http://avltheatre.com/index.php/shows/index/ en slay1975@mac.com Copyright 2010 2010-03-09T19:26:32+00:00 http://avltheatre.com/index.php/site/stop_sign_language_postponed http://avltheatre.com/index.php/site/stop_sign_language_postponed#When:18:26:32Z PLEASE NOTE: Due to injury, our production of Stop Sign Language has been indefinitely postponed. Stay tuned for further news. 2010-03-09T18:26:32+00:00 http://avltheatre.com/index.php/site/a_few_famous_dyslexics http://avltheatre.com/index.php/site/a_few_famous_dyslexics#When:16:41:31Z Robert Rauschenberg Robert Milton Ernest Rauschenberg (October 22, 1925 – May 12, 2008) was an American artist who came to prominence in the 1950s transition from Abstract Expressionism to Pop Art. Though Rauschenberg had difficulty reading he liked to put words into his artwork. He often misspelled them. He also liked to play word games, for example, creating palindromes (words that can be read forward and backward.) On May 9, 2006 at Christie’s in New York City, a work of art by Robert Rauschenberg titled Cage, dedicated to John Cage, sold for $1,360,000, a record for a Rauschenberg piece on paper. Though his work is recognized worldwide, when he was in school his success would not have been predicted. Rauschenberg had dyslexia, a reading disability that made school very difficult for him. “I was considered slow. While my classmates were reading their textbooks, I drew in the margins,” Rauschenberg told an interviewer. Albert Einstein (March 14, 1879 - April 18, 1955) Being one of the most important great minds of his century Albert Einstein was then known to suffer from dyslexia mainly because of his bad memory and his constant failure to memorize the simplest of things. He would not remember the months in the year yet he would succeed in solving some of the most complicated mathematical formulas of the time without any trouble. He may have never learned how to properly tie his shoelaces but his scientific contributions and theories still have a major effect on all of today’s current knowledge of science. Pablo Picasso Pablo (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) Picasso was a famous, controversial, and trend-setting art icon. Pablo attended local parochial schools and had a very difficult time. He is described as having difficulty reading the orientation of the letters and labeled a dyslexic, and despite the initial difficulties was able to catch up with the curriculum. However, dyslexia made school difficult and he never really benefited from his education. Dyslexia would trouble Picasso for the rest of his life. Pablo’s father was an art teacher in Malaga, and encouraged Pablo to attend. Pablo enrolled in the school in 1892. Despite the difficulties that his learning disabilities posed, it became clear that Pablo had an incredible talent. From an early age Pablo Picasso had developed the sense of how people wanted to be seen and how others saw them. Over the course of his career he developed a unique sense of beauty and style that seemed to call to people. Pablo painted things as he saw them — out of order, backwards or upside down. His paintings demonstrated the power of imagination, raw emotion, and creativity on the human psyche. As others before him, Pablo Picasso took art to a new level. A prolific painter, some of his famous works includes The Young Ladies of Avigon, Old Man with Guitar, and Guernica. Willard Wigan Born in 1957 in Birmingham, Willard Wigan MBE began his artistic life at a tender age. Suffering from dyslexia and learning difficulties, he struggled at school, finding solace in creating art of such minute proportions that it virtually could not be seen with the naked eye. “It began when I was five years old,” says Willard. “I started making houses for ants because I thought they needed somewhere to live. Then I made them shoes and hats. It was a fantasy world I escaped to where my dyslexia didn’t hold me back and my teachers couldn’t criticize me. That’s how my career as a micro-sculptor began.” ssl, 2010-03-04T16:41:31+00:00 http://avltheatre.com/index.php/site/emergency_exit http://avltheatre.com/index.php/site/emergency_exit#When:17:28:17Z A note from Eleni:Emergency evacuation during rehearsal tonight. just a drill. How did we know where to exit? A SYMBOL! Pictures and words together.....one step toward universal communication. Why is it reserved for emergencies only? ssl, 2010-02-25T17:28:17+00:00 http://avltheatre.com/index.php/site/toes http://avltheatre.com/index.php/site/toes#When:20:01:09Z Do you have a little ballerina in the house? When she is barefooted, does looks like she is walking like she has high heels on?Toe walking in young school-age children can have a variety of causes. If passive dorsiflexion of the foot results in ankle clonus (rapid, rhythmic contractions of the calf muscles), spasticity is present, and it is likely that the child has a form of cerebral palsy. There is no spasticity present with idiopathic toe walking. In children without spasticity, some toe walking is normal up to 3 years of age. If it continues past that age, it usually resolves by age 6 or 7. In approximately 50 percent of idiopathic toe walkers, the condition is hereditary (more likely in males than females) and is not associated with any other problems. Most of these children outgrow their toe