Archive: Arts & Entertainment

Call Me Waldo at the Kitchen

: By Lindsay Hahnes; Entertainment; | Jan 6, 2012 |

The Kitchen Theatre Company’s starts the new year with world premiere comedy Call Me Waldo. Everyone’s mid-life ennui rises to the surface in a different way. Some people get divorced, some buy a sports car or a boat, some change jobs and try to start fresh. Not many start to channel the great American poet and essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson, but that is exactly what happens to electrician’s assistant Lee Fountain in Rob Ackerman’s new play Call Me Waldo.

Lee is usually a low-key guy, a member of the crew who doesn’t make waves. So when he starts spouting poetry on the job site, his irascible boss, Gus, is sure he’s witnessing a breakdown. Mix into this situation Lee’s wife Sarah, a no-nonsense nurse, and her friend Cynthia, a doctor ready to advise, and soon everyone is on the path to figure out Lee’s behavior and, unintentionally, figure out much about themselves. This is a modern love story that celebrates the workingman, the power of words, and the joy and pain of transformation. Like a film by Woody Allen, Call Me Waldo explores what happens when we get under each other’s skins and does it with humor and heart.

Smart Talk - Swat I Said — Point-Settas

: By Jim Evans; Entertainment; | Dec 16, 2011 |

SMART TALK

by Dr. Verbos Metikulos

SWAT I SAID - POINT-SETTAS: We have a winter lecture series coming up at the Center for English as a First Language, so I drove into downtown Underbelly, dropped off my wife at the Sleeveless Vest, our only clothing store, and parked at the Hotel Inn. I needed to speak to Howard Johnson, the proprietor, about reservations for the speakers.

"Christmas is comin'," he remarked during our chat. "Gotta git some point-settas."

"Oh, you mean poinsettias?" I asked as politely as I could.

"Swat I said. Point-settas. Now. About them rooms. When didja wannem?"

I made the necessary reservations and left to pick up my wife at the Fluff 'n' Puff Salon. Why try to correct the man and make him feel ignorant? After all, he wasn't a patient.

But for the record, poinsettia is pronounced the way it's spelled, which may surprise many: poin-SET-tee-ah. Four syllables.

There. I feel better now.

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Howard, Zwat and Friends

: By Gregory Wasenko; Entertainment; | Dec 16, 2011 |

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Lansing Artists Show at Airport

: By Dan Veaner; Entertainment; | Dec 16, 2011 |

Eight Lansing High School artists are being featured in an exhibit at the Ithaca Tompkins Regional Airport this month. The exhibit, which features the work of seniors Joanna Barrett, Brittany Brown, Ashley Engels,Greg Wasenko, and juniors Ian Chan, Erica Harper, Richard McDonough, Hannah Shea, is on display for the month of December.

"People love these," says Airport Terminal Services Coordinator Jim Strehle. "Any time you walk out here people are always looking at them. It's something to do while you're waiting for your aircraft. The more things you have to be entertained, the faster the time goes."

Smart Talk - Anxious/Eager

: By Jim Evans; Entertainment; | Dec 9, 2011 |

SMART TALK

by Dr. "Windy" Prolix

A GROUP OF THEM ARE HERE: We're proud Americans here at the Center for English as a First Language in Underbelly, Texas. This means, among other things, that we eschew Britishisms. Sure, we call our language English, but even our computers ask us to choose between British and American English before loading many programs.

Ironically, for instance, the Brits use the spelling of their ancient enemy, France, for many words ending in -er. Over here, theatre betrays obvious pretense.

But many Americans seem not to realize that collective nouns, such as "flock" and "group," are plural in the UK - The audience were stunned - rather than singular in the USA - The audience was stunned.

So any proud American can see that the title above is fine in England but wrong here, because we're talking about a group, just one group.

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Howard, Zwat and Friends

: By Gregory Wasenko; Entertainment; | Dec 9, 2011 |

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'Myths of Gulliver' at FOUND

: By Debra Moree; Entertainment; | Dec 9, 2011 |

A new show by Ithaca area artist Anesti Zakos opens at the Gallery @ FOUND this month. The Myths of Gulliver is part of a larger series that encompasses many years of works from the past decade. This body of work revolves around the notion or feeling of confinement, trapped, or out of place. The inspiration for the work is from Jonathan Swift's "Gulliver's Travels".

The work is a something has been stirred from deep within that hasn't spoken in a while. It embodies a form that lay dormant for what seemed like ages, and has been awoken. From it's new found life shall breath upon it's surroundings and speak.

Cookies and Carols at Lansing in Pictures and Videos

: By Karen Veaner; Entertainment; | Dec 9, 2011 |

Smart Talk - Anxious/Eager

: By Jim Evans; Entertainment; | Dec 2, 2011 |

SMART TALK

by Dr. Ced Riley

ANXIOUS/EAGER: "I've been anxious to meet you!" exclaimed a new patient at the Institute for English as a First Language. While I shook hands and smiled, my snarky inner voice replied, Great Freudian slip; you should be anxious.

This new patient, whom I'll refer to as NP, suffered from a common malady we could call Dictionary Deprivation but is more likely Educational Amnesia.

Anxious means full of anxiety - duh, hello? - and therefore is neither a pleasant feeling nor a pleasant thing to say when greeting someone you're happy to see. Be anxious about health care or your child's friendship with that smooth talking older kid, but at least pretend to be eager to meet me.

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Howard, Zwat and Friends

: By Gregory Wasenko; Entertainment; | Dec 2, 2011 |

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Kitchen Theatre Job Creation Program Starts

: By Lesley Greene; Entertainment; | Dec 2, 2011 |

The Kitchen Theatre Company’s “Next Steps” job creation and training program has begun. The four trainees (Ruthy Lorenzana, Savannah Burdette, G-Quan Booker, and Julissa Avedevo) started at the Kitchen just in time to work on the upcoming show–IRMA VEP by Charles Ludlam, running Nov 30-Dec 18.

These positions, funded through a grant from the Ithaca Urban Renewal Agency, are entry-level, 22- to 30-hours-per-week positions. Trainees will learn and develop skills required for front of house management, audience services and community outreach. They will also have opportunities to work in other aspects of the theater’s operation.

Smart Talk - Rezorceful

: By Jim Evans; Entertainment; | Nov 18, 2011 |

SMART TALK

by Dr. Shirley Glibb

REZORCEFUL: When did this abomination start? And whom can we blame? Of course, Democrats would blame Republicans, and vice versa, and carry on like middle schoolers. At the Institute for English as a First Language, we blame poseurs in general.

These social climbers comprise a large fraction of our patient population. They make themselves look fatuous by affecting usage such as I feel badly instead of I feel bad and "That's the difference between he and I" instead of between him and me.

And now rezorceful. The malady has spread to misplacing the accented syllable in REsources, so that the poseuritis sufferer says reZORses.

Just remember, if you hear someone say any form of resource with the S sounding like a Z, they're probably trying to sound just a bit better than thee. And the joke's on them.

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Howard, Zwat and Friends

: By Gregory Wasenko; Entertainment; | Nov 18, 2011 |

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