Exhibit your interest by helping out Artomatic
Transforming a former Defense Department building in Crystal City into Artomatic’s hub of creative whimsy takes a lot of helping hands.
The month-long, innovative smorgasbord, which includes cabaret performances and animated films, occupies 10 floors of the building through June 23. The unjuried extravaganza features more than 1,000 artists, and each one pays a $110 entry fee, sets up his or her own art and works several volunteer shifts to participate, but organizers still need other people to pitch in and donate their time. Read more (Washington Post Weekend, May 25, 2012)
The month-long, innovative smorgasbord, which includes cabaret performances and animated films, occupies 10 floors of the building through June 23. The unjuried extravaganza features more than 1,000 artists, and each one pays a $110 entry fee, sets up his or her own art and works several volunteer shifts to participate, but organizers still need other people to pitch in and donate their time. Read more (Washington Post Weekend, May 25, 2012)
Rock on: Baltimore troupe puts creative spin on opera
The reason Dylan Koehler and four friends -- Aran Keating, Jared Margulies, John DeCampos and Eli Breitburg-Smith -- created the Baltimore Rock Opera Society (a.k.a. BROS) in 2007 is simple: "To make the impossibly epic a reality," says Koehler, 26. "To bring the vision of insane rock theater to Baltimore and the rest of the world."
The group's upcoming show, "Valhella: The Ragnaarokkoperetta" (May 11-20; Autograph Playhouse, 9 W. 25th St., Baltimore, $12-17) focuses on three Viking brothers -- one blind, one deaf and one mute -- on a quest to save their plague-stricken village. Despite such dire-straits, don't expect a downer: Think punk "Rocky Horror Show" on steroids.
Expect lots of fog, power metal, gadgetry and a clash between giants. "We are huge on production value," says Jen Tydings, who wrote the show and serves as its artistic director. "Most of us don't come from a theater background ... A lot of us come from craft, art or just general creative backgrounds. We're always trying to push ourselves to up the ante with things visually."
Read more (Washington Post Magazine, May 6, 2012)
The group's upcoming show, "Valhella: The Ragnaarokkoperetta" (May 11-20; Autograph Playhouse, 9 W. 25th St., Baltimore, $12-17) focuses on three Viking brothers -- one blind, one deaf and one mute -- on a quest to save their plague-stricken village. Despite such dire-straits, don't expect a downer: Think punk "Rocky Horror Show" on steroids.
Expect lots of fog, power metal, gadgetry and a clash between giants. "We are huge on production value," says Jen Tydings, who wrote the show and serves as its artistic director. "Most of us don't come from a theater background ... A lot of us come from craft, art or just general creative backgrounds. We're always trying to push ourselves to up the ante with things visually."
Read more (Washington Post Magazine, May 6, 2012)
Jay Bulger’s next career: actor?
Last time we checked in with former Washingtonian Jay Bulger, the onetime boxer and model was celebrating: He’d just won the top documentary prize at South by Southwest, for his rollicking film about former Cream drummer and wild man extraordinaire Ginger Baker.
This time, he was nursing a sore hand. “Oh, my hand is so [expletive] up,” he said. “Al Pacino cuffed me too hard, I guess.”
Yes, that Al Pacino. Seems the next item on Bulger’s résumé might be “Hollywood actor.”
Bulger will be appear in the film “Stand Up Guys,” which is being directed by Fisher Stevens, whose production company backed “Beware of Mr. Baker.”
Read more (Washington Post Magazine, May 4, 2012)
This time, he was nursing a sore hand. “Oh, my hand is so [expletive] up,” he said. “Al Pacino cuffed me too hard, I guess.”
Yes, that Al Pacino. Seems the next item on Bulger’s résumé might be “Hollywood actor.”
Bulger will be appear in the film “Stand Up Guys,” which is being directed by Fisher Stevens, whose production company backed “Beware of Mr. Baker.”
Read more (Washington Post Magazine, May 4, 2012)
Reporting to you live ... A look at a newsroom on wheels
The white Ford E350 before Erik Lee is no ordinary automobile: It has a small broadcast dish on the roof.
The TV news van is one of five belonging to local CBS affiliate WUSA 9, where Lee is chief photographer. Since the 1980s, vehicles such as these have been media mainstays, allowing reporters and photographers to bring live audio and video fromthe field to viewers at home. “We drive these things a ton,” Lee says. “They often can work 21 hours out of 24.” Capturing and broadcasting breaking news as it happens, however, isn’t merely amatter of pulling up on a curb and flipping a switch. Read more (Washington Post Magazine, Apr. 22, 2012) Off the page: Pop-up book maker shares her craft
Carol Barton knows what you’re thinking: “When I say I’ma pop-up book designer, people always think I design kids’ books,” the 57-year-old says. But Barton’s work is intended for adults with a discerning eye. Think less child’s play, more visual art.
The Glen Echo resident, who refers to herself as a book artist and paper engineer, assembles and publishes her own pieces through Popular Kinetics Press. She also offers classes for those who want to give the medium a try. “Once you learn how to make a couple cuts and folds in the paper, you can design a popup,” she says. Here are some of her creations. Read more (Washington Post Magazine, Apr. 1. 2012) |
Turn the radio up: Bowie museum has eyes and ears on the past
A flip of a switch. The turn of the dial. A downloadable podcast. These days, turning on a radio can be an afterthought. Brian Belanger remembers when times were different. “The stories that are behind the development of radio are really fascinating,” the 71-year-old says. “People don’t appreciate how we got from where it started [broadcast radio for entertainment purposes began in earnest in the 1920s] to where we are today.”
As curator of Bowie’s National Capital Radio & Television Museum since it opened in 1999, Belanger is trying to preserve that history, which includes such pieces as a 1977 radio shaped like a cheeseburger and a 1939 model that could print news reports. Read more (Washington Post Magazine, Apr. 8, 2012) Eat well and skip D.C.’s longest queues
These local eateries are often on tourists’ to-do lists (and often mobbed), thanks to the hoopla surrounding presidential visits, reality TV shows and best-of lists. Here are some tips on beating the crowds or avoiding them altogether by checking out equally worthy alternatives.
Old Ebbitt Grill This landmark Washington bar and restaurant is known for its raw bar and proximity to the White House, but, as Post critic Tom Sietsema says, “breaking bread at Old Ebbitt Grill is as relaxing as eating in the Metro Center station at rush hour.” The half-price raw bar Monday through Thursday from 3 to 6 p.m. is particularly popular, but general manager Christian Guidi suggests another option, one that’s particularly suited to night owls ... Read more (Washington Post Weekend, Mar. 30, 2012) |
