tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39386524526515551202013-05-08T02:50:58.364-04:00<i>...And Other Things</i><br><br> On Theater. Popular Culture. High Brow. Low Brow.Diep Tranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01339954995034807799noreply@blogger.comBlogger153125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3938652452651555120.post-42810495985090495422013-04-17T22:18:00.003-04:002013-04-17T22:20:24.026-04:002013-04-17T22:20:24.026-04:00

Jose Llana, credit: Joan Marcus So the thing I've been trying to do ever since I got to New York City, besides get a job, was do some freelancing. And then I got a job and realized that while I loved writing, I also loved drinking, and going out to dinner, and taking long walks. So there went the freelancing idea...until now! Hello world! Diep is here and she takes assignments! And she is

Diep Tranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01339954995034807799noreply@blogger.com0http://www.dieptran.com/2013/04/so-that-freelancing-thing.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3938652452651555120.post-53525829448131563972013-04-08T11:44:00.000-04:002013-04-08T12:03:53.543-04:002013-04-08T12:03:53.543-04:00

This image has no relation to theater. I just wanted to use it. So this past week was an eventful one. "American Theatre" finally launch our podcast series (the idea sparked by yours truly and edited by me as well). Howlround ran a very well-written series of essays about theater criticism, curated by my colleage Rob Weinert-Kendt. Roger Ebert died (though not before filing his very last

Diep Tranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01339954995034807799noreply@blogger.com0http://www.dieptran.com/2013/04/the-future-of-theater-criticism-and-me.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3938652452651555120.post-84998793929491167272013-03-26T22:31:00.000-04:002013-03-26T22:31:02.424-04:002013-03-26T22:31:02.424-04:00

It all started when my sister asked me to come over to her apartment for the weekend to help her babysit her 7 month old, since my sister's husband was out for the weekend. And that led her to tell me that she had HBO Go. That, plus my roommate having HBO Go, meant that I now have HBO Go. I will now take overtures of friendship (preferably with booze). So that was how I started watching the

Diep Tranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01339954995034807799noreply@blogger.com0http://www.dieptran.com/2013/03/that-run-in-girls.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3938652452651555120.post-61511476947352875552013-03-14T23:26:00.001-04:002013-03-15T11:03:15.963-04:002013-03-15T11:03:15.963-04:00

I've been thinking quite a bit about money. Not the least of course because I'm a millennial who is a first-generation immigrant, working in journalism, with student loans to pay back. If there was a recipe for someone who doesn't have money, that would be it. Luckily, I don't eat very much and I haven't outgrown any piece of clothing since puberty. Lately though, I've also been thinking about

Diep Tranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01339954995034807799noreply@blogger.com0http://www.dieptran.com/2013/03/the-freedom-to-be-poor.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3938652452651555120.post-59389047412709533772013-03-09T12:00:00.000-05:002013-03-09T14:17:14.013-05:002013-03-09T14:17:14.013-05:00

"This is the worst pain ever!" Back in November, I was at the wedding of a close friend. I was a bridesmaid. The bride and I have been friends since we were 16, and we promised each other that when one of us got married, the other would be a bridesmaid. And that's where the similarities between us ended. After high school, we both went onto different roads. She has an associate's degree and

Diep Tranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01339954995034807799noreply@blogger.com0http://www.dieptran.com/2013/03/jogging-instead-of-sprinting.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3938652452651555120.post-5648814391077581222013-03-06T00:00:00.002-05:002013-03-06T15:56:21.069-05:002013-03-06T15:56:21.069-05:00

A common question that I get asked, because I work for a fairly well-known theater publication, and I know a great deal more than the average person about theater (for better or for worst), is, "Do you have a theater background?" I have decided to come clean with all of you and say...nope. Nada. Nothing. I've never written a play, never taken an acting class, and never even taken a theater

Diep Tranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01339954995034807799noreply@blogger.com1http://www.dieptran.com/2013/03/a-cricket-chirping.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3938652452651555120.post-10364706774955967302013-02-18T13:35:00.001-05:002013-02-18T13:35:34.992-05:002013-02-18T13:35:34.992-05:00

