Columns

The Reel Deal: Watch Kyle Osborne’s Video Movie Review of ‘Lucy’

Kyle Osborne reviews Lucy. Here are showtimes for Lucy in the DC area. LINKS Kyle Osborne’s Video Movie Review of Snowpiercer. Kyle Osborne’s Video Movie Review of Transformers: Age of Extinction....

The Playwright’s Playground: ‘Gidion’s Knot’ Playwright Johnna Adams Speaks About Her Process, Discipline, Inspiration, and Playwriting Paranoia

Johnna Adams. The playwriting voice of Johnna Adams is bold and unique and the genre and styles of her plays are an eclectic mix. In 2013, Johnna received a Steinberg/American Theatre Critics...

Renaissance Man Thomas Dolby: Johns Hopkins University Professor of the Arts

In a change that ups the cool factor and vibrancy of Baltimore’s film and music culture exponentially, musician, composer, and digital technology innovator, Thomas Dolby will be moving to the city at...

The Playwright’s Playground: Playwright Johnna Adams Discusses Giving Herself Permission to Write and Reveals ‘Gidion’s Knot’ Challenges and the Gordian Knot Analogy

Johnna Adams.The playwriting voice of Johnna Adams is bold and unique and the genre and styles of her plays are an eclectic mix. In 2013, Johnna received a Steinberg/American Theatre Critics...

‘The Reel Deal’: Watch Kyle Osborne’s Video Movie Review of ‘Snowpiercer’

Kyle Osborne reviews Snowpiercer Here are showtimes for Snowpiercer in the DC area. LINKS Kyle Osborne’s Video Movie Review of ‘Transformers: Age of Extinction.’ Kyle Osborne’s Video Movie Review of...

Time to Catch Up! 9 ‘Filichia on Friday’ by Peter Filichia

Where did the time go? Time to catch up on my favorite column ‘Filichia on Friday.” Here are 9 articles from ‘Mr. Prolific’-Peter Filichia from his column on Kritzerland called ‘Filichia on Friday.’...

Cinema Speak With Sydney-Chanele: Film Review – ‘A Most Wanted Man’

A perfect performance is not what qualifies great acting, it’s an impassioned one. The laid out intensity and confident determination of Phillip Seymour Hoffman’s absorbing performance in A Most...

The Playwright’s Playground: The Playmakers CATF 2014: Ed Herendeen & Peggy McKowen Discuss the Development of CATF Plays

This Special Edition of The Playwright’s Playground introduces The Playmaker Series: CATF 2014. In a series of in depth conversations, I speak with the artistic teams associated with the the plays at...

The Playwright’s Playground: ‘The Playmakers – CATF 2014: Interview With Ed Herendeen & Peggy McKowen Who Preview The Season

This Special Edition of The Playwright’s Playground introduces The Playmaker Series: CATF 2014. In a series of in-depth conversations, I speak with the artistic teams associated with the the plays at...

Magic Time! ‘Rodney King’ at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company

If ever there was an Inadvertent American Hero, it’s Rodney King, the black construction worker whose brutal beating in 1991 by white cops in LA, caught on videotape, appalled the world, indicted a...

Cinema Speak with Sydney-Chanele: ‘Unscripted and Improvised – Roger Guenveur Smith, Discusses Making Movies & His Unparalleled Collaboration with Spike Lee’

Roger Guenveur Smith is a writer, director, and one of those enigmatic actors whose work continues to illuminate the international stage and screen. This classically trained Yale School of Drama...

Cinema Speak by Sydney-Chanele: Film Review: ‘Life Itself – Roger Ebert, A Cinematic Celebration’

Roger Ebert is an indomitable spirit, and Life Itself is a definitive, inspired love letter to and from this man who loved movies and championed film – especially lesser known, independent films....

Meet the Cast of Unexpected Stage Company’s ‘Dani Girl’: Caroline Wolfson, Joshua Simon, Maggie Robertson, and Zach Brewster-Geisz

Meet the cast of Unexpected Stage Company’s Dani Girl. _______ Caroline Wolfson (Dani) Joel: Where did you get your training and where have local theatregoers seen you perform? Caroline: I’m a...

Broadway Royalty Returns to Broadway: A Chat with John Rubinstein on Joining the Cast of ‘Pippin’

Actor, director, teacher, and composer John Rubinstein has taken on the role of King Charlemagne in the critically acclaimed Tony Award-winning revival of Pippin until the end of July. He’s Broadway’s...

‘Nibbles and Sips’: Freak Show Without a Tent, Dino’s Grotto Opens, Erin Dickins Spices Up Her Repertoire, Mio Brings Puerto Rico to DC

Freak Show Without a Tent, Dino’s Grotto Opens, Erin Dickins Spices Up Her Repertoire, Mio Brings Puerto Rico to DC On DC-Based Food Writer Nevin Martell’s Latest Book Partiality Alert Based on...

Magic Time! DC Black Theatre Festival: ‘The Laundry Room’

The DC Black Theatre Festival this year offered some 45 self-produced shows, most one time only. Organized annually by the DC Drama Department, a nonprofit educational theater company, the festival...

