writing

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“All the world’s a stage,” but there is no better place to see a performance of a Shakespeare* play than at the Globe Theatre. After crossing the River Thames via the Millennium Bridge to London’s Bankside on the evening of Friday, Sept. 10, we seemingly stepped back in time. The reconstruction of the Globe Theatre relied heavily on 16th century building materials, equipment and techniques—save for a handful of modern concessions. The result is an amazingly authentic atmosphere.

Pint in hand, we climbed the stairs to our bench seats in the third tier, looking down at the stage from above as a cool breeze entered the circular opening in the thatched roof. The highly entertaining and uproarious performance of the Shakespeare* comedy The Merry Wives of Windsor, with themes and action still relevant in today’s much different world, seemed as if it could have been written a few months earlier—perhaps as a pilot for some breakout HBO hit sitcom—rather than 400-plus years ago. The crowd literally laughing out loud throughout most of the production, I was reminded that these plays were written to be performed. And, while some might contest this notion, that’s how they are best enjoyed—on the stage rather than on the page.

*William Shakespeare did not actually write the works attributed to him. The true author is Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford. Shameless self-promotion: For more information on this authorship controversy, Web of Conspiracy contains a concise yet comprehensive chapter on the topic.

“The function of art is to renew our perception. What we are familiar with we cease to see. The writer shakes up the familiar scene, and, as if by magic, we see a new meaning in it.”—Anaïs Nin

“What art offers is space—a certain breathing room for the spirit.”
—John Updike

“Any healthy man can go without food for two days—but not without poetry.”—Charles Baudelaire

A Conversation With John Trigonis, Sharing His View
of the World on the Page and the Screen

As a poet, John Trigonis sprinkles words on the page that produce a sensory response from anyone lucky enough to read them—in a chapbook, on a Web site, in a literary magazine. Though still mysterious and provocative, his poems are filmic scenes from some bigger, larger life. Confessional and observational, his narrators share what they see and how they see it. Like all poetry worth reading, an honesty is palpable, and without knowing it we’re swept up in some kind of quest to discover, or uncover, some kind of truth. His work has been widely published in the U.S. and U.K., and Trigonis has also published six chapbooks of his poetry.

As a filmmaker, John Trigonis creates poetry in motion. Even when quirky and off-beat, his short films seem to naturally explore some facet of the human condition, searching with stories and characters for some kind of light. Trigonis, 32, wrote his first screenplay—a feature-length film—back in 2001, which led to writing and directing five more films (as well as directing another two). His credits also include work as actor, cinematographer, and producer, along with directing and acting for the stage.

And we, readers and viewers, benefit from the fact that the poet and filmmaker are one, both of those divergent creative crafts influencing each other in subtle ways. So whether with a collection of poems or a short film, Trigonis will make you think and feel.

Trigonis, a “freelance” professor at universities throughout New Jersey, epitomizes the indie spirit of 21st century and exemplifies the DIY movement, embracing the possibilities afforded artists during this era of social media and affordable technology. He’s even pursued a fairly revolutionary method of funding his latest project. In addition to using his own money, Trigonis turned to IndieGoGo, pitching fans and complete strangers on the incentives of funding the film (perhaps a producer credit will entice you, along with several other perks). He has already reached his goal, raising $5,595 in relatively short order.

Today, thanks to all those who contributed (from small amounts to larger donations), Trigonis—along with cast and crew—starts production of his latest vision, Cerise, a short film about a former spelling bee champion who is haunted, 20 years later, by the word that took him down. Production will continue through the week, and you can follow the filming process this week by visiting Cerise on Facebook and Vimeo for constant status updates, pics and vlogs.

Trigonis recently took time from a busy schedule of rewriting scripts, holding auditions, scouting locations, and making other preparations to discuss a wide range of topics—from his artistic roots and creative process to his DIY nature and the future of “crowdfunding”—with The Madness Of Art. Read more…

“You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club.”
—Jack London

Non-Profit, Quarterly Arts Journal Launches in Savannah

One of the great things about Savannah—this big small town (or, depending on your perspective, small big city) on the Georgia coast that I’ve called home for 20 months—is its robust, ever-expanding arts scene, generating a palpable creative energy suitable for invoking the muse.

Despite this burgeoning arts community, and even with a fairly respectable assortment of local print publications, Savannah lacked an “offline” magazine dedicated solely and specifically to this community, its creative creatures and their admirers. I, for one, thought it obvious that such an arts journal could not only survive but thrive here. Luckily, I wasn’t alone. Read more…

“You must take an obsessive pride in the smallest details of your craft. And you must be willing to defend what you’ve written against the various middlemen—editors, agents and publishers—whose sights may be different from yours, whose standards not as high.”—William Zinsser

If you’ve ever been required to sit through a excruciatingly boring lecture by a self-important professor, it’s easy to understand why the mere mention of the word itself—lecture—might trigger a negative reaction, or even sheer terror. If you’ve ever been required to attend a mind-numbing, time-wasting conference by your employer, it’s easy to understand why the suggestion of attending such an event could cause unease, at the very least.

So when I stumbled upon TEDTalks a while ago, I was surprised by what I discovered: lectures that were intriguing, insightful and inspiring. Could this really be possible? These few clips must have been anomalies, I thought, rare standouts plucked from hundreds or more of the aforementioned variety. But over time, as I watched new and newly discovered selections, TEDTalks—videos of lectures given at annual conferences put on by TED (which stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design)—rarely failed to deliver, even when the subject matter seemed a bit outside my typical interest zone.

TED, a nonprofit, has a simple but noble mission: “Spreading ideas.” And it does so through a well-designed, fun-to-explore site (along with a YouTube presence). The themes of the engaging and thought-provoking talks are wide-ranging, from arts, culture and entertainment to technology, science and a host of global issues. The styles, backgrounds and expertise of the speakers are equally diverse. TEDTalks, as a result, is fairly addicting (and healthy) Internet fare, especially considering what’s on the rest of the menu.

With TED2010 only a few weeks away, The Madness of Art presents its Top 10 TEDTalks—most of which deal with the topic of creativity (in some way) and its powerful effects. So, in the spirit of TED, here are some ideas I thought were worth spreading. Read more…