Teenage wow 'Wolves' star in Herndon

The cast from The Wolves get in their exercises at NextStop Theatre/Photo by Lock and Company


NextStop Theatre in Herndon has done what no other theatre has done, at least as far as the director Kathryn Chase Bryer knows.  It's put on a show with teenage talent only (and one brief mom).

A magnificent glimpse into the world of teenage girl talk and it's not all about boys.  Very little of it, which surprised me since that's all we talked about in another era, another time when girls were not quite on par with boys, but now... 

Who needs crutches when we can stand on our own legs?  We are The Wolves!

That's the name of the indoor soccer team of nine teen players who exercise, practice and banter about world events (!), Khmer Rouge (!), Cambodia (!), Harry Potter, each other (when the subject is out of earshot, natch), their drunken coach, abortion, society, the future, and what else? 

One has foot-in-mouth disease and makes laughter, but they all work seriously on their simultaneous floor exercises, and they practice kicking the ball (ensuring no member of the audience is tapped). 

Teammates look up in the stands for their coach and in the distance, #46 (Vivian Lemons, Oakton High School) spies a turfed titmouse.  She's the optimist in the pack, who's been isolated from the rest of 'em, home-schooled that she was, and unschooled in the negative, suspicious ways of some of her teammates.

The language is real which means adult, with F bombs and other bad words dropping every few seconds, but that's a warning ticket holders receive at the entrance to the theatre with the notice, too, that some of the content is loud, very loud.

Jordan Hundley, left, and Caroline Coleman go at it in The Wolves at NextStop Theatre/Photo by Lock and Company

The frequent ear-splitting screams by team captain, #25 (Caroline Coleman from Urbana HS) gives one pause to wonder how she has any voice left for the next show.

The acting is light years beyond expectations of high school students, many making their professional debuts, and Ms. Bryer is to be congratulated for exacting exceptional executions from the den. 

Each player is essential with commentary for the mix, including the quiet one, the goalie, #00 (Dominique Kalunga, South Lakes HS) who, after a dream, finds confidence and her voice in the second act.
  
At the beginning of the show, the girls do talk at the same time, and following one of those conversations is impossible until reality brightens understanding that this first burst is short-term and just an introduction to the fast-paced drama which lies ahead.

Costumers Kristina Martin and Marilyn Lopes dress the girls in matching royal blue uniforms with socks to match, and sound man Reid May plays the perfect hip tunes between scenes. 

Men don't play much of a role here.  Nor do mothers.  Girls just want to have fun and meaning.  They have their whole lives in front of them and can howl from any hilltop they choose.

YOLO!

The remaining team members (and schools they attend) are Jordan Hundley (Chantilly), Teryn Cuozzo (Tuscarora), Jordan James (Robinson), Makayla Collins (Annandale), Maya Tischler (Oakton), Rachel Lipetz (Marshall) and understudies:  Ella Stamerra (Woodson), Naomi Bertha (J.E.B. Stuart), and  Kylie Miller (Metropolitan School of the Arts).  One adult, a mom: Vanessa Lock Gelinas.

Other creative crew members are Jonathan Dahm Robertson, scenic designer and Madeline McGrath, painter;  Sarah Tundermann, lighting; Alex Wade, properties; Sarah Usary, stage manager; Laura Moody, assistant stage manager; Jonathan Abolins, electrician, Lisa Hamilton, soccer consultant, and Hilary Joel, movement coach. Evan Hoffman is NextStop's producing artistic director.

What: The Wolves by Sarah DeLappe (her first play which was a 2017 finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama)

When: Through February 24, 2019 on Friday and Saturday nights at 8 p.m., Sundays at 7 p.m., Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. and one Thursday show on February 21 at 8 p.m. 

Where: NextStop Theatre Company, 269 Sunset Park Drive, Herndon, VA 20170 in the back right corner of Sunset Business Park, near the intersection of Spring Street/Sunset Hills Road. Right off the Fairfax County Parkway. A wee big hard to find on a first visit, so allow an extra 15 minutes. The program notes that GPS map systems often give incorrect driving directions once inside the Sunset Business Park. From the "Taste of the World" restaurant, circle counter-clockwise around the building and look for maroon awning. Lots of great restaurants nearby.

Free parking: Available near the door.

Admission: General admission tickets start at $35 with "flexible pricing." (Demand increases prices.) Buy online or through the box office at 866-811-4111.

Duration: About 90 minutes without intermission

Rating: Adult language

For more information: 703-481-5930 or info@nextstoptheatre.org

patricialesli@gmail.com

Rodarte fashion show ends Sunday at NMWA

Rodarte Collection, National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C./Photo by Patricia Leslie

The eye-popping, incredible Rodarte exhibition of gowns and apparel, designed by the hot costumers of stage and screen, the Mulleavy sisters, will enjoy its last day at the National Museum of Women in the Arts on Sunday.

