David Porter » Archive
Interactive Theatre Is As Entertaining As It Ever Was
Audience-participation performance is a modern term for an old idea reborn and recycled to keep theatre fresh: people just love to join in the action! Immersive performance does not respect a separation, or 4th wall, between those presenting and those watching. It used to be called Forum Theatre, after the Roman Forum where the voice of the people was heard in debate. It means participation from audience either collectively or individually making suggestions or joining in by directing performers, which in turn influences the narrative of the performance, or may be a simple supportive role, like carrying props, making noises or holding information. It is more than a pantomime audience shouting out “he’s behind you”. Location Often Determines Performance Style Performance … Read entire article »
Filed under: Articles at Suite 101
Schools of the Future May Not Be Actual Buildings at All
As the UK schools’ rebuilding programme is slashed, now could be the right time to wonder about tomorrow’s education in custom-made structures. Britain’s schools and colleges are currently wrestling with public spending restrictions. Rapid rethinking is being done on what to spend on updating worn-out, often crumbling infrastructure. The tension between perceived quality teaching and learning in state-of-the-art schools, and what taxpayers and government are prepared to pay, is tangible. Webster’s Dictionary defines education as “the process of educating or teaching….” Anybody digging deeper into this finds it necessary to define knowledge, skills, understanding, character, development. There is, in short, no universally agreed definition of education nor how it should be accessed. Teachers’ Mind Resources opened a debate on educational definitions in the early part of this century. The definitive meaning is … Read entire article »
Filed under: Articles at Suite 101
Sometimes Sickeningly Sentimental Songs the Key to Chart Success
The craze for songs about death, crashes, murders, accidents and disasters was not confined to the 50s and 60s. Such music has always been lucrative. According to folk history, “folk music entertains, tells or supports a story transmitted from generation to generation… music of the common person as well as the wealthy”. Much American folk originated in Europe, often in oral tradition. It’s a long-lasting genre, that has influenced other arts. It has embraced life’s themes: death, love’s shades, religion, accidents, tragedies, murders, relationships, breakdowns, transport, suicide and war. Train crashes have been a staple. Deaths of train-riding hobos, brave engineers saving others, trains knocking people down. Yet all deaths in infinite variety have inspired further tragic songs in western … Read entire article »
Filed under: Articles at Suite 101
Bob Dylan, His Lyrics, The Bible, Scripture and Religion
The Bible sits in the centre of much of the world’s cultural heritage. So does Dylan, echoing or thundering its imagery, often in ways people don’t realise. Folk purists who booed him when he went electric in 1965/66, serious students of the man and his canon (Dylanologists) or friends/fans who feel they know him personally (Bobheads), have to agree to disagree about the importance of the Bible/Christianity in Dylan’s writing. Others might argue that music is the medium and words don’t work on the page anyway. Are the lyrics actually poetry? Aren’t they meant to be oral performance, not literary study? Dylan, the Well-Read Jewish Writer So how does a Jewish-American boy born of a father named Abram Zimmerman in Duluth, Minnesota, raised in … Read entire article »
Filed under: Articles at Suite 101
Seeing Into the Future Is Clouded in Mystery
Seeing Into the Future Is Clouded in Mystery The history of man’s world-end prophesies is littered with dates & events that failed to happen. However, many disasters have struck that nobody foresaw. Most people are not gifted with 20/20 vision about the future. Some have hunches or gut feelings; others make educated/informed guesses based on current evidence. Despite this not knowing, people rely in large numbers on weather forecasts, horoscopes, palm reading or the received wisdom of political, religious or charismatic leaders. Prophets Without Honour In the Bible, Deuteronomy 18.20-22 defines a prophet: ‘If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true, that is a message the Lord has not spoken’. 100Prophesies.org publishes literally a hundred … Read entire article »
Filed under: Articles at Suite 101