walking, although, because it is habitual, some may not. (In cases where idiopathic toe walking leads to detrimental muscle contractures and inflexibility, the child may benefit from the use of orthoses, possibly coupled with Botox® injections to relax the muscles and inhibit toe walking.) In the other 50 percent of idiopathic toe walkers, the condition is associated with attention deficit disorder, developmental disability, learning disabilities such as dyslexia, or a form of autism. In some cases, these underlying difficulties may be obvious. In other children, however, they may have gone undiagnosed. When toe walking is present in a child who also exhibits difficulties with attention, behavior or cognition, a developmental assessment and an assessment for learning difficulties are indicated. Early intervention can help improve overall outcomes for the child.Source. ssl, 2010-02-23T20:01:09+00:00 http://avltheatre.com/index.php/site/the_work_has_begun http://avltheatre.com/index.php/site/the_work_has_begun#When:19:37:40Z Sometimes, it just starts like this, with a pile of notecards, a laptop, and a big cup of coffee. ssl, 2010-02-16T19:37:40+00:00 http://avltheatre.com/index.php/site/dispatch_from_killadelphias_sean_christopher_lewis http://avltheatre.com/index.php/site/dispatch_from_killadelphias_sean_christopher_lewis#When:17:43:20Z Playwright/performer Sean Christopher Lewis (You saw him here in Killadelphia and heard his words in ConAm's Annual Xmas Spectacular.) is in the middle of a long run in Philadelphia, where Killadelphia is known as City of Numbers. A week ago he posted on the InterAct Theatre Blog about his experience in Philly and what it's like to be a one-man, touring performer. The post is painfully honest, and bracingly sincere.So, two weeks in and two weeks left to go... It's been a total experience coming back to Philly with CITY OF NUMBERS- ups and downs... It's been strange in terms of coming to a place you once lived, walking around the places that you used to know, seeing people you once hung out with everyday. There's a ghostly-ness to that. It's unsettling in its own right. Touring theater is not easy. And solo theater is even harder. You're by yourself, by design and all the good and bad that happens you basically have to sort through on your own. There is something to be missed about having cast mates nearby to make a joke with, get a beer with- to have community with. I think many of us who get into theater do it for that reason- community. My hope was to have that with the audience. They are basically your acting partner in a show like this and the audiences have been wonderful: word of mouth, numerous twitter, facebook and blog posts, lengthy talk back sessions and emails thanking me. That's been amazing. Last night we had a girl from Deborah Block's theater class at Temple who said: "I didn't like plays before this class and I heard this was a one man show and I didn't want to go but this was amazing. And I'm so glad I did." This may seem self congratulatory at first- but I share it for a specific reason: this is why you do plays. This is why you share them. A few nights ago a woman I mention in the piece named Meg Guerrerio- a close friend of a victim discussed in the play came and stayed for the talk back and said: "thank you." In a week or so I should be going into her school near Kensington to move some desks out of the way and do the piece for her students. A group out of Constitution High invited me in the other day and it was fantastic to do the show for them and then work with those students as well... kids from areas that I talk about in the piece- kids who don't ever see the verbatim story of their neighborhoods on stage. We've had sold out houses which is wonderful. We've had a few great reviews, a few mixed and a few antagonistic and that's always, well, not disappointing but a reality. You know artists never want to talk about the bad reviews (the good ones we're usually cool with! lol) but the bad are important too. If only to remind you about the process of this career. When I chose this route it wasn't for fame (and clearly not for fortune) but more specifically for the pursuit of a more honest and realized self. Heady right? I liked that as a craftsman you continued to grow in your work and that each piece led to the next. And crafting art, as we know, has no grading scale. Basically, the same show the girl from Temple loves is the same one a critic attacks and is the same show still that another few critics in Ohio and NYC loved. In the end if you believe anything that anyone says- you believe it all. So, you are again, left with yourself. I can say quite honestly the piece is the best and most challenging thing I have done. As a performer the run has been a gift. I've seen myself grow within the piece- all the muscles of an actor developing under the stress of no net- my writing continuously informed by the thoughtful and lively discussion afterwards. I'm thinking now this is probably not the blog post I was expected to write! I'm sure it'll be a bit of "don't write about that!" But I see this really as an open letter to people who want to do what I'm doing. I mean that's how I learned: by reading about Bogosion and Spalding Gray, devouring interviews and dreaming of working in that tradition. I learned from how they