For anyone remotely interested in design, the combination of nature and costuming, fashion, creativity, and women's gowns, this is must-see. To miss it is to deprive yourself of one of the most spectacular shows in the history of the Women's Museum.

Rodarte Collection, National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C./Photo by Patricia Leslie

Rodarte Collection, National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C./Photo by Patricia Leslie

Rodarte Collection, National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C./Photo by Patricia Leslie

Rodarte is the first fashion exhibition at NMWA where the Mulleavys say they "are honored to be the first designers" featured.

The name of the house built by Kate (b. 1979) and Laura (b. 1980) comes from their mother's maiden name, Rodarte.
 
Sounds rather Italian, doesn't it?

These are dresses and slips worn by Kirsten Dunst in the Mulleavys' 2017 film, Woodshock. Rodarte Collection, National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C./Photo by Patricia Leslie

A slip worn by Kirsten Dunst in the Mulleavys' 2017 film, Woodshock. Rodarte Collection, National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C./Photo by Patricia Leslie

Rodarte Collection, National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C./Photo by Patricia Leslie

The museum's Fall 2018 issue of Women in the Arts  quotes Kate Mulleavy: "There is probably a little bit of California's natural beauty in every one of our collections," and Laura Mulleavy: "Nature inspires our choice of colors and the way we build garments" incorporating flowers and other natural plants and pieces found outdoors. 

Like Sean Scully whose Landline series stemmed from memories of his childhood in Dublin, Ireland and the natural lines of sea and horizon, the sisters credit nature and the outdoors where they played as children for the source of many of their creations.

The label copy reads:  "Horror films, a favorite cinematic genre of the Mulleavys, inspired this collection. For these looks, they undertook a laborious process of bound-resist dyeing in order to achieve the precise blood-red hue." Rodarte Collection, National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C./Photo by Patricia Leslie

Rodarte Collection, National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C./Photo by Patricia Leslie

Rodarte Collection, National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C./Photo by Patricia Leslie

Natalie Portman wore this tutu in Black Swan, 2010. Rodarte Collection, National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C./Photo by Patricia Leslie

Growing up, the sisters' stomping grounds lay between San Francisco and Monterey, and the two also had access to film production lots, another source of inspiration. Their college educations in art history (Kate) and literature (Laura) served as springboards to possibilities and adaptations, strengthening their inclinations to use natural elements and what lay around them.

Rodarte Collection, National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C./Photo by Patricia Leslie

Jill D'Alessandro, the guest curator from the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, wrote that when "Rodarte burst onto the scene in 2005," the house took "the fashion and art world by surprise with their deeply personal and conceptual approach to fashion design." 

Rodarte Collection, National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C./Photo by Patricia Leslie

Almost 100 creations spanning the life of Rodarte define the show with the most enthralling gallery, the last, the garden room, filled with florals and outrageous combinations and flaming colors.  It's rather like a giant dollhouse of science fiction, life size mannequins in a fairy land at the height of femininity.  Another world, adopting the station of womanhood and submission from centuries ago, to women dressed today romantically and idealistically to fit conceptions of what could be.

In the Garden Gallery at the Rodarte Collection, National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C./Photo by Patricia Leslie

In the Garden Gallery at the Rodarte Collection, National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C./Photo by Patricia Leslie

In the Garden Gallery at the Rodarte Collection, National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C./Photo by Patricia Leslie

In the Garden Gallery at the Rodarte Collection, National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C./Photo by Patricia Leslie

In the Garden Gallery at the Rodarte Collection, National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C./Photo by Patricia Leslie

In the Garden Gallery at the Rodarte Collection, National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C./Photo by Patricia Leslie

Shades of Vincent van Gogh's Starry Night and sunflowers at the Rodarte Collection, National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C./Photo by Patricia Leslie

Star Wars gowns at the Rodarte Collection, National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C./Photo by Patricia Leslie

 

Rodarte Collection, National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, D.C./Photo by Patricia Leslie

Please, come and compare your impressions to mine and write soon.

Virginia Treanor, associate curator at the NMWA, assisted with production of the exhibition.

What: Rodarte
 
When: Through Sunday, February 10, 2019. The National Museum of Women in the Arts is open Mondays through Saturdays, 10 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sundays, 12-5 p.m.
 
Where: The National Museum of Women in the Arts, 1250 New York Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20005
 
Admission:  $10, adults; $8, seniors and students; and free for members and children, 18 and under.
On the first Sunday of each month, "Community Day," there is no charge for admission.
 
For more information: 202-783-5000 or visit nmwa.org.
 
