<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss version="2.0" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/" xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/" > <channel> <title>Small Mouth Sounds Archives - Cultural Attaché</title> <atom:link href="https://culturalattache.co/tag/small-mouth-sounds/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" /> <link>https://culturalattache.co/tag/small-mouth-sounds/</link> <description>The Guide to Arts and Culture events in and around Los Angeles</description> <lastBuildDate>Fri, 08 Mar 2019 22:21:18 +0000</lastBuildDate> <language>en-US</language> <sy:updatePeriod> hourly </sy:updatePeriod> <sy:updateFrequency> 1 </sy:updateFrequency> <generator>https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.2</generator> <item> <title>This Weekend In LA (January 12-14)</title> <link>https://culturalattache.co/2018/01/12/weekend-la-january-12-14/</link> <comments>https://culturalattache.co/2018/01/12/weekend-la-january-12-14/#respond</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Craig Byrd]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Fri, 12 Jan 2018 18:35:30 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Jazz in 5/4 Time]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Music]]></category> <category><![CDATA[The Play's The Thing]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Aladdin]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Catalina Bar & Grill]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Cerritos Performing Arts Center. Roy Hargrove Quintet]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Common]]></category> <category><![CDATA[D'Angelo]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Disney's Aladdin]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Lee Hall]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Macy Gray]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Shakespeare in Love]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Small Mouth Sounds]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Smokey Robinson]]></category> <category><![CDATA[South Coast Repertory]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Stevens Puppets]]></category> <category><![CDATA[The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Tom Stoppard]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://culturalattache.co/?p=1700</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>Here are your highlights for January 12-14 in Los Angeles</p> <p>The post <a href="https://culturalattache.co/2018/01/12/weekend-la-january-12-14/">This Weekend In LA (January 12-14)</a> appeared first on <a href="https://culturalattache.co">Cultural Attaché</a>.</p> ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Here are your highlights for January 12-14 in Los Angeles:</p> <figure id="attachment_1703" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1703" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-1703" src="http://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/shakespeare_584x312-300x160.jpg" alt="Lee Hall's adaptation of the Oscar-winning Film" width="300" height="160" srcset="https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/shakespeare_584x312-300x160.jpg 300w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/shakespeare_584x312.jpg 584w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-1703" class="wp-caption-text">Shakespeare in Love</figcaption></figure> <p>Shakespeare in Love – South Coast Repertory</p> <p>Now – February 10</p> <p>It’s award season in the film industry and what better timing for a stage version of the film that upset the heavily favored <em>Saving Private Ryan</em> for Best Picture. Based on Tom Stoppard’s Academy Award winning screenplay, <em><a href="https://www.scr.org/calendar/view?id=9302" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Shakespeare in Love </a></em>has been adapted by Lee Hall for the stage and opens Saturday at South Coast Repertory Theatre in Costa Mesa. Shakespeare is battling writer’s block and through the love and inspiration of a woman named Viola. It all works out in the end, of course, and Judi Dench wins an Oscar.</p> <figure id="attachment_1704" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1704" style="width: 308px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" class=" wp-image-1704" src="http://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/image001-1-300x200.jpg" alt="Grammy Award winner Smokey Robinson in Concert" width="308" height="206" srcset="https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/image001-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/image001-1-630x420.jpg 630w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/image001-1.jpg 640w" sizes="(max-width: 308px) 100vw, 308px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-1704" class="wp-caption-text">Smokey Robinson</figcaption></figure> <p>Smokey Robinson – Cerritos Performing Arts Center</p> <p>January 13</p> <p>The Motown Legend returns for one night only at <a href="http://www.cerritoscenter.com/tickets/production.aspx?productionSeasonId=5545" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cerritos Performing Arts Center </a>on Saturday. The Grammy Winner, best known for such songs as <em>Tracks of My Tears</em>, <em>Tears of a Clown </em>and <em>I Second that Emotion</em> brings all the songs you know and love from his over 50-year career to the stage.