In its reimagining of L. Frank Baum's world, "The Enemy of Oz" transforms Oz from a fairyland into a hotbed of political intrigue and conflict. Christopher Ureña's script weaves contemporary themes of power and corruption into the familiar Oz tapestry, creating something both nostalgic and new. What makes this production revolutionary isn't just its story but its performers. Theatre by the Blind - the only all-blind theater company in the United States - gives this... Read more →
In "Augenblick," Katrin Korfmann disrupts our conventional understanding of the photographic moment through compositions that collapse multiple temporal dimensions. Her work deliberately subverts Henri Cartier-Bresson's "decisive moment" by creating layered visual narratives where urban spaces become stages for human performance and social interaction. Korfmann's images of freerunners navigating Amsterdam's architecture and surfers riding artificial waves in Munich reveal how citizens reclaim and transform public spaces in unexpected ways. These works function as documentation and artistic... Read more →
In "Sound Formations," the Claremont Lewis Museum of Art bridges sonic utility and visual aesthetics. Co-curated by Michael Kotzen and Martin Maudal, this exhibition reveals Claremont's rich musical heritage while celebrating craftspeople who turn instrument-making into fine art. The show doesn't just display instruments; it reveals the relationship between maker and musician, material and sound. The curators go beyond mere display. They've created a sensory journey that shows how these handcrafted objects work as both... Read more →
A Conversation with Responsible AI Researcher Swaptik Chowdhury, "AI for Artists," RabbleRouse News, by James Scarborough
March 21, 2025
Swaptik Chowdhury's column "AI for Artists" serves as a critical bridge between rapidly evolving AI technologies and a creative community caught in their crosshairs. His approach is twofold: he explains the technical underpinnings of generative AI and contextualizes them within the real challenges artists face. What makes Chowdhury's perspective valuable is his dual positioning as both an AI researcher and an advocate for artistic integrity. The column walks a tightrope between technological enthusiasm and ethical... Read more →
Caridad Svich's "Red Bike" uses a simple narrative to explore American identity through a child's eyes. Director Alana Dietze brings this poetic text to life in CalRep's intimate Players Theatre. The production marks CalRep's return to small venues, with the 82-seat theatre serving as the perfect setting for this personal journey. Svich's text creates a landscape where childhood innocence meets harsh economic reality. "Red Bike" turns a child's bike crash into a window on contemporary... Read more →
bG Gallery's "Regenesis – Phase Two" presents a powerful narrative of resilience through female artistic voices. The exhibition, which coincides with Women's History Month, chronicles transformation rather than merely showcasing art. The collected works show a progression from devastation to renewal without sentimentality. The diverse media on display - paintings, sculptures and mixed media - serve as different languages expressing similar themes. Each artist brings her personal experience of adversity to the work, translating emotion... Read more →
Terrence McNally's "Love! Valour! Compassion!" at Kentwood Players explores gay male identity at the crossroads of desire and mortality. Set across three summer weekends at a lakeside retreat, the production creates an intimate space where eight men's lives intersect in moments of raw vulnerability. Director Aric Martin orchestrates these encounters with a delicate hand. He allows the humor to emerge naturally from the characters' foibles rather than forcing comic relief. The ensemble cast moves through... Read more →
In "Directors Tell The Story," veteran television directors Bethany Rooney and Mary Lou Belli have opened a window into the world of directorial decision-making. This third edition builds upon their established framework with crucial updates that reflect the industry's evolution, including sections on directing apps, intimacy coordinators, and virtual production. This book abounds with practical wisdom, gleaned from the authors' combined decades behind the camera. Rooney, whose career spans from "St. Elsewhere" to current procedurals... Read more →
In "Regenesis," bG Gallery presents a timely exploration of renewal and resilience through the lens of contemporary art. The exhibition convenes diverse artistic voices, including Danielle Eubank's work, in a narrative that speaks to both personal and collective recovery. Set against the backdrop of Los Angeles's ongoing dialogue with natural disasters, the show transforms bG Gallery into a space where art becomes a vehicle for community healing. The exhibition serves dual purpose: while serving as... Read more →
In the rugged terrain of Hebei Province, Zhuang Shen's Aranya Jinshanling A... Read more →
Li Jun's exhibition "Purple Air Coming from the East" reveals an artist who... Read more →
Ben Abbott's "Buddies" tackles the deceptively complex terrain of adult male friendship with humor and depth. The play zeroes in on David, a man whose social life revolves around obligatory hangouts with his wife's friends' husbands. Then he meets Adam, his sister-in-law's new boyfriend. Their immediate connection sparks what Abbott calls a "bromantic comedy" that chronicles their fumbling attempts to forge a meaningful friendship. Abbott's work recognizes a rarely acknowledged social phenomenon: the difficulty men... Read more →
In "The Little Match Girl Isn't Going to Die," playwright Kevin B. flips the script on Hans Christian Andersen's tragic tale with a metafictional twist that's both playful and poignant. The play poses an intriguing question: what happens when a character refuses their preordained fate? This podcast production, directed by Bernadette Armstrong for Open-Door Playhouse, transforms a nineteenth-century tearjerker into contemporary commentary on narrative agency and self-determination. The casting reflects the play's boundary-crossing sensibility. Gloria... Read more →
In Angela Beloian's paintings, fantasy and reality intertwine in a mesmerizing underwater ballet. Her mixed media works reveal a vision of ecological harmony where microscopic and macroscopic worlds coexist. Drawing from both scientific precision and imaginative freedom, she creates luminous aquatic dreamscapes that pulse with life. Her delicate line work traces jellyfish tendrils, sea anemones, and coral formations against watercolor-like backgrounds that shift between cerulean blues and misty grays. The paintings function as both biological... Read more →
In "The Land and I" at Zawyeh Gallery Dubai, Palestinian artist Nabil Anani transcends conventional landscape painting through his innovative use of organic materials. His work transforms the physical elements of Palestine - wood, straw, herbs, seeds - into powerful statements about identity and belonging. Anani's technique of incorporating these natural materials directly into his paintings creates a literal and metaphorical fusion of art and earth. This materiality serves dual purposes. It grounds the work... Read more →
Eugene O'Neill's "Hughie" shines as a masterful study in human loneliness, brought to life in Two Roads Productions' intimate staging. Set in a seedy 1928 New York hotel lobby, this one-act play strips away the veneer of social pretense to reveal raw human need. Dan Frischman embodies Erie Smith, a small-time gambler whose façade of success crumbles as he confronts the death of Hughie, the night clerk who validated his existence through patient listening. The... Read more →