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Heard a talk yesterday by Julie Taymor. Wow. Incredibly smart woman.
To start the program there was a 15 minute video with clips from many of her works, including a 5 minute preview of her upcoming film Across the Universe, parts of which were filmed on Clinton Street.
Not really much to report, except that I couldn't have been more impressed by her. She reminded me of my favorite professor from college in the way she combines an overpowering intellect with a genuine sense of compassion and caring. Very rare in my experience (where such smart and accomplished people are often arrogant, or worse.)
On a side note, the one line I took away actually came from the Irish interviewer who gave a rather pithy definition of mythology: "a past that never was, and always will be." That's a good one I think.
I'm not too much of a theatre person, but I saw a play last night called The Exonerated that was really powerful. Very simple and very moving. Nine people sitting in a row on stage reading excerpts from actual legal cases involving death row inmates. Each story involves a person wrongly accused, and eventually exonerated for their crime after spending years in prison.
One of the actors, Sunny Jacobs, was playing herself. This was announced after the play and it was one of the most emotional group moments I have ever been a part of. The crowd gave her a standing ovation until our hands hurt. I feel lucky to have seen this. The world is so horrible and so beautiful at the same time.