Archive for April, 2011

Quote of the day: PERSUASION

April 17, 2011

PERSUASION

What other skills do peace activists need besides the ability to remain calm?

We need training in how to be persuasive and in understanding other people’s worldviews, because if you attack someone’s worldview, they are likely to react as if you are attacking them physically. It’s part of who they are…The difference between manipulation and persuasion is that manipulation uses fear, which clouds the mind. It’s difficult to think clearly when you’re afraid. Persuasion appeals to people’s reason, understanding, compassion, and conscience. If I’m trying to persuade you, I want you to be calm, rational. I want to give you all the evidence so that you can make the right decision.

— Paul Chappell, interviewed in The Sun

Concert: Gamelan Kusuma Laras in Oneonta, NY, Saturday April 23

April 17, 2011


Gamelan Kusuma Laras
, the Javanese music group that I play with, will be giving a concert at Anderson Center for the Arts at Hartwick College in Oneonta, NY, next Saturday April 23. If you’re in that neck of the woods, or know someone who lives around there, feel free to come and spread the word. Tickets are cheap: $10.

Javanese gamelan is strange and lovely music. Laurie Anderson came to our concert in December and e-mailed me afterwards to say it was “beautiful — meditative but with a lot of detail.” Good description! For more information, contact Lynda Clark at 607-431-4800 or clarkl@hartwick.edu.

Theater review: GO BACK TO WHERE YOU ARE

April 14, 2011

Tim Hopper, Brian Hutchinson, and David Greenspan in "Go Back to Where You Are" (photo by Joan Marcus)

My review of David Greenspan’s new play Go Back to Where You Are at Playwrights Horizons has just been posted on CultureVulture.net. Check it out and let me know what you think.

Workshop: AUTHENTIC EROS at Easton Mountain, May 5-8, 2011

April 14, 2011


There are still spaces available for anyone interested in taking “Authentic Eros: body sex explorations for men,” the workshop that I’m co-facilitating with Kai Erhardt at Easton Mountain Retreat in upstate New York May 5-8, 2011.

For gay men today, the sexual landscape seems rich and full of possibilities for connection, pleasure, love and romance. And yet for many of us, the quest to create a satisfying erotic life is confusing and frustrating.  Ever feel like you missed the day in school when everybody else learned how to do this? Ever feel like you need a refresher course on listening to your own desires, getting out of your head and into your body, and creating true intimate connections step by step? “Authentic Eros” may be the experience you’re looking for.

For more information and/or to register for the workshop, click here. Or feel free to contact me directly.

Theater review: MARIE AND BRUCE

April 12, 2011

Still catching up from last week, I’ve just posted my review of Wally Shawn’s Marie and Bruce, being revived by the New Group in a production starring Marisa Tomei and Frank Whaley, beautifully staged by Scott Elliott. I liked everything about the production but one thing. It’s a big but, though. Check out the whole review online here and let me know what you think.

It’s a tough play, in many ways, but I retain very fond memories of the original production at the Public Theater, which I saw not long after I moved to New York in 1980. Directed by the late great Wilford Leach, the production starred Louise Lasser and Bob Balaban (below).

photo by Martha Swope

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