I leave town for a week to get a much-needed vacation away from New York City, and to clear my head. And while I'm gone, what comes out? A continuation of the Asian American Performers Action Coalition (which I wrote about last year here and here) 2012 survey of the racial breakdown of actors on Broadway and in the not-for-profit theater in New York City. The news was the numbers in the 2011-12

Diep Tranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01339954995034807799noreply@blogger.com0http://www.dieptran.com/2013/02/lack-of-diversity-in-damning-numbers.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3938652452651555120.post-53846182496106144002013-02-17T18:20:00.000-05:002013-02-18T18:22:33.388-05:002013-02-18T18:22:33.388-05:00

Womanizing director Derek Wills, played by Jack Davenport, flipping through what looks like February 2010 issue of "American Theatre" magazine (aka my employer). It looks like he's reading the news section. Good to know those magazines I sent to "Smash"'s prop department finally made their way onscreen. And it gave me another reason to re-watch that bore of a two-hour premiere. Well, besides

Diep Tranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01339954995034807799noreply@blogger.com0http://www.dieptran.com/2013/02/the-best-thing-about-smash-premiere.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3938652452651555120.post-41465767245837785642013-02-01T16:34:00.002-05:002013-02-01T16:34:40.636-05:002013-02-01T16:34:40.636-05:00

I feel like every time I get ideas for a blog post (so that I could post more on this blog and get some more traffic), I get distracted by this horrible thing called "day job." Then again, my day job is putting together a theater magazine so it's not actually horrible. Unless you count going to see theater for free horrible. Horribly amazing, maybe? The February issue of "American Theatre" was

Diep Tranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01339954995034807799noreply@blogger.com0http://www.dieptran.com/2013/02/i-make-video.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3938652452651555120.post-75286157512446483032013-01-22T13:14:00.000-05:002013-01-22T13:21:07.721-05:002013-01-22T13:21:07.721-05:00

"Ganesh Verses the Third Reich" Apparently trains are the transport of choice of Hindu gods "Sunday in the Park with George" is my favorite musical, the reason because it has the song which has served as the testament to how frustrating and alienating, and essential, the process of making art is. Yes, I am talking about "Finish the Hat," and "watching the world from the window while you

Diep Tranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01339954995034807799noreply@blogger.com0http://www.dieptran.com/2013/01/metatheatricality-and-perils-of-creation.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3938652452651555120.post-41365770403344954782013-01-15T13:52:00.000-05:002013-01-15T15:16:58.316-05:002013-01-15T15:16:58.316-05:00

On HBO's "Girls," a hook-up turns into a relationship. Which almost never happens in real life. I was looking through the most popular article on the "New York Times" (because I have a subscription and I like to make the most of it) and one came up which was: "The End of Courtship?" The article posits that texting and Facebook has turned dating and courtship into "hangouts and hook-ups."

Diep Tranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01339954995034807799noreply@blogger.com0http://www.dieptran.com/2013/01/i-dont-date-because-i-tweet.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3938652452651555120.post-59822066393880698042013-01-05T23:36:00.002-05:002013-01-06T11:11:18.058-05:002013-01-06T11:11:18.058-05:00

"Don't worry Anne, you're gonna win the Oscar." If I was to characterize a theme for December, besides as "the month I spent way too much money", it would be, "the month I was let down by movies I was really excited for." The first was "The Hobbit," which I vented about here, and the other was "Les Miserables." But before I say another word, readers, listen to me! There is something I

Diep Tranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01339954995034807799noreply@blogger.com0http://www.dieptran.com/2013/01/les-mehserables.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3938652452651555120.post-15558648111176417912012-12-31T18:08:00.000-05:002012-12-31T18:16:23.865-05:002012-12-31T18:16:23.865-05:00

