Wandering Through Chicago's Arts and Culture

Independence Day, 2021

noreply@blogger.com (Milan Vydareny) — Mon, 05 Jul 2021 02:28:00 +0000

Independence Day, 2021

Some reflections after a walk in Winnemac Park

The Walk

I live near Winnemac Park on Chicago's North side, a forty-acre jewel that has five baseball diamonds, a soccer field, a prairie reconstruction, a children's play-lot and some community gardens. It is bordered by Chappell Elementary School on the West and Amundsen High School on the East. (None of the Chappel kids wear full armor to school and most of the Amundsen kids are not blond Swedes despite the Chappel "Knight" mascot and the Amundsen "Viking" mascot.) There are apparently no descendants of knights or vikings around to object to cultural appropriation, so for the moment the mascots are secure in their sinecures. The park also features Jorndt Field, a football field with an artificial surface believed to have a capacity of 6,000 spectators. (I was unable to find a definitive answer to this question using Google.)

By walking around the edges of the park and making a backtracking "X" in the middle of the park, I can get about a mile and a quarter of walking exercise. Today, I started walking around 3:30 PM, just as the full afternoon sun in a clear sky was filling the park with steady warmth, driving people to seek the shade of the park's many trees. The park was especially busy today, filled with all manner of groups with everything from a simple blanket and wicker basket of food to more elaborate accommodations featuring tents, beverage coolers, lawn chairs and folding tables. But this is middle America; it is not Ravinia where one is likely to see formally attired parties under capacious tents wolfing down butlered hors d'oeuvres and guzzling Veuve Cliquot from a delicate flute served by liveried staff accompanied by the soft illumination of candles. In Winnemac Park you'll find people who brought their kids crawling about in training pants, gangly teenagers who looked at you suspiciously as do most teenagers when they spot an octogenarian, couples of all kinds obviously in relationships of some sort or simply good friends, entire clans of ten or twenty family members or just couples obviously wanting some time to kick back and enjoy each other's company. And of course, plenty of dogs.

As I walked the perimeter and central "X" of my customary route, I stopped to talk to many groups.

America Is Alive and Well

This is at least true in Winnemac Park on Chicago's North Side.

The first group I spoke with was pretty clearly Latino, but spanning cultures. Their teenaged kids were pretty clearly American while the older adults spoke excellent English but with a definite flair for Spanish pronunciation. They were looking forward to the annual fireworks display that the park has become known for.

I should stop to explain that for the twelve years I have lived across the street from the park, I have been treated to a spontaneously organized fireworks display, put on by various citizens who bring thousands of dollars of fireworks to the large fields in the park for the celebration. Although fireworks are illegal in Illinois (one of the four most restrictive states in the Union when it comes to fireworks) this seems to matter little to the annual exhibit. This year is the first year in office for a new Alderman who succeeded the prior corrupt alderman left over from decades of [Mayors] Daley decadence and fiefdom. He has decided that the fireworks display should not be permitted so it's not clear to me whether this year's display will continue as usual or if it will suddenly be snuffed out by bureaucratic meddling in people's affairs. How does one direct the police to enforce an anti-fireworks (and some say anti-American) ordinance when in other parts of the city we lack the manpower to adequately protect citizens from random shootings and gang violence and murder?

But back to walking.The next group was a much smaller group of adults. I asked if they were waiting for the fireworks to begin and they enthusiastically said Yes. I pointed out that it was probably another 4 hours until it got dark enough for fireworks and they said they just enjoyed hanging out. They wished me an unprovoked "Happy 4th of July."

Next was a somewhat larger group, multi-generational, camped on a small rise next to the High School vegetable gardens. I expressed caution about whether the "show would go on" because of Aldermanic meddling and one man assured me that it would take place because, he explained, most of the "heavy hitters," who brought the biggest, loudest and most spectacular displays were mostly city employees. This caught me off guard. I hadn't considered that. But clearly, if you run for election in Chicago you're pretty careful to protect the vast army of patronage workers who are in no small part responsible for your reelection. Everybody wished me a "Happy 4th of July" and I moved on.

The next group was moderately large but impressive because of its diversity and hospitality. Not only was it multi-generational, it was multi-cultural and multi-racial. Some were heavily tatooed, while others were sporting pristine bodies of newborn purity.They were all uniformly joyous and happy and repeatedly offered me refreshment. (Did I look as though I was about to have a heat stroke? I don't think so!) They had tables laden with luscious goodies for all tastes: unhealthy snacks from Frito Lay all the way to fresh fruit carefully iced, ready to be served and enjoyed. Their version of liveried servants was a somewhat chunky young woman in pastel colored shorts and a spotless, brilliantly white sleeveless blouse standing ready to offer generous helpings of the fruits of a bountiful system of plenty.

Onward again, now crossing to the East side of the park, then north to Argyle Street, finally West along Argyle paralell to the park. About midway on this leg was a family who was entertaining out-of-town guests (Californians originally from Chicago). I stopped to chat with one of the women, Lauren, who introduced me to her husband, who introduced me to his friend, who introduced me to his wife, and so forth. Lauren pointed out her son, announcing he was 15. I looked. He is still has that skinny teenage look even though he's well over six feet tall. I asked if he had stopped growing and she laughingly said No. They offered to feed me and I declined saying that I had already lost 80 pounds since October and was still working on more. This perked up one of the men who was busy preparing the grill as he looked up at me and remarked that he admired my will-power. "Happy 4th of July!" all around and I continued on West, past several teenage girls who I assume are also part of one of those families. The girls were playing that bean bag game where to try to toss the bag into a hole in the far platform. It is a game similar to horseshoes but without the iron and stake. I found out later it is called "Cornhole" (among a number of other names) because the bags are supposedly filled with 16 ounces of corn. One of the young women was deadly. She scored two "bags in hole" while I was standing watching, plus another that was very close.

Next stop was a garden a little farther along Argyle. The woman who tends the garden has a substantial mint patch growing outside of her fenced yard with a sign that reads:

This is mint.
Take Some.
But please don't let your dog pee on it.

I had the foresight to bring a Zip Lock Freezer Bag with me along with as compact pair of electrician's scissors—the kind that communications wiring people used when phones were connected by massive cables requiring the splicing of hundreds of wires with mysterious color codings. I filled my bag with mint and moved on.

Around the corner and on to Leavitt Street I trudged, eventually entering the park from the West. A very dark-skinned man wearing what was apparently an ethnic costume came striding toward me. His hair was arranged under some sort of cap. The entire costume was dark and subdued in color but accented with splashes of very vivid reds, yellow and green. I tried to catch his eye as we passed but we were on separate paths that converged well beyond our crossing point and I was unable to get his attention as he strode proudly past me. Two ships passing in a foggy night despite the brightly lit afternoon sun.

Next a family of five enjoying one of my favorite views of Winnemac Park, for me definitely in a league with Seurat's Le Grande Jatte. The family was on a blanket covered spot in the shade of a deciduous tree; far across the field are two magnificent willow trees, towering over the landscape like like some sort of royalty ruling their domain with all the quiet magnificence at their disposal. I stopped and remarked to the husband about one of the willows which appeared to have some recent but relatively minor storm damage. He looked and agreed, and then introduced me to his wife and kids. The husband and kids had names that for me were very difficult to pronounce and remember, apparently ethnically based. The husband was black and his wife white; he laughed at me and said not to worry because nobody gets those names right on the first try. "Happy 4th of July" again with shouts of "Enjoy!" as I made my way back toward home.

Making my "X" crossing I passed a group for the second time and stopped to show them my bag of mint.

Next I passed a gaggle of teenagers hanging out on the steps of Amunden High School. I asked if they were waiting to see the fireworks and with typical teenage aplomb asked "What fireworks?" Then they were off, looking for more friends to join them in "hanging out."

Next a Latino family, with at least three generations present, along with a number of unoccupied chairs. They sniffed my mint and I asked about the empty chairs and learned that they were waiting for one of the men's brother-in-law.

My last stop was with two young men on a bench, just inside the North gate to the park. I had just passed somebody walking a dog that looked exactly like the dog these two young men had with them. I remarked about the similarity and learned that the dog was a long-haired dachshund. That dog was one of the biggest schmoozers I have seen in some time, lying down with his long snout between he front paws and looking up at me with those adorable eyes that seem to say "I love you" non-stop. The prize for dog appeal today was a tossup between the dachshund and the husky I had passed earlier with those mesmerizing, penetrating blue eyes huskies are famous for. (Approximately 40% of all huskies have blue eyes.) Border collies with "the eye" are high on my list of dog appeal as well.

Finally home. The first thing I did was unpack my mint, discarding the tough stems and carefully washing the leaves. (Not all dogs can read!) Then I prepared lemon/mint infused ice water and placed it in the fridge for later. This is the first time I've tried that, and it is terrifically refreshing.

Before leaving on my walk, I closed all the windows on the East side of my apartment. My next-door neighbors to the East throw an annual 4th of July bash in the tiny back yard. This is a well-behaved gathering of adults that spends the afternoon and evening gobbling too much food that's unhealthy, drinking a lot of beer but mainly conversing quietly. Unfortunately, their grill is right beneath my East windows and if I forget to close the windows my apartment ends up smelling like a smoke house. So I close the windows until cooking is done—a minor inconvenience for otherwise peaceful neighbors. The group is always very eclectic, racially mixed and, I'm assuming, people in various kinds of relationships despite the only flag that is displayed being the gay flag. I don't understand why it is necessary announce your sexual orientation as the two men who live on the second floor of that building do constantly, but they do. I just hope they remember that in many parts of the world doing so might land you in prison or worse.

Not So Silent Night

I have now essentially completed this record, making it ready to commit to the collection I have of similar documents I have written and stored on Dropbox. Night has fallen. I'm sipping lemon/mint infused ice water. The fireworks have started in Winnemac Park despite the Alderman and I can see the aerial bombs exploding in glorious color high above the apartment buildings that shield my direct view of the park. I spent an hour or so today meeting my neighbors, trying to discover what keeps us together as Americans. My answer is simply, "I don't know. But it is something." Perhaps it's the hospitality, the good will, the real belief most of us share in the visions that were expressed by the founders that have existed essentially unchanged despite our faltering attempts at universal application and implementation.

Tomorrow morning Winnemac Park will be covered with the litter of exploding fireworks—paper wadding, empty shells, bamboo rocket tails, and the detritus of picnickers unable to find space in the limited trash containers to deposit their refuse. But the unsung heroes of the Chicago Park District who routinely maintain a huge system of recreation for several million people, will dutifully clean it all up, and next weekend it will probably be baseball as usual again, in Winnemac Park.

May God, or whatever deity you believe in, bless America.

Joffrey Ballet of Chicago: Bolero

noreply@blogger.com (Milan Vydareny) — Sun, 28 Feb 2021 16:31:00 +0000

Joffrey's Bolero

Performing arts companies are stressed into creative innovation even more than usual during the Covid panic of 2020–21. One of the best responses has been by Chicago's Joffrey Ballet. As evidence, I offer this 19-minute new work recently published by the Joffrey on YouTube. The replay of the February 27th world premier will be available on YouTube through March 1, 2021 according to the most recent information I have.

Joffrey Ballet of Chicago presents Bolero

What would Maurice Ravel say were he able to see this incredible production using his iconic "experiment" Bolero? My guess is that he would not only approve, but enthusiastically so. Music is first-class (a London Symphony recording) and production values are high thanks to Jack Mehler's lighting and Big Foot Media directed by Tim Whalen. Choreography was by Yoshihisa Arai with Costumes by Temur Suluashvili, both Joffrey artists who we are more accustomed to see as dancers rather than the roles they played in this production.

But the real stars are, of course, the Joffrey dancers, Anais Bueno, who danced the solo muse, a difficult role both physically and emotionally, and the cast of 8 men and 6 women who accompanied her. Bueno's sultry and alluring temptations grow in intensity along with the music.

Do yourself a favor and take a break to enjoy this impressive production. Like the music, the choreography progresses from a quiet and subdued opening, increasing in intensity through 18 repetitions of the same melodic material without variation except for a single dalliance to a related key near the end of the piece. Ravel's own instructions for the piece were to end "as loudly as possible," an admonition reflected in the choreography.

Five stars. Bravo! Joffrey!

The Great Chicago Snow of 20–21

noreply@blogger.com (Milan Vydareny) — Wed, 17 Feb 2021 19:49:00 +0000

The Great Chicago Snow of 20–21

Breaking a couple of records

Chicago has had a pretty good run of mild winters, up until now, that is. According to Block Club, my local neighborhood news organization, we have seen more than 17 inches of snow fall in recent days,

...making it the snowiest three-week stretch in 40 years.

Here's a video slide show of what the local streets looked like on February 16, 2021 when I ventured out after a couple of days indoors.

But there's more!

According to Block Club

If the snow continues Wednesday, as expected, it will mean the city’s seen 10 consecutive days of snow — breaking Chicago’s record.

The record was set in 1884 at nine consecutive days of snowfall. But if we have snowfall today and if it continues through Thursday, as is quite possible, we will set a new record at 11 straight days of snow.

Also according to the Block Club article

More than 34 inches of snow have fallen in the city in the past three weeks, and temperatures haven’t reached above freezing since Feb. 4.

Spring is in the air!

Looking ahead at the Accuweather website I note that by next Monday we expect to see high temperatures above freezing for the next two weeks. Get ready for a Sloppy Spring!

Life After Facebook

noreply@blogger.com (Milan Vydareny) — Wed, 17 Feb 2021 05:52:00 +0000

Life After Facebook

Reflections on How Life Improves When Social Media Is Abandoned

The Problem

Most people that use Facebook regularly will quickly admit to the fact that the social media platform is highly addictive as well as an almost complete waste of time. We will do almost anything to generate that endorphin-stimulating "Like" that others bestow on our egos so easily and thoughtlessly. We post meme after meme or make silly and pointless comments or "respond" to someone else's pointless posting with our own pointless emoji so easily delivered. Underlying all of this activity many if not most people will discover, if they look deeply into their own hearts, that the quest is not unlike the quest for the Holy Grail. Like The Quest for the Grail, the reward is to become a highly valued citizen, respected and admired for our perceptive insights and even, perhaps, leadership toward some sort of ShangriLa that is only dimly imagined. Like the Quest for the Grail it also is unachievable, a fool's errand destined to ultimate failure and frustration. The reward of this quest is disillusionment, not the opportunity to stand on the highest step of the winners' podium.

This problem is shared by most Facebook denizens, not just those of one persuasion or another. More specifically, those on both the left and the right are nearly equal in their addictive and pointless behavior as they routinely insult one another and condemn their opponents to eternal damnation for their lack of agreement with "accepted" principles. No one is immune.

Although I have long recognized this, I was at a loss about how to make an improvement in my own behavior until just recently. I suspect many other people will share that same quandry: what do I do about Facebook? Then, a very simple solution dawned on me.

The Epiphany

I normally don't think about Facebook the first thing upon arising in the morning, but about a week ago as I was swinging out of bed, my feet hit the somewhat cold floor and the solution dawned on my somewhat groggy brain. It was actually a very simple solution and I'm quite surprised it didn't dawn on me sooner; I can only attribute my ignorance to the addictive nature of the Facebook Like.

Suddenly, I could envision myself never visiting a Facebook page again. Not that day, nor the next, nor the next. Not ever. I could also imagine never again receiving an email announcing that someone who I never heard of had responded to my posting, or had one of those aggravating popups that appear in the corner of your screen with a dinging sound telling me that I had 14 responses to something I had posted.

Most appealing was the vision I had of never again having to deal with the hatreds routinely bestowed by one group on those of another who don't agree with their sacred tenets. Hatred is endemic on Facebook, and not just one particular group; it seems to be fundamental to most groups; the more strongly a group believes in the importance, truth and virtue of their positions on any given topic, the more likely that the group is to marginalize and demonize those who disagree with them.

In short, a Nirvanic vision of Life Without Facebook flashed into my consciousness. "That's it! I immediately thought to myself. What a simple solution! Why didn't I think of this sooner?

The Action Plan

My first impulse was to simply log in to my Facebook account and delete it. But I turned out to be something of a coward in that respect. What if this is a mistake? I thought. What would I do then? So I opted for the second best tactic and "deactivated" my account.

Deactivation results in your "disappearance" from Facebook, and none of what you have previously posted will be visible to others. No one will be able to contact you on Facebook or view anything you have posted including Timeline, status updates and photos. Unfortunately, people can still contact you using the Messenger app, but for me, fortunately, not that many people contact me using that method.

The final step will be Deletion, which results in the removal of your account and all associated information. But even that is not the final step in the chain because Facebook waits fourteen days before actually deleting your data even though you can't use your account. Apparently, if you contact their help desk desperately seeking reinstatement, they can do that for you, thus prolonging the dependency.

