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Volume VIII Number 24 November 30, 2005 |
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LED Holiday Lights Save Energy and Money Evanston Dance Ensemble Stages Holiday Ballet Northwestern Class Explores Evanston's Public Art Play Review- "The Long Christmas Ride Home " LED Holiday Lights Save Energy and Money Decking the halls with boughs of holly has a one-time cost. Decorating the home with holiday lights is a season-long expense, and the meter is running. According to the EnergyIdeas Clearinghouse, the cost to light an eight-foot tree for one season (five hours per day for 30 days) with incandescent C7 (125 mini-bulbs) is $7.09. A string of LED mini-ice (280 bulbs) will cost $0.12 for the season. The use of Light Emitting Diode (LED) holiday lights is a new application for a mature technology. Though incandescent bulbs shine brighter than their LED counterparts, LED holiday lights have several benefits over conventional lighting: · Energy efficiency - 0.08 watts per LED C7 multicolor bulb, compared to 0.48 watts per incandescent mini-light and 6.0 watts per standard incandescent C7 bulbs. · Long life - up to 100,000 hours or more used indoors, 50,000 outdoors, and some manufacturers offer a limited lifetime warranty. · Safety - there is no chance of combustion, as the bulbs are cool to the touch, regardless of how long they are left on. · Sturdy bulbs - the epoxy lenses are virtually indestructible. Another benefit is that, because of the LED bulbs' low wattage, up to 20 strands can be safely strung end-to-end without overloading a single outlet. The initial investment for LED lighting can be higher - $11.99 and up for a 60-light set - but the energy savings over the life of the set, plus the added safety, makes it an excellent and Earth-friendly choice. LED holiday lighting is sold locally at Target and Home Depot and other stores. Northwestern Class Explores Evanston's Public
Art Public art that consciously reflects a community's culture can simultaneously
represent and aesthetically inform outsiders of its character and diversity. A year ago, Dr. Christine Bell's art history class at Northwestern University was approached by the Evanston Public Art Committee to inventory Evanston's public art. The class documented more than 30 works of art and used a high-resolution camera to photograph different perspectives of each piece. The photographs and computer software allowed the students to see things that were not visible to the naked eye. The class used this technology to see the deterioration and note the physical condition of even the statues on top of the post office, said Dr. Bell. The class turned their photographs and the findings into a website that helped the EPAC understand specific maintenance issues. One of their discoveries, that a plaque in Fountain Square was about to fall off due to a lack of screws, led to an immediate fix. "Public art is a relatively new phenomenon. It's only 30 or 40 years old, and no one has really thought about how to maintain the art," said Dr. Bell. "Public art used to be a place for communities to gather on Memorial or Veterans' Day, but now civic involvement seems more individualized. We need to make a conscious decision to have more art representing [Evanston's] face to the outside world." Pilsen, a predominately Mexican neighborhood of Chicago, filled its community with murals that were indicative of the diversity and culture of the community. In that case, their art shaped outside perceptions of their community as they attempted to fight gentrification, noted Dr. Bell. Dr. Bell's current art history class focuses on the restoration of the Soldier's Memorial in Patriots Park, which is suffering from corrosion. The class also focused on the creators of the Soldier's Memorial, Stephen Beames and Thomas Tallmadge, and searched formore information on the Evanston residents who may have posed for the sculpture and the commission of the piece. The meaning and historical significance behind the Soldier's Memorial drew Dr. Bell and her students to the piece. She thinks that the Soldier's Memorial could also be a way for Evanston and Northwestern to collaborate and help form a more complete image of Evanston. "Northwestern is a part of this community.…A hard science class at Northwestern, like material science, could even be involved with the physical restoration of the piece," said Dr. Bell. In the 1930s the Federal Art Project of the Works Progress Administration funded art by some nationally renowned artists for Oakton, Haven and Nichols schools. This art also has yet to be inventoried and may need restoration. The project of cataloguing Evanston's public art and assessing which pieces the City is specifically responsible for also need to be addressed. Dr. Bell said, "For the most part, [Evanston public art] is in good condition. But it would be nice to rededicate [the flagpole or another public art piece] after its restoration."
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Evanston Dance Ensemble Stages Holiday Ballet When Béa Rashid first envisioned an original production for her youth Evanston Dance Ensemble to perform at the holidays, she thought C.S. Lewis's "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" seemed ideal.
