and local photographers would dork out hold meetups and go on photowalks throughout the year.  What we needed though was something big and annual like other major cities have.  Something pros, amateurs, and students could all participate in.  Basically we needed a big photography party.  Hell, if our neighbors in little ol’ Charlottesville could put together an international photography festival, why couldn’t DC?  In came FotoWeek DC.

But what exactly is FotoWeek you ask?  That is a very good question.  In fact if you asked ten different people you would probably get ten different answers.  Is it a contest?  Yes.  Is it a city wide festival celebrating photography?  Yes.  Does it celebrate only photography?  No, in fact two of this year’s contest categories were called “Storytelling” and “Experimental” that included works in multimedia, video, sound and graphics.  Why does FotoWeek spell the word “photo” with an F?  Your guess is as good as mine, my friend.  Why is FotoWeek held in November rather than in a pleasant time of year, say in June?  Because you must suffer for photography.

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The Features, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: Much Ado About Nothing

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Howard W. Overshown and Rachel Leslie as Beatrice and Benedick in Folger Theatre’s Much Ado About Nothing. Photo Credit: Carol Pratt.

I can’t think of a better antidote to losing the sunshine when you leave work than to head to the Folger to see its vibrant production of “Much Ado About Nothing.” Once inside the theater you’ll feel instantly transported back to summer.

Setting Shakespeare’s “Much Ado” during our own DC Caribbean Carnival may at first seem like a random decision, but it’s hardly that. The play’s core theme revolves around masking and unmasking identity. Characters intentionally hide their true selves and motives from others, mistaking the identity of others both figuratively and literally. Perhaps not in such an obvious way as other Shakespeare plays – but “Much Ado” is more mature, tackling the complexities of relationships. Despite plumbing these depths, it also manages to have some hysterical fun.

Former lovers Benedick and Beatrice fight out their mistrust and pain with biting sarcasm and wit. Their knowledge of each other’s faults is stronger at first than of each other’s strengths, and it’s their journey of mutual discovery to love and respect that makes this one of the most loved Shakespearean comedies. Contrast their relationship with the callow puppy love of the younger Claudio, Benedick’s protege, and Hero, Beatrice’s cousin – two lovers whose lack of knowledge about each other’s natures is the catalyst for some dirty dealing by villian Don John. Add in some well-meaning friends and relatives who manage to stir the pot for both good and bad, and you have a journey to teach everyone a little bit about love.

But does the setting work? Absolutely. The minute Claudio came in as a DC bike cop, I was sold.

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The Features, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: Dracula

Dan Istrate and Natalie Berk in Synetic Theater's "Dracula." Photo credit: Graeme B. Shaw

Dan Istrate and Natalie Berk in Synetic Theater's "Dracula." Photo credit: Graeme B. Shaw

Oh, Vlad. How we missed you. Vampires are back in fashion, sucking blood and living forever. Sad soulful looks are fine, but let’s say you prefer your undead to be more aggressive and lustful. Synetic Theater’s revamp of their smash rendition of “Dracula” will be just the thing to get you in the mood. For Halloween, that is!

The company throws themselves into the well-known tale with unbridled enthusiasm. In some cases, they are literally thrown – the physicality of Irina Tsikurishvili’s choreography caused the audience to gasp repeatedly. As always, the artistry of the ensemble creates breathtaking images – fluttering hands for firelight, tossing hair as horses, a crawling bat – too many to mention.

As Dracula, Dan Istrate’s raw masculinity and wry humor were so on target, I thought the women next to me were going to have several Victorian fainting spells. Continue reading →

The Features, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: A Flea in Her Ear

Joe Brack, Katie Atkinson, and Heather Haney in "A Flea in Her Ear," photo courtesy of Constellation Theatre Company

Joe Brack, Katie Atkinson, and Heather Haney in "A Flea in Her Ear," photo courtesy of Constellation Theatre Company

Missing suspenders, snapped frilly garters, a revolving bed, a man who can’t pronounce his consonants – Georges Feydeau’s “A Flea in Her Ear” takes some uptight French aristocrats and rattles them around in the Frisky Puss Hotel. It’s a tightly constructed “bedroom farce” that Constellation Theatre Company attacks with frenetic physical comedy. Lots of scenery is chewed in this production, but that’s a good thing!

