I’m not sure why, but it seems Vancouver is teeming with all types of public events this summer. Every week, the papers propose a series of activities all over the Lower Mainland. Whether it celebrates the diverse heritage of the city or the completion of major infrastructure work being done in preparation for the upcoming winter olympics in February, there’s something for everyone. This past Friday night was “Traces: Projecting Neighbourhood Stories”, a small multimedia event looking at the history of Strathcona, a neighborhood bordering on the infamous Downtown Eastside. Living in the neighbourhood, I checked it out. It involved four sites located within a block and half, each with its own multimedia presentation. All, in all, it was an interesting look at the neighborhood, especially at night. I can’t recall walking that section of Hastings so late at night. It was heartening to see all the people who came out for this. Bet it was an interesting change for the beat cops to see so many people behaving in that neck of the DTES. (Slideshow)
Can’t make it to Burning Man this year? No need to despair. Burning Life is your answer, without the travelling and expense. Now in its sixth year, Burning Life is the virtual version of Burning Man. According to the SL Blog, Burning Man is where Philip Rosedale (AKA Philip Linden) got a lot of his inspiration for Second Life.
The call is out for volunteers and for participants. Check Burning Life: A call for volunteers for details on volunteer positions and/or the Theme Camp page to submit a proposal for a camp space. Deadline is August 31.
Now that I’m back to working full-time, blog writing has become a bit of a luxury. While Cue The Penguin! still provides my self-imposed daily escape, I haven’t had much time to roam around SL, save to grab some shots for Cue. Nonetheless, much is still happening in SL. A new CSI:NY mystery is afoot (watch this space for details coming soon) and I received the following notice in my inbox yesterday.
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Group Notice From: Ina Centaur
Bard’s Birthday 4/23 Special Performance…
Ladies and Gentlemen,
We have finally settled the chaos of having to schedule a large international cast for a simultaneous live performance.
Join us at 6 PM SL Time, one week from today, at the SL Globe Theatre for a special advance showing of our second miniproduction — Hamlet, Act 3 Scene 2, a.k.a., The Mousetrap.
Thank you,
SL Shakespeare Company
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I don’t think I’ll be able to catch this preview, unfortunately, but will be on the look out for any video clip on this new production.
Received the following notecard in- world today from Ina Centaur, founder of the Company.
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The SL Shakespeare Company will be holding a round of open auditions for our upcoming Hamlet productions, the earliest of which opens on 4/23, with rehearsals beginning in early April. (In addition, we may also be performing a non-Hamlet scene in May. More details to come.)
Directions: Please be prepared to read a passage of your choice of the character you wish to perform, a passage of our choice of the same character, and possibly, an unrelated scene of our choice. (In addition, you may also show us a passage from another Shakespearean play.)
Criteria: Quality, availability, and SL Voice/mic clarity (sorry!). Evidence that you’ve practiced your lines a bit and are familiar enough with your character to do well on our “pop quiz” may help ;-).
Technical Help: Please arrive an hour early (11 AM, SL Time) if you need help setting up, tweaking, or configuring your microphone for SL voice performances.
Also: Please email production@SLshakespeare.com with your availability for rehearsals beginning in early April. We will automatically add you to our repertory cast list, but that does not necessarily mean you get a role. (For those on the repertory cast, we will contact you prior to each production.)
We currently use a repertory cast system, where we will contact actors on a list prior to rehearsals for each production. Please note that the auditions are public, and we do hope to keep your voice on file (unless you specifically opt out) on a public “SL Theatre Open Audition Database”:
I caught the opening of the mini-production of Hamlet in SL on February 28th. The theatre was packed, which was great for the actors, but not so great for lag. I reported on this experience on the CNN iReport in SL blog.
In today’s meeting at the CNN Amphitheater, Henry iReport pointed out that a video clip of the same scene was available on YouTube. Although it’s not a clip of the actual production, it is the same scene, in the same location. At least, the costumes are visible. Thanks to Inacentaur for posting it.
In the works since 2003, a musical version of Stephen Spielberg’s film, Catch Me If You Can, has reached the workshop stage. Helmed by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, the Tony-winning composing team behind Hairspray, it will star Nathan Lane as Carl Hanratty, the federal agent played by Tom Hanks in the movie. After a lengthy search, the role of Frank Abigail Jr, played by Leonardo DiCaprio in the movie, was awarded to relatively newcomer, Aaron Tveit.
The book is written by Terrence McNally (Love, Valour, Compassion, Kiss of the Spider Woman, Master Class, Corpus Christi).
Nathan mentioned the workshop during an interview on The View this week. Video here.
Intercepted this email in the SL Educators listserv this morning. One of the Lindens is actually performing…
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Humanities Curators, Theatre Aficionado, Shakespeare Fans, and Everyone Else!:
I am happy to announce the inaugural live performance of the SL Shakespeare Company to SLED. Each miniproduction will be showcasing a live scene from Hamlet, with a professional troupe, and photorealistic actors and historically accurate wardrobe and props.
Join us exactly one week from now, in-world at the SL Globe Theatre.
Playbill below ;-D
LIVE PERFORMANCE ON SLSC THURSDAY FEB 28, 6 PM SLT… and
Fri, Feb 29: 3 PM
Sat, Mar 1: 11 AM
Sun, Mar 2: 1 PM
Mon, Mar 3: 11 AM
Tues, Mar 4: 6 PM
Weds, Mar 5: —
Thurs, Mar 6: 3 PM
Fri, Mar 7: 1 PM
Sat, Mar 8: 6 PM
Sun, Mar 9: 3 PM
Late last year, writers of the motion picture Beowulf stopped by Second Life to promote their up-coming film. This time around, Maria Liberati, former super-model, now celebrity chef, stopped by Athena Isle, as guest speaker for the Writers Club weekly meeting. She has just launched her second book, The Basic Art of Italian Cooking, available in stores and online at Amazon.