"What good thing have you seen lately?" That's the question I'm usually asked when I tell people that I write about theater (for a living, wow). It's as if because I report on it, I am suddenly the guru of good theatrical tastes. And since year-end lists and summations are "a la mode" during this time in the season, I want to offer something in the stream-of-consciousness vein. I'm realizing

Diep Tranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01339954995034807799noreply@blogger.com0http://www.dieptran.com/2012/12/this-year-in-theatre-superlatives.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3938652452651555120.post-68865195728710789352012-12-26T21:52:00.001-05:002013-01-06T11:07:11.667-05:002013-01-06T11:07:11.667-05:00

Gandalf: worst party promoter ever. I saw "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey" film at midnight on opening night. I sat my butt down at the theater at Lincoln Square on the Upper West Side at 10:30 PM, excited and just a little bit sleepy. I exited the theater 4.5 hours later at 3 a.m. incredibly sleepy, drained and disappointed, like I'd been cramming for a college exam that I probably won't

Diep Tranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01339954995034807799noreply@blogger.com0http://www.dieptran.com/2012/12/the-hobbit-aka-dammit-peter-jackson.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3938652452651555120.post-56991734755076926462012-12-11T23:06:00.000-05:002012-12-11T23:15:26.282-05:002012-12-11T23:15:26.282-05:00

Like most people in their 20's (aka Millennials), I have a very intimate relationship with my cellphone. It's underneath my pillow when I sleep at night (not for any emotional reason, it's because the outlet for my phone charger is next to my bed and I don't own a nightstand). My phone is on my desk at work. It's in my pocket when I'm on the subway. And it has a name when I plug it into my

Diep Tranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01339954995034807799noreply@blogger.com0http://www.dieptran.com/2012/12/tweeting-in-theater-no-just-no.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3938652452651555120.post-19849058108582008742012-11-05T02:55:00.003-05:002012-11-05T02:55:45.287-05:002012-11-05T02:55:45.287-05:00

New York City, along with a majority of the East Coast was hit by a hurricane this past week. A hurricane named Sandy (who no doubt was looking for a man, probably one by the name of Danny). And this innocuously named hurricane caused some damage. In fact, quite a bit of damage. Last year, I sat through Hurricane Irene in my apartment in Washington Heights, while making a cake and wondering, "

Diep Tranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01339954995034807799noreply@blogger.com0http://www.dieptran.com/2012/11/thoughts-during-hurricane.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3938652452651555120.post-42745296594157378102012-10-22T02:34:00.002-04:002012-10-22T02:34:51.777-04:002012-10-22T02:34:51.777-04:00

I'm writing this blog post from my childhood bedroom in California, where I'm staying at my parents while researching a story on Tim Dang, the artistic director of East West Players, the oldest theater of color in the U.S, for American Theatre. It is part of my (not-so-secret) ploy to give more visibility to the Asian-American theater artist plight. A plight that was given more flames this

Diep Tranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01339954995034807799noreply@blogger.com0http://www.dieptran.com/2012/10/racial-links-and-musicals.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3938652452651555120.post-60360436813168229242012-10-18T13:31:00.005-04:002012-10-18T14:49:56.731-04:002012-10-18T14:49:56.731-04:00

When killing zombies, it's best to have something sharp. Still from Season 3, Episode 1 of "The Walking Dead" on AMC Below is a conversation I had with my boyfriend about "The Walking Dead" and zombie mythology,. Because when you're in a relationship, you talk about anything and everything, including shows that you know the other person will never ever watch (He's been trying to get me into "

Diep Tranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01339954995034807799noreply@blogger.com0http://www.dieptran.com/2012/10/a-conversation-with-my-boyfriend-about.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3938652452651555120.post-29947180453552491142012-09-14T17:32:00.001-04:002012-09-14T17:41:13.886-04:002012-09-14T17:41:13.886-04:00

Solomon Glave and Shannon Beer in Andrea Arnold's new adaptation of Wuthering Heights You know how I'm a stickler for non-traditional casting. And sadly, I hardly ever see any examples of it that really knock my socks off. I do not count Shakespeare because if there are any avenues where actors of color get the most roles, it's Shakespeare, which is now commonly reimagined in contemporary,

