Archive
Life Itself XVII: To All the Writers I’ve Loved Before – 25 Years of Stories About Writers and Writing
Life Itself XVII:
To All the Writers I’ve Loved Before – 25 Years of Stories About Writers and Writing
Noah Diaz making run for his dream at Yale School of Drama and theater companies nationwide
https://leoadambiga.com/2018/08/05/noah-diaz-making…anies-nationwide
Journalist-author Genoways takes micro and macro look at the U.S, food system
https://leoadambiga.com/2018/06/06/journalist-autho…u-s-food-syystem
Things coming full circle for Doug Marr, Phil’s Diner Series and Circle Theatre
https://leoadambiga.com/2018/04/24/things-coming-fu…d-circle-theatre/
Doug Marr and wife Laura Marr
A book a day keeps the blues aways for avid reader and writer Ashley Xiques
https://leoadambiga.com/2017/03/03/a-book-a-day-kee…er-ashley-xiques
Voyager Bud Shaw gives up scalpel for pen
https://leoadambiga.com/2017/04/20/voyager-bud-shaw…-scalpel-for-pen
Kevin Simonson on Interviewing Hunter S. Thompson and Kurt Vonnegut
https://leoadambiga.com/2017/03/05/kevin-simonson-o…nd-kurt-vonnegut/
Literary star Ron Hansen revisits the Old West in new novel “The Kid”
https://leoadambiga.com/2016/08/25/literary-star-ro…ew-novel-the-kid/
Ron Hansen
Noah Diaz:
Metro theater’s man for all seasons and stages
https://leoadambiga.com/2016/07/19/noah-diaz-metro-…asons-and-stages
Old Hollywood hand living in Omaha comes out of the shadows: Screenwriter John Kaye scripted “American Hot Wax” and more
https://leoadambiga.com/2016/01/30/old-hollywood-ha…hot-wax-and-more
Bomb girl Zedeka Poindexter draws on family, food and angst for her poetry
https://leoadambiga.com/2015/03/11/zedeka-poindexte…t-for-her-poetry/
Playwright turned history detective Max Sparber turns identity search inward
https://leoadambiga.com/2015/02/07/playwright-turne…ty-search-inward/
Paul Johnsgard:
A birder’s road less traveled
https://leoadambiga.com/2016/06/24/paul-johnsgard-a…ad-less-traveled
Lew Hunter’s small town Nebraska boy made good in Hollywood story is a doozy
https://leoadambiga.com/2016/02/25/lew-hunters-smal…story-is-a-doozy
Lew Hunter with Francis Ford Coppola
Alesia Lester: A Conversation in the Gossip Salon
https://leoadambiga.com/2016/03/09/alesia-lester-a-…the-gossip-salon/
Hardy’s one-man “A Christmas Carol” highlights Dickens-themed literary festival
https://leoadambiga.com/2015/11/03/hardys-one-man-a…iterary-festival/
Omaha World-Herald columnist Mike Kelly:
A storyteller for all seasons
https://leoadambiga.com/2014/04/02/omaha-world-hera…-for-all-seasons/
Mike Kelly
Creative couple: Bob and Connie Spittler and their shared creative life 60 years in the making
https://leoadambiga.com/2015/12/23/bob-and-connie-s…rs-in-the-making/
A WASP’s racial tightrope resulted in enduring book partially set in 1960s Omaha
https://leoadambiga.com/2015/10/28/a-wasps-racial-t…t-in-1960s-omaha/
Alex Kava:
Bestselling mystery author still going strong
https://leoadambiga.com/2015/11/03/alex-kava-bestse…ill-going-strong/
Yolonda Ross adds writer-director to actress credits; In new movies by Mamet and Sayles as her own “Breaking Night” makes festival circuit
https://leoadambiga.com/2013/02/28/yolonda-ross-add…festival-circuit/
Omahans put spin on Stephen King’s “The Shining” – Jason Levering leads stage adaptation of horror classic to benefit Benson Theatre Project
https://leoadambiga.com/2014/03/17/omahans-put-thei…-theatre-project
Omaha author Timothy Schaffert delivers again with his new novel, “The Swan Gondola”
https://leoadambiga.com/2014/03/07/omaha-author-tim…the-swan-gondola/
Timothy Schaffert
The Omaha Star celebrates 75 years of black woman legacy
https://leoadambiga.com/2013/04/11/the-omaha-star-c…ack-woman-legacy/
Ex-reporter Eileen Wirth pens book on Nebraska women in journalism and their leap from society page to front page
https://leoadambiga.com/2013/03/22/ex-reporter-eile…ge-to-front-page/
Bob Hoig’s unintended entree into journalism leads to career six decades strong