The final version of "the plan" for me turned out to be

Deactivate my account
Try living without Facebook for a few weeks
If withdrawal is not too severe, delete the account
Resume a more productive, emotionally healthy life

In fact, the very day that this plan dawned on me as I was climbing out of bed, I deactivated my account. I haven't looked back or logged on since. About one week has passed.

The Results

The results are joyfully gratifying. I rarely even think about Facebook, let alone be tempted to log back in. Even better, I don't seem to care what other people might think of this, nor do I particularly miss the relationships, most of which were shallow and relatively pointless anyway. I don't mean to imply that those with whom I interacted are somehow lacking in value, but rather the relationship was not particularly valuable. The people involved are fine (as most people are) but the relationships I had with them were of little that was lastingly valuable or memorable.

The positive benefits I have gained are also significant. The most important benefit is the recapture of wasted time. Interactions on Facebook generally have low value for all parties concerned. At best you might garner a smile from a humorous meme or cat video at worst you'll probably fire off a derogatory comment that fans the flames of animosity. Instead of wasting time on trivial pursuits I can now invest that time in meaningful activities that actually support my own goals, ambitions and dedications.

I also find that I am less easily offended. Make no mistake, I don't tolerate fools very easily or willingly, but by being exposed to fewer fools I find my fool button pushed far less frequently. Being offended is a two-way street on Facebook and just as I might feel inclined to fire back a quick rebuke to something I find offensive, so others are likely to reciprocate with mine. This often results in a tit-for-tat exchange that is time-consuming and rarely results in anything more than an increase in animosity among the parties involved.

In short, there are fewer aggravations and significant time benefits involved by abandoning Facebook.

But Facebook really wants you back. Don't forget, when it's a free product, in reality you are the product. To emphasize that relationship note that Facebook makes it very clear that it is easy to return and they will accept you as a prodigal offspring who foolishly strayed from the path of righteous enlightenment but who is now "woke" and ready to be welcomed back into the fold. All you must do is log back on and bingo! You're more product!

Other Observations

A few other thoughts have passed through my mind as I pursue my liberation from Facebook hell.

Forge of Empires

At one point I was really devoted to playing an on-line game called Forge of Empires that was one of those "civilization building" exercises. It was appropriate that I started playing the game because of a Facebook ad. I started tracking the time I spent playing this game, that was carefully crafted to provide a dopamine hit at timings appropriate to keep you engaged and intoxicated. However, once I realized just how much playing the "free" game was costing me, I quit immediately. Deleting my account was difficult and required an exchange with their support department, who tried dilligently to get me to stay. For several months following my "cold turkey" departure I received invitations to return and pick up right where I had left off, with all my city intact and ready to resume its march to greatness.

Facebook isn't quite this blantantly high-pressure—yet. We shall see when I actually detonate the quit-bomb.

Recapturing Time

As I alluded to earlier, the increase in time I have available for meaningful and productive work has increased substantially. Not only that, the time available comes in larger blocks of uninterrupted quality. I used to have a Facebook tab open constantly in my browser as I worked. The interruptions, while clearly of my own encouragement by having the tab open, were wasteful of one of the few resources we can never replace.

I won't dwell further on this; I've mentioned it several times. But it is one of the most important benefits I have realized by ditching Facebook hell.

Loss of Impact

Those with gigantic egos may believe that by having 4,532 "friends" on Facebook that they are having a significant impact... on what I can't imagine. However, there are numbers of people who are eagerly attempting to "go viral" and become the next great Facebook sensation. While there are a few who achieve this ultimate state of narcotic Nirvana most ordinary Facebook denizens will have to be content with having a few dozen "likes" for a particularly charming cat video.

If you think by abandoning Facebook you are doomed to obscurity, get a grip.You're doomed to obscurity in any case. Shakespeare had this to say about becoming food for worms: Being Powerful and Being Food for Worms.

Conclusion

From this brief experience with Internet Detox I have drawn a few conclusions.

Abandoning Group Think

I stumbled on the concepts of Group Think in, of all places, a series of articles on nutrition and weight loss. In essence, the articles suggested that the influence of group pressure would often adversely affect one's nutritional choices. This prompted me to spend a few minutes reading the Wikipedia entry. Although difficult to study and measure, Group Think is conceptually established as a useful area of study. The characteristics exhibited by this mode of thinking are strikingly similar to the Cancel Culture used by many of America's currently polarized groups. Here's the link to Wikipedia's article on the topic.

In short, I suggest that Facebook by its very nature and functional construction contributes damagingly to American public discourse by encouraging Group Think and Cancel Culture. These are destructive practices, perhaps even threatening to the existence of the U.S. Republic. Regardless of the severity, they are unquestionably serious defects in the way many people view issues and behave in public debate.

Becoming Independent

A common theme in most of the material I have cited is the tendency for humans to seek conformity. Yet at the same time another common theme in this same material discusses the need for disagreement at some length. The Devil's Advocate is a role designed to prevent the development of the defects inherent in Group Think.

We humans are a funny lot. On the one hand, we exhort each other to "Think different!" and "Be your own person!", and on the other, when you look round, what do you see? Conformity in every direction. "Fit in!" "Be like the others!" "Don't step out of line!" "Belong!"

This quote is from a five minute podcast from that explores How to Think for Yourself. I strongly recommend the short article and podcast at the link to provide a basic overivew of what it means to have independence and individuality, why they are valuable traits to cultivate in yourself and some of the pitfalls to avoid when thinking for yourself.

Finally, for an academic view of disagreements this forty-five minute video is a lecture by Northwestern University Professor of Philosophy Sandy Goldberg presented to graduate students in Engineering, entitled What Can We Learn From Disagreement. Professor Goldberg is introduced by the Dean of the McCormick School of Engineering, Julio M. Ottino. (Dean Ottino's accent is a bit difficult to understand, but Professor Goldberg is easy.)

Alternatives

I hope I have convinced you to at least moderate your Facebook time, and in the best case, abandon Facebook altogether. I can hear the objections now:

"Where will I post my cat videos?"
"How will I see photos of my grandkids?"
"Where will I get the latest news about outrageous politics?"

Following are a few alternatives and I'm certain if you think about it, you'll be able to come up with some others.

Email

Good old Email is still one of the best alternatives out there. However, I recommend you stay away from Microsoft Outlook, that does a terrible job with photos of grandkids, cat videos, and just about any other piece of mail that has a graphic you'd like to enjoy. My personal favorite is Mozilla's Thunderbird Email Client that is free and has a lot of nifty features. If that is more hassle than you'd like to endure, plain old browser Email from Yahoo! or Google (to name but two) are quick and easy. Your cat videos and grandkids will look just fine on browser Email clients.

Blogs

Blogs are great for topics that interest you. If you're a "creator," writing a blog can be a satisfying way to build a community and connect with others. (Be careful of Group Think, however.)

If your a consumer, find blogs that deal with topics that interest you and subscribe to them. Most blogs have ways to either be notified by Email when a new post is available or an RSS feed that can download new posts into your Email client similarly to the way you receive Email. You can search for blogs that interest you at this Blog Directory.

Publisher Websites

If you remember the days when newspapers and magazines were something printed on dead trees and sold a kiosks in public spaces, you'll be happy to learn that many of the oldies are still available on the Internet, along with a lot of newbies that are also worthwhile. Google around a bit, and you're certain to find some that appeal to your particular sensitivities. A word of warning, however: you'll have to pay for a subscription to many of these publications. But as you may recall, back in the day, you also had to pay for your newspaper and magazines that came in the mail. The best place I've found to get an idea about publication content is Allsides that provides a reasonable approach to unconvering media bias and fake news. You can check the political ratings of most major publishers using their search page.

Also be sure to check out websites that feature think tank content. A think tank is generally biased in its advocacy and publications but can also provide strong arguments for or against a particular topic. Reading opinion from a variety of sources can broaden your perspective.

I've only touched the alternatives in this short discussion. But by now you should have gotten the idea that there are many substitutes for grazing that are of much higher quality than Facebook.

The Decline of Facebook

I don't directly wish for Facebook's demise. But rather, I would welcome a decline in Facebook engagement as evidence of a shifting public awareness that better alternatives are available—alternatives that engage and inform rather than inflame and polarize. Alternatives the encourage individualism and respectful disagreement as we search for better solutions to today's pressing issues. Alternatives that encourage us to think and behave as responsible adults rather than self-indulgent children.

As it is structured, especially now that it is engaged in censorship and speech restrictions, Facebook can never achieve those objectives. It's up to the rest of us to push forward with adult public discourse and engagement.

Expectations and Technical Debt

noreply@blogger.com (Milan Vydareny) — Sun, 08 Jul 2018 22:57:00 +0000

The Employer's Dilemma

Increasingly we read articles that examine the low US unemployment rate along with the difficulty in finding qualified employees to fill those positions. I recently came across an article that explores some of the reasons that according to author Josh Bersin contribute to the problem and perhaps more importantly, what can be done about them. Here's the full article: The Ugly Side To Today's Low Unemployment Rate.

My Reaction

I read this article at least twice, took notes, tried to gain some sort of overview of what was being said, and came away feeling that while the article was "okay," it was hardly something I would call great or even above average.

What Bersin Said to Me

I actually found two key observations in Bersin's article, but I'm not certain he intended his writing to convey the importance I attach to them.

Expectations and Reality

After itemizing a bunch of statistics that highlight a disappointing state of affairs Bersin notes: "Expectations are sky-high, which of course makes all our jobs harder than ever." This is a key observation. Unfortunately he doesn't catch on that the disparity between expectations and reality is one of the major causes (perhaps the only cause) for disappointment and unhappiness. The disparity certainly contributes to stress. Yet he never questions the expectations, one-half of the equation. He takes expectations as some sort of "given," (they are not) and by implication seems to think we need to find ways to meet them no matter how unreasonable or impossible to attain.

Technical Debt

We then arrive at another key observation: "I think this is caused by many factors (commute time, poor infrastructure, and also re-engineering of work practices), but ultimately it shows a "sloppiness" in the way we run our companies. Why? We are in such a rush to "grow" and hire people to meet demand, we don't always have time to really re-engineer what we're doing to become more efficient." Not particularly profound since we already knew all of that, and certainly not very illuminating to call the cause "sloppiness." What does that mean?

What Bersin has actually identified is more accurately described as "technical debt;" we have delayed until some future time the costs involved in building—transportation, corporate technologies, government systems, roads—a culture and environment that is both sustainable and amenable to the human existence. He then arrives at "We can't fix what's going on in Washington, we can't necessarily fix the commute or the state of traffic - but we have to realize that our focus has to change."

What's to Be Done?

Berson dismisses the idea that we have much control over technical debt and expectations.

Fixing Technical Debt

Well, yes, we can fix what's going on in Washington and we can fix the commute and state of traffic but it will take a long time and serious commitment to pay down the technical debt we have accumulated by our failure to adequately plan.

Fixing Expectations

When he says we need to change our focus, he comes close to identifying that "other half" of the equation for happiness: expectations.

Recommendations

This is, after all, a piece to promote Bersin's area of expertise (HR mostly) so it's time for the commercial about stuff he can help you attain:

Bersin Says

Bersin finishes up with five ways to address the issues he has enumerated.

Focus on employee productivity and well being. He seems to dwell on stress and yes, stress is bad. I don't think that it requires a major program to deal with however. I'd be interested to see what he has to say about this in detail. I deal with stress every day, and it's not that hard to do.
Get your recruitment house in order. Don't get me started on this! The very notion of HR "screening" applicants implies "keeping people out." If you're really serious about building a solid employee base you should be seeking talent and then trying to see how you can integrate those talented folks into your organization. That's a completely different mindset than most hiring managers and HR people now have. You won't always be successful in crafting a fit, but the shift in approach (remember? change your expectations!) will result in lots of serendipitous discovery.
Take your employee engagement problems very seriously. Do you mean to say that you haven't already been doing that? Shame! (And a pretty obvious thing to say.)
Simplify your technology. Humorously, he recommends fewer communications tools and then enumerates Slack twice in the same sentence. I guess he feels overwhelmed! But it's not so much quantity as quality when it comes to applications. We are so intent on being the first to market that we publish the first app that doesn't crash within the first 3 minutes as the savior of whatever problem we're trying to solve. That rush to the MVP (Minimum Viable Product) is the great danger. Don't think about your technology in terms of number of applications, but how well they are integrated and what your costs of maintenance are. (Remember technical debt? Very important here but not necessarily related to number of applications.) What he really means is that your integrations should ideally be seamless and transparent to users.
Get C-Suite folks to talk to each other about these issues. Well, yeah. You mean they didn't already know that? Why do we pay them so much if they are clueless about the obvious?

Here's What I Say

Change your expectations by trying to align your recruiting efforts in ways that serve both candidates and your organizational objectives. If you continue to have expectations that cannot be realized by reality, you are necessarily likely to experience disappointment. On the other hand, if your expectations align with reality and benefit your organization and candidate, your chances for success will dramatically increase.
Be aware of technical debt, which I define in an expanded sense to mean that by refusing to invest in employees or supporting infrastructure today you are probably ensuring future difficulties that will have to be solved at a greater expense than if you had simply addressed them immediately. This is not necessarily wrong, but an awareness that today's omissions will at some time have to be corrected at a cost in excess of today's cost should be part of your thinking. Business "borrows" all the time, but the cost of borrowing should be a part of the decision making process.

Changing Your Overview

Try sitting in a comfortable chair with the lights dimmed in a quiet place where you won't be disturbed. (Turn off your cell phone, too.) Close your eyes and breathe very deeply in and exhale very slowly out. Do that for about one or two minutes. Then imagine yourself floating out of your body and looking down at yourself from the ceiling; float up even more, until your above the building; keep floating upward until you can barely see yourself as a small speck on the earth below; keep going until you can see the entire earth and can only approximate where you might still be sitting, deeply relaxed. From your new vantage point, try to imagine what your life might be like if things were different; what would change? What should you be striving to make different? What does your new "global" perspective teach you about problem-solving? And while you're up there, you might just notice some of the stress disappearing as your neck, shoulders and rest of your body unwinds.

When you're ready to return, gently descend back to your chair, open your eyes and have a nice stretch. You might also find that you've brought back some new perspective to solving the problems of technical debt and expectations. Cheers!

The Gentleman Caller

noreply@blogger.com (Milan Vydareny) — Sun, 29 Apr 2018 15:34:00 +0000

Raven Theater, 6157 N Clark St, Chicago, IL 60660

Now thru May 27, 2018

Raven Theater Website

Friday evening (April 27, 2018) I had a remarkable experience attending a performance of The Gentleman Caller, a world premier production of a Philip Dawkins play. The play attempts to imagine what might have happened when Tennessee Williams met William Inge in Inge’s St. Louis garden apartment and later in a Chicago hotel room in 1944 and 1945. We don’t know exactly what took place, except that Williams encouraged Inge to pursue play-writing. Dawkins’ script attempts to recreate those moments based on what we know of the two men’s lives. The fact that the program has a credit for David Wooley as Fight & Intimacy Choreographer should alert you to some of the play’s content. (The extent of the fighting was a single face slap as I recall, if that helps you imagine more clearly.)

Both Williams and Inge were homosexual, although radically different in their self-acceptance and ultimate public acknowledgement of their orientations. Playwright Philip Dawkins is likewise gay, and has written a number of gay-themed plays that I have seen produced here in Chicago, usually by About Face Theatre, a company that produces only gay-themed work. In this case however, Raven Theater commissioned Dawkins and Raven’s Artistic Director Cody Estle worked closely with Dawkins toward the world premier production at Raven’s intimate West Stage. Estle also directed the play’s production at Raven. The play has been extended to the end of May in Chicago, and also runs May 5–May 26 in New York with a production by Abingdon Theatre Company at Cherry Lane Theatre.

It doesn’t take long to realize that Dawkins is exploring creativity in general and play-writing in particular. What does it take to a successful artist? What does it cost the artist? What are the dangers of emerging from your hiding place, and being seen? What compels the artist to follow a dangerous path to follow his passion? What about the narcotic effect of success? Can the successful artist ever be truly satisfied, no matter how much success they achieve? All of this and more is examined through the contrasting attitudes and style of two of the most famous playwrights America has ever produced—along with some pretty sexy action just to keep the tension high and expectations focused.