</p> <figure id="attachment_1705" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1705" style="width: 250px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-1705" src="http://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/26219872_10155696682425342_4702213721478469749_n-1-250x300.png" alt="The jazz trumpeter and his band perform at Catalina Bar & Grill" width="250" height="300" srcset="https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/26219872_10155696682425342_4702213721478469749_n-1-250x300.png 250w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/26219872_10155696682425342_4702213721478469749_n-1-350x420.png 350w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/26219872_10155696682425342_4702213721478469749_n-1.png 443w" sizes="(max-width: 250px) 100vw, 250px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-1705" class="wp-caption-text">Roy Hargrove</figcaption></figure> <p>Roy Hargrove Quintet – Catalina Bar & Grill</p> <p>January 12-14</p> <p>Roy Hargrove is one of those musicians who straddles multiple genres. Best known for his jazz work, but he’s also collaborated with such diverse artists as D’Angelo, Niles Rodgers, Common and Macy Gray. The Roy Hargrove Quintet takes to the stage at Catalina Bar & Grill for three nights.</p> <figure id="attachment_1706" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1706" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-1706" src="http://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/1512682410_back_image_Aladdin-Pic1061x601-300x170.jpg" alt="A 45-minute puppet show of the classic story." width="300" height="170" srcset="https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/1512682410_back_image_Aladdin-Pic1061x601-300x170.jpg 300w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/1512682410_back_image_Aladdin-Pic1061x601-768x435.jpg 768w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/1512682410_back_image_Aladdin-Pic1061x601-1024x580.jpg 1024w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/1512682410_back_image_Aladdin-Pic1061x601-696x394.jpg 696w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/1512682410_back_image_Aladdin-Pic1061x601-741x420.jpg 741w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/1512682410_back_image_Aladdin-Pic1061x601.jpg 1061w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-1706" class="wp-caption-text">Stevens Puppets “Aladdin”</figcaption></figure> <p>Aladdin – Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts</p> <p>January 14</p> <p>If you don’t think your kids will sit for a two-and-a-half hour version of <em>Aladdin</em>, then there’s an alternative available for you and it is free. Stevens Puppets presents a <a href="http://www.thewallis.org/show-info.php?id=362" target="_blank" rel="noopener">45-minute puppet version</a> of the classic tale on Sunday at the Wallis Annenberg Center in Beverly Hills. You won’t get the Disney songs from the animated film, but you will get a much shorter show for the little ones.</p> <p>Remember the other <em>Aladdin</em> has just opened at the <a href="https://www.hollywoodpantages.com/events/detail/disneysaladdin" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Pantages Theatre</a>. <em>Small Mouth Sounds</em> just opened at the Broad Stage.</p> <p>The post <a href="https://culturalattache.co/2018/01/12/weekend-la-january-12-14/">This Weekend In LA (January 12-14)</a> appeared first on <a href="https://culturalattache.co">Cultural Attaché</a>.</p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://culturalattache.co/2018/01/12/weekend-la-january-12-14/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Playwright Bess Wohl Has Plenty to Say About “Small Mouth Sounds”</title> <link>https://culturalattache.co/2018/01/10/playwright-bess-wohl-plenty-say-small-mouth-sounds/</link> <comments>https://culturalattache.co/2018/01/10/playwright-bess-wohl-plenty-say-small-mouth-sounds/#respond</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Craig Byrd]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Wed, 10 Jan 2018 17:30:16 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Featured]]></category> <category><![CDATA[The Play's The Thing]]></category> <category><![CDATA[What's Hot]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Bess Wohl]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Broad Stage]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Silent Retreat]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Small Mouth Sounds]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://culturalattache.co/?p=1693</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>How do you write a play in a setting where dialogue isn’t necessarily the engine driving the play? I asked Wohl about her experience at the retreat and the role of silence in her life and work.