https://leoadambiga.com/2013/01/25/bob-hoigs-uninte…cades-strong-now/
Wounded Knee still battleground for some per new book by journalist-author Stew Magnuson
https://leoadambiga.com/2013/04/20/wounded-knee-sti…or-stew-magnuson/
Omaha native Steve Marantz looks back at city’s ’68 racial divide through prism of hoops in new book, “The Rhythm Boys of Omaha Central”
https://leoadambiga.com/2011/04/01/omaha-native-ste…of-omaha-central/
From the heart: Tunette Powell tells it like it is
https://leoadambiga.com/2015/03/10/from-the-heart-t…ls-it-like-it-is/
Finding her voice: Tunette Powell comes out of the dark and into the spotlight
https://leoadambiga.com/2013/01/24/finding-her-voic…to-the-spotlight/
Omowale Akintunde film “Wigger” deconstructs what race means in a faux post-racial world
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/05/21/deconstructing-w…ost-racial-world/
Beware the Singularity, singing the retribution blues: New works by Rick Dooling
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/10/10/beware-the-singu…-by-rick-dooling/
Richard Dooling
Lit Fest delves into what we fear, how we relate in extremis
https://leoadambiga.com/2015/10/09/lit-fest-delves-…late-in-extremis/
Omaha Lit Fest puts focus on Women Writers and Women in Publishing
https://leoadambiga.com/2012/10/06/omaha-lit-fest-p…en-in-publishing
Omaha Lit Fest Offers a Written Word Feast
https://leoadambiga.com/2013/10/18/omaha-lit-fest-o…itten-word-feast
Writing close to her heart: Author Joy Castro
https://leoadambiga.com/2012/11/23/author-joy-castr…in-two-new-books/
Ron Hull reviews his remarkable life in public television in new memoir
https://leoadambiga.com/2012/10/06/8945/
Ferial Pearson, award-winning educator dedicated to inclusion and social justice, helps students publish the stories of their lives
https://leoadambiga.com/2011/08/25/ferial-pearson-a…s-of-their-lives
Lit Fest brings author Carleen Brice back home flush with success of first novel, “Orange Mint and Honey”
https://leoadambiga.com/2011/07/02/lit-fest-brings-…e-mint-and-honey/
Novel’s mother-daughter thing makes it to the screen
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/10/26/novel’s-mother-d…it-to-the-screen
Carleen Brice
Sun reflection: Revisiting the Omaha Sun’s Pulitzer Prize-winning expose of Boys Town
https://leoadambiga.com/2011/04/28/sun-reflection-r…ose-on-boys-town
Alexander Payne and Kaui Hart Hemmings on the symbiosis behind his film and her novel “The Descendants” and how she helped get Hawaii right
https://leoadambiga.com/2012/01/23/alexander-payne-…get-hawaii-right/
Thy kingdom come: Richard Dooling’s TV teaming with Stephen King
https://leoadambiga.com/2012/08/16/thy-kingdom-come…ith-stephen-king/
Buffalo Bill’s Coming Out Party Courtesy Author-Balladeer Bobby Bridger
https://leoadambiga.com/2011/09/06/buffalo-bills-co…er-bobby-bridger/
The Worth of Things Explored by Sean Doolittle in his New Crime Novel “The Cleanup”
https://leoadambiga.com/2011/07/02/the-worth-of-thi…ovel-the-cleanup/
When Safe Isn’t Safe at All, Author Sean Doolittle Spins a Home Security Cautionary Tale
https://leoadambiga.com/2011/08/19/when-safe-isnt-s…-cautionary-tale/
Acclaimed Author and Nebraska New Wave Literary Leader Timothy Schaffert
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/05/18/nebraska-new-wav…imothy-schaffert/
A Man of His Words, Nebraska State Poet William Kloefkorn
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/07/07/a-man-of-his-wor…illiam-kloefkorn/
JACOB HANNAH / Lincoln Journal Star
Kurt Andersen’s new novel “True Believers” revisits 1960s through reformed radical breaking her silence
https://leoadambiga.com/2012/07/28/kurt-andersens-n…king-her-silence/
Dissecting Jesse James
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/10/10/dissecting-jesse-james
Ron Hansen’s masterful outlaw blues novel about Jesse James and Robert Ford faithfully interpreted on screen
https://leoadambiga.com/2012/07/27/ron-hansens-mast…preted-on-screen
Playwright Carlos Murillo’s work explores personal mythmaking
