Inquiry

Inquiry: Adam Zahler: THEATRE DIRECTOR AND ACTOR

karen@wicn.org — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 12:51:52 -0700

Inquiry welcomes ADAM ZAHLER, a member of Stage Directors and Choreographers and a freelance director and actor. He is now an Assistant Professor of Theatre in the Visual and Performing Arts Department at Worcester State College. Professor Zahler offers a real insider’s view of theatre life. He describes what the main duty of a director should be and how he personally accomplishes that daunting task. Adam also talks about his fascinating experiences directing productions in New York, Boston, Russia and Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland. His current production of Moliere’s classic TARTUFFE will begin at Worcester State April 15. For further information, call: 508 929 8843 or http://www.worcester.edu/VPADept/default.aspx . If you love the theatre, don’t miss tonight’s show!

Inquiry: Mike Jay: THE ATMOSPHERE OF HEAVEN: THE UNNATURAL EXPERIMENTS OF DR. BEDDOES AND HIS SONS OF GENIUS.

karen@wicn.org — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 09:39:05 -0700

Britain at the end of the 18th Century was a volatile political minefield. There was widespread suspicion of the effects the French Revolution would have on British society and this lead to numerous riots and serious government instituted repression. It was during this turmoil that scientist and prolific writer Thomas Beddoes set up his controversial Pneumatic Institute. This institution was part research laboratory to study the application of chemistry to medicine and part hospital for the poor who suffered consumption and other incurable disorders. Beddoes was also a vocal critic of the British government and a suspected Jacobean sympathizer. Dr. Beddoes and Humphrey Davy’s experiments with gases eventually led to the discovery of nitrous oxide and its unexpected and hilarious effects on anyone who inhaled the gas. What followed is a complex, strange and wild history of medicine and politics that has never been taught in schools. Tonight on Inquiry we speak with science and medicine historian MIKE JAY about his entertaining and enlightening history THE ATMOSPHERE OF HEAVEN: THE UNNATURAL EXPERIMENTS OF DR. BEDDOES AND HIS SONS OF GENIUS.

Inquiry: John Dervishian: PURIFICATION: CLEANSING OF A CONTAMINATED SOUL

karen@wicn.org — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 09:03:31 -0700

Tonight on Inquiry we welcome poet JOHN DERVISHIAN. One of his latest cycle of poems is titled PURIFICATION: CLEANSING OF A CONTAMINATED SOUL. It is a decades long poetic accounting of John coming to grips with the effects of drugs, alcohol, love, lust, dysfunctional family and most of all himself. John talks about coming out as a poet to his friends and the long process of discovering his artistic talents. John also reads some work from his last two books.

Inquiry: Bruce deGraaf: AVIAN AWAKENING : DISCOVERING THE BIRDS OF NEW ENGLAND

karen@wicn.org — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 13:18:13 -0700

Inquiry welcomes photographer BRUCE deGRAAF. Bruce has been passionate about the wildlife of New England for some time and has finally assembled some of his finest shots in a book titled AVIAN AWAKENING : DISCOVERING THE BIRDS OF NEW ENGLAND. This sumptuous volume traces Bruce’s exploration of the world of birds beginning in his backyard and ending up in such well-known avian hotspots as Plum Island and South Beach. His work captures not only the beauty of birds but documents their complex behaviors. This volume is self-published. To see some examples of Bruce’s work and preview the book, go to: http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/1114804

Inquiry: Elyssa East: DOGTOWN: DEATH AND ENCHANTMENT IN A NEW ENGLAND GHOST TOWN

karen@wicn.org — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 12:42:40 -0700

Dogtown is a New England “ghost town” nestled in the center of the island of Cape Ann. It is a dramatic example of a terminal moraine, the former abode of several people thought of as witches, a place where American modernist Marsden Hartley painted some of his finest works, and the scene of a recent horrific violent murder. “There is something different about Dogtown” as one Gloucester resident put it. It is a place both beloved for it’s lonely natural beauty and feared for its eerie sense of gloom and foreboding. Writer ELYSSA EAST started out to write about Harley’s experiences in Dogtown and soon got swept up in the weird and wild history of this very unusual spot. Her book DOGTOWN: DEATH AND ENCHANTMENT IN A NEW ENGLAND GHOST TOWN is a complex book. It is by turns a chilling murder mystery, a wildly arcane New England history, an investigation on how a strange geographic location can inspire artists, and a sensitive portrait of one of New England’s great coastal communities. If you are interested in New England history, don’t miss this show.