</p> <p>The post <a href="https://culturalattache.co/2018/01/10/playwright-bess-wohl-plenty-say-small-mouth-sounds/">Playwright Bess Wohl Has Plenty to Say About “Small Mouth Sounds”</a> appeared first on <a href="https://culturalattache.co">Cultural Attaché</a>.</p> ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>There are large groups of people who opt to temporarily drop out of the hustle and bustle and contemporary life and go to a silent retreat. In other words, a retreat where most of the day is spent without ever saying a word. Playwright Bess Wohl went to such a retreat and as unlikely as it sounds, her experiences inspired her highly acclaimed play <em>Small Mouth Sounds</em>. The show opens on Friday at the Broad Stage in Santa Monica.</p> <p><iframe loading="lazy" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_eDlcFY4ycc?rel=0" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p> <p>I know what you’re thinking at this point. How do you write a play in a setting where dialogue isn’t necessarily the engine driving the play? I asked Wohl about her experience at the retreat and the role of silence in her life and work.</p> <p>What was your experience at the retreat you attended?</p> <p><strong>I felt like there was almost this trajectory that was like an arc. The first few days you come and the voices get louder and louder. And by day three you felt you were going insane. After you hit that breaking point there is something on the other side of it that is quieter and is a huge relief that you don’t have to perform one’s personality all the time. It gets worse before it gets better.</strong></p> <p>With all of our reliance on stimulation from our cell phones, computers, televisions, etc.…do you think we as people have the ability to sit still with our thoughts or our emotions? It seems the characters in the play don’t really have a sense of that.</p> <p><strong>I think it is definitely possible. But I think it is really hard and it’s getting harder and harder with all of the noise we encounter all the time. I live in New York City, and Los Angeles is similar, it’s a constant influx of information and other people. I think that takes a really big toll on people. I think all of that noise was part of my impulse to write this play. Could I block it out? The experience of making it when I was watching it over and over was sitting in the dark and allowing myself to be in silence and observe what I had made. That was hard. I would find myself fidgeting and wondering why there wasn’t a laugh line here. It was a test to see if I could sit in silence with my own work.</strong></p> <p>How did you develop the characters in the play who chose to be at this retreat?</p> <p><strong>I’m always interested in where the humor lies in people and their foibles. I think that makes people loveable. Part of that is looking for the funny in people and in myself. But I found was I worked on this play I really identified with each character in different ways at different moments. When I started working on the play there’s the young woman who was the hot mess. That’s me for sure and I still have moments of her. The more I worked on it I realized I have elements of all these people in my personality.</strong></p> <p>You’ve been talking to people about this play for a few years. Do you find that ironic? Are you tired of talking about it?</p> <p><strong>(Laughs). That’s such a funny question. It’s funny to talk so much about a silent play. I don’t get tired talked about it since it’s been such a joyful experience for me. And the best part is seeing what other people have to say about it. What’s been fun sharing it with a varying audience is to hear different interpretations and reactions and points of entry. At this point I’m less interested in what I have to say than what audiences have to say.