Even in my considerable heels, it still seemed that he loomed large overhead. A glorious shock of still wavy white hair and those gargantuan hands, he wrung them in nervousness. Surely, he wasn't worried about going on camera. I'd seem him hold court and by all accounts he was always...

A poor telemarketer for the local symphony called my house one evening. She caught me on a rough night, one fraught with one too many solicitation calls and the demands of a grumpy three-year-old. Out of obligation I listened to the spiel, and when she was done I politely say...

A sincere kudos to Ke$ha for supporting the pulling of her hit song "Die Young" from the airwaves following the Newtown tragedy. It shows a sensitive and thoughtful side of the artist rarely on display. I just wish the song had never made it to market in the first place.

Making art for art's sake is an artist's job. As is the nature of a job, art should turn up a profit; it must be viable while also admirable. But the making of art that promotes tangible change or new perspective might also be worthy of investment by outside sources....

The MacArthur Genius Grants were announced -- did you feel it, that sharp pang?

Let me first say there's nothing truly ugly about the MacArthur Genius grants. In fact, they're downright beautiful. They're the modern-day patron with no strings attached. Creatives and academicians get recognized without the begging, or the...

Let's just put this out there. No one ever asks if men can have it all. You know why? Because men don't ask themselves that same question. They just sort of live their lives and shift things around when need be. They live in phases allowing themselves to intensely focus...

It's 2:30 a.m. and I can still smell it. It's faint but traceable, no shower could get rid of this particular brand of pheromone. One part sweat, equal parts blood and tears. A dash of desperation mixed with a dollop of hope. A whole heap of tenacity with a splash...

Rappers Tupac, Nicki Minaj, Slick Rick, Kanye West, Dana Dane and newcomer Azealia Banks all have one thing in common. They all got schooled! Any artist worth their salt has sat through Ear Training, Voice and Diction, Theatre History 1, Art History, and possibly Keyboard Skills and Chorus during the...

The Samsung commercial shows trendy young people eagerly and willingly standing in line outside of what looks like a slick Apple store. The camera turns to one of the guys in line as he says with snooty nonchalance, "I can't get a Samsung. I'm creative." It was supposed...

So it's taken weeks to return to what started out as an easy metaphorical ride, casting GOP candidates in the roles of our most popular Opera characters. Then the race got twisty and turny, Gingrich got interesting, Paul not so easy to brush off and suddenly my casting job got...

Madama Butterfly is an opera in three acts by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa.

Some plot text taken from Aaron Greene's Synopsis of Madama Butterfly on About.com

Characters
Pinkerton: Played by the GOP Nomination and/or Republican Love
Cho-Cho-San...

Truth is, I'm not a big opera fan but after watching this year's race for the GOP nomination play out, I might be newly converted. It has been entertaining to say the least; a sensational mix of comedy, drama, scandal, conflict and ultimately political death. For a bit of fun,...

An artist friend of mine calls me the other night, upset that his manager is still accepting low ball fees without a fight from presenters he's already proven himself to in performances from years before. He goes on and on about how much he has accomplished over the last few...

I always get a chuckle at the political assumptions my friends make: "She's black, she must be a Democrat." "She quotes scripture, she must be conservative." "She's an artist, therefore she's a bleeding heart liberal." "She's a woman, I know where she stands on abortion." Truth is, they are usually...