Review – Romeo & Juliet: Love is a Fire

November 9, 2023  “I can’t remember seeing so much humor in a production of Romeo & Juliet ever before – which was a delight.” A Review of Romeo & Juliet: Love is a FireSanta Monica PlayhouseBy Catharine Dada, PhD. This revisioned dynamic production Romeo & Juliet: Love is a Fire blends dance and a paired down, and sometimes […] Read more

Review: Lend Me Your Character

August 21, 2023 Dubravka Ugrešić’s Lend Me Your Character is a kaleidoscopic amalgamation featuring one novella, seven short stories, and several sections of author’s notes. In classic Ugrešić form, fairy tale elements abound–magic, crass humor, textile allusions to sewing, grotesque imagery, repetition, and warnings fill the pages. Read more

Review – Glass Onion

May 29, 2023 Set in Greece, Rian Johnson’s slick whodunnit is a repudiation of the tech craze, influencer culture, class privilege, and American hegemony abroad. Warning: Contains Spoilers for Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery By Vanessa Bloom “I like the glass onion, as a metaphor. An object that seems densely layered, but in reality, the center is […] Read more

Review – Živa (The Death of the Goddess Živa)

May 23, 2023 Liquid Eco-Aisthēsis: Elemental Sensorium and Femininity in Živa Essay by Maja Manojlovic Živa (2022), a short experimental film by Nataša Prosenc Stearns, unfolds in nine scenes, each characterized by the prominence of one of the natural elements. However, just as our planet and bodies are primarily composed of water, so does its liquid, wavy fluidity […] Read more

Review – Pueblo Espíritu

May 8, 2023 Pueblo Espíritu, a mesmerizing wordless multimedia performance by Organización Secreta Teatro, invites audiences to explore a post-apocalyptic world infused with spiritual power. Don’t miss this captivating journey through physical, social, and spiritual boundaries Read more

Review – I Do Not Take My Name for Granted

March 10, 2023 I Do Not Take My Name for Granted: Four Short films by Saodat Ismailova Reviewed by Amanda L. Andrei March 6, 2023, at REDCAT, Roy and Edna Disney CalArts Theater The longer you gaze at the steep cliffs, the more you start to see shapes of women. Vintage footage of Soviet tanks gives way to […] Read more