"The colorful characters make for the perfect holiday ballet," says director Rashid."There are dancing snowflakes, leaping fauns, waltzing flowers and animals prancing out a holiday polka.I always thought of this as my alternative to ‘The Nutcracker.'" Ms Rashid did not know at the time that the famous children's fantasy would premier as a Disney movie the same season as her show, let alone that the movie and ballet would open the same day, Dec. 9."It's terrific publicity," says Christina Ernst, co-artistic director. C.S. Lewis wrote "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" in 1950.The first-completed volume of his seven-book "Chronicles of Narnia," it is the story of four children lodged in the country home of a professor to escape the air raids of World War II London. When young Lucy opens the door of an old wardrobe, the four discover the world of Narnia and are embroiled in a struggle to free the land from the spell of the White Witch.Various animals help or hinder their progress.But ultimately, the children enlist the help of the story's hero, the mighty lion king Aslan, to break the grip of Narnia's eternal winter and assume the crowns as prophecy has foretold. "We wanted to tell the story," says Ms. Ernst, who also teaches at Evanston Township High School, "but with dances that are fun to watch." The 29 members of the Evanston Dance Ensemble, aged 12 to 18 and selected through audition, perform the program.Ms. Rashid, who also directs the 600-student Dance Center Evanston, founded the ensemble in 1997 to give her school's most talented dancers the chance to work with experienced choreographers, musicians and designers on an artistic production.Until this year, productions were staged later in winter. "This is a place where they can train pre-professionally," said Ms.Renest of the Ensemble. Alex Powers, at 17 the Ensemble's most experienced dancer and a veteran of all eight Ensemble productions, says the group is, more and more, "a tight-knit community.The girls relate to each other."Through the years, she says, "the shows have gotten so much more elaborate." As a fifth-grader in "The Fairy Doll," the ETHS junior continues, "I was a little girl who looked up to the older dancers.Now it's role reversal."Alex has studied at Dance Center Evanston for 14 years and, like most of the high school girls in the Ensemble, takes seven dance classes a week.She will appear in a fat suit and buck teeth as a tap-dancing beaver and also as a hag and well woman.Nicole Hudson, 17,will dance the part of Robin on pointe will also appear as a wolf and a snowflake.In the push to opening night both girls have been rehearsing with the Ensemble on Saturdays, Sundays, school holidays and any days without dance class. Alex is especially looking forward to the performance on Friday morning, Dec. 9."The elementary schools come for the first show," she says, "and the younger kids really love it." Ms. Rashid intended to stage "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" a year ago, says company director Melissa Van Winkle.But she postponed it to relocate her studio to 1934 Dempster St. in September 2004. Last spring, Ms. Rashid began in earnest.By the time she started intensive rehearsals in August her husband, Steve, had written an original musical score, and a handful of professional dancers had added their choreography talents. Dance numbers range from tap for the comic Mr. and Ms. Beaver; to a brand-new contemporary ballet for Robin; to a character-based modern dance for the wolves; to contemporary modern and jazz for the battle scenes; to grand classical ballet for "Snow."The costumes are extravagant (Robin has real feathers on her tutu; the dancers in "Snow" wear filmy white tulle), while most sets are projected and props are minimal. The most unique feature of the production is probably the collaboration on the choreography and music.Steve and Béa Rashid have worked together before, says Ms. Ernst.Usually she and Ms. Rashid suggest a mood and scenario to him.He composes on a keyboard in a café, she says, and brings his wife and Ms. Ernst samples to critique. Technology being what it is, Mr. Rashid can bring the sounds of a whole orchestra to the score.Ms. Ernst says of the co-creative process, "It's so much more interesting than trying to find music that works." And, she says, "[Ensemble] productions are very artistic, not just flashy shows." Brisk ticket sales (priced at $12-$15-$18) prompted the directors to add several performances, all at Northwestern University's Josephine Louis Theatre.Dates and times are Dec. 9, 7 p.m.; Dec. 10, 2 and 7 p.m.; Dec. 11, 1 p.m.; Dec. 17, 2 and 7 p.m.; Dec. 18, 1 p.m.Call 847-491-7282 for information. EYE on EVANSTON The growing need for condominiums in Chicago has also affected Evanston.As demand exceeded supply, the price of housing in Chicago increased and Evanston became a desirable alternative, not only close to Chicago but to the lake as well, and with convenient and excellent transportation. Zoning determined where multi-story housing could be built without seriously altering Evanston's suburban character: either downtown or along Chicago Avenue, the north-south artery. Chicago Avenue was a natural: north of Greenwood Street were existing high-rises and south of Dempster Street was rich in unsightly car lots. But we missed the boat. Chicago Avenue, between Dempster Street and South Boulevard, had and still has seven zoning classifications. When the boom began the planners and the aldermen should have got together to create a unified multi-family, multi-story zoning district with setback requirements to improve the narrow sidewalks. Most importantly, urban design studies should have accompanied this