Fame or Famine

Metromix has just highlighted the new show we’ve been talking about a lot here at PA, Babes With Blades – Cliffhangers
Expect stage-combat brawls and tongue-in-cheek commentary about women’s roles in theater.
Also click here to read a preview review by Jenn Q. Goddu of the Chicago Tribune:
Audience members who have seen past Babes with Blades showcases will notice “Cliffhangers” has much more dialogue and character development than past productions. The aim is to demonstrate the Babes’ range as full performers, DiMaso said. “We are actors who fight, we’re not just women who fight.”
`Cliffhangers’
When: Through Nov. 20
Where: The Breadline Center …read more

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Price and Participation May Vary. See Manufacturer for Details.
Man oh man I’m betting the online autism community is abuzz tonight. I just got through watching an hour of Supernanny which I actually usually enjoy. But, boy, did they make a mistake this week.
As usual, Jo Frost went into the house to observe the family and the kids were neglected and the parents did not have control and were disillusioned and overwhelmed. Jo was there theoretically to fix the “family”, but it all comes down to crappy parenting and how to recognize and fix it.
Only this week, …read more

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Today I am mourning the demise of The West Wing on NBC.
The West Wing, in its first seasons, was a gripping show that wasn’t afraid of using actual adult vocabulary. It was so refreshing to watch a program on a regular basis that didn’t dumb language down for the average viewer. No, it wasn’t the secrets of the universe revealed, but you have to admit that it had a damn sight more mental requirements than, say, Punk’d Goes Completely Dumbass Stupid. (Dude! No WAY dude! No WAY!)
Unfortunately over time the program’s writers have run out …read more

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Or: A promise is a promise.
Last week I brought you guest shilling by Ali which, frankly was a bit of a cop-out as it was perfectly written as a blog entry and I had to sit down and type diddly squat. I love those days. An updated blog with no effort!
However, Ali let me hork her writing on one condition: that I use this forum to address the great disparity between small theatres and Broadway extravaganzas. Or, to extrapolate that, big crazy rock star shows vs. the intimate venues that house local bands.
If you are an arts …read more

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Louis R. Carlozo of the Chicago Tribune did two interviews to mark the DVD debut of Revenge of the Sith; one with Rick McCallum, a producer on the project, and one with Frank Oz, the voice of Yoda.
The McCallum interview is interesting, if a bit dry, but the Frank Oz interview is pretty cool.
A. I just rehearsed and rehearsed incessantly for weeks. I studied tapes of old men’s voices. And I wrote an autobiography of the character with his likes and his dislikes, so I knew them innately, even if nobody else did.
Q. So . . . care to let …read more

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Eeeeeeeeeeeewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww.
Woody Allen grateful for wife Soon-Yi Previn
Associated Press
“I don’t ever feel that I’m with a hostile or threatening person. It’s got a more paternal feeling to it.”
Um, Woody? The whole sex/marriage thing? That shouldn’t have a paternal feel to it. The reason it has a paternal feel to it is because she was your girlfriend’s daughter and it was gross.
Also this: “I don’t ever feel that I’m with a hostile or threatening person”, as the AP quoted, doesn’t make any sense.
I love your movies, but dude, you’re wrong in so many ways.

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Musician’s Friend may be a great place to buy supplies, but that guy they have on the front page of the site…
Go look.
I totally want to look like that guy, dude.

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Or: SHUT UP!
In late summer of this year Andy bought a VW bug. This is relevant because suddenly I had my own car again and the radio stations were tuned not just to NPR and Jazz. Every day I listen to crazy pop stations, you know, just to keep up with what is grooving the kids these days, and there is this guy who is being hired to record, like, 6,000 commercial voiceovers.
His claim to fame seems to be an almost “surfer dude” bored drawl, and he slurrs half the things he says and he gets right …read more

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Today, Fabulous Reader, I was going to show you a small video my husband took on one of his gigs of a friend of ours blowing up a condom using his trumpet.
In a tragic turn of events, there is something wrong with the file.
Best laid plans, etc, etc.

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This is an email I recieved from Ali who works in the Chicago show scene. It is reprinted here with her kind permission.

For those of you who don’t know, Babes With Blades just opened our latest production, BWB: Cliffhangers, at the Breadline Center for the Performing Arts. It is a ton of fun and the material is new and even better than before. The show covers a multitude of genres from Science Fiction to Merchant Ivory so there is something for everyone.
For more info, check out www.babeswithblades.ORG After a year and a half off from …read more

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