https://leoadambiga.com/2012/07/26/playwright-carlo…sonal-mythmaking
The Many Worlds of Science Fiction Author Robert Reed
https://leoadambiga.com/2011/06/22/the-many-worlds-…thor-robert-reed
He knows it when he sees it: Journalist-social critic Robert Jensen finds patriarchy and white supremacy in porn
https://leoadambiga.com/2012/06/17/i-know-it-when-i…upremacy-in-porn
Litniks Unite! The Downtown Omaha Lit Fest brings writers, artists and readers together in celebration of the written word
Omaha Lit Fest: In praise of writers and their words: Jami Attenberg and Will Clarke among featured authors
https://leoadambiga.com/2012/06/19/omaha-lit-fest-i…featured-authors/
Omaha playwright Beaufield Berry comes into her own with original comedy “Psycho Ex Girlfriend”
https://leoadambiga.com/2013/04/20/omaha-playwright…iend-now-playing/
Omaha Lit Fest: “People who like this sort of thing will find this the sort of thing they like”
https://leoadambiga.com/2011/10/07/omaha-lit-fest-p…-thing-they-like/
Martin Landau and Nik Fackler discuss working together on “Lovely, Still” and why they believe so strongly in each other and in their new film
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/09/23/martin-landau-an…-in-the-new-film/
Martin Landau and Nik Fackler
“Lovely, Still,” that rare film depicting seniors in all their humanity, earns writer-director Nik Fackler Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best First Screenplay
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/12/03/lovely-still-tha…first-screenplay/
Filmmaker Nik Fackler’s magic realism reaches the big screen in “Lovely, Still”
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/05/18/when-dreams-that…neath-do-surface
Nik Fackler, the Film Dude Establishes Himself a Major New Cinema Figure with “Lovely, Still”
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/05/18/the-film-dude-es…ew-cinema-figure/
Writers Joy Castro and Amelia Maria de la Luz Montes explore being women of color who go from poverty to privilege
https://leoadambiga.com/2011/05/12/writers-joy-cast…rty-to-privilege/
Being Jack Moskovitz: Grizzled former civil servant and DJ, now actor and fiction author, still waiting to be discovered
https://leoadambiga.com/2011/09/05/being-jack-mosko…to-be-discovered/
With his new novel, “The Coffins of Little Hope,” Timothy Schaffert’s back delighting in the curiosities of American Gothic
https://leoadambiga.com/2011/04/13/with-his-new-nov…-american-gothic/
Timothy Schaffert Gets Down and Dirty with his New Novel “Devils in the Sugar Shop”
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/08/29/timothy-schaffer…n-the-sugar-shop/
Rachel Shukert’s anything but a travel agent’s recommended guide to a European grand tour
https://leoadambiga.com/2011/09/05/rachel-shukerts-…opean-grand-tour/
Author Rachel Shukert: A nice Jewish girl gone wild and other regrettable stories
https://leoadambiga.com/2011/09/05/author-rachel-sh…rettable-stories/
Rachel Shukert
After whirlwind tenure as Poet Laureate, Ted Kooser goes gently back to the prairie, to where the wild plums grow
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/06/19/after-a-whirlwin…-wild-plums-grow/
Keeper of the Flame: Poet Laureate and Pulitzer Prize winner Ted Kooser
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/06/19/keeper-of-the-fl…inner-ted-kooser
Ted Kooser
Being Dick Cavett
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/12/04/being-dick-cavett-2/
Homecoming always sweet for Dick Cavett, the entertainment legend whose dreams of show biz Success were fired in Nebraska
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/12/04/homecoming-is-al…ed-in-nebraska-2/
Dick Cavett
Dream catcher Lew Hunter: Screenwriting guru of the Great Plains
http://leoadambiga.com/2010/05/09/dream-catcher-lew-hunter/
Q & A with playwright Caridad Svich, featured artist at Great Plains Theatre Conference
https://leoadambiga.com/2011/06/02/a-q-a-with-playw…eatre-conference/
