Mountain Views News, Sierra Madre Edition [Pasadena] Saturday, March 11, 2017

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Mountain Views-News Saturday, March 11, 2017 


On the Marquee: 

Notes from the Sierra MadrePlayhouse

Jeff’s Book Pics By Jeff Brown


The Nightingale by Kristin 
Hannah 

FRANCE, 1939

 In love we find out who we want to 
be.In war we find out who we are.. In 
the quiet village of Carriveau, Vianne 
Mauriac says goodbye to her husband, 
Antoine, as he heads for the Front. 
She doesn’t believe that the Nazis will 
invade France … but invade they do, 
in droves of marching soldiers, in 
caravans of trucks and tanks, in planes 
that fill the skies and drop bombs upon 
the innocent. When a German captain 
requisitions Vianne’s home, she and 
her daughter must live with the enemy 
or lose everything. Without food or 
money or hope, as danger escalates 
all around them, she is forced to make 
one impossible choice after another to 
keep her family alive.Vianne’s sister, 
Isabelle, is a rebellious eighteen-year-
old girl, searching for purpose with 
all the reckless passion of youth. 
While thousands of Parisians march 
into the unknown terrors of war, 
she meets Gäetan, a partisan who 
believes the French can fight the 
Nazis from within France, and she 
falls in love as only the young can 
… completely. But when he betrays 
her, Isabelle joins the Resistance and 
never looks back, risking her life 
time and again to save others.With 
courage, grace and powerful insight, 
bestselling author Kristin Hannah 
captures the epic panorama of WWII 
and illuminates an intimate part of 
history seldom seen: the women’s 
war. The Nightingale tells the stories 
of two sisters, separated by years 
and experience, by ideals, passion 
and circumstance, each embarking 
on her own dangerous path toward 
survival, love, and freedom in 
German-occupied, war-torn France-
-a heartbreakingly beautiful novel 
that celebrates the resilience of the 
human spirit and the durability of women. It is a 
novel for everyone, a novel for a lifetime.

Euphoria by Lily Kingy 

Winner of the 2014 Kirkus Prize, the 2014 New 
England Book Award for Fiction,and a finalist for 
the National Book Critics Circle Award.

 Lily’s novel is the story of three young, 
gifted anthropologists in 1933 caught 
in a passionate love triangle that 
threatens theirs bonds, their careers, 
and ultimately their lives. English 
Anthropologist Andrew Bankson 
has been alone in the field for several 
years, studying a tribe on the Sepik 
River in the Territory of New Guinea 
with little success. Increasingly 
frustrated and isolated by his research, 
Bankson is on the verge of suicide 
when he encounters the famous and 
controversial Nell Stone and her wry, 
mercurial husband Fen. Bankson is 
enthralled by the magnetic couple 
whose eager attentions pull him back 
from the brink of despair. Set between 
World War I and II and inspired by 
events in the life of revolutionary 
anthropologist Margaret Mead, 
Euphoria is an enthralling story of 
passion, possession, exploration and 
sacrifice. 

The Wonder Trail: True Stories 
from Los Angeles to the End of 
the World by Steve Hely 

 The Wonder Trail is the story of a 
trip from Los Angeles to the bottom 
of South America, presented in 102 
short chapters. From Mexico City to 
Oaxaca; into ancient Mayan ruins; the 
jungles, coffee plantations, and remote 
beaches of Central America; across the 
Panama Canal; by sea to Colombia; 
to the wild Easter celebration of 
Popayán; to the Amazon rainforest; 
the Inca sites of Cuzco and Machu 
Picchu; to the Galápagos Islands; the 
Atacama Desert of Chile; and down 
to wind-worn Patagonia at the bottom 
of the Western Hemisphere; Steve 
traveled collecting stories, adventures, 
oddities, marvels, bits of history 
and biography, tales of weirdos, fun 
facts, and anything else interesting 
or illuminating.Steve’s plan was to 
discover the unusual, wonderful, and absurd in 
Central and South America, to seek and find the 
incredible, delightful people and experiences that 
came his way. And the book that resulted is just as 
fun. A blend of travel writing, history, and comic 
memoir, The Wonder Trail will inspire, inform, 
and delight.