Woeful Raymonde Chandebise (a sprightly Katie Atkinson) suspects her husband is unfaithful, because he’s stopped fulfilling his conjugal duties. Until she solves the mystery of his failed desire, she can’t rest – and certainly can’t take a lover until her mind is at ease! Devising a ruse with best friend Lucienne (Heather Haney, butter wouldn’t melt) to catch her husband in the act, she sets off a series of wildly implausible and ever more ridiculous situations of mistaken identity. Don’t bother trying to keep track of it all, just let the riot take over.

Anchored by a strong cast all showing great vocal and physical command, the production is clearly rooted in the world of farce. I honestly laughed to tears at several points. It makes for a truly hysterical night at the theater.
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Essential DC, Special Events, The Features, We Love Arts
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The Strange Comfort of Brian Jungen

People's Flag

Opening today at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) is a new exhibition that will run through August 8, 2010. Brian Jungen: Strange Comfort is a major exhibit showcasing the critically acclaimed works of the Canadian-based artist and is his first exhibition organized by a Native American museum. Jungen’s work has been on display around the world, including the Casey Kaplan Gallery in New York, the Musée d’art contemporain de Montréal in Quebec, and the Witte de With in the Netherlands.

The NMAI’s first solo exhibition since its opening in 2004, Strange Comfort is exactly that. The stunning “Crux” is your first view of Jungen’s work – recognizable from the crocodile piece show in the recent ads around town – and only continues to intrigue and inspire when you visit the main gallery on the third floor.

Jungen, of Dunne-za First Nations and Swiss-Canadian ancestry, explores several themes through his art. The use of every-day objects to create Indian cultural icons is something very different, born from Native ingenuity of crafting one object out of another, a common practice with many First Nation people. Jungen commented in the NMAI’s press release that he grew up watching his Dunne-za relatives recycle everything from car parts to shoe boxes. “It was a kind of salvaging born out of practical and economic necessity, and it greatly influenced how I see the world as an artist.”

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We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: The Alchemist

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David Manis as Subtle, Jeff Biehl as Abel Drugger and Michael Milligan as Face
in the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s production of Ben Jonson’s The Alchemist, directed by Michael Kahn.
Photo by Scott Suchman.

I can’t speak for any other reviewer, but for me the most enjoyable reviews to write are the ones where I really enjoyed a production but still have some minor quibbles. A little Monday-morning quarterbacking is fun for everyone if you don’t take it too seriously and aren’t a jerk about it. Perfect productions are less fun because there’s less to say about them. Quality theater involves a very subtle energy that’s difficult – if not impossible – to convey to a reader. Bad theater is less fun still because you have to be a special flavor of jerk to enjoy smack-talking someone’s baby, and a lot of people put a lot of energy into putting something on stage.

The least enjoyable kind of theater to write about is the kind that’s always puzzling to see, considering how many people come to it with so much passion: the simply okay, unengaging and largely forgettable production.

Care to guess where The Alchemist fits into this?

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The Features, We Love Arts
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We Love Arts: Man Ray

Man Ray. Noire et blanche, 1926. Gelatin silver print. The Baltimore Museum of Art, Purchase with exchange funds from the Edward Joseph Gallagher III Memorial Collection; and partial gift of George H. Dalsheimer, BMA 1988.422. Photo: Mitro Hood. © 2009 Man Ray Trust / Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY / ADAGP, Paris

Man Ray. Noire et blanche, 1926. Gelatin silver print. The Baltimore Museum of Art, Purchase with exchange funds from the Edward Joseph Gallagher III Memorial Collection; and partial gift of George H. Dalsheimer, BMA 1988.422. Photo: Mitro Hood. © 2009 Man Ray Trust / Artists Rights Society (ARS), NY / ADAGP, Paris

I love Man Ray. There’s something still so – cool – about his photographs, even today in our digital informal age. Hauntingly evocative of my favorite era, I usually rather narrowly think of him in context of 20’s fashion. There’s no better representation of the iconic beauty of that time than his Noire et Blanche, seen above, appearing in 1926 Vogue.

However, there’s another angle to Man Ray’s work that a new exhibit at the Phillips Collection makes plain. Opening this Saturday, May Ray, African Art and the Modernist Lens highlights the link between his work and the movement to promote African artifacts, elevating them to the status of modern art. The exhibit showcases more than 50 photographs by Man Ray, with about 50 more of his contemporaries like Cecil Beaton and Alfred Stieglitz. Several are matched with the original African objects they feature, for the first time, allowing the viewer to make the connection on how photographers can influence perception.

It also features my favorite Man Ray photograph. Continue reading →