Archive: Arts & Entertainment

Finally spring has sprung.!  I think it’s safe to say that the snow has ceased, but you never know, after all we do live in Ithaca.  When the weather does whatever it does my husband says : “ It’s Ithacating”. Well let’s hope it’s stopped Ithacating for a while!

When I think of spring, I think of asparagus, tendergreen peas, daffodils and rhubarb!

I realize rhubarb to some is not so tasty, but I am convinced that they have never really eaten it at it’s best!

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SMART TALK
by Amelia Raitt Payne, M.D.

HEAD BUTT:  As staff physician at the Institute for the Linguistically Impaired, I have two problems with head butt:  The practice of butting should be limited to sheep, and the term is redundant.

Why would anyone wish to imitate the behavior of an animal with such a small brain?  When humans butt someone, they risk injury to a much larger but poorly used brain and risk spending a life like Muhammed Ali's. 

As to the redundancy, I'm not a linguistic specialist like most of the staff here, but really, can you butt with any body part other than the head?  Head butt sounds as dumb as foot pedal and mental attitude. 

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Strengthening its growing presence on the regional arts scene, the Kitchen Theatre Company (KTC) has reached its $1.2 million fundraising goal for the Campaign for a Bold New Space.

The capital campaign was launched in early 2009 with a goal of raising $950,000 for the purchase and total renovation of the building at 417 West State / Martin Luther King, Jr. Street. That goal was increased to $1.2 million in October 2009, when campaign organizers realized the high level of support from the community, including a bequest from the estate of Judith Holliday and a gift by the children of Percy Browning in honor of her life-time of philanthropic efforts and her birthday.

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SMART TALK
by Amelia Raitt Payne, M.D.

EVERY LAST ONE: I'm very proud to have worked with Institute for the Linguistically Impaired therapists to develop the Logical Systems Implant, or ISP, to treat some cases of cerebroporosis.

However, as a proverbial unintended consequence, we've created a new problem.  Patients emerge from surgery in the William Safire Center unable to understand illogical phrases.  When someone says something that simply doesn't make sense, they can't infer what the speaker means.

That causes uncomfortable moments when a cerebroporosis sufferer says, for example, every last one or every last bit.  After all, each group has just one last item.  Every last one,  therefore, would have to be just one, the last one, of each group.

If we all said what we mean, every one, or the last one, we'd communicate so much more clearly.

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The Hangar Theatre in Ithaca, New York opened its newly renovated, year-round theatre with the first public performance of its 36th season on Wednesday, June 16.

Originally built as an airplane hangar in the 1930s, the facility served the Finger Lakes region as a private and commercial airplane hangar, as an indoor ice rink, and a music venue before it was converted into a summer theatre in the 1970s.

The Hangar Theatre Mainstage season opens June 16th in the newly renovated theatre with The 39 Steps, a farcical homage to the Alfred Hitchcock classic suspense film. Hilarity ensues as four actors perform the entire "movie", playing dozens of characters, and creating trains, planes, and hotel rooms out of simple theatrical props. The audience will be treated to madcap antics, thrilling suspense and nonstop fun, all while enjoying the stylish, comfortable and graceful renovated theatre.

Ithaca native and Broadway actor Jeremy Webb plays Richard Hannay, the likeable hero unwittingly drawn into a spy thriller of innumerable twists and turns. Mr. Webb is one of Ithaca's best known homegrown actors. He recently performed on Broadway at the Lincoln Center Theatre in The Glorious Ones, received a 2009 Helen Hayes nomination for Best Supporting Actor in The Visit, worked 5 years on CBS' longest running serial The Guiding Light, and guest-starred in numerous episodes of Law & Order.

 

SMART TALK
by Dr. Manda Rynne

EVERYDAY:  We at the Institute for the Linguistically Impaired are alarmed at the spreading ignorance of how to use compound words.  Will Passer teaches his English classes at D.B. Wesson High, here in Underbelly, Texas, that a store advertising bargains everyday doesn't deserve our business.  If they offer bargains every day or everyday bargains, we should end the boycott.

The kids have trouble seeing the distinction at first.  They often have to work for some time on this.  A few students work only sometime, but once they get it, they thank Mr. Passer in later years for making them write and speak like truly educated people.

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Gasland,  the winner of this year's Sundance Special Jury Prize, will come to Cinemopolis on  Saturday, June 12.  Tickets on sale at Cinemapolis for only two showings--1:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m. Gasland is the personal account of Pennsylvanian film producer Josh Fox.  Fox will be on hand to lead a Q&A after each showing.

The Kitchen Theatre Company (KTC) announced its 20th Anniversary Season and its move to it's new theater at 417 W. State / Martin Luther King, Jr. Street. The 2010-11 Season continues the Kitchen Theatre Company’s year-round production schedule in its new 'green' home, with performances Wednesdays to Sundays, September 2010 through July 2011.

The move to a new location also marks an expansion of the subscription series to 10 productions. The newly renovated KTC-owned space will maintain the intimacy that patrons enjoyed in the Clinton House space, with only a small increase from 73 to 99 seats to complete the KTC’s strategic business plan.

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