The Man Who Knows to Appear in Laurel

             Laurel audiences will have a rare opportunity to see Las Vegas showman, “The Man Who Knows,” perform in person. Alain Nu will be appearing May 21 and 22 at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory’s Kossiakoff Center in Laurel as a fundraiser for the Laboratory’s APL Drama Club.

            Nu is a cable television host and author of the book, Picture Your ESP!. He playfully challenges the laws of physics by using weird science and psychological suggestion to do things that appear impossible. The charismatic performer often leaves audiences exclaiming that they “can’t explain how he did that!”

            The dark-eyed Nu has headlined at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas for four years running and can be heard making predictions on Baltimore’s 98 Rock radio.

            He hosted TLC’s four-episode series, The Mysterious World of Alain Nu, in 2005, and performed live for the living recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor at the Salute to Heroes Inaugural Ball celebrating President Obama’s inauguration.

            Part-mentalist, but foremost an entertainer, Nu beseeches his audiences to open themselves to the mysteries of the universe. His one-man show promises to provoke a physics-savvy audience of scientists and mathematicians – watching viewers react as Nu demonstrates seemingly impossible phenomena should present lively entertainment.

            The members of the APL Drama Club appear to share Nu’s love of stirring up audiences.

            Last August, the club disproved the old theater stereotype that tech folks aren’t really cut out to be stage actors. More than 350 happy APL patrons attended its debut production of Randy Wyatt’s “Said and Meant,” a wild contemporary comedy about communication gone awry.

            “Said and Meant” was so well received that the troupe was invited to reprise the show as guest performers at the non-profit Laurel Mill Playhouse last fall, and did so to packed audiences.

            This spring the troupe shed their minimalist black costumes and recruited a larger cast to present their second production in full set and color.

            “The Mouse That Roared,” a cold war satire based on the book by Leonard Wibberley and adapted to the stage by Christopher Sergel, filled the Kossiakoff Center with the boisterous laughter of a growing following of APL staff and their families and friends during two performances in April.

            The Alain Nu fundraiser runs May 21 at 8 pm and May 22 at 1 pm; advance tickets start at $25 for individuals and $60 for families, and can be purchased from members of the APL Drama Club.  Proceeds will help sponsor future productions at the Kossiakoff Center.

            For more information about the APL Drama Club, visit

www.apldrama.com or contact Production Manager Lynn Reggia at lynn.reggia@jhuapl.edu.

One Man's Entertainment...

     After attending a quarterly meeting of the Greater Baltimore InDesign User Group this week that was quite entertaining to me, I wrote the following article. Many of the performing arts begin with printed meda: playscripts, screenplays, books that grow into screenplays, musical scores and lyrics, etc. Some of my artist friends (except for the graphic designers) may be only vaguely aware of how innovation in the print industry is redefining the way we create and appreciate art.

Designing to Read  by Patti Restivo
       The wonders of technology never cease to amaze this baby boomer. Even as we read, the open access revolution (unlimited access to information made possible by digital technology) marches on. Do you have an iPad? Own a Kindle or other eReader tablet? You may want to consider getting very acclimated to the latest gadgets very quickly. Graphic designers and authors like David Renard (The Last Magazine) convincingly predict a massive shift from print to online publications within the next five years.  And the print design industry is scampering to keep pace.

      At the quarterly meeting of the Greater Baltimore Chapter of the InDesign User Group at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory on March 22, Noha Edell of Cross Media Publishing Solutions presented a demonstration of the new Adobe® Digital Publishing Suite, which converts print documents into interactive “experiences” for mobile devices and the Web. We looked specifically at the first digital issue of Martha Stewart Living that was created with this model for the iPad.

     To me, online magazine design is inherently more beautiful than web site design, and Martha Stewart Living is a high priced, glossy publication. Anyone (and isn’t almost everyone?) practiced in surfing the web will be comfortable navigating the digital issue. Sophisticated interactive features (360° views, videos, audio, animated info-graphics, photo slideshows, hyperlinks, and scrolling options) present a portal to multi-sensory exploration and total reader absorption.

      For designers, the Adobe® Digital Publishing Suite offers full-service tools to create and convert print publications to e-publications. Similar to web design, the files must be meticulously organized. The three-part software package (InDesign, Bundle, and View) automatically creates a Table of Contents page with thumbnails, writes code to create the interactivity, and facilitates viewing and troubleshooting.

       But, it only works with Creative Suite 5. And if you want the layout of your pages to change with vertical or horizontal viewing, depending on how the device is held, you’ll need to design two separate layouts. (National Geographic Magazine doesn’t bother.)
       Don’t plan on using Flash animations. They won’t work on iPads or tablets. Michael Witherell, Owner and President of JetSet Communications, Inc. and a JavaScript expert, grumbled privately in the audience that Adobe needs to catch up with the latest technology, “and now.”
       Expected to be released during the second quarter of 2011, the Adobe® Digital Publishing Suite will not be available online as a software package like the latest Creative Suite. It will be custom-priced and likely only affordable to large publishing houses. There will be subscription and service fees.  Designers who want to play around with it can join the prelease program at adobe.com, but there is little point unless they’re positioned to subscribe.