effort so that citizens could visualize possible outcomes. What happened? We have an uncoordinated mess along Chicago Avenue. This is partly due to the fact that developers hired second-rate architects (though even their designs could have been improved had we had a meaningful appearance review). Added to the low quality design was community pressure on the city council to keep projects "low." As a member of the faculty of the UIC School of Architecture for 26 years teaching housing design, I am accustomed to grading design from A (excellent) to E (failing) and shall attempt to do the same to the new projects along Chicago Avenue: • "Courts of Evanston" townhouses on the corner of South Boulevard: mediocre exteriors combined with undesirable density (30 units per acre) with buildings too close to each other and right on the sidewalk:D. • Proposed apartment building on the corner of Kedzie: simply put, a total mediocrity:C. • Multi-story apartment building at 809-11 Chicago Ave.: less than great north or south façade, but a well-organized handsome street elevation:B. • The low apartment building where the movie theater used to be: The tasteless combination of brick colors is almost offensive: E. • 516 Main St. on the north-east corner: a poorly designed building with awkward and cheaply done details: E. • 900 Chicago Ave. at the northwest corner of Main St. on a difficult, narrow lot: a handsome modern building with an arcade that improves the narrow sidewalk considerably. Clearly the best on the street: A. • "Chicago Avenue Place" next to the Jewel store: confusing use of red brick and gray masonry, inhumanly narrow space between facing balconies and one should not forget the butchering of the sidewalk: D.Not the greatest results. Of the seven new projects on Chicago Avenue only one gets an A, one gets B, one C, two deserve D and two fail. There is, however, some encouraging news. The developers of Park Evanston hired one of Chicago's top design firms, Nagle Hartray, to create a high-rise on the empty lot between the corner building and the bank drive-in on Davis Street. Also, David Hovey's firm, Optima, has bought the southeast corner of Chicago Avenue and Davis Street including the one-story Heil & Heil building and the handsome two-story building, at 518-26 Davis St. I only hope that its landmark-quality façade can be saved or at least reconstructed on the site elsewhere, The names of David Hovey, Jim Nagle and Jack Hartray give me hope that there will be two new projects that will deserve an A+. Ed. Note: Mr. Macsai made several design suggestions about the 900 Chicago Ave. arcade, which Mr.Brinninstool gracefully accepted.
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Book Review "Pretty Birds" by journalist Scott Simon, is an enthralling work of fiction based on the siege of Sarajevo. Near neighbors Irena, a Bosnian, and Amela, a Serb, become best friends playing basketball together for two years. Pretty young women and star athletes, they are "used to being watched, and used to looking at each other as competitors and teammates." Both girls loved reading magazines about Hollywood stars. They wore jeans and drank beer.They were both cosmopolitan Europeans. Neither was particularly religous. Irena had a parrot named Pretty Bird that sat on her shoulder. Both girls loved the way he whistled and gave catcalls when they play basketball with the guys in the neighborhood. Bad times begin in 1992, when some Serbians hassle Bosnian Muslims, just scaring them at first, but escalating to rape and murder. Irena's father remembers World War II, when Bosnian Muslims hid the Jews from the Nazi Serbs. He has watched his Muslim daughter become best friends with a Serband knows that what is best for the city - all its diverse ethnicities and religions coexist peacefully. Nevertheless, Irenas father urges the Zaric family to flee to his mother's house in what they hope is a safer part of town. They are met with violence, but escape. They arrive at the grandmother's house only to find her dead of a sniper's bullet. They bury her in the back yard and move into her apartment. The four-year siege begins. The family sleeps on the floor,below window level, because sinpers fire at will. The Serbs turn off the water to this part of the city, then turn it on for an hour or two, knowing the Bosnians will stand up to fill buckets, becoming targets. Food, water, wood, cigarettesand razor blades all become black market items. Irena to go out to forage for water and food and post letters at the local synagogue, which has become the designated bulletin board for the community. She hopes to make contact with her brother, who is off studying in England. Inevitably, Irena is recruited by the resistance to become a sharp-shooter - to fire back at the Serbian parts of the city, killing Serbs as they have been killing Bosnians. But Irena and Amela are still friends, and their friendship becomes a test for the whole city. "Pretty Birds" author Scott Simon, a onetime Chicagoan, reported from Sarajevo during the siege. He hosts National Public Radio program "Weekend Edition with Scott Simon." FILM REVIEW "Walk the Line," a biopic about the life of Johnny Cash, is a squandered opportunity to tell the music legend's fascinating and troubled story. Featuring magnetic performances from Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon and plenty of Mr. Cash's music, the film has some truly captivating moments.But as a whole, "Walk the Line" reduces his turbulent life into a formulaic arc of plot points and romance cliches that will leave people unfamiliar with The Man in Black's story looking for more. Many events impacted Johnny Cash's life and career: the death of his brother