Magic Time! DC Black Theatre Festival: ‘7 Layers Captive’

The DC Black Theatre Festival this year offered some 45 self-produced shows, most one time only. Organized annually by the DC Drama Department, a nonprofit educational theater company, the festival...

‘The Reel Deal’ Watch Kyle Osborne’s Video Movie Review of ‘Transformers: Age of Extinction’

Kyle Osborne reviews Transformers: Age of Extinction. Here are showtimes for Transformers: Age of Extinction in the DC area. LINKS Kyle Osborne’s Video Movie Review of Jersey Boys. Kyle Osborne’s...

Preview of ‘Abominable’ at The Hub Theatre by David Siegel

Hub Theater is producing the world premier of Abominable written by Playwright and Hub Artistic Director Helen Pafumi. The director is multi-Helen Hayes Award nominee Kirsten Kelly. The Hub describes...

AFI Docs’ Andrea Passafiume Wraps Up This Year’s Festival

AFI Docs, held annually in Silver Spring, MD and downtown DC, is regarded as the nation’s premier film festival for documentaries. Programmer Andrea Passafiume talks about highlights and standouts...

Schmoozing with Michael Urie About ‘Buyer & Cellar’ at Shakespeare Theatre Company

DCMetroTheaterArts’ John Stoltenberg couldn’t have said it any better in his review of Buyer & Cellar: “The laughs come so fast in Buyer & Cellar—and Michael Urie’s solo performance is so brilliantly...

The Playwright’s Playground: SOURCE Festival 2014 – Interview with Playwright Alyssa Wilden on Her Play ‘Freddy & Cathy’

The Playwright’s Playground is a monthly in-depth conversation with a local female playwright in the D.C. theatre community. Female theatre artists make up more than 50 percent of those involved in...

The Playwright’s Playground: SOURCE Festival 2014 – Interview with Playwright Sarah Bernstein on Her Play: ‘The Narrow Gate’ by Sydney-Chanele Dawkins

The Playwright’s Playground is a monthly in-depth conversation with a local female playwright in the D.C. theatre community. Female theatre artists make up more than 50 percent of those involved in...

DC Black Theatre Festival: ‘Somethin’ Like Eatonville’

The DC Black Theatre Festival, which runs through June 26, this year offers some 45 self-produced shows, most one time only. Organized annually by the DC Drama Department, a nonprofit educational...

An Extraordinary Cast of ‘Ordinary Days’ at Round House Theatre: Meet Erin Weaver

Here is the second interview with the extraordinary cast of Round House Theatre’s Ordinary Days. In Part 3: Meet Erin Weaver. Joel: Where have local theatregoers seen you perform this year? Erin: I...

Watch Kyle Osborne’s Video Movie Review of ‘Jersey Boys’

Kyle Osborne reviews Clint Eastwood’s film version of the Tony Award-winning musical Jersey Boys. Here are showtimes for Jersey Boys in the DC area. LINKS Kyle Osborne’s video movie review of Chef....

Magic Time! The DC Black Theatre Festival: ‘Confessions of a Homo Thug Porn Star’

The DC Black Theatre Festival, which runs through June 26, this year offers some 45 self-produced shows, most one time only. Organized annually by the DC Drama Department, a nonprofit educational...

Cinema Speak with Sydney-Chanele: AFI DOCS FESTIVAL: Jennifer Grausman – ‘Art and Craft’

Cinema Speak with Sydney-Chanele is a new column that embraces the landscape of film, filmmakers, and film festivals. This will be a canvas where film reviews, and in-depth interviews into the...

The Playwright’s Playground: SOURCE Festival 2014 – Interview with Playwright Mariah MacCarthy on Her Play: ‘Painted’

The Playwright’s Playground is a monthly in-depth conversation with a local female playwright in the D.C. theatre community. Female theatre artists make up more than 50 percent of those involved in...

The Playwright’s Playground: SOURCE Festival 2014 – Interview with Playwright Erin Bregman on Her Play: ‘A Bid to Save the World’

Welcome to the conversation and The Playwright’s Playground, an in-depth conversation with female playwrights in the D.C. theatre community. Female theatre artists make up more than 50 percent of...

Ranting With Cyle: ‘Here’s Where I’ve Been and I’m Back Now!”

I write to you all after a long absence (no, I didn’t get abducted by aliens {but wouldn’t that be a cool story to share [with the other inmates of the psych ward]}) and come to realize that there is...

‘Comfort and Joy’: ‘Comfort and Joy’: Appearing in 1st Stage’s ‘Bat Boy:The Musical’: Part 4: Russell Silber

In Part 4 of a series of interviews with the cast of Bat Boy:The Musical at 1st Stage, meet Russell Silber. Joel: Introduce yourself and tell our readers where they might have seen you on the stage...

An Extraordinary Cast of ‘Ordinary Days’ at Round House Theatre: Meet Will Gartshore

Here is the first interview with the extraordinary cast of Round House Theatre’s Ordinary Days. In Part 1: Meet Will Gartshore. Joel: Where have local theatregoers seen you perform this year? Will:...

