current blog postings

Now I’m not a fan of politics, but it seems that we just can’t avoid it these days. Whenever we turn on Fox News, MSNBC, and CNN or even open a newspaper, we are bombarded with news! I live my life only by the “Golden Rule”: keep the Guv'mint out my Medicaid. So to escape the eternal return of the politics, I decided to go to that azul abyss I like to call The Blue Room to see Sam Shepherd’s extremely kitschy and poignant political play The God of Hell.

Being the second play of a trilogy of Blue Room plays about war, The God of Hell revolves around a couple in Wisconsin living on a dairy farm that takes in an old friend in the middle of the night. The story is an odd mixture drama and comedy since there are no jokes written in the script. As for the substance, it unfolds like a mixture of Canadian Bacon and Fargo, in that the shock value comes from the “What the f…” moments. Speaking of bacon, fans of the pig slices will be filled with joy to note that bacon is cooked live on stage during the performance, leaving the theatre with the smell of joy.

Last week, my friend kept raving about how much he loved the show Entourage. To get him to shut up, I began watching the DVD and I quickly learned two things: these characters are extremely douchey and they are all way too tall. Thankfully The Blue Room has put on a pint-size, Great Depression-laced version of Entourage known as Babylon Heights. Theatre veteran Winston Colgan makes his directorial debut in this tale revolving around the infamous “midget” actors in the Wizard of Oz.

To answer your first question, there are not that many dwarf-actors in Chico. So to accomplish this feat, the set pieces were built much bigger to give the illusion of dwarfism: bigger beds, glasses, suitcases, dressers, etc. Speaking of dressers, the actors had interesting moments in which the quickly built drawers simply would not open. During one instance, Colgan went to the back of it and kicked it open, with the up-most seriousness of his character of course.

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As I walked out of my own personal hell, which is better known as the Blue Room Theatre’s staircase, I was struck by the realization that I just got an epiphany from Rorshach of Watchmen; in that theatre I had just exited, I saw the true face of Chico and it was that of a heckler.

I have just ordered my 'artist' business cards, very exciting! But for more up-to-date information please visit my website http://www.charleneabinante.com or http://www.chicoartist.blogspot.com

Just finished this door that I started in Chico.

Glenn Jones is a graphic designer and illustrator from Auckland, New Zealand. It started out as a hobby when he began submitting designs to Threadless.com a few years ago. Since then he's become one of the most successful designers on Threadless with 21 shirts printed for sale. So he decided it was time to focus a bit more on designing tees and he teamed up with some friends in the US to start this range of T-shirts, calendars and laptop skins. 

Some shots from Panoptic, our artist mentors show at Creighton University Lied Gallery. Here are some links to some write ups: Omaha World Herald and The Reader

Are you invited to an event but don't want to show up empty handed?! This elegant but simple recipe for Scone Babies will boost your reputation and bump you to the top if future guest lists.

This recipe is from "Hors D'Ooeuvres," a DK publishing book (respect.)

It's a good idea to start this recipe a day in advance just to give yourself a head start and keep you from last minute stress.

3^rd Annual Samhain Celebration @ Blue Room (11/01)

by Conor Rowell

As I was perusing one of the local college newspaper’s review of Rocky Horror, I was reminded of my own personal rules: don’t review an annual play. It’s awkward and the review always pretends that no one has ever seen the show before; which if it’s a yearly event, then obviously somebody’s watching! But, as your humble critic, I’m afraid that even I have to break my own rule.

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