Love Music? Join this Club.

If there’s one thing that unites people, it’s music. It’s been called the universal language, because well, everyone can participate. As rebellious teenagers, we used it to explain ourselves; we create soundtracks for our daily lives; we get pumped up before a morning run. And in light of all of…

One Man’s Trash

A college football championship win recently brought a swarm of notoriety to the Ohio State name, but there are other badass things happening at that university, outside the athletics department. Roger Beebe is an Associate Professor in Ohio State University’s Art Department and he’s found interesting ways to use projectors…

Thou Art Ambitious, Shakespeare Dallas

There’s an ever-shrinking number of us in the world who genuinely love Shakespeare. We love to read the Bard and will see almost any play or adaptation. And though I’d never refer to myself as a purist, I can certainly respect the undertaking of Shakespeare Dallas to stage every single…

Band Geeks Grew Up into Your Boss

Sports talking-head Jim Rome got in a bit of trouble when he spouted this off on Twitter: “Is there anyone not in a marching band who thinks those dorks running around with their instruments are cool?” If this meathead’s words don’t inspire you to support marching bands — if only…

The Book Looks Normal-Sized

Acts of terrorism happen every day. But here in America, they often seem far away, perpetrated by people and cultures foreign to us. Not so in Scott Blackwood’s newest novel, See How Small. It tells the story of a random act of violence that devastates the residents of a small…

See the Rhythm

To the best of my knowledge, the performers in Shaping Sound don’t actually make noise. They dance. It’s all about the choreorgaphy for this national touring production created by Travis Wall, Nick Lazzarini, Teddy Forance and Kyle Robinson. They bring a mash-up of styles, rhythms and moves that you might…

A Cartoonist with a Voice

A cartoonist for The New Yorker, Roz Chast has had more than a thousand cartoons published. Her cartoons reflect domestic and family life, so many depict interior scenes that heavily feature lamps and wallpaper. Chast credits her mother as her main source of inspiration, and she channels that same source…

Horses!

Cirque du Soleil is an amazing spectacle, to be sure, but it could use way more horses. Cirque co-founder Normand Latourelle thought that adding an equine element to the mystical acrobatic artistry would really take things up a notch — and he was right. The product of that vision is…

The Man, the Myth, the Legend

The legend of Stagger Lee goes like this: A man got so pissed off at his “business partner” for taking his cowboy hat that he shot and killed him. In this day and age, it seems a little tame, but in late 19th century Missouri, Stagger Lee was a hat-retrieving…

Barnett + Gibbons = Smart Art

It’s a rare opportunity to see two of the smartest artists working in Dallas in the same venue. Which is why you’ll want to head to the Goss Michael Foundation’s exhibition openings from 6-8 p.m. Friday. Jesse Morgan Barnett mines his own life to create abstract sculptural installations. He fills…

Theatre Three’s Capote Play Is a Tru Delight

Suspend any expectation that the actor playing Truman Capote in the one-man play Tru, now on at Theatre Three, will attempt an impression of the author as accurate as the late Philip Seymour Hoffman did in his Oscar-winning performance in Capote…

The Book Club Play at Dallas Theater Center Should Be Shelved

Let’s do some basic forensics on how a thing as wretched as The Book Club Play got produced at the Dallas Theater Center. DTC is our big League of Resident Theatres professional showplace with a large staff dedicated to bringing top quality scripts, new and old, to audiences. There have…

5 Art Exhibitions to See This Weekend

Jesse Morgan Barnett & Jeff Gibbons It’s a rare opportunity to see two of the smartest artists working in Dallas in the same venue. Which is why you’ll want to head to the Goss Michael Foundation’s exhibition openings from 6-8 p.m. Friday. Jesse Morgan Barnett mines his own life to…

Our Favorite Pictures from Artopia 2015

You pretty people made Saturday night memorable. Forever Artopia 2015 will live as a twinkle of good times that we’ll relive in photos like these by photographers Mike Brooks and Kathy Tran. You were there, taking selfies in front of the Love Me Back neon sign, designed to bring to…

MAGCON Tour Brought a New Generation of Celebrities to Dallas

On Sunday night on the fourth floor of the Irving Convention Center, about 300 tween to early-teen girls stood, eyes buried in their cellphones, anxiously awaiting their favorite social media stars. You know, the ones they’ve seen on Youtube. Think #AlexfromTarget and the like. It’s the new era of fame…

100 Dallas Creatives: No. 16 Ballet Queen Katie Puder

Mixmaster presents “100 Creatives,” in which we feature cultural entrepreneurs of Dallas in random order. A long time professional dancer with Metropolitan Classical Ballet, Katie Puder has spend much of her life in Dallas on her toes. And like a good dancer, when it was time to take a step…

Oscars Podcast: Can you Identify the Traits of ‘Oscar Bait?’

The bi-coastal film pod continues in 2015! In New York, Village Voice film editor Alan Scherstuhl, along with Voice film critic Stephanie Zacharek, connect via the magic of the Internet with LA Weekly film critic Amy Nicholson to discuss the nominations for this year’s Academy Awards, announced on January 15…