Diep Tranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01339954995034807799noreply@blogger.com0http://www.dieptran.com/2012/09/more-adventures-in-non-traditional.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3938652452651555120.post-30642464394339901342012-09-10T16:16:00.002-04:002012-09-10T16:53:27.450-04:002012-09-10T16:53:27.450-04:00

My new niece. Doesn't she make you want to pull a Witch and steal a baby? And we're back...a month later. I have a good explanation for the long absence, I swear. It's called the October 152-page issue of "American Theatre" and a managing editor on maternity leave. And it was also called my sister Thao, who had a baby on August 15, which was the same day as my dad's birthday (who turned 69

Diep Tranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01339954995034807799noreply@blogger.com0http://www.dieptran.com/2012/09/into-park-act-ii.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3938652452651555120.post-6252334139235356042012-08-09T13:41:00.000-04:002012-08-09T15:28:12.859-04:002012-08-09T15:28:12.859-04:00

Amy Adams and Josh Lamon go Into the Woods. Overture Last Thursday, August 2nd, I stood in line for the Public Theater's Shakespeare in the Park the whole time. But this year was not just Shakespeare, it was also Sondheim. And this was Into the Woods, in Central Park, at the rustic, outdoor Delacorte Theater. And if there was anyone I would line up for, it would be the God of musical theater

Diep Tranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01339954995034807799noreply@blogger.com0http://www.dieptran.com/2012/08/into-park-act-1.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3938652452651555120.post-83257364102400706492012-07-31T14:52:00.000-04:002012-07-31T15:05:43.769-04:002012-07-31T15:05:43.769-04:00

It seems any great event in life these days is an excuse for a Youtube moment. These days, it's no longer just home videos (like those VHS tapes that my parents still have of our first trip to Disneyland and to Vietnam, that none of us have watched in years). Instead, it's digital videos that you can upload online, so the personal becomes communal. It's like a fatter cousin of the village

Diep Tranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01339954995034807799noreply@blogger.com0http://www.dieptran.com/2012/07/flashing-bride.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3938652452651555120.post-47370524115349362272012-07-30T14:06:00.001-04:002012-07-30T16:39:24.343-04:002012-07-30T16:39:24.343-04:00

Because this blog is also not just for the reference of the denizens of the Internet, but for my references as well (in case I want to go back to it later), I wanted to put in an update on what has gone down on, what I will call, NightinGate. And in that time, La Jolla Playhouse had a passionate panel discussion (complete with an apology from Moises Kaufman), and bloggers have responded.

Diep Tranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01339954995034807799noreply@blogger.com0http://www.dieptran.com/2012/07/the-latests-on-nightingate.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3938652452651555120.post-57860348497488327642012-07-12T15:31:00.000-04:002012-07-30T14:07:12.158-04:002012-07-30T14:07:12.158-04:00

An illustration from "The Nightingale" by Hans Christian Anderson, image by Edmund Dulac To preface this: my colleague Rob Weinert-Kendt, associate editor of "American Theatre," musician and theater junkie, told me I should write about this, spawning from a debate we had in the office. So here it is, even though I have written on this topic, or something close to it, multiple times before.

Diep Tranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01339954995034807799noreply@blogger.com25http://www.dieptran.com/2012/07/more-yellow-birds-please.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3938652452651555120.post-484361986149334532012-07-10T11:46:00.003-04:002012-07-10T12:37:03.709-04:002012-07-10T12:37:03.709-04:00

Last week, I caught a Friday night showing of "Brave," the newest Pixar film, which takes the typical mother-daughter tale of alienation and misunderstanding, and ricochets the drama up, by having Princess Merida accidentally turn her mother, Queen Elinor into a bear. (Just a quick aside, I am obsessed with Merida's head of fiery and wild red hair. So much so that I want to chop it off and

Diep Tranhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01339954995034807799noreply@blogger.com0http://www.dieptran.com/2012/07/vindication-on-rights-of-women-to-be.html