The Playwright’s Playground: SOURCE Festival 2014 – Interview with Playwright Molly Hagan on Her Play: ‘The Wild Ones’

Welcome to the conversation and The Playwright’s Playground, an in-depth conversation with female playwrights in the D.C. theatre community. Female theatre artists make up more than 50 percent of...

The Playwright’s Playground: SOURCE Festival 2014 – Interview with Playwright Marine Gassier on Her Play: ‘The Reluctant Genie of Niamey’

The Playwright’s Playground is a monthly in-depth conversation with a local female playwright in the D.C. theatre community. Female theatre artists make up more than 50 percent of those involved in...

The Playwright’s Playground: SOURCE Festival 2014 – Interview with Playwright Elizabeth Archer on Her Play: ‘Old Gray Devil’

The Playwright’s Playground is a monthly in-depth conversation with a local female playwright in the D.C. theatre community. Female theatre artists make up more than 50 percent of those involved in...

The Playwright’s Playground: SOURCE Festival 2014 – Interview with Playwright Susan Goodell on Her Play: ‘After Unlocking the Universe’

Welcome to the conversation and The Playwright’s Playground, an in-depth conversation with female playwrights in the D.C. theatre community. Female theatre artists make up more than 50 percent of...

Ed Dixon on Writing and Appearing in ‘Cloak and Dagger’ at Signature Theatre

I am a huge fan of Ed Dixon’s work. I was thrilled to be able to catch up with him, and to see the press performance of his new musical Cloak and Dagger on Sunday night at Signature Theatre. Joel: Why...

The Playwright’s Playground: SOURCE Festival 2014 – An Interview With CJ Ehrlich on Her Play ‘Picnic on the Lake’

Welcome to the conversation and The Playwright’s Playground, an in-depth conversation with female playwrights in the D.C. theatre community. Female theatre artists make up more than 50 percent of...

The Playwright’s Playground: SOURCE Festival 2014 – Interview with Playwright A.K. Forbes on Her Play: ‘Collateral Damage and Other Cosmic Consequences’

The Playwright’s Playground is a monthly in-depth conversation with a local female playwright in the D.C. theatre community. Female theatre artists make up more than 50 percent of those involved in...

Magic Time! ‘Grounded’ at The Studio Theatre

Sometimes an extraordinary piece of theater plays like a synecdoche on steroids. It serves as a small part that represents a vast whole with astounding force. A window that lets us see something more...

The Playwright’s Playground: Part II: ‘Izumi Ashizawa -The Inspirations and Passions of a Japanese Interdisciplinary Artist’

Welcome back to the conversation and The Playwright’s Playground, an in-depth conversation with female playwrights in the D.C. theatre community. Female theatre artists make up more than 50 percent of...

The Playwright’s Playground: Part I: Izumi Ashizawa & The Art of ‘Kwaidan’

Welcome back to the conversation and The Playwright’s Playground, an in-depth conversation with female playwrights in the DC theater community. Female theatre artists make up more than 50 percent of...

‘Comfort and Joy’: Appearing in 1st Stage’s ‘Bat Boy:The Musical’: Part 3: Maria Rizzo

In Part 3 of a series of interviews with the cast of Bat Boy:The Musical at 1st Stage, meet Maria Rizzo. Joel: Please introduce yourself and tell our readers where they might have seen you on the...

Kyle Osborne’s Video Movie Review of ‘Chef’

Here is Kyle Osborne’s video movie review of Chef. https://youtu.be/aBtM1wZBs_s LINKS Kyle Osborne’s Video Movie Review of ‘Godzilla.’ Q&A with ‘Godzilla’ Director Gareth Edwards. Kyle Osborne’s Video...

Meet the Cast of No Rules Theatre Company’s ‘Boeing Boeing’: Part 3: Jamie Smithson

In Part 3 of a series of interviews with the cast of No Rules Theatre Company’s production of Boeing Boeing, meet Jamie Smithson. Joel: Where have you performed in the area recently? I am new to the...

Alan Paul on Directing ‘Bastianello’ and ‘Lucrezia’ at Urban Arias

Performances begin tomorrow night, June 6th at 8 PM for two short comic operas –Bastianello and Luxrezia– at Urban Arias at Artisphere. Director Alan Paul gives us a short preview of what we will see...

Meet the Cast of NextStop Theatre Company’s ‘Into the Woods’: Part 7: Danny Tippett and Scott Gaines

These guys got lost in the woods and some witch told us where we could find them-so in between battling witches, wolves, and giants and before they packed up their magic beans and white cows, these...

‘Comfort and Joy’: Appearing in 1st Stage’s ‘Bat Boy:The Musical’: Part 2: Jimmy Mavrikes

In Part Two of a series of interviews with the cast of Bat Boy:The Musical at 1st Stage, meet Jimmy Mavrikes. Joel: Introduce yourself and tell our readers where they might have seen you on the stage...

‘Magic Time!’ ‘Judgment at Nuremberg’ at The American Century Theater

A resounding round of applause is owed The American Century Theater (TACT), whose sharp, smart production of Judgment at Nuremberg brings this towering play to DC Metro audiences at last. As Artistic...