Weird and Wonderful Song Titles, Lyrics and Band Names
Some big music hits have come from the most unlikely words, the strangest titles and by the oddest named groups; but if they strike a chord, who cares? In 2009 self-confessed ‘failed musician’, Johnny Sharp, published Crap Lyrics, (Portico Books, Annova), dedicated to “thousands of songwriters over the years who’ve sweated blood in the pursuit of song writing excellence”. It’s catalogued “humour”, but raises serious issues about how lyrics are written, titles chosen and bands name themselves. Where Do Those Lyrics Come From? Lyrics.time identifies several thousand weird, out of left field or just plain bad lyrics. Words in the cold light of a printed page, may seem strange; but married to melody, bizarre words can make hits. Johnny Sharp includes Dylan’s Ballad of a … Read entire article »
Filed under: Articles at Suite 101
Old Boy (and Girl) Networks Still Make the World Go Round
Computer and social networks are now integral to daily lives, but “who knows who” still opens doors, influences, controls, decides and shapes business. Networks in business, politics, the social world did not arrive with the internet age. The old, historical, personal and informal networks are what still create jobs, wealth, governments. From royal families and medieval knights & trades guilds, like-minded men in early politics and political clubs, certain schools, the military, the church, the law, the criminal fraternity, select businesses, private clubs & organisations, older universities, the world is an overlapping matrix of networks. These are also known as nods & winks, understandings, accommodations, handshakes, relatives, mafias, cartels, brother/sisterhoods, hierarchies, alliances and secrets. Networks Serve Small Elites In Britain, a particular expression, … Read entire article »
Filed under: Articles at Suite 101
Violence Makes Interesting Drama, But Is It Harmful Influence?
Many people find violent theatre, games & films entertaining, but they are also social reflections and present potential danger to the susceptible. The notion that stage, TV, film or game violence desensitizes, is hardly new, but is given a fresh airing when shocking pictures of war, disaster and accident are streamed straight to screens. Sometimes people walk by; some help. Rubberneckers slowing to look at carnage on motorway/freeway pile-ups, are a danger to others. Bloodbaths and Atrocities on Stage Violence and theatre have always been partners. Shakespeare’s Titus Andronicus is described by Sparknotes as “nonstop bloodbath of abomination with 14 killings, 9 on stage, 6 severed members, 1 rape (or possibly 3), 1 live burial, 1 case of insanity and 1 of cannibalism. That’s 5.2 atrocities per act, one every 97 lines”. Sarah Kane’s … Read entire article »
Filed under: Articles at Suite 101
Rebellion as Adolescent Stage and Performance Stage Inspiration
While not as loud as earlier generations, youth rebels today are part of growing up and helping to create some great art works, just like their fathers. Musicians, film makers, poets and writers have expressed rebellion against parents, governments and norms of the time, provoking outrage through their music, clothes, hair, tattoos, piercings and public behaviour. The Decadent Thirties, and Swinging Sixties with its “protest movement,” stand out. However, history is littered with parents and children falling out, each unable to understand the other. Accumulated wisdom and proffered advice is usually rejected. Each generation makes its own mistakes. Historical Rebellions, Uprisings and Wars There are shades of rebellion: from passive resistance via civil disobedience, through subversion to revolt, insurrection, mutiny, terrorism, revolution … Read entire article »
Filed under: Articles at Suite 101
Driving on the Left is Natural or Just a Historical Hangover
There appears to be no definitive answer as to why Great Britain and 73 other countries drive on the left-hand side of the road, while all others go right. One theory is that it began with the Romans, who ordered horse-drawn chariots to travel on the left, so the whip hand, right for most men was away from pedestrians at the side. Cart ruts have been found in a former Roman quarry near Swindon, England which support the view – light carts going in on the left, heavy carts out the other side. However, that doesn’t explain why Britain kept left after the Romans went away, while other lands now drive right, including Italy. History of Jousting Supports the Right-Hand Drive Theory A variant theory … Read entire article »
Filed under: Articles at Suite 101