Thursday, April 21, 2011

Minotaur



Courtesy of the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center:



This past Friday I had the opportunity to interview Izumi Ashizawa, an assistant professor at The University of Maryland in the School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies.  She is the writer and director of Minotaur, an original play that made its debut last Friday at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center.

 Izumi Ashizawa

Minotaur is set in the 1920s American slaughterhouse industry in Chicago, but it is based on Greek mythology and Ashizawa's interpretation of the myth, Theseus and the Minotaur.  Ashizawa focused the production on Ardiadone, the heroine. Having the story told through this point of view adds a new twist to the tale.  It is a contemporary, powerful, and smart.


I was lucky enough to speak to some of the show's performers as well.  Two of the actors, Olivia Brann and Greg Mack, play several roles in Minotaur and they spoke to me about their experiences so far as theatre professionals.  What is it really like to be beneath the limelight?

            Olivia Brann
             (Immigrant, Island Woman, Ensemble) 

The interview was made available at WMUCRadio.com and I am working on finding a copy I can post here.

For now, the show is running at the University of Maryland from April 15 - April 23rd.  The final showing is at 8:00 pm in the Robert and Arlene Kogod Theatre.
STUDENT TICKETS ARE ONLY $9
As opposed to the $27 price for outside attendees ($22 for subscribers)
You can get your tickets by phone or online at this link: 
But keep an eye out for the $2 processing fee you get charged if you order over the phone or online.  Tickets can be ordered and picked up in person to avoid the additional  cost.




 Check out an exclusive sneak peak from the show here: 

Biographies:
Izumi Ashizawa
     playwright/director/puppet designer

Ashizawa’s  original performance works have been presented in the United States, Japan,  Australia, the Grand Cayman, Norway, Romania, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Austria, Russia, Greece, Turkey and Iran.

The second of her Neo-Noh trilogy The Blue Rocks was broadcast in a documentary interview format through NHK national public TV in Japan in 2006.

She was featured as a performer speaker in the PBS’s Invitation to World Literature for her Gilgamesh, which is currently viewable nationwide.

She has received Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival Faculty Meritorious awards for both Excellence in Directing and Excellence in Scenic Design for her Florida production of Gilgamesh

Ashizawa is a recipient of numerous awards from different countries: Norwegian Cultural Fund, Australian Government Fund for the Artists, UNESCO-Aschberg Award, Tehran Municipality Culture and Arts Organization Award, Best Performance Award — IIFUT Festival, Special Performance Award — Women Theatre Festival, Puffin Foundation Award and Gritchen Johnson Award.
 
She is a graduate of Yale School of Drama.


Olivia Brann
sophomore, theatre performance and Chinese double major
Creative and Performing Arts Scholar and President Scholar
 Kay Theatre credit: Enchanted April (Constanza)

Kogod Theatre credit: Gilgamesh (Bird, Tavern Woman)

In another UMD production, she was a chorus member in Parados Outside production credits: A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Puck) and Right You Are (If you think you are) (Signora Cini)


Greg Mack
    senior, theatre performance major

Kay Theatre credit: The Dead (assistant sound designer)

Kogod Theatre credits: Am I Black Enough, Yet? (sound designer) and Gilgamesh  (Gilgamesh)




Saturday, July 24, 2010

New Movie Traces the Origins of Facebook

Check out this new trailer for the movie, The Social Network, out October 1st of this year.  The movie details the evolution of Facebook, from it's conception at Harvard University back in 2003, to the legal battles the site is facing today. 

Jesse Eisenberg plays the lead role of Mark Zuckerberg, one of the main founder's of Facebook, and currently the youngest billionaire in the world.  He was only 20 years old when he created the company.  What do you think of Jesse Eisenberg (Adventureland, Zombieland) as the lead role?  Rashida Jones, Justin Timberlake, and Disney star Brenda Song, also star.

Check out the link to the trailer here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53OUHupfqws


Katy Perry in the Flesh!

For her upcoming album, "Teenage Dream," Katy Perry has stripped down.  Wearing nothing but cotton candy on the album cover, the title seems quite fitting.  2010 has certainly been Katy's year.  As mentioned before, she was voted #1 on Maxim Magazine's Hot 100 list for 2010.  This album cover photo certainly proves she deserves it.