</strong></p> <figure id="attachment_1689" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1689" style="width: 300px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-medium wp-image-1689" src="http://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Cast-of-Small-Mouth-Sounds_Photo-by-T-Charles-Erickson-1-300x200.jpg" alt="This highly-acclaimed play takes place at a silent retreat" width="300" height="200" srcset="https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Cast-of-Small-Mouth-Sounds_Photo-by-T-Charles-Erickson-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Cast-of-Small-Mouth-Sounds_Photo-by-T-Charles-Erickson-1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Cast-of-Small-Mouth-Sounds_Photo-by-T-Charles-Erickson-1-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Cast-of-Small-Mouth-Sounds_Photo-by-T-Charles-Erickson-1-696x464.jpg 696w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Cast-of-Small-Mouth-Sounds_Photo-by-T-Charles-Erickson-1-1068x712.jpg 1068w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Cast-of-Small-Mouth-Sounds_Photo-by-T-Charles-Erickson-1-630x420.jpg 630w, https://culturalattache.co/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Cast-of-Small-Mouth-Sounds_Photo-by-T-Charles-Erickson-1-1920x1280.jpg 1920w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-1689" class="wp-caption-text">Bess Wohl’s “Small Mouth Sounds”</figcaption></figure> <p>I suppose the last thing you’d want at the end of a performance of <em>Small Mouth Sounds</em> would be total silence. But if that happened, how would you respond?</p> <p><strong>(Laughs). Wow. I would either think I had written the best play ever or the worst play ever. I wouldn’t know which. I think the curtain call…I don’t know. Sometimes it can lessen the experience of the play. You want people to be left with the play but there’s this thing that lets everybody off the hook and breaks the spell. At the same time I have so much respect for performers and I would feel bad if they didn’t get respect for their work. They have to be fully in the experience or the story isn’t told.</strong></p> <p>Charlie Chaplin once said “Sound spoiled the most ancient of the world’s art, the art of pantomime and has canceled out the great beauty that is silence.” Apart from your experience at this retreat, does silence play a greater or lesser role in your day-to-day life now?</p> <p><strong>I think it definitely takes a greater role. One unexpected benefit of working on this play is it introduced me to a community of spiritual teachers and leaders who came out and supported the play. I was an intermittent meditator when I worked on the play. I became more interested in meditation and spiritual seekers. I’m trying now to bring, not silence; I’m going to write plays with lots of dialogue again, but this attitude of mindfulness and listening to my life and work.</strong></p> <p>Photo Credit: T. Charles Erickson</p> <p><strong> </strong></p> <p><em> </em></p> <p>The post <a href="https://culturalattache.co/2018/01/10/playwright-bess-wohl-plenty-say-small-mouth-sounds/">Playwright Bess Wohl Has Plenty to Say About “Small Mouth Sounds”</a> appeared first on <a href="https://culturalattache.co">Cultural Attaché</a>.</p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://culturalattache.co/2018/01/10/playwright-bess-wohl-plenty-say-small-mouth-sounds/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> <item> <title>Small Mouth Sounds</title> <link>https://culturalattache.co/2018/01/08/small-mouth-sounds/</link> <comments>https://culturalattache.co/2018/01/08/small-mouth-sounds/#respond</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Craig Byrd]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Mon, 08 Jan 2018 19:25:16 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[The Play's The Thing]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Bess Wohl]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Small Mouth Sounds]]></category> <category><![CDATA[The Broad Stage]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://culturalattache.co/?p=1683</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>Broad Stage<br /> <br /> January 11-28</p> <p>The post <a href="https://culturalattache.co/2018/01/08/small-mouth-sounds/">Small Mouth Sounds</a> appeared first on <a href="https://culturalattache.co">Cultural Attaché</a>.</p> ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Playwright Bess Wohl’s play set at a silent retreat was highly-acclaimed when it ran in New York. Now the show comes to Los Angeles with a run at the Broad Stage in Santa Monica that begins on Friday and runs through January 28th.</p> <p>Much of the play is performed without dialogue – after all, they are at a silent retreat. But it is the power of the silence and how we choose to let it in that resonates with the characters in the play and ultimately the audience.</p> <p>There is a warning on the website that indicates the show does include non-sexual nudity and isn’t appropriate for children.</p> <p>Look for an interview with playwright Bess Wohl later this week here at Cultural Attaché.</p> <p>Photo Credit: T. Charles Erickson</p> <p>The post <a href="https://culturalattache.co/2018/01/08/small-mouth-sounds/">Small Mouth Sounds</a> appeared first on <a href="https://culturalattache.co">Cultural Attaché</a>.</p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://culturalattache.co/2018/01/08/small-mouth-sounds/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> </item> </channel> </rss>