“Scientists at Massachusetts General Hospital studied 17 ‘superagers,’ people over 65 who have the mental function of those in their 20s. The goal was to find out if there were any observable differences between superager brains and normal brains, and if so, whether the rest of us could use that information to give ourselves better brain function through the years.” The Answer? Yes!
Tag: 06.10.17
How Howard Shalwitz Led DC’s Woolly Mammoth Theatre From Madcap Hole-In-The-Wall To New Play Powerhouse
“Washington theater is a city of niches, and few brands are as indelible as Woolly Mammoth’s. A ‘Woolly play’ is new, big, wild. The acting is hyper-real. The design might blow up. The whole thing can soar or splat. Howard Shalwitz laid down those markers when he [co-]created Woolly in 1980 … For 37 years, Shalwitz – who announced his retirement Tuesday as of the end of the 2017-2018 season – has stuck to those guns.”
How You Stage “On The Waterfront” In Prison
They rehearsed as a group twice a week, and stole a few minutes here and there to run lines wherever they could—in the yard, in the law library, on the cellblock. Lawrence Bartley describes a process that sounds a lot like method acting when he talks about preparing for the role of Charley Malloy, played by Rod Steiger in the original 1954 film. “I try to take on the persona of the character, try to act like he would,” Bartley says. “Unless it would be offensive.” (This is prison, after all.)
The Young Vic Is About To Lose Its Longtime Artistic Director
David Lan’s Young Vic had shows that went on to huge success in London’s West End and on Broadway as well. He said, “The Young Vic is now admired and emulated internationally as well as loved by our audience in Waterloo, in London and across the UK. It’s the right moment for it to set off on a new journey and a new adventure.”
Portland Gets A Revamped, Much More Prominent Oregon Jewish Museum
When the beloved but impoverished Museum of Contemporary Craft closed abruptly, Portland suddenly had a hole in the popular, hopping Pearl District. Then last week, “Suddenly a space that had housed an important cultural center that had died before its time seemed alive with hope and possibilities again” as the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education opened, post-remodel, in the space.
A South Korean Pianist Wins The Van Cliburn Competition
Yekwon Sunwoo is the first South Korean to win the annual competition. After he played his final performance, he said, “I went out for lunch at Sundance Square actually right at the time my performance was being played [on the big screen] from last night. … That was kind of strange to have lunch there and see yourself playing.”
Rival Networks Are Thrilled That Netflix Is Cancelling Shows
Netflix, quite controversially, has cancelled both Sense8 and The Get Down – both of which cost about $10 million per episode – and other streaming services and networks are pleased. “They can’t have 10,000 shows … I think it brings them back in the ecosystem of where we’re all trying to make the best shows and the best decisions.”
Pity The Poor Tonys Voter Who Must See Everything
It’s like the Oscars, with producers campaigning for support, and with a short timeline: “The 40 days between the nominations and the awards are intense. Tony voters — 839 people who are connected to Broadway financially, as producers and investors, and artistically, as performers, directors and designers — scramble to see all the shows before the June 9 voting deadline.”
The Decade Of Rachel Weisz
She almost wasn’t a movie star at all because as a student, she preferred the stage. “After Cambridge, she was confident her life in avant-garde theatre was set to continue, until the acting partner with whom she had set up a theatrical company decided to go to Rada and the thing fell apart.”
Theatre In Quebec Is Bilingual, But What About All Of The Other Cultures In The Province?
It’s quite an intense, complex topic: “Whenever the topic of diversity (or rather the absence of diversity on stage) comes up here, as it often does, the discussion doesn’t immediately go to representation, or how we view one another in Quebec and Canada. Instead the conversation is taken over by people who often see this complex issue as part of a greater, nobler debate on independence, while others use the issue to sway votes their way.”