11
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Mountain Views-News Saturday, April 23, 2016
Jeff’s Book Pics By Jeff Brown
Conversations on Non-Duality: Twenty-Six
Awakenings by Eleanora Gilbert
A fascinating compilation of the life stories of
perfectly ordinary people and the different paths
they’ve taken on their spiritual journey searching for
oneness, completeness, and unity.From a rich variety
of backgrounds, the people profiled here have been
through extraordinary experiences leading to amazing
new perceptions. They all shared
a common sense of dissatisfaction
with their lives and a longing for
happiness, connection, health,
love, fulfilling relationships, wealth,
and freedom. As they reveal the
means by which they each went
about achieving an end to their
suffering—from therapy to study
with gurus, their stories range
from funny to moving and tragic
to inspiring, but there is a common
element in their engagement
with nonduality. In simple terms,
nonduality means no separation—
although it appears that there are
separate individuals and objects in
our world, in reality there is only
oneness. It is this realization that
has transformed the lives of these
26 ordinary men and women from
many cultures and from a wide
range of social, economic, and
ethnic backgrounds. Here they
share their insights and wisdom.
The Last Painting of Sara de
Vos: A Novel by Dominic
Smith
A rare 17th century painting
links 3 lives, on 3 continents, in
over 3 centuries in this novel.
Amsterdam, 1631: Sara de Vos
becomes the first woman to be
admitted as a master painter
to the city’s Guild of St. Luke.
Though women do not paint
landscapes (they generally do
indoor subjects), a wintry outdoor
scene haunts Sara: She cannot
shake the image of a young girl
from a nearby village, standing
alone beside a silver birch at dusk,
staring out at a group of skaters
on the frozen river below. Defying
the expectations of her time, she
decides to paint it.New York City,
1957: The only known surviving
work of Sara de Vos, At the Edge
of a Wood, hangs in the bedroom
of a wealthy Manhattan lawyer,
Marty de Groot, a descendant of the original owner. It
is a beautiful but comfortless landscape. The lawyer’s
marriage is prominent but comfortless, too. When
a struggling art history grad student, Ellie Shipley,
agrees to forge the painting for a dubious art dealer,
she finds herself entangled with its owner in ways no
one could predict.Sydney, 2000: Now a celebrated art
historian and curator, Ellie Shipley is mounting an
exhibition in her field of specialization: female painters
of the Dutch Golden Age. When it becomes apparent
that both the original At the Edge of a Wood and her
forgery are en route to her museum, the life she has
carefully constructed threatens to unravel entirely and
irrevocably.
The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Thirty-Second
Annual Collection by Gardner Dozois
In the new millennium, what secrets lay beyond the far
reaches of the universe? What mysteries belie the truths
we once held to be self evident? The world of science
fiction has long been a porthole into the realities of
tomorrow, blurring the line between life and art. Now,
in The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Thirty-Second Annual
Collection the very best SF authors explore ideas of a new
world. This venerable collection brings together award
winning authors and masters of the field such as Robert
Reed, Alastair Reynolds, Damien Broderick, Elizabeth
Bear, Paul McAuley and John Barnes. And with an
extensive recommended reading guide and a summation
of the year in science fiction, this annual compilation has
become the definitive must-read anthology for all science
fiction fans and readers interested in breaking into the
genre.
Conversations on Non-Duality: Twenty-Six
Awakenings by Eleanora Gilbert
A fascinating compilation of the life stories of perfectly
ordinary people and the different paths they’ve taken on
their spiritual journey searching for oneness, completeness,
and unity.From a rich variety of backgrounds, the people
profiled here have been through
extraordinary experiences leading
to amazing new perceptions. They
all shared a common sense of
dissatisfaction with their lives and a
longing for happiness, connection,
health, love, fulfilling relationships,
wealth, and freedom. As they reveal
the means by which they each went
about achieving an end to their
suffering—from therapy to study
with gurus, their stories range
from funny to moving and tragic
to inspiring, but there is a common
element in their engagement
with nonduality. In simple terms,
nonduality means no separation—
although it appears that there are
separate individuals and objects in
our world, in reality there is only
oneness. It is this realization that
has transformed the lives of these
26 ordinary men and women from
many cultures and from a wide
range of social, economic, and
ethnic backgrounds. Here they
share their insights and wisdom.
The Last Painting of Sara de
Vos: A Novel by Dominic
Smith
A rare 17th century
painting links 3 lives, on 3
continents, in over 3 centuries in
this novel.Amsterdam, 1631: Sara
de Vos becomes the first woman to
be admitted as a master painter to
the city’s Guild of St. Luke. Though
women do not paint landscapes
(they generally do indoor subjects),
a wintry outdoor scene haunts Sara:
She cannot shake the image of a
young girl from a nearby village,
standing alone beside a silver birch at
dusk, staring out at a group of skaters
on the frozen river below. Defying
the expectations of her time, she
decides to paint it.New York City,
1957: The only known surviving
work of Sara de Vos, At the Edge of
a Wood, hangs in the bedroom of a
wealthy Manhattan lawyer, Marty de Groot, a descendant of
the original owner. It is a beautiful but comfortless landscape.
The lawyer’s marriage is prominent but comfortless, too.
When a struggling art history grad student, Ellie Shipley,
agrees to forge the painting for a dubious art dealer, she
finds herself entangled with its owner in ways no one
could predict.Sydney, 2000: Now a celebrated art historian
and curator, Ellie Shipley is mounting an exhibition in her
field of specialization: female painters of the Dutch Golden
Age. When it becomes apparent that both the original At
the Edge of a Wood and her forgery are en route to her
museum, the life she has carefully constructed threatens to
unravel entirely and irrevocably.
