The making of a great play, or novel, or any art form that is based on words contains several elements: character development; what is said and what is not; expression and movement in three dimensions (in the case of live theatre); and the precision with which the words are delivered. […]
It begins deceptively simply — a minimalist stage, shadows stretching across an almost bare room, the air charged with unease. The absence of clutter sets the tone: something tense, intimate, and faintly dangerous is about to unfold. Mirror Lake opens like a slow shiver, its stillness daring you to look […]
The writer’s job is to become human through the stories he / she / they tell. It is a task not meant to transcend one’s position or thought process; it is to act as a transmitter. I embody the divine through my humanness as I transmit stories, like a radio, […]
New York: Where Service Became a Craft Ask Mark what shaped him most and he’ll take you back to New York City—where hospitality is a contact sport and excellence a daily discipline. He grew up in Glendale, Queens, a subway ride from the old-school dining rooms that taught him how […]
Ralph Yznaga never seems to lose his sense of curiosity. When he talks about creativity, it’s with the spark of a lifelong experimenter, someone who still believes imagination is the best business plan. Sitting in his Austin office surrounded by Edible Austin back issues and glowing laptop screens, he laughs […]
Opening night of City Theatre’s 20th anniversary season was To Kill a Mockingbird. Adapted from Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, this is the story and riveting stage production of the seminal American classic about childhood innocence, social inequality, and racial injustice. Racism, rot, superiority complexes, and good ol’ boy network still haunt […]
The air in New Orleans hangs heavy, the kind of muggy heat that clings to your skin and thoughts alike. Tennessee Williams felt oppressed by that weight — the suffocating weather, the stifling codes of Southern propriety, and the grinding atmosphere of a mind caught between purity and desire. Out […]
Robert Rodriguez, the legendary Austin filmmaker, opened his Troublemaker Studios for ACG’s 35th Season. They filmed Alita: Battle Angel there. At the open-air set, I felt as if I was roaming the streets and alleyways of a fading, long-forgotten town in Spain. We savored complimentary sangria and paella from Flavor […]
What is your nightmare? Mine is a dream come true: stepping into the 3D immersive set of Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmasat the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. Thanks to Texas Performing Arts and the Wildflower Center, Austin audiences now have a chance to enter the fantastical world of Jack […]
On an afternoon inside a small East Austin space—half studio, half neighborhood hangout—photographer and filmmaker Jorge Sanhueza-Lyon waved a passerby in from the sidewalk. Ten minutes later, the man—Rick, a local gatekeeper with a complicated past—was telling his life story and posing for a portrait that feels equal parts confession […]