Metro stations: Metro Center (exit at 13th Street and walk two blocks north) or walk a short distance from McPherson Square.

patricialesli@gmail.com



 

Sean Scully has left the Hirshhorn

Sean Scully at the opening of Sean Scully: Landlines, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C., Sept.12, 2018/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Dear All,

If the Trump shutdown or other reason caused you to miss the fabulous exhibit, Sean Scully: Landline, at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, please see images here of the show and of the artist who came to town for the opening and to talk about his art. 

The Landline series made its U.S. debut at the Hirshhorn after appearing at the Venice Biennale in 2015. 

Sean Scully with his Landline: Bend Triptych, 2017, private collection, at the opening of Sean Scully: Landlines, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C., Sept. 12, 2018/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Sean Scully at the opening of Sean Scully: Landlines, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C., Sept. 12, 2018/Photo by Patricia Leslie

According to the Hirshhorn, the "Landline paintings show Scully's transition away from his earlier hard-edged minimalism to his current, more expressive style, a style that no doubt elicits the beauty and brilliance of the natural world" which Mr. Scully conveys by watercolors, oils, and sculptures.

Sean Scully, Stack Blues, 2017, private collection, at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C./Photo by Patricia Leslie 

Sean Scully, Landline Baltic, 2018, Landline Far Blue Lake, 2018, and Untitled (Landline), 2016, all loaned by private collectors, at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C./Photo by Patricia Leslie

Mr. Scully is quoted at Wikipedia in a 2005 article by Joao Ribas:

I hold to a very Romantic ideal of what's possible in art, and I hold to the idea of the 'personal universal.' This is a complex agenda. My project is complicated in this way, and in that sense I'm out of fashion. I'm going against the current trend towards bizarreness, oddness; as you just called it, the 'esoteric', which of course was around in the 1930s. That's what is being revisited now. In between the two great wars, there was a very strong period, particularly in Europe, of a strange, bizarre, distorted and perverse kind of figuration, with freaks in the paintings. Very disturbing twins, subjects like that. These paintings were mostly coming out of Italy and Germany. Now we have a return to that—again in a strange period, after the end of Modernism.

 Sean Scully, Landline Blue Red, 2016, private collection, at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C./Photo by Patricia Leslie

Sean Scully, Landline Orient, 2017, private collection, at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C./Photo by Patricia Leslie

Sean Scully, Horizon Nine, 2013, private collection, at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C./Photo by Patricia Leslie

Sean Scully, Landline 5.20.15, 2015, private collection, at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C./Photo by Patricia Leslie

At his website, Mr. Scully outlines his life in years: He was born in 1945 in Dublin and grew up in a working class neighborhood in London. He attended Catholic schools and was influenced by the paintings he saw in parishes. As a boy, he wanted to become an artist.  

When he was a teenager, he became interested in American rhythm and blues and started a music club. He continues to love popular music.

Sean Scully with his Stack Colors, 2017, private collection, at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C., Sept.12, 2018/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Sean Scully at the opening of Sean Scully: Landlines, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C., Sept. 12, 2018/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Sean Scully at the opening of Sean Scully: Landlines, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C., Sept.12, 2018/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Sean Scully at the opening of Sean Scully: Landlines, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C., Sept. 12, 2018/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Sean Scully at the opening of Sean Scully: Landlines, with Melissa Chiu, Hirshhorn director, and  Stéphane Aquin, chief curator, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, D.C., Sept.12, 2018/Photo by Patricia Leslie

Mr. Scully attended art classes in London where he regularly visited Vincent van Gogh's Van Gogh's Chair (1888) at the Tate Gallery. Its "directness has a profound effect on the young artist," according to his bio.

 Vincent van Gogh, Van Gogh's Chair, 1888/www.VincentVanGogh.org

At age 21, Mr. Scully "decides to dedicate himself entirely to art studies" and continues art classes.

He was 28 when, at his first solo show in London, every piece sold, Four years later New York City was the venue for his first solo exhibition in the U.S.  In 1983 his 19-year-old son, Paul, died in a car accident, the same year Mr. Scully became an American citizen.  

In 2015 when the Landline series was featured at the Venice Biennale, Mr. Scully was honored by the Chinese as the first western artist to enjoy a major retrospective there.

Melissa Chiu, the Hirshhorn director calls him "one of the most influential painters working today" and curator Stéphane Aquin comments that Mr. Scully's style stems from abstract expressionism, "inspired by personal memories" of his growing up years in Ireland, especially his time, the Hirshhorn says, "looking out to sea."

Landline next travels to the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art in Hartford, Connecticut where it opens February 23, 2019. 

Sandy Guttman provided curatorial assistance at the Hirshhorn. A catalogue is available.

patricialesli@gmail.com