The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Thirty-Second
Annual Collection by Gardner Dozois
In the new millennium, what secrets lay beyond the
far reaches of the universe? What mysteries belie the
truths we once held to be self evident? The world of
science fiction has long been a porthole into the realities
of tomorrow, blurring the line between life and art. Now,
in The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Thirty-Second Annual
Collection the very best SF authors explore ideas of a new
world. This venerable collection brings together award
winning authors and masters of the field such as Robert
Reed, Alastair Reynolds, Damien Broderick, Elizabeth
Bear, Paul McAuley and John Barnes. And with an
extensive recommended reading guide and a summation
of the year in science fiction, this annual compilation has
become the definitive must-read anthology for all science
fiction fans and readers interested in breaking into the
genre.
On the Marquee: Notes from the Sierra Madre Playhouse
A WILLIAMS MOMENT AT SMP
Jeff’s History Corner By Jeff Brown
THE U.S. TREASURY HAS DECIDED TO PUT HARRIET
TUBMAN ON THE FRONT OF THE NEW $20 BILL.
Harriet Tubman (born Araminta Ross; c.
1822 – March 10, 1913) was an African-
American abolitionist, humanitarian, and,
during the American Civil War, a Union
spy. Born into slavery, Tubman escaped and
subsequently made some thirteen missions
to rescue approximately seventy enslaved
families and friends, using the network of
antislavery activists and safe houses known as
the Underground Railroad. She later helped
abolitionist John Brown recruit men for his
raid on Harpers Ferry, and in the post-war era
was an active participant in the struggle for
women’s suffrage.Born a slave in Dorchester
County, Maryland, Tubman was beaten and
whipped by her various masters as a child. Early
in life, she suffered a traumatic head wound
when an irate slave owner threw a heavy metal
weight intending to hit another slave and hit
her instead. The injury caused dizziness, pain,
and spells of hypersomnia(recurrent episodes
of sleepiness) which occurred throughout
her life. She was a devout Christian and
experienced strange visions and vivid dreams,
which she ascribed to premonitions from God.
In 1849, Tubman escaped to Philadelphia, then
immediately returned to Maryland to rescue
her family. Slowly, one group at a time, she
brought relatives with her out of the state, and
eventually guided dozens of other slaves to
freedom. Traveling by night and in extreme
secrecy, Tubman (or “Moses”, as she was
called) “never lost a passenger”. Her actions
made slave owners anxious and angry, and
they posted rewards for her capture. When a
far-reaching United States Fugitive Slave Law
was passed in 1850, she helped guide fugitives
further north into Canada, and helped newly
freed slaves find work.When the US Civil War
began, Tubman worked for the Union Army,
first as a cook and nurse, and then as an armed
scout and spy. The first woman to lead an
armed expedition in the war, she guided the
raid at Combahee Ferry, which liberated more
than seven hundred slaves. After the war, she
retired to the family home on property she had
purchased in 1859 in Auburn, New York, where
she cared for her aging parents. She was active
in the women’s suffrage movement until illness
overtook her and she had to be admitted to a
home for elderly African-Americans that she
had helped to establish years earlier. After she
died in 1913, she became an icon of American
courage and freedom.
By Managing Director, Estelle Campbell
There is a phenomenon in the theater community
in which suddenly everyone is simultaneously
selecting plays by the same playwright creating
an unintentional retrospective. Five years past
Tennessee Williams’ centenary, there will be
six different Williams plays produced in Los
Angeles this year by six different companies.
I’m curious what made 2016 the year to revisit
some of the characters and the emotional
landscapes he shaped. For me, there is no
American playwright who so deftly finds such
poetic beauty in human weakness or brings such
compassion to those lost souls seeking personal
redemption. Producing our first Williams
play ever, The Glass Menagerie (Williams’
first success,) has been a great moment in our
2015/2016 season. The cast and creative team
have brought to the project what our Artistic
Director and this show’s director, Christian
Lebano, always encourages - a willingness to
go beyond the obvious notes that are expected
to be played and find music in unexpected
places. This has certainly been the case for this
wonderful ensemble of actors and designers.
This approach to our productions, I can
say with assurance, has been recognized and
embraced by our patrons. Our audience has
grown by approximately 25% since last year
(many of whom were first introduced to our
work by our smash-hit Always…Patsy Cline)
which has led to higher pre-sales and many sold-
out houses. Another happy statistic we see in
our data is that there is a far greater number of
regular patrons coming from communities from
Claremont and Redondo Beach. (I will exclude
the couple from New Zealand as outliers!)
This imperfect data reinforces what we hear
from you about what we are doing - our season
of plays, audience engagement events, lobby
exhibits, spring Field Trip Series for local
schools, our new free monthly play reading
series, children’s acting classes and chamber
music are fulfilling your desires and our mission
to become a cultural center of the San Gabriel
Valley. It proves, in spite of the sound bytes,
that we have not yet surrendered completely
to digital media but still find sharing creative
experiences as a community appealing and,
indeed, vital. The sharing of stories is what
creates understanding and builds bridges and
SMP recognizes that. We have a wonderful
season planned for next year with plays both
provocative and thought-provoking and
romantic and fun – look for the announcement
soon. Please stop me in the lobby to let me
know how you think we are doing or contact me
at ecampbell@SierraMadrePlayhouse.org – this
is your Playhouse. Let’s continue sharing our
stories out loud.
* * *
The Glass Menagerie is already selling well. It’s
going to be a lovely show. I hope to see you
there. Please visit our website at or call Mary at
626.355.4318 to purchase tickets.
|