       Renard predicts that print magazines will be “dead” in 20 years. Are we really going to lose sight of our favorite print magazines and books? Open access doesn’t guarantee accessibility. Will libraries provide entry to expensive online publications to folks who can’t afford the latest gadgets, or seniors who don’t know how to use them?

        E-publishing innovation is exciting to designers, but as a consumer, I don’t want to sacrifice the tactile experience of touching paper, the smell of the ink, or the rhythmic turning of pages while propped on my favorite pillow with my glasses shoved above my forehead. I want it all. My surprise that digital natives in today’s workforce have never written a check or mailed a letter also makes me question whether future generations will know what it feels like (or have the patience) to read a good old-fashioned book or script in a quiet moment.       

Woman in A Man's Suit Documentary

     Georgie Jessup's Woman In A Man’s Suit is a critically acclaimed CD that led to a documentary of the same name, which premiered and won Festival Favorite at the International GLBT Film Festival put on by PITA (Pride In The Arts) in Roanoke last June. You can listen to excerpts and buy the CD at itunes.

     In the film, Jessup performs some of her most heart-wrenching, bluesy songs and reflects candidly on her life. The setting is Jessup’s home built on family land in Jessup, Maryland. I watched the doc and interviewed Jessup last winter. While I thought the content was good (particularly Jessup's performances), it didn't quite capture the artist (see my article, Georgie Jessup On the Fringe), and there were some very noticeable tech glitches. The version I saw really needed another strong pass at editing. Hopefully, that was done before it began airing on cable television in Northern Virginia this month.

     Fans in Arlington County have two more chances to see Woman In A Man’s Suit without buying it. The doc will air on Comcast Channel 69 and Verizon Channel 38 on Saturday, March 25, at 11 am and again on Wednesday, Mach 29 at 10:30 pm. You can order a DVD from Arlington Independent Media for $25 (call 703-524-2388).

Blood Brothers

Silhouette Stages’ rendition of Blood Brothers by Willy Russell closed at Slayton House in Columbia last weekend while I was out of town. Fortunately, I did get the chance to see the show the weekend prior. In fact, John Harding of Patuxent Publishing kindly assigned me to review it.

This was the first show I’d seen by Silhouette Stages, although I’d heard some about the troupe. As sad as I am to see the Columbia Community Players dark (and I do hope that situation is temporary), it appears that Silhouette Stages is more than filling the gap for Columbia audiences and for some of the players. But they’re doing full-scale musicals (CCP seldom ventured into musicals), and although the proscenium stage at Slayton House poses some challenges for staging musicals, what I saw was excellent. This was the first time I had the pleasure of meeting Mo Dutterer, although I knew the name and reputation.

I included a summary of the story in the linked review, which came out this week in the Howard County Times and the Columbia Flier.

http://www.explorehoward.com/entertainment/80846/theater-review-blood-brothers/

If you didn’t catch this show, keep an ear out for other productions of Blood Brothers. It's well worth seeing.

Just Passing Through

      When unknown musicians answer an ad to work on a recording project and stick through years of music making to forge a bond unbroken by drifters or even death, an album will emerge when the time is right. And the time is now. Check out Just Passing Through by All Good Things at iTunes (linked below), released today.

      Over a decade ago, local musician Chris Gallerizzo advertised in the Washington City Paper for seasoned musicians to work on a recording project and the band began. In spite of some eccentric characters ambling in and out, the core members of All Good Things found their common creative ground. But once Gallerizzo, John Mullaney, Tim Aquilino, Raymond Tripp, and Jeff Miles discovered how much fun they could make making music together, making the album became secondary. And so they played on for almost a dozen years.

     This album is a tribute to Tripp, who sadly passed away in the summer of 2007, and to lasting friendships. The band eventually lost touch with Jeff Miles, who did most of the drum work, and makes a point of thanking contributors whose names have been, literally, forgotten.

     I’m not a music critic, but I do know what I like. I had the opportunity to hear a full preview of all the original songs on Just Passing Through yesterday. South of the Border is my favorite.

     The CD cover could use a makeover, but Aquilino tells some interesting stories on the inside front cover (perhaps good material for new songwriting?).

     The digital age is giving audiences much easier access to the work of indie artists and I can easily agree with Aquilino.
     “It’s all good.”

Just Passing Through
Genres: Rock, Music

Released: Mar 01, 2011

© 2011 All Good Things

http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/just-passing-through/id423424123

Credits

   Chris Gallerizzo  (Guitars, Vocals)

   John Mullaney (Bass, Vocals)

   Nancy & Margaret (Background Vocals)

   Tim Aquilino  (Keyboards, Vocals)

   Raymond Tripp  (Slide Guitar)

   Jeff Miles  (Drums)