If you are at all involved in some sort of creative activity, whether it’s in the arts, or scientific research, or any field that commands your full immersion and dedication to some act of imagination and creation, you will undoubtedly identify with what Dawkins is trying to show us. In the Chicago production there were several places where tears were streaming down the face of actor Curtis Edward Jackson during his exceptional portrayal of the closeted and insecure Inge. Actor Rudy Galvan brilliantly portrayed the defenses of Tennessee Williams hiding behind a shell of wise-cracking and carefree abandon that only occasionally allowed the real passion and fears to become visible. This contrast between the two characters keeps the play moving and engaging for the entire two and one-half hours run. (Includes one 15-minute intermission.)

In the end, you won’t have any answers to any of the questions asked by either Inge or Williams, but you will have a better understanding of what questions must be asked and ultimately answered by every artist and creative person pursuing a creative objective, not because they want to, but because they are somehow compelled to. It should be obvious by now that I consider this play to be mandatory viewing for anyone thinking of pursuing an artistic career. It won’t give you answers; only you can provide the answers. But it will most certainly provoke your questions. And it will certainly provide two-and-one-half hours of entertainment.

If you find yourself in NYC or Chicago during one of the play’s performances, I highly recommend snapping up a ticket for a most enjoyable and provocative experience.

In the interest of full disclosure, actor Rudy Galvan (Tennessee Williams in the Chicago production) is a Masonic Brother; we are both members of Oriental Lodge No. 33 in Chicago. Rudy was the youngest Mason I ever helped initiate as I acted as Senior Deacon for his initiation ceremony when he was only a few months past his 18th birthday. I have had the pleasure of following his career ever since. He’s a fine actor and, I might add, a fine Masonic ritualist. I always look forward to his ceremonial lectures that he delivers with polished perfection and conviction. He is also a faithful and true Brother.

33 Variations: Diabelli and Beethoven Explored

noreply@blogger.com (Milan Vydareny) — Sun, 09 Sep 2012 19:13:00 +0000

33 Variations

by Moises Kaufman

directed by Nick Bowling

Timeline Theatre Company

at Stage 773, 1223 W Belmont, Chicago

8/24/2012–10/21/2012

As I watched the play this evening I was struck by the fact that the ending to Act I is a fugue for actors. (I failed to pay attention to what the piano was doing during this finale so it may have well been Beethoven’s fugue along with the actors’ fugue.) Musing about things during intermission I focused on the notion that musical composition is generally a motif followed by instances of repetition, sequence and variation based on that idea. The Diabelli waltz actually yielded three (or possibly four, I am depending on external analysis here, not my ears) motifs from which Beethoven constructed the finished set.

On the way home I mused over what the underlying motif of the Kaufman play might be. I walk about a mile and a quarter to get home from Stage 773 or Theater Wit so I had a good deal of time to muse.

Upon arriving home I thumbed through the Timeline program (always an academic work that rivals a thesis!) and sure enough, in “A Note on Structure” on page [unknown but it would probably be 5 if they had numbered their pages] it mentions Kaufman’s intention to write 33 scenes that are variations, one of which is actually a fugue. Kaufman certainly succeeded to my ears, even on first hearing with no advance research or reading. (I try to avoid reading about works I never experienced before just to see what I can get out of the experience without prior bias.)

Timeline misses a huge opportunity here to present the parallels between the classical music forms and the Kaufman piece probably because actors are primarily story-tellers, not practitioners of abstraction the way composers are. The musical devices of repetition, sequence and variation developed because of music’s limited vocabulary; once you establish a modality, key and a melody you’re pretty well locked into a path for at least a short time. Repetition, sequence and variation are just about the only ways you can make a musical piece interesting in the long term. Language, with its nuance and rich repertoire of vocabulary allows for an almost free-wheeling experience that doesn’t depend on structure for interest. In this case, however, I believe that Kaufman has set himself a much sterner task and succeeds brilliantly.

Kaufman does, in fact, have a motif, at least in my eyes. It is “time as a limiting factor.” Everything about the play deals with time. Kaufman repeats this motif endlessly, but he also “sequences” it (musically sequences deal with transpositions of the motif into different keys) by various theatrical devices like switching between current time periods and those of Beethoven’s Vienna or the completely artificial and impossible conversation between Dr. Brandt and Beethoven. He adds variations to his time motif by exploring the different perspectives held by various characters so that while “time” is central to each scene, the ornamentation or exact exposition of the motif may vary.

For Dr. Brandt time was a “killer.” She knew it was her enemy and there was little she could do to defeat it. For Beethoven, he always needed “more time.” Time was outside of his control in-so-far as the variations were concerned; the variations wrote themselves and he just had to wait until all of the secrets were revealed. Schindler and Diabelli were prisoners of capitalist time; both needed more time to meet financial obligations or greater financial resources to meet obligations in the time allotted. Take your pick, the capitalists have always had the same problem with time! For Mike and Clara (the youth element) time had no meaning what-so-ever. This is the typical view of youth; Mike was in a routine career and Clara was busy “experimenting.” Neither felt any urgency to explore life’s options, a viewpoint that would doubtless change as their years accumulate. Finally, Dr. Gertrude Ladenburger, represents to me almost the Snoopy (in the Charles Schultz sense) of the characters. She lives for today; she has experienced a loss similar to the situation of Dr. Brandt; she takes the philosophical and yet humanist approach that one should reap as much in the present as one can. Contrary to one reviewer (who must have some sort of hang-ups about sex) I found that Dr. Ladenburger’s advocacy of engaging a “masseur” for Dr. Brandt only underscored her convictions that “the time is the present; carpe diem!”

"Wait until the evening before the opening night. Nothing primes inspiration more than necessity, whether it be the presence of a copyist waiting for your work or for the prodding of an impresario tearing his hair. In my time, all the impresarios in Italy were bald at thirty."

—Gioachino Rossini

So Kaufman takes the motif of time and repeats it, sequences it and embellishes (varies) it to arrive at this remarkable piece of theater that crosses the line between classical music and contemporary story-telling. What a happy experiment! We probably won’t see a lot of pieces for theater written this way, but who cares? Much of art is “one-off,” and we’re grateful that we have at least the single example for our enjoyment and enrichment.

One final word: Beethoven struggled with the closing of the variations. What did Kaufman do? First, in the imaginary conversation between Dr. Brandt and Beethoven he explores the notion of acceptance; Beethoven relates how his own acceptance ultimately resulted in his own freedom and he encourages Brandt to acknowledge that she has fought the valiant battle, but now is the time to surrender peacefully. Kaufman devised a superb closing when he chose to have Clara present her now deceased mother’s final paper to an academic forum. Kaufman sets the markers earlier when he conceals Dr. Brandt’s preparations for death from her own daughter Clara. Clara is hurt and angry and feels she has been unjustifiably isolated from her mother. Kaufman ties up this loose end by a theatrical “fade” from Dr. Brandt to Clara, reading the closing paragraphs of Brandt’s paper. Mother and daughter are thus reunited.

The 33rd variation, a minuet, is played; the entire cast joins in the dance, exchanging partners in endless variation.

Bravo Kaufman! Bravo Timeline! Of course, bravissimo Beethoven!

33 Variations presented at Stage 773, 1223 W Belmont, Chicago, IL 60657. Previews 8/24/2012 closes 10/21/2012. Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays (matinee and evening) and Sundays. Tickets $32–$42. More info: http://www.stage773.com/Show?id=22

The Newberry Consort (and Friends)

noreply@blogger.com (Milan Vydareny) — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 17:42:00 +0000

David Douglass and Ellen Hargis Show Dazzling Versatility

I have only discovered the Newberry Consort recently, meaning that although I knew of the name I never knew exactly what they did or nor had I experienced any of their performances. Now, after exposure to three of their remarkable presentations I am beginning to gain an appreciation of just what these artists are capable of giving us and the enjoyable journeys the lead through the span of several hundred years of early music.

Miracles, anyone?

First I attended Rosa das Rosas, a work in honor of the Virgin Mary commissioned by Alfonso X, a twelfth-century king of Castille, León and Galicia. The performance was accompanied by interesting visuals prepared to compliment the early music. The venue, St. Michael in Old Town, with its white and gold icons and imagery, was a stunning accompaniment to music that was, in essence, a token of gratitude for divine intervention.

Ellen Hargis

This was largely a vocal presentation with the solos of soprano Ellen Hargis soaring high into the nave of St. Michael in a flight of memorable beauty that mimicked the grateful King’s prayers of thanks.

Cloistered Gloom

My second experience moved from the courts of kings to the baroque convents of Italy and Mexico. Further, this was an “all woman” concert. All vocalists and instrumentalists were women with Consort co-Artistic Director Ellen Hargis leading the performers through a program that was composed and arranged by the women who populated these early religious institutions. For this performance I traveled to Rockefeller Memorial Chapel on the University of Chicago campus in Hyde Park. Rockefeller Chapel is a dreary place after sundown. The combination of darkened windows, subdued lighting and the music of these early convents invoked a solemn and somber mood for the evening.

Despite the subdued mood of the performance the experience was exhilarating. The single-sex presentation leaves an entirely different impression than does one of a mixed set of voices. It is not surprising that for the great 19^th century composer Johannes Brahms, composing for his beloved women’s chorus was a favorite diversion. Hargis had her female companions on this journey well-rehearsed and coalesced into a stunning ensemble.

The Court of Ferrara

Piffaro the Renaissance Band

My most recent exposure to Newberry Consort versatility was again at the Rockefeller Chapel. This time it was a brilliant day and the sun shone through the windows of the nave prompting an entirely different perspective on life and the music that was presented. The Newberry Consort partnered for this special concert (an event presented in addition to their regular season offerings) with The King’s Noyse and Piffaro, the renaissance Band to present a concert of music from the late 16^th century city of Ferrara, Italy. Consort co-Director Ellen Hargis provided the only vocal solos while co-Director David Douglass (also director of The King’s Noyse) performed instrumentally playing a Renaissance-style violin.

Douglass explains that the term noyse "...was only used for professional violinists, as in The King's Noyse. When violinists played with wind instruments at court, it was often referred to as the whole noyse. In the early 17th c. thomas Mace said the violin made a 'high-priz'd noyse fit to make a man's Ear Glow, and fill his brains full of frisks.'"

The effect of the timbres of the combined instrumentation was stunning. Besides the set (noyse) of Renaissance violins and Piffaro’s seemingly limitless access to drums, recorders, bagpipes, sackbuts, shawms, dulcians, krumhorns, lutes and guitars (many in several sizes) the superb vocal talents of Ellen Hargis soared above the musical accompaniments into the vaulted nave of Rockefeller. The oveall effect of this eclectic collection of instruments and the single superb voice of Hargis is not to be underestimated. The passions in the lyrics are also something of a marvel. Here is but one example:

Grievous martyrdoms, fierce torments, harsh fetters, evil snares, rough chains, where I night and day, every hour, every moment miserable lament my lost well-being; sad voices, complaints, cries and laments, tears shed and eternal afflictions are my nourishment and the treasured tranquility of my life, more bitter than any wormwood. Trans. Anthony Newcomb

Instrumentally there was great variety as might be expected given the vast array of instrumentation available. The entire performance, instrumental and vocal passed far too quickly and finished with what can only be described as a Renaissance hoe-down of some of the happiest music one might imagine at the court of Ferrara in the late 16^th century. Even, or perhaps especially, the musicians were having a great and enjoyable time. Maybe that’s why the audience had a great time as well.

Summary

My initial contact with The Newberry Consort was as a pro bono consultant working through the Arts & Business Council of Chicago. In that capacity I got to know some of the artistic and administrative talent behind the organization. It has turned out to be one of the better experiences of my administrative career and I count my exposure to early music through The Newberry Consort as one of the more valuable experiences of my artistic career.

Here I have tried to present the range of experiences I had while attending Newberry Consort performances. While I was initially somewhat puzzled by the first performance I attended, wondering if I could become interested in a program series comprised of programs exactly like the one I had experienced, I quickly discovered that Consort co-Artistic Directors Douglass and Hargis are far more interesting and capable than a one-trick pony. They possess a knowledge of early music that is both deep and broad and the variety of musical experience available at their carefully programmed presentations is some of the richest I have experienced for a number of years. Further, the music presented represents the foundations on which our present musical heritage is based, making it both accessible and informative as well as artistically satisfying.

If you’re looking for something different that will gently coax you to come back for more, try The Newberry Consort. They are one-of-a-kind and the musical artistry is of the highest caliber.

For more information, see their website: The Newberry Consort Home

This entry has been updated by correcting some spelling errors and by replacing my original text with Douglass's comments about the origins of the word noyse to correctly reflect the etymology of the word.

Spring Awakening

noreply@blogger.com (Milan Vydareny) — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 20:55:00 +0000

Spring Awakening

One Hundred Years of the Same Old Same Old

The Musical

What I saw this past weekend at Griffin Theatre Company’s production of the Steven Sater and Duncan Sheik Broadway show was in every sense of the word a modern rock musical, replete with over-amplified, ear-splitting and word-obfuscating sounds masquerading as musical expression. In fact, most sources describe Spring Awakening as an alternative rock musical. Unfortunately, there is no particular agreement on what alternative rock is except loud with lots of twanging guitars and an outgrowth of punk rock.

Despite all of this, Spring Awakening is a provocative and moving experience. The musical follows the plotline of the original Frank Wedekind play rather faithfully and this is probably the great strength of the Broadway version; they started with a compelling story and dropped some songs and dancing into the works to arrive at a more or less winning musical.

Time and Place

As is my custom when I know nothing about a piece I refrain from doing any research or reading about it preferring instead to allow my own reactions guide my original judgments. My original thoughts ran along the lines of dating the piece as being written in the 70s or 80s with a lot of attention paid to teen-aged angst, coming of age issues and the rebellion of youth. The short gay episode struck me as being something tacked on by the current director trying to take advantage of the current fad of having a couple of gay or lesbian characters in a production just to keep everybody happy.

This is wrong from a number of perspectives. Only after I started reading about the musical and the play that is its basis did I come to realize just how far ahead of its time this particular plotline was. The original play was the product of Frank Wedekind, a German playwright noted for his criticism of bourgeois attitudes, especially towards sex. Astonishingly, he wrote the play sometime around 1890 or 1891. Further, all of the parts we might consider “modern” theatrical perversions—masturbation, homosexuality, sadomasochism between teenagers, sexual abuse of children, abortion, rape and suicide—are a part of Wedekind’s original version.

As controversial as Wedekind was during his lifetime his contribution to theater is unquestioned. He anticipated expressionism and made a major contribution to epic theater. At one point he served a nine-month jail term for lèse-majesté (insulting a reigning head of state) brought about by the publication of some of his satirical poems. Wedekind’s two-play Erdgeist (Earth-spirit) was the basis for Alban Berg’s Lulu, one of the twentieth-centuries great operatic masterpieces.

Now that I have the time and place of the original story firmly in mind (late nineteenth century Germany) much of the action of the musical makes a great deal more sense. Izumi Inaba’s marvelous costume designs easily convey both the time and place of the action as well as firmly delineating the differences between the boys and girls that dominate the action and the elder characters who act as foils against which the youthful actors push. The industrial flavor of the set reminds us that at this time in world history the Western nations were seriously pursuing their courses toward industrialization; the age of machines was upon mankind with a vengeance.

Against this backdrop of severely repressed sexuality, the German traditions of pflict und arbeit (duty and work), the rebellious nature of all youth and the grim realities that often invade our everyday existence, the musical proceeds to unwind its tale of tragedy and hope.

The Music

Wedekind’s magical story provides a firm and unshakable underpinning for Spring Awakening. What could have made a truly great Broadway production out of this raw material is unfortunately missing. There are really no memorable songs or musical numbers in the over two-hour production. While it is true there is lots of “music,” and a great deal of energetic stomping (Nicole Pellegrino’s efforts at choreography seemed to consist of a great deal of foot stamping, twisting and leaping) what was missing was the feeling that music was making a significant contribution to an already praise-worthy plotline.

Add to this the entirely confusing sound design by Rick Sims and Josh Horvath and one wonders if the original Wedekind play in an English translation wouldn’t have been just as satisfying. For openers, there was way too much amplification of the band. The thundering sounds emanating from the instrumental musicians more than drowned the vocals of most of the singers. To counter this, singers were miked either by passing wireless hand-held instruments around or by wearing wireless transmitters whose outlines were visible under clothing. It’s not clear that all singers were always miked; some appeared to sing without the benefit of any audio assist and these were moments of absolute musical ecstasy. The rest of the time, using amplified singers to overcome the excessive levels of the instrumentalists, words became a jumble of meaningless mumblings that absolutely defied decryption or comprehension.

Some of the best vocal parts occurred as in the final anthem The Song of Purple Summer that found the entire company singing as an ensemble, without any audio assist, so far as I was able to determine. This is what real music is about and should have been used (while suitably subduing the instrumental output) for the entire show.