Featured Great Plains Theatre Conference playwright Caridad Svich explores bicultural themes
https://leoadambiga.com/2011/05/29/featured-great-p…icultural-themes
Playwright-screenwriter John Guare talks shop on Omaha visit celebrating his acclaimed “Six Degrees of Separation”
https://leoadambiga.com/2011/06/02/playwright-john-…es-of-separation/
Attention must be paid: Arthur Kopit invokes Arthur Miller to describe Great Plains Theatre Conference focus on the work of playwrights
https://leoadambiga.com/2011/05/29/attention-must-b…s-and-their-work/
Q & A with Edward Albee: His thoughts on the Great Plains Theatre Conference, Jo Ann McDowell, Omaha and preparing a new generation of playwrights
https://leoadambiga.com/2011/05/29/a-q-a-with-edwar…n-of-playwrights/
Great Plains Theatre Conference ushers in new era of Omaha theater
https://leoadambiga.com/2011/05/28/great-plains-the…of-omaha-theater/
John Guare
Hard times ring sweet in the soulful words of singer-songwriter-author Laura Love, daughter of the late jazz man, Preston Love Sr.
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/05/01/hard-times-ring-…uthor-laura-love
Gospel playwright Llana Smith enjoys her Big Mama’s time
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/06/07/gospel-playwrigh…r-big-mamas-time
Blizzard Voices:
Stories from the Great White Shroud
https://leoadambiga.com/2018/07/27/blizzard-voices-…eat-white-shroud
Click Westin, back in the screenwriting game again at age 83
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/07/11/click-westin-bac…-again-at-age-83/
“The Bagel: An Immigrant’s Story” – Joan Micklin Silver and Matthew Goodman team up for new documentary
https://leoadambiga.com/2012/03/16/the-bagel-an-imm…documentary-film
Actor Peter Riegert makes fine feature directorial debut with “King of the Corner”
https://leoadambiga.com/2011/05/12/actor-peter-rieg…ng-of-the-corner/
Talking screenwriting with Hollywood heavyweight Hawk Ostby: Omaha Film Festival panelist counts “Children of Men” and “Iron Man” among credits
https://leoadambiga.com/2012/03/02/talking-screenwr…mong-his-credits/
Hawk Ostby
Tempting fate: Patrick Coyle film “Into Temptation” delivers gritty tale of working girl and idealistic priest in search of redemption
https://leoadambiga.com/2012/04/09/tempting-fate-pa…ch-of-redemption/
Otis Twelve’s Radio Days
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/05/31/otis-twelves-radio-days/
Three old wise men of journalism – Hlavacek, Michaels and Desfor – recall their foreign correspondent careers and reflect on the world today
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/05/18/three-old-wise-men-of-journalism/
John and Pegge Hlavacek’s globe-trotting adventures as foreign correspondents
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/06/02/john-and-pegge-h…n-correspondents/
John Hlavacek
Preston Love: His voice will not be stilled
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/06/03/preston-love-his…l-not-be-stilled/
Marguerita Washington: The woman behind the Star that never sets
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/08/02/marguerita-washi…-that-never-sets
“Walking Behind to Freedom” – A musical theater examination of race
https://leoadambiga.com/2011/06/21/walking-behind-t…mination-of-race
Sacred Trust, Author Ron Hansen’s Fiction Explores Moral Struggles
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/07/06/sacred-trust
Jim Taylor, the other half of Hollywood’s top screenwriting team, talks about his work with Alexander Payne
https://leoadambiga.com/2016/06/30/jim-taylor-the-o…lexander-payne-2/
Author, humorist, folklorist Roger Welsch tells the stories of the American soul and soil
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/06/19/author-humorist-…he-american-soul/
From the Archives: Warren Francke – A passion for journalism, teaching and life
https://leoadambiga.com/2012/06/11/from-the-archive…eaching-and-life
Author Scott Muskin – What’s a nice Jewish boy like you doing writing about all this mishigas?
