Archive: Arts & Entertainment

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Smart TalkSMART TALK
by Dr. Viva Palaver

NEAR MISS:  The only near miss we've heard of at the Institute for the Linguistically Impaired is Mrs. Kiehlyu.  Née Sheila Mentz, she married Imo Kiehlyu in a misguided effort to shed an embarrassing name.  She must also have been blinded by love.  What a mistake.

After only a month of marriage, she could no longer stand the ridicule and divorced Imo.  Sheila has lived in seclusion for 43 years, a near miss because many have no idea she ever married.

A near miss of, say, two airplanes would be even more tragic, because both planes would probably crash.  A near hit or near collision would probably frighten everyone but have a happy ending.  A complete miss is redundant but still fortunate,  at least when aircraft are involved.

The same news media that made poor Sheila a national laughing stock seem not to know that a near miss is a hit almost averted.  They need to learn the logical term near collision.

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v4i23

At its Annual Meeting on June 23 from 4:30-6:30pm at the First Unitarian Church, Ithaca, the CRESP Center for Transformative Action is launching 'Performing Arts for Social Change' as a new strategic initiative.  Cynthia Henderson, creator and co-founder, will give the keynote address, speaking about the origins of Performing Arts for Social Change, its wide-ranging applications, and the recent performance of Ithaca High School students, called 'Voice Suspended.'

Excerpts from 'Voice Suspended" will be shown, and students will speak about the impact it has had on them and on the larger discussion of racism in the schools. In addition, CCTA Project members will share about their social justice work and its transformative nature. All 12 Project Partners* will have displays in the adjacent Parlor Room.

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Running to Places Productions, the exciting non-profit youth theatre company, presents the next show in its inaugural season: Spring Showcase. Sixty of the most dynamic performers in Tompkins County and beyond present Broadway favorites from shows such as Spamalot, Annie, Fiddler, Chicago, Charlie Brown, Drowsy Chaperone, West Side Story, and The Wiz plus sneak peaks from their summer productions of Sweet Charity and Damn Yankees. This high energy show runs June 13 - 15 at the renovated Trumansburg Elementary School Auditorium.

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v4i22

Smart TalkSMART TALK
by Dr. Parley Speake 

NATIVE AMERICANS:  Some years ago, R. Carlos Nakai, and inspiring musician and speaker, delivered the annual Samuel Bacon Lecture on American Language at the Institute for the Linguistically Impaired.

He asked, "How many of you are Native Americans?"

A few hands went up.

"How many were born in this country?"

Most of the audience raised their hands.

"Aren't you natives, too?  Please!  Thinking you're not a native makes you feel as if you're not responsible for this land.

"And you know what we call each other at home?  Indians!"

What a concise and cogent revelation of the folly of political correctness run amok.  Native refers to birth, as do neonatal, nativity, and nature.  Everyone born here is, by definition, a native American and must accept responsibility along with the privilege.

If you fear the wrath of simple minded PC language police, you can still avoid the racist meaning of Native American.  Just pay attention to the tribe or nation of the people in the discussion, or ask, and use that, such as the Zuñi Nation, or Navajos, or Algonquins, and so on, if it really matters.

Like African American, the term Native American misleads and demonstrates ignorance.

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v4i22

From Ithaca to Beijing to New York City and now back to Ithaca comes Rachel Lampert’s THE SOUP COMES LAST in a limited nine-performance run July 3 to July 13.  SOUP is a delightful and hilarious memoir of her 1997 trip to China to stage the first-ever production of WEST SIDE STORY in the Peoples’ Republic. This international backstage story filled with miscommunications and cultural missteps has been a long-time favorite with Ithaca area audiences.

When SOUP played for a month Off-Broadway, the New York Times note, “The trip was a comedy of errors and unmet expectations, and Ms. Lampert shows a deft sense of timing and a keen ability to make you see a scene through mere description. And in a lovely, surprising ending, she gives you a chance to test how good your mind’s eye is against the real thing. That’s when you fully realize jut how good her performance and writing were.”

The regional premiere of The Overwhelming will kick off the 34th season at the Hangar Theatre. This electrifying thriller by J.T. Rogers is a spell-binding exploration of one of the great human tragedies of our time. Set in Rwanda in 1994, The Overwhelming tells the chilling tale of an American professor who unwittingly takes his family on a trip to Rwanda in the weeks leading up to the genocide.

Intended as a reunion with an old college friend, the visit spirals quickly into chaos, duplicity, and tragedy as Rwanda descends into the maelstrom of a bloody civil war. Dramatic storytelling at its very best, this gripping play is directed by Robert Moss, who is back this season as the Hangar's Interim Artistic Director. "When I first read the play I was struck by its intimacy and engrossed by the mystery of the American not understanding the circumstances around him. It reminded me of Orson Wells' Third Man and I knew it was the type of storytelling Ithaca audiences expected from the Hangar," said Moss.

Smart TalkSMART TALK
by Dr. Ced Riley

MOTORCYCLES MAY MOUNT SIDEWAYS:  At the Institute for the Linguistically Impaired, the staff enjoys unwinding over a schooner or two in the Fowler Lounge after a stressful week of treating patients for plan ahead, mental telepathy, and the like.  One of favorite amusements is reading product directions on foreign made items.  Thanks to our tax laws, that's most items.

Dr. Garrell S. Utter came in a while back with the packaging card for a set of deer whistles and soon had us in hysterics as he read some of the directions aloud.

"Motorcycles may mount sideways," for instance.

"So that's how they reproduce," mused Dr. Saber S. Poder.

"Mounting surface must be dry, clean, and warm to the touch," Dr. Utter continued reading.

"Yes.  I can understand why," quipped Dr. Poder.

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v4i21