CREATING WORLDS


By Artistic Director, Christian Lebano

“We can’t take any credit for our talents. It’s how we use them 
that counts.”

 Last week’s essay also began by quoting from Madeleine 
L’Engle’s book A Wrinkle in Time. I keep surprising myself 
with how many simple, yet profound, quotes from this 
book resonate for me. The one above puts me in mind of 
the wonderful team of artists that assembled to put this play 
on the stage who USE their talents in all the ways that really 
count.

 This is the biggest show (in terms of cues and effects) we’ve 
ever done at the Playhouse and I will be forever indebted to 
the extraordinary designers who’ve work so hard and so long 
(we’ve been regularly staying at the theater until 3:30 in the 
morning – and even pulled a few all-nighters to get this show 
up.) And the effects are dazzling – so much more than a 
small understaffed theater like ours has any hope of creating 
– but create them we did.

 Sean Paxton composed our music – and it is delightful. 
The Wrinkle/Meg theme he wrote puts me in mind of Dr. 
Who. It pulses and drives and makes me smile in anticipation 
every time I hear it. The music he wrote for Mrs. Whatsit’s 
transformation into the flying horse is majestic and soaring. 
The final moments are so fulfilling. He was able to punctuate 
small moments and underscore grand ones.

 Chris Moscatiello supplied all of the crazy sounds I 
asked of him from the ridiculous to the sublime – imagine 
my asking you to create four different kinds of disappearing 
door sounds, squeaky galoshes, the sound time travel makes, 
school bells, and the sound of magic flowers being plucked 
from the ground, plus dozens of others! He never batted an 
eye – he worked tirelessly to make them all just what was 
needed AND dazzling. 

 Vicki Conrad costumed this monster of a show where 
actors jump from one character to another in an instant and 
need to be running around the building while they do it! She 
brought the characters to life and made them look as real or 
as wild as was appropriate. From pajamas for the kids to the 
drab dresses of Camazotz she creates worlds.

 Rebecca Hairston put more lighting instruments in our 
grid than we’ve ever used before. She created lighting that 
is sometimes so beautiful that it takes your breath away – 
and sometimes so sinister that you sense that danger is just 
around the corner. She is indefatigable – she works so hard 
to get the limited resources that we have to look like what you 
would expect to see at the bigger theaters and she does it all 
with a wisecracking wit and endless good humor.

 Matt Hill did double duty as set and projection designer 
– and wait till you see what magic he creates from the three 
different projectors we are using. Watch Meg walk down the 
stairs, fly through the universe, approach a haunted house, 
and walk the streets of Camazotz through his projections. He 
has taken all of my requests and given me more than I had a 
right to expect AND he threw in a couple of surprises that 
have become some of my favorite moments in the show.

 This team has been a gift. They have shared their talent 
and their professionalism with me and our cast all in hopes 
of creating something magical for you, our patrons. Working 
with them has been such a pleasure. I’m very proud of the 
work we have created, and I’m very grateful to them all. All 
of this has been managed so expertly by our Stage Manager 
Kelsey O’Keeffe and her Assistant Emily Hopfauf – I’ll tell 
you more about them in another posting.

 As always we here at SMP do all of this for you – our 
faithful patrons. I look forward to seeing you and the 
young people in your life (this show will truly captivate 
them) in the audiences. We open March 10 and run Friday 
nights and Saturday matinees through April 22. For tickets 
please call Mary in the box office at 626.355.4318 or go to 
SierraMadrePlayhouse.org. Hope to see you soon! 


