2013 Spoleto potpourri....
Back to the golden days of radio.
Voices and Foley sound effects.
A piano and small organ provides ALL the music. A pin-pricked balloon gives a "pop" when needed.
The earth is doomed. In fact, the whole galaxy will disappear.
Good Grief!
Sitting in the sold out Sottile Theater along with 600 captivated friends, we watched the live-action graphic novel develop with cartoons on the screen, clever sound effects and talented voices.
David Higgins is the voice of Timmy, Danu Uribe is the Pulitzer Prize winning authoress and Christopher Lee Gibson speaks as everybody else. Cami Alys is the Foley artists responsible for the correct sounds at the appropriate time.
Jason Neulander of Austin, Texas, is the writer/Director who created
The Intergalactic Nemesis.
He welcomed the audience and expressed his happiness at being in Charleston and part of the famed Spoleto Festival USA.
General Director Nigel Redden had called him with an invitation which he gladly accepted.
During the intermission of Part 1 last night, Nigel could be seen mingling, chatting with fans and friends as the crowd returned to their seats.
The fate of earth still hung in the balance at this point.
A few days ago, a Spoleto-Piccolo music event brought me to
Hall's Chophouse on King Street for an afternoon of Jazz.
Lead singer
Lyndsey Goodman Moynihan was joined by Jamie Harris on bass and "Uncle Joe" Wilson on guitar.
The banter between songs was humorous and showed the depth of their friendship.
And their love of music.
Leaving Hall's, I walked through Marion Square and saw a small crowd gathered to enjoy an impromptu bluegrass performance.
Spoleto does indeed bring together friends of the arts.
Did not interrupt the players to get their names but paused for a moment or two to listen and take a few pictures.
Hope they'll get in touch so I can credit them.
I'm scheduled tomorrow evening for a concert on the Cistern Yard area at the College of Charleston.
Andrea, first tropical storm of the 6-month storm season that just started, is also due to skim our coastline tomorrow.
My guess is the venue - to avoid a rain out - will switch to the
TD Arena This would be good as I have not been inside there yet.
Oh, TD stands for Toronto Dominion Bank, the new name after a local financial group was bought that had its name on the 5.100 seat venue. It opened in 2008 as home of the Cougars.
(Click on the photos for more details.)
The fire truck was heading elsewhere.
The TD Arena is fine!
Labels: Cistern Yard, Cougars, Foley sound effects, Hall's Chop House, Intergalactic Nemesis, Jamie Harris, Joe Wilson, Lyndsey Goodman Moynihan, Marion Square, Nigel Redden, TD Arena, Toronto Dominion Bank
Night time Photography...
Friday night I took my camera to take pictures of pictures.
Prize-winning action & adventure sports photos.
The top 50 of 23,000 worldwide entries.
The
Red Bull Illume tour started in Dublin, then Houston, Texas and now is here in Charleston on Marion Square.
Only at night.
The unique exhibit of enlarged back-lighted photos was turned on Friday and will be on display evenings from 7:00pm to 11:00pm through Sunday March 27.
My
photography group was offered 10 VIP tickets to the opening and we brought our cameras.
Well, DUH. Of course we did.
The challenge, as twilight turned very dark, was to find a balance to show the brightly-lighted images and the people viewing them.
As you'll see on the link, the troops did a fine job of capturing the unique setting.
Kevin Harp, a co-coordinator for the group, probably surprised the sponsors with his use of a silhouetted skateboarder.
Fellow member Dee posed to seemingly "pluck" the airborne skater with her fingers.
This exhibit is very family-friendly.
Parents pushing strollers.
Eager kids crowding close to the images.
There's even one in
3-D and the familiar red and blue glasses are provided.
The only nude shot I saw was from Spain.
It was tastefully presented.
Apparently after a race of some sort, the winner is
"de-panted" and tossed into the water.
It looked like the tide was low.
(Click on the photos for details. And click on the group link to see more pictures taken that evening.Go to Marion Square to see this unusual exhibit before it leaves town for Miami. Thanks for stopping by.)
Labels: Dublin, Houston, Marion Square, nude, Red Bull Illume tour, Trinity College
Rock Around The Block...
The
Cuban Block Party will be "officially" covered by The Post and Courier’s writers and photographers but I wanted to share MY impressions.
The weather was clear and balmy, the music was TOTALLY Latino and I felt transported. I had briefly visited Cuba many, many years ago and, suddenly I was back there again. This was a huge time - and culture - warp.
All around Marion Square, bodies were moving and swaying, the bass was pulsing and your feet just started moving, slowly at first and then, your hips went from side-to-side, and you were caught up in the beat.
Oh yeah,
People watching was excellent for this non-dancer.
The Opener was
Garage Cuban Band which had the crowd on its feet and, after a fast-paced interlude by DJ Luigi,
Havanason took the stage and showed what Charleston brought to the party.
Augmented by talent from Miami, the 12-piece group played and sang and the joint was jumping!
I plan to be there again next year.
Or next week, if they stage it again.
Get ALL Festival info at
www.spoletotoday.com Labels: Cuban Block Party, Garage Cuban Band, Havanason, Latino, Marion Square, people watching
Now, my OLDER brother....
OK, I've written about my younger brother - and he denies everything - so here's a tidbit on my older brother, the first born of the Boyd Brothers.
We're sitting (he's on the right) on a chain at an entryway to Marion Square on a Sunday outing during WWII. We lived a few blocks away in Ansonborough on Society Street.
Spread out about 4 years apart, all three of us attended St. Joseph's grade school on Anson Street and the best summer of my life was 5th grade, the year I had a growth spurt and became taller than he was. What a difference it meant to be a BIGGER little brother! There was a definite power shift.
We still hung out together and that summer on Folly Beach, we wanted to surprise our grandmother with a fancy, smancy fried chicken dinner at Tommy Wienges'
News Stand on Center Street. The sumptuous meal would cost $1.25.
We roamed Folly all day, collecting empty pop bottles and lugging them to Tommy's restaurant to collect the deposit. Naturally we had to have 125 and we were short about 15 as the afternoon waned.
Big, er, older, brother said "wait here" and darted away.
He returned quickly with 6 bottles and said "we still have time," and ran off again. He came back balancing 8 empties and Tommy laughed and said "close enough."
Grandma was a little leery when we insisted she come with us that evening and, after she was seated, the ladies brought out her dinner and she truly was surprised and pleased.
As we watched her eat, I whispered to my brother "how did you get so many bottles so quickly?" He smiled and said "from Tommy's back porch."
Labels: chicken dinner, Marion Square, pop bottles, summer at the beach, WWII
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