The format of a roundtable made this particularly enjoyable. Before long, there were quite a few of us sitting around Cybergrrl Oh’s magical table (a new chair appears every time someone sits on one). Maria proved to be very comfortable fielding questions and moving around. Considering this was her first time in Second Life, I was impressed. We touched on various topics, from the use of fresh ingredients as the key to Italian cooking, to the Slow Food movement, very common in Europe, and now gaining a foothold in North America. Maria explained that her book is not so much a collection of recipes, as a story, or a collection of stories related to various dishes and foods in Italy.
Maria has a few plans in store, including a podcast and a television series featuring celebrities talking about what they like to eat and favorite recipes. The full transcript of the chat will be available a little later this week on the Second Life Writers Club website. You can join the SL Writers Life Club, free of charge, to get notified of upcoming guests. Just look up the name in the Groups tab in SL.
Came across a couple of interesting articles this weekend, dealing with sides of SL and theatre not often talked about, though both very important for each: sex and producing.
The National Post had a special feature this past weekend: The Love & Sex Issue. One of the article, Virtual Babylon, looked into the phenomenon of virtual sex in SL. It’s not a side of SL I’m much acquainted with, to be honest, but it was an interesting read. Not surprising that it can be a very lucrative business in SL
Picking up the cue from Steve, author of the best blog on Broadway (IMHO), Steve on Broadway, I thought I’d give this meme a try. Not living anywhere near New York, however, I’ll have to expand my area.
1. The first musical I ever saw on Broadway was (or if you haven’t seen a musical on Broadway): Dancin’ (1978). I was with my parents for a shoe tradeshow in New York. I was hooked!
2. The musical I would most like to see again is: The Producers. I never saw the Broadway production, but the Canadian one in Toronto, starring Seán Cullen as Max. It’s become my favourite musical. It’s coming to the Arts Club in May. Can’t wait to see it again.
3. The musical I never want to see again is:Sunset Boulevard.It played in Vancouver with Diahann Carroll as Norma Desmond and Rex Smith as Joe. I won the tickets from one of the radio stations. I ‘m glad I didn’t pay for those. I don’t remember much of it, except I was glad to get up and go home at the end.
4. The best performance in a Broadway musical by a woman I’ve ever seen is: This one will have to be close to home, Jennifer Lyon as Eliza in the Arts Club production of My Fair Lady.
5. The best performance in a Broadway musical by a man I’ve ever seen is:Seán Cullen, as Max, in the Toronto production of The Producers; Nathan Lane in the film version of that play; Richard McMillan, as Pooh-Bah, and Eric Donkin as Koko in the Stratford Festival 1982 production of The Mikado. I saw that show four times… Roger Bart is also excellent in Young Frankenstein.
6. The person I wish they never cast was: Matthew Broderick as Felix in The Odd Couple (I know, not a musical, but…). I didn’t actually see the show on Broadway, but there was a cellphone videoclip for a while on YouTube of the “linguini scene”. I couldn’t believe how stunted he sounded and acted. I don’t think that performance helped him at all.
7. The person they should have cast was:Lee Evans. Nice chemistry with Nathan (Mousehunt,The Producers (UK))
8. My favorite Broadway choreography was in the show: Susan Stroman’s, The Producers and Young Frankenstein. I saw Young Frankenstein in its Seattle run and loved it.
9. The lyric/line that always brings a lump to my throat is: I can’t think of a single lyric, but I find “Somewhere” from West Side Storymoving, as well as “I Know Where I’ve Been” from Hairspray and “Will I” fromRent.
10. The stupidest lyric/line I’ve ever heard is: Can’t think of any at the moment.
11. The first musical I had to go back and see twice four times was:The Mikado (see my answer in #5)
12. The first musical I ever walked out of was: Never happened.
13. The most under praised and overly deserving show in my opinion is:Young Frankenstein.
14. The most overly praised and under deserving show in my opinion is: Can’t think of one right now
15. The song show tune I’m most likely to sing while I’m dancing around at home is: “I Love to Travel”, from Sondheim’s The Frogs and “Voulez-vous?” from Mamma Mia!.
16. If I could recast any role in a current Broadway musical with a performer of the past it would be:Jerry Orbach in his original role of Billy Flynn in Chicago
17. If I could recast a current actor in a Broadway musical that was before their time it would be:Nathan Lane as Koko in The Mikado.
18. The show they should never change a word of because it is already perfect is:The Producers.
19. The show I’d most like to get my hands on and rewrite is: Yeah, right…Beyond my skills…
20. The role I was born to play on Broadway is: Being void of any acting and singing skills of any type, this is a challenge. Personality-wise, Donna, of Mamma Mia! comes to mind. Though I would love to play one of the lil’ old ladies in The Producers, just to be part of a chorus. I’m definitely more of a background/backstage person. (I’m getting butterflies in my stomach just at the thought of being on a stage…yeeech…)
Can’t make it to 
, which was great for the actors, but not so great for lag. I reported on this experience on the 
In the works since 2003, a musical version of Stephen Spielberg’s film, 
SLURL: 
Came across a couple of interesting articles this weekend, dealing with sides of SL and theatre not often talked about, though both very important for each: sex and producing.
Pixeltheatre 