All Things By Jeff Brown

THE 5 SECOND RULE: TRANSFORM YOUR LIFE, 
WORK, AND CONFIDENCE WITH EVERYDAY 
COURAGE BY MEL ROBBINS 

How to enrich your life and destroy doubt in 5 seconds.

Throughout your life, you’ve had parents, coaches, 
teachers, friends and mentors who have pushed you 
to be better than your excuses and bigger than your 
fears. What if the secret to having the confidence 
and courage to enrich your life and work is simply 
knowing how to push yourself? Using the science 
of habits, riveting stories and surprising facts from 
some of the most famous moments in history, art 
and business, Mel Robbins will explain the power 
of a “push moment.” Then, she’ll give you one 
simple tool you can use to become your greatest 
self.It takes just five seconds to use this tool, and 
every time you do you’ll be in great company. 
More than 8 million people have watched Mel’s 
TEDx Talk, and executives inside of the world’s 
largest brands are using the tool to increase 
productivity, collaboration, and engagement.
In The 5 Second Rule, you’ll discover it takes just 
five seconds to:Become confident,Break the habit 
of procrastination and self-doubt,Beat fear and 
uncertainty,Stop worrying and feel happier,Share 
your ideas with courage,The 5 Second Rule is 
a simple, one-size-fits-all solution for the one 
problem we all face—we hold ourselves back.

BUSINESS NEWS & TRENDS

FAMILY MATTERS By Marc Garlett


ESTATE PLANNING AND 
DIVORCE: INCAPACITY 
AND DEATH 
CONSIDERATIONS 

If you are considering a divorce, it’s critical to 
understand the impact of your divorce on what 
would happen in the event of your incapacity or 
death, either during the divorce or after.

 Unfortunately, most divorce lawyers don’t give 
much thought to incapacity or death, primarily 
because they do not have training on these specific 
issues and it’s just not at the forefront of their minds 
when they are advising clients through a divorce. 
So, that means you may need to be the one to 
bring it up.

 When you do, here are some things for you to 
keep in mind:

1. As soon as you file for divorce, automated 
“orders” go into effect that will limit what you can 
do with your assets during the divorce. These are 
generally called Automatic Temporary Restraining 
Orders or “ATROs” and they impact how you 
can change prior estate planning documents 
and what you can do with future estate planning 
decisions while your divorce is in progress. 
Talking with your divorce lawyer about 
these issues (or making an appointment 
to meet with your Family Trust Attorney 
before you file for divorce) is a wise decision.


2. If you’ve already filed for divorce, you may 
want to revoke any existing powers of attorney 
and health care directives giving your soon 
to be ex-spouse control over your assets and 
medical decision-making if you were to become 
incapacitated, as well as execute what we call a 
“divorce will”, which is a “temporary” Will that 
would cover the disposition of your assets in 
the event of your death during your divorce. 
Again, talk to an attorney about the temporary 
documents which can be executed while you are in 
the divorce process, so you don’t suffer any lapses in 
the valuable protections your estate plan provides.
3. Be sure to update your “temporary” documents 
once your divorce is final, and all asset dispositions 
have been handled, to take into account your new 
reality.

 Going through a divorce can be hard. But there 
are things you can – and should – do to make 
things easier for yourself and your loved ones, from 
an estate planning perspective, before, during, and 
after the process.

 Dedicated to empowering your family, increasing 
your wealth and building your legacy,

A local attorney and father, Marc Garlett is on a mission 
to help parents protect what they love most. His office is 
located at 49 S. Baldwin Ave., Ste. G, Sierra Madre, CA 
91024. Schedule an appointment to sit down and talk 
about ensuring a legacy of love and financial security 
for your family by calling 626.587.3058 or visit www.
GarlettLaw.com for more information.


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Sundays, January 15 - May 7 (No class Easter, April 16) 

2:00pm - 4:00pm 

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626-355-4572 

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Career Launching 
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Sundays, January 8 - Febuary 12 

5:00pm to 9:00pm 

Zydeco Casting Studios 

Call: 626-355-4572


Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com