https://leoadambiga.com/2011/12/05/author-scott-mus…ll-this-mishigas/
Vincent Alston’s indie film debut, “For Love of Amy,” is black and white and love all over
https://leoadambiga.com/2011/11/29/vincent-alstons-…nd-love-all-over
Screenwriting adventures of Nebraska native Jon Bokenkamp, author of the scripts “Perfect Stranger” and “Taking Lives'”
https://leoadambiga.com/2011/11/28/screenwriting-ad…ve-jon-bokenkamp/
Murder He Wrote: Reporter-author David Krajicek finds niche as true crime storyteller
https://leoadambiga.com/2011/10/28/murder-he-wrote-…rime-storyteller/
Bobby Bridger’s Rendezvous
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/05/11/bobby-bridgers-rendezvous/
Nancy Duncan: Her final story
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/05/09/her-final-story/
Nancy Duncan: Storyteller
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/08/02/nancy-duncan-storyteller/
From the Archives:
Nancy Duncan’s journey to storytelling took circuitous route
https://leoadambiga.com/2012/04/01/from-the-archive…circutious-route
Joan Micklin Silver: Maverick filmmaker helped shape American independent film scene and opened doors for women directors
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/10/10/joan-micklin-sil…-women-directors/
Joan Micklin Silver: Shattering cinema’s glass ceiling
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/05/18/shattering-cinemas-glass-ceiling/
Joan Micklin Silver
Doug Marr, Diner Theater and keeping the faith
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/06/06/doug-marr-keeping-the-faith/
Short story writer James Reed at work in the literary fields of the imagination
https://leoadambiga.com/2011/09/03/short-story-writ…-the-imagination
Culturalist Kurt Andersen wryly observes the American scene as author, essayist, radio talk show host
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/05/18/culturalist-kurt-andersen/
Slaying dragons: Author Richard Dooling’s sharp satire cuts deep and quick
https://leoadambiga.com/2010/05/18/slaying-dragons-rick-dooling/
K
Kurt Andersen
Niche theater for classics still going strong in 25th year
Niche theater for classics still going strong in 25th year
Cathy Kurz and her Brigit Saint Brigit Theatre Company
©by Leo Adam Biga
Originally appeared in April 2018 issue of The Reader (www.thereader.com)
A quarter century since Cathy Kurz was told, “No one wants to see this stuff,”‘ her Brigit Saint Brigit (BSB) Theatre company still draws paying audiences to productions of the classical canon.
Works by Shakespeare, Shaw, Chekov, Ibsen, Miller, O’Neill, Williams, Albee, Stoppard and other playwright legends grace its stage. Since leaving College of Saint Mary eight years ago, the theater’s moved around and now alternates its site-specific work between Joslyn Castle, First Central Congregational Church and other venues.
This 25th anniversary season concludes with Uncle Vanya, April 5-20, at the Castle and The Shakespeare Revue, May 3-24, at First Central, on select dates. All shows are 7:30 p.m.
Low overhead helps keep expenses down, but what’s truly made BSB sustainable without a fixed home is an unwavering commitment to mission.
