Actor's Shakespeare Project
"All the world’s a stage."
By Matt Robinson

So said Bill Shakespeare (original spelling) almost 400 years ago and, apparently, it still holds true, especially when the works of the Bard of Avon are put into the hands (and mouths) of the Ben of Boston and his talented troupe. Benjamin Evett started Actors’ Shakespeare Project as a means of exploring and enhancing the contemporary relevance of Shakespeare’s texts. His company brings the stories directly to the people and vice versa. ASP purposely has no permanent home. The company finds and creates performance spaces throughout Greater Boston that enhance and often participate in the story. This allows audiences (many of whom may never have been exposed to the texts or even to theater before) to see new sides of these eternal stories and to participate in them. In recent years, the Project has presented "The Winter’s Tale" (which centers on a trial) in what was once a courtroom. "Richard III" was staged in the politically-charged Old South Meeting House, and the infernal story of "Titus Andronicus" in a dark, claustrophobic basement. Last season’s performance of "Hamlet" offered the audience the opportunity to sit on the stage with the actors.
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Ballet
"The Art of the Impossible"
By Ray Chatelin

It all appears so simply done, so flawless and effortless, and, yes, so incredibly beautiful. A pas de duex - two dancers, one male, the other female gracefully move across the stage to the luscious strings of a Tchaikovsky or Delibes music score. We marvel as the ballerina jumps higher, twisting and taking positions she would never be able to on her own. She floats about the stage carried by her partner who shows off his own strength. The great dancers of the past century - Vaclav Nijinsky, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Rudolf Noreen, Dame Margot Fountain, and Anna Pavlov - have physically defined ballet as though music and movement were twinned. All regard the integration of the two as a natural progression that the human body performs. Behind what seems a seamless flow of kinetic energy and grace lies a lifetime of devotion and pain. George Balanchine, who was arguably the 20th Century’s foremost choreographer, stated, "Someone once said that dancers work just as hard as policeman, always alert, always tense, but see, policemen don’t have to be beautiful at the same time." For more information....
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Habatat Galleries
"Parallels the Glass Art Movement"
By Kay Harwell Fernandez

When the studio glass art movement took off in the early 1970s, Linda Boone jumped onboard. "I saw the potential and just thought we’d ride the wave and see what happens," says Boone, president of Habatat Galleries in Boca Raton, FL and Great Barrington, MA. She’s been along for the ride ever since. You might say that Boone and the medium have lead parallel lives. In contemporary glass art, 1971 remains a pivotal year. The Glass Art Society was founded, Dale Chihuly co-founded The Pilchuck Glass School and Habatat Galleries opened. Boone, Ferdnand Hampson and former husband Thomas Boone founded the first Habatat in Dearborn, MI as a fine art gallery focusing on painting, prints and sculpture. "I was going to teach art; Tom was going to teach design." says Boone. "We loved art, so decided to open the gallery instead." For More Information...
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