The room is small, seating only about 100 patrons, so it’s not like filling the Lyric Opera and doesn’t take that kind of voice training. The few times singers did seem to sing against the instrumental accompaniment sans microphone the effect was both pleasing and had plenty of power.

There may be two reasons for using the strange combination of partial audio assist: first, two performances were typically scheduled for Saturday and that alone may have necessitated some help for the youthful singers whose voices are simply not accustomed to that kind of non-stop abuse over an extended period in a single day and second, not all singers are created equal and I’m thinking here specifically of Josh Salt the charismatic Melchior Gabor who ultimately survives to move on with life. The role of Melchior is large and Salt was called upon to sing major portions of about half of all the musical numbers. Salt seemed to have everything in his favor: looks, charisma, acting ability, a willingness to appear partially nude and boundless energy. What he needs some help with is his singing; he has plenty of vocal power but that seems to fail him when he is required to sing for long periods and indeed, toward the end of the show (his second for the day) his voice seemed to grow increasingly tired and less able to project as he might want it to even with the help of an audio assist.

There were plenty of good moments, as well. Josh Salt’s fine contribution has already been noted. Aja Wiltshire’s sensitive portrayal of Wendla, Melchior’s love object, was convincing. Mathew Fletcher’s portrayal of Moritz was inspired as was Fletcher’s singing (his was one of the best voices I hear that evening). Lindsay Leopold’s portrayal of Ilse was alluring to say the least. Ilse’s flight to the life of a Bohemian struck a bell in my own psyche and I found myself wanting to flee with her even though Moritz refused.

Special mention goes to Vanessa Greenway and Larry Baldacci who portrayed a variety of “elders” during the course of the evening. Various parents, school teachers, preachers and ministers, all came to life in the hands of these two veterans of the stage. They provided a strong anchor to the otherwise wild exuberance of the young actors.

Finally, a short but sweet episode between Adam Fane (Hanschen) and Adam Molloy (Ernst) deserves a brief kudo. Despite the late nineteenth century setting, Wedekind chose to present the first stirrings of love between two young men. Fane and Molloy gave it the sincerity it needed without the schmaltz it might have provoked.

The Verdict

It’s a worthwhile show, a good solid production and based on a great story and plot line. If you haven’t seen it, you should and you’ll probably enjoy it as did I. I could be a lot better musically. As I write these lines the show is closing. But if you get a chance to see Spring Awakening even with some of the flaws I have mentioned you won’t be unhappy for the experience.

Spring Awakening produced by The Griffin Theatre Company at Theater Wit closes today, January 8, 2012 with a 3:00 PM performance.

Blake Montgomery’s Charles Dickens Scintillates

noreply@blogger.com (Milan Vydareny) — Sun, 25 Dec 2011 19:00:00 +0000

Charles Dickens Begrudgingly Performs A Christmas Carol. Again.

I have seen lots of theater this holiday season that ranges from the absurd that is barely a cut above the amateur to the honed professionalism of actors well-versed in their art and craft. There were two that stand out in my memory as “best of season” and both are one-man presentations. Earlier, I reviewed The Sanaland Diaries at Wandering Through Chicago's Arts and Culture: Murder on the North Pole Express. Yesterday, as a capstone to my Christmas theater travels, I watched the last performance of Blake Montgomery’s realization of what it must have been like for Charles Dickens to repeatedly present his annual reading of what is perhaps the best-loved of all Christmas novels, A Christmas Carol.

I am familiar with Montgomery’s style of theater development; it is an organic method that starts with a story and then attempts to tell that story on the stage. In the process a lot of discovery takes place, a lot of questions are asked and a lot of questions are answered. The result is always something that departs from the original words of the story’s originator and morphs into a uniquely Blake Montgomery vision of events and, most significantly, characters.

This is theater for audiences that enjoy thinking; it is not theater for the intellectually immature. If you need to be taken by the hand, have every nuance explained and made explicit then you’ll probably not find a great deal to make you comfortable in one of Montgomery’s Building Stage productions. On the other hand, if you enjoy looking into the hearts and minds of “real” people (whether fictional or factual) then Montgomery is your man. I don’t mean to suggest that a Ph.D. in philosophy or psychology is a prerequisite to enjoying a Blake Montgomery creation. To the contrary, ordinary living will provide you with sufficient tools to understand and appreciate what’s going on during the performance. However, if you’re used to “multitasking” and sending and receiving texts throughout your day; if you’re essentially unfocused in your activities; if your attention span is something bordering thirty seconds; if your mind runs in long strings of abbreviations like “BFF,” or “WTF” or any number of countless other shortcuts now in vogue, you’ll probably have a hard time becoming sufficiently involved to enjoy what Montgomery serves up in the way of in-depth and nuanced development. [Aside: Current evidence refutes the notion that humans are capable of “multitasking.” The reverse seems to be the case and to attempt to “multitask” is to ensure output that is both lower in quality and longer in development.]

The production itself is refreshingly unique. The front of the program announces, “Tea. Biscuits. Spiritual Terror.” The scenic design of Pamela Maurer is a wonder. You enter a Victorian drawing room through a stately Victorian front door. (To me it is nothing short of miraculous how Montgomery’s sets always appear to be “the real thing” and not just a set.) Mr. Dickens is already serving tea with biscuits and other goodies. He invites the audience to enjoy a cup of tea and a biscuit or scone. Once everyone is settled in and quietly sipping their tea Mr. Dickens attempts to avoid yet another telling of A Christmas Carol but is thwarted repeatedly by a poltergeist, apparently also a part of Lighting Designer Matthew Gawryk’s plan, with some skill at operating a modern theatrical light board. Eventually, Mr. Dickens capitulates and the story is retold, making this reading the 159^th annual reading for the recalcitrant Mr. Dickens. Montgomery starts off with a convincing British dialect that he maintains throughout the entire production. Montgomery’s skills with words and Izumi Inaba’s convincing costume immediately convey us back to Victorian England for an evening in a world we can only create in our imaginations.

Reading accounts of the life of Charles Dickens one is struck by the extremes he experienced in all directions. His childhood was marked by periods of extreme poverty and unhappiness, yet as an accomplished, wealthy and famous—even adored—writer he sailed over the heads of his peers surely and easily. Despite his occupation being “writer,” he was perhaps best known in his later years as a public figure and performer. Indeed, his acting skills were prodigious and evident at an early age. This combined with his nearly occult ability to read and describe characters, made his literary and stage efforts an unparalleled experience for his fans world-wide.

It is the stage presence of Dickens that Blake Montgomery captures so effectively in this Building Stage Production. Dickens is the charming and polite host, entertaining his audience; Dickens is the humorous, sometimes silly author connecting with his adoring fans; Dickens is the profoundly dramatic portrayer of some of mankind’s deepest fears and self-doubt. Montgomery captures all of this with such apparent ease that in the tradition of all great impersonations the audience forgets that they are, as Montgomery notes, “in a black-box theater in Chicago’s West industrial corridor.” They are in a drawing room, with Charles Dickens, who is recreating as only Dickens can amazing characters that populate his novel.

Montgomery does not fail to explore Dickens’s protagonist in A Christmas Carol, Ebenezer Scrooge. During the exposition of the Dickens story we get glimpses of Scrooge’s early life, not surprisingly different from some of Dickens’s own early experiences. Montgomery deftly becomes Scrooge and each of the four ghosts who visit the miserly Scrooge before his rebirth and epiphany. We suddenly realize, along with Scrooge, that despite a life of hoarding there are still vestiges of humanity in the old miser that only await the correct stimulus to reawaken.

This complexity is nothing short of marvelous; Blake Montgomery becomes Charles Dickens to the point where we are no longer able to distinguish between Montgomery and Dickens. Then Dickens becomes Scrooge and we explore the mind of Scrooge and his four apparitions through the lens of Dickens. The effect is stunning and an example of the maturing style and ability of The Building Stage’s Artistic Director, Blake Montgomery.

As for the story that Charles Dickens penned, we already know how that story concludes; we understand the twists and turns it takes. What is important here is neither the story nor the conclusion; what is important is the journey we take with Blake Montgomery as our guide to travel through familiar ground and learn new insights, experience new emotions and depart with an increased understanding of one of the great literary geniuses of the 19^th century and the role he played in the artistic parade of Western Civilization.

I cannot imagine a better capstone for my holiday theater going than The Building Stage’s production of Charles Dickens Begrudgingly Performs A Christmas Carol. Again. Let’s hope that Montgomery decides to present the 160^th annual reading in December of 2012. If he does, don’t fail to see it. It may just become one of your own cherished holiday traditions.

Murder on the North Pole Express

noreply@blogger.com (Milan Vydareny) — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 00:58:00 +0000

Murder on the North Pole Express

The Santaland Diaries Explores the Dark Side of Customer Service

David Sedaris first aired his essay The Santaland Diaries on NPR’s Morning Edition on December 23^rd, 1992. It has become a staple of the Christmas Season ever since. After twenty years it probably qualifies as “tired,” “trite,” “venerable,” or “shopworn.” But let’s face it: pieces like The Santaland Diaries, Dickens’s A Christmas Carol, the film Holiday Inn (think of the Irving Berlin song White Christmas,) Dylan Thomas’s A Child’s Christmas in Wales and Truman Capote’s A Christmas Memory all satisfy an urgent and powerful need of the human spirit; we need to be connected during the holiday season regardless of whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukah, Kwanza, the Pagan Solstice or the simple pleasures of the Atheist who treasures time spent with family and loved ones.

Actor Mitchell Fain skillfully becomes Crumpet, the Elf, who works at a variety of positions at Macy’s Santaland. One by one he recounts the adventures and absurdities of parents, children, fellow elves and even Santa himself during this seventy-five minute one-man romp through the detritus of Christmas.

This particular version of Sedaris’s essay has been turned into adult theater by Joe Mantello. Some of the language would never make it on the air at NPR and some of the innuendo is definitely borderline XXX. These features are what make The Santaland Diaries resonate so strongly with audience members who have worked in service jobs, customer service positions or who have in general been faced with the daunting task of satisfying the often irrational and unreasonable demands of that mythic and ethereal being, “the customer.”

Fain, appropriately costumed as Crumpet, keeps interest high with interesting blocking and frequent shifts about the Joey Wade designed set that is probably ten times as inviting as anything Macy’s ever offered its clientele. Fain also has the uncanny ability to connect with everyone in the audience simultaneously. You feel as though he is telling you this story of his adventures over coffee at your local Starbucks.

Is there a message here for us all? Of course, there is. Be we’ve already heard it many times before. We know that we’re all obsessed with materialism at Christmas. We all become raging animals because of the incredible stress we experience when the Winter Solstice approaches. It is also worthwhile to hear this message again and again as we struggle to maintain our balance in life while still honoring whatever it is we want to honor at this time of the year. Santaland Diaries reminds us of our innate natures as human beings and cautions us to live a life of balance and fullness without becoming one of the monstrous creatures that made Crumpet’s life the “interesting” experience it was as he worked as an Elf in that magic place called Santaland.

Incidentally, toward the conclusion of Santaland Diaries Crumpet encounters a Santa he’s never worked with before. This Santa’s name was not on the list of regular “Santas” employed by the department store. I was more than touched as Fain/Crumpet recounted how this final Santa was able to satisfy parents and children without ever promising the child great material gifts. It is a brief but poignant moment in Santaland Diaries, but one well worth remembering. Fain handles it with remarkable sensitivity and skill.

Santaland Diaries is highly recommended, even if you’ve seen it before—even if you’ve seen it several times before. If you enjoy repeat performances of this kind of show, to hell with the nay-sayers; what do they know about satisfying your inner needs for connection over the holiday season? You can do much worse than watch someone as talented and skilled as Mitchell Fain who makes you smile, makes you nod in assent, and who makes you grateful that you at least can choose how you want to celebrate this holiday season.

Santaland Diaries plays at Theater Wit at 1229 West Belmont Avenue on Chicago’s North side through December 31^st, 2011. Visit Theater Wit: smart art or phone the box office at 773-975-8150 for tickets.

It’s Not Easy To Get Laid These Days

noreply@blogger.com (Milan Vydareny) — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 15:48:00 +0000

It’s Not Easy To Get Laid These Days

Date Me Explores the Trials of Thirty-Something Womanhood

Noemi Schlosser and Michelle Slonim are best friends attending a wedding. They each have been unable to find a date and so are marooned at the bar together where they share about seventy-five minutes of some of the bawdiest adventures imaginable. As the wedding reception drags on the two women consume substantial amounts of the free-flowing Champaign that only adds to the frank and graphic depictions of their past escapades not to mention contributing to a very unsteady Slonim toward the play’s conclusion.

Don’t misunderstand these women, however. They are not ordinary sluts willing to take any man that happens along. Far from that, they have standards, preferring, for example, men who are circumcised as well as men who can boast of twenty-two centimeter equipment. (Schlosser is Belgian and they use the metric system to gauge a man’s important statistic. It turns out to be 8.66 inches in case you’re wondering.) Wealth is also a strong indicator of a man’s desirability.

The cell phone plays an important part in this glimpse of modern social intercourse. This writer has long believed that the cell phone along with texting has very nearly destroyed our last vestiges of civilized behavior and this is amply illustrated by Schlosser and Slonim as they interrupt their fast-paced romp through their recent sexual history frequently to send or receive calls and messages to their various trysts and amorous partners.

The “DJ” at the wedding adds a nice contrasting touch. Actors Brandon Galatz and Josh Odor alternate the role of the DJ. He’s a nice, stable accountant who makes a good living so bouncing him against Schlosser and Slonim only adds to the extreme promiscuity exhibited by the horny pair.

This is not a profound piece of theater although it does make one wonder overall what has become of our interpersonal relations when we evaluate a potential lover by metrics rather than more subtle and subjective means. This play gives us a glimpse at two women but the practice is just as common among men. Perhaps it is somehow related to texting and (dare I mention) Facebook, where your profile allows for limited kinds of information that tends to compartmentalize those individuals who don’t take the time to actually compose a prose narrative.

This is also a very tight and well-oiled production. You enter the theater space with the wedding reception in progress; they offer you a shot of beer; you’re invited on stage to dance awhile at the reception. Now that you’re in the mood for the wedding reception, Schlosser and Slonim take off on their romp through their brand of liberal young womanhood.

There are a few more surprises as the reception proceeds and things get raunchier and raunchier right up to the curtain but you should treat yourself to this production yourself rather than read spoilers in a blog. It’s a great evening of laughs and reflection on life and love in the modern world. You won’t be sorry you went to this wedding.

Date Me! Plays at Theater Wit, 1229 West Belmont on Chicago’s North side through December 18, 2011. See Theater Wit: smart art for show times and tickets or call the Theater Wit box office at 773-975-8150.

Paul Varnell: RIP

noreply@blogger.com (Milan Vydareny) — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 17:47:00 +0000

Paul Varnell: RIP

Some Reflections on the Passing of an Old Friend

The Passing of Paul Varnell

Paul Varnell

Paul Varnell passed from this life on December 9, 2011 sometime in the afternoon. He had been experiencing a decline in health for some time and those of us who knew and cared were certainly prepared for what will be the final journey for all of us. It is inevitable when faced with the loss of a friend, no matter how much anticipated, that we stop to reflect a little on the life of the lost traveler and our own interactions over the years we knew, worked, played and enjoyed each other’s company. In Paul’s case it is a complex story; Paul was in some ways a complex man while in others he was crystal clear and transparent, never wavering from a strongly held set of values and ethics.

What follows are some of the highlights of my own interactions with Paul over time along with some notes about a few of his other noteworthy activities. I’m sure that many others will have relevant information to add to the story.

Paul is gone but I hope he will not be forgotten. His life is a model for many of the best characteristics of a man worthy of adoption and emulation by us all. His legacy is substantial.

His friends miss him greatly.

Independent Gay Forum

I first became involved with Paul in the 1990s. My own partner of 13 years died in 1994 and my life drifted to and fro without much direction. Bruce Bawer published Beyond Queer: Challenging Gay Left Orthodoxy in 1996. Beyond Queer included a number of essays by Paul along with others penned by Bruce Bawer, Stephen H. Miller, Andrew Sullivan, Jonathan Rauch, Mel Dahl, Stephen H. Chapman, David Link, Norah Vincent and David Boaz. With Bawer’s and the original authors’ permission we established a website to publish some of the essays contained in the book along with other work from other sources. Paul became the Independent Gay Forum’s first editor while I managed the technical aspects, becoming its first webmaster.

Over time Paul contributed many articles to the IGF website. I still have what I believe to be a complete archive of all of Paul’s articles now that the IGF has evolved into a different kind of program.

My own life took a different path toward the end of the 1990s and I turned my IGF responsibilities over to more capable hands while remaining an interested observer and avid reader of IGF content.

