Transforming Loss into Artistic Expression
In this video recording, actor and musician Noah Reid describes the way that a Neil Young song allowed him to understand and portray the way that loss shaped Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
Theater
How Hamilton Restored My Belief in Writing
First, above all else, I consider myself a student of literature. Perhaps I’ve chosen this phrase to generalize my pursuits, or maybe to conceal the small place in the world of literature to which I belong. I am a writer, albeit fairly new to the Creative Writing side of things. My first encounter with serious … Continued
Contingent Bodies: Encountering the DisAbility Projects
Ann Fox describes her first encounter with The DisAbility Project, a St. Louis-based performance group. Humor, skits, and monologues reflecting the experiences of disabled people helped her understand disability politics, and realize the pleasure and creativity possible in bodily variation. Curator’s note: Read Ann Fox’s essay, “To Be Rather than To Seem: Claiming Identity in … Continued
A Lifetime of Humanities Moments
Some years ago, I was asked to give a lecture to students enrolled in a small university’s humanities program describing the personal epiphany I experienced which led to my passion for the humanities. Try as I might, I could not think of an isolated, single experience but rather a series of moments that stretch back … Continued
Not Too Far Off
While I was a teenager about to go off to college, I watched Death of a Salesman at the theater. At the time I was struggling with the transition I was about to embark on, but I found a deep connection to Biff’s character. I felt like I was always running a never ending marathon … Continued
Remembering the Music
When I was in elementary school I didn’t know anything about racial conflict or even recognize there were racial differences between the kids at my school. My classmates were just friends or people I went to school with. Everyone looked different, some had freckles, some had red hair, and some were darker skinned. That all … Continued
Fathers and Sons
In this video, Scott Gartlan discusses his reaction to seeing Arthur Miller’s 1947 play All My Sons and seeing deep connections between the play’s narrative and his own life story. He goes on to reflect on the power of storytelling to bridge generations and personal circumstances. Witnessing the performance of Miller’s play was a “flashbulb … Continued