My son, lucaskrech lit this play. It is at The Crucible in Oakland where they play with fire. This is amazing. Two nights are already sold out. It's different and so worth the cost of admission. Go here for ticket information. The Crucible is across the street from the West Oakland BART station.

And here's a little clip to enjoy.


And here is another bit from ABC News: http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/video?id=6587977

My son, lighting designer Lucas Krech, recently spoke to me about lighting Maurice Blanchot's "Madness of the Day," which opened at the Paradise Theater in New York over the past weekend. There is a nice review of the play here with links to theater and ticket information as well.


Lucas writes extensively about theater lighting on his blog (lucaskrech), and I was taken with his comments about this play. He plotted one cue for the entire play, which results in the stage, over a two-plus hour period, going from dark to light to dark. I was fascinated by his integration of lights with the philosophy of this play; to be specific, I was taken with how one grapples with the unnoticed, unrelenting passing of time in one day. How do you represent that in such a way that the audience is no more aware during a performance than we are in life, that on any one particular day, that day is passing and then has passed away -- forever.

I have enormous admiration for my son. But you may have already guessed that.

Paul Krugman's article today on the ravages of poverty of this country is on target today. How I wish Edwards had made it. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/18/opinion/18krugman.html?hp
(Free registration required.)

“Poverty in early childhood poisons the brain.” That was the opening of an article in Saturday’s Financial Times, summarizing research presented last week at the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

As the article explained, neuroscientists have found that “many children growing up in very poor families with low social status experience unhealthy levels of stress hormones, which impair their neural development.” The effect is to impair language development and memory — and hence the ability to escape poverty — for the rest of the child’s life.

So now we have another, even more compelling reason to be ashamed about America’s record of failing to fight poverty.

L. B. J. declared his “War on Poverty” 44 years ago. Contrary to cynical legend, there actually was a large reduction in poverty over the next few years, especially among children, who saw their poverty rate fall from 23 percent in 1963 to 14 percent in 1969.

But progress stalled thereafter: American politics shifted to the right, attention shifted from the suffering of the poor to the alleged abuses of welfare queens driving Cadillacs, and the fight against poverty was largely abandoned."

snip

lucaskrech

 

On my son, theater lighting designer Lucas Krech (lucaskrech) from TriCities.com, September 27, 2007:

"Dracula is Back: Fang You Very Much"

Important part:

"Why our boy Dracula doesn’t go after a taste of her jugular is beyond me — maybe necks time?

"Rose directs with his usual bloody precision, Cheri Prough DeVol designed the effective set, Amanda Aldridge outdid herself in shrouding the actors, and Cindi A. Raebel managed the stage, which, I assume, meant keeping the blood supply flowing.

"However, the technical stars of this show were the lighting by Lucas Krech and the sound designed by Bobby Beck. Very, very effective."

"Dracula" is running at at The Barter Theatre, a regional theater in Abington, Virginia, whose Fall 2007 repertoire includes "Dracula" and "Driving Miss Daisy," which also will be lit by Lucas.


On my daughter, Briana Miller, from Oakland Magazine:

Caffeine, Collaboration and Cartoons

Some East Bay coffee shops are serving up more than froth-topped lattes and fresh-brewed regular and decaf. We’re not talking about the flavored concoctions that are more milkshake than Joe. Creativity and community rule at Gaylord’s Caffe Espresso on Piedmont Avenue. It’s a hangout that supports just that: hanging out—with a laptop; with friends; and, in this case, with drawing tools and a fellow artist who, like you, has a passion for the cartoon genre.

Thien Pham thinks he’s 32, but he isn’t sure, as he escaped with his parents on a boat from Vietnam when he was about 5 years old and doesn’t have his birth certificate. His best friend, Briana Miller, is in her 20s. Pham is married. Miller has a boyfriend. Both are art teachers at Oakland’s Bishop O’Dowd High School.

Gaylord’s comes into the picture because it’s where this pair, who met at a comic book convention in San Francisco, have been getting together amidst the aroma of what’s brewing, the occasional screech of the blender and the hubbub of conversation every Wednesday evening for the past three years to create—and brainstorm on ways to promote—comic book art. Together they represent 13 comic book artists, buying their work and then selling it on consignment at stores such as Comic Relief, Dr. Comic & Mr. Games, Issues and Pendragon Books, and on their promotional Web site, www.hobocomics.com.

Pham is best known for his quirky East Bay Express restaurant review cartoon, “I Like Eating.” Miller creates a daily comic blog on her Web site, www.breakcomics.com. Their work regularly features each other as characters and together they’re planning a cartoon cookbook.

“Piedmont Avenue is a hotbed of cartoon creativity,” says Pham, who lives nearby and adds: “I love this street. I get sad when I have to leave it.” And Gaylord’s, they attest, is where they’re inspired to create. “We see a lot of collaboration here,” says Miller. “Knitters, crocheters, jewelry designers—other artists.” A case of a coffee shop brewing up a great deal more than caffeine and beans.

—Wanda Hennig
—Art by Thien Pham and Briana Miller

Briana's daily comics can also be found at BreakComics
Thien Pham's comics are at Thien Pham Fan Club