Around 2010 the IGF reevaluated its program and concluded that a shift in emphasis was in order. The IGF Culture Watch — IGF Culture Watch website explains it best:

IGF Culture Watch emerged from the Independent Gay Forum project. The original IGF project was created by a group of gay writers, academics, attorneys, and activists who felt dissatisfied with the then current level of discussion of gay-related issues. A great deal has been accomplished in the less than two decades since IGF was formed. Gay issues are now very much mainstream. The left-wing has lost much of its once exclusive grip on gay issues. Gays are now taking their place at the American political and cultural table, as equals, instead of as political pawns. With these advances, it was decide that The Independent Gay Forum should be downgraded from a formal 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization to a watch-keeper blog site, IGF Culture Watch.

We still hold the following goals and values:

· We support the full inclusion of gays and lesbians in civil society with legal equality and equal social respect. We argue that gays and lesbians, in turn, contribute to the creativity, robustness, and decency of our national life.

· We share a belief in the fundamental virtues of the American system and its traditions of individual liberty, personal moral autonomy and responsibility, and equality before the law. We believe those traditions depend on the institutions of a market economy, free discussion, and limited government.

· We deny “conservative” claims that gays and lesbians pose any threat to social morality or the political order.

· We equally oppose “progressive” claims that gays should support radical social change or restructuring of society.

· We share an approach, but we disagree on many particulars. We include libertarians, limited-government conservatives, moderates, and classical liberals. We hold differing views on the role of government, personal morality, religious faith, and personal relationships. We share these disagreements openly: we hope that readers will find them interesting and thought-provoking.

Activism

Paul Varnell was, if anything, the epitome of a gay activist. He was a long-time columnist for more than one gay newspaper in Chicago and his columns also appeared in other gay publications from coast to coast. It is perhaps for his writing as it appeared in print and on the internet that Paul will be best remembered.

But Paul was much more than a writer. He was also a leader, although he would probably dispute that assertion. With his quiet, polite and gentle style Paul achieved much on behalf of gay advancement over the years. I found a sampling of some of his activities in a short biography that appears on the Internet at Paul Varnell: "The controversy over poppers".

Paul Varnell writes a weekly column for the Chicago Free Press and other gay newspapers.

He has also written for Reason magazine, the Advocate, Lambda Book Report, and the Chicago Reader. Some of his essays were included in Beyond Queer (Free Press, 1996) and The Bedford Guide for College Writers (Bedford, 1999).

Varnell has been involved in gay advocacy for more than two decades. He headed the education committee of the Gay/Lesbian Union in DeKalb, Illinois, 1977-1982, was a board member of Parents and Friends of Gays in Chicago, 1983-84; and chaired the Media Committee of the Illinois Gay and Lesbian Task Force in Chicago, 1983-1990. He was a co-founder of Gay History Month in 1994.

He was a member of the Chicago AIDS Task Force and was appointed to the Illinois Department of Health's AIDS Advisory Committee. His areas of interest include classical music, gay history, political philosophy, libertarian theory, and socio-economic analysis.

Many of Paul Varnell’s previous columns are posted at the Independent Gay Forum.

In 2004 I joined Paul in protesting the appearance of the Jamaican reggae artist Capleton, whose patois lyrics of violence, murder and hate target gays and lesbians. The Chicago Tribune reported the protest at Anti-gay reggae - Chicago Tribune. This movement against all reggae artists spreading hate and violence has continued to the present. A small compendium of concert cancellations that resulted from these protests can be seen at Murder Inna Dancehall: Bounty Killer Concerts Cancelled.

This is only my personal involvement with one of Paul’s activities. He was constantly aware of the cutting edge of gay activism and the progress of the gay movement toward full equality and inclusion in society.

Personal Life

Paul was a generally private individual. His personal involvements were not shared with a wide audience. Yet there are certain parts of Paul’s interaction with others that cast a brilliant light on Paul Varnell the human being and illustrate the great kindness and affection he had for others. New York Journalist Jennifer Vanasco writes:

What I loved best about Paul was his unrelenting kindness. Paul was encouraging of me very early in my career. When he thought I got something wrong in print or in person, he pointed it out in the most gentle possible way. He was a great sounding board and warm friend. What I miss most, already, is him calling in his deliciously rounded voice, saying “Hello, it's Paul Varnell,” as if we shared a joke, or were about to.

I was proud to share an op-ed page with him for 15 years at our Chicago paper. Any libertarian tendencies I have I owe to him and his gentle and thoughtful persuasion.

I miss him already.

“Unrelenting kindness.” What greater tribute might one ask as a remembrance? I can offer nothing to surpass Vanasco’s description of Paul’s most memorable characteristic. I, too, was the recipient of Paul’s gentle persuasion and kindness.

Legacy

Paul leaves behind a legacy of what it means to be an effective activist whether that be for gay causes or otherwise. His gentle, polite and rational approach to issues will long stand as a model to those who follow.

Paul’s philosophy and activism is well preserved in his numerous articles and essays available from many sources.

Likewise, his early efforts as the Editor of the Independent Gay Forum leaves behind a strong legacy of quality internet journalism that has grown and evolved over the years into what remains a strong and important voice for the advancement of gay and lesbian rights.

Paul’s early efforts on behalf of Gay History Month are mentioned in the Wikipedia article LGBT History Month - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Begun in 1994 this month-long celebration remains with us today and in 2005 similar observances were initiated in England and Scotland. Since these early efforts, interest in gay history has seen progressively greater attention. In Chicago Tracy Baim, Publisher and Executive Editor of Windy City Media Group Gay Lesbian Bisexual and Trans News, launched the Chicago Gay History website that features an extensive series of video histories of prominent gay Chicagoans. In one such video Activist Tim Drake recounts how he and Paul accompanied two reporters from Chicago’s mainstream press to a downtown gay bar for after-work cocktails and even to a Mr. Chicago Leather competition in their efforts to educate and inform the non-gay community about gay culture and issues.

Doubtless other examples of Paul’s lasting legacy will be found as time passes. There will likely be a public memorial service to celebrate and recount the life of Paul Varnell. Paul is gone, but his memory will live on and in all probability easily exceed my own lifetime and the lifetimes of those yet unborn.

Thank you, Paul. It was an honor and privilege to know you, work with you and learn from you.

May you rest in peace.

Indifferent Torture

noreply@blogger.com (Milan Vydareny) — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 17:20:00 +0000

Indifferent Torture

Sound of Silence by Jean Cocteau at Theater Wit

Indifference is one of the most powerful instruments of torture possessed by man. Since it is a form of psychological torture it is difficult to detect, intense but subtle in its effects and despite the fact that the victim probably has complete control over the application, nearly impossible to defend.

The premise of this hour-long monologue is simple: an attractive night club singer is in an unsatisfying relationship with her lover, who routinely abandons her for trysts with his ageing mistress. He also completely ignores the singer by taking refuge behind his newspaper. In this production, the lover is actually portrayed by a projection; it is physically impossible for the image to respond even if given stout blows with a club. The singer is thus trapped by a combination of her love and attraction to the lover and his torturous and complete indifference to her presence, monologue or needs.

The seeming paradox of the effects of indifference—the suffering contrasted with the simple solution of simply abandoning the unsatisfactory relationship—is explored in depth by the gifted European actress Noemi Schlosser. The piece begins with a low level of anxiety as the singer nervously awaits the return of her lover and builds in intensity as the lover returns, withdraws into his newspaper and maintains absolute indifference to her presence.

We are given two subtle devices to observe the passage of great time during the piece. First, there is an image of a telephone that simply exists as unresponsive as the lover. It becomes a symbol of indifference equal in its ability to inflict pain by virtue of its complete silence for most of the piece. On the occasions the telephone does ring, the results are disappointing further heightening effect of psychological pain by first promising relief and then inflicting even greater agony.

The other device used is the image of an ashtray with slowly burning cigarettes. One by one as each cigarette burns to the end it is augmented by another newly lit cigarette. This progression slowly fills the ash tray as a constant reminder that besides being an intense form of torture, indifference can be applied for extended periods of time without danger of the victim expiring because of physical damage.

As the piece proceeds we are witness to the emotions and torments of the singer as she struggles with the indifference of her lover. The effect is profound and the impact strong. This kind of exposition is not easy to achieve and certainly can’t be achieved quickly or with the theatrical devices typically sought by audiences more interested in easily grasped stories and explicitly stated moral lessons. Rather, Sound of Silence is a trip inside the mind of a single individual as she struggles with her inability to remove the pain she is experiencing. It is a journey that takes time to experience and indeed, it does not have a destination; the journey is the point of this intense exploration, not any particular dénouement.

Costuming for the singer is interesting because of its extremes. She appears most frequently in a “little black dress” replete with platform heels. Frequently, however, she removes the dress revealing her 1940s style lingerie. There is something appealing about an attractive woman dressed only in period lingerie—bra, panties, garter belt and stockings (this was before the era of panty-hose, remember). Her final costume is in reality a long, brilliantly red train of cloth that extends from the footlights to her exit up stage left. This exit is accompanied by a cabaret song in French with supertitles mercifully provided for those of us (me included) that are completely unable to understand the French language.

This is an absorbing piece, and judging from the total silence of the audience around me all were as absorbed in Schlosser’s brilliant performance as I was. It’s also a piece for mature audiences. By this I mean audiences who have experienced something of life and love on their own, not necessarily those of any advancing age; some have had profoundly moving life experiences even as youth. To really understand the singer and her travails it is almost imperative that the viewer have experienced something similar in his or her lifetime although perhaps not with the same intensity. The piece made me recall occasions where my own inability to control the indifference of a real or imagined lover had made my own existence vastly more painful than was necessary.

Sound of Silence is highly recommended. It appears at Theater Wit, 1229 West Belmont on Chicago’s North side through December 17^th, 2011.

Riff Raff

noreply@blogger.com (Milan Vydareny) — Sun, 25 Sep 2011 07:20:00 +0000

Riff Raff

By Laurence Fishburne

The Story

Mike Cherry, Eric Sherman-Christ, Eduardo Martinez

Riff Raff tells the story of Michael (20/20) Leon and Michael (Torch) Murphy, two New York half-brothers who attempt to steal four kilos of heroine. Instead, they end up with three kilos and a trail of murder and violence as they end up hiding in an abandoned New York apartment. Enter Tony (The Tiger), an old drug dealing partner of 20/20. The minimalist plot unfolds for 110 violence-filled minutes. In fact, there isn’t a great deal of plot to unfold. 20/20 and Torch attempt to steal four kilos of heroin from the most powerful drug lord in New York City. In the process they kill the drug lord’s nephew. They take flight and end up in an abandoned apartment. 20/20 calls his old friend Tony The Tiger to ask Tony to help them escape the wrath of the drug lord.

The Real Story

As the characters interact with one another we learn a great deal about their individual weaknesses and strengths. Torch hates to be called “Bro.” by 20/20. He also hates to be called “Stupid.” He’s an incredibly violent man and prone to solve all of his problems by simply killing those he doesn’t like or who he perceives as a threat. 20/20 on the other hand perceives himself as very street-wise and smart when he actually has terribly misjudged just about everyone in the play along with a number of other characters who never appear but who play significant roles in the play’s ultimate resolution. 20/20 is also terrified of rats. Tony the Tiger may in fact be the one with the most street-smarts. He has a wife and daughter who matter to him although he elects to support them by dealing in drugs.

Mike cherry, Eduardo Martinez

Each of the characters has a long monologue that tells us how he arrived at his present station in life. None of the characters is the least bit likeable and early on there are probably none in the audience who have anything but contempt for the lot of these amoral, murderous and anti-social misfits. But the fact that they are misfits and how they came to be that way is what makes this play an important exploration. Circumstance impacts human development in many ways and while it may be comforting for the existentialists to point out how individual choice is what determines outcomes, that choice is often denied the very young or the very vulnerable. Should we be at all sympathetic toward these characters or should we grateful that most of them are no longer able to hurt other members of society?

There is no easy answer to that question, of course. But what may be of greater significance is our ability to perceive how grave mistakes like 20/20, Torch and Tiger are created and how we as a society might mitigate future occurrences.

At the play’s conclusion, I breathed a sigh of relief that I no longer had to be in such close proximity with these incredibly miserable and disgusting human beings.

Production

Mary Arrchie is the perfect venue for a play set in an abandoned New York City apartment. The seating feels like an extension of the set. Floors haven’t been swept for perhaps ten years. You are “in the mood” before the piece even starts. When 20/20 hears the scratching of rats, I was certain I felt something run over my foot! With only three members in the cast, a one-act production nearly two hours in length, and a dramatic intensity that exhausts even the audience, there is little room for any performance less than about 110% of the actor’s ability. Unfortunately, Eduardo Martinez (20/20) wasn’t always up to the task. On a couple of occasions he had to grope a bit for a line or a word; the book just wasn’t completely solid in his head. Martinez did have a firm grasp on the important monologue by 20/20 detailing his sordid criminal history. Mike Cherry (Torch) turned in a consistently solid performance that convincingly portrayed both his physical (his hand had been injured among other things) as well as his emotional sufferings. Likewise, his monologue provided the needed back-story of his journey from earliest youth to a life of violent crime. Eric Sherman Christ (Tony the Tiger) also turned in a convincing portrayal of a crafty, street-smart and ruthless criminal who was never-the-less able to “sell” a number of ideas to both 20/20 and Torch that ultimately resulted in great benefit to Tony but that were the final undoing of both 20/20 and Torch. Tony’s long rap about his life as a pimp with a “ho” seemed somehow out of place in a piece that was primarily concerned with violent drug dealing but did serve to cement the idea that Tony was a crafty and ruthless adversary.

Riff Raff runs through October 30 at Mary Arrchie. By the way, the playwright’s setting states that the time is the Present All Hallows Eve, making this a perfect choice for your Halloween outing! Don’t expect any answers, but instead expect a better understanding of the problem.

Farragut North

noreply@blogger.com (Milan Vydareny) — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 22:54:00 +0000

Farragut North

Stage Left Theatre

And You Thought Politics Was About…

I’m not sure what I thought politics was about when I went to see this remarkable play by thirty-something playwright Beau Willimon. Certainly I didn’t think it was about what I saw. I almost never read reviews about plays I’m about to see and confine my “research” to the hype posted by the theater company. I’m almost never disappointed by this tactic since it permits me to form my own reactions and opinions as the production unfolds before my eyes.

Farragut North Cast

What first strikes you is the incredibly crisp set presented by Scenic Designer Roger Wykes. The formal, grey-blue tongue-and-groove paneling atop the clean, dark blue with white picture-frame wainscot speaks nothing of the perfidy you’re about to witness as Farragut North unfolds.

Playwright Willimon tells us in the Dramaturg’s Notes that “…the atmosphere of it, the paranoia, the bald ambition, the gluttony for power and the ways in which all those things can warp your soul—it was all there.” Years ago I was involved in a grass-roots presidential campaign and actually ran for statewide office (as an elector) by accident. I was there; they needed a name; they put mine on the form. I witnessed up close the same kinds of behavior that Willimon presents to us in this masterwork of political drama. This is not a play about political issues; it is a play about moral decay and the gamesmanship of politics at its worst.

Stage Left Scores

Brian Plocharczyk (Stephen) and Melanie Derleth (Molly)

There is little if anything to dislike about this strong Stage Left production. If you’ve ever worked even slightly on a political campaign you’ll recognize the characters easily and Stage Left has cast them to a T. The heavy lifting in the piece is born by Stage Left ensemble member Brian Plocharczyk portraying Stephen Bellamy, the whiz-kid Press Secretary who leaves no doubt in our minds as to his unquenchable desire to be a success in politics. Bellamy works for Paul, the Governor of Iowa’s Campaign Manager ably presented by Mike Dailey. Ian McLaren plays a smaller but critical role as the Campaign Manager for “the other side,” and indeed, when the play concludes we are left with the distinct feeling that it was McLaren’s character that emerges as the grand puppet-master in the entire charade. Melanie Derleth, Sandy Elias and Sarah Denison turn in strong supporting roles, especially Denison whose NYT Reporter character Ida teaches us that it’s not only the politicians who are morally bankrupt. Andy Quijano fills in with some important ancillary roles to round out this excellent cast.

The play is set in Des Moines, Iowa, during Iowa’s presidential caucuses and is very loosely based on the playwright’s experiences working on the 2004 Howard Dean campaign for President. Although the incidents are fiction, the ambiance and attitudes reflect what Willimon saw during his various assignments working on political campaigns.

The dialog is quick and wonky. It helps if you read about politics somewhat regularly. The pacing and rhythm of Stage Left’s production is fast but skillfully and executed. As we might say in the musical world, the tuttis and intonation are nearly perfect.