dealt with being loved and being reviled (often for the same show in the very same city) and saw their strength and determination as something worth emulating. And this run has been an experience in that. So, fruitful and eye opening. Like I said- a true gift. Yet, it's important to talk about the realities of what we go through when we live a life like this. So, if somewhere there is someone reading this- manuscript, performance piece or anything else in their mind- I urge that young writer out there chiseling at their own masterpiece to be strong. Some people will love what you do. Some people will hate it. Some have more public voices than others but in the end you will be left with you. And the things you have made. People come through and review you every night when the show ends and they clap or they come up to discuss the work with you. And it is work to remember. A task building towards something greater. And on that note- thank you Philadelphia- you've been an incredible host. Sean 2010-02-11T17:43:20+00:00 http://avltheatre.com/index.php/site/to_kill_a_mockingbird_cast_announcement http://avltheatre.com/index.php/site/to_kill_a_mockingbird_cast_announcement#When:20:55:55Z Jean Louise Finch - Emily Bach “Scout” Finch - Emily Cipriani Jem Finch - Lake Wilburn Atticus Finch - Artie Isaac Calpurnia - Shanelle Marie Maudie Atkinson - Judy Parker Stephanie Crawford - Danielle Mari Mrs. Dubose - Margaret Riggle Collins Nathan Radley/ Boo Radley - Tony Auseon Dill - Adam Crawford Heck Tate - Tim Dougherty Judge Taylor - Ron Weber Reverend Sykes - Laron Lee Hudson Mayella Ewell - Molly Auseon Bob Ewell - Bernard Wilburn Walter Cunningham - Carl Novak Mr. Gilmer - Fred Norris Tom Robinson - Gregory Kimbro Helen Robinson - TBA Thank you to all who came out to audition.  It was wonderful to have so many talented people at the callbacks and it was extremely difficult to cast. Thanks again for all your hard work, patience and professionalism this weekend. tkam, 2010-02-02T20:55:55+00:00 http://avltheatre.com/index.php/site/feb._6_welcome_to_the_saudi_arabia_of_coal http://avltheatre.com/index.php/site/feb._6_welcome_to_the_saudi_arabia_of_coal#When:20:04:00Z Available Light Theatre presents "Welcome to the Saudi Arabia of Coal" an original play by Jeff Biggers created by The Coal Free Future Project @ The Columbus Performing Arts Center 549 Franklin Ave. Saturday, February 6th, 8PM TIX: http://www.showclix.com/event/8045 Featuring Jeff Biggers, Ben Evans and Stephanie Pistello Directed by Stephanie Pistello Film projection by Ben Evans Set, Light and Sound Design by Coal Free Future Project ABOUT THE PLAY Inspired by Reckoning at Eagle Creek: The Secret Legacy of Coal in the Heartland, written by Project member Jeff Biggers, “Welcome to the Saudi Arabia of Coal” is an original and groundbreaking multimedia production that brings a national audience into the frontlines of the coalfields and mountaintop removal issue today. The play draws from real-life experience and documentation, and seeks to recover forgotten history in our nation’s dark legacy of coal mining. Based at the home of Marie and Hovie, a young couple living in the mountain holler of Eagle Creek, the play chronicles their attempts to come to grips with their conflicting fates, when their family’s 150-year-old homestead is threatened by a planned mountaintop removal operation. With a backdrop of film montages and historically-based satirical faux-mercials by filmmaker/actor Ben Evans, and a sountrack of select songs by musician/songwriter Ben Sollee, “Welcome to the Saudi Arabia of Coal” is a rare journey into the lives of those on the coalfield frontlines, and an entertaining, informative and illuminating theatrical production on the true cost of mountaintop removal and coal mining to our land and citizenry. Read more and view the trailer: www.CoalFreeFutureProject.org ABOUT THE PROJECT The Coal Free Future Project is theatre production company comprised of artists and activists who are dedicated to ending mountaintop removal, and inspiring Americans to begin to envision and create a roadmap for a coal free future in their communities. Current members are Jeff Biggers, Ben Evans, Heather Doyle, Christa Faulkner, Stephanie Pistello and Ben Sollee. To inquire about joining the CFFP team, or if you are interested in bringing the show to your town, please contact us at CoalFreeFutureProject@gmail.com *The Coal Free Future Project is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a non-profit arts service organization.* 2010-02-02T20:04:00+00:00 http://avltheatre.com/index.php/site/pp_adds_2_shows http://avltheatre.com/index.php/site/pp_adds_2_shows#When:16:33:00Z We've just added two more performances of the hottest show in Central Ohio: January 29 + 30 @8pm. Last weekend we sold out 2 performances, This weekend's shows are getting dangerously close. Don't wait. RESERVE YOUR TICKETS NOW. pnp, 2010-01-20T16:33:00+00:00 http://avltheatre.com/index.php/site/a_rave_review_from_mr._dispatch http://avltheatre.com/index.php/site/a_rave_review_from_mr._dispatch#When:05:14:15Z I can't think of another new work staged in Columbus in my 24-plus years as a Dispatch critic that has displayed so much promise or polish. Read the entire incredible Dispatch review from Michael Grossberg right here. pnp, 2010-01-15T05:14:15+00:00