when he was 12, his stint in the Air Force, the failure of his first marriage, his drug abuse, and the relentless criticism from his hard-drinking, verbally abusive father (Robert Patrick). Co-writer and director James Mangold shows these important events but waters them down, trying to capture their impact with one or two scenes stuffed full of unnatural dialogue and clumsy metaphors. In one example, Johnny happens upon the famous Sun Records studio in Memphis and the door is literally slammed in his face.Later, he becomes addicted to unidentified pills. The collective effect of such generic storytelling is a shallow depiction of his life.We see that he struggled as a young unproven artist and with a drug addiction. Yet instead of exploring how these specific struggles defined Mr. Cash as an artist and a man, Mr. Mangold takes the easy way out by focusing on the love story between him and June. "Walk the Line" is at its best when the characters are performing on stage. Mr.Phoenix's commitment is visible, his intense eyes and fluid motion evoke the pain and anger that the written scenes fail to convey. When he sings the line "I shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die," Mr. Cash's unique life experience becomes three- dimensional. Reese Witherspoon balances June Carter's perky stage persona and innocence with a wariness from her own failed relationships.She is a joy to watch, and when she is performing on stage with Mr. Phoenix, their love is believable. Unfortunately, Mr. Mangold recognizes their chemistry as well and beats it to death with a nearly uncountable number of scenes of the two exchanging glances and sharing a microphone. Johnny Cash was a music legend because the naked honesty of his music resonated with people.He made mistakes, he suffered a lot of pain, and he sang about it. In "Walk the Line," his life is bent and smoothed into a love story, removing the complexity and humanity so evident in his music, and forcing us to look elsewhere for a better understanding of The Man in Black. 2hr 15min Rated PG-13 for language and drug use.
PLAY REVIEW Pulitzer-prize winning author Paula Vogel's work "The Long Christmas Ride Home" is a typical Christmas play; that is, if a typical Christmas play includes infidelity, spousal abuse, child abuse, a trip to the Unitarian Church, Bunraku puppets, a gay sex club, and Buddhist philosophy.
The Next Theatre Company's production is a powerful, thought-provoking and visually enlightening interpretation of Vogel's play. Director Jason Loewith guides the action with visual aplomb and successfully taps the proper empathy from his actors, puppets and even the expressive silhouettes dancing along the walls, taking us deeper into the dark world of a decaying family. The play centers on a dysfunctional family taking a non-traditional ride to the Unitarian Universalist Church.Bouncing puppets symbolize the backseat-riding children, whom their father,Man, (Troy West follows up his extraordinary performance in "The God of Hell" with another solid one),chooses to define through the presents he gives them. Oldest child Rebecca is given a diary. As she is getting smart enough to comment on her parents' problems, this is a subtle way of telling her to shut up.Meek Stephen, the only boy, receives a soccer ball, perhaps so he will stop being a "pansy," as his father calls to him.Stephen's thoughts betray him, as the only excitement he gets out of gym class is watching the other boys run in their shorts.Youngest Claire, the apple of her father's eye, is given an expensive gold charm bracelet, just to let everyone else know where they stand. Father's gift of a vacuum cleaner to his wife, Woman (Wendy Robie's performance as a resigned, unhappy wife is perfection),is the ultimate insult, as he was probably too busy thinking about his mistress to care. The disintegration of the family comes to fruition on this cold, Christmas night.A trip to their grandparents' house erupts, with the help of lots of alcohol, and their lives are never the same. Father becomes enraged when his jealous children break Claire's bracelet. He kicks his son and gets into a fistfight with grandpa, as they both spew derogatory slurs and profanity. The family leaves, and when Woman blames Man for ruining Christmas, he winds up to hit her. The scene is replayedin the lives of the children, affecting them for years to come. Puppet designer Michael Montenegro and puppeteers Melanie Keller and Jeremy Sher do an outstanding job with the three expressive puppets that represent the children, and actors Jennifer Avery (Claire) Timothy Hendrickson (Stephen), and Julia Neary (Rebecca) ease the transition from puppet children to human adults, as Ms. Vogel describes the bleak future of her bruised children. Depicted on a night of Christmas Future, they are all unloved and suicidal. Only Stephen, who has died of AIDS, finds reason to care.A sermon given by a minister (Cameron Jappe) at the Unitarian Church enlightened Stephen to the Japanese art of ukiyo, the painting of landscapes that describe the floating world, an ideal world where everyone lives only for the moment. For Stephen, that eternal moment is Christmas night, where mistakes can be corrected, and life can still be beautiful. While the possibility of a George-Bailey- influenced running-through-the- streets-and-shouting-at-the-top-of-your- lungs-about-the-joy-of-life ending seems unlikely, there still may be some redemption at the end of Ms. Vogel's biting play. "The Long Christmas Ride Home" runs through Dec. 11 at the Noyes Cultural Arts Center, 927 Noyes St.Call 847- 475-1875 for tickets. ---------------------- see our film reviews...
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