Farragut North | Stage Left Theatre runs until October 9^th, 2011 at Theatre Wit on Belmont. This is one you won’t want to miss. And if even ten percent of what it shows us is true, what does that say about the state of American politics?

The Double

noreply@blogger.com (Milan Vydareny) — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 20:07:00 +0000

The Double

Babes With Blades Theatre Company

Fun With Swashbuckling

I wasn’t going to bother seeing this despite getting numerous offers from the various coupon/deal companies that seem to fill my in-box with offers for mostly massages and pedicures. Then I realized that in only a few minutes I could walk to the theatre from my apartment so I said what the heck, I’ll give it a shot. I wasn’t disappointed. Don’t look for a profound message in The Double. Right up front the director tells us that it’s “screwball comedy.” But what great fun it is, none-the-less.

The Double is a play about a play—always a winning concept in my book. Set in the 1940s The Double concerns a troupe of actors trying to mount a play about Cyrano de Bergerac and naturally are struggling to find funding. There are numbers of romantic involvements in the script, one that turns out to be a reunion of a married couple, another that makes a discovery about women who love women and yet another case of mistaken intentions—men who are friendly are not necessarily interested in a romantic involvement.

Throughout all of this craziness we are treated to a number of scenes on the vast open floor of the set that are nothing short of breathtakingly energetic and exciting examples of physical theater. In one scene a woman whose sensibilities have been offended by a faux-suitor throws a tantrum to end all tantrums not to mention throwing her shoes, purse and any other object she can lay her hands on. In yet another scene in a 1940s night club, we are given an energetic series of dances by two women who must certainly have learned their craft at Actor’s Gymnasium or some other school for circus arts. It was one of the most absorbing pieces of choreography I’ve seen in some time.

Then, there is the final sword fight involving nearly all the cast. What else would you expect from a theatre company named Babes With Blades? When it’s all over, not only are the actors completely relaxed without a trace of exhaustion (only the audience is exhausted by the action) but they have secured their funding.

What a great time and a chance to really laugh, smile and enjoy yourself for a couple of hours.

The Company

According to the program, Babes With Blades Theatre Company uses stage combat to place women and their stories center stage. They do that to perfection. Coming up next March Babes With Blades will be presenting Trash | babeswithblades.org. Check it out, I’m sure you’ll have the time of your life, but don’t sit too close to the flashing hardware!

Understanding the Fundamentals of Music

noreply@blogger.com (Milan Vydareny) — Sat, 24 Sep 2011 18:59:00 +0000

Understanding the Fundamentals of Music

A Teaching Company Course Taught by Robert Greenberg

The Great Master

Robert M. Greenberg

It is no secret that I admire Robert Greenberg greatly as a lecturer and teacher. His complete mastery of his subject I view as a prerequisite to being a great lecturer and unquestionably Greenberg has mastered whatever he teaches and then some. What sets him apart as a teacher is his ability to communicate that material, complex though it may be, in ways that are understandable by any student willing to engage his brain (and in the case of music courses his ears) in the pursuit of the knowledge Greenberg freely passes on.

I have even been known to purchase a ticket to Ravinia, for a concert I had no interest in hearing, just to be able to attend a Greenberg lecture following in the Murray Theatre. In person he is just as impressive as he is on an edited and produced DVD with the added bonus that during the following Q&A he was patient and persevering with even most dense of audience members who seemed to be having trouble with understanding his concepts.

They just don’t come any more enjoyable than Greenberg.

The Course

Understanding the Fundamentals of Music is a somewhat technical course on music theory that covers much of what you might expect from a beginning survey course: tamber; beat, tempo, meter, pitch, mode, intervals, tunings, tonality, key signatures and the circle of fifths. The more difficult topics of motifs, melody, repetition, sequencing and metamorphosis are also dealt with in clear, straightforward fashion. But there is even more as he delves into harmony, function, tendency, dominance, progression, cadence and modulation.

Even more impressive is that he covers this broad set of topics without resorting to musical notation of any kind. He does use illustrations of a piano keyboard to describe intervals and chords, but the beginning student does not have to learn the intricacies of staves, measures, notes and so forth that probably confuse more than they enlighten until some facility is gained in reading what has become our standard western notation.

As with all of Greenberg’s courses (and the Teaching Company courses in general) there are an ample number of examples to help the learner’s ears understand just what kind of concept is being communicated. Unlike other Greenberg courses I have viewed, Greenberg plays a number of examples at the piano himself rather than resort to a recorded example. He is actually a fairly proficient pianist and besides the obligatory chord progressions we are given at appropriate lecture points he even illustrates some of his concepts with excerpts from Beethoven's less demanding sonatas that he plays himself at the piano.

Recommendation

If you like music of any kind and are willing to invest a little time and thought into developing your right brain, artistic sensibilities and musical skills, this course will provide you with a foundation that will last for the rest of your life. On this, you can continue to build your musical proficiency or just enjoy your next trip to the opera, concert hall or rock band venue all the more. It’s worth every minute you put into it.

You can find out more about Greenberg's courses at the Teaching Company Website.

Deconstructing Putting It Together

noreply@blogger.com (Milan Vydareny) — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 16:39:00 +0000

Deconstructing Putting It Together

Notes From a Sondheim Ambivalent

In The First Place…

I wanted to write a great deal about my impressions of Stephen Sondheim and his art. That’s going to take up most of this blog entry. I know that lots of people will want to hear about the current Porchlight production of Putting It Together and won’t care a bit about what I think about Stephen Sondheim’s art. So up front, here’s the skinny, the low-down, the scoop, the cat’s meow and the cream from the milk:

This is a terrific production even if you’re not completely enamored of Sondheim’s output. Porchlight is superb; the venue is great, the staging is nothing short of miraculous, the music direction is flawless; the singers are just what you’d expect from Sondheim vocalists and then some.

Rush over to your PC and buy tickets, NOW! Purchase Tickets - Porchlight Music Theatre.

Now I can write about what really interests me. By the way, there are a lot of good reviews of this production already on the Internet. You can see some of them at Review: Putting It Together (Porchlight Music Theatre) | Chicago Theater Beat, or Porchlight season off to sizzling start - Chicago Sun-Times and THEATER REVIEW: Putting It Together from Porchlight Music Theatre at Theater Wit gets 3 stars - Chicago Tribune.

Why I Don’t Adore Sondheim (or His Art)

Let me start by saying I don’t dislike Stephen Sondheim’s artistic efforts; I simply don’t adore them. There seems to be an implicit polarization of Sondheim camps in the world; either you love the entire body of his work or you find it repulsive and unendurable. I’m in neither camp. I’m not particularly fond of his work, but I do enjoy hearing it. Some of it I can do without.

I view musical theater as a distinctly American form of opera. It has soliloquy, dialogue, scenery, action and nearly continuous music; these are all of the things that characterize opera. We might more succinctly summarize these parts as book, lyrics and music. I find Sondheim weakest when listening to his music.

Without music it’s simply not musical theater; it’s theater (without the music). Since I don’t find Sondheim’s music particularly noteworthy or even satisfying, I can’t really place him in my “most adored” category.

Lyrics, Book, Music

To be certain, his lyrics are among the most engaging and illuminated ever created in the English language. Cleverness is one of the Sondheim hallmarks as is his use of the unconventional and unexpected. It helps to stay very alert when listening to something with the Sondheim autograph.

His books, which is to say the topics he treats in a production, are generally interesting and always timely. (Sondheim has always collaborated with a book-writer of some sort.) He is the quintessential twentieth century artist in his reflections of all the angst and shortcomings of a world that emerged from the relative innocence of Late Romanticism into an era of two world wars, a host smaller ones, a constant stream of economic misery interspersed with periods of prosperity, a pace to life and change of dizzying speed, and finally the rise of the modern terrorist. No wonder he is generally concerned with some sort of disappointment or suffering among his characters.

It is the music that I find uninteresting. It is the composer, after all, who adds the drama, emotion and nuance to the words of the lyricist and librettist. For a musical to be really memorable it must synthesize all three major parts—book, lyrics and music—into a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. Sondheim fails to achieve that most of the time and it is his music that is simultaneously the most significant and weakest link in the chain. When Sondheim began to handle both lyrics and music on a regular basis it is as though his focus shifted completely to the lyrics, relegating the music to a supporting rather than a starring role.

I exclude from my evaluation those projects where he worked strictly as lyricist, most famously and successfully West Side Story and Gypsy. It is when Sondheim began tackling both music and lyrics that merit gave way to other considerations.

One of the key components that any composer must master is melodic invention. The principles of melody are well understood, especially as they apply to Broadway musicals that need to rapidly engage and entertain an audience not always sophisticated enough to grasp contemporary trends in musical invention. Through the devices of the motif, repetition, sequence and transformation a skilled composer can take some very fundamental elements and create an amazing kaleidoscope of musical experience for his listeners.

The starting point of the melody also has some bearing on things. Motifs that have a lyrical basis (ones that you would be inclined to sing) are generally easier and more memorable for an audience. Twentieth century practice has been to use melodic components that are not lyrical in nature. It is still possible to apply all of the techniques of invention to non-lyrical bases but it does require that the audience be somewhat more educated and sensitive to the processes taking place. Sondheim is able to utilize the tools of his trade and in fact is a reasonable craftsman when it comes to constructing melodies.

His music, however, doesn’t benefit a great deal from his craftsmanship as a composer for a couple of reasons: first, much of his music sounds like all of the rest of his music; it is monotonous; second, the music itself often does little to enhance the meaning of the book and lyrics. A musical is a synthesis after all, and unless there is a synergy injected by the composer, the whole will not be greater than the sum of the parts.

There are exceptions to these general criticisms, as there are always exceptions to nearly every generalization. But I maintain that the fundamental observations hold true and are the reasons that I don’t dislike the artistic efforts of Stephen Sondheim, but I don’t adore them, either.

Porchlight Is Superb

All of that being said, I again state that I found the Porchlight production superb in every aspect. Putting It Together is, after all, nothing more than a cabaret act with a bunch of songs strung together. Porchlite’s set, comfortable venue (Theater Wit) and plot exploits made the experience much more than just another song mash-up.

The singers, three men and two women, were what you’d expect from a group of solid professionals. Especially noteworthy was Alex Weisman whose banter and commentary added some needed breaks to the otherwise uninterrupted cascade of Sondheim songs.

Also deserving high praise is youthful Music Director Austin Cook. Cook’s piano wizardry helped alleviate some of the ennui surrounding Sondheim’s compositional shortcomings mentioned earlier.

Did I enjoy it? Of course I did. Would I recommend it? Yes. My level of enthusiasm in recommending this production should be in direct proportion to my listener’s devotion to the cult of Sondheim. If you adore Sondheim, you will definitely not want to miss this one.

Underground With Madness

noreply@blogger.com (Milan Vydareny) — Sat, 10 Sep 2011 23:05:00 +0000

Underground With Madness

Christopher Hampton’s Alice’s Adventures Under Ground

Mad Hatters and March Hares

City Lit Theater has spent nearly one-third of a century (a very long time indeed) “dedicated to the vitality and accessibility of the literary imagination.” In keeping with that part of its mission statement, City Lit is currently treating us to the Chicago premier of Alice’s Adventures Underground, a romp through the unlikely slapstick world created by Lewis Carroll for his favorite muse, Alice Liddell. Audience looking for a stage adaptation of Carroll’s best-known works for children, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There, will be disappointed. The play most certainly does not attempt to recreate the contents of the books. Rather, it is a play about the relationship between Carroll and Liddell and attempts to imagine the creative process that gave us these timeless and charming children’s stories.

The play opens innocently enough with Alice paying a visit on Carroll in his Victorian drawing room. It quickly slips over the edge into fantasy as the unforgettable characters begin to flow from Carroll’s imagination to fill the world of Alice. Alice interacts with the characters as though they were real and in the process invites the audience into the magical world of the White Rabbit, The Mad Hatter, The Doormouse and all the others that populate the books. Throughout the play the audience’s conscious is repeatedly escorted from reality to fantasy and back again as Alice experiences the flights of fancy that so entertained and fascinated her. In fact, this technique of “crossing over” between the real world and the imaginary is one that Carroll also employed to great effect in another of his children’s novels, Bruno and Sylvie.

At one point, the eighty-five minute production takes a short detour into some darker material that explores the nineteenth century practice of photographing nude children. While this was common practice for the time, the twentieth century discovery of some photographs taken by Carroll of nude children raised immediate questions regarding the propriety of his relationship with Alice Liddell. Scholars have since debunked such concerns, yet it is evidence that we, as contemporary members of society, have yet to completely understand and accept the intimate relationships of that romantic era that don’t exactly conform to our own notions of sterile morality.

Thus Hampton’s play leaves us with a strangely clouded vision of mid-nineteenth century life which by all accounts was a period of intense emotions and strong personal attachments. At the same time, we feel great nostalgia for those parts of the culture we can accept without effort. This mixture of mild precaution and attractive romanticism accompanies the audience as they leave the performance, perhaps with visions of their own childhoods and what they may have experienced or not experienced during those halcyon days of youth so long ago.

Changing Roles

The entire five-person cast is called upon to play multiple roles. Even Emily Garman, the talented young actress who portrays Alice so effectively, is called upon to become an oyster at one point. The remaining actors all assume a range of Carroll’s book characters ranging from five to eight in number. There are no costume changes, but the acting is at a high level and Carroll’s archetypes leave little doubt as to the identities of the characters as they sweep in and out of Alice’s imagination through a variety of clever entrances and exits built into the set.

Emily Garman’s fine work has already been mentioned. She was required to be sometimes sweet, sometimes frightened and sometimes petulant but always a bright and energetic seven-and-one-half-year-old. Kudos to Emily.

Nick Lake likewise had his hands full as he switched from Lewis Carroll, the clever inventor of Children’s fantasy to a more serious monolog dealing with the photographs of nude children mentioned earlier. In between, he effectively portrayed nine of the Carroll characters for the delight and amusement of the audience.

Likewise, LeeWichman, Edward Kuffert and Morgan McCabe all put forth outstanding performances as they deftly switched from one insane character to another in the twinkling of an eye. Especially noteworthy were McCabes portrayal of the Duchess and her pig baby along with Kuffert’s portrayal of the Cook in the same scene. Lee Wichman’s Mock Turtle was nothing short of brilliant.

Production

Ray Blackburn’s set design, while it may have appeared to be a “normal” Victorian drawing room was anything but. Clever secret entrances allowed the actors to appear and disappear in ways that reinforced the fantasy and magical experience of the world Carroll created in his books. The looking glass over the mantle was a nice touch that permitted us to wonder just how much of all of this was real, and how much might have been imaginary.

Worthy of mention is Devon Carroll’s lighting design that gave us a simulated flash powder experience, Tom Kieffer’s costume design that had just the right amount of extravagance to elevate us to the fantasy and yet remain firmly anchored in Victorian England.

Also notable were Richard Peaslee’s original songs that set some of Carroll’s poetry to music. The songs added yet another surreal touch to the entire production that left us wandering between here and now and then and somewhere imaginary.

Do You Remember

If you remember Lewis Carroll’s books fondly; if you read them as a child, or if they were read to you; if you read the books recently as I just happened to do for no apparent reason, then you will probably find great pleasure and satisfaction in this fine production. You will be transported to a land you may have only dreamed of on a long-ago afternoon; you will experience once again the magic of a world that knows little restraint and that celebrates the unexpected and outrageous. You will, in short, become a child again, even if for only about an hour and a half.

This is a recommended production for all ages. Alice’s Adventures Under Ground is at City Lit Theater through October 9, 2011.

Koval Distillery: When the Spirit Moves You

noreply@blogger.com (Milan Vydareny) — Mon, 05 Sep 2011 22:58:00 +0000

There are spirits and then there are spirits

Of course what I’m referring to here are ethanol spirits: the kind that alter your consciousness to a greater or lesser extent so that the man or woman in the bar next to you that you wouldn’t have given the time of day to a couple of hours ago now appears to be the handsomest or most beautiful creature you’ve ever laid eyes on. This, of course, refers to its psychoactive properties.

It can also be used as a solvent or added to the gasoline in your car to “fortify” it. (Mainly, it provides subsidies for farmers since its value as a fuel additive is far less than the cost of producing it.)

But Koval makes spirits for human consumption, and wonderful spirits they are—twenty-six different products ranging from clear whiskies made from five different grains to spirits in a light or dark form depending on the barrels they were aged in to some of the most exquisite liqueurs you’ve ever had cross your jaded palate.