“Going to rehearsals and working with actors and reading all these plays and thinking about them – that work is everything. That produces the endorphins that make everything else happen,” said Kurz, BSB artistic director and co-founder. “I know the medium, I know the story, and when I read it, I can imagine the story in the medium, and that makes all the difference.”
It helps she’s yoked to a fellow believer in her husband, Scott Kurz, BSB managing director and frequent actor.
Her own fascination began in her hometown of Wichita, Kansas. First, watching television productions, then film adaptations and, finally, live theater.
“I just remember being gob-smacked. I would still be sitting there when they were sweeping up. I was entranced by the smell of the greasepaint, the whole thing, I knew nothing about how it worked. I just knew I liked being there.”
The theater became her home through studies at Friends University (Wichita) and the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
“Trying to translate these plays to the stage and working with actors to find the extra dimension that occurs in the theater has been the greatest love of my life. I’ve had so many incredible learning experiences.”
She feels classic theater can touch all of us deeply.
“Story is the oldest form in the world. Humans love to be told stories, The reason why these scripts have lasted is they’re so good. People don’t get an opportunity to see them. When they do, they realize today’s dramas pale in comparison, and then you combine that with the fact it’s live, it’s right there, and it’s really spellbinding. “There is no spectacle that even remotely can do what theater does. It’s that visceral encounter with talented live actors working right in front of you in a play that’s well-paced and interpreted. There’s just nothing like it. It’s spectacle. You can’t pause it, you can’t start eating and drinking or get distracted. It’s right there and it amazes people.”
When she moved to Omaha in 1980, the Norton Theatre was the city’s only regular classics showcase, Kurz directed several seasons there. When it closed, she felt adrift. Stage manager Cathy Murphy-Barron and actor John Jackson agreed they should stop simply lamenting its loss and, thus, they formed the nonprofit BSB.
“I didn’t know if people would come. I was discouraged from doing it by others,” Kurz said.
She persisted anyway, buoyed by her fellow travelers.
“If, as a director, you have talented, disciplined, dedicated actors and you can match them, then you’re going to do it. I’ve never believed you have to have a fancy backdrop or electronics or big screens. That’s not how we are. If you believe in the power of theater and this material, you’re going to do it wherever you can.”
BSB found an instant following and developed a company of players.
But, she acknowledged, if the Norton hadn’t closed, “i don’t know if I would have started the theater.”
BSB produced its earliest shows at Joslyn Art Museum, then Bellevue University, before taking residence at College of Saint Mary in 1997. BSB stayed 11 years.
“College of Saint Mary was just pivotal. They were so supportive of us. We had storage space, dressing rooms, offices. We rehearsed and constructed sets there. People liked the location. We really did build a lot of audience over that time.”
But when CSM experienced an enrollment boom, it reclaimed the space.
“We were really sorry to leave.”
That was 2008. Then came a twinning experiment with the Blue Barn, followed by a stint in the Capitol District before settling at the Castle and First Central. One-offs happened at Mastercraft and 40th Street Theatre.
The Castle’s 19th century architectural splendor lends itself to period pieces without having to build sets and First Central’s flex space allows great freedom.
Kurz wasn’t sure audiences would follow BSB from venue to venue, but they have. Now she wants the uninitiated to know that instead of treating Chekov’s Uncle Vanya as some dry academic-historical exercise to sit reverently through, it’s okay to laugh.
“It’s not dour. There’s a lot of humor. It’s just life.”
The greatest affirmation she receives is seeing patrons after a show “affected” the same way she was when first captivated by theater.
“There isn’t a greater gift.”
She’s grateful a new generation of theater lovers is being cultivated by BSB public after-school programs conducted by actress-educator Patty Driscoll.
By Kurz remaining true to her vision, BSB remains vital.
“This 25 years has has a lot of ups and downs, tension, drama and worry. The thing that’s kept it going is the belief in it and the love for it.”
Visit http://www.bsbtheatre.com. Read more of Leo Adam Biga’s work at leoadambiga.com.
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