Olden Times

 I just stumbled across this 2005 NPR story on theater design that featured WaterTower Theatre in Addison.

This was the first time I was interviewed on radio.  A surreal experience.  The interviewer, Bob Mondello, was nice... and about six feet taller than I was.  The  sound stage was tiny - barely two chairs wide - but the microphone was huge - the size of a cantalope.  And I brought a drawing - "for radio?" he asked, but I had some logic actually, I wanted him to understand the design so he could ask better questions, which, afterwards he admitted was helpful.  

I haven't listened to it yet, so listen with me...

Flexible Theater Design and Intimacy Audience

That Radio Thing

A while back (HERE) I wrote about being interviewed for our local National Public Radio station KERA.  It required getting a haircut.

Well, the piece finally came out Friday!  The first of 52 artist profiles.  And this is the link at Art and Seek: HERE

A profile complete with a dorky they-made-me-take-it! selfie.

Really, they made me take this! selfie.

Producing on Broadway

Listen to National Public Radio?

Public domain image courtesy of Clkr.com

As I was driving between theaters yesterday I heard a fascinating interview with theater and film producer Scott Rudin on Fresh Air.  HERE.

No wonder the guy has five (5! count'em!) shows up for Tonys this season, has produced hits like The Book of Mormon, and been part of an incredible list of prestigious work in theater and film.  He's devoted to Broadway - watched every show from 8 years old on and started working there at 15.  "I'm a complete product of mentorship," he says, having worked for one after another of the great Broadway producers, learning as he went.

He reinforces my theory that those people who really want something, really love something, really want to learn... do.  Real masters seem to be self-educating; either self-taught or by way of finding the right teachers and insisting they be allowed to learn.  

Frighteningly focused and driven, really.  Excellence ain't easy.  Or easy to learn (his story about getting one boss's artificial leg fixed is pretty funny).

Listen up!

NPR and Radio as the Public's Culture Diary

I had been listening, fascinated, to an interview with author Katherine S. Newman talking about her new non-fiction book as I drove... to the library where the first thing I saw in "New Books" was her book, The Accordion Family.

Weird, or what?

I love NPR's coverage of the arts.  There are so many authors and artists that I would never hear about if it weren't for the tirelessly cultured folks in public broadcasting.  And the obscure yet fascinating facts!  How would I learn about the ecosystems in the human body if not for Fresh Air?  Did you know we each have 3-4 pounds of bacteria and viruses in our bodies - and those are the ones that keep us healthy.  You can die if too strong an antibiotic kills 'em off.  Really.  That was yesterday's talk and I'm still marveling... and washing my hands.

Public radio enriches and enlightens my life.  Without Click and Clack the Tappet Brothers how would I know how to fix my car or how to get mice out of it?  Not that I have mice, but this wildlife dilemma may be more imminent than it sounds, considering I already have ants.  (And the ants at my house are nothing to scoff at - they've already eaten part of the refrigerator, I kid you not.)

Cover of The Accordion Family from The Boston Globe's review

So I brought home The Accordion Family and will soon know much more about the changing configuration of the modern nuclear family.  I'll report back.

Oh, and I love the public library too.