How spirits are made

To gain a feel for the painstaking care that goes into the preparation of a whisky or liqueur you really need to take the Koval Distillery tour. You’ll see samples of the original grains that are the beginnings of the distillation process. In Koval’s case, they use wheat, oats, rye, millet[i] and spelt.[ii] Starting with a mash and an enzyme boost[iii] Next, distillation to extract the ethanol from the resulting mash. Finally, some of the finished product is placed into barrels to age while batches are bottled as clear whisky similar to vodka. The extent to which an ageing barrel is charred determines to a large extend whether the finished whisky will be light in color or dark. Koval uses no artificial coloring in any of its products. Liqueurs are produced from clear whisky by the addition of flavorings such as ginger or rose hips.

Although the preceding explanation takes only a paragraph to describe, the actual details involved are numerous and critical to producing a quality product. For example, each time the pot still is utilized it produces essentially three kinds of ethanol termed the head, hearts and tail. The head is produced first and is pretty nasty stuff that smells like nail polish remover. In fact, heads are often sold to cosmetic firms for just that purpose. The hearts are what you are really after and constitute the most desirable portion of the run. The tails follow the hearts, are not as offensive as the heads, but are not as desirable as the hearts. The ability to distinguish between these three parts of a still’s output is not something that can be “automatically” or mechanically determined. It takes a skilled Master Distiller to actually take samples of a still’s output to determine when the stop collecting heads and start collecting hearts and so forth.

Touring Koval

The best way to learn about the production of spirits is to tour the Koval Distillery. Tours cost $10 per person and include a tasting of many of the Koval products. Many of the people on the tour I took stopped in the Koval store following the tour to purchase products to take home.

If you’ve never thought about how spirits are distilled you’re in for some surprises. The equipment used is somewhat exotic, like the two thousand liter pot still with a whiskey helmet pictured here, or the five hours it takes to distil the contents of a three hundred liter pot still.

The tour covers all parts of the steps needed to produce a product for sale, not just the distilling process described above. Following distillation and warehousing (in the case of aged whiskies) there next comes bottling, labeling, packaging and distribution. For some of the liqueurs a certain amount of labor is required to prepare the fruits and flavorings used in the production process. In fact, when Koval makes Ginger Liqueur they often ask for volunteers via their Facebook page who help in the preparation of the ginger root used to produce the liqueur. In return for volunteer services the ginger-peelers might get a gift t-shirt emblazoned with the Koval logo.

More On Koval

To see a little bit more about Koval Distillery, visit Wandering Lion—Koval Distillery Tour. There you will find a Google Map of the Koval Distillery, a link to some photos I took of the distillery during the tour and a link to the Koval website that contains more details about history, products and tours.

For anyone with an interest in high-quality spirits, Koval is a must-see in the next time you’re in Chicago.

[i] Millet is a small-seeded or cereal grain that grows in difficult conditions of low moisture.

[ii] Spelt is an ancient grain, closely related to wheat, that paleobiologists now believe may have been widely cultivated by the Chinese even before rice became a staple of the Eastern diet.

[iii] Koval does not malt its grains the way a brewer does. Malting requires heat to stop the germination process and heat, according to Koval’s founder Robert Birnecker, would damage the distinctive and characteristic flavors of the individual grains.

New Millennium Orchestra Opera

noreply@blogger.com (Milan Vydareny) — Sat, 03 Sep 2011 18:16:00 +0000

New Millennium ~~Orchestra~~ Opera

Milioto and Lee Team Up For an Evening of Superb Music

A Night of Favorite Opera

Yonghoon Lee

A great tenor, a fine orchestra, a gifted conductor, Orchestra Hall: It doesn’t get any better than this. This thought passed through my mind as I sat in Orchestra Hall’s Upper Balcony listening to lirico-spinto Tenor Yonghoon Lee effortlessly enchant a largely Korean audience with his renditions of some of opera’s most beloved Tenor arias. Accompanying Mr. Lee was The New Millennium Orchestra led by its co-founder and Conductor, Francesco Milioto.

People's Gas Building

The concert was preceded by a reception/fundraiser for the orchestra at Chicago’s Cliff Dweller’s Club, high atop the building at 200 S. Michigan Avenue. Across was the Art Institute of Chicago, Millennium Park, Grant Park, the Field Museum, Shedd Aquarium and Monroe Street Harbor. Buckingham Fountain seemed almost miniature from the Cliff Dweller’s vantage point. Across Jackson Boulevard sits the Daniel Burnham masterpiece, People’s Gas Building, now facing serious deterioration and crumbling capitals on the columns that surmount the top of the building. The balustrade atop the building features a row of ferocious lions that, from the nearly level vantage point of Cliff Dweller’s, remind us of the opulent, fin de siècle architecture that still graces Chicago’s downtown.

Mr. Lee

Mr. Lee made his operatic debut in 2007 in Santiago Chile, a city with a climate remarkably similar to Chicago’s except “revered” in a seasonal sense as they are in the Southern hemisphere. He has since established a remarkable career as a an internationally known tenor have appeared both at Chicago’s Lyric and New York’s Metropolitan Opera. Mr. Lee’s program included noteworthy renditions of La fleur que tu m’avais jetée from Bizet’s Carmen, and a courageous finale in the form of Nessun dorma from Puccini’s Turandot. The first half of the program was all Verdi, including Ma se m’è forza perderti from Un Ballo in Maschera and La vita é Inferno from La For a del Destino.

Mr. Lee retained sufficient energy to deliver several encores including a Korean folk song with Western orchestral accompaniment that delighted the audience. His final number was Amazing Grace. Mr. Lee is a devout Christian and gave testimony to the divine inspiration he received to return to his singing career when he had abandoned it a number of years earlier.

Mr. Lee is clearly destined for great things as an operatic tenor. Watch for his future roles at major houses in the U.S. and abroad.

Mr. Milioto

Francesco Milioto

Francesco Milioto is one of Chicago’s rising conducting stars. But there’s more to this youthful conductor than simply the ability to get an orchestra to perform beyond its capabilities (although that is a significant achievement in itself.) Mr. Milioto is additionally a charming individual; he’s the kind of person you’d enjoy having dinner with or a cocktail after a hard day of work. His charming personality and witty, urbane intelligence makes him a desirable social companion in any setting.

On the podium his is a man simultaneously yielding and in control. The program was interspersed with orchestral pieces, generally overtures or other selections from opera (example: Meditation from Thaïs by Massenet.) During those moments he performed just as one might expect a seasoned conductor and then some. Precise tutties, effective and appropriate dynamics and a dramatic sense that was a pleasure to watch. While accompanying Mr. Lee he added to these already impressive credentials an uncanny ability to watch and sense his soloist, giving the tenor the artistic freedom to interpret the aria while still maintaining the musical integrity of the piece.

Mr. Milioto is another Chicago artist to keep in your performing arts focus.

New Millennium Orchestra

This small but amazingly talented ensemble is another born-in-Chicago ensemble to command your attention. True, ensemble playing becomes easier if the group of musicians is smaller but it is also true that sound becomes more transparent. Even fewer hesitations and false notes are permitted when a single individual makes up a larger percentage of the section. The New Millennium Orchestra was certainly up to the challenge, exhibiting exceptional intonation, attack and sensitivity whether playing accompaniment to Mr. Lee’s gentle piano passages or vigorously attacking Verdi’s Overture to La Forza del Destino. Importantly, although it could have overpowered the tenor at certain climactic points in the program, it did not. The orchestra provided sufficient power to give the audience a sense of grand climax but still allowed Mr. Lee to remain the center of the aria’s gravity.

Other Notes

I didn’t know that Symphony Center had free Wi-Fi. It enabled me to check my bus schedule to ensure that I wasn’t going to be stranded if I stayed for yet another encore. Thanks, CSO and CSO President Deborah Rutter!

I need to bring a camera back to my next visit to Cliff Dwellers. The city-lake-scapes are magnificent.

I recently discovered how easy it is to insert diacritical marks when using Word or Outlook (that uses Word as its default editor.) It certainly makes entry of classical music names much easier.

Pornography

noreply@blogger.com (Milan Vydareny) — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 20:46:00 +0000

Pornography

He who looks deserves what he gets: Nothing.

What is Pornography?

At first I thought that perhaps I didn’t understand pornography despite having watched a lot of it over the years. I jumped over to Onelook, the online free dictionary and learned a few things I didn’t know about pornography.

The word comes from Greek (where else?) and means “writing about prostitutes.” This was a pretty honorable profession to the ancient Greeks, so what happened?

Somewhere western civilization decided that prostitution was something to be eschewed and spurned. Prostitutes themselves fell in stature and esteem. I assume that this is true for both male and female prostitutes since rest assured; both types exist, although the male variety is probably much smaller in number for reasons that beg yet another blog at another time.

The word “pornography” came to mean something more specific. For example:

the depiction of erotic behavior (as in pictures or writing) intended to cause sexual excitement[i]

We added the caveat that pornography must “[intend] to cause sexual excitement.” But there is yet another definition of pornography in the same source cited:

the depiction of acts in a sensational manner so as to arouse a quick intense emotional reaction

This makes the word a little more useful in that we don’t have to limit ourselves to sexual excitement alone. Any old excitement will do.

Finally, Pornography is the name of a play written by British playwright Simon Stephens and currently enjoying sold-out performances at Steep Theatre Company just East of the Berwyn Red Line stop on Chicago’s north side. I went to see Pornography this past Saturday evening and came away with some rather intense emotional reactions of my own. In that sense, the play succeeds admirably in agreement with the last definition cited above.

Unfortunately, my intense emotional reaction was negative as I walked out the door of the theatre and became increasingly negative the more I thought about the play and the more I researched what others have found in their own analyses.

The play doesn’t really tell a story, not that any play needs to do so although it makes life a little easier for your audience if there is some thread of continuity upon which to cling. It consists of a series of seven vignettes that may be presented in whatever order the whim of the director dictates. The vignettes take place in London over the seven day period July 1 through July 7, 2005. On July 7, 2005 three young men detonated bombs in London’s Underground railway system with a fourth young man, having been thwarted in his attempt by the closing of one of the lines, detonated his bomb on a bus about fifty minutes later.

What does the play Pornography tell us?

I had to rely on published interviews with the playwright to gain even a glimmer of understanding about his intentions. In Stephens’ view the production and consumption of pornography objectifies people. This explains the title of the play. But it is more than the consumption and production of pornography that Stephens is portraying; he is portraying a group of four young men who feel objectified, alienated and distanced from those around them. According to Stephens, “We live in pornographic times.”[ii]

The play illustrates the perceived distance between the terrorists who detonated their bombs on July 7 and what Stephens believed was a necessary outcome to that perception of objectification and distance, e.g., the taking of 52 innocent lives.

The Guardian has chosen the following lead for the article cited: “Simon Stephens makes audiences confront their own guilt.” Whether that is the product of some hack headline writer or the author (Lynn Gardner) of the piece, it is in no way supported by Stephens’ comments in the article. Stephens seems to feel that the outcome was inevitable but stops short of attaching guilt. Who could possibly be guilty? The audience? How about “society?” These are the absurd constructs of the Guardian and Stephens is too smart to fall into that trap. Individuals objectify other individuals. Groups do not objectify individuals and this difference is profound in its ability to differentiate between extreme liberal reactions to acts of terrorism and the classical liberal approach that holds the individual to be the atom of civilization.

Stephens does want us to understand that these are important considerations; not the least of which is the possibility that yet more disenfranchised individuals will follow the same futile path of destruction and terrorism. He offers no solutions, only questions.

How was the production?

With some minor flaws, the production was superb. I have never seen a bad play at Steep. Since the cast is listed in alphabetical rather than appearance order and since none of the characters are identified by name, I have difficulty recalling who was who in the play. I believe it ws Kendra Thulin who presented the opening monologue. Despite I very good British dialect I had great difficulty in understanding what she was saying. This was largely a matter of voice timbre and projection, not the dialect. Needless to say, this got things off to a very slow start for me and it wasn’t until the second monologue, convincingly and superbly presented by Rudy Galvan that I was able to settle in and begin to follow the character development (which is really all the play has to offer).

Humorously, the title page of the program states: “Steep Theatre Company proudly presents Simon Stephen’s…” instead of the correct formation of the possessive. I am reminded of a similar misspelling many years ago by a company that sold yachting gear from its Elston Avenue headquarters in Chicago. “Lands’ End” was a printer’s error that went undetected until thousands of catalogs had been printed. Lacking the money to reprint and rebind the book, they went with “Lands’ End” and the rest is history. I vaguely recall a clearly missed lighting cue that left the actor yammering away in the darkness until the technical people got it corrected.

Chelsea Warren’s Set Design was nothing short of inspired. Steep is small and it is difficult to repeatedly design small, compact sets that don’t look exactly like all the other small, compact sets you’ve seen. Chelsea was up to the challenge.

I was somewhat distracted by Mike Tutaj’s video design which I found more distracting than anything. A number of large monitors were suspended above the stage turned so that everyone in the audience could see at least one of them. Before the opening curtain they displayed some interesting “facts” about the forthcoming vignettes while during the production the screens displayed seemingly random and bothersome rows of flashing lights. I assume these lights were intended to mimic the passing of cars on the London Underground but I found them more of an irritation than a compliment.

I also need to mention Caroline Neff, who I have seen in a number of other Steep productions. Besides taking a role in Pornography she also acted as Casting Director. Her superb abilities as an actress never disappoint. Her performance in Pornography was no exception.

Then what’s wrong with this play?

Basically, it is way too difficult to understand this play without doing a great deal of research. Robin Witt’s Directors [sic] Notes were of little help. Witt repeated what she saw as the recurring lament in Pornography three times: “Are you laughing or are you crying?” This phrase still makes no sense to me after repeatedly trying to integrate it into my understanding of the play.

The other major flaw with the play is the lack of any markers that enables the audience to make connections that run something like: Pornography—Objectification—Disenfranchised Young Men—Senseless Acts of Terrorism. It is simply too vaguely written to be understood even upon subsequent reflection.

While Stephens’ rationale has its adherents it should also be mentioned that not everyone shares the notion that sexually explicit images result in objectification; that assertion is made by extreme liberals and feminists. There is another view shared by many that sexually explicit images are no different from other kinds of celebrity images. Does that mean that we objectify someone like Madonna, or Lady Gaga, or Justin Beiber, or John Wayne? Regardless of your view of sexually explicit images and objectification you could probably understand the argument if it had been presented more coherently. In this regard, the playwright has failed his audience.

Once we get past the objectification argument we might then examine the remaining steps to the puzzle of Pornography. Unfortunately, the balance of the equation is as opaque as the beginning, and we must seek our own epiphany, probably using the internet. Ironically, in Stephens’ view, the internet contributes to isolation and objectification. His is a very tenuous and loosely constructed argument, indeed. It could be more defensible if Pornography had developed its ideas more carefully.

Would I recommend seeing this play? You bet I would. Now that you’ve read this far you’re probably prepared to enjoy the production. In fact, you’ll probably get more out of it than I did.

[i] Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary, 11th Edition

[ii] Gardner, Lynn. The Finger Pointer (article) published Monday, August 4, 2008 in The Guardian. Downloaded 2011-09-01 from http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2008/aug/04/edinburghfestival.festivals

A Walk In the Woods; The Green Table

noreply@blogger.com (Milan Vydareny) — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 07:00:00 +0000

Some Thoughts on Diplomacy and Art

Death Comes in Threes

Three things have recently converged on my mind that remind me of the grave danger we face every day by submitting our fate to the hands of “leaders.” First, I saw TimeLine Theatre’s magnificent production of Lee Blessing’s A Walk in the Woods playing now through Novermber 20^th at Theater Wit. That experience reminded me of a ballet I saw several years ago at a Joffrey Ballet of Chicago performance. German Choreographer Curt Jooss’s The Green Table portrays the futility of negotiation and the triumph of death over sanity and humanism. Finally, I have been viewing a Teaching Company DVD entitled Transformational Leadership: How Leaders change Teams, Companies and Organizations.

Diplomacy vs. Negotiation

Certainly the production of A Walk in the Woods by TimeLine Theatre Company is what started me thinking about all of this. This is a two-character play, mostly dialog that takes place in an unchanging wooded setting populated only by stylized trees and foliage augmented by projected images and a single bench. U.S. negotiator John Honeyman is played by David Parkes and Soviet negotiator Anya Botvinnik is handled by Janet Ulrich Brooks. Both actors turn in spectacular and convincing performances. Parkes’ portrayal of the somewhat inexperienced and idealistic American is convincing; Brooks’ portrayal of Botvinnik is equally convincing and comes complete with a Russian dialect that never misses a beat for the entire production.