Not only was "California Gurls", the first single from her new album, at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 charts for six weeks straight, but it is still currently in the top ten and number one on the Billboard Pop charts as well.   It is the number one song on the radio right now.  The second single, "Teenage Dream" was released to radio two days ago and is already burning up the airwaves.  

Her success has even landed her the cover of Billboard Magzine: 


The music video for "Teenage Dream" looks like it will be even hotter than the one for "California Gurls."  Katy recently posted this video on her YouTube page, that contains stills from the shoot.  Hottie Josh Kloss, plays her love interest.  Check out the video at this link:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fj2HVYlD_4 and enjoy the song!

"Teenage Dream" Track Listing

1. Teenage Dream

2. Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)

3. California Gurls feat. Snoop Dogg

4. Firework

5. Peacock

6. Circle The Drain

7. The One That Got Away

8. E.T.

9. Who Am I Living For
10. Pearl

11. Hummingbird Heartbeat

12. Not Like The Movies

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

New Artist I Love: Angel Taylor

Just wanted to give you guys a heads up about one of my favorite new artists: Angel Taylor


I heard her on the radio a few weeks ago and her song, "Like You Do" really caught my attention.  It is catchy, upbeat, and sweet.  Just like Angel!  She's a young girl only around age 22, yet she's already been on tour with a number of artists including Adele, Kate Voegle, and Gavin DeGraw.  Though her debut album, Love Travels, was released last year, she only just recently caught the public's attention after VH1 listed her as one of their 'You Oughtta Know: Artists On The Rise' for 2010.  She is signed to Aware records and quickly on her way to big things.  Take a look at her music video for "Like You Do," below.

Be sure to check her out at: http://www.angeltayloronline.com.

Let's Party Like It's 1999!!!!

Can you believe that it has been 10 years since we hit that millennium mark?  Those were the days.  A pop culture paradise.  The late 90s leading into the early 2000s was all about pop music.  Teen queens and boy bands ruled the airwaves.

It seems like those years were the last visible sign of where a music genre defined an era.  I mean, think about it; when you visualize the 1950s and 60s, it is rock and roll music that most comes to mind.  The 70s were all about disco, the 80s were heavy metal and hard rock, in the early 90s we went through a grunge period, and the late 90s to the start of the millennium was all about pop music.  Each decade took its place in history, defined by the music that shaped it.

Yet as we moved in to the late 2000s, it seems our musical tastes became so obscure and varied, that one genre can no longer define popular culture.  We are a mix of everything, from Country, to Hip Hop, R&B, Rap, Pop, Rock, and more.

In this new age of digital technology, there are more ways to access music and artists than ever before.  As a result, people are honing in on their specific interests and we have lost the common bond in music that once defined our place in pop culture.  Here now is my salute to the year 1999, the year we stood on threshold of the new millennium and started our way through that last great era of music dominated by a single genre.

Top 10 Songs of 1999
  1. Believe - Cher
  2. No Scrubs - TLC
  3. Angel of Mine - Monica
  4. Heartbreak Hotel - Whitney Houston
  5. ...Baby One More Time - Britney Spears
  6. Kiss Me - Sixpence None The Richer
  7. Genie In a Bottle - Christina Aguilera
  8. Every Morning - Sugar Ray
  9. Nobody's Supposed to Be Here - Deborah Cox
  10. Livin' la Vida Loca - Ricky Martin

Monday, May 10, 2010

Playlist

Last Saturday (May 8th) featured brand new songs by Miranda Cosgrove and the Black Eyed Peas.





What did you think about them? Good call? Want to hear something different next time? Let me know in the comments! :)



You can take a look at all of In The Limelight's archived playlists here.
And remember you can download the show if you missed it, at this link.





Don't forget to listen online EVERY SATURDAY AT 6:00 p.m. on WMUC2.

Katy Perry's Summer Anthem


What did you guys think of Katy Perry's new song, California Gurls" feat. Snoop Dog?

Hit or miss?  Remember, you can still download the mp3 of Saturday's show, if you missed it, and give the song a listen.

Katy has a lot of other things to be happy about too.  She just topped Maxim's Hot 100 list of 2010.  Looks like a great start to what is sure to be a very big summer for her.