Mountain Views News     Logo: MVNews     Saturday, April 23, 2016

MVNews this week:  Page 11

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.