Honeyman, the American, keeps insisting that the two are “negotiating” and not engaged in “diplomacy.” A quick look at a dictionary will reveal that there is a substantial difference between the two words. Most dictionaries lead us to believe that diplomacy is the art of relationships that are treated with sensitivity, friendship and respect while negotiation is an attempt to reach an agreement between parties with an almost adversarial connotation. The Russian, Botvinnik, repeatedly uses the word diplomacy only to be corrected by the American who insists that they are in reality negotiating. This difference presents a telling attitude on the part of each of the pair.

At intermission my mind drifted toward what I know about conflict resolution and how one of the most important parts of any conflict resolution is the discovery of common goals and objectives. These shared objectives can become the basis for real ongoing conversation that ultimately results in a lasting resolution to seemingly intractable differences. Witness for example, the difficulties facing several major orchestras at this point in history. Recently, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra and currently the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Louisville Orchestra face desperate financial situations. Given the adversarial relationship that exists between musicians and the governing boards and management it should come as no surprise that these “negotiations” are proceeding with more venom than shared values and objectives. While these adversarial proceedings suit the agendas of some critics and bloggers (what fun it must be to fan the flames of controversy in order to have something to blog about tomorrow) it does little to begin to repair the damage that has been done by decades of American-style labor relations. The “negotiations” take place; both sides feel as though they have given more than they have received; both sides grudgingly agree to a settlement with a firm resolve that “next time, I’ll get even.” Where is the diplomacy? Where is the sensitivity? Where is the understanding? Where are the shared values and objectives?

Ultimately, Botvinnik, the Soviet negotiator, triumphs in her attempt to introduce diplomacy into her relationship with the American Honeyman. Eventually, they discover their shared values and objectives. Will this discovery between two people impact the future of mankind? In point of historical fact there are many who will assert that the real events surrounding the fictional realization if A Walk in the Woods did in fact send a signal to the world that the United States and Soviet Union were at last serious about arms control. The conclusion of the play finds Honeyman and Botvinnik reaching agreement on a suggestion for a treaty, just as historical fact records. It must next be accepted by their respective governments.

Negotiate; Make War; Bury the Wounded; Negotiate

Kurt Jooss’s ballet, The Green Table, is so named because of the custom of conducting negotiations across a table covered with green felt. The dancers portray the negotiators. The grotesque and stylized movements of the negotiators are exaggerated by the masques worn by the dancers as they trade thrusts and parries across the negotiating table. Eventually, the negotiators draw pistols and fire them, signaling the declaration of war and the beginning of hostilities. There follows a number of sections such as The Farewell, as soldiers bid their family adieu as they leave for battle; The Battle and The Partisan depict the war itself; loneliness and misery is shown by The Refugees; The Brothel shows us the emptiness of “entertaining the troops”; finally, The Aftermath presents the psychologically wounded survivors. The ballet concludes with a repeat of the opening scene of “The Gentlemen in Black” around the negotiating table. Throughout the ballet the dancer that portrays Death emerges triumphant and the Profiteer rakes in his monetary rewards for the sufferings of others.

This is admittedly a severely cynical view of negotiating but given the origins of the piece, the Weimar Republic of Germany in 1932, it represents one artist’s concerns over the course being taken by his own country. From that concern he extrapolates the general futility of negotiating and the cyclical nature of the negotiating process: negotiate, make war, bury the wounded, negotiate again.

The similarities between A Walk in the Woods and The Green Table are unmistakable as are the similarities among A Walk in the Woods, The Green Table and some current labor negotiations at prominent American Orchestras. All three share the same themes of mistrust, lack of understanding, a failure to find common ground and a willingness to view the entire process as a zero-sum game. Well, perhaps Honeyman and Botvinnik eventually begin to see the futility of negotiation toward the end of their walks.

Leadership: An Incomplete View

I am interested in leadership because I am involved in nonprofit management. Although not unique to nonprofits, it is an especially important consideration given the nature of the nonprofit organization that lacks the profit motive as an instrument of inspiration and that depends instead on abstract notions of mission and leadership. The Teaching Company has always published material that I have found both informative and valuable, so I ordered Transformational Leadership: How Leaders Change Teams, Companies, and Organizations. I have only viewed the first three of the twenty-four half-hour lectures. The course has already proved to be both informative and valuable. Very early in the course Professor Michael A. Roberto, the course’s instructor, makes it plain that there is no correlation between character traits and our ability to predict success as a leader. Rather, it is skills and competencies that are the most valuable predictors of success as a leader. Despite this fact, investigated and researched many times by scholars who all arrive independently at the same conclusion, you will find countless internet websites alleging to counsel individuals on how to advance their career by developing certain “character traits.” There is absolutely no evidence to support any of this emphasis on things like “passion,” “an optimistic attitude” or “self-confidence.” Yet we continue to use these obsolete and disproved notions in our evaluation of others.

Ultimately, this course will examine the success of a “leader” as a combination of factors such as context and the implementation of a team leadership approach that really involves a group of individuals and not just the single “Lone Ranger” hero of the organization. In the long run, skills and competencies that can be learned and perfected are what determine the success of a leader.

The implications for this are enormous. As A Walk in the Woods portrays the agreement developed by Honeyman and Botvinnik was presented to their respective governments. But was the decision to accept or reject the agreement made by a single individual? Was there instead some sort of team effort that ultimately determined the course of strategic arms negotiations? The Green Table on the other hand treats leadership as though it didn’t exist and as though it were simply “fate” and a poorly conceived system of negotiations that results in the inevitable cycle of death and destruction faced by mankind. What about negotiations between symphony musicians and their governing boards? Is it really the absence of strong leadership—leadership that is skilled and competent—that results in the confrontational nature of contract negotiations?

These are complex issues that occur in a variety of contexts ranging from the truly horrific, such as nuclear holocaust at the national level, to the way you try to reason with your teenaged son or daughter who clearly entertains different standards of behavior than you do.

TimeLine; Time Out

TimeLine Theatre Company’s Board President Cindy Giacchetti makes the following observation:

A TimeLine play is not just 120 minutes in a dark theater. It is the conversation you have with others, or even with yourself, hours and sometimes days after the applause ends.

Ms. Giacchetti never claims that TimeLine will provide answers and indeed, in this case it has only provided a means for my own further explorations of leadership, diplomacy and negotiations.

Mission accomplished.

Death at Jay Pritzker Pavilion

noreply@blogger.com (Milan Vydareny) — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 17:33:00 +0000

The End of the Grant Park Music Festival 2011 Season

Requiem as Art and Drama

The thought of ending the Grant Park Music Festival with Giuseppe Verdi’s great Requiem Mass, in Memory of Alessandro Manzoni for Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano, Tenor and Bass Soloists, Mixed Chorus and Orchestra immediately conjured images in my mind of all the terrors of Medieval Christianity as so effectively documented by that obscure 13^th century Franciscan friar-poet (generally thought to be Thomas of Celano (c. 1200 – c. 1260–1270) whose Dies Irae is included in so many of the world’s great musical settings of the Missa defunctorum or Mass of the Dead. Thomas’s words are here presented in the English translation from Latin by William Josiah Irons that replicates the rhyme and metre of the original.

The day of wrath, that day

Will dissolve the world in ashes
As foretold by David and the sibyl!

Oh, what fear man's bosom rendeth,

when from heaven the Judge descendeth,
on whose sentence all dependeth.

Wondrous sound the trumpet flingeth;

through earth's sepulchers it ringeth;
all before the throne it bringeth.

Death is struck, and nature quaking,

all creation is awaking,
to its Judge an answer making.

Lo! the book, exactly worded,

wherein all hath been recorded:
thence shall judgment be awarded.

When the Judge his seat attaineth,

and each hidden deed arraigneth,
nothing unavenged remaineth.

What shall I, frail man, be pleading?

Who for me be interceding,
when the just are mercy needing?

King of Majesty tremendous,

who dost free salvation send us,
Fount of pity, then befriend us!

Think, good Jesus, my salvation

cost thy wondrous Incarnation;
leave me not to reprobation!

Faint and weary, thou hast sought me,

on the cross of suffering bought me.
shall such grace be vainly brought me?

Righteous Judge! for sin's pollution

grant thy gift of absolution,
ere the day of retribution.

Guilty, now I pour my moaning,

all my shame with anguish owning;
spare, O God, thy suppliant groaning!

Thou the sinful woman savedst;

thou the dying thief forgavest;
and to me a hope vouchsafest.

Worthless are my prayers and sighing,

yet, good Lord, in grace complying,
rescue me from fires undying!

With thy favored sheep O place me;

nor among the goats abase me;
but to thy right hand upraise me.

While the wicked are confounded,

doomed to flames of woe unbounded
call me with thy saints surrounded.

Now I kneel, with heart submission,

see, like ashes, my contrition;
help me in my last condition.

Ah! that day of tears and mourning!

From the dust of earth returning
man for judgment must prepare him;

Spare, O God, in mercy spare him!

Lord, all pitying, Jesus blest,
grant them thine eternal rest.
Amen.

Aside from the fact that this sort of drama exhibits strong evidence that early Christians were a fearful lot, terrified of even the slightest transgression against their wrathful and jealous god, this is the stuff of great drama and if Verdi was anything, he was a great dramatist. For that matter, so was Hector Berlioz who also made effective use of the same Dies Irae although in a different setting. Other texts in the Requiem are also found in the Ordinary Mass; the Kyrie is one such portion as are Sanctus and Agnus Dei.

But it is the Dies Irae that seemed to preoccupy Verdi more than any other section. It is the lengthiest of all of the sections of Verdi’s Requiem. It begins with four “hammer blows” from the orchestra that are guaranteed to wake even most soundly sleeping corpse and proceeds to terrify us with liturgical power, apocalyptical imagery and sheer musical genius for nearly one-third the of the entire ninety-odd minute composition. Those hammer blows fittingly return along with Thomas’s opening words near the end of the section just before Lacrimosa (tears). The hammer blows and Thomas’s reminder of our impending death, destruction and judgement occurs once more near the end of the Requiem in Libera me (deliver me). I occurred to me that Verdi’s hammer blows may have somehow inspired Gustav Mahler’s use of a similar device in his 6^th Symphony twenty-five years later. Both effects are somehow linked to the notion of “fate,” although the musical realization is different. Piotr Ilyitch Tchaikovsky was another composer who seemed to be preoccupied with “fate.” Tchaikovsky’s best known exploration of fate is probably the theme used in his Fifth symphony (that he borrowed from Mikhail Glinka’s A Life for the Czar). Unlike the hammer blows of Verdi and Mahler, however, Tchaikovsky used a melodic representation. Tchaikovsky has sometimes been disparagingly referred to as “Mr. Melody.” There can be no doubt that Tchaikovsky’s prowess at endless melodic invention is one of the greatest of any composer who ever lived, so it is not surprising that he chose melody rather than rhythm to represent man’s destiny.

The Festival Ends on a High Note

The Festival’s presentation of Verdi’s great masterpiece was no less than excellent. Soprano Amber Wagner, a recent graduate of the Lyric Opera’s Patrick G. and Shirley Ryan Opera Center, is clearly a force to be reckoned with as she moves forward with her singing career. No less impressive was Mezzo-soprano Michaela Martens who made her Metropolitan Opera debut in 2006–2007. Wagner, Martens and the chorus joined forces in the breathtakingly beautiful and transparent Agnus Dei. Tenor Michael Fabiano delivered Igmenisco (groans) with an artistry that both extracted pity and delighted the listener by its sheer artistry and the tambre of his fine tenor voice. Bass-baritone Kyle Ketelsen often faced difficult passages requiring great strength in his lowest registers along with a considerable tessitura. His Confutatis (roughly “convicted and cast out”) wrenched our hearts as he implored forgiveness and entrance into the Shangri-La of the saved.

Great praise goes to the Grant Park Chorus for its superb performance. Christopher Bell, the Festival’s regular Chorus Director had returned to his principal duties in Scotland but the chorus was ably prepared for the Verdi performances by Guest Chorus Director William Spaulding. Spaulding is an American whose current position is with the Deutsch Oper Berlin as Principal Chorus Master. Nowhere was the chorus put to greater effect than in the Sanctus, the musical climax of the Requiem. If you failed to experience electricity in your spine during Sanctus you were probably one of the corpses for whom the Requiem was intended.

The chorus has been used on a number of occasions this season and has given listeners much more than any of us has a right to expect. The Grant Park Chorus is truly one of the great choral organizations in music today. Next year will be the Chorus’s fiftieth anniversary year. What can they possibly do to exceed the artistry they have delivered this year and for so many years? Be sure to watch for next year’s programming.

The musicians of the Grant Park Symphony Orchestra rank high in musical ability and accomplishment. As an ensemble they are among the most unique of all orchestras in that they arrive en masse one day in June, instruments in hand, greet one another after nearly nine months of absence, sit down and begin rehearsing. Two days later they present their first performance. During the next ten weeks they prepare twenty different programs. The demands made on these musicians are nothing short of immense and even more astonishing is the way in which they rise to the challenges and deliver quality and even outstanding music week after week that improves over time as they become more and more accustomed to playing as an ensemble.

The musicians of the orchestra for the most part are gone from Chicago now. They have returned to other places to continue making music and pursuing their musical artistry. Most will be back again next year. Chicago is indeed fortunate to have this legacy of musical quality.

Finally, consider Carlos Kalmar, who is now Music Director as well as Principal Conductor of the Grant Park Music Festival. Where would we be without him? Tireless and endowed with boundless energy he arrives at rehearsal on his bicycle (in good weather). On hot days he has a supply of clean t-shirts that quickly become soaked with perspiration during the hot afternoons of rehearsals. He then faces three evenings a week most weeks conducting performances. Add to this his musical and leadership skills and you have a small sense of the great treasure Chicago has in Kalmar’s annual Summer residence.

The Verdi Requiem is a particularly good example of Kalmar’s great musical and leadership skills. Consider that by the time you assemble a full chorus and symphony orchestra plus soloists and antiphonal brass (did I forget to mention the antiphonal brass that are a part of the Dies Irae?) Kalmar faces nearly 200 musicians whose intention is to present one of the great masterpieces of Western music. What is needed, of course, is the leadership, artistry and control of a great conductor. Kalmar’s abilities were nowhere more apparent than the Verdi Requiem that concluded the Grant Park Music Festival Season.

Next Year

It’s a bit early to speculate about the Festival’s programming for next year. We know that planning has already begun but final announcements of the 2012 season programming won’t appear until well into next year. We do know that the Chorus will celebrate a major anniversary, so it’s reasonable to expect a pretty exciting season of choral and vocal presentations.

Advice: Save your Wednesday, Friday and Saturday evenings in June, July and August for some of the best music anywhere at a price you can easily afford. We may run into each other at a Festival concert next year.

Wandering Through Chicago's Arts and Culture

Independence Day, 2021

Independence Day, 2021

The Walk

America Is Alive and Well

Not So Silent Night

Joffrey Ballet of Chicago: Bolero

Joffrey's Bolero

The Great Chicago Snow of 20–21

The Great Chicago Snow of 20–21

But there's more!

Spring is in the air!

Life After Facebook

Life After Facebook

The Problem

The Epiphany

The Action Plan

The Results

Other Observations

Forge of Empires

Recapturing Time

Loss of Impact

Conclusion

Abandoning Group Think

Becoming Independent

Alternatives

Email

Blogs

Publisher Websites

The Decline of Facebook

Expectations and Technical Debt

The Employer's Dilemma

My Reaction

What Bersin Said to Me

Expectations and Reality

Technical Debt

What's to Be Done?

Fixing Technical Debt

Fixing Expectations

Recommendations

Bersin Says

Here's What I Say

Changing Your Overview

The Gentleman Caller

Raven Theater, 6157 N Clark St, Chicago, IL 60660 Now thru May 27, 2018 Raven Theater Website

33 Variations: Diabelli and Beethoven Explored

33 Variations

by Moises Kaufman

directed by Nick Bowling

Timeline Theatre Company

at Stage 773, 1223 W Belmont, Chicago

8/24/2012–10/21/2012

The Newberry Consort (and Friends)

Miracles, anyone?

Cloistered Gloom

The Court of Ferrara

Summary

Spring Awakening

The Musical

Time and Place

The Music

The Verdict

Blake Montgomery’s Charles Dickens Scintillates

Murder on the North Pole Express

It’s Not Easy To Get Laid These Days

Paul Varnell: RIP

The Passing of Paul Varnell

Independent Gay Forum

Activism

Personal Life

Legacy

Indifferent Torture

Riff Raff

The Story

The Real Story

Production

Farragut North

And You Thought Politics Was About…

Stage Left Scores

The Double

Raven Theater, 6157 N Clark St, Chicago, IL 60660

Now thru May 27, 2018

Raven Theater Website